ABSTRACT
The myth of meritocracy is predicated on the belief that each person has the same opportunity for success and that success in school is based solely on effort. The belief in educational competition compels people to want to hide failures instead of collectively learning from them. Missed opportunities to learn are the result of focusing on competition, accountability, evaluation, and deficit thinking instead of organizing learning. Misidentified problems grow out of lost opportunities for learning. Leaders who enact continuous improvement will develop valuable leadership skills (e.g., working with data, humility, communication, fostering a psychologically safe learning organization) that are central to addressing the myths and mistakes of the educational system. Misplaced blame is in part due to misrepresentation of the reasons for improvement. The National Educational Leadership Preparation and PSEL standards invite leaders to prioritize continuous improvement with an equity lens and to be attuned to creating the conditions for improvement in their organizations.
