Listening to the radio recently on the subject of the General Election in May, one of the political commentators explained how little the parties consulted with their electorate in formulating policy. Instead of “no taxation without representation” (which originates from the Magna Carta in 1215), he advocated there should be “no representation without a conversation”, or to put another way, “crowd sourced politics”. A neat paradigm to illustrate how he saw a modern democracy working for the electorate.
Perhaps the same analogy could be used in schools, or in any other business, where those in leadership roles empower the pupils, a “crowd sourced education”. In many ways, schools already listen to their pupil body through school councils, pastoral meetings and so on where boys and girls are given the opportunity to feedback to staff and to make suggestions. Often they see their school in a very different way than their teachers who tend to be influenced by their particular curriculum area. A more pupil-centric model might engender a greater sense of loyalty and pride towards their school and, therefore, make it a better place for them to learn.
So, let me recommend a crowd sourced education to all those who work in schools, and similarly to any business; it’s worth a try at least.
