I help international schools fix teacher training, recruitment, and leadership.

With 25+ years in education across Asia, I know what schools, teachers, and unis really need. I connect the dots between policy, strategy, and people — and get things moving.

Let's talk if you want to grow your teacher pipeline, build smarter CPD, or expand in Asia
.
My passion is to drive educational innovation, harnessing technology to enhance online and offline learning experiences. I hold an NPQH, a PGCE, and an M.Ed in Educational Leadership and Administration.

We also provide academic support to students planning to attend boarding schools in the UK, US, and Australia and help UK schools enter and succeed in the Chinese market.

John Woodberry

Trump is loudly “standing up” to partners.
Tariffs. Threats. Public spats.
Meanwhile, Xi just removed visa fees for Brits visiting China.

No press conference.
No chest-beating.
Just a simple signal: We are open for business.

That’s what modern power looks like.

Not shouting strength — just making yourself easier to engage with.

Soft power beats noise more often than we admit.

And while American politics obsesses over looking tough,
China is busy looking reasonable.

China 1 – 0.

Founder @ Red Dragon Education | International Teacher Training

No alternative text description for this image

If you think leadership is about titles or authority...
You’re already missing the point.

Real leaders don’t pull rank.
They earn trust.

They protect people when no one’s watching.
They give credit, not commands.
They create safety, not fear.

The fastest way to lose followers?

Remind people you’re “the boss.”

The fastest way to gain them?

Act like a human first.

Leadership isn’t a position.
It’s a behaviour.

Be Human!

Agree or disagree? 👇

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Need to make a move?
Get in touch: https://linktr.ee/pgce

Not sure about your next move in 2026? 
Get in touch: https://linktr.ee/pgce

Want to lead others and get a great job? 
Get in touch: https://linktr.ee/pgce

Unsure where 2026 is heading for your teaching career? Internationally recognised teacher training might be the leverage you’re missing. https://linktr.ee/pgce

If 2026 feels vague, that's a signal, not a problem. 
Upskilling through international teacher training creates that. https://linktr.ee/pgce

Still seeking clarity on your next teaching move in 2026? 
QTS gives you control, not hope. https://linktr.ee/pgce

2026 won’t magically sort itself out. 
International teacher training is how smart teachers open doors globally. https://linktr.ee/pgce

Many teachers drift into 2026. The smart ones prepare. The International PGCE and QTS pathways matter. https://linktr.ee/pgce

Uncertain about your next step? 
Teacher training isn’t a detour; it’s a multiplier. https://linktr.ee/pgce

2026 rewards qualified, mobile teachers, not wishful thinking. 

International training changes the game. https://linktr.ee/pgce

If career momentum matters to you in 2026, invest in training that schools actually respect. https://linktr.ee/pgce

The question isn’t where you’ll be teaching in 2026. It’s whether you’ll be qualified to choose. https://linktr.ee/pgce

2026 rewards qualified, mobile teachers, not wishful thinking. International training changes the game. https://linktr.ee/pgce

PHASE Conference Presenter

TAE40116 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

We offer a range of online courses designed to enhance the qualifications of aspiring teachers and leaders. In partnership with leading universities, we provide pathways for careers in international education.
IPGCE / IQTS / QTS / PGCE / MA Leadership / MA Education / NPQs

Helping teachers get qualified through the partner universities: IPGCE, IQTS, MA, QTS Assessment Only and IQTS. We've worked with over 1000 teachers to realise their dreams of finding a great job.

Co-Founder

Set up the company and worked with a range of local and international schools in providing education solutions including:

- Tutoring
- Academic support 
- Revision courses
- A-level lessons and examinations 
- Professional teacher placement 
- School tours
- Boarding school advice
- Entrance exam preparation

Founder

Director

My main focus was to help with the students' academic achievements across the secondary school. I was helping grow the school from 200 to 1200 students in 5 years of service. After joining the school I quickly assumed more responsibility and helped lead a tutor group team of 15 staff. 

Worked in both the secondary and primary section of the school in the following disciplines as a classroom teacher:
- Geography
- PE
- Science 
- Economics

Deputy Head of School

Working across the high school in Geography and PE

Head of Geography

You don't hire teachers based on CVs.
You hire them based on how they show up on a Friday afternoon.

After hiring and working with international teachers across different countries, one thing is clear:

The best ones share the same rare traits.

Here are eight things I see in every great international teacher we hire 👇

1️⃣ Grit
They push through language barriers, cultural shifts, and tough classrooms — without quitting.

2️⃣ Relentless Resourcefulness
Different curriculum? Limited resources?
They always find a way to make learning work.

3️⃣ Optimism
They bring calm, positive energy into the classroom — even on hard days.

4️⃣ Constant Learning
The best teachers are students first.
They ask for feedback. They adapt. They grow.

5️⃣ Respect & Empathy
Great teachers don’t just teach content — they care about people.

6️⃣ Fun to Be Around
Students feel it. Colleagues feel it.
Energy matters more than credentials.

7️⃣ Growth Mindset
They see international teaching as an opportunity, not a sacrifice.

8️⃣ Ownership
They treat the classroom like it’s their own mission — not “just a job.”

🚩 Red flags we avoid
• Blaming past schools
• No apparent reason for job moves
• More focused on benefits than impact
• Complains more than they contribute

Skills can be trained.
Character can’t.

If you’re an international teacher who sees yourself in this — or a school leader who agrees —

What trait matters most to you when hiring or teaching abroad?

The teachers who deserve the most attention usually ask for the least. By the time someone resigns, you lost them months earlier; the resignation letter is just the paperwork.

The teachers who deserve the most attention usually ask for the least.

They stay late.
They absorb more than they complain.
They stop raising their hand.

And by the time someone resigns, you didn’t lose them that day.

You lost them months earlier.

The resignation letter is just the paperwork.

If you’re a leader, here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Silence is rarely loyalty.
It’s often exhaustion.

The people who care the most don’t always make noise.
They quietly decide when it’s no longer worth it.

Pay attention earlier.

Could you imagine this being written by a UK education secretary today?
I read a piece in The Straits Times this week and had to pause.

Not because it was flashy.
Not because it was controversial.

But because it was calm, evidence-based, and long-term in its thinking about teachers.

The author argues a simple idea:
👉 Teaching cannot work as a revolving door.

If you want better outcomes for students, you invest in teachers’ growth — over decades, not election cycles.

More trust.
More professional development.
More respect for experience.

