This was the interesting question posed to me yesterday by Ethna Hopper of the School Counseling Group. I've known Ethna for the past 18 years, since I became the Head of what was then WEHS. She was visiting Nora to see what we've been up to recently, and this question came up in the course of our conversation.
My immediate thought was on the work I've done over the past several years in Bowen Family Systems Theory as applied to organizations, and the need of the leader to be a "non-anxious presence" in the organism that is the emotional life of any organization. Certainly this work has made a big difference in my thinking about dealing with teachers, students, and parents, and has been particularly helpful as we become a society increasingly addicted to drama. (Witness the breathless TV coverage of 8 sick teens in New York City, and the lack of coverage of the 820 people who've died nationwide from the "boring" variants of the flu this year.)
The question stuck with me for a bit, because it's not one I've really pondered. Various thoughts percolated as I thought about the past 18 years, and some of the other things I've learned.
-The answers are less important than the questions. And how the questions are asked is often more important than their content.
-You never know what goes on behind closed doors. No matter how much we think we know about a student and a family, it's really very little.
-There's nothing new under the sun. Students are doing today what we were doing 30 years ago and their grandparents were doing 60 years ago. The medium may be somewhat different, and our anxiety about the stakes may be higher, but adolescent energy, curiosity, risk-taking, and hormones are quite the same.
-There is no magic bullet. No one solution or method will work for every child, teacher, parent, administrator. Human nature is enormously complicated, and when you mix them all together in a real community the complexity is staggering. Solutions are always a work in progress.
-Math is beautiful. See above. Math has solutions. Little else in life is so neat.
-The journey is the reward. I always sort-of knew this, but as my own journey has lasted longer I have a greater appreciation of it.
-Patience, which does not come naturally to me, is invaluable. 80% of the problems will fall by the wayside before they reach you. Time and people can solve many issues without the direct involvement of the Head of School. The other 20% can be tough.
-ADD is a great gift. It allows many of us to succeed in professions that require big picture thinking, endless curiosity, and restless energy. It doesn't keep the desk neat, however, and unfortunately for many of our kids, it's not such a gift when you have to sit in class all day!
-It's good to have a hobby. Working with families and institutions can easily become all-consuming, which is not healthy for the Head or the families and institutions.
-A supportive Board of Directors is critical to an institution's success. Our small board has always put the future of the school as the primary measuring stick for all decisions. Over 18 years I've heard countless horror stories, and seen many schools close, because of poor governance.
-It's important to keep learning. The world is an endlessly fascinating place, and what's there to be learned is (to me) so much more interesting than what I've already learned (which is why I hadn't pondered this question very much). A quote I saw today captures it nicely for me:
"In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." - Eric Hoffer
-Keeping up with a blog takes time and effort.
And last (but not least)...
-I'm still a work in progress.
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