Student Leadership Course Analysis

As a teacher-leader, I have been assigned a number of wide-ranging and important informal roles in my career thus far that have enabled me to support and contribute towards the success of not only my students, but also my department and my school as a whole. By assuming these diverse leadership roles, I have been able to develop professionally, improve student attainment, positively influence the teaching and learning practice of my peers and contribute towards the culture and ethos of the schools I have worked in.

The importance of effective leadership and its impact on improving student achievement are evident in today’s schools (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom, 2004). While the school principal is traditionally thought to be the school leader, Glickman (1989) proposes that “the principal of successful schools is not the instructional leader but the educational leader who mobilizes the expertise, talent, and care of others” (p. 8). Lumpkin, Claxton, and Wilson (2014) contend that helping “each school fulfill its mission and energize and expand the professionalism and professional contributions of teachers, the expertise of all teachers, especially teacher leaders, is needed” (p. 59). Teachers directly impact student learning,

We are all leaders, as we all influence others negatively, or positively, but the important part to remember is we want to see others succeed, and help them reach their potential. Consequently, it would be more valuable to start applying everything that has been taught in this book sooner than later, as it doesn’t take long for any one of us to fall into the trap of our old habits.

Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders. This quote by Tom Peters best summarizes my philosophy of teacher leadership. As a teacher leader, it is up to me to inspire, direct, and encourage others so that stronger teacher, administrative, and student leaders may be born from the process. Teacher leadership involves collaboration between teachers, administrators, and teacher leaders with the goal of positively impacting the student learning environment. With student learning as the ultimate objective, teacher leadership “becomes an indispensable avenue for school improvement” (Coggins & McGovern, 2014, p. 21). So how do I as a teacher leader begin this process? I believe that teacher leadership can be achieved through three means: modeling, mentoring, and collaborating.

Throughout this entire course we have learned many concepts and strategies to synthesize and use leadership as a means of working in a group setting. These concepts allowed us to learn not only how to lead other

Servant leadership is key- Educational leaders must have the interests of the children as their main concern. Hall’s use of fear to achieve results created a bigger problem within the school district rather than solving it. Listening to teachers’ difficulties and working directly with those inside individual schools will help leaders identify and solve problems, as Errol and Castarphen have done and will continue doing.

Abstract: There are numerous definitions of leadership, all of which contain elements related to people (the leader and the follower(s)), communicating in person or by the written word, actions (organizing, directing, coaching, and/or motivating), and for a purpose (meeting a goal(s) or accomplishing a task(s)) (ADP 6-22) (Fisher 2015) (Bolden 2013) (Hogan 2005). Additionally, everything done occurs within a given context. Effective leaders are poised, proficient, pertinent, and practical in the application of the art of leadership. This means leaders are ready to engage the group with effective methods and

A wise man once said; “flat terrain never made a skilled soldier.” As you progress through your career and advance your knowledge of your tradecraft you must learn to adapt. Having served on a Brigade Combat Team and a Division Geospatial Information and Services Team I felt ready to serve as a Squad Leader and Senior Geospatial Engineer Sergeant within a Brigade, but nothing could have prepared me for the challenges I would face serving as a Senior Geospatial Engineer Sergeant on a Combat Aviation Brigade’s Geospatial Information and Services Team.

Through introspection and from experiences and observations of past and current administrators as well as the readings from the courses I have taken in the Leadership Program, my leadership philosophy has evolved and it conveys the core values and beliefs that I think form the foundation for an effective educational leader. The foundational tenets for my leadership philosophy include: a visionary leader that sees the big picture and sets clear, specific goals by developing a shared vision that depicts the school’s values through open communication among all stakeholders; building a purposeful community through shared leadership and working collectively as a team by facilitating PLCs in addition to empowering all stakeholders to have a sense

I think and every successful teacher will agree with me that promoting the success of every student is the main value of any educational professional and it is very important for a leader to demonstrate these traits. What is leadership? Some people think that it is good to be a boss and it is easy to rule any organization. Leadership is more than just to rule any organization. It is the development of a practice around a mission or vision and an ability to inspire others to do the same. There are three sets of practices make up this basic core of successful leadership practices: setting directions, developing people and redesigning the organization. Foster (1989) says, “Leadership differs from conventional administration in much the same way that education differs from training (p.10).” This speaks to results- to the why of teaching. And the value of a leader can be determined by their results. If their aim is high-quality education (an admittedly vague term), academic success, and well-being of each student then this is the standard by which they should be judged. Burns admonishes that “power and leadership are measured by the degree of

Over the past four years, I have devoted a major amount of my time to being active in the ASB Student Government program at my school, under many different officer positions that have each allowed me to grow in numerous scopes of leadership. Looking back, it is evident that all my work within ASB has revolved around in battling one major challenge: the lack of inclusiveness within our community. One of the major obstacles that we face in a populous campus of 3300 is the problem of students feeling like they do not belong. Also, the high school shows minimal interaction with the citizens of our community. As a leader, I set out to be the catalyst, by committing to promote a positive change in school culture.

After tallying up the responses and reflecting on the interpretations of my findings, I was somewhat surprised to learn that my directive and collaborative approach to supervision was equal at 40% each and my nondirective approach was much less than I would have desired at 20%. My initial amazement comes from the fact that I typically learn and grow best in collaborative and nondirective settings, and I believe most students, educators and others in different fields do as well. These are the types of learning environments that I fostered as a classroom teacher and continue to do in my current role as a Library Media Specialist. Most of my professional growth and inspiration to become a leader is attributed to working in environments where leaders were open to ideas, trusting, caring and transparent and to think that my beliefs and practices may not be parallel is a bit startling. However, this inventory has encouraged me to deeply reflect on the bases of my beliefs and provided me with a different frame of self-awareness that will be beneficial as I move into my role as a school leader.

In my time in the Student Leadership Program I have seen many passive programs that were innovative and unique and focused on diversity, social justice, and community, but I believe that the passive program that has stood out most to not only me but to the entire population of Student Leadership Program would be the Recognition Tree. This program was created by the National Residence Hall Honorary Vice President of Recognition Andrew Miller as something fun, to try and get students more engaged with recognition. In order to do this, he created what w call the tree with some branches that he found, then he printed some leaves and placed everything on a table and from there the recognition tree was born. The first time that the recognition tree

Throughout my years of experience in education, the most powerful moments are when students draw parallels of theories with practices. Therefore, having the opportunity to analyze various leadership theories, along with the information that I have learned in Dr. McGhee’s “Leadership Theory and Practice” class, has led to a memorable and invaluable experience. Moreover, I found the leadership analysis report from the interview with the exemplary leader significantly thrilling because it allowed me to apply all knowledge I gathered during this course and make real world connections. I considered Mrs. Magana as the person for my interview because she has made a great impact as a leader here in Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD). Mrs. Magana’s greatest assets are the colleagues that she leads. As a leader she would be the first to say that without a dedicated and committed team who enthusiastically choose to follow, the team can accomplish little. She also says that the best investment is the time spent with her team members, learning about each team member 's wants, needs, values, and priorities. She uses this information to help each individual grow and prioritize his or her talents, in order to provide each individual, the opportunity to excel and advance. Knowing this about Ms. Magana inspired me to continue to learn about her leadership style even further. She has served in education for 33 years. Eleven years as a teacher, nine

As a future school administrator I will make it my mission to encourage teacher leadership. If I model and encourage teacher leadership in each and every classroom at my school this idea will filter down to the students and encourage them to be the best they can be.