Reading it, I couldn’t help asking myself:

Would we ever see a UK equivalent of this kind of writing from someone like Bridget Phillipson?

Less slogan.
Less short-term reform.
More system memory.

Singapore understands something many systems forget:
You don’t scale education by burning out the people who deliver it.

You scale it by helping them get better every year.

Credit to Wei Li — and to The Straits Times — for publishing a piece that thinks beyond the next headline and toward the next generation.

If we’re serious about education reform, this is the level of thinking we should demand.

What would change if we treated teaching as a long-term profession again — not a policy experiment?

Everyone sees it.
Almost no one names it.

Meetings keep moving.
Slides keep changing.
“Next steps” keep getting refined.

And the real issue stays in the room.

Unaddressed behaviour.
Broken incentives.
Fear of conflict dressed up as professionalism.

In education, we’re especially good at this.

We talk about strategy
while avoiding culture.

We talk about leadership
while protecting titles.

We talk about improvement
while refusing to confront what’s actually failing.

The elephant isn’t ignorance.
It’s avoidance.

Because once you name the real problem,
someone has to act.

And leadership isn’t the title in the room.
It’s who’s willing to say the thing everyone else is thinking.

So what’s the elephant in your classroom—or boardroom—right now?

In much of Asia, international schools don’t have a strategy problem.
How can these be solved via the 80/20 strategy? 

We’re incredibly strong at structure.
Less strong at the challenge.

Here’s the 80/20 most leaders won’t say out loud:

Student outcomes
80% psychological safety and belonging 
20% programmes and pathways

School improvement
80% what leaders model under pressure
20% what leaders announce in meetings

Teacher effectiveness
80% permission to question and disagree
20% appraisal frameworks

Parent confidence
80% calm, honest communication
20% prestige signals and branding

Innovation
80% leaders make it safe to be wrong
20% “future-ready” initiatives

Leadership wellbeing
80% boundaries and moral courage
20% mindfulness sessions

The uncomfortable reality?

In many Asian contexts,
people wait for permission — not because they lack ideas,
but because leaders unintentionally train compliance.

We say we want initiative.
We reward alignment.

We say we want innovation.
We punish visible failure.

The highest-performing international schools in Asia don’t have more systems.
They have leaders who:

 Invite dissent without taking it personally
 Create safety without lowering standards
 Choose trust over control, even when reputation is on the line

If your staff are quiet, compliant, and “aligned”...
don’t assume buy-in.

Assume caution.

Nice list. Wrong focus.
This is not how hiring works in 2026.

Everyone memorises answers.
Very few demonstrate a signal.

“Tell me about a time...”
has become performance theatre.

Polished stories.
Tell-me-what-you-think-I-should-say answers.
STAR frameworks with no real stakes.

What actually matters now isn’t what you say.
It’s whether you can:

– Learn fast
– Think clearly
– Navigate ambiguity
– Work across cultures, tools, and time zones
– Adapt when the script breaks

In global, fast-moving workplaces,
there is no “perfect answer.”

There is only evidence.

Evidence you can solve unfamiliar problems.
Evidence you can communicate under pressure.
Evidence you can grow after feedback, not just talk about it.

If interviews still reward memorised stories,
they’re selecting for confidence — not capability.

And candidates know it.

The future of hiring isn’t better answers.
It’s better questions.

What do you think interviews should actually measure now?
👇 Curious to hear your take.

We're hiring experienced and passionate IB tutors. 
Know anyone who might be interested?
These opportunities span IB DP, MYP, and PYP, with roles matched by programme experience and phase.

Pressure doesn’t create failure.
It exposes preparation.
AFCON proved it.

Morocco.
Penalty in the 95th minute at 0-0.
A Panenka attempt.
Missed.
Not a talent issue.
A preparation issue.

We see the same thing in international school leadership.
When pressure hits, some leaders improvise.
They go for flair instead of systems.
That’s when things fall apart.

Great leaders don’t get creative under pressure.

They get predictable.
Because the work was done earlier.

Under pressure, leaders try a “T-cup” move:
• Improvising instead of planning
• Trusting instinct instead of systems
• Hoping experience will carry the moment

What in your leadership would break if real pressure arrived tomorrow?

International schools don’t need another strategy refresh in 2026.
They need focus.

• Keep good teachers instead of constantly replacing them
• Build leadership depth, not just titles
• Prioritise teaching quality over curriculum branding
• Take student well-being seriously. With structure, not slogans

Most schools already know this.
Very few will act on it.

That gap is where 2026 will be won or lost.

I didn’t plan to become an entrepreneur.
I accidentally fell into it back in 2009.

I followed the “right” path:
International schools.
Leadership roles.
Systems. Strategy. Structure.

From the outside, it looked successful.

Inside, I felt constrained.

I loved developing people and shaping culture.
I struggled with how slowly change could happen.

So I stepped off the ladder.

Not because I stopped believing in education.
But because I wanted to serve it differently.

Entrepreneurship gave me:
– Freedom to design solutions
– Speed to test ideas
– Impact across multiple schools, not just one

Here’s the truth we don’t say enough in education:

Leadership doesn’t end when the org chart does.
If you’re a school leader wondering, “Is there another way to lead?”

There is.
And it might look nothing like a straight career path.

👉 Have you ever considered leading beyond your school?

Be careful who you take advice from in 2026. 
They are probably an echo chamber.

Most school leaders don’t intentionally burn out their teams.
They do it by accident.

Especially in international schools.

Different cultures.
Different time zones.
Different expectations.

And suddenly... your best people are exhausted.

Here are 8 leadership mistakes I see burning out international school teams 👇

1️⃣ Expecting your team to be “always on”
Just because someone can reply at 10 pm doesn’t mean they should.

2️⃣ Being unclear about what you actually want
Vague priorities = constant stress. Clarity is kindness.

3️⃣ Ignoring your team’s strengths
When people are misaligned with their strengths, disengagement follows.

4️⃣ Avoiding tough conversations
Unspoken tension drains energy faster than well-handled conflict.

5️⃣ Punishing people for mistakes
Fear kills innovation — especially in diverse, international environments.

6️⃣ Keeping all decisions to yourself
Ownership disappears when trust does.

7️⃣ Ignoring stress and burnout signals
Silence doesn’t mean everything is fine.

8️⃣ Forgetting to show appreciation
Recognition travels further than you think — across borders and cultures.

The hardest truth?

👉 Most burnout isn’t caused by workload.
👉 It’s caused by leadership habits we never stop to question.

If you lead in an international school, this matters.

