Teach & Serve V, No. 7
Accountability
September 18, 2019
There is a reason the connotation of accountability trends towards the negative. People like me are doing it wrong.
I am ever fascinated by denotation and connotation. I suppose that predilection comes from the fact that I am an English teacher and I am taken with words, what they mean and how we use them. The meaning of the word “accountability” is clear. I will not bother with the dictionary definition. It is the connotation that interests me more.
As an administrator, I am often interested in accountability. Someone told me a long time ago that a principal should never ask staff to do something – anything – on which there would be no follow up. “Don’t tell people to do things just because you think they should do them or because of some ‘best practice’ motivation,” he said. “Only have people do things that are important to do; that they must do. And be sure you’re will to check that it’s done. Otherwise, don’t ask.”
At least that’s what I remember him saying…
The point was, don’t waste a staff’s time asking it to do things that, in the end, do not matter very much.
I have to say (and I choose that word carefully) that I agree. And, because I agree, I wonder how much I do not do as I say. How often do I create or support a task for the faculty or staff and, rather than spend time in analysis of whether or not it needs to actually be done do I skip to the idea of holding people accountable for getting it done.
Isn’t that backwards?
There is a reason the connotation of accountability trends towards the negative. People like me are doing it wrong.