Lessons from Late Night
I am one of those people who just refused to watch the new Jay Leno show at 10 PM on NBC. It isn’t that I don’t like Leno. But old paradigms are really hard to break. The Leno show was supposed to come on after the news, and not before. His monologue is just funnier up against Letterman than it is standing out there by itself.
So it was with great interest that I began to read and hear about Leno’s possible move back to late night. You see, here is the thing. Not only are the dwindling numbers for Leno taking viewers away from local affiliates and their 11 PM newscasts, but Conan O’Brien’s failing numbers after the late news is causing people to go to bed with their television sets tuned to another channel. As a result, even the morning news shows are taking a hit.
The bigger question is this: if the take Leno away from the 10 PM slot, what is NBC going to do with five hours of prime time broadcasting space that is now empty.
This got me thinking about school (what doesn’t, right?).
I teach in a middle school. Nearly every class of kids that come to me are different. Not just individuals, but each class is a distinct group with distinct behaviors. So now I’m wondering how those behaviors are impacted by the “lead-in show.” What is it about the teacher they have before me that could impact good or bad behavior? On the flip side, I am somebody’s “lead-in show,” too. How are these kids acting in the class that follows me?
All this leads me to think about the importance of culture on our campuses and making the right choices when it is time to tenure teachers. Principals should think about the long term consequences of tenure decisions. What happens if, as in the case of NBC, the gamble doesn’t pay off? Where do you move that teacher? How do you fill that time slot? What does that do to other teachers who are already struggling?
Don’t get me wrong here. Leno didn’t suddenly become a bad comedian or talk show host at 10 o’clock. He’s doing what he always did. It just isn’t working in his present location. Teachers are the same. Just because a teacher isn’t doing a bang up job in one school, or one class, or one time slot doesn’t mean he or she is a bad teacher. Maybe the principal just made a bad programming decision.
At any rate, it has me thinking. Share your thoughts in the comments section.