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Link to the article, Should Schools be Run as a Business? What Business?
The complaint about schools being inefficient and poorly run resonates with politicians, the media and the public. In fact, many teachers, if they could
Sidebar
Is was my personal observation when working for multiple school districts that in some cases the custodians had more common sense about what it took to run the school district that the district's administrators.
Teaching children is not quantum physics or advanced nuclear chemistry. Learning is innate in children, and children are eager to master their environment.
Schools where children don't learn are inexcusable. There is no excuse and no defense for such conditions.
And it does not take terminal educational degrees, advanced calculus, multivariate statistics and experimental psychology to know that our schools have to expend a great deal of time, energy and money in their effort to block the learning potential for so many of our children.
This article examines what kind of business our schools' critics are referring to.
Entrepreneurship
People automatically think of "large-scale corporations" when they hear the complaint that "schools should operate more like businesses."
But, most people don't realize that the economic powerhouse of our economy resides in "Small Businesses" rather than large corporations.
Large corporations have operating capital, but they employ only a fraction of the workforce. The engine that creates jobs in our country is "Small Business."
It is the spirit of the small business, the "Entrepreneurial Spirit" that school critics overlook.
What make Entrepreneurs Different?
Entrepreneurs seem to possess a number of traits that differentiate the businesses that they run from the businesses that corporations run.
And, these traits may be just what school system critics wish that our schools would demonstrate in day-to-day operation.
Here are a few of these traits:
- Commitment: Entrepreneurs keep at their business until it pays off
- Investment: Entrepreneurs invest in their business, and do not spend money on anything that does not result in profit
- Consistent: Entrepreneurs keep on keeping on
- Confident: Entrepreneurs are sure that what they are doing is right, and they exude that confidence
- Patient: Entrepreneurs are willing to "bet the farm" and wait for the payoff
- Flexible: Entrepreneurs build multiple skills and apply different strategies for different conditions
- Accommodating: Entrepreneurs make thing easy and comfortable for their clients and customers
- Processes and Systems: Entrepreneurs develop processes and systems that they can replicate
- Continuous Improvement: Entrepreneurs keep improving their business
- Cloning Success by Training: Entrepreneurs package a "success skill set" and train every employee in
- Measurement: Entrepreneurs know what is happening to every component of their businesses. And Entrepreneurs put streamlined measurement practices in place to keep in constant touch with the "pulse of their business"
- Marketing: Entrepreneurs focus every effort, every message, every process and procedure on communicating the value of their business to the clients and customers
- Delivering Benefits: Entrepreneurs deliver benefits to their clients and customers
These traits might sound strange to an educator when framed around making money. But, these traits shouldn't sound strange when focused upon teaching children, serving their needs and improving the instructional process.
Entrepreneurs' Traits Reframed for Education
Here is what the entrepreneurs' traits would sound line if we rephrased them to match the "mission critical" processes of education:
Commitment: Means that we discover what methods are needed to teach every students, and that we keep working until every student is progressing and blossoming.
Investment: Means that Educators spend funds only on what is crucial to deliver our "mission critical, core functions" and we avoid spending any resources (time, energy, money, talent. training) on anything that does not add to our students' learning (our bottom line).
Consistent: Educators deliver top-quality services to students every hour of every school day, and the quality of the preparation time and training matches our highest standards.
Patient: Educators know what works for their particular students, and are willing to continue doing what pays off in increased student learning until students learn to their capacity.
Flexible: Educators build perfect multiple skills and apply different strategies for different types of students.
Accommodating: Educators adjust and adapt to the interests and needs of their students, and make learning as easy, fun, exciting and comfortable for students as we can.
Processes and Systems: Educators develop processes and systems that they can replicate, generally by the use of technology; but also with quality training and mentoring programs. All new Educators are provided with as much help as they need so that they perfect their skills. This training is seen as an investment, rather than an overhead expense.
Continuous Improvement: Educators keep improving their business
Cloning Success by Training: Educators package a "success skill set" and train every employee in its application. The progress in improving is measured for every employee, and support for improvement is provided as a job "perk."
Measurement: Educators know what is happening to every component of their businesses. And Educators put streamlined measurement practices in place to keep in constant touch with the "pulse of their business"
Marketing: Educators focus every effort, every message, every process and procedure on communicating the value of their business to the clients and customers
Delivering Benefits: Educators deliver benefits to their clients and customers
Implications for our Critics
It may be difficult for the "corporate-minded," "chain-of-command-oriented" managers of our schools to convert from a minimally effective outlook to a "success-oriented, entrepreneurs' mind set."
Frustration and stagnation may have become institutionalized and solidified within the governance structure of some school districts. And, there is seems to be little relief from the politicians that impede progress by "layering" multiple, costly, non-productive policies and restrictions upon the management of our schools.
However, whenever the critics chant the; "Schools should be run as a business" mantra; we can deliver a "hot-air-deflating" retort by agreeing that this statement is true…if and only if the business model that schools use is an entrepreneur-type business model.
Final Word
And, to get in the last word, teachers can point out that, although the school district operates as a "bloated-budget, top-heavy, bureaucracy" (as Charter Schools often prove); I, as a teacher, operate as an entrepreneur within the system in delivering instructional service to my students.
Whatever the outcome of the total system, each teacher can run their own classrooms as an entrepreneur. This is the best methof for assuring each students's success.
