If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader—John Quincy Adams. Effective school leaders possess a complex set of knowledge, skills, and standards. Education is about determining how to learn and helping those around you to discover their own visions and potential. It is the responsibility of an effective leader to be a catalyst of change and a source of inspiration and encouragement. Personal Story Even at a young age, I had a love for teaching and always knew that would be my profession. Making school desks out of sticks and mud while giving my Baby Alive her assignments is a fond and cherished memory I have dating back to my early childhood. At 4 years old, I pushed my mom to allow me to start school a year early because my brother was starting first grade, and I didn’t want to be left out. After being with the same twenty students for eight years, I entered middle school along with nearly 400 other students. Middle school became a turning point in my life, and I knew I had to depend on myself if I wanted to achieve my goals. I kept my grades up and continued to excel in my honors classes. Throughout my high school years, many teachers inspired me and others disappointed me. It was because of this that I decided I wanted to be the teacher that gives students the desire to achieve and not the teacher that loves to humiliate. It wasn’t until my senior year in high school that I knew English would be my field of expertise thanks to my senior English teacher. She was a teacher that set high expectations, demanded excellent work, and never gave up on me when I thought I couldn’t do it. Receiving an A in her class was the highlight of my high school career! Than... ... middle of paper ... ...ing seems so overwhelming, but exciting at the same time. Following the suggestions in the reading and watching the videos of successful principals is both stressful and encouraging. When I start something, I want to be the best at it. It’s nice to see this can be accomplished through hard work and surrounding yourself with the best support system possible. As a teacher, I had a tendency to think principals have too much time on their hands, when in reality, it’s the complete opposite. Just because they aren’t in a classroom full of students all day doesn’t mean they’re not just as busy as the rest of us—most of the time—more! I have gained a new respect for the amount of time and energy it takes to be an effective principal, and hope I can be as successful and caring as the principals I have had the opportunity to work for during my 18-year teaching career.
Leading organizations of school administrators offer educators various opportunities to encourage educators to become leaders. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has mandated that leaders be better prepared for the task of providing quality education to all. NCLB “… is forcing all educational stakeholders to face the weakness of contemporary school leadership and is making it impossible to ignore the need for higher quality principals” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). It is believed that all educators can be and are leaders in their own right. A leader is a visionary and has the ability to inspire others to aspire to greatness. Of the numerous opportunities that are offered, those that are most beneficial include but are not limited to leadership training programs, professional development, and creating shared leadership opportunities for teachers to become leaders. The systems “…that produce our nation’s principals are complex and interrelated – and governed by the states. Each state establishes licensing, certification and re-certification” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). States use the ISLLC standards “…as the framework for preparation programs and in service professional development of school superintendents, principals, and other leaders” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.3).
Two years ago School District 74 organized a series of leadership workshops designed to strengthen the leadership performance of school administration and teaching staff. Participants were encouraged to think of themselves as leaders and to identify situations in which they were or could be leaders. The idea seemed to be not only that our school system will be improved through the development of strong leadership (on its own an important recognition), but also that anyone (and everyone) can be a leader in his or her own position within the system. This is a ridiculous idea. If leadership is approached as the only label that designates personal merit or importance, then the implication is that followers are less capable, less thoughtful and less important than leaders. If everyone is a leader, then the idea of leadership quickly loses its meaning; leadership implies followership, and without followers leaders could never lead effectively. Past emphasis on leadership has largely ignored the reciprocal relationship between leadership and followership. The purpose of this paper is to briefly discuss followership, and to acknowledge its importance to organizations, especially school systems.
As a public school superintendent and educational leader, one is routinely required to wear many hats and take on numerous responsibilities. These responsibilities can be separated into the two categories of management and educational leadership. Educational leader responsibilities range from curriculum development, staff evaluations and professional development. Managing a school system include budgeting, facility referendum implementation and communicating to all of the stakeholders of the school district.
An educational leader promotes the success of every student by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conductive to student learning and staff professional growth.
To be a leader you need to be able to inspire others, get people motivated, and set an example to other people. A leader needs to do all of these because if one of these aspects fails people don’t look at the leader...
Growing up and having such a set career in mind, I knew who to follow around during my summers. Often tagging alongside my two aunts to their classrooms in Des Moines and Ankeny, I would help set up and take down the elementary classrooms. I loved having such a close connection and experience with the school system even when school was not in action. As a young child, I noticed everything, the way my aunt set up her library, charts, desks, and lesson plans, even down to the decor, I saw it all. I thought to myself, “Is this how I would teach and arrange things?” As I approach my graduation quickly and advance to my career training, I continue to collaborate new ideas for my future classroom. Not only did my family have a wonderful impact on my life to new opportunities at such a young age, all my elementary, intermediate, and high school teachers help in sharing their knowledge of teaching.
What does leadership mean in the context of educational leadership? Many definitions of leadership in education co-exist, attesting to the complexity and multi-faceted phenomena of the concept (Elwell & Elikofer, 2013). Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood organizational and psychological areas of study. Despite volumes of research and numerous theories, no one theory of leadership emerged as the sole predictor of the success of educational leaders. The current body of knowledge about leadership consists of narrow definitions of leader effectiveness that are disconnected from their context (Latham, 2014). Educational leadership influences and affects every dimension of the educational process from the
In developing my own educational leadership model (MELM) I began with establishing what I believe the goal of education should be, since leaders by definition are leading people towards something. The goal of education is to effectively teach students the essential skills and knowledge they will need to establish a productive, positive, self-sufficient life where they can be active members of their communities. An effective leader, while working towards this goal will need to consider the present conditions and demands of the environment they are a part of. In the field of education, both internal and external factors are of crucial importance when developing a plan to lead for success. However, one must note the variables in education are different than those the business sector face, for example; student performance, ability and cultural differences; availability/condition of supplies and materials; goal; educator’s capability, views and attitudes; conditionality of economic support; openness/hostility of influencing communities; state or government performance mandates. A leader who knows where they (students, school, district, community) are now, can approach goals more clearly and develop more effective strategies to arrive at them.
It is my belief that anyone with a desire to change the world would be fortunate to work in education. By sharing my vision with others, and building upon my skills while seeking constant growth, I strive to take an approach to leadership that fosters an effective, nurturing educational environment for the entire school community. By creating this type of environment, as well as through embracing and enhancing my leadership strengths, it is my goal to contribute to society by inspiring people to become better not only as teachers and students, but as compassionate human beings.
To begin out of the countless professions one has to chose from in the world today I have chosen to become a teacher. I have chosen to become a teacher because I myself am a product of some whom I consider to be the best teachers in the world. As a child in North Carolina I was inspired by a wonderful woman named Mrs. Hollyfield. Mrs. Hollyfield taught me that no star was too far out of reach, if I put my mind to accomplishing my goal I could make it. Mrs. Hollyfield inspired me to be the best I could be at anything I wanted to be. As I have grown I have had other important teachers, some whom I am surrounded by daily whom inspire me to set out to accomplish my dreams. These wonderful inspiring people in my life have led me to the decision of becoming a teacher.
At seven years old, I was dressed in my brand new Punky Brewster sneakers, had my seventy count marker set, and new backpack; I was ready for the second grade! I will never forget the nerves of the first day of school, the smell of a brand new box of crayons, or my teacher. It was in that very moment that I knew what I was meant to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. Fast-forward almost thirty years; my life has taken many unexpected turns along the way. I have been married and divorced. I have become a mom to three amazingly annoying monsters. I have moved from the warm comforts of Texas to the frozen tundra called New York. One thing has remained constant throughout my life, fulfilling a life long dream.
A leader can be defined as a personal natural / nurtures capabilities to influence, inspire and band together a group of people to achieve a personal or group goal. In my own view, education leaders are tasked with establishing a vision for school improvement, develop a system to ensure student learning and increase achievement, and initiate change to spur innovations.
When I was growing up, I remember attending elementary school, learning a new language seems to be difficult at first, but I was able to learn the English language because of the dedication of one of my teachers. Now, as I reflect on this experience, it is obvious that she was dedicated and enjoyed teaching her students to be successful. I know today that she made a difference in my life as I navigated through my education experience and high school years to present.
Leadership is an important factor in managing change in organizations (Sarros & Santora, 2001). Leadership is one of the most vital success factors in organization (Murphy & Ensher, 2008). At any time in history of any community, there has always been a great leader and leadership has always been practiced (Leech & Fulton, 2008). For all successful organizations, there has been an effective leader who is able to mobilize all the resources in the organization to achieve its goals (Malusu, 2003). Schools, like other organizations, require effective leadership to achieve their goals (Barnet, McCormick & Conners, 2001). In an educational system, a principal as the coordinator of all educational and training activities
With the proper guidance and support, teachers can achieve academic excellence in the classroom. They follow their principal’s vision and share their goals. Teachers also serve as leaders in their classroom. They share their vision and goals with their students promoting positive attitudes in the classroom. Just like it is important for principals to respect and understand what their teachers need, students also need the support, understanding, respect and empathy from their teachers. When teachers demonstrate commitment in the classroom and set high expectations they raise the level of learning in the classroom. Teachers that work with the students and their parents to understand and meet their needs will achieve positive academic outcomes. Students engage in learning with positive attitudes and strive for high achievements. Teachers work together with their leaders to improve their teaching