Professionalism and Experienced-Based Leadership in the Big Box High School: A Comparison

Disclaimer: As I mentioned, this part of the blog is really only going to hit home with educators…don’t expect much otherwise.

The longer I’m here, the more I notice that a school is a school is a school. I spent the first three years of my career teaching at an “underperforming” (North Carolina’s classification…not mine), “big box” (my classification) high school in Durham, North Carolina. Beyond the joys of teaching, I experienced a glut of frustrations that in time I have come to see as one category of unfairness: discrimination based on experience. I’ll talk more about this later.

I write about this because as I make comparisons between the “big box” school where I cut my teeth and the “big box” school where I am teaching here in India, I have noticed that this same discrimination exists. BUT, I must say that the professionalism in which it is executed if far superior in the United States (by my standard of professionalism and from the standpoint of teacher morale).

Example number one: here, the “senior most teacher” is the second person in charge of the school if the principal is not available (absent or busy). The senior most teacher is the longest serving at the school. So, merit plays no real role in the delegation of leadership at my school here. Example number two: to use the words of my students back home, there is a public “calling out” of teachers in front of the entire staff when the leadership is unhappy. Meaning, if a leader doesn’t like something about your work, attitude, or behavior, they will reprimand you in front of your colleagues without hesitation, and they will not hesitate to bring your experience level into the fray, one leader recently telling a colleague, “Listen to me, this is not a college classroom!” She is a new teacher, just graduated.

During my “big box” days, I too felt discounted due to my experience level, but not in the same way as these two examples. In example one, there was a leadership structure at my high school (as with most) consisting of vetted assistant principals (some seemingly more vetted than others) which took out the age/experience piece (except for a three year minimum teaching requirement for principals). In example two, this sort of embarrassing situation rarely took place, and when it did it was usually not because of age or experience, but rather a difference of opinion or negligence. In these regards, I think my experience in the U.S. as an inexperienced teacher was more professional, with reprimands being private and a power structure not centered on experience.

I could stop here, but I want to share some of my experiences with “experienced-based leadership” at the large high school of the first three years of my career. The problem with “big box” anything, in my opinion, is the “big.” Which means a lot of people, a lot of problems, and a lot of layers between a new teacher and decisions being made in the school. I like to consider myself a thinker, an innovator, and one that doesn’t settle for “good enough.” Despite suggestions to some administrators and department chairs, there was a de facto (possibly even de jure) mandate to shut up, teach, and get good test scores.

At one point I even helped to organize a group of new teachers who wanted to see the school become a better place for learning. We asked for a meeting with the administrators, came up with both a list of problems AND a list of suggestions of how our group could help to correct the problems. But as we finished addressing the principals, it felt like we were being patted on the head and told to leave, one member even stating that they couldn’t help thinking, “from the mouths of babes.” I felt small and I think my colleagues did as well. That comment hurt even more deeply because the entire point of our coming to the principals was because we were tired of feeling small, not being heard, and seeing no results.

So, how does this story end? I left. After three years I was offered a chance to do something different, the opposite of “big box,” to help start a new, small, student-centered high school where we would do things differently and where teachers of all experience levels would be considered part of the leadership team. And we have created something special, possibly unique, and a place where I love to show up everyday: Hillside New Tech High School, Durham, North Carolina. As for the school I left, the teachers there have created a group that meets weekly and proactively to address the problems of the school and to support each other. I didn’t start that group, but I may have helped promote the idea that leadership need not be experienced-based, but merit-based and passion-based. Experience is a good thing that helps make good decisions, but for me it is not an excuse to discount good ideas from good people.