The Perceived Disconnect Between Teachers and Administrators

There’s a long standing joke in the education community that when a teacher decides to pursue a path into administration that their “crossing over to the dark side”. I know you’ve probably heard this countless times. Why is this the perception? Why the division between teachers and school leaders?

Teachers sometimes feel as though no one understands their plight. “Students are not progressing enough, there’s not enough time to plan, too many meetings, too much paperwork” etc. Yes, these things are sometimes true. Sometimes the demands may cause some teachers to doubt if their school leadership team truly has their backs.

There are decisions that are made in which teachers have very little insight. These decisions could possibly erode the relationship between teachers and administrators. It is sometimes hard for teachers to give their school administrators the benefit of the doubt.

Because teachers are not privy to some information, they have a hard time understanding why decisions are made. Their concern is how does this affect my classroom and my ability to do my job. This can lead to unfair assessments of what they think is happening versus what is actually occurring.

Part of the burden of leadership is seeing the entire picture. Administrators have to think of how decisions and school district policy affect everyone on their campus. To keep teachers from making assumptions, leaders must share as much as they can with their staff about decisions that are made. Sharing with your staff allows time to process and to figure out how implementation will look on your campus.

One of the main ingredients in a solid working relationship is communication. The other main ingredient is trust. Without these two components it is hard for any organization to be successful. Good administrators strive to build relationships and communicate effectively with staff members.

I believe there may always be thoughts of separation between administrators and teachers. If both parties are working on behalf of doing what’s best for students, then the rift could be resolved. Open communication and being on the same mission brings a level of understanding. Education has enough outside detractors, we need to make sure that we work together internally for the sake of our students.