“It’s all about the kids.” That’s the rationale given by
high-profile education reformers and policy leaders for decisions that largely dismiss or ignore
the importance of teachers in the process.
“It’s all about the kids” is often thrown around to set up a false
dichotomy that interests of teachers stand in opposition to the interests of
students.
I don’t doubt the sincerity of politicians and education leaders, but if they really want to best serve students without spending time in a school, the only way to do so is by supporting the teachers who do.
I’ve worked with several different types of student
leadership groups. When pressed to
answer the question “why do you want to be a leader?” most students answer
honestly. They want to influence
decision-making, have a say in matters that affect them, design projects to
help others in the school and community—rarely do they reflect on the reality
that leadership is about facilitating growth and maturation of those they serve,
creating the best environment for others to reach their potential. “You’ve already proven you can make something
of yourself, the next step is to make something of the other guy.” That’s one of the first lessons I use in the
leadership class that I sometimes teach.
We need more of this in educational leadership. Adults who want to empower other adults to
become better at what they do; not adults who want to exercise control or power to push their own agendas.To
effectively lead in that regard, three things are needed.
1) Leadership must come from within. A leader is a part of the system, not above
or outside of the system. Our most
recent post mentioned a request from the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors
to the School Board that they consider merit pay for teachers. To the Board of Supervisors I would say,
“thank you very much for your financial support of our schools, but you don’t
know what is best for our system.”
I can see some bristling at that remark. Isn’t it like a child telling his or her
parents “why can’t you just give us money and leave us alone”? It’s nothing like that at all. It’s like a lawyer telling the client "I know you're paying me, but you don't get to tell me how to do my job."
Large districts increasingly turn to outsiders like Joel
Klein and Cathy Black to “lead” their schools.
Other leaders like Michele Rhee and Arne Duncan are only marginally
connected to classroom education through a few years of experience before
moving into leadership positions often beyond the building or even district
level.
One of the ugly issues of the last four years of
Presidential politics came from the question of citizenship by birth. All of our elected political leaders must be
citizens, and the President, a citizen from birth. You can’t make decisions about what’s best
for America
if you’re not American. You shouldn't make uninformed
decisions about what’s best for education if you’re not an educator.
2) Leadership requires competence. Competence is demonstrated only through
consistent effective performance.
Recently, my colleagues and I have discussed two principles and how they
relate to education. The Peter Principle is a belief that, in an
organization where promotion is based on achievement, success, and merit, that
organization's members will eventually be promoted beyond their level of
ability. Most districts do not promote
teachers based on competence. The notion
that rewarding teachers with pay for good performance continues to float, but
rarely do systems promote teachers beyond the classroom for consistent
effective performance.
Beyond the classroom, an additional degree will place an
individual on the promotion ladder-- from the building level administrator (a
step sometimes skipped) to division-level responsibilities involving finance, human
resources, building services, and many other diverse positions.
There are many effective and competent leaders in education
beyond the classroom. I’m lucky enough
to work with many of them. But, while
conventional wisdom likes to point out how “bad teachers” are killing education
I would argue that we’re more likely to find competence in the classroom than
outside. Teachers work up to their level
of competence. Once they reach it, they
continue to perform in the classroom.
3) Leadership requires self-awareness. A second idea we’ve talked about lately is
the “Dunning-Kruger Effect.” Through a
series of studies at Cornell
University, Dunning and
Kruger demonstrate that incompetent people typically don’t recognize their
incompetence and fail to recognize competence in others. It’s analogous to the student who thinks he’s
prepared for the test until he starts to study.
Only then does he recognize how little he truly knows on the subject. Furthermore, subjects who display competence
are more likely to show less confidence in their abilities.
This idea is dangerous for education when highly confident
individuals, unaware of their incompetence push reforms and policies without
understanding the impact. The inability
to recognize competence explains why so many merit-based plans or other
evaluation systems are flawed.
Subjects recognized the severity of their incompetence when
exposed to appropriate training for the skill.
Higher levels of educational leadership become more isolated from this
exposure. In the classroom, my
incompetence results in immediate exposure through confused students,
inappropriate behaviors, complaints from parents, etc.
At higher levels, from where can this exposure come? Unfortunately, when an administrator,
superintendent, state official (keep moving up the chain) makes an incompetent
or bad decision, the only way they will find out is from a subordinate. Two problems here: 1) for a superintendent to
stand up to a state official, a principal to a superintendent, a teacher to a
principal—takes a lot of nerve and risk. 2) If the subordinate has the nerve to
question a policy from a superior often it is dismissed as a complaint.
(remember, incompetence doesn’t recognize competence in others)
What does this
mean for teachers?
1) Embrace and support effective leaders. Do everything in
your power to make sure they understand how necessary they are.
2) Remember your primary client- the student. Sometimes you have to jump through hoops, but
you’re in the classroom with your clients every day. Use your good judgment and do the right
thing.
3) Build credibility and legitimacy by showing competence in
your job. Parents and students will
become evidence of your ability giving greater weight to your voice beyond the
classroom.
4) Stay informed. Pay attention to legislative actions,
express your opinion, and educate the public through your network of friends
and colleagues. (Or just refer them to The Teaching Underground if that’s too
hard).
5) Remember that even when you feel like others see you as a
cog in the wheel, that everyday YOU exercise the true power of leadership: You
have the power to create the environment that allows each person you interact
with to become the best person they can.
