创新是引领发展的第一动力，培养创新性人才是我国教育的重要使命。如何培养适应时代发展和变革的创新性人才？是我国当今国际化教育发展中面临的重要挑战。广州亚加达国际预科学校怎么样？

为进一步了解国际学校人才培养模式，深度挖掘国际学校办学特色，由教育部主管的中国教育国际交流协会中学分会与京领创新人才课题组联合多位哈佛、剑桥、牛津、北大、清华的专家学者共同发起，北京大学教育学院高中教育大数据实验室提供学术支持的“国际学校百校调研”于2020年7月正式启动。

“校长领导力”是此次调研的重点环节，国际学校校长作为掌舵人不仅需要具备一系列超越普通教师能力的素质，还需要具备强有力的领导力、品牌意识、创新意识以及优质教育教学人才的鉴别与吸引能力。

“校长领导力”是学校办学成功的关键所在，本次百校调研团队专门对广州亚加达国际预科Bob Darwish校长进行了专访。

学校介绍

亚加达国际预科（Alcanta International College，以下简称AIC）是获得世界文凭组织（IBO）认证的IB成员学校，IB学校编号006668。亚加达国际预科是目前广州唯一可以同时招收国际学生和中国学生的IB国际学校，国际学生占20%。AIC从2011年起开设IB国际文凭大学预科课程项目，至今已经有九届毕业生成功获得IB国际文凭并考取心仪的大学。

学校硬件设施先进，教学条件优越，拥有独立的教学楼、宿舍楼和综合楼，配备了教室、实验室、创作室、艺术室、设计室、戏剧教室、多功能室、厨艺教室、音乐室、钢琴室等，完全满足IBDP国际文凭预科课程的教学需求。学校还拥有足球场、篮球场、网球场、健身房、瑜伽室等运动设施，以及餐厅、剧院、图书馆、超市、校医室等配套设施，为学生创造了优美的学习生活环境。学生公寓设计宽敞明亮，每层设置公共活动室，每个房间均配有独立卫生间和淋浴间，提供空调、冷热水和无线网络，极致体现AIC以学生为中心的办学理念。

嘉宾介绍

Bob Darwish

广州亚加达国际预科 执行校长

京领：您可以介绍一下广州亚加达国际预科学校吗？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：广州亚加达国际预科学校是亚加达教育集团旗下的学校。

我们的教育集团的三位创立者中的两位曾就读于曼彻斯特大学。他们是教育和商科背景出身，他们希望为中国学生打造一个让他们拥有开阔视野，并能成为思想开放的终身学习者的教育平台。基于这些理想，他们在大约25年前成立了亚加达教育集团。

广州亚加达国际预科原在2011年成立于广州市白云校区，于2017年因学校规模扩大搬迁至南沙区。它是广州第一所允许中国公民参加IB国际文凭项目的IB学校。国际文凭预备课程（IBDP）之前，我们为学生提供剑桥大学IGCSE项目。我们的学校通过了美国中部各州大学院校协会(MSA-CESS)认证，这说明了学校的课程符合美国教育标准，拥有高质量的教学模式，硬件设施能很好地满足课程的需要，以及除了提供高质量的教育外，还拥有能够照顾到学生幸福感的政策和管理模式。我们在南沙也有一个双语课程，招收学生参加爱德思IGCSE、爱德思A level和美国AP课程。

AIC还获得了ENLP（教育学神经语言程序学）的认证。该计划确保教师知道如何照顾每个学生，并确保每个学生的学习方式都是独特和不同的。

京领：您可以介绍一下学校的愿景和使命吗？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：我们的使命宣言包含三大部分。一是以中国文化为经。二是以IB国际教育为纬，即让我们的学生了解中国以外的国际世界，对不同观点、不同信仰和对事物的不同理解保持开放的态度。我们不仅从中国文化中学习，也从其他文化中学习，这使学生能够成为更开放的思想和终身学习者。第三是引领亚加达国际预科AIC莘莘学子，跨入他们期盼的世界知名学府，成为有作为的世界公民。我们学校所有的工作都是为了达到这个三个使命宣言。

核心价值观和学校目标取决于学校的关键理念。一是以学生为中心——每位学生的价值都受到重视，每项决定都将学生的最大利益放在首位。我们使用IB课程的学习方法和教学方法来作为我们达到这个目标的准则。我们还关注环境的可持续发展，确保学生意识到这个世界是为他们而存在的。学校的所有学生每年都必须参与至少一个服务项目。学生们会去养老院，清洁海滩、山区、小学和学前班校区；我们还会去广东境内和一些邻近省份的不同地方，提供持续的服务；我们学校服务项目之一是去养老院：我们的学生从长者身上学到很多东西，并与他们分享许多新鲜的事物，他们一起唱歌、跳舞、玩游戏和做表演。

其他在二十一世纪社会中发挥重要作用的能力如创造力、批判性思维、协作学习和沟通，学校也非常重视。这四种能力被称为21世纪教育的“4C”，我们希望学生能够磨练这些技能，并在以后的大学生活中发挥好这些宝贵的品质。

