Sep 20, 2011
Katt Williams - Jesus Had Haters
Required posting for Educational Leaders:
If you are in a position of leadership, you should be prepared for the impact of haters:
How do you respond to the comedic skit and which standard would your response to a hater in your role in educational leadership?
Why did you select the standard and element to address the hater?
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7 comments:
This skit would be commented on in a very careful way. A one on one conversation would take place with the hater in efforts to obtain information to acertain the nature of such hate. Stand four would be used to respond to community interests and needs. The leader must demonstrate active involvement within the community including persons with conflicting perspectives. The comedian explained that Jesus has 12 friends and one was a hater, which appears to be the person with conflicting perspectives.
As an everyday classroom teacher, I see first-hand all the “hater-ation” (I stole that from Mary J. Blige. Remember that song, “Family Affair” where she coined a load of nonsensical words: Don’t need no hateration, holleration…in this dancery?) a school administrator can receive on a daily basis. First of all, pretty much all students hate her/him. But that doesn’t matter; kids hate everybody. Parents usually can’t stand her because her policies are too strict, too lax, or she’s only picking on her son. But I think the loudest (or should I say the quietest) voices are those of her followers—the teachers. Oftentimes, the everyday classroom teacher does not respect many of the internal decisions made because many of those decisions are made without the consideration of the teacher as if she, the administrator, never taught in a classroom before. Secondly, some teachers just simply have a problem with authoritative figures. That’s it. Thirdly, there are a lot of everyday, “know-it-all” teachers who feel they’re better suited for the AP or principal job because they taught so-and-so many years, because they’ve got so-and-so many degrees, or just because of a lack of respect. Whatever the case may be, haterism is ever-flowing and “it ain’t gon stop”.
Leadership always has, and always will bring individuals who will be in vehement disagreement with the leader’s vision, practically every decision made, and every new responsibility added on to the followers, even if it’s in the best interest of the masses. And in this case, it’s the students.
This Katt Williams piece is actually quite reminiscent of the Huey Freeman-Obama clip from the Boondocks. I don’t think there’s any certain way to handle haterism as a school leader; that comes with the territory. MLK knew what came. Malcolm knew it. I’m sure that when Obama first decided he would run for president while sitting at the kitchen table with Michelle, Sasha, and Malia, he knew the GOP would blast every initiative he planned to put into practice. He knew he would be attacked because of his age, his “inexperience”, and his skin color. That’s something that just comes with leadership. If there’s any way to effectively deal with it, it’s with professionalism, poise, and integrity (ELCC 5). It’s like dealing with a rough student in your classroom (if you’re reading this and have ever been a classroom teacher, then you know what I’m talking about). There are some students who will love you even when you have an off day. And then there’s Tyrone. Tyrone can’t stand you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365-366 in a leap year. But, every single day you walk into that classroom and see his face, you have to remain professional and treat him as if he’s your favorite student; you put all personal feelings to the side and still remain committed to inspiring and motivated ALL your students. I don’t think within the definition of leadership there’s a clause that obligates you to address all your naysayers, your haters, and everyone who doesn’t agree with you. The key is to steadily try to build meaningful relationships with those you serve: the students, the parents, your staff, and the community at large.
As an educational leader, please people is the focus of one's mission. ELCC Standard 1 is the foundation for accomplishing the purpose of leadership for it states that to promote the success of students it is necessary to propel forward the mission and vision of the organization. The Kat William's skit was funny since it put a fallible twist onto an infallible being. Jesus would of course not see the need to grandstand and walk on water to disprove his haters and betrayers. He worked miracles to get people closer to God, the Father, which was his ultimate mission. As a school leader. by doing the work necessary to push the mission and vision to fruition, we may get 1 out of 12 detractors along with some doubters but there will also be those who will see the fruit of our labor and will be vehemently loyal - not merely to us, but to the ultimate goal of having students succeed.
Your comments are very insightful and different perspectives were presented. However, it is interesting that I did not read anyone state that Jesus mastered Standard 5 in the way he handled Judas-What do you think?
In the world we live in today, many haters will do anything to stop anyone doing better than him or her. I work with haters and everyday I am challenged with confrontation and problems. What I learned over the years is when I person is miserable they love company and most haters are miserable and want company. When people hate on you it really means you are doing well and they cannot stand it because they have not figured out how to be a leader. When addressing hater is, I think standards one and four will best equip you for the conversation. Standard one will guide you in facilitating the conversation and hopefully coming up a solution and the implantation process of that solution. Standard four would equip you with the skills to ignore all haters and continue on your journey of success, but when approached by community, etc. you will be ready.
As a teacher, I encounter haters on a consistent basis. Rebellious employees can make the life of an educational leader more difficult than it should be. With time invested and earned trust, some of the most difficult employees can be the best assets. Being an educational leader requires patients and a charismatic personality. When observing a defiant employee, preconceived judgment and opinion should be eliminated. Experience has taught me to retain my observations but to discard my opinions until I have a full understanding as to why the employee is conducting himself in an unprofessional manner (ELCC Standard 5). It is worth it to conduct a meeting to bring clarity regarding the behavior. When conducting a meeting, the educational leader should listen, set expectations, and offer solutions.
While some situations are out of a leader’s control, he or she can help mentor an employee as long as the employee is willing to commit to mentorship. Avoid embarrassing moments publicly and privately, and seek opportunities that will impact them positively. After all, your best performer could be disguised as the one who gives the most trouble.(ELCC Standard 4).
Jesus was supposed to be a perfect man, and despite all the good he did he still had a hater, which means you will definitely not be exempt as a leader. Anytime you are on a platform to promote change someone will dislike you, therefore, I would be nonresponsive to anything negative. The best way to address “haters” when you are leading is to continue to strive for excellence in your role as the leader. When you are leading by action you don’t have time to respond to a “hater” because you are too busy responding to the needs of your organization. When you are promoting excellence and there are no loose ends, haters begin to look foolish and are seen for what they are. My response to a “hater” in educational leadership would be ELCC Standard 2.0, which states a leader should “promote a positive school culture, provide an effective instructional program, apply best practices to student learning, and design comprehensive professional growth plans for staff”. Standard 2.0 requires a leader to be actively engaged (basically, on top of their game), therefore there will be no loose ends or reason to react to such non sense because it will only take time away from what is most important (your organization as a whole).
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