The load is lighter...

In my school our principal is very good about distributing the work load and ensuring everyone has a say in what goes into our school and changes that are made. Mrs. L,principal, delegates grade level representatives to help and support the grade level and to ensure we are meeting all standards and expectations. This team lead also helps with grade level parent teacher conferences and field trips. Although this team lead is our first person to go to with a problem, she is not the only one. The reading specialist helps with reading issues and provides support as well. The other leaders at my school that provide support and help distribute the work load is the computer specialist, PTA president, secretary, special education teacher and last but not least the custodian. All of these leaders are a part of the distributive leadership that is in my school. I am so glad to be a part of a team that can share the load of making our school succeed, because with this it becomes lighter and many hands make for light work!

Transformational Leader

My closest leadership theory that I would consider closest to my leadership style is the transformational leader. I like to encourage others and inspire them to do their best with my energy and excitement. I tend to rub off on others when it comes to excitement about something I am passionate about, such as education. I also like to help others see their potential and keep them on the right track. Sometimes I think I am always on the right track, so I like to have people around me that are leaders who can bring back down. I know that my school will benefit from my leadership style because there are many teachers who have been teaching for a long time and have lost that passion, drive and excitement. I can bring that back by leading with my example of using this type of leadership theory. I hope to be a leader with class and use my passion for teaching in a positive way that will inspire the teachers around me to make changes and commit to their career in seeing that students can and will succeed.

Lions, Tigers, and Politics...What?

This week was a very informative week. I learned a whole lot about something in education that I didn't really think about when I think about my career choice. This week brought in a new light and I am so glad I had the opportunity to learn all about micro and macro politics. At Beehive Elementary there are on average 4 teachers per grade level and so with this comes a very dynamic group of people. In my grade level as first grade teachers there are four of us. I am the newest this year and then it ranges from around 15-30 years of experience. So our team is dynamic just by experience. Our school has many specialists that also bring a certain dynamic to our school. We have the reading specialist, computer specialist, interventionist, special education and a few others that help support our staff and students. I am so excited to work with not only experience, but talents and devoted teachers. I am patiently awaiting to meet the entire faculty. I know that I will learn great teacher leader skills from many of them. I have already seen their passion for education and their love for teaching just by walking the halls at Beehive Elementary.

Every old dog CAN learn a new trick..

This week as I studied Strengths Finder 2.0 I learned that by knowing our strengths or talents we can become more successful in a team and help our team find and know their strengths. As I thought about this with my school I was thrilled to tell all me team members who are all veteran teachers of at least 15 plus years of teaching all about this book. I feel as though if they know their strengths along with all the team members strengths our team can function to full potential. We are all in this together and as we collaborate together and work on how to help our students our leadership within our group is stronger and the students benefit from this entirely. We are in practice all the time, each year we begin with new students hoping that it will be better than the last and that more students will have high scores at the end of the year. As we build on our career we continue to strive for improvement each year. Leadership skills can operate the same way. As we practice our roles within our teams and improve our strengths we can only succeed at a higher level. I am excited to introduce this to my "old dogs" or veteran teachers so they will recognize their strengths and look for my strengths within our team. I believe they will learn new tricks or in other words, develop a desire to find the strengths in others to strengthen their team.

Teacher Leader?

When I first decided to start my masters degree right after my bachelors degree I knew I wanted to learn more about leadership in education and how to help make important changes. I researched several programs and schools and found myself right back here at University of Phoenix in their Master of Arts in Education with Teacher Leadership. The first day of class I looked up the first assignment, teacher leadership. Well what is that? I had to research exactly what it meant and realized I have the characteristics to be a teacher leader someday. I look forward to this class and many more to come to help me develop into a teacher leader that is effective in the education field and helps my colleagues rise to the to high expectations that the society holds on educators. I am hoping this class helps me to become a teacher leader within my school and helps me to motivate veteran teachers who are stuck in their ways. I know I possess the qualities of a teacher leader and I have all the confidence that this class will direct me in the right direction for success!