Thank you He-Man.
Apparently organisations are all about power negotiations and it's all about who has control of finances/resources. Sounds rather cynical, but ultimately I guess that's true, even in schools.
The real question is about how that power is spread throughout the organisation, and how the organisation responds to the possibility of change. Here in Australia we would assume that most schools adopt an open/organic approach to change, and with the overwhelming number of roles and responsibilities in an average school there are not going to be too many arguments about sharing the power around a little. I think that we've all come across some schools, however, that have stagnated in their ways and are resistant to any form of change.
What I find most interesting here, though, is the terminology and the inherent power of language. We naturally incline towards those options of organic and open organisational structures, assuming they must be the best way forward. Would we be so inclined were they termed 'chaotic', 'random or 'unstructured'? Our society and educational system wants to see itself as promoting freedom to take on new responsibilities, with staff growing and evolving from one role to another. I don't have a problem with this, and it's a system I enjoy working in myself, but I wonder whether other countries would see these values in the same way. Is the democratic system of school organisation the optimum way forward? I have to admit that some of the best run schools I've come across (not all) have quite dictatorial Principals that staff live in fear of. That is not the same as saying that those schools got the best results, but it does beg the question as to the ideal balance of power within the school organisation.
I'm not entirely sure that there is an answer however. Schools differ drastically in size and population, both students and staff. What will work well in one place may be an abject failure elsewhere. I think that it is a good thing to share the responsibilities around, but ultimately teachers simply want the time to serve the needs of their students and are less concerned about power struggles than just getting the job done. Most will respond well to change if it is introduced in a planned out manner that will demonstrably make their job easier or more effective.
Tuesday 28 February 2012
Friday 24 February 2012
Gossip
Sorry, not anything to do with Beth Ditto, although I'm sure she's a lovely young lady. Instead, this is more of a return to blogging as I attempt to add ETL 504, 'TL as Leader' to my collection. I have not as yet done any of the reading, so am not going to attempt any critical analysis of the articles or my learning here today.
However, I suspect that, as on good old ETL 401 there will be some discussion of the value of Principal support and the duty of TLs to foster such support. As it happens, I was chatting with the parent of one of my year 2 children yesterday morn and she happened to be a TL in a state school on the Gold Coast. Apparently there is a distinct lack of support for TLs on the Gold Coast because a senior individual with responsibility for the area is decidedly TList. As a result many of the Principals have decided to remove their TLs altogether, and many of those lovely BER libraries are currently being run by Aides. My source had kept her position because her own Principal actually values having a TL and had bucked the trend by keeping her in place.
I personally find this information to be quite appalling. Perhaps some of those TLs could have held their positions if they had been more proactive and demonstrated their worth, but in the face of pressure from above and the opportunity to cut costs with an official sanction many Principals seem all too willing to wield the axe. This is particularly scary in that The Gold Coast is now Australia's 6th largest city and has probably the fastest growing population. A lot of children will be affected by the pressure applied by one individual with views that are destructive to our profession. No wonder that Australia continues to be overtaken in educational outcomes by other countries and is rapidly sliding down the international rankings.
However, I suspect that, as on good old ETL 401 there will be some discussion of the value of Principal support and the duty of TLs to foster such support. As it happens, I was chatting with the parent of one of my year 2 children yesterday morn and she happened to be a TL in a state school on the Gold Coast. Apparently there is a distinct lack of support for TLs on the Gold Coast because a senior individual with responsibility for the area is decidedly TList. As a result many of the Principals have decided to remove their TLs altogether, and many of those lovely BER libraries are currently being run by Aides. My source had kept her position because her own Principal actually values having a TL and had bucked the trend by keeping her in place.
I personally find this information to be quite appalling. Perhaps some of those TLs could have held their positions if they had been more proactive and demonstrated their worth, but in the face of pressure from above and the opportunity to cut costs with an official sanction many Principals seem all too willing to wield the axe. This is particularly scary in that The Gold Coast is now Australia's 6th largest city and has probably the fastest growing population. A lot of children will be affected by the pressure applied by one individual with views that are destructive to our profession. No wonder that Australia continues to be overtaken in educational outcomes by other countries and is rapidly sliding down the international rankings.
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