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Educating leaders, followers, etc.
Approximate quotation from today's speaker at our all-school meeting: "Everyone is educating the leaders of tomorrow, but no one is saying 'Proudly raising the followers of tomorrow.'"
Well, of course, that's because everyone and no one is raising the leaders of tomorrow. Clearly, though, somebody must be educating the followers of tomorrow. To some extent, that's all schools, especially in proportion as they train students to sit still, be passive, give just the "right" answer rather than exploring the questions, move at the direction of bells that don't care whether or not the student was just getting into the subject; in the proportion that schools train students to spout patriotic platitudes rather than critical inquiry into the nature of patriotism, platitudes, and especially their nation's government; the extent to which a school does these things is the proportion in which they are, in fact, training the followers of tomorrow.
All schools, even the best, do some of these things, but I feel fortunate to be teaching in a school that encourages students to think more deeply and further outside the box than many.
I suspect that to some extent what's really needed is not just to educate those who will lead, but to educate those who can question what exactly it means to lead, or even to question what exactly "leaders" and "followers" are and to what extent we can move beyond such categories--but that's asking an awful lot, I know.
I object to the dichotomy of leaders vs followers, as if everyone were one
or another. I'd like to see us get out of that box, since many people are
participants, or leaders in some areas but not in others. Plus there's a
feedback loop by which so-called followers infuse the leadership with
inspiration and ideas. Remember our collective response as a nation when W
said, "I'm the Decider." We said in a remarkably unified way, no, W, we
are the deciders. Our decisions are relayed to you and you execute,
expedite, and lead the response of our elected representatives. Was he
asleep in civics class? We, the collective we, govern ourselves through
our elected "leaders"--I'd like to see the whole concept of leader/follower
re-evaluated.
I don't think that's asking an awful lot. There are opportunities every
day to follow or to lead. There are situations where I feel comfortable
leading and others where I would rather follow. It's not black and white.
If our leader at work is taking the wrong path (what one of us would
consider wrong) we have the right to question or suggest. We have a hand
in the direction we take.