Who's really showing leadership here?

A courageous letter to the Minister from an Auckland principal:

Greetings

I am professionally and personally insulted by your remarks as quoted in the
NZ Herald this morning and wish to issue you a challenge and invitation to
stand by your comment and prove its validity. If you are a politician with
integrity I trust you will accept my invitation.

You are quoted in the Herald as saying that in schools that are not
implementing national standards leadership capability is an issue.

I have not implemented national standards in my school and now a government
minister has questioned my leadership capability in the public arena.

My invitation and challenge to you Minister is to meet with me at Valley
School and for you to demonstrate to me how I am lacking in leadership
capability.
You can be absolutely assured of a cordial and respectful welcome to Valley
School, a nice cup of tea with refreshments and a challenging professional
discussion in pleasant surroundings.

My opposition to national standards has nothing to do with lacking
leadership capability  - the easy road for me would be to become a compliant
leader and follow your path. I believe I am displaying leadership capability
of the highest order in putting the learning, welfare and future of my
pupils in front of everything else.

This is why I invite you to come to Valley School and show me where I am
lacking - you will not find me lacking in providing a top class learning
environment, nor do I believe I am lacking in making sure achievement data
is used effectively to inform teaching and learning. You will not find me
lacking in providing quality professional development for my staff, nor will
you find me lacking in setting high expectations for our kids. You will not
find me lacking in having a passion for kids and having a strong
determination and professional integrity for doing what is right to provide
the best I can for our future.

My leadership capability, professional ethics and integrity means I cannot
be a compliant leader who follows a path that has no research to prove its
validity, and in fact is a path that has research to show it does NOT lead
to the outcomes we both want - improved achievement for all our children.

Perhaps though you know something about my  19 years as a Principal and my
leadership capability that I have missed? I look forward to meeting with
you.


Thank you

Roger Goulstone
Principal
Valley School
Pukekohe