Whether you talk to an architect, a CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a math professor, they will all adamantly declare the importance of a strong foundation on which to build. While the architect will talk about the firm ground to build his skyscraper on, the CEO will talk about ensuring that the vision of the company is firmly entrenched in what they do and the math professor will espouse the necessity of a strong basic understanding of mathematics. They all agree, a strong foundation is essential in the strength of whatever they are building.
It’s the exact same situation with schools. A great school must always be based on a strong foundation, a foundation of safety, trust, laughter and a fierce determination to do whatever they can for the benefit of the students in their care. That foundation starts with relationship.
You’ve likely heard it a thousand times before – relationship, relationship, relationship. No matter how much you provide your teachers professional development opportunities, no matter how small you make classes, no matter how much you pour into resources and curricular enhancements, if you don’t have relationship, you don’t have a foundation to build on.
We all know this in our hearts too. We’ve all worked in a school where things were always easy. People laughed together, people ate together, people trusted each other. In these types of environments, it was easy to build greatness. The building of wonderful initiatives and learning was firmly rooted in the foundation of the school. Any great idea someone had, people were quick to embrace and build something which would benefit the kids in the building. I’ve been a part of many schools who were built on such successful foundations.
On the other hand, we’ve also worked in or heard of schools who lack the strong foundation of relationship. These buildings have teachers behind doors, eating in their rooms and competing to be the top dog rather than understanding that it is all about bettering the school for optimum learning. When relationship is not the cornerstone on which a school is built, there will be problems down the line. What may appear to be a solid school shakes and rattles once trouble hits. Whether trouble be a horrible tragedy, a disgruntled coworker or a difficult family, only when we have the strength of relationship grounding us, can the foundation hold.
Relationship, while it may not be everything, is the foundation that all schools are built on. Without relationship, you have nothing to build on. It’s the culture of the school that matters first. When we invest in strong relationships, we set the foundation for great things to come.
Keep on Learning!
Dave
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