COMMENTARY
Will you be a change leader, too?
By Alvin Nagasako, Kapolei High School
I am a school principal, called upon to create a school that believes in students and nurtures each and every one of them, every day. My commitment is enormous, encompassing mental, emotional and ethical dimensions of the person I have become.
I share with you feelings I have each morning when I arrive at the campus of Kapolei High School, feelings of awesome responsibility that keep me awake at night worrying, and get me up every morning, full of anticipation and hope for the hundreds of students who search for meaning and purpose, and find their lifeline at our school.
Many of us entered the profession as teachers, years ago now, with energy and desire to make a positive difference in the lives of young people. We imagined we would change the world — by helping our students become the best they might be. Over the past decade or two, as we moved into the principal's office, we carried with us the same excitement and enthusiasm.
Among my colleagues, there are prominent examples and models for the kind of dynamic leadership our schools urgently need now, and in the years ahead. But I ask you, where will the next generation of school leaders come from, and how will we assure ourselves and our students that a new generation of school leaders will have the driving passion necessary to catalyze genuine change and improvement?
In our March 2 Voices article we argued for the need to attract and cultivate transformational school leaders, willing and able to mobilize teachers and administrators to creativity and innovation. What will these principals need to know and be able to do?
Knowledge and expertise alone are not sufficient for great leadership. According to Michael Fullan, and expressed by him in "The Moral Imperative of School Leadership," the ethical obligation of the principal is to lead for deep cultural change that mobilizes the passion and commitment of everyone in school — students, teachers, and parents.
Schools for the 21st century in Hawai'i urgently need principals with the courage and capacity to build entirely new school cultures, based on trusting relationships imbedded in an environment of disciplined inquiry and action.
From Daniel Goleman's theory of "emotional intelligence," we have come to understand why school leaders with strong human relations skills are highly effective. EQ is a common denominator in successful schools. Building on Goleman's conceptual framework we can make a list of qualities transformational leaders need to "reinvent" their schools: self-awareness, self-control, persistence, zeal, self-motivation, social deftness and empathy.
We have such school leaders today in Hawai'i, but they are in short supply, and as I mentioned, many will be retiring soon. As such, we need to rethink how we recruit, induct, and mentor emerging leaders for our schools.
There are obstacles we will have to wrestle with as soon as possible. The current culture of compliance weighs heavily on potential leaders as they contemplate serving in the principal's office. The enormous management demands placed on today's school leaders leaves so little time in the day to focus on what is most urgently needed: improving teaching and learning, and thereby energizing the culture of the school.
We all recognize that increased demands from No Child Left Behind, the Board of Education, the Legislature and parents too often obligate school leaders to be reactive rather than proactive. Yes, we understand test scores are important, but are only part of the larger purposes of education to prepare students for college, career and citizenship.
Twenty-first-century school cultures will place a higher value on relevance of subject matter, focusing on what students will need to know and be able to do to lead successful lives, and will emphasize and provide for the richness of human relationships between teachers and students that builds social capital — we expect our graduates to be good people.
Michael Fullan's notion of leaders as "theoreticians" is also a useful consideration. School leaders will continue to use research to influence teachers to strive for improved "practice" of their craft, and expertise in curriculum and assessment will remain at the core of good education. Within this perspective, principals must integrate professional expertise with a deeply felt moral imperative to lead for cultural change and school improvement.
Each day my professional and personal commitment is to be an agent for change, entirely dedicated to create a school that reflects the morals and values of a democratic society, that honors the dignity of each and every student, along with a belief that all students are capable of becoming contributing members of society.
I am a school principal. Along with other "change leaders" in our Hawai'i schools, my hope is that others will come along to join us in this calling — it is a lifelong mission for us, a higher purpose that resonates in our hearts and souls.
Perhaps you would consider joining our cause.
Alvin Nagasako is principal of Kapolei High School and board member of the Hawaii Government Employees Association.
Voices of Educators is comprised of some of Hawai'i's top education experts, including: Liz Chun, executive director of Good Beginnings Alliance; Patricia Hamamoto, superintendent of the Department of Education; Christine Sorensen, dean of the University of Hawai'i's College of Education; Donald B. Young, Hawai'i Educational Policy Center; Roger Takabayashi from the Hawaii State Teachers Association; Sharon Mahoe of the Hawai'i Teacher Standards Board; and Robert Witt of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools. Visit their Web site at www.hawaii.edu/voice.
