Educational Leadrship CrisisI recently had the opportunity to participate in an interactive professional development seminar. The guest speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, a distinguished scholar and world renowned expert on creativity and innovation challenged educators and the business community in Killeen, Texas and the Killeen Independent School District to take a look at the educational techniques in a rapidly evolving society. Without doubt, Sir Ken Robinson is a gifted speaker and a consummate subject matter expert in his field. He was able to relate hard facts about the immense need for education reform while adding an element of humor that made his talk both entertaining and informative. I instantly became a fan of his.
Some of the key points articulated by Sir Ken include the need for educators to engage in a revolution – literally. He said things are changing faster then most people can grasp. This, according to Robinson, necessitates the need for teachers to think differently and to carefully inspect the logic of basic ideas regarding human resources and human capacity. He stressed the importance of educators to “engage” their students in the learning process.
There is nothing knew about the “engagement concept” with master educators. They have been doing this for years. Any genuine teacher who is worthy of being called an educator understands that you must engage students in the subject matter being taught if he/she is to have any hope of “educating” students. However, it was fair and proper for Sir Ken to reemphasize this valued point in light of the changing dynamics of our society.
Sir Ken Robinson rightly pointed out that students have access to more information then ever before in history. Also, they can’t possibly process all of the information the have access to. So, they process the part that is the most entertaining and interesting to them. This is literally a phenomenon that educators must compete with. It is precisely the failure to do this that at least in some measure is why students are not learning. Why should they pay attention in a boring class when there is so much more interesting and entertaining information that is otherwise available to them? Hence, it is imperative to raise the element of “interest” if education is to have any hope of competing with the rest of the vast information that is available to the modern student. Teacher’s can only achieve this if students are “engaged” in the subject matter.
Sir Ken is also correct that information itself is not knowledge. Knowledge is processed, analyzed, and applied information. We have a generation of kids that have more information then ever before but many of them are largely ignorant. Why? Because they have information but little knowledge. Information, as Sir Ken noted, is “simply data unless you do something with it.” To be educated you must be “knowledgeable.”
Robinson cleverly pointed out that while some will argue the science behind the cause of global warming, few will argue the reality of global warming. Then he went on to say that this not only causes a crisis in natural resources, but also in human resources. His point was that if education today is to succeed, we must understand the basic ecological concepts about what makes people prosper. What make us prosper today is largely service and technology based. That is very different from what enriched people only just a few decades ago. It will be different again in the next few decades. We can hardly anticipate what the needs of the world will be in 20 – 30 years. For instance, 20 or 30 years ago could anyone have even imagined the need for cell phones and lap tops that we have today? It is the mission of education to prepare for this phenomenal change because it absolutely is forthcoming. Education must learn to prepare students for the basic ecological concepts about what makes people prosper today and especially in to the future if we are to remain a world power.
Robison said there seems to be no progress in cultural toleration and understanding when referencing America’s religious intolerance with Middle Eastern countries. Here is where I differ with Robinson. Frankly, I think America is the most religiously tolerant country on planet earth and it is the Middle Eastern countries, not the USA, that must learn to have religious tolerance. However, I can agree with Robinson that the intolerance itself, regardless of who is responsible for it, is going to be an ever increasing threat to America’s economic prosperity and our livelihood. Sir Ken correctly points out the immergence of India, China, and the Middle East as technological giants. The demographics support them over us. They have the youth and we don’t. More of their youth is being well educated and prepared for the world we will live in tomorrow, in sheer numbers if not percentages, and then we are. They can surpass us if we are not careful. If they can envision the ecological and economic dynamics that face the world in the next few decades, and prepare for it while we fail to do the same, we will go the way of the British empire of the past. As Robinson correctly said, “We are planting trees whose shade we may never see. Drastic change takes time and in an impatient society, such as ours, is all too often unwilling to give it time. We have to change.
Sir Ken stressed that creativity dwindles as children get older and teachers are faced with the challenge to maintain creativity in students. He noted that many people think they are incapable of being creative, but they just don’t know the process. It is incumbent on teacher to “teach” that process.
