It’s that time of the year! Christmas decorations are going up, we are closer to summer, almost holidays!
It is also that time of year when final assessments are being processed, Year 12 are awaiting final results, discussions are about who gets which room in 2026 and there are intense debates about class groupings for next year. Not to mention the excitement that breaks out over social media as parents celebrate the awards their children get or who gets the lead role in the Christmas concert.
It is a wonderful time of reflection and celebration and looking forward!
And – because two things can be true at once – it is also a difficult time for many people, for many reasons.
My word for 2025 is ‘noticing’. This year, I set out to really ‘see’. I’ve been inspired by the amazing work happening in schools. But I’ve also noticed what happens when cooperative behaviour slips into competition!
Competition breeds dysregulation.
Ever ran Jeopardy in your classroom?
Played a family boardgame that ended with someone flipping the board?
Dealt with the fallout from Teacher of the Year selections?
Answered parent queries about student leadership voting?
Watched carpark chaos on social media when someone stole a parking spot?
Seen a collaborative team unravel after rewards are introduced?
Or watched the media frenzy around competitions – from the Brownlow debates to arguments around specialist settings and questionable sporting behaviour?
All driven by competition, which breeds dysregulation.
My husband used to work in the printing industry. They had some new KPIs introduced to increase the number of print runs. But it created ‘Lord of the Flies’ when the devil in the details became clear. As the supervisor, he had the power to influence who got the bonus because he maintained the machines. If he delayed fixing a machine because he had to wait for parts or was, in fact, running his own machine and chasing his own incentives, everyone around him declared him a mortal enemy. Others could have assisted to keep the machines running, but that slowed their production and directly impacted their rewards! Even when it was clear that parts were unavailable and a wait was inevitable, minds hardwired to go negative convinced themselves he was doing it deliberately. Everyone was disgruntled, untrusting and mildly limbic!
In schools, we are shaping human beings – future citizens who will one day be caring for us. Nothing works in isolation and success looks different for everyone! Despite the mantra of ‘I thrive on competition’……. most of us don’t!
So, let’s get serious about being consistent where we can and reducing the variables that oppose collaboration – priming for success.
We rejected performance pay for teachers, so let’s not push for competition over collaboration. Teachers won’t share practice if it’s tied to performance pay – they will bunker down and guard their special sauce so their students outperform others.
Kids won’t want to work in collaborative groups on a project, or share their ideas in a learning circle if they are focused on their rank in the assessment.
Imagine a deeply restorative culture where one person’s success contributes to everyone’s; where the greater good is success for all; where consistency trumps competition; where the collective embraces the individual; a place where, from little things, big things grow. A place where everyone matters and not just a selected few. A place that supports wellbeing, without driving people to step over each other in the quest to be the best! A place where we don’t snicker about those who didn’t cut it or missed some key message! A place where individuals are welcomed, not forced into competing for resources. A world where people do things because it’s the right thing to do, not because of what they might get in return.
And guess what……. I don’t have to imagine!
I see it in schools striving towards a restorative culture; who recognise that everyone stuffs up and it’s about the fix up; who develop affective language and stored responses to regulate self and others; who lean into the human connections in which everyone thrives; who consistently engage a fair process. Schools where expectations are high and we all work WITH each other! Schools that develop cooperation over compliance, and value stakeholder protection as a crucial ingredient of a strong culture.
How lucky have I been in 2025 to be able to ‘notice’ all of that!
Cheers!
