Strategies, Facilities Planning, and Innovative Ideas for Educational Organizations

In a recent conversation with a candidate searching for a position, he lamented his inability to perform an on-the-spot analysis when asked to do so in an interview. Are we so enamored with the quick answer that we dismiss the one that may be a little slower, but more thoughtful? Yes, there is something very seductive about those interviewees that can answer almost any query quickly. Surely they are the best and brightest. When boards of education interview potential superintendents, shouldn’t they penalize those candidates who are slower to respond? But how valuable is that skill? Should we really select someone on that basis? (See my page on Picking Good Leaders.)

So now let’s think about the implications for students…If the school calendar is 180 days and a student needs 190 days to master the material, is that student really “sub-standard”?