MANAGE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE : APPROACHING SCHOOL MANAGEMENT WITH SCEPTICISM
BY : LORI BROWN , ED . D
What ’ s the first thing that
comes to mind when you hear the words “ School Management ”? Might it be schedules ? Teacher recruitment ? Parent meetings ? Transportation ? Funding challenges or Safe School Policies ?
School management encompasses all these areas and more , and is consequently exhausting to the body and soul . Exhaustion , unfortunately , can lead to an inability to concentrate and anticipate challenges or risks , which further complicates our ability to manage people , processes , and protocols well . In short , we get so busy with managerial tasks that it ’ s often hard to find the time to process , reflect , and analyse our options .
Suppose you read last quarter ’ s issue of Teach Middle East Magazine . You may remember our “ Manage to Your Advantage ” featured article , about approaching school management through the lens of threat and risk assessment . In the same way , threat assessors pursue data-driven , highly
logical , comprehensive processes to determine the potential for violence or harm , so too must we approach our schools with comprehensive heads and hearts that are always thinking ahead . The fact is that our schools need us to think clearly and comprehensively , anticipating the “ what ifs ” and the risks and challenges associated with decisions we make or enforce . Clear , data-driven decisions based on strong , known facts is key to school success . We already know that , right ?
But have you ever thought that effective school management also requires an ounce of scepticism ? A little doubt ? A bit of caution ? Ironically , leading and managing with scepticism may sound like the exact opposite approach to the previously highlighted data-driven , facts-fuelled , an anticipatory managerial style that stops internal and external threats to academic , instructional success and physical safety before they can even begin to emerge ? So why are we shifting gears now and advising we slowly back off of the data a bit ? Allow me to break this down so I can explain .
Scepticism is doubt about the truth or authenticity of things . Scepticism forces us to take a step back and potentially question whether what we think we know to be true and right , is , in fact , true and right . When I served as a high school assistant principal , I consistently exercised scepticism every time my sophomores and juniors attempted to spin a good story about why their teachers were in the wrong , and they were in the right . Let ’ s just say that many untruths emerged every time they landed in my office and tried to justify breaking school rules , skipping class , initiating a fight , or disrupting the entire class by blurting out highly inappropriate and profane words .
Scepticism , in the case of managing school discipline for 700 students , made me better . It forced me to keep digging until I got to the truth . Exercising doubt empowered me to hit pause , reflecting on the words or images that were flying through my head , demanding I take a side or
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Term 2 Jan - Mar 2021 Class Time