京领：您可以介绍一下学校的核心文化吗？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：如果问我们学校的学生或员工， AIC有哪些优点？他们首先会回答 “关心”。在这个充满爱心的社区里，我们希望给学生提供安全感，他们可以毫无顾虑地提出问题以及分享他们的想法。照顾学生的心理、社会和个人健康是班主任工作的一个重要部分。

我们鼓励“卓越”和“激情”这两点，这两点可以让孩子们在所有他们所做和所关心的事情上发挥潜能。我们提倡的口号是“只做到OKAY是不够的”。所有的学生和老师都要尽最大努力超越自己的潜力，践行终身学习以及实践使人进步的理念。学生和老师们不会说自己什么都知道，总是有学习和进步的空间的，这就是我们在学校努力推广的基本内容之一。

此外，我们也相当重视利用我们的社区作为一种资源。孩子们不仅在教室里学习，和与其他人互动、沟通的过程中，甚至在观察欣赏周围的环境中都能学习。

我们有中国学生和来自许多其他国家的学生。他们都在一个小社区里，当他们在集会或课堂上时，互相倾听，分享彼此的文化。我们的每个学生集会都是中西元素相互交融的，不同文化背景的孩子相互展示才艺和分享新闻。

归根结底，我们希望我们的学生的发展是平衡的。我们希望学生既热爱祖国又能欣赏他国文化；我们希望学生从书本、从人、从整个社区中学习；我们希望学生既饱含激情尝试新事物又能承担风险，迎接失败，并找到方法从中学习。经过多年在AIC的学习，我们希望学生有了充足的准备进入大学和社会，成为一个更加优秀的人。

京领：学校的学生和老师背景非常多元，请问学校是如何进行管理的？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：学校的文化因其组成人员的多样化而呈现出多元的。同时我们的行事与学习方式也是多元的。我们相信学习是在不同的环境下进行的，可以采取不同的形式。

我们也相信一个问题不一定有唯一的正确答案。我们让学生超越文本进行思考，找出解决问题的其他方式，或提出不同的想法，或欣赏另一种角度的观点。

当我们雇用教师时，我们试图尽可能多地雇用不同的人。我们目标是打造一个多元化的社区，以便我们的学生尽可能多地从不同的人、不同的风格中学习，这样他们就能更好地欣赏学习的多样性。

京领：目前为止学校最大的变化是什么？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：最大的变化是就是由于疫情，一些外教和学生无法返回校园。我们更加关注学生的幸福感，因为他们现在没有两年前自由，比如不戴口罩在校园里走动或者在周末和朋友见面等等。

学术上最大的变化是引入了ENLP，它的重点有5个要素，我们称之为ENLP的ABCDE。

A代表主动学习——所有的学习都必须是主动的，学生和工作人员都参与到课堂上发生的事情中。学习必须超越仅仅是听讲的范围。

B代表基于大脑的学习——这要求员工和学生了解大脑和学习之间的关系（也就是要关注学习风格、个性、注意力等）。

C是指辅导和合作——合作是指共同完成项目、讨论等，以确保学生学会与他人合作；辅导要求教师和班主任与学生一起努力实现他们的目标，并定期检查学生是否行进在这些目标的过程当中。

D是指数字化——确保学校能够在教学中使用数字技术，并在此过程中让学生学会使用这些工具来帮助他们学习。

E是指情商——虽然智商很重要，但学生的情商也不可缺失；这需要学习如何与人打交道，如何快速掌握情况和社会线索，以及了解自己的情绪和管理个人情感，等等。

京领：在您看来，学校最引以为豪的方面是什么？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：学校最引以为豪的就是我们的学生，因为我们很多学生来自中国的公立学校，没有国际学校的背景。但他们后来都获得了很多成就，不仅融入于我们的社区中，还完成了IBDP课程，进入了世界知名的大学，最后从大学毕业，找到了他们一生热爱的工作，比如经营自己的公司或者在谷歌、普华永道这样世界500强企业工作。

从研究能力到备考，从时间管理到自我管理，我们都确保学生们能够掌握这些为人生旅程做准备的技能。我们帮助学生成为身心健康、终身学习的世界公民。

今年，我们已经收到了许多顶尖大学的录取通知，如UCL、KCL、多伦多大学、麦吉尔大学、不列颠哥伦比亚大学、墨尔本大学、香港大学（2个全额奖学金）、新加坡国立大学、美国排名前20的大学以及全球排名前50的大学。

京领：请您谈谈学校的管理经验，以及作为学校的领导，您认为校长的责任是什么？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：领导者是给他人赋权的人。因此，我们努力增强我们的员工和学生的能力。这就是为什么他们取得今天的成绩，因为他们做事时，可以扩展自己界限，也被允许犯错误。领导并不是告诉他们一定要做具体的事情，而是设定一个方向。所有的学生和员工都在每年年初设立了自己的目标。我们的工作就是支持他们达到目标并为自己的成就感到自豪。

