Sunday, August 31, 2008

Transforming Education by the renewing of our minds

When Dr. Ralph Thompson first published a comprehensive report of the actual CXC results, as opposed to the incomplete and misleading data normally published by the Ministry of Education, the entire nation was engaged in constructive discussion on how to improve the dismal performance of the education system. Early in 2004, then Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson initiated a process to engage a wide range of stakeholders in developing the National Shared Vision for Education. An island wide series of stakeholder consultations resulted in the Shared Vision, which was approved by over 450 persons at the Conference Centre in April 2004. In February of that year then Prime Minister Patterson appointed a Task Force to prepare and present an action plan consistent with a vision for the creation of a world-class education system which will generate the human capital and produce the skills necessary for Jamaican citizens to compete in the global economy. Task Force Chair Dr. Rae Davis submitted the report the day before Hurricane Ivan hit us and, after Cabinet approval, the Prime Minister in December 2004 laid in Parliament the Task Force Report on Education Reform (the report is available in full at (http://www.moey.gov.jm)

Where are we now?

Nearly four years after Parliament received the report and implementation commenced, we are still some distance away from the stated 2010 Educational Outcome performance targets:
90% of students achieving mastery in all 4 areas of Grade 1 Readiness Inventory;
85% of students achieving mastery at Grade 4 Literacy Test
85% National mean score at GSAT for each subject
60% of cohort attaining Grade 1-3 in 5 (CSEC) subjects including English and Mathematics

While the Task Force Report is clear on the targets above, it is my understanding that the Ministry of Education officials have shifted the goal post from 2010 to 2015. Notwithstanding this shift it is clear that these targets will be difficult to achieve in 2015 if we remain on the course that has been charted. For instance while the 4th target speaks to % cohort attaining grades 1-3 in 5 CSEC subjects including Math and English, 2007 data from the Ministry indicated that only 8 of approximately 150 secondary and technical schools exceeded 60% pass rate in both Math and English only: Campion (94%); St. Andrew (88.6%); Immaculate (88.4%); Ardenne (80.7%); Wolmers Girls (78.5%); Wolmers Boys (76.7%); Glenmuir (76.6%) and Westwood (72.1%).

Where have we gone wrong?

I did not get a chance to listen to Minister Holness’ contribution to the 2008/2009 sectoral debate earlier this year; however I read excerpts in the Sunday Observer May 25, 2008 edition entitled Transforming Education. The Minister is quoted as saying that “The new Ministry (of Education) will be the driving force and brain of the transformed education system.” He further stated that “Transformation activities have been divided into six work-streams: Modernization of the Ministry; Schools facilities and infrastructure; curriculum, teaching and learning; behaviour change and community; school leadership and management; community and stakeholder relations. While these are important, it seems to me that the Minister is missing the point about transformation. Romans 12:2 tells us: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The six work-streams outlined by the Minister, while resulting in some improvement, will ensure that the education system continue to conform to its current pattern. The Minister appears to be placing too much emphasis on Central Government. What is really needed is a renewing of minds at all levels in the system.

Task Force Recommendations

A perusal of the Task Force Report recommendations will indicate the renewal of which I speak:
1. Transform the education system to a new model for governance where students are at the centre of the system and every institution is focused on, and held accountable for, serving the students. School leaders and managers are to be responsible for how schools are managed, with proper support to be provided by the Regional Education Authorities –
This is a fundamental shift which the Minister does not appear to be in sync with. What is required is that the school leadership is given autonomy, not the Regional Authority. It was never intended for the REA to be the “final authority on operational and administrative matters” as stated by the Minister. It must be the school leadership – the Board and Principal. The Regional Authority should only provide monitoring and support needed.
Autonomy and authority at the school level would have implications for hiring and firing staff, setting compensation levels and incentive schemes, setting level of school fees and whether funds can go directly to schools from the Ministry of Finance.
The role of the School Improvement Officer should be revisited as it must be the role of the Board to “monitor, challenge, support, set and review targets for improvement”.
The role of the Principal must fundamentally shift from Head Teacher to Chief Executive Officer. Vice Principals ought not to be burdened with teaching while Heads of Departments must shift emphasis from teaching to teacher management.
The greatest impact on education performance should arise from the increased leadership capability, particularly principals. Rather than creating a new entity, Jamaica Educational Leadership Academy (JELA), I would recommend that principals be enrolled in the management faculties of the various tertiary institutions island wide. Developing school leaders is a leadership issue, not an education issue.
Finally, to raise the teaching profession to par with other professions, we should dispel with the notion of a Teacher Training College. All the existing ones should be gradually transformed to broad based tertiary institutions, with a school of education but offering other tertiary options. Hence students can develop and hone their teaching skills while experiencing other areas of professional life.

