Education reform pivots on leadership. Teachers look to administration for direction, guidance, affirmation, and permission. Administrators look to teachers for creativity, accountability, and compliance.
What’s the shared value? The bottom-line value that is non-negotiable?
A man always has two reasons for doing anything: the good reason and the real reason. J.P. Morgan
The good reason for most educators is to hold students to a standard that is achieveable and necessary to be successful throughout life.
The real reason relates to why educators care about education at all. What values do all of us, teachers, support staff, administrators, counselors, and everyone else who shows up every day to contribute to the education of our kids–what values do all of us share?
The real reasons are likely too personal to share. I know I really don’t want to know everybody’s deepest emotional connection to teaching: too much information. But there are some assumptions that may be valid. I don’t know. I’m thinking out loud here.
Assumptions:
1. Every educator wants to make life better in a real way–not just more wealth, but more happiness.
2. Every educator believes he or she can make a difference with individuals and, over time, with society.
3. Every educator needs a locus of control that validates his or her world view.
4. Every educator understands the significance of public education in the life of every individual as well as in the future of our society.
How does curriculum support these values?
The teacher makes the call on this question. So it’s the teacher’s interpretation of the shared values that is reflected in instructional delivery of the content, the assessments, the classroom activities, the lesson designs, and the classroom norms.
How does school district policy support these values?
Administrators make the call on this question. So it’s the administrators’ interpretation of the shared values that is reflected in the various departments: finance, human resources, transportation, curriculum and instruction, food and nutrition, extra-curricular options, graduation requirements, discipline code, special student services, and whatever else that does not occur to me at this moment.
How does community and parent involvement support these values?
Parents make the call on this question. Their responses are as varied as parent booster clubs and fund raising to charter schools to private schools to home schooling to legal action against districts for damages.
Community involvement impacts interpretation of these values through legislation, donations, and school boards.
What’s the real reason we all care so much that we say we need education reform even when change is so hard? What real reason do we all share?
Look to the assumptions. Then look at who interprets the meaning of the assumptions. Can a teacher who believes attendance matters just as much as creativity find common ground with the teacher who believes meeting standards matters more than attendance or the administrator who believes critical thinking matters the most or the special services specialist who believes personal relationships with responsible adults is more important than test scores?
Short answer: yes, if given opportunity and safety to discuss their shared values. The discussion nurtures tolerance and fosters understanding.
Wouldn’t it be nice if a teacher and an administrator and an office support person could appreciate the motivation of the other adults? Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t feel disrespected or under-valued because you understand why? And most importantly, wouldn’t it be nice if you knew in your heart that you could question decisions in the spirit of compromise and compassion?
Leaders, I believe, understand and practice the spirit of compromise and compassion.
I also believe leaders and potential leaders get so far from the lighthouse of their principles (thank you Stephen Covey), they shift into survival mode. It’s really hard to be compassionage and to compromise when you’re buffeted by wave after wave of criticism.
For example, the following infographic has been widely tweeted and viewed in the past week. The title, “Collapse . . .” is an interpretation. It is a lament of the collapse of a structure, public education before reform, rather than an indication of alternative interpretations of what the shared values look like.
The Collapse of Public Education
Henry Ford said, don’t find fault, find a remedy. I found this quote on brainyquote.com under the topic, “leadership.”
Leaders re-design interpretative applications of shared values. Leaders give opportunity for re-visioning, for re-tooling, for re-making structures more resilient to shifting tides.
What’s the real reason for education reform? Leaders reassure everyone that there is still a lighthouse to guide our decisions as we reform education in ways consistent with our values.
Who are the leaders in the reform movement? The ones who are determined to preserve the common values of public education.
How do they lead? By clarifying and reminding everyone of the real reasons we care.
