What Are You Centering? The Oscar’s Slap and the Implications for Educational Leaders
Education is a microcosm of society. This week’s violent incident at the Oscars illuminates the types of leadership and centering that occurs within educational spaces. As I consumed the multitude of articles, posts, videos, and blogs, I saw four key centering frames, each exemplifying the challenge of creating equitable education spaces for all students. Given our current context as teachers, I began to ask of myself and others, what are you centering? How does your leadership reflect various stances? And is that your intention?
Will Smith as Disciplinary Leader
Immediately after the incident, there were a barrage of posts and videos celebrating Will for his ability to discipline Chris Rock with both his curse-laden outbursts and the physical assault. These posts had the leadership stance of “whatever it takes to get folks in line.” I have seen educational leaders engage this type of leadership. They use fear, intimidation, retaliation, and punitive decision-making to “handle” teachers and students. They are also leaders who disparage their colleagues and claim it is all for the sake of the students.
Foucault details this type of leadership in Discipline and Punish, a primer on how schools discipline the minds and bodies of students and teachers, whether it be through the regimented learning schedule or the physical control of the body. Decades after Foucault’s writings, teachers are still sharing horror stories of not being able to use the restroom, for example, and we have instances of students being physically harmed as a means of correcting their behavior and existence.
Chris Rock as the Ableist Bad Joke Teller
As more of the nation reacted to the violent incident, some began to frame the issue as the result of Chris’s distasteful jokes. These posts acknowledge the beginning and the end of the incident but disregard the violence acted upon Chris. According to these posts, Chris deserved to be slapped because he diminished the seriousness of another person’s illness and “he should know better.” I liken these posts to inconsistent leadership enactment. The decision-making, rules, and process vary depending on who is involved. This type of leadership is based on a shifting definition of equity. Processes and protocols matter only to the extent that they align with the leader’s current perspective.
This type of leadership creates a toxic work environment, as students and teachers are unsure of the rules and boundaries on any given day. These are the leaders who ignore the systemic inequities of the education system, concluding that the issue is that parents just don’t participate and students just don’t care about school. These leaders are of the mindset that students get what they deserve. If the education system failed them, then it was because of something they did.
Jada Pinkett Smith as the Incapable
In a society that says it wants to create equal opportunity there remains barriers a common sense belief that not everyone is capable of success. In particular, people of color and women are still considered to need assistance in their decision-making about their bodies, their careers, and their sexuality. Posts aligned to this frame highlight the need for Jada to be “protected” by her powerful husband — for him to decide how to best respond to a perceived loss of dignity. These posts hold Jada incapable of reacting to the incident appropriately — her eye roll wasn’t adequate.
Educational leaders who engage in this type of leadership often dismiss the opinions of parents, students, and teachers, deeming them unknowledgeable and thus unable to provide significant input. These are the leaders who create processes wherein all information flows from them and the decision-making process is hidden. This type of leadership also manifests in curriculum planning wherein educational leaders decide that students are incapable of handling rigorous content and AP level courses. They dumb down the curriculum to create “success.”
Lupita Nyong’o as Bystander
Days after the incident, societal focus shifted to those in the audience. Still frames and audio clips of the audience showed a range of response. However, what one doesn’t see is anyone interceding or interjecting as to the inhumanity of the incident. No one insists that the show be stopped or that there is an explicit and immediate response to the violence — the show simply goes on. This type of bystander reaction is unfortunately common in educational spaces as well. Educational leaders are witness to injustice and inequity, yet they fail to act. They express their shock, dismay, and discontent, but they don’t place themselves in the action. Educational leaders who step back when equity situations arise comfort themselves by pointing out the numerous others that could have played a role.
This type of leadership creates despair as teachers and students recognize that there is no one willing to advocate for what is humane. Students react by consistently testing the boundaries, hoping for a response that indicates that the leaders care about them. Teachers follow suit, often engaging in questionable behavior either through neglecting their responsibilities or abusing their power.
What are You Centering as a Leader?
It would be utopian to say that the above leadership types can be easily removed from the educational system. In my early days as a teacher leader, I enacted disciplinary leadership. Rooted in my own trauma as a teacher and student, I regularly disparaged teachers. It would take nearly a decade for me to see the impact of my actions and to understand that there were other types of leadership styles that I could leverage. I didn’t magically learn the other options, rather it was through opportunities to listen and see colleagues in their full humanity that supported my leadership development. Often in education we ignore the needs of the adults.
It is clear from the Oscars incident that Will’s trauma as a child and his recent public scrutiny resulted in him selecting the disciplinary action. In a recent memoir he notes the impact of watching his father brutally attack his mother. Will’s actions illuminate the fact that he may not have had the support and opportunity to learn how to leverage other types of responses.
It is possible that Lupita and others in the crowd had a desire to act but worried about the burden of such action. Once you step into a moment, you don’t have full control of how that moment unfolds. Educational leaders committed to equity must be willing to take on the risk of courageous conversations.
While Jada is not responsible for her husband’s actions, she is accountable to express her experience in that moment and what she desired as an outcome. Was the violence Will committed aligned to her desires? If not, then how does she want to be involved in the decision-making process?
During the pandemic there have been numerous situations that were equally disturbing as the Oscar’s incident. Whether it be the latest incident of teacher upon student violence such as the 2020 Teacher of the Year from Indiana teacher who in February of 2022 slapped a student over the student’s refusal to remove his hoodie or the repeated attacks against curriculum that teaches the historical experience of marginalized communities, there remains a need for educational leaders to not simply create punitive policies, stand back, or make unilateral decisions.
If we truly seek an equitable educational environment, none of the patterns that unfolded from the Oscars incident will suffice. There is not an equitable solution that dismisses the humanity of Will, Chris, Jada, Lupita, or the crowd. Instead, leaders must center empathy and humanity to actively hold everyone accountable. We need educational leaders who can see everyone as a part of the solution.
This is possible if equity-minded leaders set it as their intention and if every educational leader stands in solidarity, offering support and requiring accountability.
Dr. Lanette Jimerson is a writer, educator and scholar. She helps equity-minded leaders expand their impact and craft a career trajectory that centers their professional and financial needs. Book a conversation to learn how she supports leaders in transition. Check out 12 Tips to Transitioning Careers to get started on your journey
