Examining Fullan's "Culture of Change"

Michael Fullan opens his preface to “Leading in a Culture of Change” by noting that “the more complex society gets, the more sophisticated leadership must become.” I am thankful that Fullan didn’t prove this point by inundating the reader with hundreds of pages of material regarding the complexities of leadership.

This is a useful book which reads quickly because the author sticks to five basic components of leadership that are used to represent what he calls “independent but mutual reinforcing forces for positive change.” By sticking to his script, Fullan delivers an impressive argument for future leaders everywhere.

Fullan’s five framework components are - moral purpose, understanding change, relationship building, knowledge creation and sharing and coherence making. His points make sense because they work as long as the leader continually works on improvement with each component with the energy and enthusiasm requested by the author.

The first component is moral purpose. Business leaders might lose sight of this, but it should be of utmost importance in an academic milieu. The main thought of this argument states that the means are as important as the ends. In other words, the importance of moral purpose comes from the trust and stability built into the relationships developed. Human relations are the key. This theme resonates over many of Fullan’s components, and it should. A leader truly is nothing without followers, and they are built through relationships. It is felt that working on improvement with all five qualities will naturally lead to an increasingly moral pursuit.

The next component is understanding change. With the great speed and “nonlinearity” of change, Fullan suggests that there will be messiness involved with any creative breakthrough. While others may say that change is not “rocket science,” Fullan strongly disagrees, although the witch doctor source (Micklethwait and Wooldridge, 1996) may have been extreme.

I appreciate how well Fullan cites other processes in search of the happy medium. On the topic of change, his take on others theories is that it seems contradictory and that one could get confused deciding on a best theory to follow. Perhaps change cannot be “managed,” but it can be led and the leadership is meaningful. Goleman’s six leadership styles were an interesting addition to the argument, particularly by stating that two (coercive and pacesetting) led to a negative climate and reduced performance among groups. The argument for being careful about trying to make too many innovations is sound advice for any leader.

Next is what I think is the most pertinent of the five components, relationship building. Fullan puts it as “job two” but I think you need one for the other (moral purpose - job one). The genuineness in relationships is very important and I appreciate the statement about burying the cynic who said “leadership is about sincerity, and once you learn to fake that, you’ve got it made.” There is no room for “faking it” in education, as even the kids can see through a phony persona.

The example of Superintendent Alvarado in District 2, San Diego is a good case study of the case re-culturing or an educational organization and the seven principles of the reform strategy (instruction only, instructional improvement as a long, multistage process, shared expertise, focus on systemwide improvement, talented people work together, clear expectations, followed by decentralization and collegiality, caring and respect being paramount) are a good model for others to follow.

Knowledge building is the fourth of Fullan’s five principles. This works best when we look at the power of people and see people as the root of knowledge. This sounds like such a simple task to accomplish, but so few organizations, especially in the education industry put out their best efforts toward collaborating the resources of their members through knowledge sharing activities. In the culture of change, the sharing of knowledge toward the acquisition of new knowledge is key. Relationships may be the key, but shared knowledge is crucial among groups. This sharing should not be mandated, but freely transferred back and forth. If treated as a core value, the sharing helps build relationships among group members, helping the overall culture of the organization. The session with an instructional leader and 22 principals studying a video of one of the principals conducting a staff meaning leads to a true learning opportunity.

Fullan’s final component is coherence making. Having already acknowledged the messiness associated with change, it made sense to have the last component deal with the “cleaning-up” involved with change. The effective leader is the one who recognizes that not all change starts out as a neat process, and the ability to let go and then rein in is a requirement. The disturbance involved has to be deliberate and have a desired outcome at the end. This is especially important in education where mandates can come from many different levels and the burden is almost overwhelming from outside the building. This gets back to the importance of not undertaking too many projects at once. Hatch’s (2000) survey showing that roughly two-thirds of schools were engaged in three or less programs bodes well for the mental health of their employees.

The truth is that the new interactions resulting from a major change do cause shifts in the organization and this situation can build coherence, but only if the effort is led properly with an end result in mind. Few positive changes happen by accident, although there may be by-product positive changes which are unexpected. The “strange attractor” term works well here, much like the “politics makes strange bedfellows” argument from class.

There are some other thoughts about Fullan, particularly with the Tortoise and Hare analogy. There are several concepts mentioned in this text which appear to go against the grain. The idea of seeking out resistance seems to go against some leadership teachings of the past. But the term “slow knowing” jumped out at me. If leadership in a culture of change is about learning how to cope in a quickly changing world, is there time for slow, calculated thinking?

Claxton (1997) believes so and his reasoning is as follows: “...the more patient, less deliberate modes are particularly suited to making sense of situations that are intricate, shadowy or ill defined.” The belief is that it takes a patient and confident leader to be able to wait. Claxton calls it “inner security.” Part of this skill includes having the ability to listen and to think things through after hearing all of the information. By comparison, less successful leaders make up their minds quickly and listen less afterwards.

I agree with almost all of Fullan’s viewpoints because they make sense and depend on skills that most people possess, but don’t always build. To be capable of leading in a culture of change requires listening skills, the ability to build relationships, strong moral beliefs, team building skills and knowledge creation. The effective leader understands and is willing to accept the chaos when may initially ensue when change occurs. However, having patience and a set objective can lead to success. This a useful, no-nonsense book.

  References

Claxton, G. (1997). Hare brained and tortoise mind. London: Fourth Estate.

Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco. Jossey-Bass.

Hatch, T. (2000). What happens when multiple improvement initiatives collide. Menlo Park, CA:

       Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Micklethwait, J., and Wooldridge, A. (1996). The witch doctors: Making sense of management

       gurus. New York: Random House.

Should College Athletes Be Paid?

As the college basketball season wound down to a close earlier this month, millions of fans watched the Cinderella dreams of  Virginia Commonwealth (VCU), and then Butler, falter under the pressure of better talent. In the end, Connecticut, a longtime roundball powerhouse, cut down the nets in Houston and gave their 68-year old coach Jim Calhoun his third championship.
 
For Calhoun, the celebration was the culmination of a trying season, which saw his Huskies finish ninth in the Big East. After thirty-plus years of coaching, Calhoun could probably live for another season with a ninth-place finish, but his reputation was tarnished more by charges of recruit tampering within his program, which turned out to be true, resulting in a three-game suspension for next year.
 
But Calhoun may not stick around for next season. His contract with U. Conn paid him a handsome $2.3 million salary this season, plus bonuses with added hundreds of thousands more. Calhoun is a rich man and a Hall of Famer who probably doesn’t need to face the embarrassment of watching someone else coach his team next year.

