Dear Hyde-DC Faculty;
I apologize for the length of this email, but I ask you to read it thoughtfully, because I believe the basic issue is critical to what Hyde-DC could and should be.
Now that you all have had to think about and respond to the Wednesday Wrap up Confrontation, I want to address what I believe to be the deeper issue that was involved.
I was encouraged by faculty members who made it a point to express their appreciation for what I did, but disappointed that only one faculty member directly addressed his concerns and strong disapproval for my performance. If I am reading the entire faculty correctly, there were many more who were also upset with the way I handled the situation. If so, the fact they have yet to directly express their disapproval or concerns to me or Joanne signifies a serious weakness in faculty leadership.
Further, speaking frankly, I don't believe Ms. Cooke would have refused my directive to stop if she did not feel strong faculty support for her position. Events eventually made it clear that some middle school teachers have been upset by the leadership conflict between Mr. Djassou and Ms. Goubourn, and the wrap up became the very wrong choice to vent those concerns. What happened was very disrespectful to both Mr. Djassou and Ms. Goubourn, and their extensive efforts to resolve the leadership issue of Mr. Djassou.
However, I feel the larger problem at the wrap up was the failure of senior faculty members to provide moral leadership for the entire faculty. If such behavior was in fact known to be unacceptable to veteran faculty members, this professional confrontation and breakdown in authority would never have occurred.
Hyde uniquely addresses personal growth of teachers as well as students, parents and families. However seminars are expressly designed for this purpose, which are distinctly separate from our professional responsibilities. If there are internal conflicts and concerns, they should be directed to Joanne's administration, and not in a public forum like a wrap up.
This ugly situation revealed a huge gap in Hyde's discipline, and a damaging weakness in our administrative structure. Joanne had asked me to conduct the wrap up, which became sidetracked by issues that should have been addressed to Joanne directly and had no business being expressed in a professional workshop. Once it got out of hand, I asked Ms. Cooke 3 times to stop, finally directing her to leave. The fact that many faculty members left with or after Ms. Cooke revealed a major teacher insubordination of Hyde authority.
At this point my anger was directed at the faculty as a whole; how could the faculty tolerate and remain oblivious to this blatant example of unprofessional behavior and its damage to our organization? How many teachers have expressed their concerns to those who acted unprofessionally? Clearly there is a double standard at Hyde; accepting and sometimes even supporting attitudes and behavior of colleagues they definitely would never tolerate in their students.
This situation was perhaps the biggest disappointment in my 53 years of teaching; I had felt Hyde-DC was much farther along than this. However I do believe in the overall potential of the DC faculty, and I am very hopeful the situation will trigger the emergence of the moral leaders in our faculty.
I am examining how I might have handled the situation more effectively. I also believe it is critical for every faculty member to thoughtfully examine their own role. If we are going to accept the moral leadership role with our students, we certainly must express it with each other.
Those concerned with the Djassou-Goubourn conflict should have taken their concerns directly to Joanne; she is the moral leader and ultimate authority of the Hyde community. Equally important, other faculty members should have urged them to do so. The responsibility begins not with the administration, but with the faculty. This is the example the entire Hyde community needs. We cannot lead students and parents if we cannot lead ourselves.
One of the greatest strengths I see in the Hyde-Bath and Hyde-Woodstock faculties is their ability to examine themselves and acknowledge their shortcomings and mistakes–an absolutely essential quality of leaders. They do have the advantage of experiencing deeper seminars than we presently have in DC, but it is a challenge we must address in DC. We have too many situations where the first impulse is to protect oneself from constructive criticism, which is a powerful means to help us become our best.
We all need to understand the structure of Hyde. Hyde-DC seeks to become a powerful and nationally recognized educational organization, which deserves to be replicated. We are governed by a dedicated group of nine trustees, including two Hyde parents, who regularly assess and guide the leadership of our head of school.
At their meeting last Thursday, the board strongly expressed their confidence and trust in Ms. Goubourn's leadership. However they also directed her to reduce her working hours until she resolves her medical situation. Adding to this the vital training period of Dr. Frierson to manage the school, we should all realize that the emergence of the moral leadership of the faculty is more important than ever before.
We recently had the national example of what Terrell Owen's ego did to undermine the proud Philadelphia Eagles organization. The lesson is that no individual is greater than the whole. The Eagles may struggle this season, but they have restored the integrity of their institution.
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going." I know there are potentially strong leaders in our DC faculty, and I look forward to their emergence.
Have a happy Thanksgiving. Regards Joe
