Lifting the Burden of Supporting "Those Kids" off My Shoulders

• In Event: Moving Emergent Bilingual Students to the Center: Transforming Leadership Preparation in a District-University Partnership

Abstract

See “Front Matter for Papers 2-4” for purposes, modes of inquiry & data sources.
Perspectives: This is the second of two papers that features the experience of an educator who entered the program feeling she alone must shoulder the responsibility for struggling students. The paper begins with a searing memory of being referred to by a high school guidance counselor as one of “those kids” who were better suited to clerical than honors courses. It goes on to detail how the author – a leader of ELLs and a former ELL herself- came to recognize her “big false assumption” that she was now single handedly responsible for the success of “those kids” (ELLs) in her district.
Substantiated conclusions: This paper details the author’s “Aha!”, showing how through “immunity mapping” (Kegan and Lahey, 2001) she came to recognize her “big false assumption” (that she alone was responsible for ELLs) as an “immunity to change.” The larger context of a program that put ELLs at the center gave her confidence that ELLs’ needs would be addressed, thus allowing her to release this burden and become a more effective leader. She writes: “I learned that it’s impossible to do everything myself! I can’t do it, and why should I anyway? These kids are all of our kids! I learned I shouldn’t be way out front; I should be developing the capacity of others to walk alongside me.” The paper also shows how engaging in role play with course instructors and peers helped her to develop the skills she needed to lead alongside.

Scholarly significance: This paper shows how various elements work in tandem to develop leaders of equity driven improvement. In this case, it was a combination of a program stance putting EBs at the center, with coaching support for uncovering deeply held assumptions limiting change, with explicit development of skills to put a new vision of leadership into practice that made the difference.

Author

• Diana Fujimoto, Anaheim Union High School District