As I look to complete my M.Ed in the coming weeks, I find myself focusing on an age old issue; How can we improve education? Of course its a monumental task and Phd discussions still would not be able to solve it, but what if I applied a philosophy first coined back in 1997 to re-invent Apple Inc? Is it professional suicide to stop, take a look and think, “Hang on, this isn’t working, can we try something new?”
Check out the advert for ‘Think Differently’ here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmwXdGm89Tk
Sometimes new ideas are the way to move forward and allow something to evolve. But the very people that hold the key to change have to be prepared to allow change to happen. Guy Kawasaki who worked for Jobs at different times throughout his career was quoted as saying in his presentation ‘12 things I learnt from Steve Jobs,’ “A players hire A+ players, they are comfortable with hiring someone who is better than them at a job.” If you want to succeed, you need the best. He continues, “ My theory is that A players hire people even better than themselves. It’s clear, though, that B players hire C players so they can feel superior to them, and C players hire D players. If you start hiring B players, expect what Steve called “the bozo explosion” to happen in your organization.”
I think this can certainly be applied to education. Consider this – I ‘Cut my teeth’ as a teacher in Hackney, London, where I had the privilege of working for a unique Principal in UK education for 2 years. Under his leadership, I learnt a lot about how the education world works, how to get the best from people and how to become the best. I seen first hand how a school can change a culture, to allow the students to achieve their potential; regardless of background and for this I will always be thankful for the learning experience.
you can check out a review of the school here.
But is this a unique school ? A one off? Or can it be bottled up and used elsewhere? I for one certainly see some of the attributes displayed with what Jobs was talking about before the school was even built. Jobs talks about being an avid believer of ‘Equal opportunity for all, as opposed to Equal outcome.’ “I’m a very big believer in equal opportunity as opposed to equal outcome. I don’t believe in equal outcome because unfortunately life’s not like that. It would be a pretty boring place if it was. But I really believe in equal opportunity. Equal opportunity to me more than anything means a great education. Maybe even more important than a great family life, but I don’t know how to do that. Nobody knows how to do that. But it pains me because we do know how to provide a great education.”
Fair point, but are these the main stumbling blocks to a child receiving a fair education? Maybe. Jobs talks about Apple getting lost in the 90’s. They lost their vision and direction he said. Can this be true of a school? All schools have the same agenda right? To get students through the education system with 5 + GCSE’s at C and above. But does the school have its own identity ? Or is it lost it what it should be doing? I think many schools today are so engrossed in what’s happening inside the school circle that no-one is able to step outside the circle and look in. And what if you are one of those people that wants to try and do this but are afraid of the repercussions? Are these not the visionaries, the dreamers, the crazy ones, the troublemakers, the round pegs in square holes, or the ones who see things differently?
Jobs talks about these kind of people, he wants to embrace them, I guess he did – Apple is now one of the most valuable companies in the world. He talked about having a clear vision, and only when you have that clear vision can you know where you want to go. Certainly with my time at Mossbourne, I seen the path, it was clear, it was visionary because the principal believed in it. Thats why the school became one of the top achieving schools in the country.
Check out how jobs explains this concept to the big wigs at Apple in 1997
The points are all great for my weekly blog, but how do I really feel about trying to contemplate using the ‘Jobs Model’ in education?
Well, theres one more point that I want to focus on before I leave you to continue browsing over your lunch break..
Teachers.
Teachers are single handedly the most important cog in the school engine. Without them we might as well not turn up to school at all. Lets consider this, if an employee of a hugely successful company performed consistently poor, they would either be offered support and time to improve or – sacked. So, with this in mind, why is it that teachers are safe and secure in the knowledge that they are untouchable?
Teaching unions seem to have developed a culture of, “ It doesn’t matter how good or poor you are, once you’re in, you’re in.” What happens if I were to turn the culture on its head, and say either improve to this standard or get out of the game? Would I be vilified? probably. Hated? definitely. But surely its not a game of popularity? Isn’t it more about ensuring that children receive the best they can? So why can’t staff be found that can deliver this?
Maybe we will never see the likes of Jobs again. Maybe, his ideas are just too far for anyone to ever take the gamble on delivering education differently and being successful at it. I for one have seen it happen in Hackney, London. The UK government certainly liked what they seen, but can this translate across the country in its present form? I’ll wait to see how it pans out.
Rupert Murdoch said in 2011, “ We have to care. In this new century, good is not good enough. Put simply, we must approach education the way Steve Jobs approached every industry he touched. To be willing to blow up what doesn’t work or gets in the way. And to make our bet that if we can engage a child’s imagination, there’s no limit to what he or she can learn.”
As for me, I will continue on my own exploratory journey through education and hope one day to get the opportunity to work with crazy people. Steve Jobs has embarked on a perilous path, but with solid evidence and persuasive arguments, he can move all of us toward higher quality schools. He should be applauded for having the courage to say out loud what scores of other business leaders are too sheepish to say.
After all, Einstein can’t be wrong can he?
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Thomas Rolt 