What sort of band are you?
My current bed time reading is Tapscott and Williams Wikinomics. Its a book I am enjoying and finding enlightening. I’d recommend it.
One particular comment in the book struck a chord with me last night
“If an army marching in lockstep to tightly arranged military music is a metaphor for yesterday’s workplace, the workplace of the future will be more like a jazz ensemble, where the musicians improvise creatively around an agreed key, melody and tempo” Tapscott and Williams, Wikinomics 2006, Atlantic Books
So what are schools if we use the analogy of the band (hopefully not Death or thrash metal)? If we look at Tapscotts & Williams book, the key theme is the immense power and potential of collaboration. Its the power of collective intelligence, personal broadcasting, peer to peer networks and yet more collaboration. This is not a call to throw out rules, infact the examples and level of collaboration they examine has strict rules, it requires discipline and structure, but a different approach to structure.
Schools are often confined and constricted to the national syllabus and must march to the drum of league tables and examination results. But within the schools do we see collaboration? Is the level of governance light enough to allow expression, to support creativity and provide an environment where experimentation is supported. Of recent times we have seen that some levels of governance - Al Upton & the Minilegends - are very constrictive.
What do schools reflect the hierarchical, close, top down model of operation and action, or the fluid collaborative structure of common goals, clear objectives & boundaries and encouraged creativity.
How many schools would follow the example of Google (again quoted from wikinomics) ” If you work at Google, what are you required to do with 20 percent of your time? Goof off! The company directs employees to dedicate 20 percent of their time to personal projects - projects that interest employees but needn’t slot neatly into Google’s predefined product road maps. ”
So what are you Military marching band or Jazz ensemble?