Because healthy staff = stable schools = better student outcomes.

Which one do you see most often in schools today?

I’m usually a fan of Simon Sinek.
But this one is a double fault.

Anyone who’s competed in sport at a serious level knows this:

You remember the wins fondly.
But the losses?
They burn themselves into your brain.

That’s not a weakness.
That’s how standards are built.

If Andy Murray were watching, he’d probably laugh.
He spent an entire career berating himself and poor mother — out loud — and still became world No.1.

High performers aren’t fueled by feel-good memories.
They’re sharpened by the moments they never want to repeat.

Pressure + self-criticism isn’t the enemy.
For some people, it’s the engine.

Curious — in your experience, what actually drives excellence in high-performing schools?

International education is heading into one of its most disruptive periods in years.

AI is changing how we teach, assess, and support learning.
Parents are behaving more like informed consumers than ever before.
Visa and regulatory environments remain unpredictable.
And affordability is becoming a deciding factor, not a secondary one.

What’s striking is that none of these forces exist in isolation.

AI accelerates expectations around value.
Cost pressures amplify parental scrutiny.
Regulatory shifts reshape demand almost overnight.

For schools, universities, and education providers, the challenge isn’t choosing which disruption matters most.

It’s building systems flexible enough to respond to all of them at once.

The institutions that will thrive in 2026 won’t be the ones chasing every trend.
They’ll be the ones that:

– Communicate clearly with families
– Design learning with integrity and adaptability
– Invest in people, not just tools
– Plan for volatility as the norm, not the exception

I’m curious to see where this community lands.

Which force do you think will have the biggest impact on international education in 2026? 👇

What will be the biggest disruptive force in international education in 2026? 

Looks balanced.
But are you actually a leader in deficit or surplus?

Most leadership models only show assets.
Vision.
Empathy.
Resilience.
Innovation.

Rarely do they show the liabilities.

Delayed decisions.
Micromanagement.
Avoidance dressed up as “being busy.”
Poor communication is hidden behind good intentions.

And that’s the problem.

Because leadership failure isn’t dramatic.
It’s cumulative.

Small withdrawals.
Unaddressed issues.
Energy taken from teams without reinvestment.

You can have strong values
and still be running a deficit.

You can inspire
and still exhaust the system around you.

The real question isn’t
“How good are my leadership assets?”

It’s this:

If your team audited you today, would you be in surplus—or quietly underwater?

👇 Worth an honest look.

This below on “setting boundaries” looks reasonable. But in international school leadership, boundaries aren’t about protecting comfort.

They’re about protecting standards.

You don’t set boundaries, so leadership feels lighter.
You set them so the school gets better.

Real boundaries in international schools look like this:

• Clear expectations that don’t shift with pressure
• Follow-through when it would be easier to let things slide
• Accountability that challenges people without humiliating them

Yes, leaders need rest.
Yes, burnout is real.

But schools drift not because leaders work too hard —
they drift because boundaries around quality, behaviour, and consistency become negotiable.

Strong leaders don’t avoid hard conversations.
They time them well.
They hold them respectfully.
And they don’t outsource them to policy documents.

The healthiest schools I’ve seen weren’t “low stress.”

They were clear.

Clear roles.
Clear standards.
Clear lines between support and excuse-making.

Boundaries aren’t about saying “no” more often.
They’re about saying “this matters” — and meaning it.

What boundary, when held consistently, has made the biggest difference in your school?

Nice story. Wrong lesson.
This is not how international education works.

For bamboo, patience is enough.

For international students, educators, and institutions?
Patience without power is just waiting.

Waiting for visas.
Waiting for recognition.
Waiting for policies to catch up.
Waiting while timelines, money, and futures are on the line.

We love telling people:
“Growth takes time.”

But in international education, growth takes systems.

Clear pathways.
Stable policy.
Institutional accountability.
Support that shows up before things break.

When success looks “sudden,” it isn’t magic.
It’s the moment the system finally worked.

If we keep praising patience,
we avoid fixing the structures that make patience necessary.

And that’s the real lesson we keep missing.

So what matters more in global education—patience, or better systems?

👇 I’d love to hear your take.

International schools don't have a teacher development problem. They have a problem with teacher alignment. PD days are packed. Budgets are spent. Certifications are collected.

And classrooms look... basically the same. 

If you're leading PD in an international school, try this instead of another "whole-staff training day":

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯𝟬–𝟲𝟬–𝟵𝟬 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲
Week 1: pick 1 micro-skill (e.g., checking for understanding)
Weeks 2–4: teacher rehearses it + gets one targeted observation
Weeks 5–8: peer walkthroughs + student work review (quick protocol)
Weeks 9–12: evidence of impact + share the "how" with the team

Same time.

More transfer.

Less fatigue.

Run schools on evidence, not ego | International School Vice Principal

As the Vice Principal at Nova Academy, I advocate for the educational journey of students from China to the United States, which sets them on a path towards successful careers, further studies, and a fulfilling societal role.

Parallel to my administrative role, I'm an Author and Consultant at "Leading Your International School". Our philosophy? Everyone in the educational spectrum, from students to leaders, can grow and evolve. Contrary to the belief that roles in education are interchangeable, I believe that each individual brings unique value to the table – a belief I stand by staunchly.

With 13 years of experience under my belt as a U.S. (Virginia) Certified Social Studies teacher, I've specialized in AP Psychology, AP US History, and AP World History. Notably, in my prior role, all my AP Psychology students achieved an average score of 4.3, but what resonates most is the transformative impact on their lives, evident from heartfelt feedback.

Beyond my main subjects, I've taught VA/US Government, World History, World Geography, and Eastern Civilizations. My approach combines simulation, discussion, and dialogue, which enables students to empathize with historical decisions and better equip themselves for the future.

At the heart of my teaching philosophy is the support for student evolution. It's not just why I teach – it's the essence of what I offer to any educational team. If you're passionate about global education and collaborative growth, I'm eager to connect.

Conan Magruder

🔋 Your school runs on push. It could run on pull.

---

My first school was a public school. The push was rules.

Phones appeared even after a ban. So leadership added more rules. More confiscations. More detentions. More parent complaints. More rules to handle the complaints.

Teachers enforced more than taught. I left.

That was push.

---

BASIS Park Lane Harbour pushed college results.

Then the pandemic hit. We had to keep the students since it was a boarding program. Leadership did what they had to. We worked 12 weekends in a row. My partner got locked into her apartment. I felt like I had to go somewhere with more order. Beijing next.

