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Every mathematician likes a good proof!
We launched our new school vision at the start of the school year.
It’s something that has been high on my list of priorities every time I have had a new leadership role, but what does it mean to have a vision? Why bother?
I’m a Maths teacher first and foremost and so always relish the opportunity to prove things with algebra and formulae. In this case I’d choose a ‘proof by contradiction’ - in other words, I’d find out what would happen without a vision.
I had a go - but promise I’ve done it in words not equations...
In a school without vision:
- no one (parents, carers, future students and future staff) would know what we stood for, nor the values to which we subscribe. we would be without a clear direction or purpose.
- members of our community wouldn’t know exactly what kind of values we support - we’d muddle through and hope for some kind of accidental consensus (whilst probably having negative ‘values’ attributed to us along the way).
- we would have no benchmark against which we could assess our progress.
- there would be no clear way for people to challenge us about how things weren’t working well.
- we would probably recycle our old ways out of habit; we wouldn’t have our eyes on the ‘next goal.’
I think that quite conclusively demonstrates that a vision is necessary - who wants any of those things?!
Whilst preparing this post, though, I came across this quote from entrepreneur Steve Jobs:
If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.
And, just like that, his ‘proof’ makes mine look disappointing. His is simple, succinct and direct: the vision pulls you.
Where are we being pulled? Excellence in academic outcomes. Excellence in pastoral care. Always. And we are living the values that will get us there.
