Educational Authority and Accountability

1. Educational Authority and
Accountability

3. Is there a principled difference between
the Corn Story and the Genesis account
of creation of man that permits the first
to be included in textbooks but not the
second?

4.  The People of the Corn
 Is there a principled difference between the Corn Story and the
Genesis account of creation of man that permits the first to be
included in textbooks but not the second?
 Does it make any difference that the creationist wanted their story
told in a science book, while the People of the Corn want theirs
told in a history book? Is there a difference between “scientific
truth” and “historical truth”.
 If you would approve of including the Corn Story because the
culture of groups should be treated with a care-based attitude,
shouldn’t you show similar care/respect to Southern Baptists?
 Is this about truth or is this about tolerance and understanding?
Who owns the truth? What question are we being asked to
answer?

5.  Does it make any difference that the
creationist wanted their story told in a
science book, while the People of the
Corn want theirs told in a history book?
Is there a difference between “scientific
truth” and “historical truth”.

6. If we include the Corn Story in the
textbook (because the culture of groups
should be treated with a care-based
attitude), how do we reconcile our
treatment of the Southern Baptists and
their Genesis story?

7. Is this about truth or is this about
tolerance and understanding
(acceptance?) What question are we
being asked to answer?

8. Alienation and self-identity
• Are our students culturally alienated?
• Do our students feel like this is their school and
do they have a sense of belonging?
An issue of truth…and who controls it
• Secular, white, European-oriented, male elites
• Who owns the truth?

9. Dialogue
• Free and open debate about issues-there may be
many truths (J. S. Mill)
One and the many (E Pluribus Unum or E
Pluribus Pluribus)
• One shared culture versus a respect for all cultures
equally

10. • Understand and evaluate their beliefs in terms of
their historical or cultural context
• Skeptical about binary oppositions (there is no
right or wrong)
• Life has no truth-no action is preferable to another
• Is it more about sameness or differences?

11. We may differ in our views, in our religions,
in our ethnicity, in our gender, in our history
BUT we are still PERSONS
Our PERSONHOOD is the basis for our
dignity and rights

12.  Are our differences more basic than our
sameness?
 What is a person? Who’s definition is paramount?
 Can we truly describe what a person is to
everyone all the time?
 We may be imposing some cultural bias onto
others…
• Freedom and equality favors European culture, or men,
or heterosexuals (it is these same folks that owned
slaves, that didn’t allow women to vote, that
discriminated against gays and lesbians)
• Nazism
• Economics: Pleasure maximizers suits the capitalists

13.  It may not be about personhood because of the
cultural biases
 It is not about WHAT we are but our
PERCEPTIONS of WHAT DEFINES who we are
 If it is not about PERSONHOOD, is it about
TRUTH?

14. The Wisdom of Obi Wan Kenobi
Theme for English B by Langston Hughes
Women vs. men
European Americans vs. African
Americans vs. Hispanic Americans
Jews vs. Christianity vs. Muslims
There are no whole truths…truths are only
partial and at the mercy of one’s own
perspective
Who owns the truth?

15. Women vs. men
European Americans vs. African
Americans vs. Hispanic Americans
Jews vs. Christianity vs. Muslims
There are no whole truths…truths are only
partial and at the mercy of one’s own
perspective
Who owns the truth?

16. Kent Nerburn:
Neither Wolf nor Dog
The Wolf at Twilight
The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo

17. King Leopold’s Ghost
When the Emperor Was Divine
Hidden Figures
Hillbilly Elegy

18. What is our responsibility with regard to
students attending our schools who cannot
speak English?

19.  “Culture is to humans as water is to fish.” —Wade Nobles
 “Culture is organized within an identifiable community or
group. This includes the ways that community use
language, interact with one another, take turns to talk,
relate to time and space, and approach learning.” —
Villegas & Lucas, Educating Culturally Responsive
Teachers: A Coherent Approach (2002)
 “Culture is a ‘learned behavior,’ passed down through
family, community, and heritage. Heritage comes in two
parts: complexities and intangibles.” —Hollie, Culturally
and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning:
Classroom Practices for Student Success (2011)

20. We stated earlier that religion and politics
were private matters for this very reason.
These are not just facts about people…
not possessions that can be changed at
will
To fail to respect diversity is to reject who
people are and thus deny them their worth
Is there anything worse?

