In going through this weeks resources I was constantly reminded of a quote I had come across in the not so distant past. The quote said something to the effect that education is a field that is historically slow to change.
When I first read this quote I agreed and went along my merry way, but after this week that sense has been constantly on my mind. I'm wondering how a profession that deals with so many different individual kids during a year, then gets a new batch every year can at the same time be slow to change. That to me signals a big problem. It has made me nervous as my school building faces a million changes in the next month, summer, year. Can we handle it?
The question is how do you best implement change in an institution like ours? There has to be leadership. This is why I'm so nervous about my school moving through the next stage in our life, we have lacked effective leadership in our building for as long as I've been there. I like my school, but it is somewhat a mess. We are going to get our 4th principal in the last 8 years in July, and next year we will have a minimum of seven new faces on staff out of a staff of 42. He has a big job, and I'm hopeful that he understands how to work the system, leading change, and how to rebuild a fractured community. I am also hopeful that I can fulfill an earlier blog post and put myself out there as a leader in the building for change. I know I can do it, I think a lot of lessons for our future can come out of this week's materials.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteI too remember hearing that same quotation and wondering if change happens so slowly sometimes because of the bureaucracy of jumping through the hoops of national, state, regional, local and individual politics and demands. I think that education as an institution often stands by, in effect waiting it out, to see if they really need to change or if the demands will change first.
It sounds like your school has been floundering without true, consistent leadership from the top down at the individual school level. I wonder what you think about other schools in your district? Is the issue of leadership more widespread or focused just on your school? I believe that if it's just your school, with 7 new teachers and a new principal, your school may be ripe for some of these inevitable changes - so long as you and other teachers lead by example!