此外，让我们的社区看到学校的领导层至关重要。我们经常走出办公室，在校园里与学生和工作人员交谈，走进教室，看是不是所有的规则和规定都在有序执行。因此，对我来说，领导力意味着引导人们，监督人们，以确保他们在实现目标的过程中；以及如果遇到困难我们需要找出问题并尽自己的努力来支持他们。

校长的角色在领导层中非常重要。校长需要成为榜样，才能去要求别人。好的校长会照顾好学校的员工，会为他们创造一个好的工作场所，会关注他们的幸福感。我们确保教职员工的工作和生活是平衡的，让他们有足够的时间陪伴家人也确保他们能为学生提供足够的支持。校长还要对学生和社区的安全负责。校长在如今疫情的情况下的一项重要任务是检查好学校安全与保障的各个方面，确保学生佩戴口罩、遵守规则，以及确保学校在防疫工作上遵循政府的政策和协议。

与家长沟通并每周向他们提供孩子在学校的情况是我们要做的另一个重要方面。我们确保家长了解校园内发生的所有事情，以及让他们知道学校各方面都在很好地照顾学生。家长是学校的合作伙伴，确保公开及时地与家长交流对帮助学生至关重要。

京领：与其他类型的学校相比，经营和管理一所国际学校最重要的事情是什么？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：在中国办学最重要的是要了解中国的法律、法规等的最新情况。我们有一个专门的团队在关注这个问题，以确保我们拥有所有需要的信息，并确保我们遵循法律规定的每一条规则。

第二，我认为对于任何学校的领导来说，确保学校社区尊重东道国的文化、国家的主权，尊重所有的规则和条例，也是非常重要的。

第三，学校必须告知家长，在国际学校学习的中国学生将很难在中国大陆的大学攻读本科课程。

京领：您认为作为国际学校的校长，在办学过程中遇到了什么样的挑战？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：新冠疫情给许多学校都带来了很大的挑战。学校目前很难招到目前不在中国境内的学生。这是最大的挑战，因为这影响到了学校学生人数和社区多样性。招聘员工也是一些学校面临的主要挑战，因为在中国国内，由于市场上缺乏合格的教师，学校之间竞争非常激烈。很显然的是现在国际学校必须支付比以前更多的工资来招聘员工，这样的竞争使得员工的工资和福利增加。

显然，另一个挑战是学生从中国学校过渡到国际学校的思维方式，对家长来说也是如此。来自中国学校的家长与那些孩子一直在国际学校学习的家长有着不同的期望。比如他们对家庭作业的概念可能仅限于课后完成的纸上作业，而教学仅限于在课堂上讲课。

第三点是在疫情发生之前，我会定期与家长见面，但现在由于有许多限制和风险，这样的定期会面变得不那么容易。但随着越来越多的人接种疫苗，我们迟早会克服这个问题。

京领：您认为应该为学校提供什么样的支持来克服这类挑战？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：这很难说，因为疫情带来了大部分目前学校所面临的挑战。国家对于边境的管控是处于人民安全的考量，所以我认为地方和政府在确保人们的安全方面做得很好。同时，我们也有学生和教师已经很久没有回家了。这对我们所有人来说都很困难，我们都期待着不必面对疫情压力的时代能早日来临。

在教师招聘方面，由于缺乏能教授像IBDP这样项目的教师，市场竞争非常激烈。在边境管控重新放松之前，这对国际学校来说也是一大挑战。

我还认为，京领这样的机构也许可以在指引家长方面发挥很大作用，让他们了解在国际学校就读意味着什么，以及应该有什么期待。为考试而教育学生的学校和为学生的大学生活以及未来做准备的学校之间有很大的不同。我认为很多家长并不完全理解这两者之间的区别，而京领这样的平台可以给家长提供许多有价值的信息。

京领：在您看来，什么样的学生可以称为创新人才？学生应该怎样做才能成为创新人才？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：创新是人生成功的一大因素。创新并不一定意味着一定要在技术层面发明一件物品。创新与用创造性方法解决问题息息相关。创新型人才能够批判性地思考，可以看到所有可能性并找出许多解决问题的方法。创新者并不追求问题的唯一答案，而试图去看看尚未探索的可能性。因此，创新人才通过从不同的角度思考不同的问题来推动思想的发展。

我们的老师不只是站在教室讲课，他们还让学生从不同角度探索所学知识。让学生调动自己的创造力和批判力是让他们成为创新者的关键因素；而这正是我们的目标，即让我们的学生成为创新者。

京领：到目前为止，学校在培养创新人才方面有哪些做法？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：我们相信，学生不仅通过阅读、记忆、倾听来学习，还通过实践来学习。动手学习、项目式学习、实践学习都可以培养学生的创新心态。例如，学生能通过做数学题来学数学，但如果他没有看到题目背后的深层含义，就不能欣赏数学。我认为这就是为什么学校要非常关注除了从教师那里获得知识以外的项目式学习、合作学习、实践学习等多维学习方式。

