Education is something that is very important in the United States and around the world today. This Chapter focuses on teachers and the administrative side of leadership within the education system. Personally this was a very different way to look at leadership. Was it for you? This chapter begins by describing the characteristics of an educational leader that the book describes as perceptions of their development. These characteristics are the leaders entry into the public schools as classroom teachers and their expertise as educators. Although, we have to look at educational leaders within a broad perspective which is called the sociopolitical context. This is defined as the external forces that influence the process of education and the dynamics of leadership within a school setting. Personally, I see this as the things that occur outside the school setting that influence how our educational leaders act and lead within the classroom. Do you think what happens to an educational leader affects how they act within the classroom? I do, I remember during elementary school I had a teacher who was working for their masters and this defiantly affected her performance within the classroom.
This chapter also looks at the background and contextual factors that can affect and educational leader. How you are raised and what occurs within your background would definitely affect any ones performance within a job setting. Do you agree?
This chapter also looks at how if you are an educational leader that your world revolves around your students and the opportunity to impact a students is what motivates many people to become teachers. I would love to believe this is entirely true, but I also think there are a lot of other motivators to become a teacher. Yes, if this was every ones main focus this would be a perfect world, but due to recent events that I have experienced outside of school I have to disagree. I'm not saying that this is not true for some people but i believe that this is very generalized compared to individualized. Any opinions on this????
It is also said within this chapter about how people who work in education can be scrutinized by the media. I believe this is very true, more in the public school system than the Private. The people who work for the public school system because they are funded through taxing. Therefore they are the people who would be targeted. I feel that it would be important to make sure that this information would relate to Private schools as well, instead of generalizing like it did within this chapter.
Honestly education is a very important to have. We all wouldn't be taking this class if we did not have some interest in learning therefore for me personally reading this chapter was insightful, although to broad when looking at educational leadership. Personally, I have never really thought of leadership through an education system. I think of educators as leaders but not how they lead and what affects them. Reading through this chapter made me think of all of my past teachers and professors that have truly touched my life. Do any of you have a educator that has done that for you? What did they do differently that maybe another didn't?
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Where you are raised and your background can effect your present and future job performance as it can impact your psychological stability. As far as teacher impact students I believe this would be true if the teacher I actually able to make and overall last impact on a student. It would be more applicable on a situational basis. I have had One teacher impact my leadership not only by example but more so in supporting my vision and ideas to flourish my leadership potential. It sometimes takes examples to inspire leadership, but it takes supporters to make a leaders vision possible.
ReplyDeleteIn the world of an educational leader, I truly believe most "teachers" worlds do revolve around their students, and the opportunity to impact students is what motivates many people to become teachers. With having a lot of different teachers throughout my educational years, I noticed and was told from various teachers that this is the reason why they got into teaching. Education is one of the most important aspects of life. Leadership is not often associated with education, but I believe as more and more research is done to back the importance of education, leadership will soon co-exist with the idea of education.
DeleteI agree that in any job personal lives can conflict and influence a persons job. But I truly think that in order for a person to be successful in any job there needs to be a separation between work and personal life. If people let personal lives get into work it can be extremely difficult on the person and the co-workers. Having a balance between work and personal life is key for being a leader and in the context of this class a good teacher. If a teacher has alot going on outside the classroom it can affect the students no matter the age. Because education is so important as a teacher the full attention needs to be on the students.
DeleteThinking back to my past teachers and professors the ones that have truly touched my life are the ones that gave teaching 100% and really cared about the students. I think that teaching is something that the best teachers have a passion for, they do it for the love of the students.
I thought this chapter was definitely different than the other chapters. However, I do think of all of my professors and teachers as leaders, regardless of how they teach. It is the fact that they simply are a leader, good or bad. I think the educational system and the system that prepares teachers and professors to be a 'leader' is lacking. They are taught to teach, but perhaps not lead in some cases.
