Leadership / First Year of Teaching

Leadership /First Year of Teaching

The allure of the dark side

We chose education for a variety of reasons. I want to be altruistic, sincere, and optimistic and believe people go into education to make a difference in the lives of children. They are in it for the kids.

A valued colleague and I have been discussing a hypothesis that I have held for years. I contend, based upon years of observation, that at some point in our careers, our ideals somehow get lost or polluted, and we are pulled to what I refer to as the dark side. It takes a very special person to resist this force and maintain the path of doing the right thing for kids. This person stays focused on the good and the positive in spite of any of the extraneous pulls on our character which permeate most schools. Anyone who has spent any time in a school knows exactly what I am talking about. Schools are very much like the series of Star Wars epics, namely a constant push and pull between good and evil. There are many lessons leaders can learn from this series of films.

When does this cross over to the dark side occur? Some argue that this change miraculously appears the day that tenure is awarded. I do not believe this. Someone doesn’t wake up one day a changed person. For most, it is a very slow process that works in different ways for different people. However, it works; this dark side in schools is a destructive force. It usually occurs around a confluence of events in one’s personal and professional life. When it occurs is insignificant. Being aware it is happening is critical to the teacher, school, and principal. Of course, let us not minimize the impact on the students. Principals and school leaders must understand why it occurs and put structures into place within the school to prevent this metamorphosis. Principals and superintendents can also migrate to the dark side, and sadly I know some that have started their administrative careers already there.

It is important to dig a little deeper and see if we can understand why this occurs. We all tend to like lists, and I have come up with one on this topic. Let’s call this list, 10 Reasons We Cross Over to the Dark Side. This list is applicable beyond the world of education by tailoring it to your specific business. This list is not compiled in a priority order. I encourage a Professional Learning Community to grab hold of my hypothesis, study it, analyze the rationale, and develop an awareness to prevent people from crossing over.

Anger: Frustration and disempowerment leads quickly to anger. This anger may fester in both one’s personal and professional life. In general, real lifetime situations can beat anyone down, and we quickly get angry at everything. Think of all that we are forced to juggle in addition to our careers. Some of these include: our relationship with our significant other, our growing children, our finances, our aging parents, our commute, our home, and our health. Now compound these issues with things that frustrate us at school and when these frustrations intersect, the dark side provides some support and consolation. Many people find it easier to live on the dark side. And in some schools, the dark side is more heavily populated.
Isolation: It is extremely hard being alone, especially during difficult times. The dark side relishes vulnerability. I have seen members of the dark side hovering around the new teachers ready to lend them their support. The fee for this support is costly. It is your educational soul. Administrators may suffer from this isolation more than teachers. We have started to rectify this among teachers. We have yet to address it with our administrators.
Communication: Overall, communication in schools between teachers and between teachers and administrators remains poor. People receive bits and pieces of information and not in a timely fashion. People feel excluded very quickly. People get left out of the decision-making process especially as to how it relates to them. Once this happens, see #1.
Opportunities for success: It is human nature to want to have chances for success. Likewise, people want to feel supported in their quest for success. If they take some sort of professional risk, they want to be supported by the boss. Likewise, they want to be acknowledged for their success. If they do not get this acknowledgement from the right source, they will look for it elsewhere. The dark side will readily supply this acknowledgement.
Manipulation by others: Misery loves company. I strongly believe in this old adage. I have been on enough teams to see how the negative force permeates a locker room. One or two malcontents can quickly multiply. Left unchecked, this force will destroy a team, a company, or a school. The vocal minority wants their numbers to grow. They will pick off any vulnerable parties. I think of the National Geographic special on television where the slowest antelope, once separated from their pack, gets consumed by the waiting lions. This also happens in a school. Miserable people surround themselves with more miserable people. The only way to beat this is to not provide any new resources for the dark side. We must starve them. Remember as you get up every morning, the one thing that you can control is your attitude. Make sure when your feet hit the floor in the morning, you embrace the day with the right frame of mind.
Seduction of the negative: Those living on the dark side make it seem like a very good place to be. Those that have similar feelings will find a place to vent (the teachers room!), and they gather strength from an audience. It gives them pleasure to find a place where they are accepted. I will argue that some people wake up in the morning thinking of ways they can be disruptive and negative, and if by chance they have a good day, they are disappointed. The actions of this group are both covert and overt.
Frustration with leaders: When there is a void in leadership, much like the rules surrounding a natural vacuum, someone will quickly fill that space. An absent or weak principal are easy prey for the dark side. The negative dark side will quickly take over. This group becomes the critical mass of opinions and voices, and it is hard for many people to escape this. To escape, some will voluntarily leave the school, leave the district, or sadly, leave the profession.
Get beaten down: After a while, you simply get tired. You become physically and mentally exhausted. You are ready to throw your hands up and surrender. You are on your way to the dark side. Many times, you can combat this feeling by simply changing class assignments or changing schools. There exists a good chance that a change is some small way will invigorate you and give you the strength to combat the dark side.
School is lacking a purpose: Overall, your school culture is terrible. There is no vision and no purpose. The school is a “do your own thing” type of school where staff and students do what they want. With a breakdown of culture, the dysfunctional cycle begins. Frustration becomes anger and before you know it, you are building a fortress soon on the dark side. It becomes consuming. Culture is critical!
Work stops being the reward: When this occurs, it becomes deadly for the students. You are just going through the motions. You are dusting off the same lesson plans you used years ago; the lecture and your manner of teaching has not grown and changed. It is the same lecture every year on the same day of the marking period. You get no joy from your subject, your pedagogy, or your students. Never forget that the teacher is the most important person in the school. The quality of teacher predicts a student’s academic achievement. Teachers also mold student attitudes. You can still be “that” teacher for many students (see past articles).

When one takes a look at these ten factors in totality, they all point back to the school culture. Let us also not forget that we all are responsible for the development and sustenance of a healthy school culture. A negative school culture will destroy everyone and everything. The problem is; OUR SCHOOL CULTURE IS VOID OF THE “WE” CONCEPT. We are all in this together. The power of “we” can overcome the forces of the dark side. But we should not kid ourselves, it is a daily battle and little battles will be lost. Healthy schools with strong leadership, shared power, a common vision, open channels of communication, collaboration, support, recognition, positive relationships and with each individual with the right positive attitude and the collective work ethic of all, just like the Jedi, will prevail.