通过这种方式，学生才能把书本上学到的知识应用到实际中并让其在现实生活中发挥作用。例如，在商业管理课中，学生学习SWOT分析法，当他们研究某家公司为什么做得这么好或为什么有潜力时，他们可以把这些知识运用起来。注重创新的学习有助于学生成为更好的批判性和创造性思维者。

京领：学校为学生提供了什么样的资源来实现这个目标，让学生在校内外更具创造性思维和批判性思维呢？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：我们为教师提供专业培训，以确保他们知道如何更好引导学生。拥有准备充足的高素质教师是学校工作的一个重要部分。

另一个方面是提供有利于学习的环境，有支持学生学习的资源。我们确保教室配备了学生需要的设施，以便能够开展不同类型的学习。STEAM教室的整个房间的设置方式为学生提供了科学实验的平台，艺术工作室的设计也允许学生有自己的空间来进行自由探索。

我们还让学生走出教室，走入社区。每年，我们学校的目标之一是确保学校周围的社区资源得到了充足利用。因此，所有老师都要带学生到校外进行学习活动。例如，他们会去印刷厂，看印刷行业是如何运作的；去3D打印博物馆，亲眼看看这项特殊技术甚至自己动手进行3D打印。让学生有机会从现实生活中受到启发，提出问题，进行探索，正是是我们激励学生的方式。

另外，要提供充足的硬件设施来确保学生能使用不同的媒介进行学习。例如，在CAS活动中，学生们会领导地雷工艺、数字艺术、机器人等科技项目；同时也领导像设计、编程、创作等项目来提高彼此的能力。

而老师们则在一旁进行监督并与这些带队的学生一起工作，并向他们提问：有哪些是已经做到的，还有哪些没有成功？下一次你会怎么做？你对这件事情的感受如何？学校的老师和其他所有人都是为了支持学生以及挖掘学生的潜力，是他们成为最好的自己。

京领：您认为创新人才的培养与最终被大学录取之间有什么关系，特别是对中国家长来说？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：学生实际参与到了项目中并感受到了自己的热情，他们会拥有更多的动力，因为他们更清楚自己想要什么以及自己将如何达到目标。我们的许多学生在他们的个人陈述中，以及在面试当中都会用到这些实际的例子。

虽然我认为学生在申请大学时，学术上的优秀表现确实很重要，但大学也非常注重经验以及学生对于研究领域的投入和激情。这也是我们的学生在申请时做得非常出色的一点。我们的学生被剑桥大学、伦敦大学、伦敦经济学院、多伦多大学、麦吉尔大学、塔夫茨大学这样的名校录取，以及在香港、韩国、加拿大和美国的学校都有全额奖学金的原因就在于，我们的学生是创新者，他们在批判性和创造性思维方面非常出色，并能以自己的方式传达自己的热情。

京领：在国际学校的市场竞争十分激烈的情况下，贵校认为将怎样在激烈的竞争中脱颖而出？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：优秀的学校之所以能脱颖而出，是因为学校学生的优秀表现和良好口碑。

另外，有京领这样的平台向家长介绍学校，讲述学校的故事，介绍学校的信息是非常棒的。这在中国，甚至在广州都是一项大工程，如果没有像京领团队这样的专家，学校也就无法展示自己，这样的平台对于推广学校品牌方面发挥着不可或缺的作用。

好的品牌团队会分析大数据并找出有利于学校的市场定位。我们的大部分学生和家长都很喜欢学校温暖的氛围，以及学校对幸福感的注重，对学生的个性化支持，让学生相信“只做到OK是远远不够的”。

京领：什么样的学校在未来更受中国家长的欢迎？他们寻求的是怎样的学校？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：这个问题一概而论可能并不准确。根据我在这里9年的经验可以说，我们学校的大多数中国家长关心的是他们的孩子在学校的幸福感和所能获得的学术与实践上的各种机会。家长们关心学校是否能很好地照顾他们的孩子，与他们沟通，并成为他们孩子进步的伙伴。

有些家长喜欢那些能保证他们的孩子进入顶尖大学的学校。我认为教育质量很重要，但与此同时，重要的是，学生不仅要被送到大学，而且要为这些大学和社区做好准备，因为他们将在未来3-6年内没有父母的陪伴下生活。

我们希望我们的学生能在人群中脱颖而出。我们希望他们能够有效地沟通、计划、领导、组织和管理自己的学习、生活和周围的社区。我们向孩子们灌输关怀、热情和成为一个平衡的终身学习者的态度。

京领：在当前数字化和人工智能快速发展的情况下，如何把握国际学校和双语学校的未来发展方向？以及如何在未来更好的发展？

广州亚加达国际预科学校校长Bob Darwish：我们可能无法预计到10年、15年后的生活会是什么样子，哪些工作还会有，哪些工作会被人工智能所取代。如果我们要让我们的学生为未知的世界做好准备，创造力和人际交往能力是必不可少的。机器将能够完成所有需要计算的工作，自动驾驶汽车将使出租车司机变得多余，机器人也能做家务。那么，人类的工作是什么？我认为将是任何涉及创造力、个人魅力、情商等的工作。