However, his base salary paled in comparison to the $3.8 million paid to Kentucky’s John Calipari or the $3.575 million shelled out to Florida’s Billy Donovan. In fact, all three men were paupers next to Louisville’s Rick Pitino who earned over $7.5 million this year, mostly due to a $3.6 million bonus which he earned for .. wait for it.. completing three years of his contract. There is another $3.6 million waiting for him in 2014, assuming he can simply do his job.

 It was newsworthy when VCU’s Shaka Smart saw his salary quadruple from 325K to 1.3 million over eight years, but in reality, his salary would still be lower than 26 of the coaches from the NCAA tournament.

Oh yes, this does not necessarily count the money coaches make from “camps,” shoe deals and TV/radio shows.

Basketball coaches are not alone. Many football coaches enjoy seven figure salaries, free country club memberships, complimentary cars, use of the university plane and such to walk the sidelines of proud football schools like Michigan and Ohio State. In a true story of irony, Buckeye coach Jim Tressel and several of his players fell under the watchful eye of the NCAA sanctioning committee when it was learned that the players may have sold memorabilia for as much as ..wait for it again.. $2,500.

Oh Mother of Pearl, the humanity!!!

For what it’s worth, a university which can produce a football team worthy of making one of the five BCS bowls stands to rake in almost $20 million.

One of the best movies ever made regarding this topic is 1994’s underrated “Blue Chips,” starring Nick Nolte, with Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway playing two of the players recruited into a clean program gone dirty after a 15-17 season at the fictitious “Western U.” In one memorable scene, a disgusted Nolte, as coach Pete Bell, leaves his watering hole after the appearance of “Happy,” a corrupt booster and “friend of the program” who has been selected to make sure that Nolte’s three recruits get what they want. As Bell chastises Happy in the parking lot for buying players into the Western programs, an equally disgusted Happy (J.T. Walsh) retorts with a cry that echoes even today. “We owe it to them Coach..we OWE it to them!!”

But do we?

In theory, I am sickened by the disparity between what coaches and players receive for their part in being part of a successful college program. Coaches such as Calipari and Pitino seem to leave their trail of destruction behind at every stop. Calipari has been to the Final Four three times, but the first two were vacated after allegations of NCAA violations were found to be true. Bob Huggins of West Virginia left the University of Cincinnati after a DUI charge, and it was later rumored that none of his players graduated.

How does the NCAA respond? By stating that players receive free tuition, books, as well as room and board. Period. As ably noted by Sally Jenkins in a recent Washington Post article, there is more. Players receive “world-class professional training, the showcase in front of prospective employers, the medical care, the free head-to-toe Nike or Adidas gear, the plush travel and nice hotel rooms...” I might also add the collectable memorabilia (like the kind the Ohio State players sold) and in the case of a BCS football game, swag bags full of watches and other knick knacks.

Originally, I was all for paying college athletes, but Jenkins’ article made me engage in deeper thought. Most of the schools in question cost $25-40 thousand a year to attend, as many of the players are from out of state. The athletic gear is worth thousands of dollars a year (i.e. basketball players can expect a brand new pair of $150 kicks every month, never mind the sweats and other apparel). And you can bet that the U. Conn’s and Ohio State’s of the world do not send their players to the Super 8 to rest for a big game. Their hotels need to include lots of room for the high charged and high balled alumni who tote their vast wealth from city to city to follow their team. Talk about a networking opportunity???

Here’s the other problem. We’re talking about two sports. Women’s basketball is close to becoming the third and completing the trifecta, but I’ll wait to see what happens after Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma retire. From the two sports, not everyone is enjoying in the profits. It was interesting to see point shaving charges leveled against a sports betting business that ran in cahoots with the University of San Diego basketball team. I don’t recall USD being on the national radar before this.

Problem number two. Most college athletic programs don’t make money. Even with football, considered to be the biggest cash cow, only about a dozen or so of the 117 Division I-A (BCS) schools turn a profit. Just doing a quick math check. If 80 players are making an extra $25,000 a year, we’re talking about $2 million. Maybe a few schools could suck it up, but it would affect the budgets of the lower rung teams. A fair share of the money generated goes to help the swimming, cross-country, water polo and gymnastics programs at a lot of these schools. Should they lose the $2 million? And where is the dividing line? Is it just male football and basketball athletes earning the money? That would put a major league dent in Title IX, and the next sound you hear will be the lawyers knocking each other over en route to the courtrooms around America, ready to sue the big bad NCAA.

And lest anyone forget that this is just Division I. Obviously, the Division II and III schools would lose out even more because they already have to be flexible with financial aid for their athletes.

My own feeling on the subject is that paying athletes would only widen the gap between the have and have-not schools, thereby erasing the chance us fans have of watching the rise of a program such as Boise State football and Butler basketball. Of course, with the NCAA Executive Committee running things, the concept of paying athletes will never reach fruition. Less money for the bigwigs. Probably why we don’t have a playoff system in the BCS. Unfortunately, the current system isn’t free of corruption either; otherwise, these thoughts wouldn’t be discussed so often.

What is Cultural Competence (Part II)

Last week, I introduced the meaning of cultural competence, looking back at its origins at the anthropological and ethnological levels. Just want to finish the initial thoughts on this subject today. It is particularly interesting to see how we are such creatures of habit, and particularly how much faith and trust we place with strangers many times over the course of a day.

Still planning on taking a look at the topic of paying college athletes for Thursday. Just searching for an article that I wrote back in 1986 on the effect which a successful college athletic program can have on the whole of a college or university. We are about to see another case in point as the number of applications to Virginia Commonwealth University will skyrocket over the next several years. Immediately, the coach, Shaka Smart, was signed to a eight-year contract with a 400% raise, from 325K to 1.3 million. Great news for the coach, but many educators in our state have not received a raise in three years. (OK, that's another story). But, what do the players like Rodriguez and Skeen see? You know, they did play the games.

But back to Geertz.....

Geertz defines significant symbols as “the meaningful symbols that constitute culture as an indispensable guide to human behavior.” Geertz continues “without them (symbols), we would not be clever savages like in Lord of the Flies. We would not be nature’s noblemen, who in Enlightenment thought lurk beneath the trappings of culture. We would not be intrinsically talented apes who had somehow failed to find themselves, as classical anthropological theory seems to imply. We would be unworkable monstrosities.” (Geertz, 1973)   

Starts At Birth

The bottom line is that we are products of our environment. Most of our customary behavior is shaped by observation, by initiation, or by instruction at the hands of other members of the group. (Barrett, p. 54).

Most of these characteristics are formed in the first three years of life and the process begins at birth. Customs are learned. For example, does the family eat with forks or chopsticks? What language is spoken in the home? At what age are babies trained to crawl, walk, and toilet train? The particular society in which one is reared determine the answers to theses questions and many others like them. Many of these practices have been developed for generations and will continue to passed on for future generations. The techniques and practices are ingrained in each society.

