Clash of Ideologies: What’s Driving Your “School of Thought”? | 6 Min Read

Nietzsche may actually be alive, ironically, and thriving at schools and newspapers. The T-shirt that was a huge seller that read — “Nietzsche is dead, God” — may have got it all wrong. I have noticed recently that schools have started abandoning a document that used to be quite common called “A Statement of Philosophy.” It was usually written by an Academic Dean and had rarely been updated except every 10 years when the rigmarole of accreditation required it. This may be a mistake and I would like to explain why.

Let’s start with a few sample questions that you could ask your communities to test whether they are philosophically on the same page:

Question 1: Please choose the missing word that most corresponds with your view.

An important role of education at our school is to help students ______ their identity

  • Discover
  • Create
  • None of the above — Please fill in why in a few short sentences

Question 2: Please choose the missing word that most corresponds with your view.

An important role of education at our school is to help students learn values that are _________

  • Universal
  • Culturally acceptable today
  • Useful from our experiences
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Sanje Ratnavale

Sanje founded OESIS in 2012 and serves as the President of what has grown to become the leading network for innovation at independent schools: the acronym OESIS grew from the initial focus on Online Education Strategies for Independent Schools. He has held senior administrative positions at independent schools including Associate Head of School at a K-12 school for seven years, High School Principal for three years, and CFO for seven years. Prior to making a switch to education, Sanje spent 15 years in venture capital, investment banking, and senior C-level (CEO, COO, CFO) management. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford University (B.A. and M.A. in Law/Jurisprudence). Sanje is based out of Santa Monica.