This is another entry that is cross posted at the ISCA blog. I’ve made a tag to make this clear.
I recently read Sustainable Leadership by Andy Hargreaves and Dean Fink. Though generally enunciating the types of leadership changes needed the our schools, the book brought up something that’s been bothering me of late in regards to educational reform; namely, the borrowed metaphors that continually cloud the discussion of reform. Even looking at the title of the book the type of language that Hargreaves utilizes should be obvious (psst…. it is environmental!).
Throughout the book, discussions of reform revolve around the use of an environmental and a business model vernacular. Where is education’s own bag of language? What is going on here? Apparently, we’re stuck with misappropriated metaphors (and useless logerrhea describing the “environmental sustainability,” “entropy,” and “erosion” for those not in the bio-know).
The business jargon is of no surprise either: many of the “leadership” texts that you’ll notice our administration citing or utilizing as data are business texts. Sustainable Leadership is no exception (though I do agree with the general thrust of the book). Presently, visitors at Manual Arts (predominantly parents) are asked to take a Customer Service Survey. Subsequently our school promotes the high marks on our Customer Service Report. Does anyone else feel strange to think of our parents as customers? I realize we can look at our school as a business but what does this do to notions of profit? Notions of competition? Personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable working under this model as my primary frame of mind as an educator.
Related to this, how did a chapter titled “Diversity” turn into detailed minutiae about business networks?
Instead of wanting to learn why our educational reform model in the U.S. is “like a machine,” how to erase our “ecological footprint,” or even how to “Develop a ‘hacker ethic,’” it feels like it’s time to stop appropriating the language and metaphors of other sectors – it seems like it’s part of the reason why we’re in this mess in the first place! Of course, I’m not going to be presumptuous enough to propose what new guidelines we are to use. Metaphors are used to create symbols to represent and direct us toward a new frame of vision; presently these metaphors are clogging our dialogue and leading reform astray.
Again, I want to reiterate that I think the general ideas are worthwhile in Hargreaves’ text; I’m concerned by the perpetuated wrongdoing of language as demonstrated within the text.
i think what you should really be frustrated with is the fact that whenever there is a problem with the education sector (and that may be a somewhat often), members of the other aforementioned sectors are called in (who the hell invited them anyway?) and feel like they have the expertise to rectify our situation!
when wall street is on the downs i do not call all over town making recommendations as to how to turn it around… cuz i don’t know where to begin. but seems like everyone is an educational expert regardless of their chosen professional sector. for christ’s sake we got a navy admiral as a supernintendo over here!
but what is more pressing is the fact that i could give a damn about the operation of institutional structures that i am not trained to participate in!! not a stock expert, not going to make diagnosis, at least to the people in that field!! opinions notwithstanding. so i guess the question we got to ask ourselves is, why does everyone care so much about our profession to stick their non-expertise nose into our business and provide irrelevant metaphors to pave our path to reform (revolution, sorry Charlotte)???? could it be that we have THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION??? ok, but if not, then why do they care so much?
and whatever happened to assuming good will and collaboration? i will take and use you metaphors until the cows come home… is that not a.. nevermind i am tired!