There’s a useful language distinction I recently picked up while reading US coaching guru Dan Sullivan. He points out the difference between needs and wants. It’s a difference that schools badly need (or should rather, want) to hear.
When schools spend all their time chasing needs, we descend into a deficit mindset. Every day becomes about plugging holes:
- “These kids need literacy support.”
- “This family needs more meetings with us.”
- “Our teachers need wellbeing programs to survive.”
Needs language drags us into exhaustion because it’s defined by other people. Politicians, parents, the press – they all have a view on what schools “need to do”. Before long, we’re not even in charge of our own schools anymore.
But wants? They’re a bit different. Wants are about purpose and choice.
We don’t need to justify why we want calm classrooms, respectful connections between stakeholders and schools free from the crushing anxiety of endless performance measures. We want those things because we’re educators who know what learning looks like when it’s working. And that’s enough, thank you.
When we talk about what we want, we reclaim our authority. We’re not reacting to someone else’s shopping list of demands. We’re declaring what kind of schools we intend to build – and we’re standing tall in that intention.
It might sound quirky, but demanding what you want is an investment in our personal happiness too. You don’t need to justify why you want a camping holiday instead of a luxury resort. You want a bucket KFC or Paddle Pops for Christmas lunch? You don’t need to explain that, you just want it because you want it.
Who cares what others think?!
So maybe it’s time we swapped a little “needs-based thinking” for “wants-based clarity”.
Teaching was never meant to be a profession of endless obligation. It was meant to be a profession of purpose.
Keep fighting that good fight,
P.S. I know a lot of teachers are doing it tough out there, with student behaviour challenges pushing many of you to the edge.
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