Competence

Over the past six years, I have taught three different grade levels. This has definitely lead to multiple instances of feeling incompetent. I appreciated reading that “sometimes realizing that feelings of competence and incompetence are human and touch everyone’s life path can bring perspective to our own lives.” It is important to reflect on our feelings of incompetence, so that our actions can be changed in the future. I have found that preparedness and self-confidence are keys to building a positive self-efficacy.

In an administrative role, I believe that having mentors and surrounding myself with positive people that I can trust, will lead to fewer feeling of incompetence. Obviously, no one is perfect. It takes a strng person to admit their mistakes, reflect, and learn from negative feelings. It would be much easier to ignore them, but as the leaders we are setting the tone for the staff and our students. We must model that behavior that we expect from them, believe in our abilities, and be willing to constantly grow and change.

Safety

The issue of safety in a school impacts everyone on the campus. Sometimes the issue is not just between students; conflict and intimidation can also occur between adults.

In my current position as an elementary school teacher, I have found that building meaningful relationship with my students help to combat bullying. As the teacher, we have a choice of simply teaching the assigned curriculum and calculating grades, or we can spend time with our students and get to know them. Coaching sports after school and monitoring recess really helps support this process. Some children need more mentoring and direct teaching to behave in positive ways. It is difficult to tell who those children are without getting to know them.

Bullying amongst adults is a very sad problem and has no place in any educational setting. Unlike with students, it can be more obvious who the adult bullies are. I believe I might know one: the teacher who has fewer duties, gets new supplies first, demands things of others, are avoided by other teachers. It is an important role of the administrator to recognize these behaviors and put a stop to it. The same should be said when the parents at the site are bullying teachers, administrators, other parents, and even students. They make threats to get what they want and belittle people who are working hard to educate their children. All of these interactions create a toxic environment in which no one can thrive.

Blog Post 3: Support

Chapter 2 Reflection: Support

With support being a basic need of everyone on a school campus, you’d think that it would be easier to come by. However, different personalities and priorities create a need for multifaceted support including: financial, material, physical, emotional, human, and/or moral. Each teacher will respond differently to varied levels of support so it is up to the leader to get to know the staff and what will work them.

From my perspective, one of the most powerful elements descried in this chapter was visibility. I have experienced what a difference it can make in everyone’s day when the administration is not holed up in their office. During my first year and a half of teaching we had an exceptional GIS (Vice Principal) who offered unwavering support to both the staff and students. Each morning he walked through every single classroom to check on things. He was able to make sincere connections with the students that impacted their behavior and learning. In addition, the teachers always knew that they could count on him for anything that they might need. I found this especially valuable as a new teacher and I aspire to model his effort in a future leadership role.

Blog Post 2: Communication

With technology always seeming to change everything around us, one thing still remains true: communication is at the heart of good leadership. Whether it be in person, through writing, via email, or online, a staff needs to understand who their leader is, what they expect, and when to expect it. Some of the learnings that I had from this chapter came from the sections titles, “Frame It!” and “Group Pitfalls”.
Our district is currently facing the challenges of change (building Professional Learning Communities) and the turmoil of the state budget crisis. Now more than ever, we are looking to our leaders to process these situations and guide us in positive directions. The way they react, frames the situation. As stated, “A hopeful administrator is likely to frame the situation as an opportunity, a challenge to be pursued; a cynical administrator may frame the situation as a disaster.” I feel that the same is true in our classrooms. Every year we ask our students to undertake the task of state testing. Our attitudes as the teachers influence theirs. Being aware of these opportunities to practice leadership skills is important.
As I mentioned before, our district is following the same suit as others and has jumped on the PLC bandwagon. Unfortunately, asking teachers to work more closely in groups/teams can lead to undesirable results. Attitudes are often contagious which can lead to laziness, apathy, and a lock of critical thinking. This year I am serving as the grade-level captain and I do hope to curtail these negative attributes of group dynamics. When effective communication is in place, team members feel valued and are more willing to work together. Honing leadership skills within these smaller groups will lead to a better understanding when in an administrative role.