Learning from Mistakes

A while back, I ran across an article in a magazine about "The Charge of the Light Brigade."  If you're not familiar with The Charge, there was a famous poem written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about this battle.  The Charge of the Light Brigade was an infamous battle in the Crimean War in which a British force of just over 600 troops was soundly defeated by the Russians. 

            Now, I'm no history major, so I don’t claim to know everything about this event, and I have no idea was the Crimean War was, but I was able to spend some time reading about the event this week.  Basically, the “Light Brigade” was a group of British mounted solders.  Some of these mounted solders were from the famous “Green Dragoons” group.  If you’ve seen the movie “The Patriot” you’ll know what I’m talking about.  Anyway, this mounted force had a very specific niche in the British Army.  Primarily they were used to sweep in on an enemy infantry and cut them down, usually as the enemy was retreating.  This battle took place in 1854, yet most in the Light Brigade were only equipped with swords and lances.  The point was to be able to cover a lot of ground quickly, and so there was very little need for heavy armor or weaponry.

            While there’s still a lot of uncertainly about exactly what went wrong with this charge, it’s believed that the Light Brigade was given orders to attack a retreating Russian force.  However, what ended up happening was that the Light Brigade charged at the wrong Russian force.  They charged at a highly fortified Russian artillery force that was on some high ground and could see the Brigade coming from about a mile away.  Additionally, the Brigade charged at the Russians through a valley.  The Russians held ground on three of the four sides of the valley; so literally, the Light Brigade was fired on from three sides throughout the attack.  Finally, remember, the Light Brigade had only swords, and maybe a few small arms.  However, the Russian Artillery Unit was equipped with cannons that shot both case shot, and round shot.  Case shot could travel about 300 yards and round shot could travel about 1000 yards.  So, as these solders were riding through the valley to attack, they were being fired upon and they had no defense.  It was said by some historians that the Russians thought the attackers were drunk because their attack was basically a suicide mission.  What’s really fascinating about this story is that despite all the odds stacked against them, the British Light Brigade was actually able to break the Russian lines for a moment before being forced to retreat.  Obviously, the British faced massive casualties as a result of the charge.

            So, what in the world does this have to do with school?  Well, as we study the most highly effective schools we usually look at successes; however, sometimes we can learn a lot from the failures of others too!  It’s great to learn from our own mistakes and it’s even better to learn from others! What can we learn from the doomed Charge of the Light Brigade?

            First, please understand that this Light Brigade was a highly effective fighting force.  I think it’s important to understand that even highly effective teams can be rendered ineffective if the right elements aren’t in place.  As you think about your school team, you know it can be highly effective, but we have to make sure everything is in place. 

            Probably the biggest mistake here is that the Light Brigade was unclear about their objective.  While they were ordered to attack a retreating infantry force, they instead attacked a highly fortified Russian Artillery force. We talk a lot about how effective teams have to be doing the “right” work.  Effective teams become ineffective when they are unclear about their mission. 

            Second, because of the lack of clarity about the mission, the Light Brigade was woefully unequipped to perform the task they had undertaken.  Remember, the enemy had guns that could shoot them from 1000 yards away, and what did the Light Brigade have?  Swords!  Not really a fair fight, is it?  The thing is, those fast horses and swords were perfectly suited for the task of attacking a retreating infantry unit, but not so well suited for attacking a fortified artillery unit.  So effective teams become ineffective when they don’t have the right tools for the job (or in this case, weapons for the mission).

            Finally, it’s amazing to me that despite all of the mistakes that were made; this force was able to inflict some damage on the enemy.  This shows how effective this team could be, when put in the right situation. 

            Summer is a great time to reflect on our practice as educators.  Just like the Light Brigade needed to be aware of the dangers around them, we need to be aware of our situation.  As you think about resting and recharging for next school year, it's important to remember that we're prepared for what we'll face.  I work in a district that keeps our teachers as busy as they want to be!  Today we start the 2015 All Write Conference.  In a couple of weeks, we start our second Math/Science Partnership with Ball State University.  We'll take a team of teachers to the PLCs At Work Institute in Lincolnshire, IL in August.  All of these preparations will helps us as we face the battles to come next school year.  HOwever, I believe most importantly, our teachers need to be sure they find balance this summer...rest, recharge, and re-energize for the year to come!