Week 4 at Higher Achievement

This past week was another interesting one at Higher Achievement with lots to observe when it comes to leadership. On Monday, I had a conversation with my homeroom about respecting people and not talking over me when I am talking. I had asked them why they were so well behaved and did not talk over our tour guide on our field trip to the Holocaust Museum the previous week, and why they continually talk over me and most of the other teachers. One of the kids responded that it was because our tour guide was older and was a “real adult” and so they had to listen to her. Although the student was trying to be funny in his response, it really made me think about what kind of people we view as leaders. Maybe the reason I, along with many of the other teachers, am having such a hard time getting them to listen is because I do not fit their definition of a leader as a young, white female. Outside of the classroom, I get on great with the kids and I have an amazing relationship with many of them, however, it is inside the classroom I seem to struggle to get them to do what I want. While I know that the students give all the teachers a very hard time, I still cannot help but wonder if my age or gender has anything to do with my struggle to get the kids to listen.

Before this week, I had never thought that my age played any role in the way I interacted with my colleagues and my boss or any role in the way I acted and performed as a teacher. However, this past week I realized that it had in fact been playing a role, not only with my students, but also with my colleagues. On Thursday, there was a big incident that happened with one of the teachers, and although I knew what he was doing wasn’t right, I did not step in or say anything because the teacher is much older than me so I assumed he must know more than me. Eventually one of our bosses stepped in, and it wasn’t until then that I realized what he was doing was in fact wrong. I think its amazing how much we value age and experience, to the point where we disregard our own beliefs. I knew his actions were not acceptable, but I disregarded that and believed they were until my superior told me they weren’t. This was the first time I noticed any power distance within our team. Moving forward, I am very curious to see how our boss deals with this situation and whether or not he does what is best for himself, the students, or the organization as a whole.