That was push.

---

Nova Academy pushed campus upgrades. New buildings. Better locations. Better facilities. Not everyone could follow.

That was push.

---

Now the time is here to build systems.

This can be pull.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲.

Push schools love mission statements. The focus must be on "coverage," "compliance," and "deliverables."

That language can put a school into a survival state. Survival produces short term output, then burnout.

OECD found large shares of teachers across systems report substantial stress. Admin workload is a repeated driver. UNESCO projects global teacher shortages are now structural.

To demand more "resilience" and more "adherence" in that state is intellectually lazy. Stress and turnover come from design.

---

𝗣𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁.

They replace "duty" language with "choice" language. They stop calling everything urgent.

They build autonomy into the job. Real decision latitude over pedagogy. Tight feedback loops, not vague "be innovative." Belonging to a team with shared standards and mutual care.

They treat stress as system output. Reduce non instructional load. Increase perceived control. Increase psychological safety.

They make fulfillment, not perks. Growth plus contribution. Student success you can see, not abstract KPIs.

---

The schools that pushed rules, results, and real estate all had the same problem.

They thought they could push their way to retention.

You cannot.

You have to engineer pull.

♻️ Share if your school runs on push.
💬 What does pull look like at your school?

Benjamin Freud, Ph.D. Allen McInnis 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly Grant Ferguson Barry Cooper

👀Schools don't have a vision problem. They have a trust problem.

---

At Nova Academy, I ordered Powerschool early. Naviance too. I thought tech would fix things.

It didn't. We couldn't implement them. The problem was never the platform. It was follow through.

I didn't always communicate clearly. Board members, owners, families: everyone filled gaps with assumptions.

If I had to do it again, I'd get decision rights documented before I began. Escalation paths clear. What "board vs leadership" actually means.

That's not a vision problem. That's a trust problem.

---

Back in US public school, I had 4 leaders in 4 years.

International schools move faster. A head arrives. Launches a strategy. Leaves in 18 months. The next one resets everything.

So the community waits for someone to take ownership.

---

What actually builds trust:

1. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝘂𝘂𝗺.
In startup schools, there always is one. Pick 3 non negotiables. Publish them. Report monthly.

2. 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱. 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿.
Run listening tours with skeptical groups. Then make one visible change that proves you heard them.

3. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁.
For every initiative: one teacher behavior that must change. One metric that will move. Fund coaches, not posters.

4. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.
New families need to see what you can do. They might already be talking to your board. Talk to them first.

5. 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀.
Families judge competence through what they can see. If results arrive too late, people assume nothing happened.

6. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘁.
Schools that sound like bureaucracies lose. Weekly video. Monthly Q&A. Public "decisions and why" page.

7. 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲.
I've got a friend in the Gulf who's still called "new" six years later. If there are sides, you've got to engage them all.

8. 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.
It can reduce busywork and save retention. Used badly, it turns students against you or your teachers.

9. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀.
Learn language. Get friends or die trying.

Leading Your International School

---

Why don't schools do this?

Because it requires commitments you can be held to.

Because it means decisions people can disagree with.

You can't lead on good intentions.

You have to engineer trust.

♻️ Share to give schools systems.
💬 Which rule would amaze your leadership team?

André Double 安德烈   杜布勒 Dr Rob Smorfitt Charles Xavier, PhD Amy Oswalt 🔸 David Ardley 🔸

Run schools on evidence, not ego | International School Vice Principal | History & Psychology Curriculum

📖Why can't international school students read? 

90% of schools blame the wrong thing. Not the city. Not the curriculum. Not the students. They blame geography.

I did too.

In 2022, I moved from Southern China to Northern China. New city. New school. New students.

The reading problems started on day one. A Grade 10 student sat with a 2 page article for 20 minutes. Highlighted every line. Could not tell me the main argument.

A Grade 11 boy turned in an essay full of perfect sentences. Clean grammar. Nice vocabulary. Zero logic. When I asked him to explain his thesis, he could not.

So I told myself a story that felt smart.

Southern schools had stronger academic English programs.Northern schools better conversation. Northern students needed more scaffolding for multiple choice. Different region, different preparation.

That story held for three years. It was comforting. It gave me a clean cause. It let the system off the hook.

Then I noticed the pattern that broke my excuse.

Students arrived from the South with the same problems. So did transfers from Singapore. From the UK. From everywhere.

It was not where they came from. It was when they grew up.

PISA 2022 made it hard to ignore. OECD countries dropped 10 points in reading. 26% of students in wealthy systems could not reach baseline proficiency.

That is not a regional issue. That is a generational shift.

The pandemic put students behind screens for two years. Not just for class. For life.

Social media trained attention into 15 second loops. Swipe. Hit. Swipe. Hit.

ChatGPT landed in January 2023. 100 million people started outsourcing thinking within months.

Microsoft Research found people measurably offload cognition to AI. The brain stops doing work it used to do. Planning. Checking. Holding ideas in mind.

Students pay the highest price because their executive function is still developing. If that manager never trains, it never gets strong.

At the same time, schools got weaker. 91% of international schools struggle to recruit quality teachers. Most stay 1 to 6 years.

Short tenure pushes schools toward scripted lessons. It reduces deep reading volume. It turns writing into templates.

Here is the future gap.

It is not who can use AI. It is who can still read a complex passage unaided. Write under time pressure. Hold a line of thought for ten minutes.

Schools look fine until real constraints hit. In-class writing. Oral defenses. University reading loads. Then cognitive offloading gets exposed.

Fixes that work:

1 - Gate to gate phone bans. Zero phones.

2 - Explicit placement for AI and not AI.

3 - Heavy weight on in class reading and writing.

4 - Benchmark reading with external measures. Not internal grades.

I was wrong about the cause for 3 years.

♻️Share to tell someone they were.
💬How many schools still blame the wrong thing?

Teresa Song Dan Yu Tom Rogerson Russell John Cailey 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly

🫥 You moved to teach in an international school. Your mindset didn't.

---

I came to China before COVID. Most expats I knew never left their apartments.

I couldn't sit still. Maybe it's restless legs. But I walked everywhere.

The beaches of Southern China were empty. No one around. A wonderland.

The only others brave enough to be outside were the Russians. They taught me about their deep love for shwarma. They introduced me to the best beach milkshake bar I've ever been to. Thanks for everything, Sasha.

They helped me get over myself.

---

At BASIS Park Lane Harbour, the office staff pranked me with durian. Again and again. I hated it.

