An Antidote to the Affliction of Mediocrity

Is there really any end to mediocrity in our schools? I’ve been really pondering this lately. Are the PYP Enhancements really going to change this?

You see, I’m a big Seth Godin fan. After reading the book Linchpin, it is hard not to look at the ways in which schools create mediocrity. Mediocrity in our ho-hum test scores, in our bland school lunches, in our students’ indifferent attitudes, in our top-down staff meetings, in our pithy report comments, even in the lackluster of our playground equipment. The evidence is everywhere.

Why?  I think it boils down to 3 things.

Magpie Mentality

The Challenge: Another year, another mandate. There’s something always new and shiny that we now must add to our “toolbag”. And although we must always be striving for excellence, this magpie approach wears down staff and often this term “innovation” is the repackage of a new “old thing” all the time.

Catarina Song Chen said something brilliant to me the other day: sometimes innovation isn’t about creating new things, it’s about the stuff we stop doing. I couldn’t agree more.  Which leads me to the next culprit, I believe, behind mediocrity…

Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

The Challenge: I don’t know how many times the myth of more is better has been dispelled. Our physical and emotional bodies were not designed for marathons. We were made to sprint, having episodes of rest and recovery time built in. We cannot multi-task without developing cognitive wear and tear.

Leaders don’t have the luxury of shifting blame, they have to take responsibility for failure. If a team is in failure mode, ask yourself how did I create the conditions for this, and what can I do to change it?

An Antidote: We don’t have to re-create the wheel like developing new PYP planners this RED HOT MINUTE! We should have an unpacking of the Enhancements and reflect on where we are and where we would like to go, as a staff, in an All-In approach.  I love how this one district took the time to dissect the Enhancements. It is our responsibility as IB educators to be reflective and thoughtful FIRST, and then take action.

Fuzzy Goggles

Lack of clarity is the main culprit of mediocrity. There’s no focus. Sometimes that looks a lack of standards or supporting curriculum. Sometimes that looks like non-educators making educational decisions at our schools. Sometimes it looks like a top-down decision that has the best intentions but hasn’t been well-articulated.  If people in your organization are acting indifferent or uninterested, then leadership needs to ask themselves what can THEY do to navigate a course correction?  Because this attitude and behavior is a reflection of their communication approach. It’s DATA–and what is the data telling you? Floundering? Disengagement? Apathy? Then it’s time to ask stakeholders their honest opinion and then brace themselves for the truth. Be prepared to make changes because if what you were doing was effective, then you would get a different result. Fact.

An Antidote:  Priorities. Priorities. Priorities. What’s your school’s WHY? Communicate that why because it’s your compass. And when people appreciate and understand the “bigger picture”, they can contribute to solving problems and challenges that are encountered in the learning community, rather than being obstacle makers and naysayers. It’s easy to rally individuals when they have a clear purpose, and they feel that they have “skin in the game”. We must not only inspire but incite others by bringing them into the decision-making process.

 

Mediocrity, in my mind, is a choice. When you build teams that have a purpose and vision, you need not be afflicted with it. As leaders, we need to take a hard look at ourselves and not shift the blame onto others, but rather take responsibility for the areas in our schools that are average, at best. If something is mediocre at your school, you suffer from a state of “vanilla”, then start to survey others as to what they believe may be behind it.  Once you identify troublesome areas, be candid and make a collective plan to move forward with stakeholders because average is a dangerous state to be in, as we move into the future of education.