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UNCHARTED WATERSAt the risk of inundating you with Cliff Clavinesque facts, wasn’t it Ferdinand Magellan** who first circumnavigated the globe in 1519-1521? This Portuguese explorer had devised a plan, refused to accept “no" as an answer, and leapt forward to carry it out -- he was an event-maker. To relate this to the principalship, sometimes the best course of action is one that no one has ever taken before. Our students’ new and varied needs scream out for a divergent approach. Sometimes it’s okay to shun the status quo -- verily, there are times that it’s preferable to ignore what everyone else is doing, in the name of growth and progress. In fact, some moments appear before us, begging us to obliterate that old standby (the status quo, not The Muppet Movie) and to forge a new path. Into the mysterious unknown we go! As school principals, often where we lead is off the edge of the map. Captain Barbossa*** (from Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean) may warn us, “Here there be monsters," but our quest for excellence must know no bounds. We must be willing to excuse ourselves from the masses and serve as pioneers, breaking ground and cutting waves -- this is where breakthroughs lie, this is where obstacles are overcome, this is where questions are answered, and this is where excellence awaits. MAKE IT HAPPENHistory will reward the event-makers, and as principals we have a choice to make: Will we react to the events of yesterday, or will we make the events of tomorrow? Certainly, one might argue that this is a pursuit of glory, of achievement, and the garnishment of superlatives. But what argument for glory ever began with a reference to a floppy-eared, mild-mannered puppet? No, this is an argument for turning over every stone -- in fact, sailing far from the beaten path just to find additional stones to turn over -- in order to discover what works for every individual child. In schools, the status quo is often silently revered -- we do as was done unto us, even if that original doing was done decades before. In recent years, we’ve learned so much about the way children learn, about the way brains process information, and about instructional pedagogy that we’d be remiss to ignore it. Unfortunately, the status quo is often a decade or two (or ten) behind. Are we truly providing what our students deserve if we turn a blind eye to the best, most recent, and most promising information? How long can we stifle our inner excellence?
As for the Heifetz connection: Jascha, a violin virtuoso who wowed audiences for over 60 years, sought perfection at every turn. Ronald A. could have studied Jascha for lessons in leadership: Part of what compelled Jascha’s incessant desire for perfection was his self-admitted “horror of mediocrity." Rowlf the Dog, meanwhile, just got by.
Always strive to be a better you, * Lesser-known fact: Edison didn’t actually invent the first electric light bulb; he fixed errors in others’ attempts and made the first commercially-produced electric light bulb that worked consistently. But he is rightly remembered for his innovations. ** Magellan, sadly, did not complete the globe’s first circumnavigation, either. We remember his name for this feat, even though he died on the trek and didn’t see it to completion. Some of his original crew, however, did make the entire journey, carrying his torch as a vanguard. *** As a word of caution: Any time you heed a warning from a fictional character from a wildly popular film, take a break, make yourself a quesadilla, get a haircut… and then get back to your work. It’s apparent that you need some reality grounding.
Article by Pete Hall 02/11/2008
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Always Strive to Be a Better You