Then they hit me with durian ice cream. I started to like it.

That was ego death dressed as dessert.

---

First I worked to travel. All the 5A UNESCO sites I could reach. Then I began to explore Chinese culture more deeply. Then I met my partner. Then I began to live life more deeply.

That progression only happened because I left the bubble.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁.

Moving abroad doesn't guarantee growth. An "average" international experience is one where you physically move but mentally stay put.

Your ego wants you to feel competent and in control. International education, by definition, puts you in situations where you are neither.

So the ego builds a bubble. Familiar food. Familiar friends. Familiar language. The external marker of "lived abroad" without the internal transformation.

---

𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰. 𝗜𝗳 𝟰+ 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗹𝗲.

1. You only eat food you recognize.
2. You haven't fumbled through a local language conversation this month.
3. Your closest friends are all from your home country.
4. You use "I'm just here for work" as a shield.
5. You've been here a year and still can't navigate without Google Maps.
6. You've declined invitations because they felt awkward.

---

🫢𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲:

→ Try a street food dish you can't pronounce.
→ Give directions to a taxi driver in the local language.
→ Accept an invitation to a local home, even if it feels awkward.
→ Navigate public transport without your phone.
→ Let someone correct you without defending yourself.

These small uncomfortable moments train your brain to adapt. They build the resilience that matters.

---

Why don't people do this?

Because temporary discomfort feels worse than it is.

Because "I'll do it next weekend" becomes "I'll do it next year."

Because the bubble is warm.

The discomfort you feel today is temporary. The regret of looking back and realizing you watched Netflix in your apartment instead of experiencing the world is permanent.

You can't grow on good intentions.

You have to engineer the discomfort.

♻️ Share if you've seen the bubble trap others.
💬 What broke you out of yours?

🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly Barry Cooper André Double 安德烈   杜布勒 Howard Stribbell, PhD Zoubiya 💡 Ahmed

🎓International schools don't sell education. They sell status insurance.

One of my former students got into Cambridge. She cried. Not from joy. From disappointment.

"It's not good enough."

Cambridge. One of the most selective universities on earth. And she felt like she failed.

That's when I understood what we actually sell.

The product is not "education." The product is "my child will be fine."

Predictable distortions follow.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻:

𝟭. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲
Tuition is the revenue base. Leadership optimizes for renewals, not truth. Whoever complains loudest gets exceptions. "Bad grades" create churn risk. Consequences become negotiable when a family can exit with their fees.

𝟮. 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀
"English immersion." "Native level." "Study abroad ready." Real EAL provision needs specialists, small groups, & ongoing support. That's expensive. So schools sell the promise & stifle delivery.

𝟯. 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹
Parents overpay when they believe the school increases Ivy odds. So schools hire more counselors and marketing staff. Less visible academic support gets cut. Transcripts get smoothed to protect placement.

𝟰. 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺
ISC Research estimated $67B in annual fee income as of January 2025. Schools sit between cost inflation and fee resistance. When budgets tighten, retention beats excellence. Larger classes. Fewer specialists. Only visible spending.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽:

Fee pressure → parent-pleasing → outcome theater → delivery gap widens → more marketing, not more instruction.

---

5 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗮 3 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗻:

𝟭. 𝗦𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁. Core school: audited academics, safeguarding, predictable assessment. Premium tier: paid elite admissions support. Stop cross-subsidizing the Harvard arms race with general tuition.

𝟮. 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. EAL minutes by level. Max group sizes. Counseling touchpoints by grade. Publish what's included. Everything above becomes a paid tier.

𝟯. 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀. Index to inflation with a hard cap and floor. Parents buy certainty. Schools buy predictability.

𝟰. 𝗗𝘂𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗩𝗜𝗣 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀. Formal pathway with evidence standards & appeal limits. 

𝟱. 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵. External moderation. Standardized growth measures. Published outcome distributions. Schools can't use grades as customer service.

---

My student who cried about Cambridge doesn't have a character flaw.

She absorbed the product we sold her.

You can't fix status anxiety with inspiration. You have to redesign the incentives.

♻️ Share with a board that needs to see the chain.
💬 Which fix would survive your board?

🌍 International education research isn't international.

90% of responses came from three countries. US. UK. Canada.

That's the Anglosphere talking to itself.

---

André Double and Melissa Burnell are researching what educators believe about their home country's values.

The data so far? Western voices only.

If that doesn't change, the West defines "international" and everyone else gets defined.

---

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦, 𝗨𝗞, 𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮:

DM me or follow the link in the comments.

→ Your home country
→ Your education job
→ Three one word values that represent your culture

2 minutes. Shapes research read by school leaders worldwide.

---

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦, 𝗨𝗞, 𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮:

Repost to reach colleagues who aren't. The algorithm favors your network. Use it.

---

Define yourselves. Or get defined.

♻️ Repost to reach educators outside the US, UK, and Canada.
💬 Drop your country below.

André Double 安德烈   杜布勒 Dr. Melissa Burnell 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Andi Elisa Grainne O'Reilly Sally Shafi

📖The best school I ever worked in has almost no online reviews.

---

My first 9 months of teaching were at the New Vistas School in Lynchburg. Charlotte G. Morgan gave me an opportunity I didn't deserve.

She shaped me. Guided me. Unleashed me.

Charlotte understood something most leaders miss: inclusive education is communication. When everyone can seize control of their story and understand how stories work they can define themselves.

I watched students become wildly more capable. Not because of a curriculum. Because someone let them tell who they were.

We took a Carnival cruise around the Caribbean as a senior trip. I came back knowing I could work with any student if I let them lead with their identity first.

That's how you earn almost universal adoration. That school has minimal external reviews because it's extraordinary. Students, teachers, and parents are cared for by high standards and a dedication to who they are.

---

Then John House Myers told me a story. His story got me to cross the sea to BASIS Park Lane Harbour in Southern China. Far from my family, far from anything I knew. Right next to all the adventure I could ever want.

Story moves people. It moved me.

---

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆:

1 → 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝘇𝘇 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘂𝗺.
Stop dividing "American inquiry" from "British rigour" from "local values." Blend them. A history lesson can use Western frameworks to explore host-country history, assessed through creative work instead of standardized tests. Harmony in the clash.

2 → 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿.
International schools exist as bubbles where home and host blur. The transient community replaces extended family. Relationships accelerate because the community is enclosed. Use that energy. Make the school a laboratory for cross-cultural empathy.

