WATCH OUT FOR TRENDINESS

Education is exciting, often because of the chance to innovate and try out new ideas. However, it is important to consider and study the merit of new ideas. ‘Reform’ and ‘initiative’ are words often overdone.

Education that bounces from one new idea to the next, to the next in rapid succession, can present a destabilising and hard to follow classroom experience for children. There seems no end to the plethora of ideas, approaches and priorities that come along.

It is important that schools and teachers apply a filter to suggestions of change. The pros and cons of issues need to be considered. To grasp at something new for the sake of its novelty is unwise.

Schools and staff who take and consider ideas and change suggestions are wise. This is where the value of collaboration and conversation comes to the fore. Within every group, there are those who want to run with change, others who prefer dialogue and careful consideration and a third group who dig in and avoid change at all costs. From this delightful mix, school organisation evolves.

Some thoughts:

* Discuss issues with colleagues and also be a sounding board for them.

* Read and research new initiatives.

* Make a list of the pros and cons relative to change in teaching approaches.

* Discuss ideas with people who may have trialled them.

* Make the subject one for discussion at unit meetings and possibly whole staff meetings.

* Consider whether changes will build on what has gone before, or whether

they will mean starting all over again in particular areas. There is a lot to be

said for ‘steady state’ or incremental development.

* Take into account budgetary implications of change. Programs that are resource heavy can finish up costing schools a lot of money.

* Consider if change addresses major learning needs or if it is simply about embellishment or ‘prettying the edges’ of learning; is it about superficiality or substance?

Change ought not be resisted by habit. Neither should it be blindly accepted for change’s sake. Consider new ideas on their merit including thinking, reading and discussion with others.

Importantly, consider that change builds on what has gone before. To throw out everything that has been developed, using change as an excuse to ‘start all over’ would be the extreme of foolishness.