fear of the known

In the classic black and white horror and science fiction movies of the 1950’s, there is always the scene of a terrified shrieking woman running away from the monster in the film, but she is so terrorized that she trips and falls, allowing her to be captured by the fiend. What is it in education that we fear the most? Is it the fear of failure that traumatizes us? Or is it the concept of change that is the most intimidating?

From an administrator’s perspective, the fear of failure is trumped by the fear that he or she will be unable to rectify the problem. From a teacher’s viewpoint, the fear of failure is the Siamese twin of the trepidation associated with change. The co-joined fears are that any proposed change in practice does not guarantee results. The persistent obstacle to reform is the fear that we will suffer through the hardship of change and not achieve success.

The antonym of failure is success. If you work in an underperforming school, the concept of success is sometimes mollified and progress is considered synonymous to success. But even progress portends a journey into the unknown. But since it is associated with success, the fear is ameliorated. Frank Herbert offers this perspective, “The concept of progress acts as a protective mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future.”

The fear of change can be paralyzing. Roland Barth’s article on school leadership states that people’s inherent resistance to change makes reform initiatives futile. (Futile is a pretty strong word choice!) He states that some patterns of behavior and instruction are so entrenched in the culture of the schools that it is taboo to even discuss the possibility of changing them. Any attempt to engage the topic will have disastrous results. Barth offers a powerfully descriptive analogy, that these types of taboos are the “third rail of school leadership” p. 8. Sometimes the emotions associated with a traditional practice are so strong that even the softest attempt at a engaging in rational argument results in argument, not rational thinking. Ayn Rand describes this type of dilemma in her book, The Fountainhead (p.163) in this manner:

“There is always the incalculable human element of emotion. We can’t fight that with cold logic."

School leaders will often hesitate to challenge the traditional patterns of behavior; this is the fear of the known. So, what path is open for a leader to explore? Barth states that engaging in cultural change requires courage. Even the Cowardly Lion understood this component of leadership: “What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or dusky dusk?…courage!”

While I can not offer any strategies to enhance courage, I will share this calming mantra found in Frank Herbert’s novel, Dune: “Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it is gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

Make a good day,
Tod

PS. Barth, R. S. (2002). The culture builder. Educational Leadership, 59(8), 6-11.
PSS. Herbert, F. (1965). Dune. New York: Berkley Publishing Company [Progress, p. 321, Fear, p. 8]
PSSS. Rand, A. (1943). The fountainhead. New York: Signet.
PSSSS. Cowardly Lion’s speech audio clip: http://americanrhetoric.com/mp3clips/newmoviespeeches/moviespeechthewizardofozlioncourage.mp3
PSSSSS. The original Mummy movies trailers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL8ruJ0kEB4&feature=related