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Abstract:

Got time for an "Aha" moment, as the school year draws to an end? Read Margaret Wheatley's reflections on schools as living systems. She writes: "I've learned that we can't design anything that works if we don't have the whole system involved in its creation. I know from experience that most people are very smart -- they have figured out how to make things work when it seemed impossible, they have invented ways to get around roadblocks and dumb policies, they have created their own networks to support them and help them learn. But rarely is this visible to the organization until and unless people are brought into problem-solving and organizational change processes and invited to contribute what they know. The complexity and density of systems require that we engage the whole system just so we can harvest the invisible intelligence that exists throughout the organization."

Wheatley, M.J. (1999). Bringing schools back to life: Schools as living systems. [Excerpted from Creating Successful School Systems: Voices from the university, the field, and the community. Christopher-Gordon Publishers, September 1999]. Retrieved from Margartet J. Wheatley's website 13 May 2008. http://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/lifetoschools.html

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