A Test of Leadership

Legacy is a strange thing and after teaching in Indonesia for 6 months and living here for 9 months, my service continues to perplex me. 2014 brought a new semester one where the school grounds are 186 voices quieter and I have 12 hours less of teaching each week because at SMK (vocational high school) during the second semester all my eleventh graders are off on practicum to gain real world experience. Although, there are more empty rooms, more spaces for motorcycles and less students—our first day back at school the teachers and staff were encountered with another surprise that our Principal would be rotating to a different school. To my surprise I was among privileged ears and was actually the first to know because my principal told me over vacation. Usually, I am the last to find out anything so flexibility and patience are a virtue in Peace Corps service in Indonesia.

What becomes of a school when its leader leaves and staff, teachers and students must all transition again to a new leader?

My school was opened in 2007. It’s only been standing for 5 years now going on 6. Two years ago, my principal was rotated here. He has been a principal for about 18 years and come 2015 the same year I would return to America was his expected retirement date. In the two years he has been here, he brought a school that had little to nothing and expanded it further every semester. He had workshops and labs created for each major, he got a Native Speaker to work at his school to improve English, and he has made a school library. Teachers come to school on time, not one class has been canceled since I’ve been here and he holds both students and teachers accountable for their responsibilities and attendance. I was impressed when I came here because so many of the horror stories I heard from PST about principals who didn’t care and counterparts who never showed up didn’t happen to me.

In America, we like to say that a team is only as strong as its weakest link. The same can be true here but it is more so a community reliant on top-down structure. Thus, a school can only be as strong as the principal that leads it. We’ll see how this is put to the test with the transition in leadership and the way everyone receives this new principal. So far the future of SMKN 1 Cikedung can go either way. The new principal was an English teacher at a vocational school in the city and has been newly promoted so this will be her first school and experience serving as Principal. She could be open-minded, she could be stern, and she could also be lenient. Her leadership and approach to this position could very well change the dynamics, system and work ethic already in place but she can also improve upon what has already been built. A leader leaves us today, but the system and the people he inspired will be the testament of his legacy. Sustainability comes alive when followers take the initiative to lead themselves.

In addition to a new principal, today I met a new counterpart who will be joining our team—making us now 7 English teachers and a 2013 standard curriculum that cuts English hours in half. Just when things begin to settle down and start aligning in my service; Indonesia, the Dinas, the universe throw me a few more hurdles to keep life interesting.