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RelationshipsWithin theSchoolhouseRelationships among educators mthin a school range from vigorouslyhealthy to dangerously competitive. Strengthen those relationships,and you improve professional practice.

Roland S. Barth

One incontrovertible finding emerges from mycareer spent working in and around schools:The nature of relationships among the adultswithin a school has a greater influence on thecharacter and quality of that school and on

student accomplishment than anything else. If the relationshipsbetween administrators and teachers are trusting, generous,helpful, and cooperative, then the relationships betweenteachers and students, between students and students, andbetween teachers and parents are likely to be trusting,generous, helpful, and cooperative. If, on the other hand, rela-tionships between administrators and teachers are fearful,competitive, suspicious, and corrosive, then these qualities w[\\disseminate throughout the school community

In short, the relationships among the educators in a schooldefine all relationships withm that school's culture. Teachersand administrators demonstrate all too well a capacity to eitherenrich or diminish one another's lives and thereby enrich ordimmish their schools.

Schools are full of what 1 call nondiscussables—importantmatters that, as a profession, we seldom openly discuss. Theseinclude the leadership of the principal, issues of race, the under-

performing teacher, our personal visions for a good school, and,of course, the nature of the relationships among the adultswithin the school. Actually, we do talk about the nondiscuss-ables—but only in the parking lot, during the car pool, and atthe dinner table. That's the definition of a nondiscussable: anissue of sufficient import that it commands our attention but isso incendiary that we cannot discuss it in polite society—at afaculty or PTA meeting, for example. (For more on this topic, seemy article "The Culture Builder" in the May 2002 issue of Educa-tional Leadership.)

Consequently, the issues surrounding adult relationships inschool, like other nondiscussables, litter the schoolhouse floor,lurking like land mines, Vvith trip wires emanatmg from each.We cannot take a step without fear of losing a limb. Thus para-lyzed, we can be certain that next September, adult relation-ships in the school will remain unchanged. School improve-ment is impossible when we give nondiscussables suchextraordinary power over us.

Relationships in SchoolsSo let's discuss the elephant in the room—the various forms ofrelationships among adults within the schoolhouse. They

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might be categorized in four ways;parallel play, adversarial relationships,congenial relationships, and coUegialrelationships.

Parallel PlayParallel play, a wonderful concept fromthe preschool literature, is thought to bea primitive stage of human developmentthrough which 2- and 3-year-olds soonpass on their way to more sophisticatedforms of interaction. To illustrate,imagine two 3-year-olds busily engagedin opposite comers of a sandbox. Onehas a shovel and a bucket; the other hasa rake and a hoe. At no time do they

share their tools, let alone collaborate tobuild a sandcastle. They may inadver-tently throw sand in each others facefrom time to time, but they seldominteract intentionally Although in closeproximity for a long period of time, eachis so self-absorbed, so totally engrossedin what he or she is doing, that the twoof them will go on for hours working inisolation.

Parallel play offers, of course, a perfectdescription of how teachers interact atmany elementary, middle, and highschools. The term also aptly describesthe relationship between one schoolprincipal and another whose school isonly blocks away One teacher summedit up with discouraging accuracy: "Here,we all live in our separate caves." AplayfuK?) notice on the wall of a facultylounge captured it even better: "We're allin this—alone."

The abiding signature of parallel play

in education is the self-contained class-room, with the door shut and a piece ofartwork covering that little pane of glass.The cost of concealing what we do isisolation from colleagues who mightcause us to examine and improve ourpractices.

Adversarial Relationships1 once heard a Boston school principaloffer this sage observation: "We educa-tors have drawn our wagons into a circleand trained our guns—on each other."

Adversarial relationships take manyforms in schools. Sometimes they areblatant: The 7th grade algebra teacher

about their practice—about discipline,parental involvement, staff development,child development, leadership, andcurriculum. I call these insights craftknowledge. Acquired over the years inthe school of hard knocks, these insightsoffer every bit as much value toimproving schools as do elegant researchstudies and national reports. If one daywe educators could only disclose ourrich craft knowledge to one another, wecould transform our schools overnight.

