contrived compliance

I do believe that I am the only one in my household that knows how to close a closet door. Specifically, the coat closet next to the side door remains open 24/7. I am talking full-fledged wide open, not merely ajar. My household includes three able-bodied, intelligent children whom possess a reasonable amount of acquiescence to their parents’ wishes, but not when it comes to this simple task. I have tried one-on-one training, punishment, rewards, and good old-fashioned tongue-lashings, but to no avail. We have had “family meetings” on the topic, where they will dutifully listen, nod their heads in agreement to the proper course of action, verbally commit to compliance, and yet, not one of my three daughters is capable of closing the closet door on a regular basis. Their commitment evaporates the moment the meeting is adjourned.

How many times have you attended a professional development workshop and have had staff members present the façade of commitment but upon return to their classrooms any pretense of practicing the new reform initiative ceases immediately. Close their door and boom, back to the same old same old. Granted with some poorly structured workshops there is not enough practical involvement to allow for acquisition of a particular skill or instructional strategy. But, if the structure of the seminar is sound and there is the opportunity to create the necessary artifacts, then the commitment to incorporate the new instructional strategies should be stated by the participants with purity of intentions. It is the disingenuous, contrived compliance that is my rub. I would much prefer honest debate about the worthiness and practical applications of a new procedure than feigned compliance. Unity does not require uniformity.

I believe that dissent can be a positive component of a healthy school climate.

One of the main characters in the TV series M*A*S*H serves as a classic example of how dissention can be productive to an organization. Hawkeye Pierce was forever chaffing at regulations and rebelled in many ways, but his intentions were to improve the quality of life at the camp and to improve the medical care of the injured (For insight into Alan Alda’s psyche and how his personality was well suited to that role in many ways, I suggest a read of his book, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I‘ve Learned). The character Klinger however, takes noncompliance to the extreme with selfish intentions by his attempted use of cross-dressing to get discharged. That is an example of non-productive non-compliance.

Richard Elmore, in School Reform from the Inside Out: Policy, Practice, and Performance (2004), states that only 25% of the participating teachers will employ the skills or instructional strategies delivered during professional development. Twenty-five percent is a rather lame compliance rate. One person I know thought the solution was to offer 4 times as many seminars in order to achieve 100%. Hmm… Honest discussion at the onset (in a climate where open discourse/dissent is invited) can help to alleviate the problem of staff who will talk the talk with no intention of walking the walk.

Honest onset.

Cultivating the culture of the school so that professional dialogue includes freedom for dissention is a difficult task, but is worth the effort. The rebel is the first to see the chink in the armor, and can therefore help prevent problems that will become evident to others in the long term. Remember, nothing is quicker in abetting teacher dissatisfaction towards professional development than suffering through another aborted reform initiative.

If the byproduct of open discussion is a firmer commitment to reform, then it should be worth the energy to create the climate that explores the worthiness of school goals. Otherwise administrative energies will be depleted by proctoring professional development that is translated into practice by a mere minority of the staff. Administrators should be encouraged by the vitality of dissent since it may translate into greater commitment. I myself am now emboldened to act, and I think I will start a discussion with my children about committing to turning off the lights when leaving a room…

Make a good day,
Tod

PS. Hawkeye's effect on the climate of the unit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qbdm2xQnNM

PSS. Elmore’s comprehensive paper on the pathologies inherent in the current structure of schools and suggestions for a new approach [Building a New Structure for School Leadership (2000), which is chapter 3 in his book: School Reform from the Inside Out: Policy, Practice, and Performance (2004), ] http://www.shankerinstitute.org/Downloads/building.pdf