Monday, August 27, 2012
The weakest link
Interdependence of a group comes in many forms. The most recent group I have been is a group of educators who create and deliver curriculum. Our interdependence is not always obvious because we teach different things and spend most of our days in separate class rooms. When an educator falls short, we are reminded that a system is in place. Students are very quick to notice inconsistencies and even quicker to complain about them. Because the educators represent the school and its students, an educator who fails to keep up their work load in the system brings down moral of student body and discredits the institution. Our credibility as educators is what sets our academy apart from the rest and keeps us bringing in new students. In this group, lack of functionality could cost us our accreditation and our reputation of excellence. Dramatic as it may seem, at times, I think the weakest link has more power over a group than the strongest player.
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I related to your post because I have worked in school systems for many years. I have seen how, as you wrote about, an educator who didn’t do what she was supposed to do brought down the morale of the student body and definitely discredited the institution. Luckily, after the teacher (the weakest link) was let go, the other junior high teachers banded together to rely on each other (interdependence) and work extra hard to try to teach the students what they should have been learning the year before. One of the repercussions of this situation was that the normally reciprocal relationship (interrelationship) of the school providing a good education and the parents spreading the news about how good the school also broke down, leaving the school with a poor reputation that took years to build back up.
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