Designing Schools of the Future

It is interesting that mass customisation is becoming more common in the products and services we use in our day to day lives and yet we rarely hear the term, or anything like it, used to refer to education. I agree wholeheartedly with the authors that schools of the future must conform to local requirements. Just as I want to act locally when it comes to delivering curriculum, so schools in general must respond to local requirements while retaining flexibility to allow for response to change going forward. Otherwise we will continue to practice the "one size fits all" approach albeit with schools that look different! What we must be certain to do is involve all stakeholders in visioning processes. I have experienced situations where architects have tried imposing ideas without any consultation with those that would use a classroom/school. Just because they have designed schools before doesn't mean they get it right! Just as we have compartmentalised instruction in our industrial aged schools, so we have also divided roles and responsibilities within schools and districts to such an extent that getting people to talk to each other and see each others point of view is a challenge. Inevitably there will always be an element of compromise, but we will be going nowhere unless we can get all the parties 'around the table' to network. We have to avoid the common situation in todays schools where somebody has a great idea and someone else gives a truckload of reasons why it cannot happen! My big question is how can we get people to effectively network about all aspects of the future of schools, teaching, curriculum, assessment and then put aside their comfort zones/TTWWADI attitudes to realise change? As I mentioned last week, I believe the parents will be some of the easiest to convince because they recognise that things are not what they used to be when they were at school. It's the other stakeholders that will require more work!