I appreciated an analogy Sir Ken gave to a seed. He suggested, if I understood correctly, that we need to stop “schooling” and start “educating.” Schooling passes on to much information instead of developing knowledge. It is the job of the teacher to create a learning environment in which students can grow intellectually through engaging lessons. Engaging lessons should inspire thought and creativity. Robinson gave the example of how we create a perfect environment for a seed to grow in to a full grown tree. We don't add leaves and bark to the tree along the way. Rather, we just nurture and protect the environment of the tree to give it the opportunity to grow. We need to start looking at education in much the same way.
We need to enrich students in a perfect educational environment that will permit them to develop their creativity. It is creativity that made us the richest and most powerful nation on earth. It is also the ever increasing lack of creativity that threatens our economic status and power in the future. Robinson gave several examples of once poor students who made huge contributions when they were given the opportunity to be creative (i.e, Sir Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Albert Einstein etc). If we are not careful we will stifle the greatest potential creative minds of the future.
Teachers must adapt to a rapidly changing world with developing technology. As Sir Ken noted, in the 1960’s it would have been preposterous to think that someone who graduated from college would not be able to find a job. Today this is often a reality. Today’s student must prepare for tomorrows needs. Educators must anticipate what those needs are and help to prepare our students for that time. It will have to be a collaborative effort with government, industry, and the business community. Nothing less will work.
I found little in what Sir Ken Robinson had to say that I would disagree with except for one key element that he over looked. The key part that was missing from his presentation was “leadership.” None of the aforementioned can happens if leadership is missing from the equation. If we have an education crisis it is largely because we also have a leadership crisis in education. Note that I did not say we have a management and admistrator problem. We are graduating more then enough people with expertise in management, accounting and administration skills. The problem is they don’t know how to “lead.”
Leaders are calculated “risk takers.” Many managers and administrators tend to retreat from risk. It happens all the time. They fear risk so much that they often find or devise intricate ways to hide and avoid risk. Cowardly managers and administrators also fear subordinate “risk takers." They view them as a threat to their positions. That inhibits the creativity that is so desperately needed to prepare our students for the future. Teacher’s who permit their students to explore more then prepare for standardized tests are developing student creativity. They also risk losing their jobs. I am not talking about moral issues here. I am referring to intellectual growth so do not confuse the two.
Cowards always pass the buck. If students fail it is always the teachers fault and never the administrators, the parents, society, or anyone else’s, to include the student. Take away the administrator title from cowards and you will find little left of “substance” in him or her.
Coward’s are never heroes. They run from controversy and risk while allowing others to take up the challenge. They may say, “Let your student’s explore,” but God help you if your students fail a standardized test. Administrative cowards know right from wrong but often refuse to take a stand for that which is obviously “right” or “correct.” They avoid all controversy regardless of the merits of the position or cause. Being right or "doing the right thing" means nothing to a coward if it involves any manner of personal risk.
Very often the issues that are most important are fraught with risk. That is why these issues are often left unattended. It is why teachers and especially students needlessly suffer, sometimes for generations. Cowardly administrators interfere with progress and justice.
Some people are genuinely fearful but courage involves overcoming fear; facing fear and still moving forward. That is what real leaders do. Leaders can be easily identified. We all know them when we see them. They “inspire” and “motivate” us. They rally us around a common cause. They are courageous and they “lead by example.” They rarely “direct,” accept as a last resort, to gain subordinate compliance.
Admistrators who lack leadership attributes invariably “order” subordinates in to action. They check their work, or have others do it, but rarely will they “show the way.” They hold demand expectations from their subordinates, expectations that they themselves invariably fail to meet. They are inclined to say, “Do as I say, not as I do.” They seldom request and they often threaten. They demand loyalty and respect, but do nothing to earn it. All they achieve is the best efforts that can be gained from reluctant compliance. Employees who are intimated, afraid, and bitter are incapable of giving their best. Their morale is always low. Collectively, this is damaging to the learning environment. Even if nothing is said students pick up on it.
If we are to solve the education crisis we must first solve the leadership crisis in education. No administrator should ever be allowed to hold themselves to a lesser standard then they hold their subordinates to. Indeed, standards are always higher for real leaders. We desperately need more leaders and fewer administrators in public education. Our nation’s future depends on it.
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