Telling a story in not so many words

Tshwarelo Hosia | Monday April 15, 2024 06:00

To buttress this point an expatriate English friend working in Gaborone had a routine of walking daily from his Brackenden Lodge to the Ministry of Education where he was plying his trade as a consultant. The distance was short and he could navigate it with relative ease in spite of his advanced age.

One of the days he accidentally met a young Motswana who was eking out a living as an informal trader. The economically struggling young man asked for financial assistance from the ‘seemingly opulent’ white stranger because a new baby was on the way.

Apparently, the young man did not make sufficient provision to cater for his expected new bundle of joy. My friend told me he came to the young man’s rescue by offering him a gift of P1, 000. Curiosity then took the better of me and compelled me to ask him why he found the story of the young man authentic and believable.

It could have been a scam. His answer was that the young man did not tell his story in so many words. In the same token, the story of education and training should never be told in so many words. Anything beyond the necessary words should be treated as additional information.

Often, schools have the honour and distinction of receiving high profile visitors in the form of ministers, permanent secretaries and other important guests who come to check on the progress of teaching and learning. On rare occasions, schools do have an opportunity to host the President.

A visit by people from high places usually causes panic and fear especially when there is no return on public investment. A school principal is expected to prepare a scorecard to give that minister on a familiarisation tour a picture of how things are going. I would be the first to admit that this is a difficult task. Preparing to receive high profile guests is by itself a nerve wrecking job and writing advisory notes on the performance is compounded by absence of a standard and universally acceptable reporting tool. In spite of this challenge, it is important for principals to summon some courage, gain composure and try as much as possible to be at ease.

Remember, this is your day as the head of the institution to showcase what you and your school are made of. It’s an opportunity to shine, a rare moment which should not be recklessly squandered. Many can’t resist the temptation of presenting a hotchpotch of issues and most of them being issues outside the jurisdiction of the school.

This approach might spoil the case because it might be interpreted rightly as a desperate attempt to shift the blame while seeking to escape accountability. Having been a private secretary to a minister, I think I am qualified to advise school principals to present their case in not so many words and mostly should try to confine themselves to presenting issues within their sphere of influence.

That shows confidence in one’s ability to face head on whatever roadblocks are believed to be stopping or slowing down progress. Ranting and lamenting about village issues like the loud music and drinking habits of adults pursuing their village life is a detour from course and may squander one’s chance to demonstrate managerial acumen and leadership pedigree. There are about four critical areas, which should constitute the core of a school report under the circumstances. The object of the report is to showcase how well the school principal is exercising powers and leadership abilities to manage his charges and how he is marshalling physical and financial resources to achieve value for public investment. It is not an opportunity to highlight how external factors beyond his/herjurisdiction are conspiring to bring the school down. When a picture is presented of a school that is completely overwhelmed by external factors, it is an indication of loss of control and the solution, I am afraid, could be replacement of the school principal at the earliest opportunity.

Briefing a minister or a permanent secretary on a familiarisation visit should be a golden opportunity to present a concise and brief self-appraisal based on a set of criteria with four heads. The suggested four areas are: l effectiveness of leadership and management (a self-appraisal on how well the principal is doing in terms of being an inspiration to his charges and provision of staff professional development programme to close identified performance gaps)

l quality of teaching, learning and assessment (estimate accurately not in so many words the rigour of classroom instruction and the commitment of staff to the process of achieving a good value on public investment)

l personal development and welfare of students (what visible conduct of students gives an indication that teaching is impactful. This is usually shown by what students do when the teacher steps out of the classroom)

l student outcomes (this is a brief tabular presentation of a student achievement data featuring a period of five years and this gives a good picture of the performance trajectory of a school). The scoring should also be at four levels being 1) outstanding; 2) good; 3) requires improvement and 4) inadequate.

Outstanding means that the school is following best practice in order to achieve excellent return on investment. Good means there is some value for public investment and requires improvement. There is no return on investment and this is where the principal must present a reassuring turnaround strategy to demonstrate that not all is lost. Shifting the responsibility at this stage may not auger well for the principal and his charges.

Serious concern requiring swift and immediate attention is needed in a scenario where all the four areas are graded as inadequate. This raises serious questions about the quality of leadership and pedagogy as well as that of external oversight institutions. This is a clear diagnosis of no hope and in the interest of students who are now facing a bleak future, a radical approach should be adopted to clean the house. Efforts are being made for humanitarian reasons to avoid ruining careers. But should jobs be preserved at the expense of the future of the children?

As mentioned in the opening stanza, a forest words may not save a school but presenting a brief story covering critical areas, accepting accountability and presenting a turn around programme to address identified achievement gaps can surely save a struggling school and move it to the desired outstanding level.

How well is management at its game of running the school, how are the teachers doing in their teaching enterprise and how well are resources at the disposal of a school harnessed to obtain a good return on public investment matter most. A school report that places emphasis on how external factors like village behaviour and geographical location are frustrating the goals of a school may not impress a visiting permanent secretary. Forewarned is forearmed.