Jessica Miller
ECI 696
Final Project
One particular issue or concern that hinders or distracts teachers from being a great teacher utilizing best practices is the lack of effective communication, which leads to confusion within the schools. Inconsistent leadership and a leader who is a bully and is providing a long line of scattered visionless leadership bring down the cultural impact of the educational system. For example, a district with continual turnover of a superintendent or with a superintendent or other leader within the system who is a bully is a district that has to endure inconsistent and ineffective leadership. This type of chaos breeds fear and uncertainty. When there is fear there is no trust and teachers begin to feel anxious and band together behind closed doors. The adage of “This too shall pass or I will be here long after you are gone” becomes the norm. Unfortunately, this mentality is supported by the lack of consistency in the administrative leadership. All of this dysfunction trickles down into teachers becoming apathetic and forgetting why they chose educating children as a profession. Teachers forget that they are charged with the task of educating the future democratic society.
George Posner explains the idea of their being frame factors that impact education. Frame factors are distracters or an obstacle that will limit the curriculum implementation. These may be limitations or constraints on teaching and therefore on the implementation of the curriculum.
Posner explains that there are seven factor frames:
Frame Constraint
Temporal Time & Scheduling
Physical Natural & Behavioral Environment
Materials & Equipment Environment Legal-State & Federal Mandates
Organizational Class Size & Group Factors
Personal Interests of Staff, Students & Parents
Economic Costs & Benefits
Cultural Values & Beliefs of School & Community
The dysfunction of ineffective leadership, ineffective communication and a trickle down hierarchy fall into the frames of personal or personnel factors and the factor of culture. More importantly and more helpful is the way in which Posner allows us a method to identify a problem within the system, isolate it and begin to examine possible solutions.
Of the issues or concerns identified in the district the culture of fear created by the ineffective leadership and communication as well as uncertainty is the most threatening to the health of the district and potential partnerships with the students, families and community. Human experience tells us that there is a connection between the way we are treated and the work that we will then, in turn, produce. As a teacher it is amazing how strong we are capable of being when we feel the injustice outside of our classroom then turn around with a smile on our faces, close our classroom door and teach our little hearts out showing no concern for the outside world. In the end though we know that the constant chaos eats away at our health and desire to be at work and work to our best. Elevated stress levels in the school or within the school district can be associated with increased certified and classified turnover, absenteeism, less of an energy level and very low morale.
When faced with fear and chaos some teachers turn to apathy within themselves. Employees of an ineffective district begin to lose themselves in the comfort of desensitizing themselves and sharing miseries with co-workers. Grousing sessions begin to lead to acceptance of status quo. When a teacher becomes apathetic they stop teaching outside the box, reading to further their own knowledge and education, stop reaching out to colleagues and stop aspiring to do their best job to accomplish the goal of educating the students to be prepared for a democratic society.
In order for teachers to ready their students to be active and educated participants in a democratic society they must create a safe learning environment that promotes critical thinking and problem solving skills with an appreciation for a diverse population and a high level of tolerance. Teachers who are constantly feeling like their own thoughts are quashed have a difficult time creating creative free thinkers in their classrooms.
Ryan and Oestreich, authors of “Driving Fear Out of the Workplace” identified that people will not speak out because they have a fear of repercussions, fear that nothing will change anyway, they don’t want to be labeled the troublemaker, and most people would like to avoid conflict when all is said and done. When there is fear the entire organizational culture is disrupted. Once the culture is interrupted by fear and intimidation problems arise. For example, teachers become less motivated, less committed, less creative and less confident. Teachers who have fear of dictatorship running their work life begin to suffer from depression and constant worry. The feelings of anxiety lead to feeling ill and not wanting to go to work or do your best at work. These feelings directly impact students, parents and the overall community partnership.
To be a community and school that have a shared goal and vision to create a strong partnership with the students and families means that community residents feel that their neighborhood is a place where its diverse members feel safe. Community partnerships that are strong strive to create a safe and viable learning environment. To prove to parents that the school is safe there needs to be a shared vision throughout the district that is visual and part of that visibility is the health and care of the staff of the school.
In order to create the strong community partnership it is essential to have a strong instructional, business, and discipline leader who has the personal people skills to lead certified and classified staff to desire to be their best for themselves, the clientele and you. In the state of chaos and fear that our educational organization is in, is it possible that a leader can come in or be born from within the district? Margaret Wheatley, author of “Leadership Lessons from the Real World and Leadership and the New Science”, says that we can have a leader born from the chaos and uncertainty.
