Talk is Cheap: Actions Speak Louder than Words

Last night, I attended an event entitled, "Save our Schools" in San Antonio. It was a grassroots event sponsored by concerned citizens for public education in Texas. Speaker after speaker gave a similar call to action. You MUST get involved if you want to see change and "Change starts Now." What does this mean for academics? Everyone will take a different tack on what it means for them, but for me, it crystallized my future actions that I can not sit back in the ivory tower and advocate from afar. My voice has to be heard in multiple forms including the ballot box. Throughout the years, I have been a conscientious voter, but I represent 1 to 2 in ten in most elections outside of a presidential election. For most school related elections, less than 10% of the eligible electorate votes and that includes academics! Beyond voting, I believe we must get politically active and learn how to craft and influence legislation. 

This coming week I scheduled a conference call with Steve Tozer at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Steve is a great resource for anyone wanting to know how to influence policy and legislation. He and his colleagues were able to craft legislation in Illinois that basically shuts down all diploma mills and requires all leadership programs to have critical elements of effective leadership preparation as found by scholars like Darling-Hammond and others. Steve and his colleagues used data to show legislators that the pipeline is full of certified prospective leaders, but what it lacks is high quality leaders. Like a roto-rooter, Steve and colleagues have provided a blueprint for cleaning the crap that lies within our field. Unless we are willing to get involved politically and advocate for high quality programs, we will always be susceptible to criticisms, fair or unfair like those leveled on the field from people like Art Levine and others. As someone mentioned last night, everyone has a choice to make. I hope you will make a choice to go above and beyond the call of duty and model for our students what real leadership is all about.