Professor Shurkova speaks clearly about a problem facing Russian educators since the fall of Communism. Under the Soviet Union, the schools had a moral force that guided all their activities, Communist theory. Trained ideologues guided every school in all aspects of curriculum and activity. Parents were motivated by the party in a variety of ways to support the schools. Students had the motivation of party youth organizations and the pressures on their parents to conform, behave, and study. With the changes of the past twenty years, educators have seen their former moral authority dissolve along with the Communist philosophy. The search began to replace the highly organized structure of former times with a replacement. Will it be the Russian Orthodox Church? Will it be a Western view of Democracy? Will it be a philosophy and structure developed in Russia by Russian educators themselves? Professor Shurkova describes her hopes and those of other educators for an ideal leader/moral authority who, with true, Russian values and real, Russian solutions help rescue their schools. I feel that this article accurately describes the deep desire of Russian educators for a just, fair, kind, humane, ethical, and deeply intellectual future for their students.
-Jack Mc Gurgan, retired teacher and principal of 43 years experience, President of THE AMERUS EXCHANGE, LTD.
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Professor Shurkova’s prospective in her article comes as a surprise to me. The last line, “I trust that there is only one thing which is truly difficult for a school principal and that is to stop being just an administrator” is untrue for any of the principals that I know. A successful principal needs to be able to take care of the administrative portion of the job, but the focus should be on the students. In order to increase student achievement in all areas; “manage” the day-to-day running of a school; ensure that the students’ and staff’s emotional well-being is considered and enhanced; and that the morale of all stakeholders is cultivated, a principal must use distributive leadership. No one person can be all things to all people all the time. Principals have to surround themselves with “superstars” and use the strengths of those people to help move the school ahead.
I agree with Professor Shurkova’s take on how a principal should “put these values into practice daily.” A principal should be visible to the students and staff and also be approachable, friendly, and positive. Greeting people as they enter the building, calling students by their names, remembering important events in the staff and students’ lives and referring to them, and most importantly, not being “scary” are all activities that I engage in each day, as do the other principals I know.
It seems that there is a longing among principals in Russia to be given the opportunity to grow as leaders and to focus on the needs of the students, not just the buildings. My hope is that they are given the professional development, time, and resources needed to achieve their goal.
-Ellen O’Neill, Elementary Principal of 4 years experience, Southold Elementary School, Southold, NY
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To read the complete article by Prof. Shurkova, click HERE.
