Management Style

What kind of leader are you?  I think that this is a very important question we all have to ask of ourselves before taking a leadership role.  What moves us to become successful, does not translate to everyone else.

Quality leadership comes in different ways.  Is a good leader someone who can motivate others to rally behind them for the common good?  Or is a good leader someone who gets results on standardized tests?  We have all had a boss at some time during our lives, whether it is the manager of a store, a coach, principal, etc., what did you like about them?  What didn't you like?

I had my first leadership role as a JV soccer head coach of my high school alma mater.  I tried to base my style upon what I felt worked with me as a player.  I also pictured in my head the different soccer coaches I had, and pieced together what I liked and didn't like about each of them.  From that simple list I began making progress towards the coach I aspired to become.

Below is a video from YouTube on leaders, please let me know what you think.

Digital Citizenship

I was curious at what is meant by digital citizenship, and I wanted to know more about it.  From looking at different websites, I found that it is a virtual "Bill of Rights" a set of rules that we are to live by in order to be positive contributors to the world wide web.

It came to no surprise that when students were interviewed by other students at the collegiate level, almost all of them bring their computers with them to class.  I don't know if the professors were aware, but most of the students would spend time on Facebook or twitter instead of being on task.  I mention this because most school districts in the area are looking into ways to fuse technology into the classrooms.  Teachers need to be proactive in terms of making sure that students are still working on the task at hand.  We are going to have to get used to a little social behavior, much like those teachers who have students work in groups.  You will have to be comfortable with a little chaos (social behavior not related to the task, "comfortable with chaos" sounded better).

As an administrator, it will be my responsibility to make sure that my staff has the resources they need as we transition to the one to one system.  Below is a video that could be shared at a faculty meeting to introduce the topic of digital citizenship.  Please let me know your thoughts on the idea of digital citizenship.

Friends in High Places

For this post, I wanted to find media personalities that support the efforts of educators.  For the past couple of months education has come under attack.  Unions that protect poor teachers to charter schools that wear superhero costumes for disadvantaged children in impoverish parts of the country have had their time in the media spotlight.  I think that it is funny that people who have never set foot in a classroom as a teacher are making such big decisions about its future.

A friend at work showed me some clips from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  It was refreshing to see that someone from the media can analyze government practices objectively.  Below are the links to a couple of clips.  Please feel free to share them with other educators.  I would like to start a list of others in the media who support our efforts, if you know of anyone, please let me know.

Daily Show: Crisis in the Dairyland-for richer or poorer-teachers and wall street

Daily Show: Crisis in the Dairyland-Message for teachers

21st Century Principal

For this week’s post, I wanted to think about what will the role of principal look like during the next 20 years.   What will be some of the challenges principals will face, and how the position of principal will evolve.

Today’s instability both locally (Wisconsin, New Jersey) and abroad (Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, etc) are ultimately going to lead to dramatic changes in education.  We are still in the midst of an economy that has the strength of a newborn foal struggling to stand up.  Every state government is going to figure out the best way possible to survive, and everything is up on the chopping block.  

Education is always an easy scapegoat in troubled times.  All educators are given the stigma that:  “Those who can do, those who can’t teach.”  The general public is jealous of our “summers off” and “snow days,” despite the fact that they could easily teach if they wanted to.  Depending on who you talk to, people believe that teachers are underworked and overpaid, and therefore hate to see their taxes increase for a mediocre performer.  That being said, school districts are going to be given less money by the governments, but still maintain the level of service they currently provide.  The 21st century administrator is going to have to be a fiscally sound individual.  They are going to need make wise decisions when it comes to how funds are to be allocated.  

The principal is going to have to lead by example.  He or she will need to practice what they preach in order to get the staff to support them.  Principals will have to find efficient ways of communicating with both staff and the community.  Whether they use email more than copying hundreds of pages that will either be trashed or recycled immediately.  Create a website that anyone can go to for updates or possibly use twitter to update people on changes in the schedule.

I would also like to see that principals teach one class per year.  I know that this idea is utopian, and one that has many hurdles to overcome before being implemented.  However, I feel that this would help keep administrators relevant on best teaching practices.  Furthermore, by teaching a class, students will think about them in a different light.  Principals will also have a better understanding about what changes could be effective.  More importantly, they will be considered lead teachers, someone who could mentor younger, inexperienced educators.  

Below is a video I found on YouTube featuring Joel Klein, Chancellor of New York City Public Schools, discussing what makes a good principal.