0.4 The art of successful school-based management  (Page 32/36)

Leading is a lonely and stressful job. Given that school leaders are daily handed increased accountabilityamidst decreasing resources, it is no wonder that many are managing stress that is compromising their personal and professional health.The schooling we are doing today is far too demanding to go it alone. When we can create school cultures that emphasize trust andcaring, places where teachers and principals see a shared responsibility for what is going on in the school building, then wecan begin to survive the many harsh realities. Ultimately, it comes down to celebrating a place where everything is about relationships. . . about our individual“threads”of life that contribute to the fabric of the school. If we as principals, teachers, and studentscan tend to each other in a trusting and caring atmosphere, then we can begin to attend to what matters most, the children in ourschools. And when that middle school child fumbles with the combination on her locker, she will look to the adults in herschool as trusting and caring people who will help her through this tough time

Conclusion on the Elements of School Leadership

The elements of art juxtaposed to leadership provide us with symbolic language for understanding what makes forsuccessful school leadership. As might be perceived in viewing different art forms, some of the elements are more obvious or moresignificant in one instance versus at another moment or place. Such is the case with the elements of school leadership. Line, value,shape, form, space, color, and texture all contribute to quality schooling. Given one school with a certain set of needs, we might find that shape is the leading element. At another school with verydifferent needs, however, we might find that texture is a focus. But just as in playing a piano or singing in harmony, there areindividual strikes of the keys or notes of the harmony but it is the collective, simultaneous action that elicits an effect that isfull, coherent, and complete. The successful school leader has all seven elements at her command, albeit at different levels. Becauseshe understands the interrelated nature of the elements, she is able to orchestrate a successful learning and teaching experiencefor her students and teachers.

Using an arts-based approach to understand the nature of successful school-based leadership helps craft anenlarged view of what schooling might look like. It is not so much that this approach is the answer to understanding all schools, butsuch an approach offers one the capacity to view typical schooling in a new and exciting light. When one continues to see the worldthrough the same metaphorical lenses, then one is likely to continue seeing the same things in the same light. When, however,one considers seeing schools from an arts-based approach then that observer may very well gain a new insight into perplexing andpersistent problems. And in the final analysis, just as effective teachers learn to see different students from differentperspectives effective leaders can see different teachers in light of their different contributions. Maybe by considering the use ofline, shape, form, space, value, color, and texture one can open his/her eyes to a new reality.