Topical Tuesday 04 - Obama's Speech and Abidicating Administrators

Today President Obama gave a speech to children from kindergarten students to seniors in high school. I have yet to read the transcript of that speech and I really have no issue with the President speaking to school children. I don’t think that he is going to use that time as an opportunity to brainwash children into accepting some secret socialist agenda that will lead to the downfall of our democratic society. I also don’t support those who advocated a walkout, leaving the classroom during the speech to go and pray around the flag pole. If you would like to discuss those or other pertinent issues, please let me know.

However, reading about the speech and the subsequent outrage from some conservatives, I did notice something that caused a little outrage of my own. I was reading this article on CNN.com, which sad that Bella Wong, an administrator from Massachusetts, among others, was leaving the decision to show the President’s speech in the hands of the individual teachers. School administrators should be the ones making the decision to show the speech or not; that shouldn’t be a decision left in the hands of teachers. I think that teachers are more than capable of making that decision; they are, after all, responsible for the education of America’s next generation. But just because teachers can make that decision doesn’t mean they should. It seems to me that some administrators are afraid to take a stand and want to leave not only the responsibility but also the culpability in the hands of teachers.

If a teacher decides to show the speech to his or her classroom and an irate parent calls to complain, the administration has cleared itself of all culpability; it hasn’t taken a stand on the issue so it cannot be seen as supporting any decision made by teachers. This is a tremendous misstep in leadership. Administrators are responsible for leading and guiding schools but in Bella Wong’s case and the case of any other administrators abdicating responsibility, they have decided to stop leading, to sit this one out and let the situation unfold without them at the forefront. This speech has become a lightning rod issue and for any administrator to recuse him or herself shows an unwillingness to take a stand, however unpopular, and lead.

Even if a school administrator decided not to show the speech, something that I would oppose, I would still support that decision exponentially more than an administrator who simply washed his or her hands of the issue and took an early lunch. This is a prime example of leadership being about more than just a position. These administrators who aren’t taking a stand have been given a leadership position but are doing nothing with it; they’re allowing a potential pushback to keep them from making and sticking to a decision. Leaders need to make sure that they’re not only meeting the level of their leadership position, but striving to grow beyond that position. Leadership doesn’t come from position; leadership comes from influence garnered by service and character. These administrators who refuse to make a decision over the President’s speech are showing a lack of character and, therefore, an inability to effectively lead.

Most school administrators do an admirable job of handling students, teachers, parents, districts, state regulations and federal regulations; I do not envy the overloaded plates that sit before most school administrators. I’m sure that most administrators also do a tremendous job providing leadership and guidance for their schools; they not only hold a leadership position but they meet and pass that level of leadership. But for those who abdicate responsibility and are more concerned with their own culpability when it comes to an unpopular decision, there needs to be change. If we’ve been called to lead or, even if we’re just employed to lead, we need to do just that: lead. We have to get in the front of the pack, set the course and move in that direction. Our organizations won’t last if we don’t have the character necessary to make the difficult decisions, however unpopular they may be. Leadership isn’t a popularity contest; it’s utilizing influence for the benefit of others. And abdicating responsibility and recusing ourselves from difficult decisions is of a benefit to no one.