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I read this great article from the Harvard Business Review this morning that would be a great article to share with staff at the beginning of year to spark some discussion. The author talks about school’s inadequacies in preparing students to actually be leaders in our world because of what they are taught from the first moment of when they come to school. I could take many great quotes from the post (you should really read it), but I love these thoughts on the importance of leaders serving others:
Finally, while many schools tell us to serve others, they are rarely structured to actively show us that leadership isserving others. In most educational environments, our primary goal is to serve ourselves — to improve our individual grades, to compete for individual positions, and to maximize our own employment, college, or grad school placements. But as Bill George once said in a panel discussion on next generation leadership, “We are not heroes of our own journey.” People follow leaders who care for them, who share their vision, and who are dedicated to serving a cause greater than one’s self.
I really believe in the idea of how leaders need to care for those that they serve, just like great educators do. If we looked at some of these ideas at the beginning of the school year, what things would we change in our schools, and what things would we keep? If we are looking at building schools that perhaps serve the vision of what the author discusses (maybe you disagree totally), what would our classrooms look like and how would our schools support that? Should we move towards the vision the author discusses?
One of the things that I believe, and Bill Ferriter writes about in great detail , is that we have to really look at how we structure our “staff meetings”. These types of conversations need to be happening more in schools so that we can continue to improve on the great work that is already being done.
Well said George,
Instead of just pleasing the "boss", serve the "customers", the learners, the community, that's where we could achieve quality and ensure customer satisfaction. That has been the motto of Quality in business for decades. Can it be applied in education? May be a bit hard if we still value a hierarchical structure with supreme power and everyone else has to obey whatever is commanded. Is it quality leadership? If we want our students to lead the future, and be pillars of community and society, then we need to "raise them up" and empower them, to become great leaders. This would ensure that they would take hold of their leadership potential, and develop themselves in inspiring, helping and serving others. Would that be the network and community leadership that we all aspire to?
Thanks for the thoughtful post, George. It's encouraging to know that it could be a thought-starter for educators like yourself. I love your point about how serving others is already what great educators do well. I think the best educators are great leaders, and kids learn so many of their leadership lessons (good and bad) from the teachers and principals with whom they interact. I'd love to hear your commenters thoughts on what schools might do to evolve. I'd ask a few questions. Is there a way to work thoughtful questioning into student evaluations, e.g., students who ask thoughtful probing questions of their teachers and classmates receive bonus points or have that become part of their evaluation? Are there additional opportunity for small group learning, peer teaching/tutoring, field experiences (differing by age, of course)? Where can failure and "prototyping" be encouraged in the classroom without impact on evaluation or through positively rewarding those who fail in the right way and for the right reasons? How are students in your classroom rewarded or acknowledged for helping one another or serving in their communities (at school and beyond)? How can students be taught to learn subject matter in a self-directed way without appealing to textbooks or other authoritative sources that they might not have when facing difficult problems in the future? Are there other institutions (grad schools, businesses, colleges, government offices, etc.) that can provide a useful example for primary and secondary schools and are there opportunities for partnership? Knowing a number of teachers, I also know that educators are full of ideas about how to experiment in the classroom. Are there cultural or institutional pressures in schools that can hinder that teacher creativity and impede an evolved curriculum or structure? What pressures to teachers and principals face (if any) similar to those I described for students? Sorry for the rapid fire comments. I'm sure most are off the mark, but I think it's wonderful educators are having these discussions. There's no more important profession in the world. Thanks, again, for the post.
I read and appreciate both your important article John, and your thoughtful reflections George. I agree, it is high time to rethink the top-down structure, and linear/ binary thrust of too many schools-
It is important to figure out how school's might nurture creative, divergent thinking- and engage students as invested participants in solving or addressing authentic, real- world issues, rather than the all too common student motivation around ( often seemingly irrelevant )assignment completion and grades. My sense is that developing authentic leaders, will require a more individualized/ personalized approach to education- one that engages the individual passions/ aptitudes of students, in addressing real life issues-
While I like the idea of recognizing/ encouraging students to ask thoughtful probing questions- I am concerned that offering bonus points, or including it in their evaluation, risks undermining what we are trying to promote. It risks becoming another "to do", an assignment rubric… that students can comply with, without necessarily becoming any more invested or engaged, in the exercise or assignment.
I believe the kind of leadership we need- is a creative, non- conformist, passion-driven leadership- qualities that I do not believe can be cultivated in earnest with a carrot or a stick.
A student's passion needs to be uncovered and exposed, and the courage to think, to challenge conventional wisdom, needs to be nurtured, ideally in a genuinely safe, caring and supportive environment-
How is a safe, supportive, caring environment that promotes risk taking, (with formative assessments- which help guide, rather than summative evaluations or judgements), created?
That is certainly worth serious reflection!
I would vote for abolishing grades, in favor of student portfolios- at least in K-8. ( Finland, which leads on international PISA test scores- does not have grades, or homework for that matter, through high school).
Thank you for sparking our thinking around the importance of nurturing leadership qualities and cultivating leaders- throughout our education system.
We have grown so much in building student leaders who can and do contribute to the world and their community from our involvement with ruMAD? Or R U making a difference? Project. kids undertake real projects to make a difference to a problem Issue or group in need. The kids identify something that worries them, form common interest collaborative teams, research it and most importantly take positive action to impact the issue. Our Kids from low socio economic backgrounds have become zealous agents of change, building social capital for their communities and themselves. Are our kids learning? You bet. Are our kids feeling empowered? You bet. Does that self esteem and collaborative problem solving translate into higher standardised tests results? I'll get back to you but I'm not losing sleep!
Thought provoking and relevant to the educational debate about improving the quality of what we do.
I think one important quality of a great leader or educator is enabling the learning of others, not simply teaching or leading. A great teacher enables students to learn or to lead and so too does a great leader with his/her staff. A great leader enables staff to develop leadership skills, gives them confidence to risk take, provides support when mistakes are made, encourages them to follow their dreams. it is our humanity which binds us and no one, not students nor teachers, can develop and grow without care and compassion. I have enjoyed reading this blog.
Yes, great leaders are enablers, servers. Here is my further share http://suifaijohnmak.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/cha…
I'd take this focus on service one step further, George — I think that service needs to be the centerpiece for the work that we do in our classrooms.
We need to get our kids looking beyond their own families and communities. We need to help them to see that the knowledge that they are gaining can be applied in meaningful ways to change the world beyond them.
I think about the Kiva work that I do with kids. Back when I was teaching LA and SS, that was THE work that we did in class. We mastered LA objectives by writing persuasive pieces about the people we were loaning to. We mastered SS objectives by studying the individual countries that we were making loans to.
But we ALWAYS kept serving others at the core of our work. Our purpose was to help people in poor countries — mastering LA and SS objectives were a side benefit of that commitment to service.
Which all leaves me wondering whether this kind of service oriented curriculum could become the core of a school's community.
What would prevent us from making service — instead of seemingly random collections of predefined standards — the purpose of the learning that happens in our buildings.
You've got me thinking this morning…
#thanksforthat
Bill
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