"what makes a good school" roy a. gordon. “forget about the millennium. let’s think...
TRANSCRIPT
THE SALVATION OF THIS HUMAN WORLD
“The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the
human power to reflect, in the human meekness and human responsibility. Without
global resolution in human consciousness nothing will change for the better and the catastrophe towards which this world is
headed will be unavoidable.”
Vaclav Havel, Czech Republic
I have chosen seven pillars, or seven important pre-requisites
1. The Head Teacher, the Principal
2. The teaching staff & individual teacher
3. Student Leaders
4. The School Ethos
5. Activities – sport
6. Discipline
7. Humour
Please note – I will deliberately leave the first point until last
I have chosen seven pillars, or seven important pre-requisites
1. The Head Teacher, the Principal
2. The teaching staff & individual teacher
3. Student Leaders
4. The School Ethos
5. Activities – sport
6. Discipline
7. Humour
Please note – I will deliberately leave the first point until last
“As you look at growth predictions over time, we are going to need more and more leaders. Leadership is the biggest single constraint to growth at Johnson & Johnson (or in our schools), and it is the most critical business issue we face.”
Ralph L Larsen, Chairman & CEO, J & J
We must spend time choosing the best leaders for our schools
We must spend time training our best leaders
We must spend time training our executive team
We must spend time training our successors
“Planning is ongoing. Careful planning is useless….. unless it is
followed by aggressive execution. Planning should not
be an annual ritual…. but an ongoing conversation.”
Our planning will repeatedly miss the mark unless we ask the following questions.
Whom do we serve? Why do we exist? Why do we matter? What do we offer? What is our conversation?
Our “conversation” should be:
Open and honest Non-defensive Robust Positive Progressive Tolerant Alert
The above aspects of our “conversation” are essential if we are to sell ourselves, for this requires:
Confidence Competence Communication, and above all, Credibility
There will always be competition
We must develop new value propositions We must hold our existing supporters We must fight for a new market
“The day soldiers (teachers) stop bringing you their problems, is the day you will stop leading
them.”
“Real leaders make themselves accessible and available. They
show concern for the efforts and challenges faced by underlings,
even as they demand high standards. Accordingly, they are
most likely to create an environment where problem
analysis replaces blame.”
“Don't be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgement. Elites
can become so inbred that they produce haemophiliacs who
bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.”
Small companies (or schools) don't have the time for analytical
experts. They don't have the money to subsidise lofty elites
either.
“Organisation doesn’t really accomplish anything. Plans don't
accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don't
much matter. Endeavours succeed or fail because of the
people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.”
In a brain-based economy your best assets are people. How
many immerse themselves in the goal of creating an environment where the best, the brightest, the
most creative are attracted, retained and, most importantly,
unleashed?
“Fit no stereotypes, don't chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach
best accomplishes the team's mission.”
“Looking for intelligence and judgement, and most critically, the capacity to anticipate, to see
around corners.”
“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and
doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.”
“Have fun in your command. Don't always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you have earned it. Spend time with your
family.”
“Roy Gordon, if you cannot find time to play golf with me once a week, either you are too small for
the job, or the job's too big for you.”
Toby Louw
The four qualities of a Modern Head Teacher
Unwarranted optimism Ability to regard crises as norm and
complexities as fun! An insatiable thirst for knowledge, and A complete absence of paranoia or self-pity
Tim Brighouse
“Keep Moving”
“Being on the road in South Africa (in this world) is dangerous, but not as
dangerous as standing still.”
Sir Laurens van der Post -Bloemfontein 1994
“When We Fail”When you fail it doesn’t mean you will never make it. It just means you will have to do it differently. When you
fail it doesn’t mean you will never succeed. It does mean it will take a little longer. When you fail it doesn’t mean
you would be a fool to try again. It does mean calling upon all your spiritual reserves and courage and having another go. And finally, when you fail it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t answer your prayers for help. It does
mean that God has a much better idea for you.
Dr Robert Schuller
“If I believe the motivation for all I do”
“ If I believe that the motivation for all I do, good or bad, comes from within me, not from the outside world, then, when I am miserable, I cannot claim that my misery is
caused by uncaring parents, a boorish spouse, an ungrateful child, or a miserable job. If I were a machine, this claim might be valid. I could be programmed to feel good only if those I needed treated me well. But I am not a machine and, although I strongly desire good treatment from everyone in my life, if I don’t get what I want, it is
my choice whether or not to be miserable.”
“No single man, no single group”
“No single man, no single group, indeed no single community, can master today’s challenge. You do the best
you can, proud of the special opportunity you have been given, hoping that your achievements will have added
something to your community’s strength and its happiness and that your mistakes, or omissions, or commissions, will
be corrected by your successor.”
Lester Pearson – Former Prime Minister of Canada