Seeking Success and Finding Belonging

By Andy Freeman British School Principal

In my last article I talked about the word community and what it meant for us at the British School, and what it meant to have it back. With a community returned for almost a year now, Mr. Kett and I have already started looking at what The Next Chapter looks like for us based on what we experienced this past year, what we think is important for our community in the future (wherever they go) and what we need to start planning now to support them.

What I noticed most with the return of our community is that each member has experienced it differently. This is because we are individuals who are looking for our place in it, be it as a teacher, a Foundation student, a Teaching Assistant, a Year 9 student, a parent, an administrator, a leader or a Parent Association representative. Some of the experiences of each of our members has been positive and others a challenge; that’s community.

I have also seen that each of these individuals are seeking success in some form. The success they seek is unique to them, their personality, their interests, their previous life experiences and their external influences(ers). Some [parents, staff and children] want to be successful in making new friends in new situations. Others want to be successful in making a difference to new communities. There are some who are seeking success by making a difference to themselves. And there are those who may not yet know what success they seek.

Regardless of who the individual is or what success they seek, it is our job as a school to do two things. The first is to inspire each to their own success. Help each person find what it means to ‘be their own successful’. This could be a parent connecting with an organisation beyond the school campus to find a role they can play in Seoul. It could be a child in Year 1 participating in and enjoying a playdate for the first time now that they are able to speak English. Success can mean so many different things.

Our second job as a school is to nurture a community where each individual feels belonging. This is a challenge in an international setting, more so when people come from different experiences as a result of the pandemic. However, I truly feel our core values help. They provide a shared belief that we can each draw on to create and nurture a culture of belonging for each person we meet, each day. Allowing each person to be their true, authentic self, and allowing us to accept each other for who they are and what they do.

Writing The Next Chapter, as you can see, is not easy. It is complex. It is a chapter with over 300 characters, 100s of locations, and tens of thousands of plots. What is at the centre of it though is that we have inspiring [individual] success and feeling [individual] belonging at the centre of all decisions we make going forward from this point. It is the core of our design blueprint for sure and we are starting to author with this in mind. Ghost writers are welcome too… apply here with your script ideas: andrew.freeman@seoulforeign.org

Others:

Pinpoint:

Is the focus simple and to the point? Not too big and not too small?

What impact (positive or otherwise) might this poke have on others? The team? The students?

The parents? Leadership? Does the planning template capture these benefits/ challenges?

Keep the end in mind:

Is the intended outcome clear? When might it come to an ‘end’?

What evidence/measures will I have?