Setting an Example by Taking Risks

Mrs. Rivkie Gottlieb

I walked into a classroom the other day as part of my daily walk-about and was presented with the most amazing dog-and-pony show from the teacher. The key giveaway was the students’ reaction to the teacher’s performance, with looks of surprise shared between each other and disrupting what should have been a smooth flow to the learning. If you are an educational leader reading this, I know that you have experienced this as well.

Personally, I like seeing when a teacher is having a bad day; the days they forgot to lesson-plan effectively, or when they have a headache and would prefer to be in bed. It shows me how they do at their very worst. Even more rewarding is witnessing a teacher trying hard to accomplish something new, taking a risk, and failing miserably. Don’t get me wrong, we all want successful teachers. But we also want teachers to take risks, to hopefully succeed, and also not succeed as planned in the hopes that we can learn together and grow from the trial.

How can a leader create an environment in school where teachers feel safe to take risks? What leadership style encourages teachers to grow professionally and not just put on a show for the principal when he or she comes around? Perhaps the solution is to be the kind of leader who takes risks and is not afraid to take a leap, leading by example and showing that this kind of professional behavior is desirable.

When you think about it, principals, teachers, and even students, all suffer from feeling the need to prove themselves. Leaders, in particular, deal with those gremlins of imposter syndrome that have strangely loud voices at the most inopportune times. How can anyone take risks when they feel the constant need to prove that they are the right person for the job? An important perspective is to realize that just as the principal may feel the need to prove themselves to the teaching staff, teachers feel the need to prove themselves to their students. In this view, techniques that are effective at the classroom level with students can also prove helpful for principals as they engage in instructional leadership. This is how I approached the early days of my principalship and how our school was able to implement a bold plan to address a major problem that we faced.

When I was a teacher, my first goal was to build personal connections with the children in my care and so connecting to teachers came naturally. Spending time with teachers, either chatting at all hours or going out for a coffee, helped to build interpersonal and mutual respect. Asking for opinions on any given topic opened further conversations and showed the teachers that I honor their voices and opinions, another teaching method I had employed in the classroom. It also provided a safe landing ground for me to relinquish control and feel excited to experience what learning can be like from a different perspective. Connecting deeply with teachers has also allowed for expanding my social connections in an otherwise lonely role. In fact, I was asked once by a principal who works at a different school in my city how I was coping with the feelings of loneliness he was sure I was experiencing. That question had me reflecting deeply and led to such a sense of appreciation that my teachers are my friends, so loneliness is never something I must endure.

Leading by Example

Our school has a beautiful and strong foundation in Hebrew language, in addition to strong Judaic learning. Our students who begin in kindergarten and move through our program to middle school have a wonderful grasp of the Hebrew language. However, in our community, families come and go at various stages in their children’s educational journey, so, for example, a child may start with us in kindergarten and move on to a different city by third grade. Even more challenging are the families who join us midway through their children’s elementary school years and beyond. This new child may be new to learning Hebrew, starting with learning how to read, while his or her class peers are progressing and mastering the necessary skills to converse and read for understanding. For years, our teachers have had to balance the many levels in their classes and differentiation in this, while the expected norm, was stretching teachers too far.

Leading by example and taking risks seem daunting especially with the lengthy list of other areas in which we need to model. Additionally, there is this bit of advice that often resounds in my mind: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” However, I realized that this was just another gremlin giving voice, singing in a different tune to s ame idea that as a leader, I am a fraud. It was time to take a risk and try something new.

The first step I took was gathering the teachers to hear their opinions of combining the different grades and dividing the students instead by level. Gathering the Hebrew teachers to rock their boat was an experience in and of itself. Those who supported the idea argued with those who were against the idea in respectful, but loud voices. I sat back and listened to the thoughts being shared. I did not silence anyone and took copious notes. I left the meeting feeling like I had spent a session in the Knesset.

After our allotted meeting time I thanked the teachers for their input and allowed their thoughts and ideas to marinate in my mind. I understood the fear of risk-taking the teachers were experiencing and had expressed. This crazy idea of mine was going to drastically change their daily lives. But from all the positive and excited voices, I saw that teachers felt the need for a change.

And then the most amazing thing happened: teachers began to come up to me individually to share their thoughts and ideas on how to implement the plan, offering ideas for material and curriculum that would work, or just asking questions to allay their fears that their lives would not be even more stressful than they already were. I added these conversations to my meditations about the idea and kept thinking.

In my ideal world, I would have been able to make a giant switch for first through fifth grade in one year, and it could have worked; we have expert teachers, and I found a great curriculum. However, realizing that this was too big of a risk for everyone to feel safe with, I decided to limit the program to just the fourth and fifth grades. In this way, we would have an easier time identifying the levels and trialing the program. The idea to start with the oldest grades came from a teacher who offhandedly mentioned that the struggle is mainly in the older grades and while I did not fully agree, I saw the validity in her statement.

And so, our Hebrew Ulpan-style learning was born. I can’t tell you that it is wildly successful yet. It is a work in progress, especially in creating levels and finding the right mix of learners in a group, assigning the right teachers the role of facilitating this style of learning, and maintaining the level of learning our school is known for. In the few months since trialing this system of learning, I can confidently say that no student is lost or has fallen between the cracks. This is enough of the goal achieved for year one. Every child has made wonderful progress in their learning, and because working with children is always exciting, there are always going to be many levels in the classroom which provides the space for the teachers to still use creativity to differentiate and reach their students.

This, too, is how to address the teacher who has the picture-perfect classroom on the day of his or her observation. In the follow-up, the teacher should be challenged to take a risk. Remind them that the expectation is never perfection; schools are noisy and working with children is a messy business. Offer to plan the risk together and make sure to visit the classroom on the day of the risk. Then, follow up again, offering the teacher the space to reflect and take note of the lessons learned from the experience.

I sometimes wonder why there is no Hippocratic oath for educational leaders to recite and keep in mind. If I was asked to compose one, I would include the promise to create lasting relationships with the teachers in your school, provide a space of safety to explore and take risks, and appreciate and celebrate teachers being their authentic selves. 

Rivkie Gottlieb is the Lower School Judaic Principal at Robert M. Beren Academy in Houston, TX. She has over a decade of teaching experience in a variety of settings; both formal and informal, young child to adult, and in person as well as online settings (not covid related). Entering her 7th year in educational administration, Rivkie prides herself on her commitment to continuously grow and learn, embodying the version of a lifelong learner she hopes her students will aspire to. You can follow Rivkie on Instagram @momed2.0 as she shares her musings on motherhood and leadership and how the roles blend to create invaluable lessons in both areas of her life.

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