I had a teacher come to me and ask if she could get some advice on moving into administration. "I need to make more money," she said. I told her not to get into adminitration then. "Yes, you'll make more money, but you'll lose time and gain stress that isn't soothed by the daily miracles you see in the classroom," I replied.
I see numbers. You see souls.
I see the product. You see the process.
I see the plan. You see the players.
I see the whole. You KNOW the individuals.
I'm in the so-called leadership position on my campus. What a bunch of poo! That's right. Poo! For those who feel "stuck in the classroom" read the quote below. (I did steal this from my brother's blog www.pastorjeffflowers.com).
You can buy a person's time; you can buy their physical presence at a given place; you can even buy a measured number of their skilled muscular motions per hour. But you cannot buy enthusiasm. You cannot buy initiative. You cannot buy loyalty. You cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these. - Clarence Francis
In a way I feel like the former described in the quote. While I don't directly pay teachers, I do require their time, presence, and skills. But it is the latter that is real leadership. It is what the teachers are doing in the classrooms that earns the devotion of hearts, minds, and souls. Real leaders see those that they lead grow and expand well beyond their teachers. And isn't that why you got into teaching in the first? To get students well beyond where they ever imagined they thought they could be.
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I suppose that the grass often seems greener on the other side, as they say. You have used a workout analogy in an earlier post, and so I'd like to do the same.
ReplyDeleteTeaching is unquestionably rewarding. However, it is also incredibly frustrating. It is similar to working out in that gains (or losses) are made in the smallest of increments. Often those improvements are so slight that the person working out cannot see them, while someone who does not see us on a daily basis notices the subtle changes immediately. Teachers help students improve at a level that is nearly imperceptible on a daily basis. But an administrator who sees the students infrequently (relative to the teacher) may indeed notice the tremendous gains made by the students.
So, you are right when you say that you see the whole. Teachers cannot so easily step back and take in the entire picture.
To extend the analogy, we understand that teachers will miss an opportunity to make gains now and again. That is just a matter of fact. (I’m still waiting for a hitter with a perfect batting average.) However, it is consistency of effort that will lead to the best results. Teachers must therefore continually remind themselves to consider their students in a holistic manner and not get "down" when there is the occasional setback, for there will undoubtedly be many.
So, a part of the mastery of teaching comes from properly handling the setbacks and using them as motivation to face the next day. This is where many first or second year teachers lose perspective on the profession. Or why many teachers move into administration. Unfortunately, the admin side of teh coin doesn't offer the balance that teaching does. Too many negatives must be focused on from that side of the desk.
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