What Schools Can Learn from Undercover Boss

As someone who works outside of a school building, I have become increasingly aware of the perception some have of those who make decisions about teaching and learning without actually being in a classroom. "They just don't get what I do" is common lament from teachers regarding elected officials, local leadership, or even "ivory tower" researchers. The disconnect between management and employee makes shows like Undercover Boss so successful because it asks people to look at situations from a new perspectives.

Teach to Lead is an online community, the brainchild of NBPTS and the US Department of Education where teachers suggest solutions to problems such as the knowledge gap between policy-makers and the classroom. In reading some of the proposed leadership ideas on the site, one in particular caught my attention. In her proposal, Coach_Christina recommends that principals and district office administrators spend time teaching as part of their professional responsibilities. The intended purpose is to connect administration back to the students and to help them understand the perspective of the classroom teacher. You can read the full proposal and the related comments here.

As a district office administrator, you'd think the reason this idea caught my eye has to do with sending someone like me back into a classroom. Frankly, being in a classroom is one of the things I miss most in my current job, so I would welcome the opportunity for some classroom time! It might surprise you that I even agree that there can be a disconnect between policy and classroom practice. Currently less than 5% of my state's General Assembly classify themselves as educators, which suggests that state laws for education may lack a teacher's perspective. A stint in a classroom would certainly be an interesting solution.

But...whether a little not-so Undercover Boss will change policy is not what intrigued me about the proposal in the first place. What stood out for me with giant flashing lights was the idea of what to do with the classroom teacher while the administrator is in charge of the instruction. In Coach_Christina's plan it seemed a bit of an afterthought, like send the teacher to do some coaching or do the principal's job or something. For me the idea of what to do with the classroom teacher is the place to start!

What would happen if we did try a little switcharoo?

Imagine a mentor teacher and a beginning teacher that have been paired together. Part of a mentor's responsibility is to provide support for that beginning teacher through planning, conducting observations and providing feedback. Imagine that mentor teacher being paired with an administrator who will take over the teaching responsibilities of the mentor teacher's class--most likely one subject or one period--for a while. While the original proposal was 3-6 months, I think a lot could be accomplished in much less time.

What is important to note is that the mentor teacher is handing over the reigns of his or her class to the administrator, not writing sub plans to be followed. This is the key to the success of this plan. Every teacher who has ever come to school with the plague rather than write a sub plan can attest--writing sub plans is the WORST! The mentor teacher can be fully committed to his or her time with the beginning teacher knowing that the class is being taught by a qualified instructional leader.

Now you have a mentor teacher with a chunk of unencumbered time to spend with the beginning teacher in job-embedded professional development. This is an ideal mentoring relationship, which has been shown to be highly effective in improving a beginning teacher's practice and retention to the profession. I don't think I need to go into all the amazing things that can happen with a mentor and a beginning teacher together for this amount of time--co-teaching, modeling, immediate direct feedback, reflection, and the list goes on. If there is one thing I hear from beginning teachers and mentors, it's that they wish they had more time together.

So will Undercover Boss be the next big wave in schools?  Probably not. But it could be.

This conversation all started with a clever idea for how to get decision-makers connected to classrooms, but there is much more to this than one idea. The important part is the willingness to ask those "what if..." questions.  There are some interesting ideas floating around Teach to Lead, but I would venture to say that there are probably a good many ideas floating around in your head or at your school that are worthy of some "what if..." conversations.

Have you ever had someone hear you out and appreciate your perspective about how to solve a problem? In many ways, having these "what if" conversations is one way to to connect with each other, if we really listen to each other. Susan Scott writes in her book Fierce Conversations:

"If we wish to accomplish great things in our organizations and in our lives, then we must come to terms with a basic human need: We must recognize that humans share a universal longing to be known, and being known, be loved."

Scott goes on to talk about how paying attention, really and truly focusing on the person in the moment, is one way for a person to feel known. Below is an excerpt from Fierce Conversations. Start with Fred Timberlake at the bottom of page 92. Think about how that conversation might look in a school building between teachers, especially a mentor and beginning teacher.




I can't stop thinking about this sentence. "When someone really asks, we really answer." What a powerful statement about building relationships, empowering teachers, and developing trust.

Have you had a Fred Timberlake in your life?  Or do you think you might be that person to another teacher?  Tell me about it in the comments below.