When the Obstacle Is the Way

Sarah McKibben

School Culture Instructional Strategies

Credit: Overearth / SHUTTERSTOCK

In The Obstacle Is the Way (Penguin, 2014), author and modern Stoic Ryan Holiday says that history's greatest thinkers and philosophers have one thing in common: they learned to turn adversity into advantage. To overcome obstacles, Holiday explains, we must see them not as an impediment, but as "an opportunity to gain a new foothold, move forward, or go in a new direction."

It is in that spirit that we present this special issue of Educational Leadership. We acknowledge that it's not an easy time to be an educator (to put it mildly). But the problems in K–12 schools, while often systemic and persistent, are not immovable. At least that's what the authors in this issue seek to communicate.

The 10 challenges addressed here didn't materialize out of thin air; they are the product of a careful selection process. In February 2023, our editors sent out a survey to educators (including ASCD authors, members, affiliates, and Express and SmartBrief subscribers) asking: "What do you think is the single biggest challenge facing K–12 education today?" We combed through hundreds of responses and grouped them together in major themes. Once when we landed on the 10 most-cited challenges, staff from ASCD and ISTE met to select and invite a diverse group of authors—from university researchers to a charter school leader—to share their expertise in said areas. We weren't looking for a rehash of age-old problems, we shared, but practical ideas and strategies for addressing these challenges in schools. As you'll find, these authors came through in spades.

Some are familiar faces to EL readers, like USC's dean of education Pedro Noguera, who teamed up with his son Joaquín Noguera, assistant professor of educational leadership at Loyola Marymount University, to address what it takes to match equity "proclamations" in schools with action. Others are new to the pages of EL, like Chris Torres, co-principal investigator for University of Michigan's Educator Workforce Project, who puts forth research-based principles for plugging the "leaky bucket" of teacher turnover.

By no means is this a compilation of all the challenges schools and districts are facing this year or the only group of experts who can write about them. But it's an attempt to take a deep dive into some of the issues keeping educators up at night—student behavior, learning gaps, mental health issues, and more. You'll find that each solution-oriented article is accompanied by a resource or tool for further exploration, as well as reflection questions to spark discussions among your school teams.

The biggest obstacles in education aren't insurmountable roadblocks, but opportunities to think through and approach things differently.

We are optimistic that these articles will provide the field with some hope and guidance at the start of a new school year. The biggest obstacles in education, they make clear, aren't insurmountable roadblocks, but opportunities to think through and approach things differently.

As Marcus Aurelius wrote, "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way."

Let this issue be your compass.

Reflect & Discuss

"Repairing the Leaky Bucket" by Chris Torres

➛ Do you focus more on recruitment and hiring of teachers or on retaining teachers? How might you find a better balance between these two aspects of keeping your school staffed?

➛ In your first year teaching, did you know clearly what was expected of you? If so, how did the school let you know this? Do you know the expectations for your role in your current position?

"Are We Teaching Care or Control?" by Carla Shalaby

➛ Take a walk around your school and look at the messaging on posters and bulletin boards. Do they emphasize rule following or care and self-accountability?

➛ What would it look like if your school practiced Shalaby's five transformative behavior standards? How might teacher-student interactions change?

"The Someday/Monday Dilemma" by Justin Reich

➛ Think of a "someday" dream about your school, classroom, or practice. What's one small change you can make next week to head toward that goal?

➛ What is a "how might we" question that can spark a conversation about your someday goal? Who in your school or community would be valuable to bring into that discussion?

"Creating Clarity on Equity in Schools" by Pedro Noguera and Joaquín Noguera

➛ Would you describe the equity plan in your school or district as clear and well-communicated? Why or why not?

➛ What are the greatest challenges in sustaining impactful equity work in schools? How can they be addressed?

➛ How closely is your equity work tied to the “Five Essentials” as the authors describe them?

"4 C's for Better Student Engagement" by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Alejandro Gonzalez

➛ Have you found your students were more easily distracted the last year or so than they were before most schools went all-remote? Why do you think that is?

➛ What steps could you take to help students see greater relevance in their learning? Or to create a "warm" classroom or school climate of high expectations?

"Reducing Teacher Workloads" by Chase Mielke

➛ How can principals better elicit and respond to feedback from overloaded teachers?

➛ What's the first step your school would need to take to commit to the three "Agreements for Radical Acceptance of Finitude" described here?

➛ What is one daily practice you could undertake to become more efficient within your existing workload?

"To Address Learning Gaps, Go Deeper" by Kristina Kyles-Smith

➛ Are any of the remediation pitfalls described by Kyles-Smith familiar to you? Why is it so easy for schools to fall into them?

➛ In what ways has your school or district sought to address learning gaps from the pandemic? Do you feel they will be constructive in terms of supporting long-term gains?

➛ What are the biggest barriers to integrating high-quality student work as Kyles-Smith describes it into the curriculum? How can they be addressed?

"Let's Talk About Mental Health by Ross Szabo

➛ How does your school teach students about mental health? Where could you do better?

➛ How would a common vocabulary around mental health challenges help your students and staff?

➛ Do you feel comfortable sharing stories about your mental health with students? Why or why not?

"A Matter of Respect" by Betina Hsieh

➛ What routines, resources, and practices in the workplace help you to feel most respected as a professional?

➛ For school leaders, think about the concrete ways you provide autonomy and respect to the educators in your building. What's working well? Where might you improve?

"Protecting Students' Freedom to Learn" by Jonathan Friedman and Sam LaFrance

➛ The authors say laws to restrict what educators can teach about, or which texts are acceptable, have led to "an epidemic of self-censorship." Have you recently second-guessed whether to teach certain content, texts, or discussion topics because of such pressures?

➛ For teachers: If restrictions like these operate in your state/district, what one thing would you like your school leaders to do to help you navigate them?