A mission statement for education
is the justification of the existence of schools in general. Long ago it was decided that states would
provide it’s citizens with accessible education. A country where children and young adults
were educated seemed to provide a better society for all. Basic skills were needed for an ever-changing
world. Jobs outside the family farm,
outside the small self-contained town, outside the factory, were emerging-- and
there needed to be people to fill the positions. Education has long been established as a
necessary part of a fully functioning society.
Over the last 30 years,
maybe, the question as to HOW that education is provided has been
questioned. Some have opted for private
schools, parochial schools, homeschooling, charter schools, etc. But the fact that education is important and enriching hasn’t changed. How
students are educated has been challenged, and new ideas abound.
The public school system
originated from the idea that a fully functioning society is an educated
society. With new ideas and technology
and access to information…the face of education has begun to change. So, public education tries to keep up with
the changes. People have more options
than ever when seeking to be educated.
Most citizens choose to have their children educated in public schools,
but more options are invented and proposed all the time.
The question, then, is not
“What is our mission statement?”…we’ve established already that educating
children is the purpose of public education.
With all of the options out there, what does public education have to
offer that exceeds the benefits of the other options? Maybe a myriad of things. What are they? How do we access them? Is it all based on money…how much is budgeted
to us? What can be done that provides
the same benefits in less time? With
less money? The questions are
endless. Most of those questions need to
be pondered by each district and school board that exists.
This is the big picture.
When we finally reach one school in one district, the question we may want to ask, instead, is “What is
the vision for our school? Our
students? Our teachers and
staff?”. When we walk on campus each
day, what do we want to provide, create, support, and expect? What do we expect from ourselves? One another? Our administrator? What do we expect from the parents of the students, and the
students themselves? Once those
questions are answered, there’s one more:
HOW will we accomplish these things…these visions…this “mission
statement”? It’s great to have a
statement of what you think or believe, but a statement without actions to
support it is useless. There are lots of
philosophies, lots of mantras from the world of cognitive therapy, too (“take
it one day at a time”, “two negatives don’t make a positive”, “happiness is a
choice”…), but if all you have are the words, and no skills to actually put
into practice to support those words….all you have are the words.
If a plant is producing
objectionable fruit…drooping….drying out….or developing growths that severely
affect it’s purpose, you don’t put it in
a shiny, colorful pot, drag it to a different corner of the room, stick a bow
on it and call it good. You find the
“root” of the problem, so to speak, and you investigate ways to bring the plant
back to optimal health.
So, how might you contribute
to the vision where you are? Is there an
action plan that can guide your school?
You might try Design Thinking and the Design Process. If you find yourself in an environment that
is toxic, negative, and not nurturing growth for the students or the staff, it’s
time to create a new path.
For more information on Using the Design Process for Problem-Solving:
