The future of the mind

INTERVIEW The future of the mind Baroness Susan Greenfield is one of Britain’s foremost and best-known scientists. In her recently published book, ID: The quest for identity in the 21st century, she warns that use of new digital technologies has the potential to alter the human brain and that today’s young people are in danger of a loss of identity. Professor Greenfield will be keynote speaker at the AHISA Biennial Conference in September 2009. Here she talks to Garth Wynne about the future of the mind and influences on her own development. Baroness Greenfield, thank you very much for giving up the time to talk to Independence magazine. What was your own schooling like, and what was its impact on you in your life? I suppose it was my secondary school that was the most formative in that it was an all girls’ school. The lack of gender stereotyping was a huge advantage. I think it does actually free you up just to be yourself, rather than feel you have to do girly things. My ex-husband used to say the only disadvantage was that when we did ballroom dancing I tried to lead! Because I’m pretty tall, I was always the man when we did ballroom dancing at school. The other thing that was formative about 38 Independence Volume 33 No. 2 my school, and I think one hears this over and over again, is that I had one truly inspirational teacher. It just happened that mine taught Ancient Greek. I found her the most exciting, wonderful person and the lessons with her were the most inspirational and stimulating. You have said that if only schools showed what you could do with the facts, girls would be more interested in science. What do you mean by that? I think if you can put things into a context then learning is much more meaningful. The reason I gave up science at school was that the notion of distilling water seemed so boring. No one told me why that was interesting, I had no context for it, so the reasons wars started and why people fell in love seemed much more interesting. The BBC at one stage were advertising revision programs, saying ‘revision in bite-sized chunks’. Bite-size chunks are the last thing you want. You want the context as wide as possible. In your new book, ID: The quest for identity in the 21st century, you express a concern for the potential vulnerability of human nature in an age of technology. So, what do you believe human nature to be, and why might it be vulnerable in this new age of technology? ‘Human nature’ is a very tricky term because most of us think automatically we know what it means. The meaning INTERVIEW seems obvious as we use the term all the time but, if you think about it, ‘human’ disenfranchises all other primates, not to mention other animals, and ‘nature’ implies that there’s something above and beyond our environment, something that we would have in common with rainforest Indians or ancient Greeks. So you have to try and think of things that are examples of what ancient Greeks did and Amazonian rainforest Indians do, that chimps never do, and that is a hard call. As human beings we often use human nature as an excuse when we’ve behaved in a way that needs excusing. People say, ‘oh, it’s just human nature’, or ‘there’s human nature for you’. Using that as a starting point, my own view is that human nature can embrace animal behaviours, but that we do them in an exaggerated way and out of the context of survival. For example, eating a lot. I don’t think any other animal does it apart from over indulged pets. On the whole, animals when left to their own devices won’t over eat. Similarly, too much sleeping or even too much sex, all these things which no longer have survival value, have acquired a symbolism among humans, according to the culture you’re in. I’ve been very fat or very thin in certain cultures, for example. So my own view is that human nature is, funnily enough, the Seven Deadly Sins, which is why they have such an appeal. They are readily identifiable across cultures – we recognise them immediately, even when they have different contextual expressions. Human nature is the ability of humans to symbolise things, even behaviours. If you think about it, avarice and vanity and envy and so on, all those things relate to you as the individual using symbols that stand for things. Whether it’s money or a Cartier necklace or a Burberry umbrella, these are things that people might take pride in, be jealous of, or covet, which in turn gets people aware of the differences between one person and another. For a large part of their time children inhabit a two dimensional environment . . . I think we should at least query whether that will actually force changes in the brain in a way that we haven’t experienced in the past. So I think human nature is, crudely, the ability to use symbols. Even behaviours are symbols. And why we use symbols is because we wish to make ourselves different from someone else. So it’s literally about status, a standing apart from someone else. And it’s vulnerability in the age of technology, then? The vulnerability is because the associations and the culture are gleaned from the environment in which one lives. ‘We’re born citizens of the world’ is a lovely phrase. But then from birth we become adapted to our particular culture. The reason we’re occupying more ecological niches than any other species on the planet is because we’re very good at learning and adapting much more than any other species. So, if that is the case, if the environment changes, it means that we too will change – our brains will change. What I am suggesting is that the environment now for children in the West is different from at any other time. Technology can mean that for a large part of their time children inhabit a two dimensional environment, that is, on the screen. I think we should at least query whether that will actually force changes in the brain in a way that we haven’t experienced in the past. And that’s a threat, you feel, more than perhaps other changes in previous generations or times? I think it will only be a threat if we sleepwalk into it and say ‘well, that’s technology for you, that’s human nature, there’s nothing we can do’ – or, worse – ‘no one’s going to change my brain, I’m inviolate, everything is fine’. Educationalists and teachers and neuroscientists and parents and children should all sit down together and try and work out (a), what we want education to be in the 21st century and, (b), how we’re going to deliver it by using various technologies. Otherwise it’s a bit like giving car keys to a kid aged about 10 years old and saying, ‘go and teach yourself to drive’. What would the neuroscientist suggest schools can do to nurture the creativity and inner genius in all their students? Well, because I’m not an educationalist I would suggest several things. One is, you must have an atmosphere that inspires confidence. For many people, and especially girls, the biggest fear is to make a fool of yourself, or to be laughed at, or to be wrong. Somehow you have to create an environment where those things don’t apply, where no matter what you say you will not be derided or laughed at and where you understand that to get something wrong is a way to learn. The other thing is to allow people the time to learn. I think the big problem at the moment, possibly with schools in Australia, certainly with schools in the UK, is that there’s this huge pressure to gallop through the curriculum, to tick the boxes and so on. At the Royal Institution we invite schools to come for a day and encourage students to literally play around in a lab, with nothing Independence Volume 33 No. 2 39 INTERVIEW on the curriculum. They can take a brain apart or a computer apart, or build a monster if they’re very young. We’ve created a space where you can actually go at the pace of your own curiosity and thought processes rather than galloping through the curriculum and ticking the boxes. The whole point of science, which is to ask a question and test it, seems to have gone to the wall. Young people aren’t doing science, they’re doing science facts, and that’s perceived to be boring. So my own view is that somehow the curriculum should be adjusted so it’s an attitude and a spirit of enquiry that one fosters, not just a learning of facts that you then forget once you pass the exam. This is not the Victorian era. You don’t have to recite lots and lots of grammar or facts and things, because everything is available. It’s more what questions do you ask, how to use the information you have, how do you connect things up, what’s the big idea, how can you evaluate it, what do you test it against, how does it fit in with other things, what does this mean to you in your life? Do you need a fundamental discipline knowledge to be able to ask those questions and seek those answers in a sophisticated way? You do – it’s what I call a conceptual framework, and if you don’t have a conceptual framework, what questions are you going to ask? You just sit there in this answer-rich, question-poor world. The dilemma then is balancing the conceptual framework and discipline depth on the one hand and enabling enough time so that the framework is not seen as an end in itself on the other – a real challenge for schools. Exactly, exactly. What’s your message to teenagers about looking after their brains? First of all I’d say lay off any drugs unless the doctor’s given them to you. Alcohol in moderation – eventually – but don’t go near cannabis because that is different from 40 Independence Volume 33 No. 2 alcohol. One of the myths is that it’s the same, and it’s not. Cannabis can impair your ability, even though that never manifests itself as a clinical problem. So that would be absolutely the first thing because the way drugs work is to work at the connections in your brain and it’s the connections between your brain cells, the pattern of connections, that make you the person you are. So, blowing your mind is literally what you’re doing when you take drugs. The second, as I say to my students at Oxford, is that you have one rival only – and that is yourself last week. The whole issue is for you to do better than you did last week. There will always be people who are fatter, thinner, richer, poorer, cleverer, stupider, older, younger than you are and you don’t want to get into an arms race where you do things just to be better than someone else. I know life is competitive, but if you are doing your best and competing with yourself of last week then somehow everything else comes into place. The whole trick is to really identify what you enjoy doing, really work at those things and enjoy them and don’t beat up on yourself because you’re not perfect. And how does Baroness Susan Greenfield look after her brain and the attached body? My Dad’s 93 and my Mum’s 81 and they both are really fizzing. Mum’s motto is, ‘always go out’. They still go out and they love going to parties and things and they’re the last to leave. So the first thing is, always go out if you can. Don’t turn down invitations unless you’re listening to your body and it tells you you’re tired. Another of my Mum’s sayings is, ‘eat and sleep whenever you can’. So, you eat and sleep whenever you can, you go out as much as you can, and above all you keep an open mind and don’t beat up on yourself. I think the most corrosive and unhealthy thing is stress and fretting and worrying and plotting and machinating and going over grievances. You know, it’s all very, very corrosive and daft. Get out there and live, that’s my idea. Baroness Greenfield, thank you for speaking with us. We look forward to hosting you at our conference in 2009. Baroness Greenfield was interviewed by Garth Wynne, Headmaster of Christ Church Grammar School, Perth, WA. Baroness Greenfield is a keynote speaker at the 12th AHISA Biennial Conference, Leading Schools for Tomorrow’s People, to be held in Hobart, Tasmania, 13-15 September 2009. Biography Baroness Susan Greenfield is Professor of Synaptic Pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford, where she leads a multi-disciplinary team investigating the physical basis of the mind and its implications for our understanding of human behaviour, work and society. She is also Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, an independent charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science, and Director of the Institute for the Future of the Mind, which undertakes cross-disciplinary research into issues at the interface between neuroscience, cognition and technology. In 2006 she was installed as Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. In 2001 Baroness Greenfield was awarded the CBE for her contributions to the public understanding of science and created a life peer. In 2003 she received the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur. In 2005 she was the SA Government’s ‘Thinker in Residence’ in Adelaide. Baroness Greenfield attended The Godolphin and Latymer School, an independent secondary school for girls in London, and is a graduate of St Hilda’s College, Oxford. She has received 28 honorary degrees. BROWSE & BUY ONLINE 250_Indepence_Mag.indd 1 25/6/08 2:47:42 PM Installing Video Projectors? You need JED controllers! JED Microprocessors, Melbourne, designs and builds low cost wired remote controllers for video projectors in classrooms, laboratories, meeting rooms, churches and lecture theatres. They can mount on a lectern or desk, or wall. The JED T460 (right) is a simple control panel preprogrammed to control project functions from just four clearly labelled buttons. Compare this with complex, hand-held remotes, which get dropped, lost or stolen. The ON and OFF buttons turn the projector on and off. (The ON button also scrolls between up to eight sources). The VOLUME UP and VOLUME DOWN do just that (or can become Mute and Freeze toggles). The simple-to-use controller is preprogrammed with the codes for over 1250 different projectors, and can be updated with new codes. It is used identically for all projectors, and has a backlit LCD display showing status: Warmup, Cooldown, or the current source (VCR, computer, camera etc), Audio Volume and Lamp Hours. The new T440 (below) is our low-cost, simple controller, with just 4, 6 or 8 buttons labelled by function, and LEDs for status. It teams nicely with whiteboards, and is simply setup with switches on the back (no programming!). Both units have built-in timers, which, if you value the run-time costs of projector bulbs, can pay for them (and save power) just by preventing the projector from being left on when a PIR detector finds everyone has gone home. An associated T461 Audio Controller can mix and switch audio if the projector doesn’t, and also control screens. A new T464 Ethernet Box has a CAT5 connection for remote monitoring of A/V equipment rooms by the techs. For more details see: http://www.jedmicro.com.au or call: JED Microprocessors Pty Ltd Boronia, 3155, Australia Telephone: (03) 9762 3588 Natalie van Wetering Breaking through the marketing clutter A case study from Brighton Grammar School Natalie van Wetering, Director of Development at Brighton Grammar School, describes how the success of the school’s recent marketing campaign was generated. The education market in Melbourne has never been more competitive. Girls in particular have almost become a commodity to be ‘traded’ as the girls only schools fight hard to secure every enrolment and the ever growing coeducational schools remain focused on their growth strategies, which often include addressing the issue of gender balance. As a consequence, much of the marketing activity (particularly in press and out-door advertising using bill-boards, bus shelters and the like) in recent years seems to have been focused on enrolment growth with little investment in brand awareness and positioning. In was in this context that two years ago Brighton Grammar School undertook research that was to lead to a marketing campaign that not only changed the public perception of the school with prospective students and families, but also broke new ground in the way in which the school marketed to its own boys, staff and current families. Brighton Grammar School (BGS) is an Anglican school for boys, from early learning to VCE. The school was established in 1882, and for 125 years was 42 Independence Volume 33 No. 2 perceived to deliver a fairly conservative yet sound curriculum to boys who, by a vast majority, live within a 5 km radius of the school. The school population is approximately 1200, making it mid-sized in the context of the Melbourne market. While the school has some very desirable facilities it will never compete on an equal footing in this respect with the likes of Melbourne Grammar, Haileybury College or Caulfield Grammar School – all key competitors of BGS. education market place had positioned themselves as an expert in boys and, most importantly, none of the large local competitors to BGS could ever claim this position because none of them are boys only. A fabulous opportunity existed, BGS grabbed it and the ‘we teach boys’ campaign was born. It is worth noting at this point that unlike many other regions in Australia, market research undertaken by BGS in 2005 clearly indicated that in the BGS geographic area the perception held by parents considering independent schooling for their students was that single sex was equivalent to ‘traditional, conservative, strict discipline, old fashioned’ and coeducational was likened to ‘contemporary, progressive, a natural choice’. The tagline ‘we teach boys’ is without doubt simplistic and obvious – however, the challenge was to roll out a campaign that demonstrated an expertise in teaching boys, highlighting the strengths of a boys only school without denigrating the very popular coeducational option. It was the team’s belief that if we showed we understood boys, were in tune with boys, liked boys, celebrated boys and delivered a curriculum especially designed for boys, then parents (and students) who shared this value base would be attracted to the school. The campaign also needed to break through the clutter of other marketing campaigns, and be authentic and surprising. Defining the unique selling position The challenge for the in-house marketing team made up of Natalie van Wetering, Director of Development and Vicki Goodwin, a part time communications specialist, was to identify the school’s unique selling position (USP) and roll out a campaign that would raise public awareness of the school and maintain current levels of enrolments. A secondary goal was to find a strong marketing position from where a growth strategy could be implemented if required in the future. In an effort to define the USP, and define what it was that current parents and boys valued about their school, market research in the form of a series of focus groups was undertaken. Amongst the diverse responses, one common theme dominated – that was, BGS was good at teaching boys. Interestingly, no other school in the very competitive Melbourne MaRkETINg The importance of authenticity In recognition that many students these days have a significant say in the school they attend, a key success factor was to ensure that whatever advertising we did had to be appealing to teenage boys as well as their mothers. We also recognised that women are responsible for more than 80 per cent of the discretionary buying in a family, including the purchasing of education. And finally, we wanted to communicate something that would elicit a response of ‘I wouldn’t have expected that from Brighton Grammar’. Over three or four weeks a series of interviews were undertaken with about 30 teachers exploring what they especially do for boys in their teaching and what works well with boys. Following this there was a series of interviews with students of all ages to ‘test’ that what the teachers had said about what they were doing actually resonated with the boys. The findings from the interviews were simplified into a series of vignettes classified into five key themes to reflect