TOPICAL LIFE mSTORIES
5.4 TELLING THE STORIES OF PRINCIPALS AS TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS
5.4.1 THE INITIATE
5.4.1.2 BEYOND THE NARRATIVE
Chapter Five: Topical Life Histories
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'Ruth was my best friend, we spent a lot of time together, doing homework and other things. She's stillmyfriend.'
'There was a teacher who lived opposite us, she helped me a lot with my homework and other things '.
'I sang in the school choir. Mr Dumisani, my music teacher took us to Mafekeng. 1 enjoyed music and I'm still enjoying it.'
Other teachers also impacted on her and I suspect she began romanticizing the teaching profession. 'When 1 saw my teachers, 1 liked what they were doing. 1 wanted to stand infront ofthe class and talk to the children' (she demonstrated with great enthusiasm).Itappears as though some of her happier times were spent in high school.
Predictably harder times were ahead. Her most humiliating experience as a scholar must have been at St Chad's College. It was at this boarding institution that she became the object of ridicule and discrimination.Itwas painful enough being treated like a pariah by the other race groups but to be ridiculed by your own ...Even her prefectship didn't give her any respite if anything it antagonized them further.
Thembi's tolerance and endurance were put to the test, but she could not yield because of her brother. 'My brother was so harsh. And 1 prayed, God please let me present something from myfamily to my children, my neighbours, my relatives. ' So the constant interplay between the painful and the pleasing punctuated Thembi's life.
As a full time teacher she pursued a part time teaching diploma. She couldn't possibly resign to become a full time student, teaching was her only form of income and created a critical means of stability in her life. Her various attempts at correspondence studies proved to be a long and lonely road. The apartheid regime made no attempt to upgrade its unqualified African teachers; in fact it promoted the ideology of inferior education for the African people. With the odds stacked against her, Thembi remained resolute. To exacerbate matters, her husband was quite the chauvinist who constantly threatened her career: 'My husband was very jealous, because one day he burnt my books while 1 was preparing to go the examination room, so 1 didn't go ... '
Chapter Five: Topical Life Histories L Bhagowat
But life went on and so did the novice teacher. At her first school she felt like a fish out of water. Her principal ruled by keepingh~rdistance and expecting the teachers to perfonn under any circumstances. She was an autocrat not so much by action but more by attitude: 'Mrs Pongola didn't talk much.
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you explained a problem to her she would just look at you. You didn't know whether she accepted your reason or not••• I didn't know whether I was troubling her. I didn't know whether she was sick...' Such indifference would certainly send everyone scattering for cover. As can be expected team work was non existent because teachers felt secure working in isolation. If one examines Thembi's leadership, it's clear that she makes a deliberate attempt not to emulate such inhumanity for obvious reasons, supporting the theory that there's much to be learnt from bad practice as there is from good practice.Things took a turn for the better at her next school. There she had the opportunity to better her practice. The teachers were prepared to assist; the principals were supportive, encouraging and motivating. One principal in particular took her under her wing personally and professionally:
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you told her, you have no money to buy food she would give you the money. Also she never told others your problem.' This principal also motivated Thembi by acknowledging her work and presenting her with merit awards. So in spite of the appalling conditions of the school site the teachers did the best they could.Feeling inspired, Thembi took on leadership roles by organizing all kinds of extra curricular activities for the pupils. If one looks at Thembi, the principal today, she does emulate the compassion and caring of her fonner principal. Her attitude demonstrates the power of modelling good practice.
Hurdling To Transformation
When it comes to leading transfonnation at the school site she is tasked with steering away from the iceberg (gigantic impending danger). Admittedly, leading change in any institution is a mammoth task but what does one do without the basic tools for change. The site remains in an abysmal state with minimal learning materials. Some learners in South Africa are surfmg the net while the learners at this institution
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haven't had exposure to a simple overhead projector - there is no electricity! Thembi believes that it is the Department's responsibility to provide the basic physical structure that is desperately needed. After 10 years of democracy is it too much to ask for a disadvantaged school to be granted its dues? Transformation policies advocate self reliant schools. But can this historically disadvantaged school suddenly become self reliant and operate like a business? We would be deluding ourselves if we responded in the affirmative.