2. Increase the involvement of parents and students including sharing of information about children’s performance and involvement in decision-making. – Too often principals and teachers see parents as a bother. They must now renew their minds and see students and parents as customers, serve them accordingly and remember that a parent/guardian ultimately shares responsibility with the student for the latter’s performance.

3. Encourage private investment in education – Government technocrats constantly bemoan the fact that the private sector needs to contribute more to education. However, private schools are discouraged, even though the Government is incapable of providing quality education for all.

4. Government to fund students to a fixed amount at whatever school they choose while providing the policy and quality support to ensure proper operation and accountability for performance at all institutions – This is a fundamental shift and it is in total alignment with the first point. If each child is given a voucher and chooses whichever schools he/she would like to attend, it would shift power of allocation from the Ministry and there would be no need for the ridiculous allocation system aka GSAT.


In summarizing, it seems to me that the Minister needs to rethink Education Transformation and return to the basic shifts outlined in the Task Force on Education Reform which the Ministry and the Transformation Team purports to be using. Failure to do so will result in unnecessary expenditure and effort which and bring us no closer to National Shared Vision for Education in Jamaica: “Each learner will maximise his/her potential in an enriching, learner-centred education environment with maximum use of learning technologies supported by committed, qualified, competent, effective and professional educators and staff”. “The education system will be equitable and accessible with full attendance to Grade 11. Accountability, transparency and performance are the hallmarks of a system that is excellent, self-sustaining and resourced and welcomes full stakeholder participation. The system produces full literacy and numeracy, a globally competitive, quality workforce and a disciplined, culturally aware and ethical Jamaican citizenry”.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Customer Happiness

How’s this for a job title? “Customer Happiness Manager” As we continually redefine the world of work in an effort to be and remain competitive, we are realising more and more that the experience of the customer is tantamount. Put simply, a happy customer buys more! So, in recent years as organizations have tried to get this message across we have seen moves from “customer service” to “customer satisfaction” to “customer delight” and now “customer happiness”.

What’s in a word? Are these changes important? Do they really create changes in how people behave and in particular, how they serve customers? Yes, they do – but words alone are not enough. Many organizations think that if they simply train their frontline employees to answer the phone within 3 rings, smile when dealing with customers and say “Please”, “Thank you” and “You’re welcome”, then customers will be happy. Well, the news is that bad service, that is, service that does not meet the needs of the customer, even if delivered by smiling employees, will still be bad service – no happy customers at all. Nor happy employees either!

A “Customer Happiness Manager” would have to be backed up by an organization that is dedicated to the happiness of its’ chosen customers. This would mean careful choice of customer, based on knowing that you can’t be all things to all people; deeply understanding what makes the chosen customer happy – not guessing, or thinking – KNOWING. Constant research, feedback and communication with customers and about customer issues would be the order of the day. Systems and procedures would be geared to customer happiness - meeting the customer where they are, providing what the customer wants, delivering the service where and when the customer wants and as little work for the customer as is possible.

