A School Effectiveness Lesson from a Goose (OK, more of a non-lesson)

What do this Canadian Goose and some schools have in common? They’re complacent in ways that lead to death.

Ok, that sounds like an exaggeration, but hear me out.

Last night in the park I saw a lot of goose families. The baby geese were cute, so we wanted to see them more closely!

While typical Canadian Geese mate for life and won’t let you get anywhere near their babies, these goose parents were different. Not only did they not keep their distance from us humans – they led their little family over to us!

Now, why did they do that? Well, based on the data they have collected, the average human gives them food. Based on their data analysis, they thought we were likely to do the same. They were content with the small bits of food – the small wins.

As a result, they got really close. I think I was at most two feet away from them when I took this picture.

Now, what does that have to do with school effectiveness?

Some schools collect a lot of data. They know exactly how their kids are doing. 

The conclusion is: Our kids aren’t doing great. The students struggle quite badly, that’s the norm, so we’ll just be content with the small wins, the small ways that kids are growing. 

However, they don’t believe that it’s a problem. It just “is,” and they become complacent.

Now, what’s the problem? With the geese family, it’s probably clear. Sure, my family and I were safe humans who just wanted pictures. But the data these geese collected aren’t leading them to wise decisions. At some point, these geese and their children will migrate. And, there’s no telling when the human they land near is a hunter versus a photographer. In other words, their complacency has replaced their wisdom (the fight or flight instinct), and it could cost them their lives.

They have become satisfied with data that is potentially deadly.

Similarly, schools that have become complacent with their data on struggling students set a foundation for the potential long-term academic death of their students.

I’ve encountered so many school communities over the years who’ve seen their students struggle year after year, and they think that’s the way it will always be, it’s just the natural state of their community.

That’s a lie. It is not natural, it’s a product of the systems and structures around them.

The reality is that their data is descriptive not prescriptive. Their data describes the current outcomes that the school systems and structures create; it doesn’t prescribe how the school should act.

Their actions need to be informed by wisdom, and wisdom (research) shows that schools like theirs can be effective at meeting the needs of all learners IF the adults learn from that body of wisdom.

Are you a leader who sees complacency in your education system? Send me a message.

I’d be happy to help you brainstorm ways to turn that around to put your school on the path to effectiveness!