As we wrap up the end, I was asked to summarize my experiences by answering the following questions:
* How has your definition of leadership altered or been reinforced? Your definition of teacher leadership?
I think that it's helped me to see the areas in which I'm deficient. I might not agree with some of the decisions that are made, but I need to see what's best for the school, and that I may need to give a little in order for things to continue to flow in a positive manner. I also need to do a better job shielding my thoughts; many emotions or thoughts that I have are painfully obvious, so I need to do a better job masking that. As for my definition of leadership, I think it's changed a little. I still feel that the qualities I originally identified as leadership qualities still exist; this class has helped me to elaborate on those qualities, and point out specifically where I see it in the school.
* Has your opinion of your leadership potential changed?
I think I've adapted to try and see the leadership styles that younger teachers may have. I was stuck in my own world, and it never occurred to me that, even though I was only 13 years out of college, my ideas and abilities would already be considered 'old school.' That has allowed me to look for newer qualities for the young teachers, which is a bit difficult at my school, as I'm one of the younger teachers myself. However, I'm now trying to scan and scour to find young leaders that I can be part of a new school nucleus to exist after the veteran teachers eventually move on. That's how I've changed.
* Do you agree with our textbook's assertion about "improving education from within"? If so, what will you do to help?
Yes, because I believe that if you don't emulate and present the qualities that you want your students to have, it just won't happen. As educators, we constantly need to look at our performances, and see if there are areas that can be improved. It's fine to be content with our performance, but we should always strive for improvement. Isn't that what we want the students to do?
As for me, I plan to lead by example. I plan to show through my actions that I plan to constantly review my class's work to try to find new and innovative ways to improve upon it. I plan on exmperimenting with new activities and programs, and dabbling with differentiation in order to try to make my students as prepared as possible for the future that lies in front of them.
That sums up my experiences with class. As always, please leave any feedback for me, and I'll happily respond.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
A Simulation of Administration
This week's class was different, to say the least. This week, we took the form of a team in a 3-hour simulation of what it's like to try to win over an entire school system with a new idea or plan. I wish it only took 3 hours in the real world, too...
Well, the simulation was interesting. We spent a lot of the first year of our administration trying to come up with a plan that the staff would buy into. Luckily, the team I was on was agreeable and flexible; there weren't any hidden agendas that others were trying to force, and I didn't notice anyone trying to be the "Alpha Male" who tried to take over all decision-making (wish I could say the same for real-life school situations, too...) After a lot of confusion, we were able to get through the first year with some progress. We didn't blow our budget, either.
Year 2, we began learning from our mistakes. There were fewer miscues with the budget, and we started to look past the step we were on. For a lot of the first part of the simulation, we were SO focused on making one step work, that in some cases, we weren't thinking of the next item to do. In this part, though, we started thinking ahead. Another strategy we came across was trying to level the field. We didn't want 1 individual at mastery; we were looking for several. Our strategy became one in which we tried to involve as many characters as possible in the act of progression. In 90% of the situations, it worked. The only negative; again, we didn't utilize all of our budget.
The final year, year 3, we had our system down, and jumped right into it. After 2+ hours of learning from mistakes, we certainly had our strategy down pat. Our poor runner barely had time to sit; by the time he would come back, we already had our next step of the program in place, and we were planning for steps 2-3 levels down the road, with specific people in mind. This part of the simulation flew. For the first time, we utilized all of the budget.
Simulation ending, I now have a chance to reflect about this and the real world. I was able to make a lot of connections to my current situation as Instructional Technology Leader and Teacher. We realized as a team that no matter how good the plan, you may not get 100% support from your staff. As the ITL for my school, I need to realize that as well. I may be able to share hundreds of great ideas, but not everyone will commit to it. The reasons are many, but the results may not be the ones that I want. Instead, I need to focus on those who DO want to commit to improvement; they are the key to progression.
In terms of my team, I learned that communication and sacrifice are key. There may have been decisions that I didn't agree with, but I had to support the team if a majority of them believed in it. The same could be said for my ideas. By all means, there wasn't arguing within my team. I'm just saying that you need to be willing to meet others halfway in order to get progress going. If your peers or subordinates see you and your team arguing, what motivation does that give them to follow you and your ideas?
Overall, it was interesting, far more than I was expecting (no, I'm not sucking up...) I saw a lot of connections to myself and my situation, and I think that I may be able to see my situations differently once I step back and look at the "entire level playing board", to connect it back to this week's activity (sorry, lame connection, I couldn't think of anything witty to say...)
Well, any comments, please feel free to share.
