0.1 Beyond convention, beyond critique: toward a third way of  (Page 4/12)

• Those who had Ubuntu were compassionate and gentle, they used their strength on behalf of the weak, and they did not take advantage of others—in short, they cared , treating others as what they were: human beings. If you lacked Ubuntu , in a sense you lacked an indispensable ingredient of being human. (p. 23)

Martin Luther King Jr. (1992) spoke of three Greek words for love, eros (romantic love), philia (love between friends), and Agape , which is “understanding, redemptive good will for men” (p. 31). King’s definition of Agape is very close to Tutu’s explanation of Ubuntu . Perhaps educators seeking equity and social justice in schools should focus their efforts around the types of care espoused and demonstrated by leaders like Tutu and King.

To begin to increase care for marginalized groups, readings and videos that humanize students from different cultures and describe caring teachers are a good start. For example, Delpit’s (2006) Other People’s Children , Ladson-Billings’ (2009) The Dreamkeepers , and Valenzuela’s (1999) Subtractive Schooling are powerful books that evoke respect and care for children of color and those who care for them.

Another positive strategy for promoting care is the use of testimonials in educational leadership classes. Testimonials are stories told by students or parents about how caring teachers or principals have positively affected their lives. These stories can inspire pre-service principals to model and encourage the same type of care when they become campus administrators (Madhlangobe, 2009).

If caring is reciprocal, then it seems that pre-service principals need to participate in that reciprocal process by interacting with marginalized children they teach or provide other professional service to but who they have never really gotten to know well. Future principals can begin ongoing dialogue with those students about their lives. “What are their backgrounds? What are their perceptions and interests? What supports do they have at home?” (Gleason, 2010, p. 48). Pre-service principals can then process these clinical experiences through reflective writing and class discussions.

Critique

Critical theorists rightly condemn deficit thinking about students, families, and communities but tend to be far less protective of teachers and principals. However, the fact is that teachers and principals walk into the same system as the clients they serve, ill-prepared by their teacher and principal preparation programs to deal with that system. Critique of educational leadership and teaching, and even individual leaders and teachers, is necessary, but should be done in the context of leaders and teachers working within a controlling society, educational system, and local environment. Moreover, both school and educator critique should be primarily self-critique .

Self-critique can take the form of what Murtadha-Watts and Stoughton (2004) called “culturally focused dialogue” (p. 4). Nieto (2003) noted that culturally focused dialogue can center on socio-cultural differences or school polices and practices. Nieto describes socio-cultural differences as “societal ideologies, government policies and mandates, and school financing” (p. 8). Under the category of school policies and practices Nieto includes “curriculum, pedagogy, tracking, testing, discipline and hiring” (p. 8). Johnson (2003) adds to the list of school issues “scheduling practices, enrollment patterns, participation rates in school activities and special services…” (p. 21). Pre-service principals can practice facilitating culturally focused dialogue, first with other graduate students, and then as a clinical experience with a school faculty.