The Rule Followers

The boots are always in line, so perfect of a line as to have been measured and laid plumb by a mathematical mind.  I remember those boots from my elementary school days.  I remember sitting up straight too. I'd push my head up tall and stick my arms out front on my desk, interlacing my fingers, hoping to be the one to be chosen to go first.  Our posture would have made a Presbyterian Minister smile.   I did not know then that we were learning the most important lesson in education; the one who follows the rule will be the one chosen.

Rules are helpful.  They keep the hall clean and free of boots.  They make unruly children more easily ruled. They  make a system run like a system but I wonder about the long term effects of all of this rule following. Is it a good thing to choose the leaders of a system by how well they adhere to its orthodoxy?  Vice Principals, Principals, Superintendents, Associate Directors of Education and Directors of Education are largely chosen by their ability to follow the dictates of School Boards and Ministries of Education.  While their job descriptions often include the word "leadership" it is an Orwellian term; leaders in education follow.

What rules and dictates have teachers, students and parents been told to follow over the years?  "This plastic, three pocketed writing folder best contains the writing process and improves writing."  "Sometimes a four period day is a five period day. " "To best evaluate an assignment break it into thinking, application, inquiry and communication."   "A chart, called a "rubric" will make marking clearer and less subjective."  "We can teach character through a handout." "Here is a 39 point guide to taking students skating."  

Most of this rule following is harmless. So a kid keeps his or her writing in a folder, or a teacher highlights a chart to give feedback; there is little worry in this except that it is symptomatic of greater issues.  Most good administrators look at initiatives and edicts from their superiors with a wary and jaundiced eye.  They take the good, leave the lesser half behind. These good administrators, like many I have worked with, make life easier for teachers and students but they do this at the risk of gaining further advancement in the system.

There is no doubt that the further a person moves up the chain is dependent on the orthodoxy of their beliefs and their ability to implement policy without question.  A system that rewards orthodoxy is one that will fail to anticipate criticism and will not be able to adapt to the communities they serve, particularly in times of rapid change.  Good rule followers have difficulty dealing with people who don't follow rules; incompetent teachers, rude and angry parents and disruptive students. Whether it is a trustee who uses racist language, a mob tearing the Koran, teachers who don't perform or students demanding an ever increasing list of rights, the leaders of education are frozen.

It seems to me the student who was chosen to go first all those years ago was often the student closest and nearest the teacher, the one who looked most like the teacher and the one who would do anything to please. This person is still the chosen one, chosen to lead our current education system and we know now, as we knew then, they are the last person we should follow.