CEDO 565 Leadership and Planning Week 1 - What I have Learned and How I Currently Lead in My School

Leadership matters
"The manner in which we educate our leaders is fundamental to this continent", explained Patrick Awuah as he spoke to an audience about transforming leadership in his native homeland of Ghana. How will we educate our leaders? Will we educate them to understand that leadership is a service with tremendous responsibilities or will we educate them in a way that promotes the ideas of leadership and all that comes with it is an entitlement? As educators we have a determining role in how leaders of today and tomorrow are shaped. What we promote in our classrooms will have direct impact on how the global world will operate.

In the book How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader, Chapter 1, the author John G. Gabriel discusses the qualities of effective leaders and various leadership roles teachers may be suited for within the realm of what they already do. He suggests that teachers, not principals, know the day-to-day problems in the classroom and what it takes to solve them. When I reflect on the duties I currently perform and the challenges I have on a daily basis, I am able to have a direct impact in the development of the next generation of leadership. In pondering this, I had to reflect on my own leadership of my classroom and building.

Currently, I have several roles that I function in at our school such as Presenter, Speaker/Writer, Grade level/Subject Area Leader, Mentor/Peer Coach,Faculty Representative, Community Leader and Technology Leader. These are roles that I currently work in now and I enjoy them. I enjoy the opportunities to use the skills I acquired before I became a teacher as well as staying active in the arenas that strongly interest me. For our school these leaders could be used in multiple ways, one being the consistent promoting of the school’s public and transparent image

Do I always model the type of behavior that is the building? Do I engage my students in critical thinking and problem solving activities allowing then to sharpen their communication skills? The answer is yes. This a part of regular instruction for them. I learned more about the qualities of effective leadership and how to examine my own limitations. As we move forward in this class, I look forward to emerging into the leader I aspire to be.