In
Part Two of my discussion on school leadership, I raised the question: What do you do with teachers that are used to the status quo? What happens when teachers are all-too-comfortable with how things have always been? What about those teachers who are used to being managed and won’t know what to do with empowerment? These questions have ripple effects into the classroom. Instead of “teachers” try using the word “students.” Why is it that giving a student full creative license to create an original work paralyzes them? Why, when I assign a video production project, do I hear them ask for worksheets? “Can’t we just take notes?”
How many of us are the same way? We want something spelled out for us, because it’s easier. It was baked into us early on that if we have more patience than the teacher (our first “boss”) then they will give us the answer. Sure, we whine and complain and talk about how bad things are, but when given the opportunity to change things, what do we do? Do we seize it? Do we squeeze every ounce of life out of our ideas and work harder than we ever have before to make our own dreams come true? Or do we sit in paralyzed fear?
We’ve never been empowered like this before. We’ve never been given the opportunity. There have been too many people in our lives that have been afraid to give up total control. Administrators, consider this your call to action: start small.
Change is slow and difficult. But you really only have two options: 1) begin replacing your current staff with those willing to take initiative (good luck…) or 2) begin empowering your teachers in little things. Here are a few ways to start getting your teachers comfortable with the idea of empowerment:
1- Teacher-led faculty meeting
2- Anonymous suggestion box(es)
3- Idea day (where every teacher submits an idea for change/improvement completely free of punitive repercussions)
5- Teachers choose the flavor of coffee/creamer at next meeting (see? I told you it could be a minor thing)
6- Don’t ask for their lesson plans; ask them to create something instead
7- Let the teacher give you an appraisal (or other ways of turning the tables)
8- Create a wiki for teachers to share their classroom ideas
9- Ask them to design a lesson for a subject they don’t teach
10- Ask to be a “student for a day” and sit in on a class, completing the same assignments the students are asked to complete
If these seem silly or outlandish, maybe it’s because you or someone before you has squashed the voices of your teachers. Maybe, just maybe, you will be surprised at the changes that can take place when teachers feel empowered.
Oh, and be sure to document/blog/reflect on the process. I think you’ll find it extremely beneficial to other teachers/administrators/educational leaders. Good luck!