All these customer happiness procedures are necessary, but not sufficient. For the most important piece of the puzzle is the people. The CEO must lead the charge and consider him/herself the Chief Customer Happiness Officer. The Customer Happiness Manager would have his/her ear, with quick and easy access. The entire leadership team would know that customer happiness is “Job One”, and that they must do, and allow their team to do everything they can to achieve this. Most importantly though, is that the people in the organization must themselves be happy – with themselves, with their lives. They must feel that they are in the right job, with the right skills and tools. While the organization may be responsible for putting in place the job, skills and tools, it is the individual’s responsibility to come to the job with the right attitude, beliefs and behaviours. Organizations committed to customer happiness know that they must attract people who are already happy within themselves and then place them in the right job. Not the other way around – place the person with the right skills in the job and hope that will make them happy!

I love the idea of Customer Happiness! I also love the idea that an organization would be so dedicated to it that it would seek out happy people to be on its team, and then do everything possible to create an environment in which happiness flourishes for everyone!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Mandela's Leadership Lessons

The Time magazine July 21 issue had as its’ cover story “Mandela at 90: The Secrets of Leadership”. This was the very day I was leaving Jamaica for South Africa. The article made riveting reading on the long flight and was excellent orientation for my first visit to this fascinating country in conscious transition.

Here are Nelson Mandela’s lessons, gleaned over decades of leadership – most of which he spent incarcerated, yet still managed to effectively lead a movement for massive change:

Lesson #1:
Courage is not the absence of fear – it’s inspiring others to move beyond it

Lesson #2:
Lead from the front – but don’t leave your base behind

Lesson #3:
Lead from the back – and let others believe they are in front

Lesson #4:
Know your enemy – and learn about his favourite sport

Lesson #5:
Keep your friends close – and your rivals even closer

Lesson #6:
Appearances matter – and remember to smile

Lesson #7:
Nothing is black or white

Lesson #8:
Quitting is leading too

What I love about these lessons are their simplicity and practicality. These lessons are no treatises developed out of years of research, analysis, discourse, debate or scholarship. They are lessons that were gleaned in the mud, dirt, grime, violence, hardship and challenges of the trenches of the fight against apartheid. They are lessons that all of us can put into practice. Most importantly, they are lessons that work – we see the result in the victory over apartheid, and in the example that Nelson Mandela has set and continues to set. For all of us who love and admire Nelson Mandela, the greatest tribute to him would be for us to put these into practice in our families, organizations and nations.

Here is the link to the article - read and put into practice!

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1821467,00.html

Saturday, August 23, 2008

The true nature of work

"To me, I am a performer. I go out there to perform and let the people enjoy themselves. This is my work, my job, if you do not enjoy your job it does not make much sense. That's just me. I will not change, that is myself, that is my personality," Bolt said at a post-sprint relay press conference.

Usain Bolt is a very, very smart young man. In addition to being the fastest man alive, he also displays an amazing, intrinsic marketing genius! Puma, his major sponsor, must be beaming at their return on investment in Jamaican athletics in general and Bolt in particular. While IOC President, Jacques Rogge was lambasting Bolt for running barefoot, the Puma execs in Germany were revelling in the sight Bolt’s bare feet - and his Puma spikes at his smiling lips! What a dream come true! It is reported that Puma sales “spiked” by 2 million pairs in the HOUR after Bolt’s 100m victory! A look a http://www.pumarunning.com/ shows Bolt on the home page, with video clips of Jamaican school athletics, Jamaican scenes and Bolt from as early as 16 years. From then he was a media star. He has the “it” factor.

We need to understand that what Bolt is doing is not premeditated – he is simply being in the moment and enjoying his job. He says so. “That’s just me”. He is being his true, authentic self. It is a lesson all of us must learn. We bring our whole selves to our workplace. There is no such thing as a separation of self between “work” and “life”. The you you are at home, is the you you are at work. “If you do not enjoy your job it does not make much sense”. If your job is causing you pain, if Monday morning brings a groan and Friday afternoon brings relief, then you need to consider what you are doing to yourself. It is not the organization that is doing it to you – you are doing it to yourself. You always have a choice. When you are in the moment, being your true self and enjoying what you do, then all sorts of wonderful things, magic, miracles, start to happen - at work and in your entire life. Being in the moment, you open to guidance on what’s right, and you do it. That’s why Rogge is so wrong – he is living in the past, and not being present to the moment. You can’t be “right” in that place.