Another sociologist, Emile Durkheim was one of the first to write about the influence from the great power that society exercised over every individual. He wrote of the education of children that begins from the womb. Durkheim describes how babies are taught how to eat, drink and sleep at certain hours, how they are taught to clean themselves, how to remain calm, how to obey and to exert pressure, how to show respect and give consideration for others.

According to Durkheim, the reason why children are so vulnerable to this type of training is that they have no choice. Acknowledging that children do not like to be toilet trained or fed, or dressed, Durkheim also notes that babies will cry as a defense mechanism, bit come to realize that their wailing and howling tantrums will be exerted with no effect. When the child realizes that the “world” is against him, he will comply. This is the reason why it takes less than three years for the core of a child’s cultural tradition to emerge. It is not brainwashing, but rather the fact remains that the child has developed stereotypes gestures and salutations that are peculiar to that society. (Barrett, p. 56). One anthropologist liked to refer to it as a “blueprint for all of life’s activities” (Kluckhorn, 1949).

Predictability is also important in studying cultural behavior. As humans, we are creatures of habit. This is made easier because we are expected to follow rules and regulations, whether they are local, federal, or familial. While we follow our important rules, we also assume that others in society will do likewise. A good example of trust in other people comes from an analysis of car traffic. Almost all drivers have little difficulty stopping at the proper red light, but why should we assume that every other driver is following suit? We have an inherent expectation that others will observe the same rules that we adhere to, simply because these behaviors have been instilled in us during the process of earning one’s driver license.

What is Cultural Competence (Part I)

As noted earlier, my chosen focus in educational studies is cultural competence. I truly believe that a key to improving the education problems in America can come from making our teachers (some, not all) more culturally aware of who they are teaching. In the coming weeks, I will examine this topic in greater detail, including some insight into my own personal history with the subject (aka - here's where I came from!)
On another note, I am going to post twice a week from now on. Monday will be dedicated to my studies on education, while on Thursday I will seek to add more op-ed type of articles. Admittedly, since sports is in my wheelhouse, a lot of the articles might be sports related. Currently examining some topics for this Thursday, especially with the hullabaloo going on about cheating in college athletics. The question has been raised -- should college athletes be paid. The NCAA says no way, while many columnists and desk jockeys disagree. Over the past week, a few key journalists and commentators have chipped in with some great thoughts, particularly Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post and the members of the John Riggins Show, shown on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network and worldwide at http://riggo44.com. For the record, I love this show and have found many others who share this feeling. That's my aim for Thursday.
But for today, some opening thoughts on cultural competence.


In order to begin any discussion on cultural competence, one must look backwards and analyze the behaviors of previous generations. While working to best understand why people act a certain way in the present, it is necessary to study the behaviors and actions of those who lived before us. When the topic comes to understanding human behavior on a broad level, looking into the past requires a working knowledge of anthropolgy.

In its simplest form, anthropology is defined as the knowledge or study of human beings. The science has been split into four fields, and the one most closely related to our topic is cultural anthropology, also called social anthropology or socio-cultural anthropology. In a sense, these anthropologists make the argument that culture is based on human nature and that people are capable of classifying expereinces, encoding classifications in a symbolic manner and teaching their findings to others. In short, culture is learned, and because of this, people living in different places have different cultures. Part of the conflict with different groups of people involves the strain between one living in his ordinary (local) world versus his struggle to exist in the global (universal) society.

The origins of this branch of anthropology fall to the early 19th century with the study of ethnology. Ethnology systematically compares different human societies. Ethnologists were concerned with the idea of why people living in different parts of the world behaved in different ways. It was believed by the early theorists that beliefs and practices were passed from one group to another, either directly or indirectly. Some believed that they spread from one place to another, although the explanation of how as never fully developed. There were beliefs in a cultural evolution, complete with several stages.


Ethnography


Much of these theories were rejected in the 20th century with the advance of ethnography. By definition, ethnography is “a methodology that sprang in the first instance of anthropology and anthropological theory has been adopted by symbolic interactionism and adapted to its own purposes” (Crotty, 1998). Ethnography put the researcher squarely among the culture being studied. The key word is immersion. In ethnography, the anthropologist lives inside of another society for a consideable period of time.

The practice was advanced by Franz Boas. Boas, a German scientist, observed and participated in the social and cultural life of Arctic Eskimos as part of his fieldwork on Baffin Island in Canada. The experience changed Boas’ outlook and turned him from a “scientist’s view of cognition to an historian’s view of culture.” (Crotty, p. 76) In his view, cultures were “irreducable and incomparable.” Through his influence, Boas was credited with helping cultural relativism succeed in dominating American anthropology.

Boas continued - “culture is not to be criticised. One is to observe it as closely as possible, attempt to take the place of those within the culture and search out the insider’s perspective.”

Others contributed to the cause. Although ethnography was born to anthropology, the study was adopted (and adapted) by sociology. (Crotty, p.76) British educational researcher Martyn Hammersley is an advocate for ethnography and defines it this way.

 
All in the Symbolism
 
One notable concept forwarded by the American cultural anthropologists was that of symbolic interactionism. Clifford Geertz wrote of “a system of significant symbols.” (Crotty, p. 53). The thought process behind this suggests that humans require a great deal of stimulation and continuous learning - of language and other symbolic systems - to maintain even normal human functioning. (Barrett, 1984). Without meaningful symbolic communication, even normal mental functions cannot be aroused. One example of this is noted in Barrett’s piece entitled “The Meaning of Culture.” In it, a newspaper account from 1973 is rehashed. The article centers around a 13-year-old girl who had been held captive in her home for most of her life. The girl, Susan Wiley, was discovered by social workers and studied while a plan for rehabilitation was developed.

Wiley was deformed, incapable of speaking, and wore diapers. Her muscle development was retarded from lack of exercise and she walked with a stoop. Her mental capacity equalled that of a 12-to-18 month infant. The reasoning behind these deficiencies and deformities was determined to be her lack of social contact during her developing years. Other children, who were neglected and later found showed similar shortcomings. In each case, the absence of social stimuli and communications were seen as causal reasons.

(More on Susan Wiley and Cultural Competence next Monday..thanks for reading)

Servant Leadership

Continuing the Journey to the East

There is an interesting passage in The Journey to the East that sums up why this book is a tribute to the concept of servant- leadership. In the exchange, Leo is defining the Law of Service to H.H. His quote is He who wishes to live long must serve, but he who wishes to rule does not live long.

H.H. then asks the question, "Then why do so many strive to rule?"

Leo's response is poignant and worth further review. He replies, "Because they do not understand." There are few who are born to be masters; they remain happy and healthy. But all the others who have only become masters through endeavor, end in nothing.