But 1 find educators reluctant to makethese gold nuggets available to others.Sadly, when one educator persists inrepeating the failures of the past while

Schools are full of good players.CoUegiality is about getting themto play together, about growing aprofessional learning community.

on one side of the hall lobs a metaphor-ical hand grenade into the classroom ofthe 8th grade geometry teacher on theother side, saying to parents, "You don'twant your child in that classroom. Allthey do is fool around with blocks."Reciprocal unfriendly fire is returned:"You don't want your child in that class-room; it's a grim, joyless place withdesks in rows and endless worksheets."

One principal concluded his remarksto a large parent group with—I think—aslip: "Here at John Adams ElementarySchool, we all live on the bleeding edge."

No wonder so many teachers engagein parallel play Barricaded behind theirclassroom doors, they escape thedepleting conflicts so rampant amongthe adults outside.

More often, we educators become oneanother's adversaries in a more subtleway—by withholding. School peoplecany around extraordinary insights

another next door has great success,everyone loses.

When a teacher does place value onwhat she knows and musters up thecourage and generosity of spirit to sharean important learning—"I've got thisgreat idea about how to teach mathwithout ability-grouping the kids"—acommon response from fellow teachersis, "Big deal. What's she after, a promo-tion?" Regrettably, as a profession, we donot place much value on our craftknowledge or on those who share it.

Just think. This June, thousands ofteachers and principals will retire. Withthem will go all they have learned overthe years, forever lost to the profession.The following September, newcomersw\\\ arrive to spend their careerspainfully learning what those who justleft had already figured out.

We also become one another's adver-saries through competition. In the cruel

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world of schools, we becomecompetitors for scarceresources and recognition. Oneteacher put it this way: "1 teachin a culture of competition inwhich teaching is seen as anarcane mystery and teachersguard their tricks like greatmagicians."

The guiding principles ofcompetition are, "The betteryou look, the worse I look,"and "The worse you look, thebetter I look." No wonder somany educators root for thefailure of their peers rather thanassist with their success.

Congenial RelationshipsFonunately, schools alsoabound with adult relation-ships that are interactive—andpositive. We all see evidence ofcongeniality in schools. A lot ofit seems to center around food:One teacher makes the coffeeand pours it for a colleague. Oraround the activities of dailyliving: A principal gives a teacher a ndehome so she can care for her sick child.

Congenial relationships are personaland friendly We shouldn't take themlightly; when the alarm rings at 6:00 inthe morning, the alacrity with which aneducator jumps out of bed and preparesfor school is directly related to the adultswith whom he or she will interact thatday The promise of congenial relation-ships helps us shut off that alarm eachday and arise.

CoUegial RelationshipsCongenial relationships represent aprecondition for another kind of adultrelationship highly prized by schoolreformers yet highly elusive: coUegiality.Of the four categories of relationships,coUegiality is the hardest to establish.

Famous baseball manager CaseyStengel once muttered, "Getting goodplayers Is easy Getting 'em to play

together is the hard part." Schools arefull of good players. CoUegiality is aboutgetting them to play together, aboutgrowing a professional learning commu-nity'

When 1 visit a school and look forevidence of coUegiality among teachersand administrators—signs that educa-tors are "playing together"—the indica-tors 1 seek are

• Educators talking with one anotherabout practice.

• Educators sharing their craft knowl-edge.

• Educators observing one anotherwhile they are engaged in practice.

• Educators rooting for one another'ssuccess.

Creating a Culture of CoUegialityThe good schools in which I've workedand obser\'ed have replaced parallel playand adversarial relationships among

adults with congenial andcoUegial relationships. Let meoffer a few examples of what Ihave seen teachers and otherschool leaders do to create aculture of coUegiaUty in theirschools.

Talking About PracticeI once had an appointmentwith a teacher in the facultylounge. On the way in, 1 noteda sign on the door that read,"No students allowed in thefaculty room." It seemed a bitunfriendly, but I rememberedduring my days as a teacherneeding a few moments of fire-free time. When 1 asked theteacher about the sign, shesaid, "That's the written rule inthis teachers' room."

"What's the unwritten rule?"I asked.

'•^ She replied, "No talkingI about teaching in the facultyI lounge,"

Regretfully, I find thatunwritten rule firmly in place in manyteacher and administrator gatherings. Aconversation about the Red Sox or theYankees can be noteworthy and lively—an example of congenial behavior. But aprofessional learning community is builton continual discourse about ourimportant work—conversations aboutstudent evaluation, parent involvement,curriculum development, and teamteaching.