the key cultural traits of the school. The vignettes became the basis of the marketing communications plan. It is this authenticity that has been one of the key success factors of the campaign. • ‘We teach boys’ as the most dominant message. • A high quality photograph, but not of your typical ‘smiling’ students. • A catchy headline. Often this provided the point of tension in the advertisement; for example, ‘Dramatic outbursts are encouraged’ (for an advertisement about performing arts) and ‘We encourage your 14 year old to get lost’ (for an advertisement about the middle school city exploration program). • Brief copy about some aspect of teaching boys. The copy is different from many other school advertisements in that it has shifted from highlighting a feature of the school to offering insights into boys and the way they learn. Through this we are giving our boys, the staff and the parents the language they need to answer questions from friends and family about why they have chosen a boys’ school. It also affirms for parents that the school really does ‘get’ boys. We encourage your 14 year old to get lost. Roll-out Graphic designer, Liz Grant of Design Grant, interpreted the vignettes into a series of press advertisements. Where possible, the design tried to be a little irreverent or included a tension between what was expected and what was said. This irreverence is so typical of boys, and indeed men. One great comment a teacher made in an interview was ‘boys love a laugh, and so do we’. That, in so many ways, says it all! Each advertisement had a consistent red and blue grid (layout) featuring: We send boys out to discover the secrets of the city: – Identify landmarks – Practise map reading – Navigate public transport. We know they are learning life-skills, but they just think they are having fun. To learn more about our curriculum especially designed for boys ring John Arrowsmith on 8591 2202 BRIGHTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL An Anglican School for boys ELC to VCE OPEN MORNING & SCHOOL TOURS Friday 29th February 9.30am 90 Outer Crescent Brighton Vic Telephone: 8591 2202 www.brightongrammar.vic.edu.au Independence Volume 33 No. 2 43 MaRkETINg • A consistent call to action. Included in the advertisements was the line, ‘To learn more about our curriculum especially designed for boys ring John Arrowsmith on 8591 2202’. If an open day date had to be included it would just sit next to the call to action. The same call to action was used in all radio advertising as well. While the style of the advertisements had great consistency, it was never boring because each week in campaign time there was a different advertisement showing a different aspect of teaching boys. The boys, parents and staff looked forward to seeing what would come next. So too, we had a series of radio advertisements, each one telling another small part of the story in a slightly cheeky way. Where do they Blood, sweat and cheers. keep the sparelife. Inspiration for tyre? Boys need to know how things work – they love to ask questions and just get the answer. We know exploration is one of the ways boys learn best. Throughout their schooling we look for opportunities to teach in this way. To learn more about our curriculum especially designed for boys ring John Arrowsmith on 8591 2202 OPEN MORNING & SCHOOL TOURS BRIGHTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL An Anglican School for boys ELC to VCE Friday 16th May 9.30am 90 Outer Crescent Brighton Vic Telephone: 8591 2202 www.brightongrammar.vic.edu.au Placement BGS has run several three- to four-week campaigns leading up to open days, but focusing more on branding and generating enquiries than promoting school tours. During the campaign periods, advertisements were placed in local papers (consistently on a page targeted at women); complementary radio advertisements were booked on an AM station breakfast show that has the highest ratings in Australia; and when possible we took distressed (discounted) space in magazines inserted into the weekend newspapers. This layered, concentrated coverage gives readers the sense that BGS is ‘everywhere’. • The type of attendee at open days changed from many with vague enquiries to parents and boys who had come to see what BGS was offering especially for boys. • Levels of enquiry from media dramatically increased, seeking expert opinion about boys’ issues. • Boys and staff are lining up to feature in an advertisement! • The ‘we teach boys’ campaign featured in a good hearted way in the Year 12 leaving parodies. Please note, it hasn’t all been easy. Many staff, especially in the early stages, were uncomfortable with the approach. They didn’t like the way our advertisements used politically incorrect phrases such as ‘boys like to blow things up’. But, the boys liked it and mothers, who know boys so well, really liked it. It was having the courage to ‘be real’ that made the advertisements work. Many in our school community and beyond simply did not understand why