Year 1, Lesson 2.6: Alignment, Misalignment, and School Mission

Unit Learning Goal

Students will practice self-reflection and develop a purpose-driven mission.

LESSON GOAL

Students will be able to analyze collective missions and discern areas of alignment and misalignment between stakeholders.

ASSESSMENT

Monitor student conversations in small groups to determine understanding of the school mission statement and its connection to values, alignment/misalignment, and good work.
Analyze Exit Tickets for application of the ideas of alignment/misalignment, good work, and mission.

CASEL Alignment

Social Awareness

PORTFOLIO DOCUMENTATION

Optional: Notes taken during small group discussions
Lesson 2.6 Exit Ticket
Optional: Good Work in My Community Handout

RESOURCES

Alignment and Misalignment blog post
Your school’s mission statement, value statement, motto, or other defining statement
Class Mission Statement from Lesson 2.5

PREREQUISITES

Lesson 2.5 Individual and Class Missions

TOTAL TIME

45 minutes

Remind students that last lesson students discussed their individual and class mission statements. Ask if they can remember what they came up with as a class mission statement. If time is available, ask if they have any changes they might make to the mission statement.
This week, tell students that they’ll be broadening their perspective to look more widely at how different stakeholder groups may agree or disagree with one another about their goals or missions.

Instructions

1. Explain the concepts of Alignment and Misalignment to students. [10 minutes]

Misalignment

The various people involved in work together do not share similar goals or views about what their work should achieve. This situation can be due to differences of opinions at the individual level or to underlying structural issues. It might be difficult to agree upon what successful “good work” looks like.

Alignment

The various people in an organization or workplace share the same goals as one another and have similar views of what constitutes success. Aligned people have common understandings of excellence, of ethical behavior, and of what engages them in the work. This makes it easier for people to do good work with one another. It makes it more likely that quality, enjoyable work will be done together and less likely that ethical breaches will occur.

Talk students through a relevant example of alignment and misalignment that is relevant in your own context. It could be something from the news, an experience that occurred at your school, etc.
If you do not have a ready example, you could use the field of education and prompt students to think about who all of the stakeholders in education are and what they each want for education and school (e.g., parents, teachers, students, administrators, community members, government, etc.).
Remind students of the mission statement that was written for the class in the previous lesson. Project or display the mission in a visible area. Ask students to discuss the following questions.
- Based on what we see in this mission statement, what might the alignments be for us as community members of this class?
- Based on what we see in this mission statement, what might the misalignments be for us?
- How do our values relate to those alignments or misalignments?

“Here in Romania [this lesson] really got the students thinking. We have a motto of the high school but not a mission statement. Despite the school board having crafted one at some point, it is not known to students and they have never considered what it could look like or what are the values of their school. I only wish I was less pressed for time and gave them more time to think and work on the details.”
- Briena Stoica at Colegiul Național Al Papiu Ilarian, Romania

2. What is our school’s mission? [30 minutes]

Explain that the idea of alignment and misalignment becomes especially important when thinking about mission among groups of people. Use the school as an example to explain this concept.
- Describe that there are many different stakeholders in schools: students, teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, community members, government, etc.
- All of these stakeholders may be aligned or misaligned in their vision of the mission of school.
Project your school’s mission statement, value statement, motto, or other defining statement on the board. Read it aloud. Ask students what they would consider the keywords or most crucial parts and why.
- If there is no such statement to which you can refer, do one of the following alternatives:
  - Question what such a statement could look like for your school.
  - Come up with a set of values together that your class believes is important for the group.
Break students into small groups of 3-4. With students referring to the mission/values/motto of your school, have them respond to the following questions with their group members [10 minutes]. (You may wish to provide example responses if needed in order to spark conversation.) Have one student in each group be the “scribe” and write down the points of the conversation. Float around to listen in on conversations and provide guidance as necessary.
Discussion Questions

Where and when do you see good work happening at our school?

How do you feel the statement might represent alignment of the different stakeholders at this school?
Are there any areas of misalignment between different stakeholders at this school (students, teachers, administrators, parents, etc.) that the mission statement does not address?

Provide a definition for any keywords in the statement.
What values are important at our school according to the mission statement?
How do our personal and class mission statements compare to our school mission statement?
What does good work mean at our school according to the mission statement?

Bring the groups back together. Using the questions as a guide, facilitate feedback from each group. Write answers on the board and draw connections as appropriate.
Optional: Keep the written discussion notes for the Good Work Portfolio.

“I followed the lesson plan but allowed several days for my students to complete an infographic of their mission statement. We used Canva templates to design an infographic.”
- Educator from The Good Project Community of Practice
“The chance to write their own mission statement and how they are going to get there was great. The students really liked looking at their careers and how they are going to get there.”'
- Educator from The Good Project Community of Practice

Exit Ticket 2.6

3. Closing & Exit Ticket. [5 Minutes]

Present students with the Lesson 2.6 Exit Ticket.

Students will choose one of the “3 Es” of good work to write 1 sentence about how their school mission addresses this element of good work. Then, they will rate whether their school stakeholders seem aligned or misaligned about this element, and a 1-2 sentence explanation of their rating.

Keep the written reflection for the Good Work Portfolio.

Possible Enrichments:

“Good Work in My Community”

Students will complete the Good Work in My Community Handout wherein students choose a community of which they feel a part. This can be an activity in which they participate, a religious community, their town or city, their family, an after-school program, etc.

Students will identify the values of their community, explain how those are demonstrated, consider what good work means, and look back at their personal value sort to reflect on how their values are in alignment or not with those of the community.
Keep the written reflection for the Good Work Portfolio.