Who decides how to spend the dollars in your organization? Are the decision makers impacting students on a daily basis? How do you assess the return on investment?
There are many, many private industries creating educational materials today. Daily there are new apps, tools and strategies to try out. Experts are everywhere ready to come to your school and help you with the next best thing when it comes to teaching students well.
As I think about all this, I believe dollars must be spent wisely, and I also believe that organizations need to empower those within the ranks. Often the answers to a tough curriculum issue or student potential lies within the ranks of an organization. The problem is that those within the ranks often don't have time to share ideas, discuss issues or make positive change.
It could be that dollars spent on outside experts, in part, could be redirected into giving teaching teams time to synthesize their knowledge and questions, and then if the expertise, tools or strategies don't exist in-house that's the time to seek a knowledgeable expert, new tool or strategy.
Empowering the individuals within an organization can serve to strengthen that organization with collaboration, confidence and care. That's where student-centered innovation and change should begin.