因此，为学生准备好21世纪的技能，也就是21世纪的四个C：沟通、协作、创造力和批判性思是非常必要的，这些学生将不害怕挑战，面对任何挑战都将有胜利的决心。

English Version

KingLead: Could you please introduce me about the history of AIC?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: Alcanta International College is operated by Alcanta Education Group, based in Guangzhou. We have a private Chinese school in Baiyun, and our International School, called Alcanta International College, is based in Nansha, Guangzhou.  Our education group was originally set up by three owners, two of whom studied at the University of Manchester. With background in Education and Business, they wanted to provide young Chinese students a forum where they could broaden their horizons and learn to be open-minded, life-long learners. Based on these ideals, Alcanta Education Group was formed about 25 years ago.

Our campus started 11 years ago in 2011 in its Baiyun campus and moved to Nansha in 2017 because we grew too big for the space we were in. It was the first IB school in Guangzhou that allowed Chinese nationals to be enrolled in the IB Diploma program. For our pre-diploma program we use the Cambridge IGCSE program. Our school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges (MSA-CESS), the oldest American accreditation granting agency which basically says that the school’s programs meet standards for education, quality of teaching and learning, facilities that cater to the programs well and have policies and governance that cater to the well-being of students in addition to providing quality education. We also have a bilingual program on-site in Nansha, enrolling students in the Edexcel IGCSE, Edexcel A level, and the American AP program.

AIC also have accreditation from ENLP which stands Educational Neural Linguistic Programming. The program ensures that teachers know how to cater to each student, and know that each student is unique and different in the way they learn.

KingLead: Could you tell us how do you understand the mission and vision of the school?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: Our mission statement has three big elements. One is making sure that whatever we do is grounded in Chinese culture. The second element is international mindedness, which is making sure that our students understand that there's a world outside of China as well, where people may have different views, different beliefs, and different understandings of things around them. We do not only learn from the Chinese culture but also from other cultures. This enables students to become more open-minded and lifelong learners. The third part of our mission statement is to make sure that our students end up in universities of their choice. The school team works hard to ensure that we uphold the three elements of our mission.

Core values and school goals depend on some key elements of the school’s philosophy. One is student-centered education. All decisions that we make sure that they promote students’ learning and well-being. We use the IB approaches to learning and approaches to teaching as principles for these.

We also talk about environmental sustainability, making sure that students are aware that this world is here for them, and they do everything possible to protect it and be involve in their community, including looking at environmental sustainability project, like gardening, cleaning the neighboring beaches, mountain, and the school’s community; this helps with global citizenship and so on.

All students at the school have to be involved in at least one service project each year. We go to elderly homes, clean beaches, mountains, primary and preschool. We go to different places within Guangdong and some neighboring provinces to provide sustainable service. One of the important service projects that we do is going to the elderly homes. Our students learn a great deal from their elders and share many new things with them; they sing, dance, play games and do performances.

Other principles that relate to the 21st century, such as creativity, critical thinking, collaborative learning, and communication are also essential to the school. These are known as the 4C’s of 21st century education and we want our students to hone these skills and be prepared to function well in their universities and communities that they move to after graduation.  

Those are some main principles of our education that are really important to us. I think education is not only for today but also for the future, so it is important for school to have this view of the future in mind when they work on their education programs.

KingLead: So could you introduce us about the culture of your school ?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: If you ask our students or staff what are some of the things that stand out about you school, they would probably say “care” would be number one. We have a very caring community. We want students to feel that they're in a safe place where they can ask questions and share their ideas without a worry. We look after their mental, social and personal well-being, and this is an important part of our homeroom teachers’ job. 

We encourage excellence and passions so that they can achieve their potential in all the things that they do, and they care about.  

We want all of our students to learn English, so we encourage them to practice speaking English as much as possible, but also, we also promote practicing their mother tongues outside of the academic building. If they are in the canteen, soccer pitch, or outside, they can still speak in Chinese, Cantonese, Russian, or in whatever language they are comfortable speaking.

All students have to learn Chinese as well in our school.

We promote our slogan “Okay is not good enough”. All students and teachers have to do their best to exceed their potentials, never stop learning, the idea that practice makes people better. You never say that you know everything; there's always room for learning and growth… and that's one of the fundamental things that we try to promote in our school.

Also, we care quite a lot about using our community as a resource. Learning does not happen just within the classroom; learning happens outside in interacting with other people, listening to other people, and even observing the surroundings, appreciating the nature around us, so on.

We have Chinese students and students from many other countries. They're all in a little community listening to each other, sharing about their cultures when they are in the assemblies or the classrooms. Each of our student assemblies has a Chinese culture element and a foreign culture element, talents they have, sharing of news and so on.