3 → 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲.
Every student carries an invisible backpack. They carry the weight. Languages left behind. Friends lost. Cultures they're forgetting. Don't force assimilation. Build advisory systems that act as found family. Not to fix the trauma of relocation, but to acknowledge the burden and make it lighter to carry.

4 → 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
High turnover is reality. Stop pretending everyone stays forever. Teach goodbyes explicitly. RAFT: Reconciliation, Affirmation, Farewell, Think Ahead. When students know their chapter is finite, they value the connections they have right now.

---

Why don't schools do this?

Because it requires treating students as authors, not characters.

Because it means slowing down to listen before you prescribe.

You can't build community on mission statements.

You have to engineer story.

♻️ Share if you want to tell your school's story.
💬 Who shaped your story early in your career?

New Vistas School BASIS International Schools Howard Stribbell, PhD 🔸 David Ardley 🔸You (Sophie) Wu Grainne O'Reilly

📉Are America's students falling behind?

The headlines say yes. The data says it's more complicated.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟯 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗹

For decades, US test scores actually improved. Slowly. Steadily. 1990 to 2013.

Then it stopped. Then it reversed.

Today's 8th graders score lower than they did in 1992. 34 years of progress erased.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

2013 is when US smartphone adoption crossed 50%.

Before 2013, all students improved at similar rates. After 2013, low-performing students plummeted. Elite students stayed stable. Their parents restricted screen time.

Technology didn't hurt everyone equally. It widened the gap.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗲" 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆

The panic assumes America once led the world in education.

It didn't.

In 1964, the US scored below almost every country measured. In 2000, we were 15th in reading. The US has ranked middle or bottom among wealthy nations for 60 years.

Yet it became the global economic superpower anyway.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲

America projects geopolitical anxiety onto its schools.

1950s: Soviet science panic.
1980s: Japanese efficiency panic.
2020s: Chinese STEM panic.

The "crisis" reflects who the current rival is. Not a new failure.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺

The "average American student" doesn't exist.

Upper-class American students perform identically to top peers in Canada or Europe. The average gets dragged down because America's lowest-performing students score far worse than disadvantaged students in other countries.

The US doesn't have a quality problem. It has an inequality problem.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅

Countries with top test scores often have high rates of childhood depression and creativity deficits from rote memorization.

It's hard to invent the iPhone if your youth is spent on exam prep.

"Mediocre" test scores haven't stopped the US from becoming the world's wealthiest nation.

---

So are American students falling behind?

Behind what? Behind when?

The system was never at the top. The decline is real but uneven. The panic is cyclical.

The question isn't whether scores are dropping.

It's whether we measure what actually matters.

♻️ Share if you want to let people know about American education.
💬 Are matters similar if you're not in America?

🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly Ryan Kachold, EdD Greg Rockhold, Ph.D. Bjorn Norstrom Matt Jessop

💰 Your school? Parent centered.

When revenue depends on reenrollment, schools optimize for parent satisfaction. Not student learning.

That creates a shadow curriculum. Keep parents happy. Keep money stable.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.

A few unhappy, high status parents can trigger non renewals and pipeline damage. That makes the loud parent structurally powerful.

Parents can observe grades and responsiveness. They cannot observe learning gains.

So the system optimizes grades, access, and appeasement.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲:

→ 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Grades become customer reassurance.

→ 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆. Strict on low leverage families. Flexible on high leverage families.

→ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. Someone absorbs blame. Teachers are the shock absorbers.

---

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲:

• Can a parent override a grade or discipline consequence by escalation?
• Do "exceptions" cluster among high fee families?
• GPAs trend up while external measures stay flat?
• Same infraction, different consequences depending on family?

---

𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲:

1 → 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
What parents can influence. What they cannot override.

2 → 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.
Service teams handle logistics. They cannot change grades or discipline.

3 → 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘅.
Track deviations by family segment. Board reviews patterns quarterly.

4 → 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
If the board is mostly current parents, you baked in capture.

5 → 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁.
Complaints go through professional review, not instant appeasement.

6 → 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱.
Add teacher retention, grade stability, discipline consistency next to NPS.

---

Why don't schools do this?

Because revenue is real and learning is slow.
Because "partnership" sounds better than "boundary."

If parents can buy exceptions, students cannot trust standards.

That is not student centered. That is customer capture.

♻️ Share if you know a school that doesn't know who runs it.
💬 Which signal would expose a school first?

Grainne O'Reilly 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Barry Cooper Howard Stribbell, PhD Susan Fang Zoubiya 💡 Ahmed

⚖️Most schools make big calls. Most schools have no system.

When I joined my first international school leadership team, I assumed "values" would guide decisions.

We had posters in the hallway. Principles in the handbook. Long meetings full of principals.

But the real decision engine was something else.

Precedent. Politics. And whoever spoke the loudest.

When a school lacks a decision protocol, every decision becomes a power contest. And the cost always lands on students.

---

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹 𝗜 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁.

𝟭 → 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀.
Student safety, dignity, and wellbeing are constraints. Not trade offs. If an option increases risk or violates dignity, kill it early. Do not "balance" it against convenience or reputation.

𝟮 → 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 "𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱" 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀.
For any policy called standard, write the origin in one line: "We do this because X rewards it, Y fears it, or Z requires it." Then decide if that origin still holds. Most traditions are old incentives that never got reviewed.

𝟯 → 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁.
→ Consistency: Would you accept this rule for everyone, every time, including when it hurts you?
→ Outcome: Who wins, who loses, what shows up 6–18 months later?
→ Character: What habit does this teach? What school does it create?

Most schools use one lens and call it leadership.

𝟰 → 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Design the policy as if you could wake up tomorrow as any student, parent, teacher, nationality, or language level. One check: If I am the least advantaged user, what happens to me?

𝟱 → 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁.
For major changes, publish who gets input (heard), veto (can block), and co-design (writes the solution). Ambiguity is where politics hides.

𝟲 → 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹.
Duties collide: truth vs harmony, confidentiality vs safeguarding, equity vs merit. When they do, write which duty wins and why. In plain language.

𝟳 → 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.
Any system relying on data must name: what counts as evidence, who audits it, and what happens when leaders dislike the evidence.

𝟴 → 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.
Burned out leaders make fast, brittle decisions. If you are sleep deprived or politically cornered, delay irreversible calls unless safety demands speed.

---

You cannot ethic your way to good decisions.

You build the protocol. Then you build the habit.

♻️ Share if your school needs a decision system, not just decision makers.
💬 Which step would your school resist most?

