Now Reading
Outstanding schools say a resolute “No!” to the Industrial Sausage Machine Approach to Education. David Flint, Principal, South View School Dubai, explains Why.
0

Background: Say”No!” to the Industrial Sausage Machine Approach to Education. David Flint, Principal, South View School Dubai explains Why.

“Historically, schools have taught subjects in isolation.

STEAM teaching not only allows concepts and subjects to be taught collectively – adding relevance and practicality to the learning and the subjects themselves, but also ensures that the skills that students learn in studying STEAM subjects in this way are relevant not only to the individual disciplines, but for each student’s life when they graduate to university, college or industry. At South View School the academic context of STEAM goes hand-in-hand with a pastoral emphasis on working with others, innovating and generating ideas – and developing empathy.

So what makes an outstanding school? If the focus of the program in a school is the child and the child’s development, particularly if it is on their terms, then this is a positive indicator for parents of a good school.

South View School Dubai - definitively not a sausage factory

Schools need to be dynamic enough to take the time to understand each and every pupil, and their families, in order to develop and meld their teaching so that learning is bespoke rather than one simply rolling out an industrial sausage machine approach to education.”

David Flint. Principal. South View School Dubai. Speaking with SchoolsCompared. September 2021.

A deep care for children and their futures; schools that genuinely listen to families; – and a positive, inspirational school culture that celebrates child achievement. These, for David Flint, Principal of South View School in Dubai, are the core ingredients of an outstanding school – and the key elements that parents should look for when shortlisting those schools that are likely to offer the best for for their child.

GEMS_INARTICLE  

We spoke with Mr Flint in a wide ranging interview that stretched from the core elements of STEAM subject teaching and learning – and its impact in schools, to his most inspirational recent experience in education with a student who praised his Mathematics teacher for making a difficult subject both comprehensible – and fascinating.

We rarely any of us, even on school tours, get the time we need with Principals – and hopefully this interview will help parents, facing many of the issues that inevitably come in the shortlisting process, in deciding which school will really deliver for their children.

This SchoolsCompared TV special interview is the seventh in our series of interviews with the very best Principals in the UAE on key issues for parents in education.

To read our independent review for parents of South View School in Dubai, click here.

To visit the official web site of South View School, click here.

© SchoolsCompared.com. 2021. All rights reserved.

About The Author
Jon Westley
Jon Westley is the Editor of SchoolsCompared.com and WhichSchoolAdvisor.com UK. You can email him at jonathanwestley [at] schoolscompared.com

Leave a Response