Wheatley says, “When individuals discover a common interest or passion they organize themselves and figure out how to make things happen.” The need to have a strong community partnership for our students to become powerful and compelling citizens in a democratic society is a common passion deep enough to rise out of the chaos of fruitless leadership. Staff, parents, and the school board of a school district with erratic leadership can create a committee to hire a new superintendent that with the community needs in mind when they interview candidates. Holding a community forum to incite community support and interaction with potential candidates will help them to feel part of the hiring process.
Points made by Margaret Wheatley in her book “Leadership and the New Science” are that in order for humans to survive in a world of constant change and chaos it is necessary to share information to maintain an organizing force within the system, recognize and accept chaos as an essential process to renew and revitalize the system, utilize and develop the diverse relationships in the community and embrace a shared vision. There is hope for a viable educational system that encourages teachers while embracing change. Chaos can be led if it is not a bully influencing the decision making to undermine the system.
Effective and clear communication puts the community partnerships, district, families, teachers, and students working towards the same shared vision with the tools to accomplish those goals. Skills necessary to be a clear and effective communicator are to have personal contact with your staff, listen while noticing when to offer up constructive criticism, taking notice of the tone in your voice, maintaining eye contact and using welcoming body language. Be sure to establish clarity when communicating with your staff. Don’t assume that everyone understands the plan or what you have said to them. Ask if further information is needed. Always give meaningful feedback while also allowing plenty of time for development and improvement. Solicit feedback from your staff and find the time to maintain meaningful meetings with key stakeholders. District reconfiguration, school uniforms and when you are expecting budget cuts or a reduction in force are examples of when staff, students, families and the community should be asked to offer input.
When disseminating information to certified teachers, classified staff, community members, parents or students to be viewed as an effective communicator it is also important to be honest and let them hear important news from you first and not via the rumor mill that the teacher’s lounge is known for. Demonstrate your leadership by listening and responding to concerns of the community and the staff. Focus on rebuilding trust and confidence in the educational system and the community partnerships. For example when you are facing possible salary reductions and furlough days for your staff speak to your staff personally by going to each site to present the scenarios and options that you and the district are considering. By the superintendent making themselves visible and accessible they become viewed as honest and forthcoming. This is especially important in a rural or smaller district.
Once effective communication is in place skills of an effective leader can easily be identified. For example the ability to lead is seen in assertive people. A superintendent, principal, or teacher who is assertive is not argumentative but can easily get the community to see their point through persuasion or in a convincing manner. Assertive does not mean aggressive.
Other essential skills that are necessary for an effective leader are the ability to stay calm under the extreme pressure with the politics and human feelings that come with making difficult life altering decisions. Superintendents need to be full of hope and able to stay positive in the face of pessimism. Strong leaders are able to stay focused on the shared vision and goals established by the community partnerships, families, staff and students. For example, a strong superintendent is able to be well organized and able to conceptualize or visualize the goal of the district. They are able to find the strengths within their staff, strengthen the staff with professional development, and lead them to the intended goal.
In order to begin to solve this issue facing today’s teachers the hiring of a superintendent who has the desire to create and maintain a shared vision with the diverse community is the first step. There is a necessity to find an instructional and business leader who is willing to roll up his or her sleeves to bring a common shared vision to our district with the willingness to recognize the diversity of our community and fight to create a community partnership between the school and families through effective and honest communication. It is the responsibility of the district to recognize internal faults and the needs the organization have been overlooking or easily blaming on poor leadership when they could have stepped up and done a more effective job as well.
There are a plethora of issues and concerns facing today’s American teachers. Not only do they need to worry about being highly qualified, seeking recertification hours, differentiated instruction within the classroom and teaching state objectives for students to exceed the standards on standardized tests but they also are faced with ineffective within their buildings and at the district level. Being part of the problem, becoming apathetic or succumbing to the stress of the workplace is easy to do. Rising above and joining the force to find or become an effective leader within the organization whether that is as a superintendent, principal, lead teacher or effective classroom teacher we all have the ability to turn chaos into a positive learning environment. Perhaps Ralph Waldo Emerson had this in mind when he stated, “Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and to follow it to an end requires courage.”
References
Emerson, Ralph Waldo http://www.quotesdaddy.com/author/Ralph+Waldo+Emerson retrieved on June 27, 2010
Posner, George (2004). Chapter 8: Frame Factors (pp. 191-215). In: Analyzing the Curriculum (3rd ed.) Boston: McGraw Hill
Ryan, Kathleen and Oestreich Daniel (1998). (pp. 37-58). Driving Fear out of the Workplace Creating the High-Trust, High Performance Organization (2nd ed.) Jossey-Bass
Wheatley, Margaret J. (2006) Leadership for the Real World. Leader to Leader Magazine, Summer 2006