To me, this means that it is important to an individual to find meaning in life, to find something which makes oneself happy, to find joy in one's work. A pursuit with true meaning is found in the life of service, as opposed to a life obsessed with the desire to control, dominate, or manipulate. Those that live to serve others are happier and healthier than those who seek domination in their pursuit of power.

Perhaps it was this quote, or others like it, that inspired Robert Greenleaf to coin the phrase, servant leadership. Further reading found a background on Greenleaf. His own work history was impressive, spanning 65 years, with only the last 25 devoted to his academic and writing projects. For the first 40 or so years of his career, Greenleaf was a manager and consultant at AT&T. Finding inspiration from Hesse's book, Greenleaf used the term servant leadership in a 1970 essay entitled The Servant as Leader. In it, he explores the notion that a great leader must first be one who serves. Finding that his theory was well accepted, Greenleaf continued to compose essays on the subject, while finding receptive audiences at his public lectures on the subject. While known as a business management term, the author angled his lens in different directions with the concept to look at topics such as the teacher, the institution and the trustee as servant.

By definition, Greenleaf's view of servant leadership is devoted to several ideals. These include, increased service to others, a holistic approach to work, promoting a sense of community and the sharing of power in decision making. It is more than a way to work, it is a way of life, a self-promotion of character. By nature, it is a lifelong process working toward the growth of self-awareness. By developing and practicing certain habits, one is introduced to a better way of living.

The litmus test, according to Greenleaf comes in the growth of others. The author wrote, do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? His approach also examines the effectiveness of the self-aware individual on society by asking what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will he benefit, or at least, will he not be further deprived?

It is an interesting question when studying the character of Leo. For the first half of Journey, he is seen as the servant, in a sense, the guide for the League journeymen. In spite of his lowly status among the group, it is acknowledged that Leo is in possession of the necessary items which are needed for the journey, a fact that no one in the group seems to question.

Getting back to Greenleaf's quote about the effect of a capable servant leader on society, did the least privileged in society, or the League, benefit from Leo's presence? One may argue that H.H. was the least privileged of the group, and if this is the case, the answer is yes. After Leo left the group, the dynamic disintegrated and chaos ensued, leading to the break-up of the League. Leo's effect on H.H. can be shown by the reaction he has upon Leo's return. He is excited and wanting to speak with Leo and is quite upset when it appears that the guide/servant has forgotten him.

However, H.H. is more surprised to learn that Leo is indeed the President of the League and comes to realize why he is working so hard to please the person he had viewed as a servant. Although Leo hid behind a subservient role, his power existed in his practice of expert leadership. Whenever a member of the League had a question or needed something, Leo was the go-to person. Even if he had not been the President, Leo would have enjoyed the status of unofficial leader by virtue of his knowledge and connections.

Larry Spears is the President and CEO of the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. He has picked up the ball and continued Greenleaf's work, authoring nine books on servant-leadership. He has studied Greenleaf's writings and developed ten characteristics which he sees as central to the development of servant-leaders.

The first is listening. The servant-leader listens intently to others with the motive of identifying the will of the group. Reflection is part of this characteristic.

Empathy is the second trait. The servant-leader accepts and recognizes coworkers for their unique and special spirits.

Healing is next. The successful servant-leader recognizes the emotional hurts of others and helps to make whole all that they come in contact.

Awareness is fourth. This includes self-awareness as well as general awareness with issues, especially involving ethics and values.

Persuasion is important. The servant-leader seeks to convince others rather than coerce. Consensus building is seen as an important skill.

Conceptualization is an key characteristic. The successful servant-leader dreams great dreams. Having the ability to see around the corner is crucial, as is the skill of thinking outside the box. However, one must maintain the balance between looking into the future while keeping up with the day-to-day activities.

Foresight is the ability to learn from past mistakes. It follows the intuitive mind, where the servant-leader knows the likely consequence of a decision for the future.

Stewardship is the practice of all stakeholders in an institution hold their trust for the greater good of society. Openness and persuasion replace control.

Commitment to the growth of people is the belief that people within the institution have an intrinsic value that goes beyond their contributions as workers. The competent servant-leader is committed to the growth of each individual in the organization.

Finally, an effort to building community is the last characteristic. It is believed that a community can be built within the organization, and the servant-leader is the person to lead the way by demonstrating his/her own unlimited liability for a community-related group.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that the servant-leadership movement has gained popularity over the past 39 years, when Greenleaf penned his essay on the subject. Hesse's Journey to the East has earned significance as a book because of its obvious influence on this concept.


       

The origins of the 2011 Egyptian revolution

Taking a break from the educational side of this, but I may post an article about early childhood development next week.

In light of the chaos taking place in North Africa, there looks to be a common thread weaving its way through the madness. In short, it is that citizens have felt oppressed and voiceless. While similar situations have existed for thousands of years, it is interesting to see how the influence of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have allowed these people to speak up for themselves and get their message out to the rest of the world. Tunisia and Egypt have managed to overthrow their leaders and Libyans appear to be close to showing Moammar the door. But how does a revolution start? In Egypt, it appears that the citizens got a look at the success their neighbors were having and used the social media as an outlet to "Just Say No!" In the end, Mubarak and his multi-billion dollar empire was left with no choice but to resign.

The concept of holding a revolution in Egypt was not unique; in fact, the 2011 uprising was the fifth to take place in modern Egyptian history, although the first since 1950. In the wake of the civil unrest and consequent successful overthrow of the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali leadership in Tunisia, the stage was set for the oppressed citizens of Egypt to make a move. In reality, the seeds for the movement may have been planted as many as ten years earlier. The successful outcome in Tunisia helped to give Egyptians hope that their movement would also accomplish its objective. For 18 days, beginning on January 25, scores of protestors took to the streets, under mostly peaceful circumstances, to denounce the leadership of President Hosni Mubarak. At first, Mubarak offered to not seek re-election, but after further protests, the president of 30 years resigned.

Reasons for fighting back

There are many reasons for the revolution, and most of the reasons focus on economic, as well as political issues. In the end, an Egyptian people tired of being held back decided to retaliate. Mubarak, like many other African dictators, headed a corrupt system. Free elections were not a reality in Egypt and freedom of speech was frowned upon. The unemployment rate was excessively high, while Egyptians, who were able to work, did so for low minimum wages. Many Egyptians work for less than $2 a day. The price of food was uncharacteristically expensive and police brutality ran rampant on the streets. While many Egyptians toiled in poverty, the Mubarak family amassed a fortune, known to be as high as $70 billion.

Larger Issues

The issues which sent Egyptians to the streets were not unique in the Middle East. The problems which have been forcing uprisings in countries since the Tunisian and Egyptian takeovers are tied to the broader issues of capitalism within the region. Two are of particular importance. First, the global economic recession and nature of neoliberalism in Egypt are causing concern as the country becomes more dependent on American capital investment, while shifting to single crop production for export and the privatization of public companies.

