It’s About Standards, Not Just Options

​One reason why I love working in West Vancouver is because I am constantly pushed to think about everyday things in innovative and different ways. So when our Superintendent, Mr. Chris Kennedy, recently blogged about Uber, Amazon and Airbnb, I read and reread his provocative message. I wondered, like him, “…are we the exception to the rule? Is there enough in the value of education the way it is largely done now to allow it to continue to survive and thrive or am I missing something?”

Being a social person with a large network of friends and family, I decided to be ‘that typical educator’ in a group of non-educators over the weekend. I explained the premise of Mr. Kennedy’s provocation and asked for some feedback.

After huffing and puffing up the Coquitlam Crunch, sitting in a Pee-Wee hockey game’s stands in Richmond, and attending a dinner party in Kits I was left with some interesting perspectives from people who care about education – either through my relentlessness or by way of their investment in their own children. They offered a different lens. Here’s what they had to say:

“When I use Uber, it is for a number of reasons. It is fast, easy, convenient, and hip. But most of all, it provides a one-touch option that meets a diverse number of peoples’ needs while maintaining high standards in service.”

“I started vacation renting my home three years ago using VRBO. I have been disappointed ever since when I use Airbnb because there are no regulations on what the homes need to provide or status of cleanliness of each. With VRBO there was a standard that the owner had to meet; when I stay in a hotel I know that the ‘star rating’ I book is what I get. That is important to me.”

“Amazon has grown with society’s changes and demands. It has stayed reliable while still providing the same and even more/better options for the customer. I know when I order through Amazon that I am getting what I want and I can track the process of shipment to arrival in my hands.”

I can justify my comparison of Uber, Airbnb and Amazon with the ‘way we do business’ in West Vancouver. As the new transformative curriculum unfolds for many in the province, our teachers are already confidently planning, teaching and assessing using Big Ideas and the Core Competencies. While reporting systems are being examined in BC, our SD45 schools are a couple of years into implementation as we pilot and apply stakeholder’s feedback along the way. Technology and digital access are no longer things to discuss or debate around here – every classroom seamlessly utilizes one form or another into daily teaching and learning to adapt, connect and apply.

Mr. Kennedy asked the world if we are missing something.

“I am left wondering, are we the exception to the rule? Is there enough in the value of education the way it is largely done now to allow it to continue to survive and thrive or am I missing something?”

While it is true that rapid change is happening around us, it is my belief that we, in West Vancouver, are keeping up. Some of the most recent examples might include:

Uber Options
Hip choices for all students, like our ‘Ignite Your Passion’ and our Academies​
5-Star Hotels
Leading graduation rates for all students and clear district-wide alignment with teacher development of the transformative curriculum
Amazon Consistency + Innovation
High performing schools in the Arts, academics and athletics and ‘out of the box’, globally connected professional development such as TedXWestVancouver

Finally, I circle back to what mattered most to my friends and family above. Regardless of their opinions on the new options for the services they rely on day-to-day, the common thread was evident: STANDARDS. In West Vancouver, under Mr. Kennedy’s leadership, we tend to catch the next educational wave before it crashes onto the shore. And while we are encouraged to be creative and innovative in our work, it is an expectation that our standards do not falter.

I believe that we’re doing more than keeping up. I believe that we aren’t missing a thing. I believe that we strive to do what is best for our students and families in a period of rapid change and that we do so while raising the bar for what ‘education needs to be today’.

Thank you to Mr. Kennedy and our DLT for their ongoing support and vision and to our administrators and teachers for the unending efforts they put into making West Vancouver the finest education system in the country.

Gotta go – my Uber awaits!​