I've been trying to catch up with work today before teachers are back in the district this week and Toby Keith's song "Get Got" came up in my playlist. There's a line in there that catches my attention every time I hear it:
"Ask forgiveness, not permission."
See, the reason it catches my attention is because I've heard colleagues say it, and it bothers me just as much when I hear it from them as it does when I hear it in this song.
While I try very hard not to make a move without first asking what's best for kids, and while I sometimes I think I'm right when others are wrong when it comes to how to answer that question - The thing that grates on my nerves is the audacity of purposely doing something in a school that, had you asked permission, you most likely would have been turned down for.
To me it flies against every lesson I've learned about collaboration, about shared leadership, about group decision-making, and about respect for others. What it says to me is:
"I am right, and anyone else who disagrees with me is wrong."
Yep, I really hate it when I hear that line.
