We continue to struggle with focus. Too much randomness on the part of some staff and administration. I'm talking about an effort to revise a curriculum that we all teach, is aligned to career and technical education standards, and has been the cornerstone of our school for decades. We've been trying to create a revised course for months. I have been replaced as chair of the effort by a woman I respect and who has experience in career development. During a meeting this morning, three folks started with "what if we did..." comments that totally set a different direction for the course.

I responded forcefully that we have been working on this for months and now is NOT the time to brainstorm and experiment. I felt a deep shot of adrenalin and was a bit out of sorts. However, after the meeting, five colleagues congratulated me for speaking what they were feeling and were too timid to say. One in particular pointed out that some of the objectors may be unwilling to teach the course, so they are dragging their feet as a way to keep the changes from taking place. I liked that idea.

Now my understanding of how change can be effective involves using the processes to determine a course of action and then stay on that course for at least long enough to implement it. One teacher in particular is using verbal bullying to make her random observations. She cuts me off and continues to be completely random with her ideas. While brilliant, she also is unable to set a clear direction for her thoughts. She's extremely tough to deal with.