Teacher Leadership Pt.1: M1_FA 5-What is Leadership?

As per course, 

 Read:

Ontario College of Teachers - Foundations of Professional Practice

http://www.oct.ca/-/media/PDF/Foundations%20of%20Professional%20Practice/Foundation_e.pdf

 

Ontario’s Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/equityquickfacts.pdf

 

Watch:

Leveraging informal leadership | Heidi Siwak | TEDxKitchenerED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A0ASZpU_WQ

 

Leadership is defined by a person who takes charge of a group and helps everyone within that group to become successful in their role. A leader is someone who uses their strengths to guide and assist others in order to help them reach their potential as well. There are certain qualities that are needed for leadership to ensure that they are capable of managing and running the group. These qualities would include confidence, integrity, transparency, inspiration, innovation, patience, passion, to name a few. Teachers that share these qualities make for a good leadership within the school environment. To create a positive school climate, teachers may need to take upon leadership qualities to help implement programs, activities, and assistance wherever possible.

Post:

What is a leader? Does it align with your vision of what a leader is? How does leadership align with The Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession and The Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession? Outline some key ideas that make an effective leader.

 As per discussion,

"As I understand it, a leader is someone who is designated to moving a group or cause through a journey (often one of difficulties and challenges) in order to get through to the other side (whether that be physically or metaphorically).

According to the Focus Area reading, I would say that the idea of a leader does align with my own in all other ways except "take charge", I mean its a splitting hairs sort of discussion. I will discuss it though because it goes back to the whole "taking credit and deserving" credit sort of idea that I mentioned in a previous FA. 

I don't think its always necessary or appropriate for a "leader" to be a single one person, nor do I think its ALWAYS fair to say its some one who "takes charge", but it could just be semantics and equally it could be said that someone "who has been nominated" or "who has assumed a role...", but its important to note that a leader doesn't have to be nor should it need to be that one person steps up and determines that "we need leadership", pretty sure that is how a lot of dictatorships were formed :/ I'm one for a unified "we do/don't need a leader", we have a system it works, "complaints go in the bin and the swear jar tips go to the Christmas party/charity/whatever it is that year (that the group decides on)", and yes, sometimes the whole "what are we going to do with the (hypothetical) swear jar funds?" needs to be "initiated" by a person, but does that mean that person is assuming the responsibility of "leader"? I don't think so and nor do I think its a reason to call one such a leader-now if its this same person for every holiday or event that pulls the group to the side and initiates everything, at that point, then you have an "assumed" leader.

The idea of a "leader" very much makes me feel like someone is looking over my shoulder (even when they are not), or that there is the assumption that I need someone to look out for me, and I don't think that's always necessary-indeed a second pair of eyes over an exam finalisation from a colleague is helpful-but, come on, if someone is getting paid cause they can lead me-they had better be revolutionising our course materials.

Ugh, I don't mean to sound apprehensive about it, but I'm not really one who could say they would be excited if they are working in an office for a majority (dare I say "veteran" amount of time), and then someone fresh off the lot pops in saying that they can lead us. I mean, I'd feel a little uncomfortable showing up to one of your offices' and saying, "hey you know what you need, me. A leader, vote for me-or not the choice is yours. But really, do it-I bake cookies and banana bread." However, had the situation been in dire need of a "leader",  or it was among coworkers I'm familiar with, I'd be more willing to toss my name into the hat. 

Story time: I was three years in teaching, at this point I was a DH for the Food and Nutrition Program at our International School, they wanted me to focus on the developments and management of the budget/kitchen (so I couldn't have the DH position for English 3U-I wanted it, but not as much as I wanted the Food and Nutrition 11/12). I still very much had a block in the English department though as that is what I'm foremost qualified to teach. I had been in the English department for 3 years at that point, it was head by various veterans who would flip flop staying/going like/don't like sort of mentalities. This year that I applied though I was sure they were going to pass the Food DH position to another teacher who was very resilient to having a leader (but we worked alright together-though we worked alright together, they really wanted to have ALL food blocks, extra money and not need to worry about me standing over the budget), but administration wanted me in there to manage the kitchen (the other teacher wanted to blow the budget on complete renovation of the kitchen, brand new equipment etc. I preferred we kept it for students to cook what they want with and also use it for field trips/classroom celebrations/holiday dinners/diner start-up projects etc.-they didn't ALWAYS make money off their investments but we budgeted for that ;) )

I digress, I didn't get the English 3U DH spot, the new teacher hot out of teacher's college got it-she was awesome too and very friendly, honestly a great leader and very much a "I'm here to mainly help us all report in sync to administration and make your lives easier"-kind of leader/person. She did those things, but any time I had a suggestion, honestly I felt almost bad to bring it up, she was so nice and kind-the first couple times-I'd bring the idea up about assessment practice and changing it, she would be supportive and say let's talk about it at the next meeting, it certainly aroused heated discussion and she certainly didn't know how to conclude on it, most because there were the idealists and the realists in the department. That's when I was very much looking at her and thinking-I'm glad that's not me, because they were discussions that would greatly change the way assessments were done and that would not just impact our humble little department, but the "system" as a whole, equivalent to "a board", the school was very much still in a sense "developing" a means of delivering a BC Canadian curriculum to ELL without over modifying or accommodating students as they are enrolled in University Preparatory courses, not to mention at that time there were also provincial exams in BC. I certainly think though, had the former DH had been at the center of that conversation, it would have certainly been a better or less heated turn out. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that leaders need to make the hard decisions and be a voice that everyone else can speak up from, not just delegate and determine for the mass."