Hello, Superintendent, Principal, or Administrator–

Thank you for the work you do to help this educational ship run smoothly. It can’t be easy. You have a lot of unique stakeholders to contend with, different tasks to execute, limited budgets to manage, and the huge responsibility of preparing children for future adulthood. 

That’s a lot.

Like children and teachers, not all administrators are the same, so I want to avoid painting your profession with too wide a brush. In fact, my goal in writing is to highlight that what makes the educational setting unique from a business is the fact that no two children are alike; no two classes are ever the same (even when the same content is being taught); and no two teachers, even of the same subject, will teach it in the same way. 

And that is a good thing worth protecting.

I am afraid, however, that over the past decade or two, outside influences have altered your view of good teaching and learning, in favor of shiny and new technologies that claim to ease teacher workload, improve learning, and streamline school management.