Leslie Armstrong

WIPRO URBAN STEM

Becoming a Tempered Radical chapters 3-7

Where am I ?

Where do I aim to be ?

February 18, 2015

Leslie Armstrong

WIPRO URBAN STEM

February 18, 2015

A scatter plot graph would represent my varied positions in the

tempered radical continuum. This connect the dot pattern is the
result of various factors. Institutional edicts, administrative
mandates, colleague relationships and expectations from all of
the above. I would not feel comfortable minimizing the field of
the tempered continuum, but the wisdom of being an educator for
approximately twenty years prevents me from expressing falsities
that I cannot sustain. A straightforward representation that would
keep me afloat would be a combination of Broadening Impact
through Negotiation and Leveraging Small Wins.
Reiterating the point that was mentioned in the previous
paragraph, the tempered radical role I play depends on the
audience that I am addressing and the setting or conditions I am
working within. For the royal court of the institution and
administration, I must not openly usurp their authority or be
perceived as being contrary. I respect the role that institutions
and administration play on the educational stage because of the
obvious structure and resources that they provide, but I disagree
with the hold they have on change, innovation and independent
thinking. With administration, I wish to leverage small wins
through the positive results I expect to achieve by working with
colleagues and students. Artful negotiation with my colleagues
has broadened the WIPRO impact within our school. Of course, I
would like this impact to be more expansive, but the level of
resistance to change has decreased.
I can attribute this correlation to the quick adjustment of my
management style. Volleying among my roles as a pseudo
administrator, teacher leader, STEM coach and a classroom
teacher, I soon learned to deemphasize the authoritative parts
and emphasize community coaching and collegial empowerment.
An unrelenting feeling of misalignment with my colleagues is an
unnerving feeling that I contend with daily. The change in my role
at the school has given some of my colleagues the idea that I

Leslie Armstrong

WIPRO URBAN STEM

February 18, 2015

have sold out. Culturally, as an African American, that is a title

that can be connected to our historical struggle. We have come a
long way in regards to civil rights, but are disjointed in our idea of
professional progression. Professionally I face the questioning of
my efficacy as a STEM coach. To address the social connotation of
being thought of as a sell out, I tend to inject humor and use
this encounter as an opportunity to begin collaborative
conversations about change. Actively listening has
deemphasized the status tag of my role and emphasized the idea
of a shared approach. The work can begin once that has been
accomplished; one teacher at a time. The second phase involves
working within their students directly. This technique enables my
colleagues to see that I have not abandoned my role as a
classroom teacher as well.

Goals
After reading this book, the practice of setting clear and
attainable goals seems a less arduous task. The following are a
list of goals that I have formulated in regards to moving ahead as
a tempered radical.
Continue to identify windows of opportunity to accomplish
small victories
Remain cognizant of the social, cultural and racial audiences
that I encounter; for the purposes of adjustment along the
tempered continuum.
Be willing to tactfully address recurrent issues within our
school community that may seem unpopular or
uncomfortable for most individuals to expose
Accept each persons position on the tempered radical
continuum.

Leslie Armstrong

WIPRO URBAN STEM

February 18, 2015

Lessons learned
The content in this book has solidified the errors that I have
made in my desire to cause change. The idea of organizing
collective action was and is not the role that would benefit me as
long as I work within the system. Brackish confrontation will
produce a negative effect, but tempered tactfulness will keep the
momentum going. Intermingling negotiations to leverage small
wins is the package I wish to combine to broaden the impact of
the collective work that I and my colleagues have completed.
Identifying the cause of resistance is an idea that had not come to
mind, but is valid when working with other cultural and
subcultural groups.