Timeout for Leadership-your one-minute leadership idea
The dark side-What might Yoda say? (#1)
Individual migration to the dark side is systemic in nature-part 1
Yoda might say, “Even the Jedi fall prey to darkness. Simple is it for one person to go down a dark path, and simple for others to follow.”
Welcome back to Expecting Excellence after a brief holiday hiatus. Happy New Year. I hope everyone is staying safe and well. Have a great year.
A little background
For those that regularly read these pages you know how I feel about the existence of the dark side in every school or organization. I believe that at some point in everyone’s career one is challenged to leave the light side of the Force and join the powers of the dark side. I think Star Wars, and the metaphor of the dark side, can help understand the dynamics of one’s work environment. This call to the dark side usually happens during a confluence of stressful events at home and at work. One underlying question is, why do some people cross over to the dark side while others remain on the light side of the Force? And as a follow-up, what can principals and leaders do to prevent this migration to the dark side?
Yoda, the wise and powerful, is a philosopher, teacher, and mentor. What might Yoda say about my theory regarding the migration to the dark side? Over the next several weeks, I hope to have some fun with this. Enjoy.
The path to the dark side is well traveled. It is a worn pathway that many have ventured. As a matter of fact, I believe that it is so well worn that it has become systemic in nature.
The path to the dark side is evident very early in one’s career. Perhaps we need to look back a little further and agree that the way in which teachers are trained and developed is flawed. Compared with other professions, a future teacher spends a relatively short period of time in any formal residency or pre service experience. Instead, prospective teachers spend hours upon hours in college campuses listening to theory which may have little application to practice. I believe one becomes a good teacher by teaching, not sitting in a remote environment listening to someone’s rhetoric. One needs to learn and experience many of the human aspects that go into teaching, such as building relationships with others. For future teachers, I ask this bold question. Do you even need to be on a college campus at all? As a veteran teacher and school leader, I have come to realize that very little of one’s college content was useful in the classroom. Although times have changed, preservice education needs a major overhaul. I know that statement will anger many of my friends and colleagues in higher education. However, I challenge them to stop protecting their turf and antiquated practices and to get prospective teachers into the classroom and schools as soon as possible.
Likewise, my former colleagues in public schools must form partnerships with universities that embrace this concept. We came close to this with the Professional Development School model, but we stopped short. Then budgets became tight or leadership changed and we were forced to take a major step backward.
When the PDS model works, it is a beautiful concept. Pre-service teachers after three or four years at a specific school segue nicely into full time teaching positions in that district. The chain is never broken. These new teachers know the system, they know the kids and perhaps more importantly they know the culture and climate of their workplace. Over time, and I do not believe that it would take too long, those new hires would become the positive foundations of the culture and climate of the school. And dare I say, real teaching and learning may occur.
Our mentor Yoda wants schools to be about the kids, yes, perhaps future Jedi, rather than the adults in the building. What a refreshing thought!
