Servant-Leadership & Education
A recent article points out that 40% of public school teachers plan to retire within the next five years. At the high school level, over half plan to be out of teaching by 2010. This will certainly present some challenges to the public school system; yet it also provides great opportunities.
Schools of Education across the country have a big task ahead of them in training teachers for the future. Robert Greenleaf wrote about the importance of offering explicit preparation for leadership to those who have the potential for it. He often struggled with schools' hesitancy to teach leadership skills in the schools, saying that schools were administering an "anti-leadership vaccine".
The main issue for Greenleaf was the assumption in schools that some individuals know what others ought to learn, and are justified in imposing their judgment - backed up by sanctions. While he struggled with finding an alternative way to approaching education, Greenleaf pointed out the failures and moral risks of numerous business and institutions with idealistic pretentions.
Lord Acton once said "All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." In our schools we must make sure that the balance of power is optimal. While teachers clearly must have power in order to effectively lead a classroom, the students and parents must also have adequate power for their role. It is a balance that it not always easy to find save the very experienced teachers. And with so many of them retiring in the next few years, the education departments at colleges and universities across the country would be well served to help train future teachers on finding that balance.
Schools of Education across the country have a big task ahead of them in training teachers for the future. Robert Greenleaf wrote about the importance of offering explicit preparation for leadership to those who have the potential for it. He often struggled with schools' hesitancy to teach leadership skills in the schools, saying that schools were administering an "anti-leadership vaccine".
The main issue for Greenleaf was the assumption in schools that some individuals know what others ought to learn, and are justified in imposing their judgment - backed up by sanctions. While he struggled with finding an alternative way to approaching education, Greenleaf pointed out the failures and moral risks of numerous business and institutions with idealistic pretentions.
Lord Acton once said "All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." In our schools we must make sure that the balance of power is optimal. While teachers clearly must have power in order to effectively lead a classroom, the students and parents must also have adequate power for their role. It is a balance that it not always easy to find save the very experienced teachers. And with so many of them retiring in the next few years, the education departments at colleges and universities across the country would be well served to help train future teachers on finding that balance.
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