What if a school isn't a factory, but a grand central station?

What if a school isn't a factory, but a grand central station?

Every day, trains—the students—arrive on their own unique journeys. Each train left the station at birth, was built to a different blueprint, and looks and feels different based on the circumstances it has already been through.

They all cross paths in this bustling hub we call school.

It’s tempting to see our job as that of a train dispatcher. We manage the daily traffic, set the switches to guide students through the curriculum, and try to prevent collisions between their trains.

But there's a crucial difference.

A dispatcher's trains run on a fixed map. Our students' trains don't. They are building their future—laying their tracks as they go. This journey never stops; new experiences and insights are constantly redrawing their map.

You can't manage a dynamic journey on a fixed map. You have to jump on board their train.

Even in the most innovative schools, I see people getting this backward. They expect the student to jump on board the teacher's plan.

I've never seen a train jump on board another train.

And that's the fundamental shift: A good train dispatcher ensures a pre-made plan is realized. A good travel companion enriches the journey and ensures the traveler's journey continues.

So, what if we saw ourselves not as dispatchers who must 'finish' a curriculum, but as experienced travel companions whose job is to ensure our fellow travelers are better equipped for the road ahead?

Would you still start your Monday morning with: "Okay everyone, turn to page 76, paragraph 4, Pythagoras..."?

Or would you ask the traveler where they're headed next?