How are you doing?

I've been thinking that the question - how are you doing? - is framed from one of two opposing attitudes (and the third "Joey" way which is something else entirely and not really relevant here, except that it's interesting to consider how many people think of Joey when the question is posed). The first attitude is one of curiosity and concern - What do you need? Are you comfortable? How can I help? The second attitude is one of "accountability" and accusation - Are you meeting the quota, outcomes, checklist? Are you performing adequately? Are you "improving"?

Lately we've been caught up in thinking that the "accountability" attitude is the best one for schools. But I'm not convinced. I'm pretty sure that there is nothing more important to the future than education today. And I'm pretty sure that we all have a role to play in making sure that we have the best education system possible. But I doubt that we'll get there through checklists and performance indicators. Rather than ask - how are you doing and prove it - it might be time to ask - how are you doing, so our entire community help.