The second issue is the role which Egypt has held in fostering American dominance in the Middle East and North Africa. Many Egyptians felt as if Mubarak was more concerned with his country’s relationship with the Western world than his own people, profiting from American business contacts while the gap between the wealthy and the starving widened.

Social Media

Although many Egyptians lived in an oppressed state, there had been no means of mobilizing the masses to protest. This changed with the advent of social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter. In one well known occurrence, Wael Abbas “tweeted” his arrest while being moved to jail, and found hundreds of protestors outside the police station upon his arrival. While the movement in Egypt was uncoordinated from a planning standpoint, the ability to transmit moving images to a fixated public put the upheaval as the lead story on many news outlets.

Timing Was Right

In the end summary, the timing was right for an Egyptian revolution. The negative economic and social factors came to a boiling point just as the Tunisians were overthrowing the Ben Ali regime. Looking for an example to follow, the citizens of Egypt learned of people like Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian who set himself on fire in protest of the Tunisian regime, or Khaled Saeed, an Egyptian who was brutally beaten by police for refusing to pay a bribe. Using modern technology, the Egyptians quickly crafted a message and sent it out for the world to see. After 18 days of protest, their mission was accomplished and President Mubarak resigned.

Closing the Achievement Gap -- What's a Building Leader to do?

I hope that everybody had a successful SPRING forward! YAWN!! I want to take a brief look at the role of the educational leader in terms of closing the achievement gap for this week's topic. The root of many school's SOL (Standards of Learning) problems mirror their ability to close the achievement gap.

Personally, I think that many problems with achievement gap have to do with cultural competency issues. In other words, some teachers do not understand the members of their classes on a racial, religious, economic, gender, disability or other level. I am going to veer in this direction with some future writings as it is the centerpiece of my dissertation studies.

     As a building leader, the responsibilities of closing the achievement gap fall on several levels. The core traits involved with being a successful school leader are an ability to serve as a model teacher, a continuing awareness of cultural competency and the ability to analyze data, develop effective teaching strategies designed to improve learning deficiencies, and communicate the findings to the teaching staff.    First, as an administrator, one is expected to be an educational leader. As such, the school leader needs to be a capable teacher in the classroom. A wealth of classroom experience helps when it comes to working with teachers to develop strategies. Therefore, any strategies aimed at closing the achievement gap can be modeled on a daily basis.
     Secondly, in order to improve the achievement gap situation, the administrator needs to work with the leadership team to promote cultural competency among the members of the teaching staff. This should be an ongoing process. Cultural competence is more involved than simple cultural awareness and it cannot be taught in a single professional development session. This is especially important in more diverse school systems. This concept could be the most important element to be overcome in order to truly make progress toward closing the gap. It is not simply a black or white issue, but transcends many nationalities, and includes issues such as learning disabilities and socioeconomics.
     Third, as a building leader, one must be skilled at reading into the most appropriate data to identify trends in achievement and to determine what needs to be improved. Effective teaching strategies are best employed when the available testing data has pointed to the deficiencies that need to be addressed. Studying the evidence and clearly communicating a plan of action to the teaching staff is crucial to closing the achievement gap.  Having the ability to analyze data becomes a useful skill when the information can be shared among staff members. A competent assistant principal will promote an environment of positive collaboration and shared experiences among teachers.
     These are the most important skills for a school leader to possess, but they must be encompassed with the ability to build and develop teams of teachers, to foster an environment of cooperation and trust and to show empathy with teachers when needed.
 
 
 

Evaluating the purpose of teacher tenure

I recently completed a set (OK, ten) annotations shadowing various opinions on teacher tenure, which may be one of the centerpieces of any reform movement. As one of my William and Mary professors claimed, "Change is on the way..it's going to happen." The other centerpiece is merit pay, which is difficult because it is difficult to determine how to evaluate teachers. Do we measure by test scores, student surveys, principal evaluations, etc..?  Both sides feel strongly about their views. One side suggests that the teaching profession is inundated with low-performing employees whose motivation could be summer vacation. On the other side are those who believe that academic freedom can only be achieved by teachers who have job security. Personally, I agree with the tenure concept, but see the current measuring stick (2-4 years in most states) as rather short. I also see merit pay around the corner and the distribution of money to teachers will probably be affected by all the evaluation methods suggested above, along with a few others.

I'd like to come back to the topic of teacher tenure from time to time, especially as the changes are being put into place. It will be interesting to see how the negotiating techniques of a certain Governor or two will affect the overall mood of educators. This may lead to another question entirely, that being, "Are unions relevant anymore?"

One of the most controversial topics in education today is that of teacher tenure. While a group of educators argues that teachers need to be protected with a reasonable level of job security in order to perform their duties, the detractors fire back with tales of low performing teachers who cannot be removed because they have earned tenure.

Reasons for Tenure

The two main reasons for establishing teacher tenure were to protect academic freedom for the teachers and to provide simple job security. In the 1983 book, “Critical Elements of the Employment Relationship,” legal scholar Joseph Beckham notes that tenured status is the most substantial right in employment that state statute or school board policy can convey to the public school employee. In terms of its intent, the author adds that the other purpose of tenure is to “compel procedural due process in dismissal or other adverse employment actions and thus to protect competent professional staff from unjust or arbitrary employment decisions.” (p. 10)

Does Tenure Allow for Incompetent Teachers?

Tenure is granted after the completion of a probationary period, which allows school building leaders ample time to judge the effectiveness of a classroom teacher. Generally, this period lasts between two and four years. As each teacher, regardless of tenured or non-tenured status, is observed and evaluated several times each school year, the argument against the detractors is that there are numerous opportunities to examine the effectiveness of a new teacher and to dismiss incompetent ones before they are granted tenure. In a 1982 article, Ernest Brown notes that the problem of incompetent teachers lies not from tenured status, but “is the result of administrators who avoid preparing cases for dismissal.” (p. 54)

How Do Teachers Feel?

In a 2003 article for School Reform News, George Clowes conducted a study among a group of New Jersey teachers and his findings were unique to the debate. Surprisingly, there are a majority of teachers (58 percent) who admit that being awarded tenure does not necessarily mean such teachers have worked hard and proven themselves to be adept at their craft. Fifty-nine percent acknowledge that some of their colleagues should not be teaching as they fail to do a proficient job.

In the same survey, looking at possible alternatives to tenure, most teachers were not in favor of merit pay, but 70 percent were receptive to the concept of “combat pay,” a bonus for teachers who work in rough neighborhoods at low performing schools. If the standards are changed, 93 percent believe that they should be set by educational professionals and not elected officials.

Reforming Tenure

Many questions about the usefulness about teacher tenure arose after the A Nation at Risk report in 1983. Over the past 27 years, academicians have searched for new and innovative ways to improve the system which grants continuing contract status to qualified teachers.