22. The story of David Davis

25. It is error alone, that stands in
need of government to support
it; truth can and will do better
without…it.
-Reverend John Leland
(Baptist minister in favor of separation of church and state)
Obama, B. (2006). The audacity of hope: Thoughts on reclaiming the american
dream. Crown publishing group. pp. 217-218.

27.  Schools were to “Americanize” immigrants
 “Congress may make no law effecting an
establishment of religion nor prohibiting free
speech” (Establishment and Free Exercise
Clauses in the Bill of Rights)
• And yet schools had bible recitations and Lord’s Prayer
required in many states until the late 1960s.
• Catholics started their own school system
• American Indians driven west and confined to
reservations
• Executive Order 9066 February 19, 1942 (Japanese
Internment)
 Most minorities and immigrant populations have
found America repressive and exploitive

28. Creation and evolution
• These may be parts of our religious beliefs
• Teaching one over the other may be a
contradiction to a religious belief and so a
rejection of who the students are
• What is the third thing? Is this about biology or
identity?
Contributions to national history
• Important affirmations to personal worth related to
culture

29. What if evolution is true?
What if our contributions to national history
are not positive or great?
Should we affirm our worth according to
the accomplishments or failings of long
dead members of our culture?

30. Some creationists do not believe the literal
interpretation of the Bible and believe in
evolution BUT there is purpose and design
vs. chance and natural selection
BUT
Who says we must start with the
Creationism point of view?

31. Every culture owns its own truth
All cultures are valuable.
One culture cannot criticize another culture
because there is no general Truth
Difference Rules!

32. Personhood is primary
Person’s choice and moral view is
paramount
• Some moral views are not OK, i.e. racism should
not be tolerated!

33. “When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow
well, you don’t blame the lettuce.
You look for reasons it is not doing well. It
may need fertilizer, or more water, or less
sun. You never blame the lettuce.
Yet if we have problems with our friends or
our family, we blame the other person, But if
we know how to take care of them, they will
grow well – like the lettuce.
Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does
trying to persuade using reason and
arguments.
That is my experience.
No blame, no reasoning, nor argument, just
understanding.
If you understand, and you show that you
understand, you can love, and the situation
will change.”
--Thich Nhat Hahn, Peace Is Every Step

34. Everyone must be tolerant, AND we may
not seek to regulate views of a good life
OK if teach a just constitution to create
virtues of a democratic society
Not OK if we want a shared religion or a
common culture (beyond the political
culture of our constitution)

35.  We must teach tolerance even if we disapprove
 We must teach that we must be tolerant of
disapproval
 We respect the right to choose not necessarily the
choice
 Need not falsify or invent history to be
favorable…we are not rejecting the worth of them
as people
• Their worth is based upon the fact that they are a person
(moral agent) not on the achievements of their culture or
upon the truth of their religion

36. Is it OK for a culture of people to invent a
history to their own liking?

37.  Diversity contributes to the greatest
good for the greatest number
 Diversity makes life more interesting
 The pursuit of truth is important
• How do you get to the truth?
 Intellectual liberty, experimentation, debate,
experiential evidence
 We can never be sure we have the truth
 If you are sure of the truth why
argue?
 If there is no truth why argue?

38. …your religion is false, your culture is
worthless, and the achievements of your
people are insignificant.

