SROYS

So, the latest trend is that we understand that a child needs to explore and learn their potential. Things like “let the child learn what he wants to” are being said a lot by new parents these days. Of course most people also do understand that certain other things are important too…

1. Basic language, science and mathematics
2. Basic behavioral and social science
3. Basic physical education and sports

I have often wondered if what I learned in high school (10-12) helped me in any way - I mean trigonometry, calculus - I frankly cannot remember any of it. So was it of any use?

I think yes. It in way cleared my mind that I am not cut out to be a scientist or a mathematician. So I eventually I moved to what interested me - but the exploration was required and necessary.

So until we have some science which can read our genes and predict what we will be good at - we need to explore all turns. But maybe we are never really predisposed to be good at something - it’s possible that everything that we become interested in, everything we become, is because we come across a great teacher.

For example I was interested in music - had a band and everything. But then I got a job offer - and I think my boss David (surname not given for privacy) was instrumental in me getting interested in web projects. I learned the importance of scrutinizing every single little detail. I am not very good at it yet - but he showed me the direction of how to do things the best we can and I am eternally grateful to him for that.

So in effect my work now relates to something that I taught myself how to do - but the exploration into all the other things I did was instrumental in me being what I am, and how I work on things. So school in it’s traditional format still has some value to it - we do need to explore all the basics and then decide on what fits us the best.

But that makes creating a curriculum really difficult doesn’t it?

This should follow the explorer gamification model - students should be pushed to become explorers rather than achievers - they’ll automatically become achievers but these achievements won’t have the blood from competition on them. In the real world competition exists but are won by excellence, and not by being one-up. Excellence will always have the one-up.

So the curriculum? There should be some mandatory courses and some optional courses - and students need to pass every subject they take up - or they loose the subject. The concept of failing a class is old school and should be abolished. We need to add more options so kids can discover their true interest and learn to excel in those subjects from their early days. That way we will create real professionals.

Recently we had a meeting with the management staff at my son’s school and discussed what approaches would be the most human when trying to build a program for preschool kids.

While their basics are all in place where they teach the kids to explore and do their own thing while maintaining a curriculum of things that need to be addressed, like counting, sorting etc. The main problem we were having was the communication of what was happening every day - mothers needed to connect with what their kids were doing in school but the kids were unable to articulate it.

While this may seem like a small little problem - addressing it would create a tremendous connection between the schools and the parents. So how do we do it?

The most trusted international bank today in India is CitiBank - and one of the main reasons is their online banking interface. You can achieve a lot more on their system than on any other bank’s system. They’ve spent time to create processes which are human and reduce the amount of friction in getting something done.

Want to get a new cheque book - 3 clicks. Want to get a draft made and sent to you - 3 clicks. Want to liquidate an investment - 3 clicks. They can do more but what they have is very informative and accessible. The idea is to reduce friction and improve usability by being more human.

So, how do we improve our schools?

1. REINFORCE Learning - Ever see parents asking what the kid learned in school today? Well many parents are now discovering that talking about the same subject at home make kids more receptive to learning and to school in general. It’s pretty simple to address it - create an online interface that will in real time give information to parents about what their kids are learning - address specific issues with students with the parents through private messages.
   
   The way to do it is simple - you use a software (build or choose from the existing school erp systems) to create logins for parents and assign them to separate classes. The facilitator should be able to see the entire list of parents and be able to live blog via their phone or private message the parents easily.
   
   So suppose a new poem is being practiced - the facilitator can post “New poem being practiced… kids are thrilled! Rhyme lyrics here (link to previously created page)”. This way not only are you making this fun for the facilitators you are informing the parents about what they need to reinforce. It’s easy and it solves the problem quickly and efficiently. Parents should be able to comment on the post to make the event more relevant and encourage the facilitator.
   
   Having the information of what is being taught can help benefit the reinforcement of the learning quite a bit - and lessons will no longer feel boring if it relates to life outside school.
   
   Actually this can be taken a step further if any school wishes to venture into it - TELL THE PARENTS HOW TO REINFORCE A LESSON - each day when something is taught push a message to the parents telling them how to continue the lesson outside. Schools need to create the content once and then polish it as they go - but this can really be a USP.
   
   
2. The Real World - facilitators should be exposed to real world excellence. This will in a way prepare them psychologically to learn to push that culture into the kids by using the right keywords and encouraging things that they know work well in the real world. Like for example if the facilitator was exposed to this video here
   
   
   
   They will learn that companies who excel do so because they care to be personalized - and it’s important to build that culture into the kids from early on. Do weekly screening of such movies to expose facilitators to excellence - maybe include important stuff happening inside the school. Encourage them to diversify their interests.
   
   
3. Embrace Technology - Schools that will invest in creating lessons using the latest technologies will be the most sought after in some time. Create video lessons cause they are easy to understand and are more engaging (research is there is material already available). Invest in buying latest technology and show their use in social media to build the school’s brand. Not in a show-off kind of way but showing that the school is progressive. Technology is changing everything very quickly and schools need to embrace it to create more value for the students.
   
   If you haven’t heard of khanacademy.org please go through this video and tell your students:
   
   
   
   
4. What works elsewhere will work here - One of the biggest problems in high school is bullying - to tackle that, create buddy and coach systems among students. Each student will have a buddy, and each senior student will coach a couple of junior students. Design activities around this system - it’ll help develop both team spirit and leadership qualities.
   
   
5. Parents are friends - well at least most of them. They care and they will help to improve anything and everything if they get the sense that they are in for the long run. Give them that confidence by involving them in development projects. You need to identify the parents you would like to work with and involve them deeply into your projects. If they are in for the long run, they will just volunteer and you will get good work done without any cost.
   
   
6. Develop a core team - like any other organization schools are going to be as good as the people running it. Develop a core team and build a strong culture bond between them - reinforce constantly that they are in the same team and reduce hierarchy. Be open and take care of your team. Recruit very carefully - a single rotten apple will destroy the culture. Review Zappos culture and how they sustain it.
   
   
7. Grow slowly - don’t be in a hurry to grow - focus on what is important and create a growth team who will work to grow the school in terms of infrastructure, branding and recruiting. This team should focus only on this and should collaborate with the top management. Give these people room to try out new things.
   
   
8. Put quality before profits - the world has changed and people know what you are rooting for. Concentrate to improve quality in every little aspect of the school. Right from food, clothing, learning material, people… everything. Create and share stories which show what you stand for. The profits WILL roll in.
   
   
9. Destroy “I know” - nobody knows anything. Ban the words or even the thoughts which start with “I know”. Teach everyone to use their heads and assess every situation, and act to solve the problem. If a problem is mentioned by anyone - don’t say “I know… we are working on it.” - start immediately and address it. If it needs to be discussed, discuss it. When you get into the “I know” mode - you tend to put things on the back burner. Do it now! Don’t design your processes in such a way that it doesn’t allow quick fixes.
   
   
10. Have fun - the most basic and most important of any work - if you aren’t having fun developing a school and you are not putting in those goofy ideas that make people notice you, don’t do it. Don’t run a school just for profits. That’s not unique - every other school is doing it. Schools are anyways going to be profitable - do some good stuff with the money - or hire people who want to.
    
    
11. Okay, sorry it’s 11 - the last idea is to try new ideas - no one knows what you will discover and suddenly that will become the norm.