Uniting the adults in schools around a common purpose

I found the short video below via the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector Facebook page.  It features Dr. Katherine Merseth of the Harvard Graduate School of Education discussing school improvement and the necessity of "creating a common culture of coherence:"

 

Among the highlights:

•  No one (including education reformers) seems to agree on the actual purpose of schooling.
• The bureaucratic structures of schooling appear to be more designed for the benefit of adults rather than students.
• In high functioning schools (which are, in fact, student centered), every person in the school can answer the question, "What is your purpose?  Why are you here?"
• Teachers in high functioning schools function as advocates for children, with whom they have strong personal relationships, know their content deeply so they can answer (or, I would add, help kids answer for themselves) the big "why" questions, knows how to personalize learning for individual student needs, and is continuously learning from and with other educators.

Merseth seems to have fairly conventional perspective on what schooling is all about (no real mention of Montessori, Sudbury, or any of the radically student-centered approaches I've become interested in).  Nevertheless, I think in this three-minute video she gives a terrific summary of some of the key problems vexing schools and the absolute necessity of uniting the adults in a school around a common purpose.  It's a message relevant for leaders of any school.

Comments

[tim-10-ber]

Thank you!!