Lean on Me...The Need for Effective School Leadership

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on
...
So just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on
~ Bill Withers

This weekend during my Advanced Supervision in Curriculum and Instruction class, my instructor had us watched the cult classic movie Lean On Me, the story of Principal Joe Clark and how he turned a troubled New Jersey high school around.  Afterwards, in small groups and later as a class, we discuss his leadership style depicted in the movie. Prior to this, I have seen this movie dozens of times. Nevertheless, the impact of effective school leadership and collaboration, in spite of, on this school was nothing short of astonishing.

As a principal, Joe Clark was tough, yet passionate. Despite his pressed mandates and contiguous school issues, he did what he had to do to get the job done. He did it with tough love and being visible.  However, while he set high expectations for everyone in the school house, in the beginning, he alienated and ridiculed his faulty and staff. Some may say it was necessary to get them to change their ways. Some may say he was too harsh and difficult to work for. Nonetheless, they came around and Clark himself later show respect and support for them.

The overarching theme of the movie is the need for effective leadership in the school. Personally, I rather work for a troubled school who has a strong, yet supportive administration than a good school without one. The principal is the school leader for the students and teachers, school marketer to the community, school liaison to the district, and tone-setter for school reform. However, as stated in an earlier blog entry, nowadays principals behave more like micro-managers and bureaucratic puppets to the district, than leaders who will follow their own vision and meet the needs of their individual schools. If a principal today try to emulate anything Joe Clark did in the 80's, he/she would be out of a job.

The lyrics to the classic song Lean on Me is befitting to achieving effective school leadership. While they set the tone, principals cannot do it alone; nor they should be expected to do it alone. It takes a village. However, as shown in the movie, even if some within the village don't want to help, the principals still must take the lead in the school house and strive to make something out of nothing, for our children's sake. However, support and respect are a two-way street; the principals never can forget that if they want to succeed.