In a 2010 article on teacher tenure reform for www.americanprogress.org, Patrick McGuinn of Drew University and the Institute for Advanced Study raises several interesting points on the subject. The author notes that a great deal of recent research on teacher quality has devoted scant attention to the enactment and implementation of teacher reforms. While focusing on the costs and benefits of tenure, there has an absence of scholarly argument about genuine solutions to improving the tenure process. McGuinn offers nine recommendations, ranging from the Department of Education funding research and pilot demonstration programs, to think tanks and organizations such as the National Governor’s Association providing more informational resources and policy guidance to states wishing to pursue teacher tenure reform.

Suffice it to say, the argument surrounding the purpose of teacher tenure continues to be echoed throughout the halls and meeting rooms of school boards and legislators alike.

Grafton Girls Win Region I Basketball

Figure I'll throw a changeup here and switch to sports this week. The Grafton HS girls were seeded ninth in their district, but managed to win the whole regional championship and enter the state tournament this weekend with a 24-3 record. This was in last Saturday's WYDaily and made it to air this (Mon.) afternoon.

By Jim McGrath

It’s amazing what one can learn from watching pre-game warm-ups.

Forty-five minutes before last night’s Region I Division 4 Girls basketball championship game at Grafton, while her teammates stretched under the basket, Morgan Heath walked out to a point on the left wing, 40 feet away from the basket and breezily swished a jumper. She then dribbled to the opposite side of the court and swished another 40-footer from the right wing. Later, Rose Mulherin worked five points from outside the three point arc, reminiscent of the NBA three-point shooting contest and practiced her far outside jumpers. The left wing shot seemed particularly favorable.

Imagine if one of them had to shoot an important long jumper.

Fast forward to the last ten seconds of the first half. The Clippers, down 19-16, had been worked over by a Cyclone team that lived up to its nickname. The visitors from Culpeper left little doubt that it was the same team that defeated heavily favored Courtland in the semi-finals. The team showed little fear, whether it was diving for loose balls, wrestling for rebounds or sprinting back down the court to thwart a Clipper fast break. Mulherin, in particular, had one breakaway shot blocked by a hustling Cycloner, much to the delight of the 100 or so fans who made the four hour drive from northwest Virginia.

As the clock ticked down, the Clippers were about to head into the locker room having not held the lead at all, and in jeopardy or seeing their undefeated home season end.

Not so fast.

Mulherin dribbled up the left side as the clock wound down...four…three...two. At one, the junior guard found herself about 40 feet from the basket, in roughly the same spot that Heath had drained a jumper about an hour earlier. Barely stopping to set, she let one fly.

SWISH!!!!

As the home crowd roared, the Grafton players and coaches jumped up and down and the team ran into the locker room, tied at 19 and ready to play with a renewed sense of purpose.

As for her long range shot, as well as Heath’s, Mulherin said is that it is something they do ‘as fun in practice.” However, she added, “it gave us a boost of confidence and we were able to turn it around. It helped loosen us up because we were tense. We weren’t shooting very well up to that point.”

Coach Tommy Bayse agreed.

“A big momentum thing was hitting that three at the half. It kind of got us excited as we went out.”

The feeling was in the Clipper locker room at halftime was one of confidence. Added Mulherin, “It made us realize that they’re just a team, they’re just people.”

Early in the second half, Mulherin’s three-pointer from the left wing, exactly from the same spot she was hitting from before the game, gave the Lady Clippers their first lead of the game at 24-22.

Without question, the Cyclones matched up physically with the usually powerful Grafton team.

“Numbers 33 (Taylor Shanks) and 25 (Courtney Shanks) are real physical and they hurt us on the boards,” said Bayse.

Taylor Shanks was an unstoppable force inside, leading her team with 18 points, many coming from her own offensive rebounds. On defense, she held Olivia Wilson, who had averaged 21.3 points over the past three games, to four points. Shanks’ sister was scoreless, but tenacious on defense. One example of this ended up putting Grafton in the lead for good.

Early in the fourth quarter, with the Cyclones leading 33-32, Courtney Shanks grabbed a defensive rebound and was quickly surrounded by a trio of Clipper defenders. In her attempt to get away she clutched the ball in her hands while swinging her elbows side to side. One caught Grafton’s Hannah Olson in the side of the head and the freshman fell backwards, eventually banging her head on the floor. As Shanks was called for a flagrant foul, Olson was awarded two foul shots which she calmly made to give her team the lead. On the ensuing possession, Wilson caught the inbounds pass under the basket and laid in what would be her only field goal of the game. However, it gave Grafton a 36-33 lead, a lead they would not relinquish despite several spirited runs by Eastern View who were down 40-39 with 59 seconds left before Tiffany Shanks fouled the Clippers’ Savanna Baxley. With the game on the line, Baxley drained both free throws, a sequence which Bayse called “the other turning point of the game. I don’t know how many she scored (four), but those were two of the biggest ones.”

From there, the home team ran out the clock and the celebration began. Riding the crest of a 10-game winning streak as well as completing a perfect season at home (16-0), it was easy to agree with Bayse’s final comment.

“I hate to leave this floor.”

Wilson did a fine job of summing up her team’s season to date as they prepare for the state tournament.

“It’s so unreal. We were picked to finish ninth in the district, but we came together as a team. We had doubts with ourselves, but we started winning and started to flow together and we started winning more and more and our confidence went up and everything started going right.”

The Clippers (24-3) will not have to travel far for their next game, playing against the Region II runner-up next weekend at Kaplan Arena on the campus of William and Mary.

EASTERN VIEW (17-9)    10    9    11    9  -  39

GRAFTON            (24-3)     4    15   11   12 -  42

Eastern View –  C. Jackson 6, Bowles 4, Mills 6, Mauck 3, T. Jackson 2, T. Shanks 18. Team 14 9-13 39. Three pointers (Mills 2).

Grafton – Heath 7, Mulherin 15, Brown 6, Olson 6, Wilson 4, S. Baxley 4. Team 14 11-18 42. Three pointers (Mulherin 3).

What education can learn from corporate America

In light of the problems in Wisconsin between their governor and the teachers, I have wondered if there is something that legislators could learn from the corporate world. My numbers may not be exact, but it appears that teachers make about $30,000 more per year than the typical state worker in the cheese state. A fairly amazing statistic even if the gap is only half of this. As a teacher by trade, I probably shouldn't complain, although a successful hard line from the Wisconsin governor could have ripple effects in other states, including Virginia, where I am back to looking for a full-time position after a semester as a full-time student at W&M.

There are two sides to the argument regarding the relationship between the educational world and corporate America. Those who are against the two having a relationship argue that the industries have little in common and that a school cannot be run like a business.

