We don't need another hero

Not often I quote Tina Turner. Though I thought we did need a hero, when last term I was sitting with one of my former history students in the foyer of our glamourous new building. I taught him history ten years ago and now he’s just begun as a Teach First history teacher. How amazing. I must have inspired him. I introduced him to one of my classes and invited them to ask him questions.

‘What was Ms Williams like as your teacher?’ asked one 13 years-old-frequently-stroppy teenager.

He answered ‘To be honest, I can’t really remember’.

Clearly not quite the Hilary Swank impact I was looking for. I want to be that teacher though still. The hero. The one they all remember. But then I have to ask myself why? Impact? Or ego?

So there we were in the foyer of The Academy with him telling me about all the impressive teaching he had seen in my school. He was skeptical at first when he saw how well behaved children were expected to be: walking in lines, silently moving in the corridors. But then he saw the children and their teaches come alive in lessons. Exactly where the excitement should be.

Our receptionist interrupted. I knew it must be important.

She whispered to me - I immediately felt more important.

‘A man is on the roof - from the nearby psychiatric hospital. The police and the fire brigade are on their way. Children have to be kept in lessons.’

Ah .. the adrenalin. The calm in a crisis. A zen-like calm I learned from over 3 years in a tough school in Special Measures, where giving away your fear was tantamount to classroom suicide. I had to think quickly. Getting messages to staff, keeping calm, liaising with police and deciding on what and how to tell parents. Children (and teachers) had to be moved away from windows so they wouldn’t gawp in case the poor guy decided to jump. I remembered the training and the crisis management role plays. This is what I like. Drama… Casualty… Waterloo Road.

After over an hour of red alert it all ended safely with the man helped down from the roof and all children calm and going home as normal. I went home on a high.

And then I reflected.

What was it I enjoyed about the day? Have I become addicted to excitement and drama? Is this really what I want in my job? Does that help children?

The Academy is now three years old. The routines we thrashed out at the start and refined have now become the established convention. Every Monday? Greet students at gate, check uniform, line up in tutor groups, assembly in the sports hall, merit competition and prizes. Lunch time: same place, set jobs, same 5 seconds of silence. Every lesson, line up in the playground, walk to lesson, greet children, stand behind chairs, check equipment, sit down, promptly begin the learning. Our routines are dull. Same day, same thing with the same consequences for indiscretions. No drama. The drama happens in the classroom not in the corridors. In fact Year 9 have double (2 hour) drama. You read that right and they love it. Every science lesson includes an experiment – this week was testing for starch. They use chisels, hammers, needles, sewing machines, gas hobs and knives in technology. They love boxmatics in maths, writing pop songs in music, speaking Spanish and orienteering in PE. Every child has a reading book and reading targets. All children are set and expected to do homework. Children who need extra support have behaviour mentors, a lunch time club and teaching assistants to support them. Three times a week we have compulsory after school classes. Most of them choose activities such as basketball, art, gardening or chess, unless they are behind in literacy, numeracy or homework – in which case we choose for them. Every member of staff including the premises manager is expected to advise three students. I could, and do, go on. I am incredibly proud of the culture of learning we have established.

Ofsted visited last year and said our school was making Outstanding progress. Our focus, they said, has to be ensuring consistency in teaching making sure that all lessons are as good as the best - outstanding. This is our new challenge. What I have realised is that good leadership, and especially at a senior level is not about me. It’s about creating an organisation with systems and routines that empowers others to teach fantastic lessons, to support the students and enjoy and thrive in their role. We don’t want superstars or heros. We just want people who have the right values, want the best for children, work hard and get on with people. And taking an organisation to the next level is about careful thinking, planning, listening to feedback and systematically improving.

Of course the role of a senior leader can still be busy and stressful but actually if everyone is doing their bit then it shouldn’t be overwhelming. It shouldn’t take over the whole of your life. It should be sustainable.

And to finish with Tina Turner.. Really? Another verse from the same song.

So what do we do with our lives
We leave only a mark
Will our story shine a light
Or end in the dark
Give it all or nothing

We don’t need another hero
We don’t need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond