From the Head of School

 

Town Halls

When I was an international school head in China, I worked with architects to open satellite schools in other cities.  They would always begin presentations with what the offices would look like.  More interesting to me than what they looked like was their location: they would always be tucked away at the top and the back, difficult to find.

The spaces we inhabit define our experiences as much as the relationships we have within them.  At ISA we are lucky to have a building that demonstrates our openness and friendliness as soon as you come in.  We have a leadership that you shouldn’t need to hunt down.

On Wednesday, I was invited to a high school ‘town hall’ organised by the student council.  Among other things, they asked Mr MacAlpine and me about the structure of the timetable, choices at IB and the recently introduced phone policy.  In a quite literal sense, they were holding us to account for our decisions.

These students are global citizens; for them to question decision makers in a constructive and respectful way and be treated with respect in turn is an important experience.  However, really it is just a start.  Ideally we would ask their input before decisions are made, so they can understand more fully how their community works.  Ultimately our community belongs to all of us: it isn’t what one group does to another.

Democracy isn’t about always getting what you want; it does mean that you are listened to and involved.  In the coming years, we would like to develop student voice and participation in decision making - not just as a comment afterwards, but in input beforehand.  Decisions shouldn’t be tucked away, difficult to find, but at the front, easy to see.