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What are the Stages of Development for Entrepreneurial Schools?:

An Analysis through the Lens of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces

In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell (1949) documents the heroic journey as the common thread of mythologies that span cultures and time. Campbell borrows James Joyce’s term of “monomyth”to describe the pattern followed by countless heroes who undertake perilous journeys that have the ultimate effect of invigorating themselves and their societies. In short, the hero awakens to a call that involves a higher personal or communal purpose. The hero often initially resists or rejects the call until receiving some extraordinary intervention that strengthens his/her resolve. Embarking on a voyage through a wilderness, the hero encounters tremendous challenges, emerges victorious, and shares his/her acquired strength and vision with the wider community. Campbell summarizes the process as follows:

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man (Campbell, p. 30).

Campbell’s notion of the heroic journey has been applied in social science research, most notably in counseling and popular psychology (Pearson, 1989; White, 2002) and in organization development (Murphy, E.C., 1994; Senge, 1990). In the field of education the metaphor of the heroic journey has been used as a lens for literary critique and writing prompts (Harris & Thompson, 1995; Vogler, 1998).

Brown & Moffett (1999) apply the metaphor of the heroic journey to the work of heroic educators, schools, and school systems. They describe the current state of education as one filled with darkness, conflict, confusion and paradox. Drawing from Campbell’s work, they point to the human tendency in such difficult times to seek heroes who can inspire others with hope and courage. They consequently call on individual educators, schools, and school systems to embark on “heroic journeys” which will create value, hope and possibilities within the field of education.

Brown & Moffett(1999) describe six phases that heroic educators face in their endeavors following the paths of mythological heroes:

  • Stage One, Innocence Lost: Breakdown Requires Breakthrough. Protagonists—whether Odysseus, Dorothy, Luke Skywalker, or heroic educators—undergo a process of awakening—or a realization of a calling—when they become aware of their own limitations. They sense that a breakdown in the general order has occurred and view a new complexity to their world. The process is often agitated by “a confrontation with some powerful change force that triggers an internal drive to discover who we are and where we fit into the cosmic scheme” (Brown & Moffett, 45). Inherent in the awakening is a degree of strength, “the capacity to sustain the loss of innocence” (Brown & Moffett, p. 56).

Founders of entrepreneurial schools often pass through this stage during the tremendous ups and downs of deciding to open a school, forming a committee, writing a proposal, and then advocating for its materialization.

  • Stage Two, Chaos and Complexity This Way Come: Confronting the Dragon at the Door and the Serpent in the Garden. In the great mythologies, awakened heroes embarking on a journey encounter “characters and forces [that] embody chaos, anarchy, and complexity” which are personifications and representations of the internal struggles of their dark and sinister sides (Brown & Moffett, p. 61). Realizing they are facing demons without suitable armor, protagonists face the limitations of their personal knowledge and will (Brown & Moffett, p. 67). Protagonists are forced to move from unconscious and unarticulated awakenings to a conscious acceptance of the chaos and paradoxes in which they are immersed.

This phase can be described as a “wake-up call” to the dimensions of the struggles that lie ahead. This phase of the heroic journey stuns the hero but also awakens resolve and resilience.

School entrepreneurs will often experience this stage when the children arrive! Formidable, confusing, and unanticipated obstacles arise as theory meets the real world of operating a school.

  • Stage Three, The Heroic Quest: The Search for the Grail, the Jewel in the Lotus, and Avalon. In mythology the heroic calling crystallizes into a vision which in turn fuels an ensuing quest. Heroes must struggle to discover sources of internal strength they will need to sustain their quest. Brown & Moffett note that this process is true for mythological figures as well as great spiritual leaders of history who too “undergo multiple internal tests of faith and discipline as they seek to achieve their goals of compassionate service to others” (p. 81).

As entrepreneurial schools continue to weather storms various critical issues appear which have key symbolic importance in that the struggles help founders define key values and school culture.

  • Stage Four, Gurus and Alliances: Companions along the Way. In his/her quest, the hero seeks people of similar heart, mind, and soul and then transcends his/her personal egoism to share the quest with them:

We know who we are, what we stand for, and why we are here. We become fearlessly open with our values and beliefs. Our life feels authentic to ourselves and to others. Gradually others become drawn to us, and our vision spreads…. We attract to us people like ourselves who want to live in the same kind of transformed kingdom” (Pearson, p. 152).

Through this process protagonists are able to transcend their personal limitations. In most mythologies heroes also encounter wisdom figures—gurus or mentors—who serve more as personifications and projections of the protagonist’s greater self than as saviors or controlling forces. The wisdom figures help develop the inherent greatness of the protagonists and the goal is the transformation of externalized wisdom into internalized learning.

During this stage of development the key trusted players in a school must appear. They may or may not be the same as the founders; they may arise from an unanticipated source: parents, students, aides, etc. Regardless of their roles, these people share inthe key battles of survival and defining the school itself.

  • Stage Five, Trials, Tests, and Initiations: Staying the Course. The protagonist, as well as his/her fellow voyagers, inevitably face numerous difficult problems, dangers, temptations and adventures. They experience both external and internal challenges and often experience spiritual and emotional doubt and despair that taunt them back into the state of innocence and denial. Often they encounter amulets, talismans, spells, and magic weapons that assist them in their quest. The accumulated tests they face push protagonists into higher realms of personal development as they deepen their understanding both of their environment and themselves. Through staying the course, protagonists begin to perceive challenges as natural occurrences of life.

Towards the end of the heroic journey, protagonists undergo a supreme obstacle and achieve a final transformation. This is the truly defining moment of an entrepreneurial school.

  • Stage 6, Insight and Transformation: Arriving Where We Started and Knowing the Place for the First Time. Heroes return to the point of origin having transcended their personal limitations and realizing the inherent power of their lives. Finding the courage within themselves to combat evil, ignorance, apathy, isolation, and despair, they learn to seize the sword and move towards the danger. With their states of innocence, dependency, and indifference having been replaced by those of awareness, responsibility, and moral purpose, they share their new vitality and energy with the world around them. Eventually the protagonists come full circle. Transformed heroes tend to feel uncomfortable when comfortable. When their “kingdoms” become stifling, they sense it is time undertake a new journey and quest (Pearson, 153). Dorothy made many return voyages to Oz, Luke Skywalker resumed his struggles to defeat the Empire, Dante made two more trips to realms of the afterworld.

Perhaps at this point the founders will decide to pod their school into a franchise or move their efforts into external development rather than the detailed running of a school. Their success is admirable and they are the treasures of a nation seeking to save its youth through revitalized education.

References

Brown, J.L. & Moffett, C.A. (1999). The hero’s journey: How educators can transform schools and improve learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Campbell, J. (1949). The hero with a thousand faces. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Harris, R. & Thompson, S. (1995). The hero’s journey: A guide to literature and life. Napa, CA: Ariane Publications.

Murphy, E. C. (1994). Forging the heroic organization: A daring blueprint for revitalizing American business. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Pearson, C.S. (1989). The hero within: Six archetypes we live by. San Francisco: Harper Collins.

Senge, P.M. (1990). The fifth discipline. NY: Doubleday

Vogler, C. (1998). The writer's journey: Mythic structure for storytellers and screenwriters. Los Angeles: Michael Wiese Productions.

White, P.A. (2002). Practitioner inquiry of a teacher's practice through autoethnography. Unpublished Dissertation. University of Colorado at Denver.