Change begins with grazed knees

I met another agent for change last weekend. Not a Change Agent with initial capitals but the self-assured headmistress of a girl's secondary who is working for much needed changes in the way we educate our children.

Speaking at her school's Open Day for prospective parents, she expounded an educational philosophy based on the premise that each child was different and responded to different ways of teaching and different motivations. That's pretty similar to the approach we take as Change Agents when working with our corporate clients.

Even better was her attitude to risk. The head became quite animated when she talked about the school's unusually adventurous play area in which they had recently installed a zip wire through the trees. This is a school which encourages girls to climb the trees in the grounds and one where "they learn a lot through grazed knees."

This is progress. A few years ago, I visited a junior school where the head told me that, in an attempt to break out of excessive health and safety controls, the Local Authority had called for young children to be taught how to take risks in play. "The problem," he said, "is that they insist that we do it on a safety mat."

There's no progress without risk. We also encourage our clients to believe that grazed knees are alright.