By Lucy M. Gowdie, Head of School
8 September 2023
Education Conversations.
On Monday of this week, our school hosted members of the Executive Leadership Team of the Anglo-Chinese School Singapore. Expressing interest in how we are designing our Strategic Roadmap, and how we are integrating innovation and well-being into this journey, we spent two hours discussing the challenges and the excitement that is education today.
There were two key elements of this discussion that brought to the fore the imperative of designing a roadmap that prepares our young people for their future.
Innovation
Both schools presented views on how being innovative brought with it a certain expectation, that innovation and the cost associated with it required an overabundance of resourcing. We took the position, and have long held this position, that innovation is about our ideas, about implementing them, and creating value from them. The value for us is the richness of the learning experience for the child, not the products we purchase. Innovation, our ideas, must be considered deeply in the broader context of the needs of today's learners and the expectations incumbent upon them as they grow. We are excited that we have devoted significant space to this in our strategic planning, and as we work with our community to align this road, we are excited by what lies ahead.
Well-being
Both schools spoke to the necessity of designing a well-being framework that supported the whole child, that was understood by the child and that enhanced their resilience, their character, and their confidence. Having completed my Masters degree with an analysis of Eastern perspectives on education, with a specific focus on China, and the traditional modes of instruction, it is known to often be difficult for schools in the East to find the equilibrium required to inject pastoral programmes effectively into their rigorous academic curricula. Many of the questions from our colleagues from Singapore, centred on this challenge.
In both conversations, we discussed the importance of engaging our parent community and of sharing in the rationales, the philosophies, and the legacies that constitute the cultures we have created and are attempting to evolve.
"It was a proud moment for me - to listen to my colleagues across the Primary, Middle and Senior Schools talk with such passion, with such position, for the work that they have done and continue to do.
We will continue to open our doors to such dialogue, to learn more from schools around the globe and to share our story as we begin to draft the strategic phase of our exceptional school and share in the successes of it.