Transcript Performing music to Making music - The National Music Learning

School Leadership:
From Performing Music
to Making Music
Evolution of School Leadership
Manager
• Overseeing instructional subordinates
Instructional Leader
• Foreman
– overseeing, trouble shooting, repairing malfunctions
Transformational/Transactional Leader
• Leaders of Meaning
Leaders of Meaning
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Recognize the need for change
Creating new visions and commitments to visions
Concentration on long term goals
Inspires others to try and transcend their interests
for organizational goals
New Metaphors for leadership are evident in music
Centrist Leadership
In a traditional music program…
• orchestra/band/chorus goal: the faithful
reproduction of the music as written by the
composer
• conductor functions as the leader, responsible for
any nuance and interpretation
Centrist Leadership
Thereby, the policy (score) is generated (composed) by
the legislature (composers)
Principals (conductors) are expected to take the policy
(score) and get the teachers (musicians) to perform
faithfully
Once teachers receive the policy (score) they are
expected to create mini orchestras (students) playing
their parts carefully diligent to what the teacher
(conductor) directs
New Leadership – The Jazz Combo
• no de-facto leader; once started, each plays their
own interpretation guided by a common melody
• room for experimentation
• leadership changes from player to player, depending
where the melody is
• group is held together through leadership, but not a
single leader
• each member brings unique expertise and if any
musician fails to do their part adequately, the music
is audibly impacted
What is School Leadership?
Leadership is best understood from an organizational
perspective rather than a traditional centrist
perspective derived from concern of positional
authority
Schools with Strong Leadership
• Strong sense of individual and group organizational efficacy
All members believe they can play well and pay well together as a
group
• A school culture that reflects the primacy of maintaining a
strong teaching and learning environment
Though improvised, you can always hear the melody
• A curriculum heavily grounded in constructivist learning for
both students and teachers
Each member puts their own signature on the music played
Schools with Strong Leadership
• An exciting and robust social environment and culture
Enthusiastic, engaged and highly enthusiastic about the music
• A level of teacher autonomy that allows for creativity but not
at the expense of the accomplishing group goals
Cannot play as one pleases without regard to the music and the
group’s performance
• Adequate breadth and depth of professional and pedagogical
content knowledge
A broad understanding of the music
Schools with Strong Leadership
• Cooperativeness and collaboration among group members
Listening and musically responding to others
• A sense of collaborative ownership and contributions
An understanding of the music and ones contribution to it
• A sense of leadership that is constantly evolving, acquired,
dynamic and not ruled by committee
Making music vs. performing music
‘Traditional’ Schools
• driven by external goals developed off site with little
teacher input
• what the students should know at the end of the
year has been pre-determined
• success in attaining goals is measured by
standardized means
• faithfully duplicating the score while the teacher
conducts
‘Jazz’ Schools
• curriculum that is viewed as an ongoing
process
• standards as a part of the educational
process, inseparable from the efforts to meet
them
• standardized tests serve as diagnostic tools to
see how the music can be improved
Leader’s Job
• keep up with educational needs and trends
(audience demands)
• get teachers (colleagues) to work together
collaboratively
• manage non instructional burdens to free up
teachers to teach
• navigating the dynamic tension between
top/down and bottom/up
Sources
Reconceptualizing School Leadership for the
21st Century: Music, Metaphors and
Leadership Density
Wade Smith and Chad E. Ellett, Louisiana State
University, February 2000