I know one principal who boldlysuggested to the faculty that for oneweek, they try permitting in the facultylounge only education-related conversa-tion. To everyone's amazement, thissimple tnal worked, giving permissionto teachers and administrators alike totalk about their work. They decided tocontinue the practice. They banished theYankees and the Red Sox to the hallwaysand the parking lot—at least until theplayoffs!

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Sharing Craft KnowledgeIn some schools, a t)'pical meetingbegins with a participant or two sharinga front-burner issue about which theyhave recently learned something impor-Lant or useful. A teacher new to theschool might explain how students wereevaluated in a previous workplace. Aparent might share in a PTA meeting anidea about helping children with home-work. A principal might share withother principals a new policy aboutassigning students to classes.

Once the exchange of craft knowl-edge becomes institutionally sanc-tioned, educators no longer feel preten-tious or in violation of a taboo bysharing their insights. A new taboo—against withholding what we know—

replaces the old. Repealed practice soonembeds generous disclosure of craftknowledge into the culture of a schoolor a school system.

Observing One AnotherPerhaps no practice evokes more appre-hension among educators than theprospect of one of our peers campingout in the back of our classroom for afew hours and watching us engage inthe difficult art of teaching. Anotherunwritten rule in most schools seems tobe, "If you want to see me, come inbefore school, during recess, atlunchtime, or after school. If you comein and plunk yourself down while I amteaching, you die!" 1 used to think thiswas a message only parents received.Bui 1 now see that we educators tele-graph it [o one another as well.

Making our practice mutually visiblewill never be easy, because we will neverbe fully confident that we know whatwe're supposed to be domg and thatv/e re doing it well. And we're neverquite sure just how students willbehave. None of us wants to risk beingexposed as incompetent. Yet there is nomore powerful way of learning andimproving on the job than by observingothers and having others observe us.

In one school 1 know, the principaland a few teachers wanted to do awaywith the taboo against observing in oneanother's workspaces. They decided tohold each faculty meeting in the class-room of a different teacher The hostteacher devoted the first 10 minutes to ashow-and-tell: "Here is my reading area.Here is my science corner, and these arestudent projects on the weather."

In two years' time, everyone hadobserved the sacred space of everyoneelse and had in turn been observed intheir own space. Follow-up conversa-tions often ensued: "When I was in yourclassroom last week, you mentionedyour work with cooperative learning.

ward to discuss our observations andshare our learning.

These contracts increase the ovvner-ship of mutual observation, reduce thefear surrounding it, and increase thelikelihood of worthwhile learning.Nonetheless, as a principal, I found thatcreating a school culture in whichmutual visits were commonplace wasenormously difficuk. So 1 created anarray of carrots and sticks, each intendedto address the litany of reasons why "wecan't possibly do this":

• Time: "I'll cover for you or get a sub,"m Administrative fiat: "Before March 31,

1 expect each of you to observe for onehalf-day in the classroom of each teacher

Someone has to make relationships amongadults a discussahle. I can think of no morecrucial role for any school leader.

Can you tell me more?" Such mildobservations reduce the anxietysurrounding visits that probe a teacher'spractices.

But general, unfocused "bathing" inone another's classrooms usually yieldsonly modest results. Deeper and moreinstructive peer observations emergewhen both parties forge an agreementbeforehand. Elements of an effectivecontract might include some of thefollowing:

• Our visits will be reciprocal. Youvisit me this week; 1 visit you nextweek.

• What we see and say will be confi-dential, between us.

• We will decide together, before-hand, just what I will attend to duringthe visit—for instance, how you arehandling two students with attentiondeficit disorder.

• We v-ill agree on the day, time, andlengthof the visit.

• We vvill have a conversation after-

to whom you might be sending studentsnext year." It does make a difference withwhich teacher we place Johnny inSeptember.

• Social pressure: A chart on the wall ofthe faculty room noted who had andhadn't yet observed.

But still nothing happened. Parallelplay continued to rule. Finally oneteacher observed in a faculty meeting—with a bit of hostility, I thought!—"Well,Roland, when was the last time we sawanother principal observing you runninga faculty meeting?"

