Students Don’t Scale.

Schools are unique organisations.

Most organisations and systems strive to scale their widget. They look for ways to do one thing the same way hundreds, thousands, or tens of millions of times, depending on what their widget is. They structure themselves so that there is a centralised decision making for everything to do with their widget. The closer you are to the widget assembly line - whatever that may look like - the less power, authority, or knowledge you have to influence the widget. Anything that can be automated - is. Anything that can reduce human labour and discretion - is done.

Have a system with two or more members - and the same thinking should be applied. Almost.

If the same decision or action is needed in more than one school, these can be centralised. One policy for the two or two hundred schools. One purchasing process. One hiring process. One IT system. One communications platform.

Everything in a school scales. Except for the ‘Almost’.

Student.

Students don’t scale. Each student is unique. Which makes schools unique in terms of System thinking.

We don’t centralise decision making in schools to create a single uniform standardised widget. We do it to allow for the one, twenty one, one hundred and one, one hundred thousand and one … individual, unique students to learn and grow and develop to their potential.

We liberate every teacher from as many tasks that do not allow her to focus on what only she can do: know and grow each student’s knowledge, understanding, skills, and attitudes. Any administration that does not contribute to this sacred task must be removed. Any minute that at the teacher is not teaching - nobody else is.

Students don’t scale.