"a cause beyond ones' self"

Cummings and Worley (2001) Essentials of Organization development and change convey an understanding of change that is more or less driven by what those leading, experiencing, or witnessing think. They suggest, “Real-life change doesn’t happen in predictable stages”. Despite the reality of real-life change, many if not most educators respond to external pressure for change by using linear improvement models that ask leaders to: 1) Create a vision of the future; 2) Assess the current situation; 3) Compare the present to the desired future and 9201 University City Blvd., identify the gaps; 4) Set goals and objectives to move from the present to the future; and 5) Move straight forward toward the future.

Here we are again – a linear approach to change - the foundation of the Race to the Top (RttT) plan. Sadly, we are positioned to repeat the same mistakes of the past with respect to change. There is, however, a very important step we can take to ensure greater success – this time.

First, we must acknowledge that culture and context are significant factors in understanding our past, present and future.

Culture is complex! The complexity comes, in part, from the interrelationship between people’s assumptions, beliefs, and values let alone their behaviors.

Second, what we think, how we think, and why we think are equally important factors that must be considered.

A key to change is how people think in our school system. We must stop thinking thoughts that are self-centered and self-seeking. Everyone must start thinking of others first. Easier said than done –

Roland Barth (author, professor) wrote many years ago about the need of believing and committing to a “cause beyond oneself”. The real power of this concept was not in the believing or in the committing. Rather, it was in the “doing” – the behaviors manifested from this deep sense of others before self. Teetering on the oft learned but seldom practiced “golden rule”, Barth’s attempt to challenge each of us to “think” differently about our work is timely.

If we think RttT is but another in a series of steps, mandates, or threats to force improvement of teaching and learning we will act out of compliance.

However, if we think RttT provides an opportunity to build competence, confidence, and capacity in effective practice in all aspects of the work – our work, we will act out of commitment. Commitment is different especially within the context of Barth’s idiom of a “cause beyond one’s self”.

We are at a pivotal time, possibly historic time in education – especially in Anson County. We have a choice that will, for the most part, impact not only this present generation but also generations to come. The choice before us, all of us, will be individual first, and organizationally second. That is, each of us must decide “what” and “how” we think about the changes that must be made in practice to ensure each learner, each staff, each school, and the entire system is successful.

Once the decision to think differently is made, each of us must reflect, ponder, analyze, assess, and prepare ourselves for unlearning before we can embrace new learning, different learning, or deeper learning. This will not be easy.

We have individually and collectively developed sets of habits that, in many respects, are contrarian or the antithesis of effective practice. This hasn’t been malicious or with ill intent. Rather, we have become habituated in certain practices, certain programs, certain procedures, certain thinking and certain behaviors that have produced mixed and inconsistent results.

Anyone of us that have attempted to change, break habits know firsthand the challenges, inconveniences, and often agony of such a noble intent. However, those that have been successful also know firsthand that the first step is thinking differently – we are at that point. It is the time, our time to think differently about where we are and where we want to go – then, thinking differently about how to get there.