A month or so ago I had my feet up thinking of draft language for a new vision statement for The Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence. The broad mission of the Martin is professional development for educators, which is really just about learning. The challenges to how we will learn in a rapidly changing world are the same for adults and young people. Words and images flowed in, so I wrote them down. I don’t see any need to connect them with extra words.
Access….assimilate….question…. synthesize….distill….disrupt…. nurture….create….do….risk….share.
Will this become a new vision statement for The Martin Institue? I doubt it, or maybe pieces will contribute. But I am going to use this list in many venues going forward. I think it is a good vision statement for any educational institution. Feel free to steal any words you want.
Take a look at your mission and vision statements. Do they reenforce a directional relationship between adults and students, the providing by one and the receiving by the other? Shouldn’t our vision imagine ecosystems of co-learning and co-creation? Do you cast your school as a “beacon of light on the hill”, iconic, at the leading edge? Successful institutions will be those leading in connections, not those standing solidly alone. Does your mission harken to tradition, or the willingness to break out and take real risks?
Many schools have revised their mission and vision statements in the last decade to paint a new picture of their graduates, ready for the 21st Century. But they have not painted a new picture of how the school is going to evolve to get them there. We know our students won’t succeed in this changed world if we stick to the industrial age learning model…and neither will our schools!
I love your words, Grant! Though mission/vision statements are more eloquent usually, I like distilling down to basics. I practiced this exercise when I first came to my current school and asked everyone to look at our mission and circle the few key words that they thought “said it all” and then also asked if any words were missing. It was interesting to see the consensus gel around certain words and also see which words did not garner consensus.
As for your list, I am sure if I keep thinking on I may come up with more, but I offer a few more just to get the juices flowing…
Empower, Connect, Reflect, Engage, Inspire, Cultivate…