Reading this article makes me very sad when considering an institution which provided me with so much opportunity and which I was (and continue to be) so passionate about.
One has to ask where did it go so wrong? I had the privilege of being on the Linwood College Board of Trustees in the capacity of Student Representative for three and a half years from 2006-2009 and in that time, working with an amazingly dedicated team, what I saw was nothing other than the epitome of good rapport between governance, management, teaching and support staff and the students whom they all worked so hard to serve. I was part of a governance team that actively welcomed discussion and listened to differing opinion. This was a team that respected viewpoints from all stakeholders be it management, staff, students, parents or other members of the community.
During my time on the board, we saw the onset of the 2008 recession, an event that unavoidably led to change. This was managed through an open dialogue, with opportunity for discussion and democratic processes on any proposed changes.
In my experience, staff and other stakeholders of Linwood College are not ‘highly resistant to change’ as the Ministry suggest in their statement, but like all of us, should democratic processes surrounding proposed changes have been removed and the leadership be now more closely resembling a tyranny as opposed to a democracy, then such discontent among staff is inevitable. I sincerely hope that if there has indeed been a breakdown in communication and democratic process that this be resolved without delay so Linwood College can return to its core business of teaching and learning and promote an environment of unity and inclusiveness. There is no place for egos and hidden agendas here.
KennyArdouin.com 