On the other hand, we see the influence of corporate America infiltrating itself into the educational arena. Leaders such as Arne Duncan, the current Secretary of Education, and Michelle Rhee, former superintendent of Washington, D.C. schools, cut their teeth in the business world and brought CEO-like qualities to their positions in education. Even more recently, in 2010, Joel Klein, long time chancellor of New York City schools, resigned. Mayor Michael Bloomberg selected Cathleen P. Black, a former CEO of Hearst Publishing, and a business leader with no background in education, as his replacement.

In a 2007 speech to the Athens (GA) Torch Club, Dr. Ronald Simpson, director of Instructional Development at the University of Georgia, spoke of the importance of the corporate and public sectors and how they do not fundamentally understand what the other does. However, Simpson noted that the majority of people on the boards of higher learning institutions were from the corporate or business world, citing the Board of Regents at his own school, with all 18 members coming from the private sector, and 15 specifically from the business industry.

Undoubtedly, members of corporate America are finding themselves more involved with education. The question remains, what is being learned?

Customer Service is Key

In business, the customer is always right. Failure to serve the needs of a customer means risking the loss of business. If enough customers are dissatisfied, the company runs the risk of failing.

While opponents of school vouchers and the No Child Left Behind Act complain of the extra demands being put on school professionals, there is little question that the expectations of educators have been raised and learning institutions are now being treated more like businesses. If a school fails to meet the benchmarks set at the state or national level, it runs the risk of losing students to other schools, and may even close if the benchmarks are not met for several consecutive years.

Incoming Funds Will Decrease

In the past, school system budgets were usually spared from cutbacks because of the importance placed on education. However, with a recent economic downturn, administrators have been forced to learn to “do more with less.” This is a skill associated more with corporate America. Leaders who are business driven and have experience with creating smaller budgets and working through cutbacks are in demand in the education industry.

Plan Ahead

Just as a successful business will conduct research and development to plan for the future, a competent school leader will also develop and maintain a vision. Many learning institutions and school systems have developed strategic plans, usually stretched between three and ten years, and there appears to be an influence from the corporate community with this method of long term planning. This is especially important for both industries as evolving technology is creating new types of jobs for the workforce and the educational system needs to be prepared to train students for positions which may have not been created yet. Informally, it is called having the ability to “see around the corner.”

Women in Leadership Positions - Must They Work Harder?

Thinking about the influx of females into superintendent positions, I examined the idea of whether women have to work harder, in other words, are the expectations higher. A more cynical question might be, is there less room for error?

In 1909, when Ella Flagg Young became the first woman superintendent of the Chicago public schools, she declared: Women are destined to rule the schools of every city (cited in Blount, 1998, p.1). By 1928, 1.6% of all superintendents in the U.S. were women (Shakeshaft, 1989). However, not much changed over the next 70 years. In 1998, 12 percent of public school superintendents in the U.S. were women (Hodgkinson & Montenegro, 1999). Generally, the superintendency is seen as a male-dominated position (Bell & Chase, 1995), which is unusual considering that 70% of all K-12 teachers are female.

In thinking about the topic of power, influence and authority, I wondered how it worked differently for female superintendents. Although they are a minority among their peers, there are new heads of school districts, both in the city where I live (Newport News) and where I work (Hampton). The question I looked to answer from my readings is, Does the emerging female superintendent look at power, influence and authority differently than a male in the same position?

One interesting position comes from a school of thought that women stalk the position of superintendent. This comes from a system of beliefs forwarded by writer Carlos Castenada (1974, 1981, 1987, etc..), who introduced a system called the seven principles of stalking. The term originally derived from the custom of training Yaqui Indian warriors. In spite of the negative connotation associated with the word stalk, Castenada insists that it should not be taken negatively. In fact, because of the barriers involved with earning the position, they have to stalk it out.

Dr. C. Cryss Brunner of the University of Wisconsin has devoted much time to studying the role of female as superintendent, and has many thoughts to share. In one study, he examines the different ways that women use the power of the superintendency to build stronger relationships and how their feminism works as an asset in the ability to perform the job. Brunner calls it an ethic of care. (Beck, 1994; Noddings, 1984). By relating the topic to Euro-American women who hold the position, Brunner (1995) notes the feminine use of power holds the promise of transformed practice for anyone, female or male, who accepts the challenge.

In another study, Brunner cites the work of Hartsock (1987), who associated gender with the concept of power. While avoiding domination, Hartock says that women adhere to a theory of power which stems from the point of

view of the subordinate. They draw on their own capacities, abilities and strengths to gain empowerment in the superintendent position.

The authors of my readings all appeared to agree on the basic idea that men and women view power, influence and authority in a different way. It is also suggested that women do show awareness of this theory in several ways. First, women interested in becoming the superintendent of a school system will seek out the position and in a sense, stalk for the job. This is not an exercise of using dominating power, but is rather borne from an awareness that the position is male-dominated and that a female will have to make an extra effort to make her interest in the position known to the local school board.

Another point of interest comes from the leadership style of the female superintendent as opposed to her male counterpart. Brunner (1995) believes it is difficult, but not impossible for superintendents to behave in an ethical caring way toward the less powerful, such as teachers and children, and believes that natural female instincts allow these leaders to practice collaboration and consensus-building which relies on positive, less hierarchical relationships between people.

In an earlier study, Brunner (1994) had hypothesized about this gender-specific type of power and found three items. First, when women operate according to the female concept of power, their chances to acquire positions of power decrease dramatically. Second, women are most likely to be empowered in those communities that have pluralistic or diffused power structures. Finally, women who attain positions of power are most successful when they adopt female approaches to power that stress collaboration, inclusion and consensus building models.

In a sense, the argument is a paradox. On the one hand, females are supposed to possess qualities which are beneficial to performing the superintendent position. Yet, the same traits are known to keep one from acquiring the job, leaving potential applicants to stalk the job and go against their normal demeanor. From this information, it would seem that performing the duties of the job is easier for a female than being selected for it.

The author has gone on to research the process by seeking the answer to the question: If women make up over 70 percent of the teacher ranks, then why are only less than ten percent in the ranks of superintendents of schools? While acknowledging that people may find gender-specific research to be offending, it can be useful and help to gain a better understanding of educational administration in the future. The information from these various studies can certainly beneficial to women who are working their way up the pipeline from teacher to principal to central office director, and hopefully on to the top position in their school district.

Zero tolerance: A contemporary educational ethics issue

(Editor's note: I was going to go with a piece written about the Hall of Fame inductions of two of my favorite Redskins, Darrell Green and Art Monk, but changed my mind after reading some of the derogatory comments about sportswriters in the article. Seeing as I cover high school games these days, my opinion on typewriter jockeys is now a work in progress :) Anyhow, it looks like I'll be taking a seminar on legal issues this summer, so it seemed like a good excuse to go back and examine one or two old writings on educational legal issues. This was a piece on "zero tolerance" composed for a spirited debate for my School Law class at U. VA. For the record, I believe our team won that debate.)