Bolt says something else that’s very wise – “I am a performer. I go out there to perform and let the people enjoy themselves”. He knows what his true job is – it is not running, it is entertainment. And so it is with us in our organizations. Our jobs in many ways are about performing, entertaining, banding together with our teammates to choreograph and perform incredible customer experiences – every time. That’s what the new world of work is – entertainment and performance, and enjoying what you do! Then work is easy, fun, joy! Bigup the fastest man in the world – and a very, very wise one to boot!

Friday, August 22, 2008

The Team

A successful team is more than the sum total of its members. This was brought home to me moments ago when I saw the Jamaican Women’s team not pass the baton from the second to the third leg. As a result, those who were counting on a sure 6th gold medal for Jamaica, saw their hopes dashed.

Jamaica unarguably had the best team going into the final – the gold, silver and silver medal winners in the 100m and the gold 200m medal winner. How could we lose? We were all looking not just to win gold, but at the possibility even of breaking a record! And yet it didn’t happen. Why? Because a successful relay is not about adding up the times of each runner – it is about the synergy of the team in getting the baton around. It is not just about handing off the baton to the other runner, it is about feeling the runner, feeling the baton, feeling the energy. When passing the baton, it is an exchange of energy. Replays of great baton changes show the baton seeming to glide from one runner to the other.

Attitude of each member of the team is important. Thoughts of individual glory must be suspended, as it is the team that matters. Trust is tantamount – each member of the team must trust the other. The hardest thing must be for the outgoing runner NOT to turn around and look to see where the baton is; to just stick his/her hand back and trust that the baton will glide into it.

It is the same principles that apply in our organizations. Successful leaders know that a star team is not necessarily made up of individual stars! They know that they can take a group of fairly mediocre individual performers and create a star team. The teams that won medals in the 100m Women’s relay were not at all the individual stars (not one medal winner among them), but they pulled it together on the day and got the baton around.

We also have to know that sometimes, even when the team dynamics are right – all focused on the same goal, all in sync, stars seemingly aligned – “**it” happens and the baton just does not go around! And that’s the way it is in our organizations too – sometimes, it does not happen. What then becomes important is to make the experience a learning one, not one of blame and recrimination. Which is what the Jamaican men’s team just did to win the 100m relay in a world record beating style!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Celebrating our athletes

As the euphoria over "Jamaica's" performance at the Beijing games continues, it is ironic that there continues to be crises in the education system, this time regarding the financing of our schools. Jamaican athletics is nurtured at the school level, in particular the secondary school level, where the infrastructure for coaching and competition is extensive. However, this infrastructure takes place largely as a result of volunteer effort - even the highly vaunted Boys and Girls Champs are run by the Inter Secondary School Association (ISSA).

Following is Marguerite's open letter which appears in today's Gleaner newspaper:

The Editor Sir,

Celebrating our athletes!

I am elated at the performance of our athletes in Beijing – all of them, every single one and of course the medal winners! I am very aware however that their success is the result of their own amazing, relentless and dedicated hard work and sacrifice with very little support from the state. Most of them have come through the secondary school system, in which the track and field programs are powered to a large extent by volunteer effort. It is ironic that while “products of our educational system” are excelling in Beijing, we cannot even find the will to properly finance our schools.

How can we as a nation honour these athletes? Celebrations and even a public holiday are being mooted. May I suggest that the government contribute the money they plan to spend on celebrations instead to the track programmes in the athletes’ alma maters in their names? This would be a long lasting, fitting and appropriate salute to them. This is not to say that there should be no public celebrations for them – let’s just not go overboard spending money that we say we do not have!

As regards the public holiday – considering the gruelling work these athletes have put in, including sacrificing many a public holiday, may I suggest that we do not go this route? What we ought to be doing now is buckling down and trying to make Jamaica not just the sprint capital of the world, but the capital of the world in all spheres!

