The Journal presents my weekly reflections on being a private, Catholic school principal during what promises to be a year filled with energy, excitement, challenges and possibilities…
The best bad ideas are what we need to continue to implement to get through this pandemic.
The pandemic year has forced decisions on school leaders in a manner that no other year in my experience has done. As conditions have changed and shifted on an all too regular basis, the choices they leave in their wake have multiplied. Rapidly. Many times the speed with which decisions have needed to be made feels breakneck and out of control. Rarely has that actually been the case. In most situations in these last 12 months, I have been blessed with time to consult and confer and collaborate with the leaders with whom I serve.
We have not always agreed.
The complexities before us this past year have been Gordian in nature, often leaving us searching for the best bad idea (thank you Ben Affleck and your Argo co-writers for the perfect motto for decision-making this year). We have not lacked for ideas. The leaders who I journey with are smart and dedicated, experienced and compassionate people. They know education. They know how to serve our school. They can analyze situations from all kinds of angles. They are not afraid to think outside the box.
And they are not afraid to disagree – with me and with each other.
That we have been able to disagree, frequently calmly, sometimes with great passion, has been a strength of this year. Disagreement and dialogue have led to better bad ideas, to the best bad ideas. In the course of hundreds of hours of conversation about choices, we have adopted a rhythm the beat of which allows us to bring our own thoughts and feelings and plans to the fore and to blend them with others’ thoughts and feelings and plans. This dynamic of collaboration has served our school very well.
I remind myself when branching out from the relative safety of our leadership team to broader groups – committees, task forces, the full faculty and staff, that the potential disagreements of members of these bodies must be equally valued, weighed and considered.
This is the way to get to the best bad ideas, and the best bad ideas are what we need to continue to implement to get through this pandemic.
Another week, another limited quarantine. We can maintain with these numbers. If they increase, we may have to employ different bad ideas.