In spite of the negative connotation the two words cause, there is a place for "zero tolerance" policies in schools today. I believe that the three main reasons for this are as follows. First, when one looks at the climate within schools today, it is obvious that a zero tolerance policy is necessary to ensure school safety. Secondly, statistics show that zero tolerance policies are successful. Finally, in awareness of the extreme consequences which have occurred under this policy, court decisions have been made which give school administrators more discretion to enforce the policy while using common sense.

To understand the need for "zero tolerance," one must understand the events which caused its formation. Popular theory suggests that the policy started about 15 years ago, but as a generation celebrates the 40th anniversary of the "Summer of Love," one must remember the behaviors that made the summer of 1967 memorable for its participants. Certainly, the music has left a lasting impression, but others expressed themselves through free love and illegal drug use. When Richard Nixon became president, he took a look at the youth of America, and decided that they were having too much fun. With this in mind, Nixon's "war on drugs" was launched in 1969. As far as schools are concerned, zero tolerance policies began to evolve in the late 1980's. In 1989, school districts in California and Kentucky introduced policies that mandated expulsion for drug possession, or participation in gang-related activity. In Yonkers, N.Y., the program included restricted access to schools, a ban on hats, immediate suspension for any school disruption and increased use of law enforcement. Within a four year period leading into the early 1990's, zero tolerance had become a way of life in educational institutions. With Congress' passing of the Gun-Free Schools Act in 1994, the zero tolerance policy had reached a national level.

The Gun-Free Act required states that receive federal funds to expel any student who brought a weapon to school for at least one calendar year. It also required state provisions permitting the local school superintendent to modify the expulsion requirement on a case-by-case basis. This allowed states, such as Virginia, to enact their own statutes. In many cases, like with Virginia, the altering of zero tolerance policies gave more leverage to individual schools and administrators. Partly because of this newer legislation, which promoted common sense, especially where guns and drugs are concerned, we see several reasons why some form of "zero tolerance" policy is necessary.

The truths are these. Society is not safe. There have been cases of students bringing guns to schools. Students do abuse drugs. Violence, especially with the emergence off gangs such as MS-13 in Virginia, is becoming a more common way for young people to resolve conflicts. This may not be encouraging news, but it is the reality of life in the 21st century school. Zero tolerance policies in schools make them safer, and schools have to provide students with a place that protects them. In the absence of a safe environment, the ability to educate students is compromised.

The important aspect is to continue to realize why we need this policy. Last year, as reported on CNN and other national news organizations, two Long Island teenagers were taken into custody. They were arrested on charges of plotting a terrorist attack at their Suffolk County high school complete with a "hit list" of specific students. Their attack, which would have used guns and homemade explosives, was scheduled to coincide with the 9th anniversary of the Columbine H.S. massacre, and was to occur sometime around April 20, 2008. Columbine's immediate impact on "copycatters" was obvious six "would be" assassins were caught in one ten day period of 2001 alone. The fact that Columbine is still noteworthy NINE years after the tragedy is bone chilling, and should speak volumes about the seriousness of the episode, as well as for the need of zero tolerance.

Does the policy work? History says it does indeed work; unfortunately, the public eye is blinded by visions of overzealous principals.

In Texas, a survey found that from 1993 to 1998, the percentage of teachers who viewed assaults on students as a "significant problem" dropped 22 points, from 53 to 31, after beginning their zero tolerance policy. In Baltimore, an aggressive zero tolerance law produced a 30 percent drop in student assaults on other students and a 50 percent drop in student assaults on teachers and staff IN ITS FIRST YEAR! Also, in its first year with the policy, Granite City H.S. in Illinois reported a 60 percent drop in student expulsions. The National School Safety and Security Services notes the false perception given by zero tolerance critics and comments in its opinion report on zero tolerance that the "vast majority" of school administrators strive for firm, fair, and consistent discipline.

It is important to recognize that the applications of zero-tolerance policies have gone overboard on several occasions and I do not condone a long-term suspension for a six year old who brings a nail clipper or an Advil to school. Admittedly, a few administrators have taken the definition of zero tolerance to extreme levels. But, in almost all cases, this is a successful policy. It is unfair to base a judgment on several rare, but highly publicized events.

However, when the policy has been put to the test in court, decisions have backed up the school administrator. In Brian A. v. Stroudsburg Area School District (2001), a federal district court considered the case of a 15-year-old student who was expelled because he wrote a note stating, "There's a Bomb in this School bang bang!" Being three weeks after Columbine, the matter was taken seriously. In making their decision to expel the student, school officials considered the fact that the student was already on probation because of blowing up a shed on the property of another school. The court held that the schools act of expelling the student was a reasonable response.

In another case, Lovell v. Poway Unified School District (1996), a federal appeals court considered the appropriateness of the suspension of a 15-year-old student who threatened to shoot her school counselor because of unhappiness with her schedule. Like Brian A., the student said she was not serious and apologized for what she called "merely uttering a figure of speech." Still, the counselor felt a real threat and the suspension was upheld in court. In its comments, the court noted "in light of the violence prevalent in schools today, school officials are justified in taking very seriously student threats against faculty or other students."

There are several truths about zero tolerance which the general public may not be fully aware of. First of all, school officials have been held liable for failing to protect students from foreseeable harm (e.g. Eisel v. Board of Educ. 1991). In the Eisel case, a school counselor was made aware of suicidal statements made by a student, who then died in a murder-suicide pact with a friend. Second, the zero tolerance policy is legal. In 1985's case of New Jersey v. T.L.O., the Supreme Court was forced to address the constitutionality of student searches as a violation of the 4th Amendment. By a 6-3 vote, the Court ruled that the rights of children and adolescents are not the same as adults and that school officials have a responsibility to maintain the discipline necessary for education. Third, the flexibility within the policy allows for school administrators to discipline the true offenders while remaining sensible to the less serious and accidental violations. The policy has been altered from the "one size fits all" that many people still believe exists. Finally, the practice of zero tolerance works because the "due process" rights of a student are not violated. One well known example of this comes from Goss v. Lopez (1975), in which the court noted that minimum due process must be provided before a student is suspended for even a brief period of time. Bethel v. Fraser (1986) adjusted the ruling on minimal due process stating that a two day suspension, in this case for a violation of free speech, does not "rise to the level of a penal sanction calling for the full panoply of procedural due process protections applicable to a criminal prosecution."

In short, the zero tolerance policy does work. It ensures the safety in schools, which is needed for a positive learning environment. Also, past history, and statistics show evidence that the policy is successful. Finally, there is little recent evidence that administrators' judgments have been extreme, and court decisions have backed this up.