From the Head of School

Time to Reflect

Schools are busy places.  There are all kinds of activities in the classrooms - debates, role plays, projects, exams, experiments and investigations; beyond the classroom, there are clubs and societies, field trips and events.  In any one week there are many things going on involving hundreds of people. It is easy to get caught up in the day to day, in the fine detail of completing tasks.

March is a particularly busy month - in addition to report cards and parent teacher conferences we have to submit coursework for IGCSEs and IB, run mock exams, grade them, give feedback; we have had book week, science week, art exhibitions, lunchtime concerts , a basketball tournament, poetry cafe, away games and trips to the local area.  

It is also important to step back from the hustle and bustle to reflect.  Last week, I was in Rwanda as an evaluator for the Middle States Association (working with the Council of International Schools) as part of an accreditation for a fellow international school.  This week we have had parent teacher conferences (PTCs).  Next week we will have an inspection visit from Education Scotland.

Whatever else they may be, these events are opportunities to reflect.  When I visit another school, I consider how we do things at ISA - to get another perspective on school standards used globally.  Education Scotland will come with the perspective of our host country.  The focus of PTCs is on how we can help our students take the next steps in their education - but it is also a chance for teachers to think about how we are helping them do this.

Inspections, conferences and accreditations may be an opportunity for reflection, but they are not a  guarantee.  The temptation is to use them as a proving ground, a demonstration that everything we do is perfect.  But, as with students who insist that there is nothing more they can do to improve, excellence can only be achieved by thinking about what more can be done. 

During the pandemic we were so limited in what we could do; it is great to be back to a full programme.  However, all these activities should not become tasks on a tick list.  It is important amid all our busyness to step back, take a breath, and think about what we are doing and why.