Sincerely

Marguerite Orane

Saturday, August 16, 2008

World Beaters

Much will be written and spoken over the next few days, weeks and months about Jamaica’s prowess in track. We see this phenomenon of sustained world domination of the sprint events by Jamaican athletes and wonder “How does a poor country of just 2.7 million people, where schools, hospitals and other infrastructure are falling apart, where unemployment is high and economic growth low – how does this country called Jamaica CONSISTENTLY produce world class performances in track?

All sorts of theories are posited – the ackee, Trelawney yam, our water, a gene (recently discovered – yes, there seems to be a genetic foundation for our dominance). What occurs to me is that Jamaica’s athletics performance has something in common with another area in which we are world class – music! There is no doubt that our music is heard and played everywhere on this globe; our musicians travel relentlessly, and wherever you go, everyone loves Bob Marley. I was reminded of this recently by the check-in clerk at our hotel in Johannesburg who stated in no uncertain terms “Bob Marley is a legend in South Africa”.

I am not going to attempt a fulsome analysis of why Jamaican music and athletics is so successful – that would be my Phd thesis if I ever decided to pursue such a degree. What I do observe is something that Jamaican music and athletics have in common – they have developed with minimal government intervention or direction. Why do I consider this important? What this has meant is that resources, human and otherwise, have been able to move quickly to where the opportunities are. It has meant that our musicians and athletes have been able to be nimble and quick in terms of scoping out and taking advantage of opportunities. It has meant an absence of bureaucracy, lengthy analysis and convoluted decision-making. Decisions are made by the individual doers – those who really know, participate and have something at stake, and not by public officials or politicians who at best are informed by studies, reports and fact finding missions.

Let us not lose this lesson. It is critical, now more than ever, as the question we Jamaicans MUST ask ourselves is: “If we can be this great in athletics and music, why can’t we be great at everything else?” A critical part of this discussion MUST be the role of government. Based on our experience with our world beaters, it is my belief that this role should be as minimal as possible.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Bureaucracy in Action

One of the pastimes of the GF team, is to observe BIA – Bureaucracy In Action – an oxymoron if ever there was one, for “action” rarely results from bureaucracy.

As we have crossed borders – Jamaica/USA, USA/South Africa, South Africa/USA and now USA/Jamaica – I note the many instances of BIA that have me wondering – what’s the purpose of all this?

For example:
Why does Immigration in most countries insist on having us fill out long forms? The pertinent information is already in your passport, and all the Immigration officer does is to re-enter it into his/her computer, after having checked that we have completed the form “accurately”. He/she could do so directly from the passport – save them and us time and a few trees as well! It was such a pleasure to clear South African Immigration formless – all they needed were our passports. Went quickly and easily
Why does Immigration ask us for our intended address? We could put anything and they would be none the wiser. It really irks me when Jamaican Immigration insists on knowing my intended whereabouts, for as a citizen of Jamaica, I am free to go wherever I wish – without their knowledge or permission!
Then, those “Nothing to Declare” lines at Customs – if we have nothing to declare, then why do we have to fill up a form to say so? And worse, why do they have to check the form and ask us the questions all over? In South Africa there was no form, so we simply walked out of Customs! They have figured out that it is much more efficient to check people at random
On experiencing this absence of forms, and simplified procedures at South African Customs and Immigration, we made the mistake of thinking that this country has got it right. Wrong – for in changing our currency we were met by a barrage of forms (four to change traveller’s cheques in a bank!), the same information repeated on each form, and multiple signatures to indicate – what?

The problem with bureaucracy is that what started out as a means to some necessary end becomes the end itself. I once dared to ask a Jamaican Immigration Officer why they needed to know my intended address. His response? “You just have to fill up the form”.

Today, question every step in your processes at work. Chances are, many of them are redundant. Save some time, save some paper, save some money and most importantly, save yourself and others the agony of useless work!