39. There are two points that must be
balanced, both points have
been made by many different
philosophers:
1. talk about what is “right” and
“wrong” only makes sense
against the background of an
inherited tradition; but
2. traditions themselves can be
criticized. Hilary Putnam
Harvard University,
Philosopher

40. The concepts we acquire from our culture,
educational influence and structure
What is reasonable to believe according to
our interests and biases…we have a right
to our individual truths

41. Radical Pluralism (differences are fundamental)
 Principle for the affirmation and acceptance of diversity
 Everyone agrees on minimal common values, i.e. tolerance
and equal respect
 What about oppressive cultures and their “right”
to act how they want to act (Nazi Germany)?
Cultural Relativism (it all makes sense if you understand
the culture)
 is the principle that an individual human's beliefs and
activities make sense in terms of his or her own culture.
 Is slavery, our treatment of American Indians, sexually
degrading views, religious intolerance, etc. OK?

42. Ariana Iacono says her nose stud is spiritual.

43. Margarat Mead
“…every culture must be seen as a whole,
with its value system as an inextricable
component…cultural relativity demands
that every item of cultural behavior be
seen as relative to the culture of which it is
a part, and in that systematic setting every
item has positive or negative meaning and
value.”

44. This does NOT mean that “everything is
equal” that “anything goes” and that all
cultural practices are relative and
acceptable.
It DOES mean that BEFORE passing
judgment, we should approach cultural
groups on their own terms.
Goh, M. & Demerath, P. 2015. Culture in the relationship gap. Urban
Leadership Academy. University of Minnesota.

45. Validate the behavior…
Affirm the behavior…
Build relationships and understanding…
Bridge the gap…

46. Capacity for a sense of social justice
Capacity for forming a conception of their
own good
These are rooted in culture AND can be
changed given good reasons and
reflection

47. People are different
We should understand our own biases and
eliminate negative biases toward others
Impartial between conflicting interests,
views and values of different religions,
races, ethnic groups and genders
Can’t have preferences
• Like officials at a sporting event

48. pp 66-69.

49. Free Choice
“We claim and
enjoy complete
freedom”
Laws
Obedience to
the Enforceable
Self-imposed Law
Obedience to the Unenforceable
Tight/Tight
Loose/Loose
Tight/Loose

50.  Educational opportunities that allow for pursuit and
development of what is distinctive about them
• Religion, culture, what is good
 Educational opportunities for the public ethic
• Sense of tolerance (or acceptance) of difference and
respect for equal rights for others
 The creation of shared civic life that allows for a
sense of social justice
• Different from an attempt to view the culture of one group
as a normative for others
 Opportunities to learn from one another and learn
about one another

51. “This is the value of the teacher,
who looks at a face and says
there's something behind that and
I want to reach that person, I
want to influence that person, I
want to encourage that person, I
want to enrich, I want to call out
that person who is behind that
face, behind that color, behind
that language, behind that
tradition, behind that culture. I
believe you can do it. I know what
was done for me.”

52. “Do unto others as you would
want them do unto you.”
OR
“Do unto others as they would
have you do unto them.

53. We need to provide a window for
everyone to view other cultures AND
we need to have a mirror for all
cultures to reflect upon themselves

55. I understand how EVERYone’s perspective
is important in our treatment of each other.
I have an understanding how I/we can
reconcile this with my own/our school’s
perspective.

56. Graduation regalia…lei, Eagle feather, African
stole
School events on holidays…MLK, Rosh
Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Kwanzaa,
Wednesday evenings, Good Friday, 2 Islam
holidays during Ramadan
Gender names/nicknames, gender identity
Catcher in the Rye, Huckleberry Finn,
Wellness class, Geological Timeline in
science
Poverty, ACEs (America’s Children)

59. Anthony Muhammad, Carol Dweck and
Moneyball (2002 Oakland As)
&
You may not know when you have made
something “profound” happen.