Grainne O'Reilly 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Vishal G Allen McInnis Grant Ferguson Barry Cooper

🔗 Your school should be a network.

International schools that scale don't out teach. They out system.

Hero leaders. Charismatic heads. Boutique branding. These work until they don't. Then you're stuck explaining why one campus thrives and another implodes.

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.

Most schools treat each stakeholder as separate. Universities. Accreditors. Feeder schools. Agents. Alumni. Vendors. Regulators.

OECD research on complex systems puts alignment at the center. Standards, curriculum, assessment, and evaluation have to talk to each other. When they don't, quality becomes luck.

---

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆:

1 → 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀.
Not "aligned values." Aligned practice. Same lesson design. Same feedback protocols. Same moderation spine.

2 → 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀.
ISO 21001 exists for this. Process maps for curriculum design, hiring, induction, safeguarding, complaints. Internal audits that treat instruction as a system.

3 → 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.
CIS accreditation benchmarks against international practice. Reputation comes from predictable outcomes, not glossy brochures.

4 → 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀.
"We support every child" is a slogan. "Every new student has a placement, support plan, and advisor check in by week 8" is a system.

5 → 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.
Cross border data flows. Admissions. Counseling notes. Safeguarding records. Vendor contracts that make controller and processor responsibilities explicit. Incident response plans tested yearly.

6 → 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀.
Visas. Housing. Dependents. Background checks. Standardized pipelines with lead times and contingencies. No single point of failure in critical roles.

7 → 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻, 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.
Cross border tuition. Scholarships. Vendor payments. The goal is boring: predictable, compliant, traceable.

---

Why don't schools do this?

Because systems feel corporate.
Because "we're a family" sounds better than "we're a network."
Because informal excellence worked until it didn't.

You can't scale on charisma.

You have to engineer the network.

♻️ Share if your school treats stakeholders as a system, not a list.
💬 What fix would your school do?

Tag a school that should be a network too.

Howard Stribbell, PhD 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly Allen McInnis Nick Hart Akshada Kamat

📚GREAT PEOPLE: Classical education for international schools.

---

My junior year I left for Hungary. Eötvös Loránd University. The Eötvös József College.

I walked Budapest with Hungarian students. I found my family near the Croatian border. School trip to Western Hungary & Transylvania.

International education with me. Years later, I returned to China to teach.

My journey was different from our students. I went out & came back to teach. They go out & will come back to lead at home.

You leave. You gather tools. You return.

---

𝗔 "𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻":

Leaves their home, masters the tools of the world, returns to elevate people.

For the Third Culture Kid, this is the Hero's Journey: The Return.

---

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘂𝗺.

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿 (𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗞-𝟱): 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗲𝘀

Students love stories. Populate their imagination with global archetypes.

→ The Lawgiver: Solon alongside Manu.
→ The Poet: Shakespeare alongside Tagore and Li Bai.

Greatness is universal, not limited to one geography.

---

𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰 (𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝟲-𝟴): 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁

Analyze how figures succeeded. Focus on those who studied abroad.

Sun Yat-sen studied in Hawaii & Hong Kong. He learned Western medicine, Christianity, democratic ideals. He didn't become Western. He used Western political science to diagnose the failures of the Qing Dynasty. Then he struck.

---

𝗥𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰 (𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝟵-𝟭𝟮): 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻

Rhetoric is about the conscious construction of identity.

Gandhi went to London to study law. He mastered the English gentleman. 3 piece suits. Dancing. British Common Law.

When he returned to India, he cast off the suit for khadi cloth. He used British legal training to fight British rule.

"I have mastered your world, but I choose my own."

Zhou Enlai studied in France and Japan. Returned to become China's premier diplomat.

Kwame Nkrumah studied at Lincoln University and LSE. Returned to lead Ghana to independence.

Ho Chi Minh worked as a pastry chef in London and studied in Paris. Used the language of the American Declaration of Independence to declare Vietnam's freedom.

---

→ Don't aim to conquer like Napoleon.
→ Aim to master languages like Ho Chi Minh so you can communicate with anyone, anywhere.
→ Aim for the resilience of Mandela, who studied the language & history of his oppressors so he could eventually make peace with them.

---

International schools should be unafraid to teach the classics. To teach values. To teach local philosophy and local languages.

The purpose of global privilege is not to stay in the elite bubble forever. It's to return and use your hybrid perspective to solve problems that a monocultural person cannot see.

♻️ Share if your school should teach more than Western classics.
💬 Who was your "Great Person" growing up?

Don Lamison Rini Ghosh Adrienn Gecse, PhD Martin Kenyah You (Sophie) Wu François Bibonne

🔧Your school runs on heroes. It should run on defaults.

---

She was the best math and CS teacher I've worked with.

Knew every student. Taught classes. Handled admin. Built perfect timetables. In a small school, she did three jobs. Maybe four.

Then her health gave out.

Multiple teachers covered what she did alone. The timetable got rebuilt, but it wasn't the same. She recovered but the school never quite did.

The system didn't fail because bad people arrived. It failed because nothing was written down.

---

Most schools are designed for best case humans.

Middle leaders will handle conflict. Teachers will grade consistently. Parents won't pressure. Everyone will follow the mission.

That's not a system. That's a wish.

---

𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁.

Parents respond to outcomes, safety, status. Teachers respond to workload, trust, pay. Owners respond to enrollment and margin.

Design around "everyone will do the right thing" and you get drift, favoritism, quiet rulebreaking.

---

𝟵 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲:

𝟭. 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀.
One grading policy. Shared exemplars. Moderation routines. If it's not written, it's not real.

𝟮. 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲.
Biggest failures come from adults, not students. Don't trust less. Verify more, predictably.

𝟯. 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲.
Not vague responsibilities. "We implemented interventions" needs a roster, dates, outcome data.

𝟰. 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸.
Same questions. Same format. Claims must match results.

𝟱. 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆.
Promotions and discipline. Departments controlling stipends or consequences creates capture.

𝟲. 𝗦𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿.
Reduces favoritism. Creates audit trail.

𝟳. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀.
Leaders churn. Systems shouldn't collapse when one strong person leaves.

𝟴. 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀.
Growth paired with wellbeing. Enrollment paired with integrity checks. Bad metrics create gaming.

𝟵. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺.
Rumor and pressure campaigns thrive on silence. Fast, written communication tied to policy reduces manipulation.

---

Why don't schools do this?

Because "we hire great people" sounds better than "we verify great people."

You can't run a school on good intentions.

You have to engineer the defaults.

