Sheer audacity

I loved reading last week about New Zealand’s ambitions through the Smokefree Aoearoa 2025 Action Plan.

Essentially, they want to remove smoking from the entire country by 2025.  It’s pretty audacious.  But it’s also backed up by a detailed plan.

I think it’s that sheer audacity of the goal that so appeals to me.  Even after the trials of covid, despite the temptation to return to business as usual or tread easily … they’ve gone big and they’re going first.

Sure, we all need a breather.  But what if the universally agreed compulsion to recover in 2022 – as some honouring of a supposed good old days of schools – was not your path?

What if that compulsion was replaced with a burning ambition to use every ounce of wild optimism and sheer audacity in your leadership being to shake the whole fucking thing up for once?  (Ok, I got a bit carried away with the rude words there … hopefully it drew emphasis to the concept for you!)

What would you do then?

Would you become the school that eliminated suspensions … or punishments all together?

Would you develop an Australian first model of blended online and face-to-face learning that combines the very best aspects of both?

Would you ditch homework?

Would you remove extrinsic rewards?

Would you give competition, grading or the ranking of students the flick?

Would you discard your school’s values and instead focus on conduct?

Would you banish shame inducing reporting and feedback habits?

Would you banish year level grades?

And now, should you?  Could you?  Shouldn’t you?  And would you just need a little Kiwi audacity to write a plan for it over the hols?

Keep fighting that good fight,

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