60. “We must move on from the
reassuring repetition of stale phrases to
a new, difficult, but essential confrontation
with reality. For the great enemy of truth
is very often not the lie – deliberate,
contrived and dishonest -- but the myth –
persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too
often we hold fast to the clichés of our
forebears. We subject all facts to a
prefabricated set of interpretations. We
enjoy the comfort of opinion without
the discomfort of thought.
Mythology distracts us everywhere.”

61. Descriptors of Students
Most Successful Least Successful
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
What do you do as a leader or teacher to enable
success for students or other individuals in your
school?

62. I can summarize a framework of making
difficult decisions.
I can apply resolution principles that
validate all members of our learning
community.
I understand the influence of democracy,
community, and educational
professionalism in the role of learning for
students.

63.  Educational opportunities that allow for pursuit and
development of what is distinctive about them
• Religion, culture, what is good
 Educational opportunities for the public ethic
• Sense of tolerance (or acceptance) of difference and
respect for equal rights for others
 The creation of shared civic life that allows for a
sense of social justice
• Different from an attempt to view the culture of one group
as a normative for others
 Opportunities to learn from one another and learn
about one another

65. On Blackboard
Case study…. “The Evil Empire” directs
you to do something and folks don’t agree.

66. pp 66-69.

67. Free Choice
“We claim and
enjoy complete
freedom”
Laws
Obedience to
the Enforceable
Self-imposed Law
Obedience to the Unenforceable
Tight/Tight
Loose/Loose
Tight/Loose

68. BLACK LIE GRAY LIE
RED LIE WHITE LIE
Howitaffectsme
How it affects others
I get positive benefit
I lose out in some way
Others get positive
benefit
Others lose out in some
way

69. Coherence: CIA, finance, tests, teacher
training, textbooks aligned
Curricular Equity: All students have equal
opportunities
Incentives: tangible benchmarks
(graduation tests)

70. Who is accountable?
• Policy makers, students, parents, professional
standards.
For what are we accountable?
To whom are we accountable?

71. What is a democracy? What form of
democratic authority should characterize
schools?
What is a community? Who are its
members? Which community should
dominate in decisions about schooling?
What does it mean for teachers and school
leaders to be professionals? What
authority over education should be ceded
to professionals?

72. Standards as a benchmark
Standards as a measure of excellence
Think about working with a teacher and the
“standards” of good teaching.

73.  Goal Displacement: What is the easiest
measurable benchmark, or we will narrow our
expectations (“I am just doing what I am told.”)
 Motivational Displacement: no longer internally
motivated to do a good job and will rely solely on
incentives (“My worth is measured on the
measured outcome of my students.”)
 Gaming: find ways to improve test scores that are
not related to educating students.

74. To focus only on morality means
emphasizing the following:
• What is right and what is wrong
• Personal conduct
• Disconnects the ART of good leadership
• Just be truthful, don’t steal, don’t be a racist or a
sexist avoid conflicts of interests and make fair
decisions
• This is why our WHY is so important!

76.  1) Regret (acknowledgment): A verbal acknowledgment by the perpetrator that the
wrongful behavior caused unnecessary pain, suffering and hurt that
identifies, specifically, what action or behavior is responsible for the pain.
 2) Accepting responsibility (declaration): An unconditional declarative statement
by the perpetrator recognizing the wrongful behavior and acknowledging
that there is no excuse for it.
 3) Restitution (penance): An offer of help or assistance to victims, by the
perpetrator; action beyond the words “I’m sorry,” and conduct that assumes
the responsibility to make the situation right.
 4) Repentance (humility): Language by the perpetrator acknowledging that this
behavior caused pain and suffering for which he/she is genuinely sorry;
language by the perpetrator recognizing that serious, unnecessary harm
and emotional damage was caused.
 5) A direct request for forgiveness: “I was wrong, I hurt you and I ask you to forgive
me.”
Chapman, G., & Thomas, J. (2006) The five languages of an apology: how to experience healing iall
your relationships (New Edition). Northfield Publishing.

