Session Reflection

It seemed as though the presentations on educational law couldn’t have come at a better time. I am teaching 6^th grade for the first time this year, and that has seemed to open up a whole new can of worms for me. Just last week one of my students was the victim of cyber bullying via Facebook. I had no idea this type of harassment was reaching such a young age. The information presented by Roberta Rowe left me feeling more prepared to deal with these actions and consequences in the future.

On Saturday, Dr. Hauser provided me with additional new insight on holding meetings. I think that as the school year wears on, and the meetings become routine, it can be easy to become laxed in planning and execution. Her strategies and set of procedures are practical and useful. I plan to use her agenda template in the future and abide by the rule that the time spent planning should be more than the meeting itself.

Trust

I really enjoyed reading about how all of the Leadership Connectors are bound together with trust. The authors really hit the nail on the head when describing its importance. Any relationship needs trust to flourish; this does not exclude professional and working relationships.

I found the following quote to be especially powerful: "One of the most astonishing parts about trust is that it can be destroyed in seconds, in just a word, in a sentence, or in one action." This lead me to reflect on the relationship I have built in my life and what has lead to the demise of some of them. We all lose connections with people and it has been my experience that a lack of trust has been the culprit.

As a future leader, I will have to be aware and conscientiousness in all that I do, say, and write. In addition, I will need to be more willing to place trust in others. It is easy to have the attitude that "If I want something done right I'll have to do it myself." As a leader, an essential part of building trusting relationships, is relinquishing some of our responsibilities and placing them in the capable hands of others.

Continuous Renewal

As an aspiring administrator, I am constantly keeping an eye on current administrators and learning from them. There are those that seem to just have it all and this chapter helped me to see how they’ve gotten there. I really appreciated the statement, “These leaders have a passion for and are committed to a healthy life, nurturing relationships with their family and friends, and their jobs.” It was encouraging to read that it is the best leaders who are able to balance their careers with their personal lives. It is possible. Some of the keys ideas that I will reflect more upon are:

• Determine what pushes your buttons.
• Identify your most productive work hours.
• Be conscious of your attitude.