Why So Many Are Frustrated at Christian Schools
"I'm Tired, Are You?"
For about one half of my professional life I was in the classroom teaching. For the other half it was administration which, by the way, involve quite a bit of teaching. While both of these experiences involved teaching, the venues were light years apart. The result of all of this, "I'm tired!"
Some will say, "teaching is teaching." Others will argue, "if you have the gift, teaching is never just teaching, it adjusts for every student, every venue."
Actually it's not that simple. Teaching, pedagogy if you will, is quite complex, shouldn't be taken lightly, and requires complete commitment and concentration.
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For me, teaching in the classroom was natural. I found it easy to identify learning styles, design an effective classroom experience, and determine reliable evaluation methods. Overall the students were pleased, the administrators were pleased, parents were pleased, and so was I.
So why am I so tired?
"When you're weary, feeling small, when tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all; I'm on your side. When times get rough and friends just can't be found, like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down." (Bridge Over Troubled Water)
Well, do you, feel tired? To do this job correctly, a carefully thought out "strategic plan" needs to be developed from "goals" right down to "tactical minutia."
After this you would think implementation would follow easily. But as a teacher you know that hassling by colleagues; unexpected and unscheduled conflicts; and insensitive, unskilled and uninformed administrators will get in the way.
And then there's the caveat of the meddling board.
In most cases boards aren't chosen carefully enough, but selected mostly because an individual is willing to serve. You'll find that they are unwilling to work hard, meet too frequently for too long, and as a result begin to meddle in daily operations. These are the wrong people for the job. Even unskilled administrators will notice this because even they will discover they're being micro-managed.
These micro-managed administrators are not without blame, they also contribute to the chaos. Too frequently they are learning on-the-job, don't possess the gifts necessary to lead, and just weeks before they were just one of the "rank and file."
Essentially boundaries don't exist, job descriptions usually haven't been developed, department heads don't meet together, and faculty meetings don't deal with anything substantive. That's a lot of don'ts.
Somehow, all of this works. Things plod along going nowhere special.
The faculty complains,
Boy I'm tired!
Specifically on the administration side or as an officer, both responsible to the board, things aren't much better.
While the board usually requires some administrators, and department officers to report at each of their meetings, the reports are often general, misleading; the presenter is rarely questioned, and, in my experience, can't be reconciled with others reports.
It is sad, but even in a situation where the administration is effective, a consultant has been engaged, and a good plan has been proposed to the board, things run amuck! Why, you ask?
Some years ago I was engaged by a Christian school to assist in the creation of a strategic plan. Our consulting group worked with: a board committee chair, administrators, faculty, and parents volunteering for six months. The plan was fleshed out using Peter Drucker's format for strategic planning, everyone contributed, we consultants simply guided. Ownership was achieved.
The board promptly approved the plan and proceeded never implementing it.
Thousands of dollars were spent, hundreds of hours wasted, carefully crafted concepts discarded, and disappointment shared all around.
How could things go so wrong? Not just in this last illustration, but generally.
Can you see why I'm tired? You work hard and the product is ignored.
"When you're down and out, when you're on the street, when evening falls so hard I will comfort you. I'll take your part. When darkness comes and pain is all around, like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down." (Bridge Over Troubled Water)
Each morning as my feet hit the floor I quote Romans 12: 1 & 2, recommitting my life, that day, to the Lord. May I suggest that you consider these verses and also two from Psalms as you think on "The Tedium of Christian Education?"
"Let me hear your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul." (Psalm. 143:8 NASB)
"You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word." (Psalm 119:73-74)