Ultimately, we want our students to be balanced. We want to learn to love their country, at the same time to learn from others and to appreciate other cultures. We want to learn from books, from people, from their community. We want them to have hobbies and passions, to try new things, to take risks, to fail and to find ways to learn from these to be even better as they move through years and prepare for their universities and life beyond school.

KingLead: The school is very diverse, especially in the population, so how does your school manage all this?  

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC:  The culture of the school is diverse as evident by its diverse population. We are also diverse in the way we do things, in the way we learn. We believe learning takes places in various setting and can take different forms. When students first join our school, especially from Chinese schools, it is not easy for them to immerse into our community and programs. It takes time for them to learn what it means to be in an international school. For example, their understanding of homeroom is something to be completed on a piece of paper. We think homework is a lot more than simply completing task assigned. Homework can also be to review the work already done in classes, to over notes, to revise for tests, to observe and experiment with different ideas, etc.

We also believe that there is not always one right answer. We get students to think beyond just what they have read, to figure out other ways of solving problems or proposing different ideas or appreciating another perspective.

When we hire our teachers, we try to hire as many diverse people as we can; we don't just hire Americans or Canadians or Australians, we try to diversify. Our goal is to make sure that we have a very diverse community so that our students learn from as many different people, styles as possible so that they have a better appreciation of diversity in learning.

KingLead: What's the most important change since the beginning of establishing of the school by far?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: The biggest change has been the fact that we have not been able to have all of our students on campus due to Covid-19 and some teachers who could not return due to border closures. We are placing even more focus on student well-being, now that they do not have all the freedoms they had 2 years ago, such as walking around the campus without their masks, seeing their friends on the weekends, and so on.

The bigger academic change has been the introduction of ENLP with a focus on 5 elements: which we call the ABCDE of ENLP.

A stands for Active learning- all learning has to be active where students and staff are all engaged in what is happening in the classroom. Learning must be more than just listening to a lecture.  

B is for Brain-based- requires staff and students to know the relationship between the brain and learning (focus on learning styles, personalities, attention span, etc.). 

C is about Coaching and Collaboration- collaborative projects, discussions and so on are planned to ensure students learning to work with others; coaching requires teachers / homeroom teachers to work with students on their goals and check regularly (checkpoints) that they are on course to attaining those goals.

D refers to Digitalization- making sure that we use digital technologies and in so doing involve and train students in learning tools that will promote further learning.

E is about Emotional Intelligence- while IQ is important, it is also important for students to be emotionally intelligent; this requires learning about various working with people, the ability to understand situations and social cues, knowing emotions and managing personal feelings, emotions, etc.

KingLead: What's the proudest aspect of your school?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: We're proud of our students because quite a lot of our students come from Chinese schools, with no international school background. They go on to achieve such great things, from not only immersing into our community, but also completing their IBDP, going to some amazing universities, and finally graduating from universities and getting jobs that they are passionate about, like running their own businesses, working for fortunate 500 companies, like Google, PWC, etc.

Education is a journey, and we believe our school is an important stop within that journey.  We work diligently to prepare them for the next phase (university) and their life. So, when the students go through and achieve excellent results in studies and in life, naturally we feel very proud. We make sure our students are equipped with skills that help them throughout this journey, from research skills to how to prepare for tests and exams, and from time-management to self-manage skills, etc. We help them become well-balanced, citizens of the world who are lifelong learners.

For this year, we have already received many excellent offers from top  universities, such as UCL, KCL, University of Toronto, McGill, University of British Columbia, University of Melbourne, University of Hong Kong (2 full scholarships), National University of Singapore, top 20 universities in the US and many more ranked within top 50 worldwide.

KingLead: Could you tell us the experience of management of the school and as a leader of the school, what do you think about the responsibility of a principal?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC:  Leaders are people who empower others. So, we try to empower our staff and empower our students. That's why they achieve, they do so well because they can stretch their boundaries, they can made mistakes. We're not telling them to do this and to do that. We set a direction. Let me explain this using an analogy. If I want to go to the Canton Tower, I chart my course, draw a map, use GPS or make a mental map, and I head out to get there.

Now, imagine if you leave your home not knowing where you are going, and in spite of the fact that you are in the best car in the world, you will end of running out of gas and get stranded. So, for us, it is essential to know where we're going. We set our goals right at the beginning of the year. All students have a goal, and all staff have a goal to achieve. Our job is to support them to get there and be proud of this achievement.

It is also important for leadership to be visible. We are often outside of our offices, checking on our community members, talking to students and staff, going into the classroom, making sure that the standard we have set is followed. So, to me, leadership is more about mentoring people and monitoring them to make sure that they are on course to achieve their goals. If not, why not and what support they need or what can be done to support them. 

The role of the school head is very important in leading. They need to be role models as much as they ask others to be. For example, I make sure I am in meetings before others, that I am ready with all my material. It would not make sense, and no one would follow me, if I did not do what I told others to do.

Good school heads look after their staff. They create a happy workplace. They look after their well-being. We make sure that staff are balanced, that they have enough time for their families. This is important for schools, but also at the same time making sure the students are provided with all the support they need.

