Will 2011 be a better year at your school? Are exciting school improvement plans being put in place?
Ordinary schools give little or no attention to goal-setting. In contrast, every quality school gives it a great deal of attention. Set “Smarter” goals for yourself, your learners and your school and you will definitely achiev your targets.
Smarter is an acronym used to help design powerful, successful goals. This acronym makes goal-setting easy to formulate and serves as a checklist to determine if the goals are worthwhile. The meaning of each letter is:
S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Achievable
R: Realistic
T: Time-bound
E: Ethical
R: Rewarding
Specific
Many intended goals fail because they’re too ambiguous, woolly and vague. A goal needs to be specific and to the point.
Poor example: The school exam results will be improved on next year.
Good example: In the 2011 matric exams, every candidate will pass every subject.
Measurable
Dream big but be able to measure the dream. Goals should be measurable. The measurement could be in the form of money raised or exam and sports results. An observer should be able to measure whether or not the intended goals were achieved.
Poor example: The school will raise funds to build a library.
Good example: Fund-raising events in 2011 will raise R75 000 towards the library.
Achievable
Set goals that are challenging and just beyond one’s grasp. They need to motivate one to excel but also be reachable.
Poor goal: The school will be the best primary school in the country.
Good goal: Excellent overall percentage results will be obtained in the grades three and six standardised annual national assessments.
Realistic
Outcomes-based education (OBE) had high ideals on how to improve on the education system in place prior to 1994. There was a gap between the OBE idealism and the reality of the average South African school. Thousands of schools had too many children crammed into poorly resourced, tiny classrooms. As a result, the group work activities required of OBE were difficult to do.
Many teachers were under-qualified. Insufficient training was given to help teachers understand new ways of assessment, learning and teaching. Such factors made OBE implementation difficult for so many schools.
Goals need to be realistic. Are there the human (such as suitably qualified teachers) and physical resources (such as computer facilities) available?
What knowledge and skills do the learners need to live meaningful, successful lives? What are the parent and community expectations of the school?
Poor goal: Each learner will have a maths percentage of at least 70%.
Good goal: Each learner’s maths mark will improve by 5% over a year.
Time-bound
Before carrying out a goal, set date deadlines. Decide what will be achieved by certain dates. Dates become milestones on the journey to achieving goals.
Give yourself enough time to achieve the goal well. If people have insufficient time, expect them to become angry, frustrated and stressed. The quality of the work is often below par.
When there’s a timeline that indicates when parts of the goals are to be completed, motivational levels go up. There’s focus on achieving the goal. Also, it’s easy to monitor progress.
Poor example: The school will build two new classrooms.
Good example: R180 000 will be raised by December 2012 on the new classrooms project; the classrooms will be built by June 2013.
Ethical
Not every goal is a good one. Set goals that are in the best interests of the school community. There are times when goals could serve the interests of only a few people such as the senior management team. The team might, for example, want to refurbish their offices lavishly. The ethical question is: are there more important things that need to be done?
Poor goal: Secure reserved parking available only for senior management team.
Good goal: Secure car parking available on a first-come, first-served basis or for all staff and visitors.
Rewarding
A goal should be well worth doing. On completion, the folk who worked on it should feel that their talent, time and tithe were well spent. A rewarding goal makes the school a better quality place for those who learn and teach there.
Poor goal: Expensive recliner armchair for principal’s office.
Good goal: Comfortable chairs for everyone in the staffroom.
Be inspired as you plan your personal, professional and school goals. Dream on but be mindful of Diana Hunt’s words, “Goals are dreams with deadlines.”
Richard Hayward, a former principal, is attached to the Quality in Education unit of the South African Quality Institute. For details of its leadership and management programmes, please contact either Vanessa du Toit at 012-349-5006 [email protected]) or Richard Hayward at 011-888-3262 [email protected]. Poor schools are sponsored