Originally published on January 1, 2014 (NASSP)
A few months back, I conducted a workshop with a group of
high school administrators on the topic of “Collective Attitude of the School.”
There were seven administrators present. To start the workshop, I asked each of
them to tell us something about themselves that had nothing to do with
education, and that I would not impose any time restrictions. I asked each of them the question, “Who are
you?” As we went around the table, each of the administrators told us “their
story” which each of us found to be quite interesting. It was evident that each
of them enjoyed sharing their stories.
I then followed up with the same question, but this time in
the context of their roles as school leaders. We went around the table and each
of the administrators described who they were within the realm of school
leadership. Once again, their answers
were rather interesting if not intriguing.
It was clear that each of the administrators had a definite identity
relative to their roles as leaders of the school.
Now, I was ready for the big question; the real
question. It was actually the same
question once again – “Who are you?” – but not as individuals and not as
educators this time. I wanted to hear
them express who they were as a school.
In other words, the question became, “As a school, who are you?” I then told them that unlike the previous two
questions, I did not want them to answer in the room we were located in. I
wanted to interview them separately and privately so that they could not hear
each other’s responses. When we came
back to the room, I shared their responses from the notes that I took. Although
this exercise was time-consuming (5 minutes with each administrator), it was
unavoidably necessary because as I shared the responses, it was clear that each
of them had a different perspective on the identity of the school. As I explained to them, this was problematic
because if we had the rest of the staff present, chances were excellent that
they too would have differing perspectives on the identity of the school, which
they agreed. Our conclusion then was the
realization that the school was in the midst of an identity crisis. Beyond the name of the school, they really
did not know who they were. They therefore
had no solid foundation to stand upon relative to a grasp of who they were as a
school. I asked them the question, “How do you move this school forward if you
have not yet determined nor established an identity for your school beyond it’s
name? This led to a very lively yet anxious discussion over the sudden realization
of this reality.
As leaders of secondary schools, it is absolutely imperative
that you engage your staff in this same discussion toward creating and defining
an identity for your school. When there
is consensus relative to “who we are,” the probability that the school moves
forward down the same path increases exponentially because the development of an
identity and eventually a “brand” becomes highly intentional, deliberate and
purposeful as opposed to something we hope occurs organically which has a very
low likelihood.
I like the precious information you offer for your articles. I will be able to bookmark your blog and feature my youngsters take a look at up here generally
ReplyDeleteautoketing
Create Discount master
Product discount app
That's really a good article, I think I might have to change my habits and study more good stuff, thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteautoketing
sales pop master
sales pop master online
Thanks for the information. I follow your news daily. We would love to hear more from you, just keep posting. Cheers.
ReplyDeletey8 games
friv3play games
friv5 games
Thanks for the information. I follow your news daily. We would love to hear more from you, just keep posting. Cheers.
ReplyDeletezombs royale games online
happy wheels games online
five nights at freddys games online
After study some of the blog articles on the website now, i truly as if your means of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark site list and will also be checking back soon
ReplyDeleteadam and eve golf games for girls
pool 8 ball games to play
offroader v6 unblocked games
ReplyDeletefood games
basketball free game
soccer games play
After study some of the blog articles on the website now, i truly as if your means of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark site list and will also be checking back soon
I have read all the comments and suggestions posted by the visitors for this article are very fine,We will wait for your next article so only.Thanks! I am thankful to you for sharing this plethora of useful information. I found this resource utmost beneficial for me. Thanks a lot for hard work.
ReplyDelete2player free
friv Games play
jogos io online