Welcome to the second issue of AEL for 2024. We’ve embarked on a year that has been both inspiring and demanding, with education taking centre stage at both state and national levels. The landscape is rife with challenges, from issues of equity and equality, funding, global testing, to the integration of AI and rapid technological changes, managing societal expectations, and the task of adapting and implementing curriculum reforms.
By any criteria, learning communities are complex ecosystems. In his book The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande, an American surgeon and writer, states, “The volume and complexity of what we know has exceeded our ability to deliver its benefits correctly, safely, or reliably” (p. 13).
I often think there are great similarities between medical doctors and educators, hospitals and schools, wards and classrooms. Both deal with people all day, every day. Both require practitioners with great expertise if they are to do their jobs well, who are committed to ongoing learning, and who are focused on continual improvement. Both deal with complexity and rapidly changing expectations, and both have high stakes: one with our physical lives and the other with the richness and depth of our lives.
Where once it was enough that there were great solo practitioners, the complexity now is so great that both doctors and teachers require teams to engage, and to understand to work on innovative and brave solutions to complex challenges.
As Gawande (2010) goes on to say, “The extreme complexity of medicine has become more than an individual clinician can handle. But not more than teams of clinicians can handle.” This quote serves as a powerful reminder of the shared vision of teamwork in both medicine and education, inspiring us to strive for collaborative excellence in our respective fields.
As it is in medicine, so is it in education. One teacher cannot grapple with the demands of multifaceted communities in a complex society. But together, teams of teachers can work on pathways that help engage with the challenges and move towards a solution. More than ever, we rely on the collective wisdom and compounding power of teams to address the complexities that play out in the lives of those in our care.
Working in a team is difficult, and leading teams is even more complex. The skill set required does not happen by magic or by natural talent, but by sheer hard work and, frankly, the character traits of patience, humility, and grace. None of us is a natural in this area. We need to develop and invest in ourselves and others, particularly those who are just starting out, and encourage the investment and time that is required. The ability to put ego aside and learn about human nature, what motivates and what thwarts, takes time and commitment.
There can be no ego in leadership, only strength and kindness as you understand all the different parts and do what needs to be done, to move forward as a group. The collective is greater than the sum of the parts. Working as a team in these complex times is fundamental to understanding the gnarly challenges as we systematically work towards a better outcome and a more positive future.
I commend this issue of AEL to you as you grapple with the complexities of education in all its forms and learn how teamwork can make all the difference as we unite around a common purpose.
Reference
Gawande, A. (2010). The checklist manifesto: How to get things right. Profile Books.