For those that don't know, I come from a family of educators. Both of my parents are retired teachers, I have two sisters who are teachers, my bride is a teacher, and I have multiple family members who have answered the calling to teach. Keeping this in mind, I really can never escape from work and people are constantly asking me if I ever turn off and don't think about school. The reality of the situation is that this really isn't possible for me and I don't know if I would choose to turn it off anyway. I really love what I do in spite of the challenges that come with it on a daily basis. I love the people I work with, I love the kids, I love the uncertainty that comes with not knowing what is going to happen each day, and I love to share stories with those that will listen. With all this love, however, there is one major downside to what I do and it weighs heavy on my heart and mind. It's what keeps me up at night and what I feel is destroying the very fabric of our schools.
Recently, I came across a blog by Michael Gugliotti called the Us vs. Them Syndrome. While Gugliotti writes about this issue from the perspective of a law enforcement officer, the Us vs. Them Mentality also permeates every school that I have ever been a part of as well as the schools that my friends and family are associated with. What complicates this issue further is that it is a battle that is fought on multiple fronts, which compartmentalizes people into even smaller factions. To be honest, as schools get larger, they actually promote the idea of closing people off from others unintentionally. In these schools, educators become so engulfed in their daily work, they start to develop a silo of people that they share a classroom, hallway, department, or job title with and a subculture within the overall culture begins to develop.
One might concede that this is just how organizations work and that there is really nothing you can do about school politics, but I can't and won't accept that. As a leader, it is incumbent upon me to challenge everyone in the organization to take a hard look at these subcultures and empower them to define the school they want to to work in. Subcultures can make or break a school. If the subculture is a positive and uplifting force that focuses on improving the school, it should continue. If the subculture is one that creates doubt, blames, and is more focused on identifying problems and finger pointing, it is one that needs to be broken down. After all, if ALL of the adults in a building (teachers, admin, support staff) can come together as one, our students will benefit because they will see collaboration and teamwork in action and adults modeling what it looks like to engage in healthy workplace dialogue that is centered on problem solving and grit instead of finger pointing and blame. Students will begin seeing the deterioration of the Us vs. Them Mentality and watch it transform into the WE Mentality.
In this time of year when we make New Year Resolutions, let's all come together and dare to resolve the Us vs. Them Mentality. Let's make a commitment to one another that acknowledges that each of us has difficult jobs, but we aren't intentionally trying to make life difficult for one another. Let's change our language from "If THEY would only..." to "If WE could only..." and start working together rather than against one another. Doing so will create an unstoppable cultural force that welcomes people in rather than pushing people out and models to our students in spite of our differences, it is possible for a group of people to come together and make a positive impact.
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