Leadership

Broken Windows

“Broken Windows”, an article written by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, first appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in 1982.  Many cities embraced this concept as a way to change policing procedures.  The theory asserts that a successful strategy for reducing major crime is to ratchet up the enforcement of what may be perceived as petty crimes.  The underlying theme being that if these small offenses are taken care of people will be less likely to commit more significant crimes.  The title infers that when one window is broken it is essential to repair it immediately. It is believed that a quick repair will prevent more windows form being broken. The theory assumed that the escalation of crime would cease.

Rudy Giuliani, after he was elected mayor of New York City in 1993, embraced this concept and emphasized that by taking care of “quality of life” types of crimes, more significant crime would reduce. Perhaps the policy was most noted for the crack down on “squeegee men” who were considered a nuisance and a symbol of the decay of decency in the city.

Was the policy effective?  The answer depends on who you talk to and what you want to believe.  Some people will argue that both nuisance crimes and major crimes were reduced.  Others will argue that just the opposite happened.  Still others will argue that the policy discriminated against African-Americans and Hispanics.

So, what does this have to do with schools or with general leadership principles?  Through my years of experience, I assert that when you ignore the little things, larger issues will surely develop.  This goes for both leading students and teachers.

Let us start by taking a further look at the title of this article because I think it surely applies to schools.  When a window breaks, fix it at once.  If graffiti should appear, photo it and immediately remove it or cover it.  If it comes back again, act it the same manner.  These things left un-addressed can lead to a perception that vandalism will be tolerated.

Likewise, when you walk down the hallway and see a piece of paper, bend over, and pick it up.  I have seen administrators walk right over it or kick it aside. I believe it essential that you schedule your custodians to do frequent “sweeps” of the halls during the day.  I have also stood at one end of a hallway and looked before me into a sea of papers.  Conversely, I have looked down the same hallway and have seen it spotless and debris free.  What message do you send with each scenario?  I will choose the latter.

What do you tolerate as far as student behavior is concerned in the classroom?  Do you require students to raise a hand or signal in some other way to be heard?  Likewise, do you require students to remain seated unless there is instructional need for their movement?  I have been in hundreds if not thousands of classes, and I have seen it all.  I know what I like to see.  My definition of a good classroom environment is meritorious of a full article.  Let me just say that “I know a good environment when I see it”.  I also know that if you allow the small nuisance types of misbehavior I am convinced that students will push the envelope and soon will be doing more significant acts of disruption.  The same applies to the use of language.  Is there bad language you accept or ignore?  What level of disrespect do you allow?  Once again, I am convinced that if what you perceive as little things are allowed to happen, bigger issues will surface.  The issues will become almost uncontrollable.  I have seen teachers, who I thought were good teachers, surrender by mid-March.  Luckily in education, we get a chance to learn from our mistakes and start again in September.

I will share a brief anecdote.  The middle school at times was seen to be loud and chaotic.  Students had the freedom of passing between classes and using the cafeteria and gym in a mature manner.  The middle school functioned in part sadly as a junior high school.  Yet the students were not prepared or mature enough to handle some of the responsibilities of the older students.  They were not ready to act in an appropriate manner.  The sixth graders were especially rambunctious.  They were acting perhaps age appropriate.    We had room in the elementary schools, and I decided to swiftly move the sixth grade back to the elementary venue.  The parents loved it.  The teachers were on board and it, in part, saved the middle school.  My point is that in the middle school the sixth graders ran wild.  They would get in trouble passing from class to class; they did not know how to act in large spaces and little issues were getting bigger.  Sixth graders rarely got suspended in the elementary schools; yet they led the way in suspensions in the middle school.  It was not a good situation.  The next year, with the sixth graders back in their neighborhood elementary school, I watched the them in each school walk as a unit from place to place in a very orderly and quiet manner.  Their suspension rate went back to almost zero.  When they returned to the middle school as seventh graders, their behavior was much more in line with expectations.

Now let us examine attendance and tardiness.  For the sake of our purposes, let us include both teachers and students in this category.  If you ignore a tardiness policy for some, others will soon catch on and decide that it is not important to be on time.  If as a student, I can still pass the class being absent ten percent of the time, why come to school?  If as a teacher, I can be absent over ten percent of the time and keep my job, then why come to work?   Once again, some little things t if left unaddressed will turn to chaos in your school or place of business.  Anarchy will prevail.

Perhaps your school can operate with the freedom of a college campus.  My schools could not.  It would really bother me watching a teacher in a classroom or walking down the halls drinking a cup of coffee.  It is all about the message.  What are we communicating about the seriousness of our purpose?

I think I have made my point.  Fix the broken windows when they appear. Remove the graffiti.  Stop the misbehavior of students when the issues are small and can be considered nuisances.  Likewise, do not ignore the little things.  The expectation of the school and district is the pursuit of excellence.  Do not let anyone deter you from this mission.

I always used the idiom of “are your shades at one level?”  It was a constant message sent to the administrators.  I wanted all of the shades at the end of the day to be level and even. Some behind my back called me neurotic.  Nothing says more than this when one looks at your school.  When it is in synch, it communicates paying attention to the details.  When it is not in synch, it communicates laziness or apathy.  Please think about it.  Fix the broken windows!!

Never let anything detract from the mission of the business.  This is serious business.  For all of those involved, it is called work, and it always cannot be fun and easy.   Excellence is never easy.

Good luck.