Schools head are also responsible for safety of the students and the community.  Looking at all aspects of the school safety and safeguarding nowadays with the COVID, making sure students wear masks, that they follow the safety measures and that the school is following government policies and protocol in these regards is another important task.

Communicating with parents and providing them with weekly progress reports is another aspect of our school that is important. We make sure that our parents are aware of what is happening on campus, that they know that we are taking good care of their children and preparing them for their further studies and life, and that if something is not going right, and what we're doing about it. Parents are our partners in the education of their children and nothing is more important that open and frequent communication that is helpful in supporting our students.

KingLead: Comparing with running other type of schools, what is the most important thing to run and manage an international school?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: The most important thing for running a school in China would be to be up to date with the Chinese law, regulations, etc. We have a team of people who are looking at this constantly to make sure that we have all the information we need and that we follow every single rule as it is stated in the law.

I think it is also really important for any school leader to make sure the school community respects the host culture, the sovereignty of the nation, and that it respects all the rules and regulations. School heads must know these and train their staff. Making sure that you have the right textbooks and resources, and that you have a committee that checks them for political correctness.

Thirdly, it is important that the school informs parents that Chinese students studying in the international schools will find it difficult to study for their undergraduate programs within the mainland.  

KingLead: What kind of challenges do you think for a principal of an international school have encountered in the school running process so far?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: COVID-19 brought quite a lot of challenges to a lot of schools. You cannot recruit teachers and students who are not within China presently. That would be the biggest challenge because it affects your student numbers and the diversity that you want in your community. Recruitment of staff is also a major challenge for a number of schools because of the stiff competition within China due to lack of qualified teachers available in the market. Obviously, you have to pay more than you used to recruit staff now than before. It doesn't help but the competition has increased staff salaries and benefits.

And obviously, another challenge is the transition of students from a Chinese school mindset into an international school mindset, the same thing for the parents as well. Chinese parents who are coming from Chinese schools have different expectations to those who have studied in international schools all along. Their concept of homework may be something to write on a piece of paper, or teaching to be just lecturing, for example. Before Covid-19 I would meet with parents regularly, but now due to many restrictions and risk, it is not as easy. This is another challenge but one which we will overcome sooner than later as more and more people get vaccinated.

KingLead: What kind of supports do you think should be provided for schools to overcome these kind of challenges?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: It's difficult to say, because we the pandemic is more responsible for some of the challenges that schools are facing. National policy with regards to the closure of borders is mainly for public well-being reasons, so I think the local and federal government is doing a fabulous job of making sure that people are safe. At the same time, we have students and teachers who have been away from their families. It has been difficult for all of us. I think we're all looking forward to being in a time when we don't have to stress this much about COVID.

And then, in terms of teacher recruitment, the market is very competitive due to lack of qualified teachers for programs like the IBDP. Until borders reopen, this will be a big a challenge for a number of schools.

I also think companies like yours could probably play a big role in educating parents about what it means to be in an international school and what to expect. There is a big different between schools that train students for exams and those that prepare them for university studies and beyond. I think a lot of parents don't quite understand the difference between those and companies such as yours could be a big help.

KingLead: In your opinion, what kind of students can be called innovative talents? And what should they do to be like that?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC:  Innovation is a big factor in being successful in life. Innovation does not necessarily mean you need to technologically invent something. Innovation has to do with solving problems in creative and different ways. People need to be able to think critically, a person who can look at all possibilities and figure out many solutions to a problem. Not the right answer, innovators try to look at possibilities that are not yet explored. So, they move ideas forward by thinking about different problems from different angles.

When you create a collaborative culture, when you put people together, the creative elements of their minds, the art and the diversity of seeing things from different perspectives is on display. Collaboration can produce different kinds of answers. Look at STEAM programs, for instance; students come together and use scientific, mathematical, technological and logical thinking in combination with artistic skill. A student may know the science behind motion, math for calculating different forces, power necessary to move the rocket upwards, the technology to manipulate different parts, but they also need to understand the design element to fully understand all aspects of making a rocket. The reality is that schools that are future focused do not only teach a subject but also know why it is important to understand how this subject fits in with others; curriculum boundary lines are becoming more blurred.

Our teachers do not just stand in front of the classroom delivering content, they also get their students to explore different aspects of the content studied. Getting students to use their critical and creative faculties is an important element of getting them to become innovative; and this is one thing we aim for our students to become.

KingLead: What methods does the school have for cultivating innovators so far?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC:  We believe that students do not only learn by reading, memorizing, listening, but I'm also by doing thing. Hands-on-learning, project-based learning, learning by doing are some examples of ways through which innovation mind-set can be cultivated.

For example, one may be able to learn math by doing math, but if they see no implication of it, they may not be able to appreciate math in the same say. I think this is why it's important for schools to look at project-based learning, collaborative learning, learning-by-doing, not just one-dimensional learning where the teachers are the beacon of knowledge.

