We are in the process of writing another book, this one having to do with creating inspired schools. As I began to think about the opening paragraphs of this work, I realized that we are really talking about inspired environments, period. The place could be a school, a bank, a law firm or a grocery store and being inspired about what we do would be a worthy goal in any of these environments. We happen to be talking about schools.
There are certain ingredients required in order to produce any inspired environment. The first is to be clear about purpose. I have been using basically the same purpose in describing inspired schools since the summer of 1964:
The purpose of school is to assist young people in creating meaningful, productive, contributory, joyous lives and having the tools necessary to do so.
What percentage of the students in your school, or the one nearest you, would say that this is the purpose of school?
Who defines a meaningful life?
What if what is meaningful to me isn’t meaningful to you?
Who determines productivity?
Are we talking about the number of widgets produced per minute or an idea that makes life better for an entire segment of the population?
What if I don’t think your music contributes to my life at all?
What if I see competitive athletics as a detriment?
So, in order to define “inspired environment,” we must recognize that “being inspired” is a choice, not about activities selected as if their very presence will produce “inspired” results. Those who have any responsibility in relationship to the institution need to choose to be inspired. So preceding the creation of the actual environment, we need to look at the characteristics that describe those responsible for its existence.
How likely is it that we will create an inspired environment, if those creating it have a biased or prejudiced point of view?
Would we want a group of people open to differing opinions and ideas?
And how is that environment created?
If I believe there is only one way to achieve something, how likely is it I will be able to hear a completely different perspective?
So, if I am going to truly create an inspired environment, I need to look even a little deeper at the definition we have created.
The purpose of school is to assist young people in creating meaningful, productive, contributory, joyous lives and having the tools necessary to do so.
Who determines that a life is meaningful, productive, contributory and joyous? The individual in each case. It might be interesting to take a poll of the citizens in this country to see if they believe they are leading a meaningful, productive, contributory, joyous life. Perhaps some have chosen to create meaningless, counter-productive (enjoy destroying things) sad lives and revel in them. Perhaps the reason we seem to be unable, as yet, to create school systems that soar as the rule is because in some deep place inside we believe it to be impossible? If that is true, it is because people do not believe in themselves or possibility in relationship to their lives.
How did things get this way? What can be done to solve the problems? From almost every corner we hear what is not being done, what is wrong and who is suffering most because of it. What usually follows is an attempt to assign responsibility, blame and fault. A very small list of the “causes” would include: uninspired teachers, the federal government, inadequately prepared teachers, parents who don’t care and in essence hold school as a babysitting service, unresponsive administrators, low pay, poor facilities, busing, disrespectful students, school boards without vision and low standards, poor community attitudes, neglect of children, unions, the notion of teachers having to be all things to all people, bad press and backward national priorities. Please feel free to fill in the ones I have omitted. The list is endless.
Following the list of “causes” there is usually a list of exceptions: school systems that work brilliantly, truly inspired teachers “I have known,” communities that care, government programs that work, young people producing outstanding results, involved parents, wonderful facilities, creative solutions, clear and visionary administrators.
IT IS THE EXISTENCE OF THESE EXCEPTIONS THAT ALLOWS US TO KNOW THAT A PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM THAT WORKS IS POSSIBLE AND ATTAINABLE.
The committed teacher, the soaring student, the caring parent and the nurturing, result producing administrators all know this; they demonstrate it on a daily basis. The issue is shifting these exceptions so that they become the rule. Aside from the tragedy of the death of Samantha Smith, a little girl from Maine who changed the world with a letter to the Russian Premier is the tragedy that EVERY CHILD does not know that his or her life makes the same enormous difference.
The issue, as always, comes down to the individual.
Young people do not need brilliant teachers in order to produce results – of course it is desirable and not necessary. What they do need to know is that how their education (life) turns out is up to them – no one else. In kindergarten we are fairly successful in telling students where their coats are to be hung, where the bathrooms are, what numbers and letters are for and the one thing we tend to leave out is that how that first day (and ultimately each of the next 179 days and twelve years) turns out is up to them – not parents, not teachers, not administrators, not board members, not the community, not their crappy neighborhood – these are circumstances, they need not control the outcome. Sound outrageous – read about Anne Sullivan’s early life and look at what she was able to accomplish. Read Stand and Deliver or One Child. If any one of these factors had the power to control the outcome, then it would be hopeless for every child with parents who didn’t care, teachers who were turned off, administrators who were inept, board members who were out of touch, a community that valued football more than school – or, God forbid, a child with all of these circumstances.
Each person has a choice about the quality and nature of the results they want to produce in their lives. The only way a person can truly come to know this is through experience with other people who know it absolutely. A teacher, parent or any adult who thinks she/he is not powerful cannot deliver this experience. However, once you know that you control the quality of your own life, teaching or parenting, then you can let young people know that the same is true for them. The way we are being in the world, the way we treat people, the degree of loving-kindness that fills our lives are far more likely to determine brilliance than whether we select a conservative model like an Andover Academy or a radically liberal approach such as A.S. Neill’s Summerhill. Interestingly enough, both continue to create environments where students prepare themselves brilliantly.
Step one then must be to start with a person or group of people who experiences themselves as responsible for their own well-being. It could be students, school committee members, administration, faculty, parents or members of the community. They must experience lives of value and purpose for themselves.
And perhaps, most of all, they must understand one of the most, if not the most, important words in the definition of “inspired schools,” that being the word assist. We are going to discuss open, creative, even fun school committees; inspired teachers and administrators; loving, kind, clear parents; students who have mastered incredible obstacles and supportive communities. All of that notwithstanding, how a person’s life turns out is still completely up to the individual. At our very best, we can only be an assistant.
by Bill Cumming
