Heritage: End-of-Semester Reflections

We had to post an entry on the Zankel blog about "our educational journey" at the midway point of our fellowship. I was suprised when I sat down to write that a reflection about administration is what ended up coming out. I don't usually give much thought to administration (despite the fact that my mother is a school principal and my father is on a school board - go figure). Here is what I posted:

More than ever before, I am aware of the importance of the relationship between administrators and teachers in schools. As a teacher, I had always been primarily classroom-focused when I thought about education. Perhaps it was because I felt administrative issues were too far above my head to concern myself with. While I'm still not convinced that, as a teacher, I will have sufficient power to influence the administration (at least, not a larger schools, and not until I gain some seniority), I know that when I'm searching for a job after I graduate I will look long and hard at administrative policies and teachers' relationships with the administration before signing any contracts.

The teachers' union is very active at Heritage, and the school often feels like a battleground. Rather than the administration and teachers working together to achieve a common goal, the provision of a quality education to a very at-risk group of students, I see instead a tug-of-war in which the administration tries to make the teachers do things and the teachers think of reasons why they don't have to. I don’t feel I'm in a position to say who is right or wrong; I've seen evidence that each side has a pretty good argument. However, it's disheartening that so much energy is expended in what seems to me the wrong arena. Trying to stay on top of the kids at Heritage is exhausting, and trying to stay on top of the kids while simultaneously engaging in constant combat with one's coworkers is impossible. Something's got to give, and I’ve heard several of the teacher's comment that the quality of their planning and assessment is suffering.

In addition, few of the teachers seem satisfied with the efforts of the new principal. It is his second year, and I've often heard them complain that he doesn't support them, particularly when it comes to disciplinary issues. Again, I don't feel I'm in a position to point fingers at anyone, nor have I had the chance to hear Mr. D's side of it. He seems to me to be a man whose heart is in the right place, but he reminds me a bit of Obama in that he's young, inexperienced, and has inherited a huge number of problems. All eyes are on him to solve them all, immediately and finally. I can't imagine teaching at a school in which I had anything less than complete confidence in the principal. At a school like Heritage, where the task of education is particularly challenging, it becomes even more important to have faith in one's leader.