From Good to Great Schools

In our upcoming e-news (Q2 2015), I introduce a 1-page brief on the differences between teachers and educators.  I don't mean to be disparaging, but some of the ills we've created in our educational systems, like all corporate, social and civic organizations, is that we've recruited the right people into the wrong places.  Most people I've met in schools, private and public, seem highly committed, motivated, and well-intended.  Certainly exceptions exist, but when we put savvy non-leaders into leadership roles, organizations eventually grow stale, if not implode.  The primary reason that so many schools languish is that they've elevated people with teacher-mindsets into roles of administration.  When you're not interested in learning yourself, hearing new ideas, and exploring with "what if" (educators) the organization will languish.  Good ideas are a dime a dozen, but great ones, the ones possessing the ability to create wonderful results, are rare.  But to get to the great ideas, you have to ponder and hear a lot of good ones.  If you don't have the mindset to take time to hear good ideas, then you're dead in the water.