The Will To Lead: The Skill To Teach

In this chapter, Fullan begins by maintaining that principals who are effective lead learners are necessarily also good managers, because they understand that having clear routines is essential for school improvement.” (57) He quotes from Viviane Robinson’s Student-Centered Leadership to both underscore the previous point and emphasize that successful principals take an active learning stance: “The principal who makes the biggest impact on learning is the one who attends to other matters as well, but, most important, ‘participates as a learner’ with teachers in helping move the school forward.” (58) Fullan also borrows from Helen Timperley’s work in responding to the question, Who is in a principal’s class? The principal’s class consists of “team leaders who in turn can leverage the learning of other teachers in their group”

 To promote a positive ethos in the school through encouraging a shared understanding of the values which underpin our school ethos

If I were principal, my plan to improve school community relations would begin with a whole school concerted to effort to learn about the new cultural groups in the community and provide opportunities for school community members to come together to build relationships with the new families. Secondly, I would make sure to introduce myself to the new community members and use my people skills to build relationships with new businesses and community

When the new school gets opened and operating the new principal should strive for better academic achievements at the new school. The two schools, being two parts of one student body,

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.

A: Intentional and Collaborative School Culture - Principals articulate, model and positively reinforce a clear vision and values of the school’s culture, and involve students, families and staff in creating an inclusive and welcoming climate that supports it.

The new Martin Luther King Pilot School will have a high morale. The teachers will work together cooperatively to ensure that the students reach their full potential of success. A panel of well diverse teachers will serve along side of administrators and principal. The teachers and administrators will work cohesively to sear for a principal that will match the vision of the school. The school will include the parents on the selection of the principal by hosting a town meeting to ensure that the parents voices are heard and their vison of a principal is also shared. The principal shall be an individual who is culturally knowledgeable, diverse, strong, patient, open-minded, possess strong leadership skills. The principal will be able to lead by example.

As an educational leader, I must have a vision and mission statement for the school that is known by the staff, students, and parents. The vision will address the needs of the students academically, emotionally, and socially. According to DuFour (1998), “ Those who seek to transform their school into a professional learning community as characterized by an environment fostering mutual cooperation, emotional support, personal growth, and a synergy of efforts.” The leader must implement a plan that will cultivate the success of all students. The mission will speak to the direction of the school community stating what the desire goals are. The building leader will lead by example. High expectations will be communicated and encourage by staff and students. The educational leader of a school must develop a culture of team work to create a climate that is student friendly. The vision mission and goals of the leader should be transparent. The establishment of common goals is the first step. Without common goals, sustainable progress will be impossible and thus everyone will have lower expectations. The students, parents, and staff should be commented to the goals of every child reaching their full academic potential. The school environment should speak to goal setting and high expectations for all students and staff.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School professor, have written that “Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach.” They teach and inspire the young through their actions as the idiom would say: a picture is worth a thousand words. Role models have an important influence on the lives of children at a young age and that is shown through the collection of poetry, the Chinese-American struggles and achievements in the last one-hundred fifty years, and the experiences of Scout and Atticus Finch in the To Kill a Mockingbird.

In terms of becoming a mediator and consensus builder the authors detailed the need for principals to possess relational leadership skills in order to be able to both facilitate groups and coach others on staff in the ability to facilitate their own groups, and stressed that the key to this is the ability to effectively participate in conflict resolution (Donaldson, Marnik, Mackenzie, & Ackerman, 2009). The authors suggested that conflict is part and parcel of school reform and that in addition to being able to deal effectively with conflict the successful principal needs to develop the ability for bringing about consensus within the group, noting that interpersonal and intrapersonal skills were as much or more important than knowledge (Donaldson, Marnik, Mackenzie, & Ackerman, 2009).

In a state of dilemma, individuals find it interesting when people confronted with life’s problems. The way people behave when the answers to which are not immediately known. Different situation, people have to think of different technique to solve the problems. Analyzing a poem is different from analyzing statistical data. Both are related to analyzing but the mind has to be aware of each situation to apply in any cases. Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind talks about sixteen ways people use when it comes to describing the Habits of Mind. Curiosity is what motivates deep thinking when questioning and posing problems habit. The bravery to take responsible risks habit and listening with understand and empathy habit when hearing stories from others. For me, one of the most important habit that I have learned the most is responsible risks. Being greedy and wanted to be success in two categories is not going to work, I have to decide on letting go of one and remain focus on the one that I am planning to take the risk on.

I’ve had quite the learning experience over the last few weeks. I had a chance to obtain valuable information and support from my principal. I learned so much about the administration role and how difficult it can be. When I began my interview, I felt overwhelmed and excited at the same time. My principal is also my mentor; she has been very supportive of me pursuing my dreams to be in administrator. As I conducted my interview I learned so much about the principal’s role. I asked my principal a series of questions. The questions were based on the Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium Standards (ISLLC). My first question was based on educational programs. The educational programs at any school need balance. While we live in a test results world, there needs to be a balance of focus. I look at the type of student I want my school to produce and I surround myself with a faculty and other staffs that not only share in the mission, but also will help every student succeed. In addition, as an administrator, I need to provide my faculty and staff with the tools and resources necessary to make everyone feel successful.

The principal’s role in developing positive community relations sets the tone for communication patterns, partnership formation and/or alienation (Fiore, 2013). There are many tasks that the principal has that is important to school and community relations. Some of those are being a good listener, diplomatic and tactful and all situations. They also have to promote the open door policy to be free to communicate with students, parents, and their staff. They also have to inform the superintendent and community about good and bad things that are

The principal must have knowledge and understanding of effective communication strategies when collaborating with staff, educators, and students (O 'Connor & Jackson, 2017). The teacher’s morale is ultimately impacted by the principal 's open-line of communication; therefore, the school environment affects how the principal is perceived by the teachers and staff morale can influence student learning. However, the principal should focus on developing a collaborative relationship among the teachers, which foster new ways of exchanging view points and ideas (Whyte & Karabon, 2016). The principal plays a major role in how effective the vision or goals are followed by subordinates. In other words, how the perception of the principal ethical and values are aligned with the teachers. Hence, collaboration in schools is, the result of teachers and principals working together for the end results, which are student’s high achievement in learning. When the skillful principals and the sagacious educators “walk the talk” effective leadership and the strategic guidance is a must in the collaborative community of succeed.

Because climate and culture are so closely related I like to make the analogy that climate is the talk of a building and culture is the walk. Often there is a positive climate, but the culture is lagging. When leadership has a strong vision for both climate and culture, then the building as a whole is talking the talk and walking the walk. I continue to view climate and culture through two lenses, and understand that the lines are often blurred between the two. In open schools where climate and culture are strong, new leadership is tasked with getting a pulse on the existing situation, but with some explicit details as to enable the continuation of both. New leadership in a building with a less than positive climate and culture is tasked with identifying the missing elements and diligently establishing a vision to begin to develop a positive and effective open school. Both new leaders will need time. Both situations require a process. Knowing the importance of all these pieces to the puzzle will enable me to either model what I’ve observed, or maintain depending on weather I am a principal in a district similar to mine or very different. It will be a challenge for me to keep the process slow and steady if much