When Neatness Doesn’t Count

The singular series of events that recently transpired at [Marquis de] Lafayette High School in the County of Kings, as recently reported in the Daily News, leads this writer to ask, “What the heck are they teaching those people at ‘Mayor Bloomberg’s elite Leadership Academy?’”For those of you who missed the March 31 item here’s the summarized scoop. Recent graduate of Leadership Academy, now new principal, gets word a member of supervisor royalty will be visiting the school. Principal sends out e-mail to all warning of shame and embarrassment to school and staff if (gasp!) bulletin boards are sloppy and classrooms are messy. She offers to pay teachers to tidy up in preparation for the visit. Someone leaks the e-mail. Principal is embarrassed all right.

Now I know there are those who will say, “At least she offered to pay teachers to tidy up, instead of ordering them to do so during their lunchtime, preparation periods or gratis, before or after school” and that does show some knowledge of the efficacy of the now sadly neglected art of panem et circenses leadership, and kudos to her for that. But besides the violation of city rules regarding use of per session funds (stuff like this does catch up with you–ask any Republican) there is the deeper issue of a graduate of the Leadership Academy seeing her role as more Martha Stewart and less Maria Montessori. Of course, some of the kidding aside, when you define “leadership” in a corporate rather than an educational manner and then put those folks into schools rather than board rooms there is the distinct possibility there is going to be some…disconnect, shall we say.

I am certain many of you have already sapiently observed that when others lead you to believe that your role as leader consists of the relentless inspection of bulletin boards, unforgiving consideration of word walls and annihilation of unsanctified classroom furniture arrangements then you will come to believe that those leaders who lead above you are probably more rabidly steadfast in their orthodoxy, which is not always necessarily true. (Many illustrations of the flexibility of ideology can be found, for example, during any electoral season– let’s begin with one from the current round, Senator McCain’s embrace of the Reverend Falwell.) Nevertheless, despite all her good intentions and adherence to dogma the aforementioned principal will receive, yes, “a letter in her file.”

The article concludes with the statement that “principals are now forbidden [as a result of language contained in the most recent collective bargaining agreement] from punishing teachers for the appearance of bulletin boards.” That we had to protect teachers in 2006 from such petty, sweatshop types of micromanagement because of a system’s unschooled concept of leadership, rather than working together to really improve teaching and learning, is the real shame and embarrassment.