A little over a month ago, I was asked by a group of girls and boys in Grades 4 and 5, if they could start a Gender Equality Group. I was intrigued. I wondered what they understood by ‘gender equality’ and more importantly for me, why they thought a group like this was needed? What interested me was the make-up of the group. Students who, according to reports and standardised testing results, have a very wide range of abilities, interests, learning needs and behaviours. They understood the concepts of gender, equality and equity differently. They had many stories and sub-stories to tell and went on to organise themselves to be note-takers, synthesise ideas and decide on priorities, type up questions that came from the notes in order to interview our budding female star soccer player in Grade 3, who happens to be a girl.
This story connects me to the ideas that Yong Zhao presented to us in the lead up to the last ISL Institute, in Luxembourg where Yong reminded us that we tend to focus our attention on the deficits students have in accessing a curriculum that we have decided is important for their success. Zhao’s premise for his book, Greatness, lies in developing three fundamental ideas that link to our mission statement on the importance of being inspired, passionate and have the resilience to follow through on these passions to be, what he calls, fulfilled as human beings and contributors to the world. He ends with what we he thinks we should be concentrating on – developing the greatness in ourselves, and our students.
Zhao elaborates further the three ideas that follow:
“Changes in society always redefine the value of knowledge and skills.”
“Current understandings of human nature and human learning suggest that human beings are differently talented.”
“In the new world where smart technology has replaced and will continue to replace humans in routine tasks, we need human beings to be unique, creative and entrepreneurial.”
Finally, Zhao reminds us that;
“Education needs to stop preparing students to become a homogeneous group of average individual – mediocre at everything but great at nothing – and to begin helping everyone to become great.”
This is a tall task, but if we can’t do this collectively, with all the human and other resources we have in our international schools, then …
Patricia Angoy 
Patricia ,
As always you continue to be and in inspiring others .
Thank you for posting this although I’m only teaching partially these days I find it reassuring to read these quotes in particular “Current understandings of human nature and human learning suggest that human beings are differently talented.” I often discuss with some of my students who are teachers in their native countries how difficult it is for them to help others embrace this idea and promote it in their own educational system . I plan to recommend Zhao’s book for the next book club read..
elisa
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Thanks Elisa. I am honoured that you have read and replied on my blog. It means a lot to me from one educator to another. I will always be thankful for our early morning talks on all things great and small, in Luxembourg. I have learnt a lot about teaching in English to those for whom English is not their major language of communication and how we can do so with compassion and humility. Thank you! Patricia
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