BGS was advertising, and assumed the enrolment levels were low. Nothing was further from the truth. Enrolments were strong – we simply wanted to clearly communicate who and what BGS is all about. I am grateful to our Headmaster, Michael Urwin, who empowered us to develop and execute this campaign. He also will- ingly lent his voice to the radio advertisements, resulting in gentle and not so gentle ‘digs’ from many of his colleagues from other schools. I admire the courage he showed and the faith he demonstrated in his staff to get on with the task. And so our work continues. We consistently go back to talk to more boys and staff about their experiences at BGS allowing the ‘we teach boys’ campaign to continue to be relevant, searching for the opportunity to push just a little further outside the square, and tweaking it to highlight different programs or aspects of school life. These days most people we approach in the school community are very enthusiastic to talk to us, clearly hoping we will choose to tell their story about our school. There is a sense of pride in the obvious success of the campaign. It’s a great thrill when you say to someone you just met that you work or attend BGS and they respond with a big questioning grin – ‘BGS, we teach boys??’ Natalie van Wetering is Director of Development and Community Relations at Brighton Grammar School. Prior to her appointment at BGS six years ago she was Executive Director of the St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation, Melbourne for five years. Natalie is also President of the Victoria/Tasmania chapter of ADAPE, the Association of Development and Alumni Professionals in Education (Australasia Inc). ADAPE’s website is www.adape.org.au Successful outcomes The campaign generated excellent outcomes: • In 2007 levels of enquiry doubled, numbers attending the open days tripled and the number of students who signed up and paid an enrolment fee for 2008 and beyond, also doubled. These figures have continued to grow in 2008. • Teachers from other schools rang to find out more about our programs for boys. 44 Independence Volume 33 No. 2 HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU IN YOUR SCHOOL’S INTERNET FILTER? They can all stop some inappropriate content but is that enough? Please ask your ICT manager now! BE PROACTIVE IN PROTECTING YOUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY WHY iSHERIFF ASK US HOW WE CAN HELP TODAY 02 9904 9273 OR info@isheriff.com Internet Sheriff Technology Ltd Dr Linda Vining Training teachers in customer relations Dr Linda Vining, Director of Marketing Schools, explains how schools can successfully engage teachers in their marketing effort. Training teachers in customer relations is unlike any other professional development: the mere suggestion is likely to generate a high level of resistance that needs to be addressed before any meaningful instruction can take place. Ask any group of teachers to describe the notion of teachers marketing and they are likely to say they feel ‘put upon’ at the suggestion of ‘selling their school’. They were trained as teachers, not salespeople. Teachers don’t like the words ‘customer’ or ‘customer service’. A teacher once put it this way, ‘shops have customers, schools have families!’ Any form of marketing is seen as superficial, glossy and manipulative. Resentment accompanies the extra time and effort needed to stage an open day, put on a performance for grandparents’ day or any other promotional activity. It is often against this backdrop of resistance that I am engaged by a school to run a workshop for teachers on customer relations. I need to tread gently to gain acceptance and trust. You must too if you are going to run training sessions in customer relations. Here are some suggestions to ease the way. 46 Independence Volume 33 No. 2 Breaking down resistance The first task is to define marketing in terms relevant to a school. To do this I divide it into three phases: attracting enrolments, affirming the choice and retaining loyalty. Different techniques are used for different phases. It is largely in the third phase that teachers can play a crucial role by strengthening customer satisfaction over a long period of time. Some teachers fear that customer service is an invitation for parents to rule. It is not. Customer service does not mean being subservient; a teacher remains a professional expert. However, it does mean that teachers learn techniques for positive communication, to listen in new ways, identify needs, use a conflict resolution model for handling complaints and accept criticism without becoming defensive. Below are some of the methods I use to break down resistance to marketing and introduce the concept of a customer centric school. Explain the market forces When staff understand the external political, social and demographic forces impacting on their school and the ways that other schools are responding to an evolving environment, they begin to see the need for change. It often comes as a