78. Locate the morality in the end result of the
act (the consequence of the action)
Locate the morality in certain rights and
duties

80. Ethical Decision Making
Culture/Values/Leadership
Intellectual Liberty
Individual Freedom and the Public Interest
Equal Educational Opportunity
Educational Evaluation
Diversity: Multiculturalism and Religion
 Ethical Fitness: An Approach to Current Issues
Educational Authority and Accountability

81.  Seek first to understand and be sensitive to
other points of view (perceptions)!
 Whoever tells the stories defines the culture.
 Do you want to be right or successful? Can
we be both?
 Balance efficiency and effectiveness
 Reflect and build your wisdom from your
experiences.
 Let the process be the product.
 R3=Relevant, rational and reflective
 It would be short sighted of us to use one
principle as the guiding light of our careers.

82. The Forest Has Eyes by Bev Doolittle

83.  You may be frustrated by the case studies in the
class because it is difficult to make definitive
decision…Will this result in you being a better
administrator?
 We take what we already know and put it in an
unusual, challenging situation.
 The risk is that you may be worse off by these
exercises because it could debilitate you
 So…is it possible to solve these complicated and
difficult issues?

84.  Will these exercises make us better
administrators?
 May make us worse before we get better (just like
your golf swing)
 A vehicle for reflective dialogue.
 When the moment for action arrives, the thinking has already
been done, the impulses internalized, and the intuitions
prepared to lead to resolutions” (Kidder, 69).
 Develop muscle memory

85.  We justified some decisions by discussing culture
• Is it OK to suggest that ethics is relative to culture?
• If we disagree, can we blame it on culture?
 This is cultural relativism.
 This does NOT mean that “everything is equal” that
“anything goes” and that all cultural practices are
relative and acceptable.
 It DOES meant that BEFORE passing judgment, we
should approach cultural groups on their own means.

86.  When a person attempts to give reasons to
another person, is this an attempt at coercion
(ends based approach)?
 Persuasion is a form of influence that
recognizes individuals as free moral agents
with rational minds and human feelings (care).
 We do not learn to make responsible choices
by being told our decisions do not matter

87. • view freedom, equality, and democracy as arbitrary
• view leadership as a technical exercise…values are not
important…efficiency rules…focus on completing tasks at
hand and renounce responsibility for judging the
educational and moral worth of the objectives of policies
they are given by others.
• believe "Ours is not to reason why. Ours is but to do and
die” (Alfred Lord Tennyson)
• we don’t make the rules we just follow them.

88. Justice =
get what you deserve
Who should get the
best flutes?

89. What is the real question being asked?
What is really important?

90.  Can’t decide what
justice requires
without wrestling with
these 2 questions.
 What is the real
question being
asked?
 What is really
important?

93. Reflective Equilibrium
This is the $1,000,000 question!
And the $1,000,000 answer is…
It is all about…

94. Reach a point in our deliberations where our
moral intuitions and the moral theory that
accounts for them are consistent and can be
objectively justified. (p. 111)
Gut instinct + solid rationale = a good decision
Yes, we can change our position with new
information.

96. Allows us to feel and empathize with other
persons.
Also allows us to think.
We need emotion as well as reason.
• We need to identify with others
• Feelings provide motivation for right conduct
 Knowing what is right and wanting to do it are different
things.

97. We start with our moral principles that
differentiate our sense of right and wrong.

98. Different sources do not mean we can’t
agree…
People have a common biology, common
fundamental needs and feelings, a
common physical environment, common
aspirations on a common planet with a
common science and common global
problems.
It’s not easy AND it’s not impossible.

100. Martin, D. 2012. This is a book. Grand Central Publishing

101. I can summarize a framework of making
difficult decisions.
I can apply resolution principles that
validate all members of our learning
community.
I understand the influence of democracy,
community, and educational
professionalism in the role of learning for
students.