♻️ Share if your school runs on heroes.
💬 Which default is missing at yours?

🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly André Double 安德烈   杜布勒 Howard Stribbell, PhD Emanuele Canciani Allen McInnis

🧠 Your school runs on vibes. It could run on mentality.

Schools center humanity. They center regeneration. They center values.

They rarely center how minds actually work.

Psychology research uses unified models. Schools treat them as separate initiatives.

---

𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝟭: 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿.

How people interpret events shapes everything.

→ Student transitions: Teach a loop. Event → Interpretation → Feeling → Action → Result. Train reappraisal as a skill.
→ Discipline: Replace "What happened?" with "What story did you tell yourself?"
→ Teacher stress: Build reappraisal scripts for predictable stressors. Parent email. Lesson flop. Observation.

---

𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝟮: 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Need-supportive environments link to better learning and motivation.

→ Autonomy: Give 2–3 valid options, not unlimited freedom.
→ Competence: Tight success criteria and fast feedback, especially for bilingual learners.
→ Belonging: Structured peer routines for new students, not "be nice to the new kid."

If you do nothing else, do this.

---

𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝟯: 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Retrieval practice beats re study every time.

→ EAL programs: Daily short retrieval beats weekly long review.
→ IB, AP, IGCSE: Convert homework into retrieval sets and cumulative spirals.
→ Teacher PD: Stop one off workshops. Run 6 week spaced cycles with retrieval and coaching.

---

𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝟰: 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴.

→ Teacher retention: You cannot outpay meaningless work. Clarify impact. Protect time for high value teaching.
→ Student identity: Stop letting grades be the only identity. Build roles with real contribution.

Especially important for third culture kids rebuilding identity repeatedly.

---

𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝟱: 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

→ Wellbeing curriculum: Teach comparison mechanics and algorithm incentives.
→ Policy: If you allow phones, you accept comparison as part of the learning environment.
→ Pastoral systems: Train staff to spot comparison spirals early.

---

♻️ Share if your school needs to cultivate their garden.
💬 Which would transform your school first?

🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly Grant Ferguson Barry Cooper Ryan Kachold, EdD Allen McInnis

⚖️ Micromanagement & rubber-stamping: the same board failure.

They look opposite. They come from the same root.

---

I've seen both.

At one school, the system was lean, efficient, and profitable. Then administration changed. Leadership copied a system from an unprofitable, failed school elsewhere.

Paperwork increased 16x overnight.

That was micromanagement dressed as "process improvement."

---

At another school, students supervised students during after school activities. No adults present. 

Physical violence. Bullying. Extortion.

The board approved it. Nobody asked hard questions.

That was rubber-stamping dressed as "trust in leadership."

---

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲.

The board has no way to control the organization without touch on operations.

So it picks one of two bad substitutes:

→ 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Control through interference. Trustees chase details, talk to staff, re litigate decisions.

→ 𝗥𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗿-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴. Control through loyalty. Trustees avoid conflict, accept curated info, approve whatever the Head proposes.

Both appear when the board lacks clear goals, clear constraints, and independent verification.

---

𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰. 𝗜𝗳 𝟱+ 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲.

1. Board members talk to staff about operations.
2. Meetings spend more time on complaints than outcomes.
3. The board wants more reports but cannot name a success metric.
4. Trustees debate tactics, not goals & tradeoffs.
5. The Head controls what data the board sees.
6. Personal agendas compete with board adopted priorities.
7. "Chain of command" gets said because it keeps being violated.
8. Committees "help" by doing staff work.
9. No formal Head evaluation tied to agreed goals.

---

𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸:

1 → 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.
What the board decides. What the Head decides. What requires approval. If it's not written, it's not real.

2 → 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻.
60% outcomes. 30% risk. 10% everything else. Dashboards first.

3 → 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.
Third party climate pulse. Turnover heatmap. Exit interviews coded by a neutral party. Data the Head cannot edit.

4 → 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵.
No trustee directs staff. Ever. Violations trigger censure.

5 → 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵.
Two committees only: Audit/Risk & Governance/Nominations. Everything else becomes task forces that dissolve.

---

Why don't schools do this?

Because it requires boards to police themselves.

Because "we trust our Head" sounds better than "we verify our Head."

You cannot govern on good intentions.

You have to engineer the controls.

♻️ Share if your board needs a mirror.
💬 Which diagnostic would expose your school first?

Howard Stribbell, PhD 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly Barry Cooper Greg Rockhold, Ph.D. Bjorn Norstrom

🔍A student skipped our entire senior year to start a gym.

---

Our program had everything. Internships with professors. NCAA pathways. Project-based learning with real stakes. The kind of authenticity students worldwide dream about.

He didn't want any of it.

"I don't want to be just another ignored Chinese international student in California."

Ditto didn't exist yet so he started a gym. Trained full time. Built something that was his.

He's in the UC system now.

---

He understood something the school didn't. He knew what problem he was solving. The school never asked what problem it was solving.

That's the gap I see everywhere in international education. Schools build programs. Families want outcomes. Nobody aligns on purpose.

---

𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹:

𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴
Before classrooms, understand the system. What problem does this school solve? Global mobility for expats? Elite university entry? A pedagogical alternative? Read strategic plans and accreditation reports before lesson observations.

𝟮. 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀
Treat the school's model as an argument, not a fact. If they claim "holistic development," check budget allocations. If they promise "native level English," look at EAL staffing ratios. Marketing claims require operational evidence.

𝟯. 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴
If you can't diagram it, you don't understand it. Map the daily lesson cycle. Map professional development flow. The parts hardest to explain are where the waste lives.

𝟰. 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀
Don't master one curriculum. Compare how IB, A-Levels, and AP approach the same challenges. Ask questions across models: "How does governance impact teacher wellbeing?" Track disagreements between philosophies.

---

𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰. 𝗜𝗳 𝟰+ 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱.

1. You've never read the school's accreditation report.
2. You can't name the primary problem the school solves.
3. You've accepted a policy because "that's industry standard."
4. You can't explain PD flow to a new teacher in under 2 minutes.
5. You only know one curriculum framework deeply.
6. You've never compared how different school types answer the same question.

---

That student wasn't rejecting education. He was rejecting a system that couldn't answer his question.

You can't evaluate what you don't understand.

You have to engineer the analysis.


♻️ Share if your school needs clearer thinking.
💬 Which level would expose the most at your school?

🔸 David Ardley 🔸André Double 安德烈   杜布勒 Grainne O'Reilly Howard Stribbell, PhD Vishal Ganguli

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