On how we would fail
In defining what success looks like for VISST, I find it helpful to also consider what failure might look like. What are some signs indicating that VISST’s implementation has strayed from its founding values? Here are five (hypothetical!) possibilities.
Failure Mode 1: A VISST student is turned off a subject because they aren't challenged.
Students are drawn to VISST for a variety of reasons; one being that they weren’t sufficiently challenged in school. Indeed, it’s a common pattern for students to be bored, then disengage, and then start performing poorly in school. If a VISST student is bored and subsequently decides they aren’t interested in the subject, we have failed to provide them with the intellectual adventure that we promised them.
Failure Mode 2: A VISST student is turned off a subject because they feel they aren’t cut out for it.
Sadly, this happens frequently in our world, especially with math. How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m not a math person”? I always find this saddening. If non-math-people exist, they are surely much more rare than the group of people who are convinced math isn’t for them. Likewise for other subjects as well. If a VISST student entirely gives up on a discipline, then we have failed to support and encourage them.
Failure Mode 3: A student is treated differently based on how they look, or how much they pay.
Discrimination is unacceptable, full stop. Ensuring that it doesn’t happen, particularly as a result of unconscious bias, is a complex question requiring deep thought and care. Furthermore, at VISST, different students pay different tuition amounts based on our sliding scale tuition model; it is likewise essential to us that financially-driven power dynamics do not seep into the classroom. If VISST students feel they are treated differently based on appearance, finances, or indeed any factor outside their control, that would be a failure to uphold our school values.
Failure Mode 4: A VISST teacher feels unappreciated or disillusioned with their work.
One goal when founding VISST was to recognize teachers as the lifeblood of a school and treat them accordingly. Ultimately, supporting teachers will also benefit our students indirectly, by allowing us to attract and retain amazing educators. Hence, our commitment statement to teachers front and centre on our webpage. For more on this topic, see the related blog post, On finding great teachers.
Failure Mode 5: During a lesson, a VISST student just can't figure out why they’re doing what they’re doing.
There are many reasons why a school might have students spend time on a particular activity: to build skills that will be directly used in the future, to build foundational skills upon which other learning will build, to explore student interest in a subject area, to maintain compliance with a higher authority, or simply to have fun. At VISST, we strive to have it clear, in our own minds and our students’, why students are being asked to do a particular task. If students don’t understand why we are learning something – either because it hasn’t been clearly communicated, or, worse, because there is indeed no good reason – then we have failed to achieve our goals as a school.
Although these failure modes are hypothetical so far, we will always need to remain vigilant in upholding our values and avoiding these pitfalls. We think that clearly identifying failure modes will help us keep an eye out so that we can take action when we need to.
If you enjoyed this post, consider joining the VISST mailing list at visst.ca/#updates!