THE LEADERSHIP ILLUSION

GETTING RESULTS 

I discovered Mike Schmoker's work in 2006. I read RESULTS NOW and my opinion of what was possible in education totally changed. I shared it with some teachers and they felt the same way. Some of Schmoker's ideas "push" teachers a bit, but overall his work is exciting. 

I have been able to work with Mr. Schmoker a couple of times, including bringing him into a local school district as well as a large annual conference. His presentation makes you think. One of the best slides, a quote from researcher Richard Elmore, says:

"THE ACTIONS OF ADMINISTRATORS, INCLUDING ALL FORMS OF IMPROVEMENT PLANNING & STAFF DEVELOPMENT, HAVE VIRTUALLY NO IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF TEACHING IN THE SCHOOL." 

The slide also contains the disclaimer:

THIS IS NOT A MATTER OF WORK ETHIC; IT IS A MATTER OF MISPLACED PRIORITIES. 

I have been an administrator for much of my career. The field of education has greatly changed, and become more rigorous. Evaluation has gone from a "hit or miss" field to one that has become annual and very high stakes. The change has been led by such educational leaders as Charlotte Danielson and Robert J. Marzano.  Schmoker has referenced evaluation for a great deal of his career. I have been part of several teams that created evaluation rubrics and have been trained officially in both Danielson and Marzano. It's amazing how similar both systems are. Each system in a way goes all the way back to the work of Madeline Hunter, the lesson plan guru. Planning, instruction, classroom management, and professional qualities are so important in education.

Is there currently a leadership illusion? I think schools are improving, but there is so much complexity in schools these days. Learning and understanding the work of these leaders is important, but it's also important to take leadership in a school to a new level. Certainly, education has changed in the last decade, but overall we're still trying to help students achieve! Teaching and learning are still the most important activities in any school …