Looking at the list of leadership levels, I can honestly say that I have sat on all of the different levels in my short career. Two years ago I had to the opportunity to sit on a multi-county panel that discussed and revised the current 8th grade assessment given in the counties represented. This group did have State-level representation at the meetings. I would not say that this was a State committee, but I have served on State committees before ( three years on the EBT card advisory committee). I served on the Moodle migration advisory committee on several occassions with the county ISD's. I am currently the chairperson for my districts Technology Committee, I sit on both curriculum and school improvement committees as well as serveral school board-level committees including finance, technology and building and grounds.
If I were going to reflect on anything in the leadership area, it would be the first few levels. I think as an individual I could spend a bit more time focusing on my development. I get many periodicals that relate to upcoming technology and the latest, greatest new software, hardware, tools and equipment; but I mostly am responsible for examining them for the staff and recommending and researching them for others' use. Some of the things that I find apply to me as well, but that is really not how I view this task. I am looking to find resources for my fellow staff-mates. I would like to spend more time looking for technolgy and uses of technology for myself. I have set a goal for myself in my personal growth plan to spend time on myself in the future. I intend to become a better leader as an individual.
Classroom and grade level content area leadership is an interesting area for me and my counterpart. Like most school districts, the high school staff determines a great deal of the content that will be covered. There are strong expectations (both spoken and unspoken) that my students will learn specific skills to prepare them for the high school teachers (not high school, but the teachers). Some of these areas might include being able to type at least 30-40 words per minute and fluency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc). Students are given little or no direct technology instruction at the high school level. Teachers expect that students will be able to do the projects that they assign them without having to be taught the programs. II am a firm believer that computers is about learning how to learn software. Learning a new program should not mean starting from the beginning like you never turned on a computer before. No, it should mean that once you learn how to use software, that you can open and learn any new software with minimal time investment. This is the type of leadership that I am working on developing at the classroom and content area level. Content area leadership is something that takes time. I continue to be part of the discussion, but expect change to remain slow.
Leadership is an intersting trait. I have seen leadership come from those who stand in front of crowds and scream at the top of their lungs and in the unspoken actions of a lone buddhist priest. Leadership predetermines choice, but choice reflects leadership. I have discovered over the years that leadership is often determined by the observations of others. We can sit in all the meetings that we want to, talk about affecting change or advocate for others, but in the end it might just be how someone else sees you act. I have also found that schools are notorious for being resistant to change no matter the degree of leadership exhibited. Schools are often extension of the districts people and in town big and small, nothing happens outside of what we "used to do." Affecting change takes time, planning and networking. This is a huge time and personal resource investment for individuals to make and often compromised by the status quo affect.
Overall, leadership is something that develops over time. It is extremely unusual for anyone to become a change agent overnight. There are simply too many old guards in place to impede the progress. We must start with the areas that we can control first: individual and classroom leadership. Once we gain respect for these areas and are seen as affective experts in our field, then we can begin to lead in the areas that are higher up in the list.
If I were going to reflect on anything in the leadership area, it would be the first few levels. I think as an individual I could spend a bit more time focusing on my development. I get many periodicals that relate to upcoming technology and the latest, greatest new software, hardware, tools and equipment; but I mostly am responsible for examining them for the staff and recommending and researching them for others' use. Some of the things that I find apply to me as well, but that is really not how I view this task. I am looking to find resources for my fellow staff-mates. I would like to spend more time looking for technolgy and uses of technology for myself. I have set a goal for myself in my personal growth plan to spend time on myself in the future. I intend to become a better leader as an individual.
Classroom and grade level content area leadership is an interesting area for me and my counterpart. Like most school districts, the high school staff determines a great deal of the content that will be covered. There are strong expectations (both spoken and unspoken) that my students will learn specific skills to prepare them for the high school teachers (not high school, but the teachers). Some of these areas might include being able to type at least 30-40 words per minute and fluency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc). Students are given little or no direct technology instruction at the high school level. Teachers expect that students will be able to do the projects that they assign them without having to be taught the programs. II am a firm believer that computers is about learning how to learn software. Learning a new program should not mean starting from the beginning like you never turned on a computer before. No, it should mean that once you learn how to use software, that you can open and learn any new software with minimal time investment. This is the type of leadership that I am working on developing at the classroom and content area level. Content area leadership is something that takes time. I continue to be part of the discussion, but expect change to remain slow.
Leadership is an intersting trait. I have seen leadership come from those who stand in front of crowds and scream at the top of their lungs and in the unspoken actions of a lone buddhist priest. Leadership predetermines choice, but choice reflects leadership. I have discovered over the years that leadership is often determined by the observations of others. We can sit in all the meetings that we want to, talk about affecting change or advocate for others, but in the end it might just be how someone else sees you act. I have also found that schools are notorious for being resistant to change no matter the degree of leadership exhibited. Schools are often extension of the districts people and in town big and small, nothing happens outside of what we "used to do." Affecting change takes time, planning and networking. This is a huge time and personal resource investment for individuals to make and often compromised by the status quo affect.
Overall, leadership is something that develops over time. It is extremely unusual for anyone to become a change agent overnight. There are simply too many old guards in place to impede the progress. We must start with the areas that we can control first: individual and classroom leadership. Once we gain respect for these areas and are seen as affective experts in our field, then we can begin to lead in the areas that are higher up in the list.