June (2014)
May (2014)
April (2014)
March (2014)
3/25/2014
George's Gift
3/14/2014
Pick Yourself
February (2014)
December (2013)
12/27/2013
Holiday Card
12/4/2013
Good Causes
12/2/2013
Frozen Assets
November (2013)
11/16/2013
Sally B.
11/10/2013
End Game
October (2013)
September (2013)
9/21/2013
Self Study
The Zen of Independent Schools
3/17/2005

While we're on Spring Break, we're recycling a few past Corners. This one, which first appeared in November, 2003 was well received.

No industry in the United States is as free from government regulation as ours. No other business enjoys the freedom with which independent schools define their missions, design curricula, hire and fire, admit and dismiss. When one considers the global market in which boarding schools compete, the benefits of this laissez-faire environment are even more obvious...more pronounced.

Forces exist, however, that frustrate independent schools from capitalizing on our freedom to innovate and to differentiate. Too common, it seems, hierarchical management systems repress institutional creativity. Examples include all of the linear thinking that leads to notions of "first tier/second tier" schools, or assumptions that strong admissions processes should seek more academically high achieving students.

Try this: drop your judgements of schools for a moment, recognizing that all reputations are obsolete right now. Consider that schools do not compete with one another for students, but rather offer distinct sets of programs, services and methods that make each wholly appropriate for different kids.

At a recent sporting event, I overheard a visiting athlete's mother speak of Proctor's informality (truly an innovative quality as manifested here!) by saying, "I don't condone it." She was making the same mistake as those who say, "I think it's right for students to....(sit down for dinner....wear coats & ties....have lights out....YOU complete the sentence). It's not a matter of condoning; it's not a question of what's right for adolescents today. To think thus is to deny the rich complexity of the species. It IS about providing something that is different and absolutely appropriate for some. The clearer we are on this, the healthier the institution becomes. Institutional clarity enables prescreening, and the right students find you. Better matches between students and schools enable greater incidence of success. Happy families continue the cycle by describing the school with accuracy and enthusiasm.

We are free to design entire curricula...to offer radically new courses...to employ innovative methods...to evaluate performance in new ways. So what shall we do with this freedom? Be like others?
Schools cannot be better or worse than one another without a specific student added to the equation. Think multi-dimensionally: which school is most appropriate for this individual?
Question: With whom does Proctor compete? Answer: We overlap with applications with almost everyone. We compete with no one, because no other school shares our mission.