Well, duh! As the bumper stickerstates so well, "'You can't lead where youwon't go!"

So at the next faculty meeting, aneighboring principal sat at the back ofthe room. At the conclusion of themeeting, she shared her observationsand compared the meeting with facultymeetings at her own school. Then twoteachers and I visited her school,observed its faculty meeting, and

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offered our observations.The logjam was broken. Mutual class-

room observations began. You can leadwhere you will go.

Rooting for One AnotherAll too common in our profession iswidespread awareness of a felloweducator in trouble: the principal undersiege from a group of parents, or a begin-ning teacher being worked over by atough classroom of kids. We monitor thesituation from afar as another person ishung out to dry—and we do nothing.

Imagine, on the other hand, a schoolin which all 32 teachers not only areaware of the punishment tbat you areexperiencing at the hands of those difTi-cult students but also offer to help. Totake a youngster or two into their ownclasses. To invite you into their class-rooms so you can observe them handlingthese same students. To meet with youafter school to reflect on the day and helpplan the next. To share manipulativecurriculum materials capable of engagingstudents with a short attention span.

Imagine each of these 32 teachersbeing vitally interested in the currentfront-bumer issue of every other teacher.One teacher might be working on inte-grating language and social studiesinstruction. Another might be workingon multi-age grouping. Colleagues putrelevant articles into your mailbox.Others share effective practices fromother schools in which they have worked.Everyone on the faculty periodically askshow things are going and what they cando to help. 1 suspect that every one of uswould give a lot to work in this school.

What School Leaders Can DoLeadership has been delightfullydefined as "the ability to foster conse-quential relationships." Easier said thandone- To promote coUegial relationshipsin the school, someone has to makerelationships among adults a discuss-able. Someone must serve as aminesweeper, disarming those land-

If one day weeducators couldonly disclose ourrich craft knowledgeto one another, wecould transform ourschools overnight.

mines. 1 can think of no more crucialrole for any school leader.

What else can a school leader do topromote a culture of collegiality withinthe schoolhouse? Researcher JudithWarren Little found that school leadersfoster collegiality when they

• State expectations explicitly. Forinstance, "I expect all of us to worktogether this year, share our craftknowledge, and help one another inwhatever ways we can."

• Model coliegiaiity. For instance,visibly join in cheering on others orhave another principal observe a facultymeeting.

• Reward (hose who behave ascolleagues. For instance, grant releasetime, recognition, space, materials, andfunds to those who collaborate.

• Protect those who engage in thesecollegia! behaviors. A principal shouldnot say for instance, "Janet has a greatidea that she wants to share with us

today" This sets Janet up for a possibleharsh response. Rather, the principalmight say, "1 obser\'ed something inJanet's classroom last week that blew mysocks off, and I've asked her to share itwith us." In this way leaders can runinterference for other educators.

A precondition for doing anything tostrengthen our practice and improve aschool is tbe existence of a collegialculture in which professionals talkabout practice, share their craft knowl-edge, and observe and root for thesuccess of one another. Without these inplace, no meaningful improvement—no staff or curriculum development,no teacher leadership, no studentappraisal, no team teaching, no parentinvolvement, and no sustainedchange—is possible.

Empowerment, recognition, satisfac-tion, and success in our work—all inscarce supply within our schools—willnever stem from going it alone as amasterful teacher, principal, or student,no matter how accomplished one is.Empowerment, recognition, satisfac-tion, and success come only from beingan active participant within a masterfulgroup—a group of colleagues. IS

'For my thinking about coikgiaiity, I amdeeply indebted to the work of JudithWarren Little: School Success and Staff Dewl-opment in Urban Desegregated Schools (Centerfor Action Research, 1981) and "Nomis ofCollegiality and Experimentation" (EducationResearch Journal. 1982).

Editor's note: This paper is based on the1 Uh Annual William Charles McMillan 111Lecture, delivered by the author at GrossePointe Academy, Crosse Pointe Farms,Michigan, March 2, 2005.

Copyright © 2006 Roland S. Barth.

Roland S. Barth (rsb44@aol.com) is aformer public school teacher and prin-cipal and Founding Director of the Princi-pals' Center at Harvard University. He isauthor of Lessons Learned: ShapingRelationships and the Culture of theWorkplace iCotwln Press, 2003).

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