Many years ago I completed a programme called “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. This had, and still has, a profound effect on my life. One of the key stories that I remember was of the goose and the golden egg. You know the story – the farmer has a goose that lays golden eggs. He becomes greedy and decides to cut open the goose to get more eggs. Alas the goose dies and the farmer gets what he deserves – nothing.

The goose and the golden egg

The key messages as they apply to us are:

• effectiveness is not just about results. it also involves looking after our assets so the goose not only lives but thrives.
• It is not enough to focus on things. People matter. Relationships are paramount.

I have been reflecting on this story as it relates to expectations placed on schools by their governments, school districts and boards. And I have a problem. Let me share this in the context of recent changes in NZ education. The new government of the day has moved to fulfill its election promise of introducing National Standards to schools. They have received feedback from the community and educators regarding the standards and will now proceed with indecent haste towards implementation.

I don’t have a problem with some aspects of standards, if they increase the accountabiilty of schools to improve student achievement. Trouble is I’m not convinced that you can measure some of the really important things that students should be achieving.

During my recent trip to South Africa I pondered the rigidities of curriculum and the lack of a focus on teaching students to think for themselves. The focus was on covering the curriculum whether the students were ready for it or whether it was relevant to them.  Literacy (for the digital age) and numeracy remain indisputably important, but if people aren’t actively taught to think for themselves South Africa won’t move forward. Neither will any other country, including New Zealand. To even begin developing a future focused curriculum requires a huge amount of energy and the more we focus on testing the less we have for action.

If the implementation of standards is to be successful we need to learn from failed attempts in other parts of the world and this takes time. Feedback from teachers indicated that there were concerns with the extra workload the national standards would create. My concern is that it will take the ball off the implementation of the new curriculum and a wonderful opportunity to move the future thinking of schooling will be lost. That poor golden goose looks even more threatened. We are being implemented to death.

My plea?

• Take another year to sort out what will work and how the golden goose (teachers and principals) can be supported, otherwise mindsets will stay the same, people will hunker down and students will be no better off.
• Listen to the experts on learning – from within NZ (educators and researchers) and overseas (such as Andy Hargreaves). I mean, really listen rather than just watch their mouths move. I mean, ask inquiring questions and seek first to understand rather than be understood. Engage with them and mean it.
• Think about education for the future not the past. Use the opportunity created through breathing space to develop ongoing systems of reporting that link into the use of web 2.0 tools and make the partnership between home and school based on a continual conversation between parents, teachers …oh and let’s consider even involving the students. Wouldn’t that be novel…