Thembi's initiative to bring on board the different stakeholders, is making limited progress. Yes, there is a governing body in operation but their involvement with the school is limited. The general parent body chooses to sustain a safe distance. The difficulties are that many live below the bread line and the illiteracy rate is high.
However Thembi claims to be transforming in other areas: she adopts a democratic leadership approach. She encourages and values the inputs of all stakeholders.
Decision making is participative - she maintains that by allowing staff to be involved in the decision making process they will take ownership of the tasks at hand. However due to the data collection visits being terminated prematurely, I was unable to ascertain details concerning these efforts to transform.
Coming from a difficult background Thembi identifies with the community and the teachers. Some of her struggles have been their struggles so she easily sympathizes and often empathizes with them. She believes that it is important to listen to their problems and help them fmd solutions. She has this to say about her job: I'm enjoying it I likeithere. I'm enjoying the community. '
The Initiate Disembarks
Thembi who had been a willing participant up to the point of sharing the difficulties of her life both personally and professionally decided to disembark at this stage. She maintained that she was not in a position to comment on how she was attempting to lead transformation at her school. Details of her withdrawal have been captured in Section 3.4, Chapter Three: Designing A Methodology. But just to recap briefly,
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the main reason for her discontinuation was attributed to her being affected by a bout of illness.
But on a positive note Thembi consented to her story being told and for this I am eternally grateful to her. In theorizing about why further data collection of this principal was not possible the following issues surfaced:
• What emerged as a cathartic effect developed into a traumatic encounter.
As I interacted with the initiate during the interview I sensed that she was experiencing a kind of release- she seized the opportunity to get things off her chest and there I was a most attentive listener, listening to her pour her heart out. But it seemed that all this emotional outpouring soon opened too many old wounds causing trauma and in order to block out the pain, she chose to
terminate the interview.
• Since the subject had been forthcoming about her experiences up to the point of being appointed principal she obviously didn't want to comment in detail on this part ofher life.
Thembi was clearly inundated with the difficulties of heading a disadvantaged school located in a poverty stricken community. She gave the distinct impression that she was barely managing to keep her head above the water - a subject that she obviously didn't want to elaborate on. Anyway how does one come out and admit that one's ship may be sinking?
• The promotion to the principalship raised some questions which the subject assumed would have to be answered ifthe interview sessions continued.
As I recall the initiate mentioned three things that had a direct bearing on her being appointed to the principalship: fIrstly she mentioned that she was recalled from sick leave by her principal at the time to act as principal;
secondly she admitted that she had no intention of applying for the post of principal but she was influenced by the staff to submit an application and thirdly she wasn't very explicit about her qualifIcations.
• Having the odds stacked against herfor periods in her life she felt she didn't have to open herselfto any form ofinvestigation.
Thembi's life thus far had been painful; she constantly grappled with difficulties and didn't want to open herself to any more pain. She was entitled
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to this decision so I retracted.
• While she didn't mind telling her story she prefe"ed to maintain her professional silence (revolving around her role as principal) lestshe might
be judged.
It was apparent that Thembi wanted the world to know her as a person but she didn't want the world to know her as a principal. It may be that she is so overcome with the challenge of transforming her school that she didn't want to be judged. However by telling her story she couldbesignalling for assistance.
Her life history indicates that she is no stranger to confronting challenges but she feels powerless in her position as principal and is perhaps signalling for assistance
• In the final analysis she wanted part ofher story told because she constantly alluded to the diffICulties she experiences as principal, and her responses were punctuated with some of the efforts she was making to lead her school in transformation.
It appears as though the initiate wants to share her story because she wants the world to know that in spite of her challenges and obstacles she perseveres and remains committed to her job as principal and again would appreciate a lifeline in the form of some kind of support system.
Inclosing it is important to examine the ramifications that the above mentioned issues have on the constructions of leadership. Leadership theorists (Bass and Avolio, 1994;
Maxwell, 2002) claim that leadership depends on the context and the people and that it takes place in groups and that it involves risk taking and vision building. In analyzing Thembis' story in the light of leadership, it canbe concluded that Thembi feels limited by her own lack of skills and expertise, the lack of support from the community and from the department. Therefore she constructs herself in the only way she knows how, she treads carefully by keeping the school functioning at its current rate and hopes that things will sort themselves out. Throughout her life she hadto put out the fires and she continues to be doing so as a principal.
Chapter Five: Topical Life Histories