Faisal Al-Jehani

Al-Watan newspaper IN a previous article I have discussed about the shortcomings of education leaders within our schools, which have negatively affected the whole educational process, especially because of the dominance of these leaders in the general education system. The success and failure of a school depends mainly on education leaders being the driving force of educational activities. Unfortunately, many of our education leaders lack the essential qualities of a leader as well as the qualities of an educational leader. Lack of cultural awareness is a major issue. As a result, education leaders will not have the obsession to develop their institutions with a passion of civilization with all its dimensions. This cultural awareness is essential for a nation that strives to restore its lost civilization. New leaders do not possess the essential skills to promote social interaction with the rest of players within the school. Moreover, these young leaders are unable to deal with the shortcomings that may occur in their subordinates including teachers and administrators. Let’s discuss some of the shortcomings of present school leaders: A successful leader is the one who can control his emotions while dealing with individuals and events at school. Therefore, when the leader unleashes his mood, it is difficult for those around him to deal with him. There is no doubt that the changing mood would prevent the leader from carrying out his work with precision and balance. Perhaps one of the most prominent manifestations of this tumultuous mood is the dramatic change in decisions and judgments. As a result, a teacher who is considered wonderful today will be the one who deserves punishment tomorrow. Some education leaders focus their attention on some aspects of education, neglecting others. This will have a negative impact on achieving the real goals of education. Some of them limit the circle of their attention to the morning assembly and make sure all students stay in line properly observing discipline. There is no doubt that this increased focus on discipline would lead to the neglect of many of the educational objectives. These leaders will be paying little attention to detect gifted students and make programs to develop their skills and capabilities as well as to enhance the school’s learning environment. These officials will be using much of their time in checking attendance of teachers and ensuring cleanliness of school toilets. Many of these leaders would not have any knowledge of Mawhiba, an organization that works for development of gifted students, its objectives and activities. Therefore, they will not be bothered about connecting their kids with other talented students in the country. These weak leaders would not find time to establish educational, social and cultural relations with the surrounding reality of the school as well as with the most prominent manifestations in the neighborhood, such as cultural, literary and sports institutions in the city in order to strengthen their activities. The excessive attention to the duties of teachers has led to the neglect of their rights. School managers would pay little attention to the needs of teachers in classrooms and laboratories in order to carry out their duties in the best manner. A successful leader will not impose his decisions on others rather he will try to bring all players together for the successful organization of events. He will be following a dialogue system that puts everyone in the heart of the event. Most of our school leaders are given the responsibility to organize educational events while teachers and administrative officials have no role in these activities except implementing the leaders’ orders. The dialogue councils must be introduced first at educational and scientific institutions in order to brainstorm ideas. The irony is that those who call for teachers to have an influential voice in the formation of academic curricula do not encourage teachers to raise their voice in order to protect their rights. With regard to school examinations, I have noticed several loopholes that weaken the system to test the knowledge and capabilities of students. New education leaders are interested only to conduct exams with perfection in its outward system, appointing committees to ensure accuracy and objectivity of evaluation.