In this way, they're using different parts of learning from the book, then looking at what it is in the application and trying to understand how the knowledge learned works in real life situations. In business management, for example, students learn about SWOT analysis. They can put this knowledge to use when they look at why a certain company is doing so well or has the potential to do better. Learning that focuses on innovation helps students become better critical and creative thinkers.

KingLead: What kind of resources does the school provided for everyone to achieve this goal to become more creativity in the creative think and critical thinking inside and outside the school?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: We provide our staff with professional development opportunities to make sure that they know how to be better prepared to lead their students well. Having better prepared and well-qualified teachers is an important part of a school’s job.

Another aspect is providing a physical environment that is conducive to learning with resources that support student learning.  We make sure the classrooms are equipped with the tools that one needs to be able to run different types of learning. If you go into the steam classroom, you will see the whole room is set up in such a way that provides the platform for students to experiment.  Art studios are likewise designed in a way that allows for students to have their own space so they can explore their art without worrying about someone else moving their things.

We take them out into the community. Every year, one of our school-wide goals is to make sure that we use the community as a resource. So, all teachers have to take students outside of the school to make sure that they learn from the practices that are within the community. For example, they would go to a printing press to see what skills are needed and how they are used within the industry or students would go the 3D printing museums to learn more about the impact of this particular technology and have the opportunity to make their own 3D objects. Giving students opportunities to see things in real life and to be inspired, to ask questions, to explore are some of the ways we inspire our students.

It is also important to make sure technologies are available for students to ensure the students learn using different medium. During the CAS time for example, students lead activities such as mine-craft, digital art, robotics and many other such activities to inspire each other in become more technologically savvy. They're learning to design, program, create, lead, rationalize through the many activities that they lead for each other.

The adults are there to supervise and work with these students who were leading, and ask them questions about what worked, what didn't work? What would you do next time? How did you feel about this? The school and everything within the school is thee to support the students in achieving their potential and doing their very best.

KingLead: What do you think is the relationship between the cultivation of innovators and eventually the results of college enrollment especially for Chinese parents?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: If students are involved in many projects, if they know their passions, then they are more motivated because they know what they want and how to get it. Many of our students use these examples in their personal statements, in their responses to universities and their interviews with universities.

When answering questions like why you want to be an engineer, you can see their passion in the way the speak about it.

While I think academic excellence is really important when students are applying to universities, universities also look at their experiences and their commitment to the field and their passion in how they speak or write about their hobbies and interests. This is why, I think, our students do so well with their university acceptances. We have students in universities like Cambridge, UCL, LSE, Toronto, McGill, Tufts and so on. We have students on full scholars in Hong Kong, Korea, Canada, and the US. I think this is particularly because our students are innovators, they are excellent in critical and creative thinking and they can communicate their passions clearly.

KingLead: The market in international schools is competitive as well recently. How can the school stand out among all these international schools and the competitors?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: Excellent schools stand our because the word of mouth, good stories shared by students from within the community.

Also, I think there are organizations such as yours who are involved in telling parents about schools, as you present their stories, you help them see what each school offers. So this is a big job in China, even Guangzhou is so big that you can’t stand out without having experts like you, who play an integral part in marketing different schools.

Good marketing teams analyze the big data, shrink it and figure out their niche market. Majority of our students and parents like our caring environment, the focus on well-being, the individualize support for all students and getting students to believe that “okay is not good enough.

KingLead: What kind of schools are more welcomed for Chinese parents or for parents in general in the future? What are they looking for?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: It's a difficult question because it may not be accurate to generalize. From my experiences, of being here for nine years, I can tell you that most Chinese parents at our school care for the well-being and variety of choices that their children receive. These choices are academic and after school related. Parents care that schools look after their children well, communicate with them and be a partner in their child’s progress.

Some parents prefer schools which guarantee that their child goes to a top university. I think quality of education is important but at the same time it is important that students are not only sent to universities but are prepared for these universities and communities where they will live without their parents for the next 3-6 years.

We want our students to stand out in the crowd. We want them to be able to communicate effectively, plan, lead, organize and manage, not only their studies and time, but also their lives and the communities where they live. We instill in them care, passion and the attitude to be a balanced person and a life-long learner.

KingLead: With the rapid development of digital and AI currently, how to grasp the future development direction for international schools and bilingual schools? And how to develop better in the future?

Bob Darwish, Head of School at AIC: If you think about 10, 15 years down the line, you may not know what life is going to be like. What jobs would still be available, and what jobs would have been taken by AI. We need a lot more creativity and a lot more interpersonal skills if we are to prepare our students for this kind of world, the unknown. Machines will be able to do all the jobs that would require calculations, automatic cars will make taxi drivers redundant, the home-helpers will mostly be robots (we see this already in hotels).  So, what jobs would still be available for human beings? I think anything that involves creativity, personal touch, emotional intelligence, etc.

So preparing students with 21st century skill, like communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking, the four C’s of the 21st century, I think are super essential, so these students are confident in solving problems; that they are not afraid of challenges but are confident that no matter what challenge they face, they will be able to come on top. 

文章转载自：【京领新国际】