Now here’s the thing… if we ran our companies the way we run our schools, we’d all be in trouble. Despite inefficiencies in the system, American production per capita is one of the few things that is consistently still on top of international lists. Anybody familiar with the private sector understands the value of communication. Setting customer expectations. Understanding role expectations your boss has. Setting up matrix teams to solve “real-world” problems.

School administration: First and foremost, administrators need to set these expectations! I never once in over 20 years of school had an administration explicitly and concisely tell me what was expected of me or them. It doesn’t take more than a half-hour. Just sit down with your teachers, students and parents and quickly review what’s expected. The administration should be responsible for facilitating the communication between all parties; providing teachers with the resources and support necessary to accomplish their respective task (i.e., teach students); providing students and parents with a single point of contact for any contention beyond the scope of a teacher; etc. I think of school administrators as the producers. They provide the means. In the end, administrators have one task – set the stage so education can occur. It’s up to the teachers, students and parents to make it happen.

Teachers: If administrators are the producers, then teachers are the directors. They provide students with guidance, topics, tasks to practice, feedback, etc. Teachers need to be generalists. At least teachers need to have a broad background in any given topic (e.g., math, social science, etc.) and then be able to integrate that into other topics. Good teachers can leverage cross-talk between subjects to great advantage (more on this in future posts). It is not the teacher’s responsibility to make every student pass a test. Rather, the teacher is responsible for given the students the tools necessary to pass a test. The student is responsible for the results. So, teachers have one rather large task – guide students toward an education. It’s up to the parents and students to take the next step.

Parents: If administrators are producers and teachers are directors, then parents are the financial backers. They provide support for the students, but like any wise investor make sure everybody is on track. Parents are responsible for making sure students have the support network necessary for successfully reaching their individual education goals. They need to defer to the professionals (teachers and administrators) for specifics while helping keep their students on track. School administrators should regularly update parents on what is expected and those expectations should evolve over time. For instance, parents of first graders should be much more active in ensuring the students do their homework, receive additional assistance with rote memorization of spelling and math tables, etc. Parents of high school students should push responsibility of the grade back to the students. In other words, if a high school student fails a test, the parents should reemphasize the fact that it’s the student’s responsibility to study and seek assistance when necessary. It might seem a bit harsh, but we shouldn’t separate the “real world” from the “education world.” Doing so is a huge injustice to students. How many times does your boss tell you it’s alright you completely failed to do your job, because you forgot or didn’t understand the task and didn’t bother to ask for help? Better to learn the reality while still young and in an environment relatively forgiving like school. Parents have an ominous task – provide an evolving support network.

Students: Clearly the linchpin of the whole process, students are the actors. Students are ultimately responsible for acquiring the skills and education necessary to succeed in the world. In this case, I’m defining success as an ability to contribute more value to society than they consume. I’m not going to dive into the economic theory that would support this statement, but it does make sense… honest. Simply put, students need to show up and play the game. Education can only benefit the student if she recognizes the value and actively pursues it. Education should never be as simple as passing a test or getting a piece of paper. I have several pieces of paper from top tier universities… collecting dust in a closet. The paper doesn’t matter, it’s the education itself that has intrinsic value. Ultimately, students have the most difficult task – learn why and how to learn.

A wise man once said that showing up is 90% of success. We’ve certainly given good reason for that statement in education historically. I suggest it’s time to reevaluate the system and make participation 90% of success. Education is an interactive process, not passive. Just as marketers are slowly realizing that talking at people with advertisements isn’t nearly as successful as holding a conversation with customers; educators need to realize that talking at students isn’t nearly as productive as holding a conversation with all stakeholders – including parents and teachers. This can only occur when everybody involved understands their respective roles.

Next, making sure everybody stays on track and fulfills their roles. As in any organization, this boils down to incentives, empowerment and trust. None are easy to solve, but we’ll tackle them one at a time.

Tobe