School Renewal Action Plan - St Thomas More College

led to a narrowing of curriculum and a school system divided clearly between the winners and the losers
based on standardized test results. Ultimately they provide stories for the media about the winners and the
failures. However, while our reading, writing, grammar and numeracy scores do matter, they do not fully
define what a complete education is, any more than a knife, fork and spoon constitute a dinner.
So tonight on our night that is dedicated to recognising the achievements of our College and most
importantly our students - let’s pause for a moment to consider what is truly important in education. What
really matters once we strip away all the edu-babble associated with changes, standardised tests and
outcomes?
When we began our curriculum renewal at St Thomas More College we asked some big questions about the
purpose of school. The goal of our curriculum review in 2010 was not simply about improving test scores or
our outcomes data- Our changes were about delivering a curriculum which provided better pathways and
opportunities for all students. What is the difference between the two?
Well the difference between these two objectives is best told through a story – a true story based on an
experience of an American businessman named Jamie Robert Vollmer. The story goes that he had been
engaged to speak to a large assembled group of teachers and school leadership personnel around the
issues of school organisation and performance. He commenced his address with the statement: "If I ran my
business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn't be in business very long!"
You could imagine the reaction from the assembled audience. Vollmer represented a group of business
people dedicated to improving schools. He was an executive at an ice cream company that had become
famous in the 1980s when People magazine chose his company’s Blueberry Ice-cream the “Best Ice Cream
in America.” Sounds to me like someone who is appropriately qualified to provide advice on how schools
should be run.
He was convinced of two things. First, schools needed to change; they were archaic and out of step with
the needs of our emerging “knowledge society.” Second, teachers were a major part of the problem: they
resisted change lacked the rigours of the corporate world and they had no idea about how competition
leads to improvement. They needed to look to business about how to produce quality outcomes. Zero
defects! A Continuous improvement agenda! In retrospect, the speech was perfectly balanced — equal
parts ignorance and arrogance.
As soon as he finished, a woman’s hand shot up. She appeared polite and pleasant. She was, in fact, a
razor-edged, veteran - a high school English teacher who had been waiting to unload. (Sound like an English
teacher you know?)
She began quietly, “We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream.”
He smugly replied, “Best ice cream in America, Ma’am.”
“How nice,” she said. “Is it rich and smooth?”
“Sixteen per cent butterfat,” he crowed.
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