Mark's Meadow School, an elementary school in Amherst, Massachusetts, will close after the 2009-2010 school year. The Daily Hampshire Gazette reported on June 20th that the principal wants next year to be "a celebratory, meaningful time" and that he wants to find out what children are saying and feeling about their school closing and then discern how to make it a positive transition. I think we need a passel of committees, a flock of psychologists, and aherd of grief counselors. If we really work at it, perhaps sacrificingweekly instructional time to the process, I am certain we can leaveevery child feeling distraught and victimized. They will cherish thememory of Mark's Meadow and mourn its loss. They will fear the new yearand worry about how they will fit in and adapt through such a dramatictransition. They will be fully aware of how they have suffered whileothers remain in schools unaffected by changing times. If we reallycommunicate carefully, we can ensure no stone is left unturned andevery child experiences the maximum emotional trauma and growth fromthese unfortunate events. I bet we could make it every bit as traumaticas watching the school destroyed by a tornado with their friends stillinside. OR, we could just tell them that they get to go to a different schoolafter next year. How exciting is that!?! My elementary schoolclassmates and I had to switch schools twice, if not three times. Ican't even remember it was so important!

Close up from "The Scream" by  Edvard Munch

I've seen businesses launch equally nonsensical initiatives to make mountains out of mole-hills. Some have human resource departments that seem dedicated to creating trauma and wasting time when simple communication would suffice. They believe people fear change, so they fear change and they create big programs to mollify the masses.

Save yourself a lot of trouble, time, and money. Don't create trauma where none is needed!

Related articles of interest:

So You Think Employees Hate Change
Change Management - Five Colossal Mistakes to Avoid
How to Make Decisions Better and Faster

 © 2009 Ann Latham. All rights reserved.