Well, the simulation was interesting. We spent a lot of the first year of our administration trying to come up with a plan that the staff would buy into. Luckily, the team I was on was agreeable and flexible; there weren't any hidden agendas that others were trying to force, and I didn't notice anyone trying to be the "Alpha Male" who tried to take over all decision-making (wish I could say the same for real-life school situations, too...) After a lot of confusion, we were able to get through the first year with some progress. We didn't blow our budget, either.
Year 2, we began learning from our mistakes. There were fewer miscues with the budget, and we started to look past the step we were on. For a lot of the first part of the simulation, we were SO focused on making one step work, that in some cases, we weren't thinking of the next item to do. In this part, though, we started thinking ahead. Another strategy we came across was trying to level the field. We didn't want 1 individual at mastery; we were looking for several. Our strategy became one in which we tried to involve as many characters as possible in the act of progression. In 90% of the situations, it worked. The only negative; again, we didn't utilize all of our budget.
The final year, year 3, we had our system down, and jumped right into it. After 2+ hours of learning from mistakes, we certainly had our strategy down pat. Our poor runner barely had time to sit; by the time he would come back, we already had our next step of the program in place, and we were planning for steps 2-3 levels down the road, with specific people in mind. This part of the simulation flew. For the first time, we utilized all of the budget.
Simulation ending, I now have a chance to reflect about this and the real world. I was able to make a lot of connections to my current situation as Instructional Technology Leader and Teacher. We realized as a team that no matter how good the plan, you may not get 100% support from your staff. As the ITL for my school, I need to realize that as well. I may be able to share hundreds of great ideas, but not everyone will commit to it. The reasons are many, but the results may not be the ones that I want. Instead, I need to focus on those who DO want to commit to improvement; they are the key to progression.
In terms of my team, I learned that communication and sacrifice are key. There may have been decisions that I didn't agree with, but I had to support the team if a majority of them believed in it. The same could be said for my ideas. By all means, there wasn't arguing within my team. I'm just saying that you need to be willing to meet others halfway in order to get progress going. If your peers or subordinates see you and your team arguing, what motivation does that give them to follow you and your ideas?
Overall, it was interesting, far more than I was expecting (no, I'm not sucking up...) I saw a lot of connections to myself and my situation, and I think that I may be able to see my situations differently once I step back and look at the "entire level playing board", to connect it back to this week's activity (sorry, lame connection, I couldn't think of anything witty to say...)
Well, any comments, please feel free to share.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Making the Change
For this week's class, we began a further investigation into items such as Data Retreats, and the goal would be to look for areas in which you would want to bring eventual change to the school in order to improve its performance and standing. I find this interesting, due to the waves that my district has made (again) in the news.
It's no secret; MPS is in need of improvement. I've been on both sides of the argument, both as a teacher of a successful school and as a failing school. From those experiences, I see a large amount of inconsistency. This is where I see it.
From the failing school aspect, it seemed as though we jumped at the "magic bean" theory, the idea that there was one set thing to put in the curriculum that would make everything better. Unfortunately, I saw lots of those "magic beans" for 10 years, and I still see my district doing that today. It's almost like our district HAS to get that brand new, hot, popular toy that everyone else wants, only to discard it for the next big thing. I remember the waves of Whole Language, Direct Instruction, Target Teach, and many other ideas meant to shape up the curriculum. There was no consistency, though. By the time you got used to a new idea, WHAM! Guess what? We're dropping it and going to a new plan. Teachers wouldn't buy into the programs, knowing that they would likely be changed 3-4 years down the road. The same pathetic cycle happened again and again and again...
Now, I'm at the successful school. And guess what? The SAME changes and requests are being made. Whatever data that our school has generated is pretty much dumped when looking at the curriculum. Right now, all schools are getting the same reading curriculum and the same request for the amount of time teaching. However, there are a large number of schools, successful schools, mind you, that are being told that THIS is the way that we do reading now, without regard for the years of performances that supported a strong reading program.
So where does this lead me? We need to be careful with the data. Too many people generalize and come up with conclusions without looking at the big picture, as well as the tiny pieces that make up that picture. The next time my class bombs an exam, I shouldn't re-teach to ALL of the students; not all of the students need that. By making everyone re-learn it, I'm doing exactly what I dread whenever I get notices from my district---making a change without thinking of everyone.
So, that's my thoughts for now. By all means, weigh in with your thoughts as well.
It's no secret; MPS is in need of improvement. I've been on both sides of the argument, both as a teacher of a successful school and as a failing school. From those experiences, I see a large amount of inconsistency. This is where I see it.
From the failing school aspect, it seemed as though we jumped at the "magic bean" theory, the idea that there was one set thing to put in the curriculum that would make everything better. Unfortunately, I saw lots of those "magic beans" for 10 years, and I still see my district doing that today. It's almost like our district HAS to get that brand new, hot, popular toy that everyone else wants, only to discard it for the next big thing. I remember the waves of Whole Language, Direct Instruction, Target Teach, and many other ideas meant to shape up the curriculum. There was no consistency, though. By the time you got used to a new idea, WHAM! Guess what? We're dropping it and going to a new plan. Teachers wouldn't buy into the programs, knowing that they would likely be changed 3-4 years down the road. The same pathetic cycle happened again and again and again...
Now, I'm at the successful school. And guess what? The SAME changes and requests are being made. Whatever data that our school has generated is pretty much dumped when looking at the curriculum. Right now, all schools are getting the same reading curriculum and the same request for the amount of time teaching. However, there are a large number of schools, successful schools, mind you, that are being told that THIS is the way that we do reading now, without regard for the years of performances that supported a strong reading program.
So where does this lead me? We need to be careful with the data. Too many people generalize and come up with conclusions without looking at the big picture, as well as the tiny pieces that make up that picture. The next time my class bombs an exam, I shouldn't re-teach to ALL of the students; not all of the students need that. By making everyone re-learn it, I'm doing exactly what I dread whenever I get notices from my district---making a change without thinking of everyone.
So, that's my thoughts for now. By all means, weigh in with your thoughts as well.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Roadblocks in Leadership
For this week's class, we had a lot of time to independently look through the materials and really get a chance to gather our own opinions of various items related to leadership. This week's focus---dealing with adversaries and enemies while on the leadership path.
For me, this was something that struck close to home. I am currently in my second school; I worked at my first school until it closed, and I was a teacher there for 10 years. Much of what the book talked about were things that I witnessed firsthand as a new teacher. I saw many power struggles between staff and administration, and I dealt with constant change, as my school seemingly changed principals every 2-3 years. Our school was full of issues; the atmosphere in my school is one that I wouldn't recommend to anyone as one to benefit from. Depending on the administrator, the levels of support or criticism changed severely. Throughout all of this, our performances continued to flounder. Too much individual agendas being presented led to our school's ultimate downfall. I look back, and I'm not sure what I could do to improve that. I taught my tail off, because I felt it was best for the kids. I was afraid to sometimes share my opinion; I didn't want to be written off as the new "know-it-all" teacher. As now all I can do is look back and simply wonder what could have been different.
Fast forward to now. I'm at a school that has a strong reputation and a lot of consistency. However, I see some trends that I dealt with for 10 years at school #1. I've actually started to speak up, as I've been dragged through the mud as a school, and I have no desire to do that again. Am I reaching through? Not sure. I certainly hope so, but I'm finding myself starting to look at these situations as a veteran teacher, not a new teacher. I was struck a lot by how to deal with the conflicts that exist at a school. That struck a chord with me. As the Instructional Technology Leader, I get that tone from some, who still look at my position as the guy to come in and teach computers. I took some of the suggestions and strategies to heart; I think that they might be of great benefit if I don't want history to repeat itself.
For me, this was something that struck close to home. I am currently in my second school; I worked at my first school until it closed, and I was a teacher there for 10 years. Much of what the book talked about were things that I witnessed firsthand as a new teacher. I saw many power struggles between staff and administration, and I dealt with constant change, as my school seemingly changed principals every 2-3 years. Our school was full of issues; the atmosphere in my school is one that I wouldn't recommend to anyone as one to benefit from. Depending on the administrator, the levels of support or criticism changed severely. Throughout all of this, our performances continued to flounder. Too much individual agendas being presented led to our school's ultimate downfall. I look back, and I'm not sure what I could do to improve that. I taught my tail off, because I felt it was best for the kids. I was afraid to sometimes share my opinion; I didn't want to be written off as the new "know-it-all" teacher. As now all I can do is look back and simply wonder what could have been different.
Fast forward to now. I'm at a school that has a strong reputation and a lot of consistency. However, I see some trends that I dealt with for 10 years at school #1. I've actually started to speak up, as I've been dragged through the mud as a school, and I have no desire to do that again. Am I reaching through? Not sure. I certainly hope so, but I'm finding myself starting to look at these situations as a veteran teacher, not a new teacher. I was struck a lot by how to deal with the conflicts that exist at a school. That struck a chord with me. As the Instructional Technology Leader, I get that tone from some, who still look at my position as the guy to come in and teach computers. I took some of the suggestions and strategies to heart; I think that they might be of great benefit if I don't want history to repeat itself.
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