Week III Post

We are at the halfway point already, fellow AEDU 335 students, can you believe it?? In this week's reading, one theme popped out at me: leadership. In a nutshell, both articles assigned this week focus on the leadership of a school and its effect on all aspects of school, especially teachers and students. In these articles, we took a closer look on what effective principals do better than ineffective ones.

To condense these already long readings, it was these things I found in common from both readings: teamwork, learning environment, and professional development. Teamwork between educators and administration keeps everyone on the same page, and helps pave the way for a smoother education for the students. Learning environment and culture are also big things. If the work environment is toxic for the teachers it will in turn be the prelude to a toxic environment to the students. Finally, professional development is key for creating effective educational establishments. My personal motto is "In order for one to educate, one must first commit to being the eternal student" and this week's reading back that up. Methods of teaching that may have been the top of the line and effective in 1982 may not be effective in 2020. It is up to the principal to seek out and present opportunity to their teachers for continuing education on how to educate.

Comments

  1. Steven Schaaf's Education BlogMarch 24, 2018 at 11:45 AM

    Jay,
    Principals must keep instruction and practices time and age relevant as you have stated. If they do not, teachers will become less effective and student achievement will fall. I totally agree with you that the principal must keep the school environment a positive one. In doing so, I believe the principal must work with their teachers. Principals should not shy away from collaborating with others. Though they are in-charge of making the school 'vision' a reality, they must not be bias in doing so.

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  2. KZMarch 24, 2018 at 1:04 PM

    Hi Jay,

    I wrote about the two very same topics: professional development and leadership within a school. I believe that in order for a school and its staff to be successful, you need great leaders to help guide and lead by example. I am very fortunate to work in a school where my principal is a leader and communicator. He has set a culture and climate that exemplifies a positive environment with supportive staff members. We are all a part of the same team. He also believes in professional development for himself and his staff. As a result, he wants us to always being looking for ways to improve our teaching and be those "eternal students" like you mentioned above.

    Thanks,
    Kirsten

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  3. lisa_pesaventoMarch 27, 2018 at 10:46 AM

    Hi Jay,

    I really like how you discussed the importance of principals working together with teachers ad staff to create a positive learning environment. It is so crucial that principals involve all teachers when creating a vision for a school, and that all staff approves of and works to exemplify that vision. If everyone is truly on the same page, it will reflect in the climate and culture of the school, and set a genuine and fantastic example for students to follow.

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