surprise to those who are insulated from the competitive edge of education to hear the ramifications that outside forces such as declining birth rates, funding policy, working parents and the poaching of students are having on their school. From my experience, teaching staff are not widely exposed to these threats so they often fail to appreciate how hard it is to fill a school and a boarding house in order to sustain its level of operation and staffing. To them, enrolments are the responsibility of the Principal, admissions office or school Council. In a competitive marketplace every member of the school has a role to play in reaching out, connecting and repeatedly reassuring customers of the quality of the service. Families with many children may be at your school for 15 years or more. That’s a long time to keep a customer happliy connected. Identify your customers The start of the training session is the time to identify your many customers, their characteristics and what they want from you. A large proportion of your staff will be parents or grandparents so they are well qualified to provide contemporary answers to these questions. Having set the scene it’s time to get practical. Teach skills Reluctance flourishes in an environment of uncertainty and change. When venting their resistance, staff often complain about the lack of training that accompanies change. Therefore, the next stage in establishing a customer orientation is to give staff the skills they need to undertake new public relations roles. This includes instruction in communication techniques, body language, tone of voice, ways to say MaRkETINg ‘No’ without offence, dealing with problem people, defining image objectives and considering ways to achieve them. Develop an action plan It is a mistake to think that good public relations can be imposed from the top. You cannot put a set of rules on the notice board and tell people to follow them. A good customer relations ethic must be developed from within. The Toorak College experience At a customer relations workshop with Toorak College in Mt Eliza, Victoria this year, I was able to engage teachers in lively talk about the things that annoy them when they deal with other service providers such as shops, banks and telecommunication companies. They had just returned from holidays and they had many tales to tell. They could readily identify poor customer service when they were on the receiving end – hanging on the end of the telephone line, wrong information, being shuffled from one person to another, being ignored, made to feel stupid, and the rest. After describing their own annoyances and talking about their emotional responses to bad service, the teachers were more receptive to the annoyances that schools can create for their customers. As an exercise I grouped teachers into departments, including the boarding department, and generated discussion on their department’s image objectives, that is, ‘What do we want our customers to think about us and say about us?’ At the end of the day the Toorak College teachers were still going strong, obviously enjoying marrying quality learning with quality customer service. Things were going so well I decided to try something completely new. Working collectively we developed a concept for a customer service brochure for the school – a first of its kind. Reward good PR It takes time for some staff to accept a customer orientation – in my experience, anything up to two years. They will respond more quickly if they feel a customer culture permeating the entire school from reception to the Principal’s office. For example, when a senior staff member picks up a ringing phone or goes out of the way to assist a parent it sends a message that customers are important. A school that undertakes regular customer satisfaction surveys demonstrates that customer feedback is valued. Similarly, a school that recognises and rewards outstanding customer service sends a message that this aspect is noticed and appreciated. Customer service is not a coat of glossy paint that will smooth over cracks. Marketing cannot make a poor product good, but a customer centric approach is a powerful relationship tool that can set a school apart in a competitive market place. Dr Linda Vining is the Director of the Centre for Marketing Schools (CMS) which provides services and resources to schools on aspects of marketing, including staff training, books and satisfaction surveys. She is also the convenor of the School Marketing Conference. The 2008 Conference will be held in Perth on 8-9 October. Further information is available at the CMS website, www.marketingschools.net Distance learning in customer relations Dr Vining has developed a distance learning course in customer relations for teachers and another course for administrative staff. The course is supported by a textbook and mentor. For further information about CMS courses and resources contact Dr Vining on 08 8260 7077 or office@marketingschools.net Independence Volume 33 No. 2 47