ReplyDeleteI think how someone is raised and their background is completely true to how they go about their performance. Professors and teachers are just like any other person, in that their background effects their job just as much as someone who is not a teacher. Whether it be stress on that person, or something positive it will especially reflect in the classroom and depending on how they handle it, on the students as well. For me, I remember when one of my teachers in high school was going through a divorce with her husband who was also a teacher at the school, it reflected not only in her work, but throughout the school in gossip.
Regarding the paragraph that talks about teachers world revolves around students… I agree with Janessa. I think that if we took away the pay of an educator there would be no motivation for most teachers and professors. Although I am not in the position to judge, this goes back to the entire political debate that Scott Walker had to go through. Educators leaving the class room to go protest is just an example.
I have had many educators that definitely made a difference in my life. I look up to most of my professors and teachers, and give them all the credit in the world for what they do. It is not an easy job, and I know that most of them take it to heart and I thank them for everything they've done for me.
I agree with the fact that my teachers I see them as leaders but it can be in some cases just because of the power that they have given by SNC. I trust that SNC has the best to offer in terms of professors I am getting and even if some of them I think are not as good as leaders as others, I still see them as that. Unfortunately I think there will not be a lot of people wanting to go into teaching here in Wisconsin because of what has happened recently but hopefully we still have determined leaders. Teaching kids is one of the most important aspects of our future.
DeleteThe culture and background in which a person learns from others and where they are taught different skills does have a huge impact on performance. Everyone comes from different areas and gets taught different things and it is important to remember that when learning about life lessons.
In my life, the teachers that I have had and the coaches I have had are the ones that I look up to the most besides my parents. This is why I believe it is important aspect of our future and the future of the kids we come up to if we are teachers or coaches.
I definitely agree that what happens to a leader will affect how they act in the classroom. For example, a mother and father usually raise their children the same way they were raised. I think this is also true for teachers. They will teach their students the way they were taught by using what they felt was the most appropriate and effective method.
ReplyDeleteI agree that many teachers choose to become a teacher so that they can impact a student's life, but I also believe they have other motives. Their culture probably has a lot to do with this. Some people teach to improve the world, whereas others teach because it is what they feel they should do. For example, a woman is more likely to teach than a men because of culture or ideas. They may have chosen the path of teaching because it is normal and they fit in rather than being a doctor, which is more so known as a man's job. Thankfully that is changing.
One teacher/leader who touched my life was my first grade teacher. She stood out from all my other teachers because she showed the most amount of care and compassion for her students. It was obvious that she taught because she cared about her students and it was not just a job for her that she needed to accomplish. This made her much more approachable than any other teacher and the reason why I feel I learned the most from her in my childhood.
I also agree that an educational leaders personal life can affect their performance within the classroom. If something major is on a persons mind then its all they think about. Thus, the educators behavior changes and will affect not only the educator/student relationship but also other peers of the educator. I have personally dealt with an educator that was going through a divorce and everyday he would come to class look worse and worse. I felt bad but as a student I couldn't be involved with his personal life to help. As students we just had to hope for the best that he would walk into the classroom and be able to teach a decent lesson. It was hard to deal with as a student, but I made it through.
ReplyDeleteI agree that with how you are raised and what occurs within your background would definitely affect any ones performance within a job setting. I grew up with two professional parents who have told me how important it is to be professional within the job setting. I have been taught how to act within a professional job setting and I have seen myself grow as a person. This past summer I had an internship and used my skills, my internship was a huge success and my background definitely helped me get through it.
My senior year of high school I participated in a leadership program called Link Crew, my advisor Mrs. Wolf taught me and other students how to be successful leaders. I learned a lot from her and she mentored me a lot senior year. I was able to become closer with Mrs. Wolf and our teacher/student relationship grew into more of a friendship.
Yes, I believe that what happens to an educational leader affects how they act within the classroom. For example, if they are not very experienced, they may have a more difficult time with conflict in the classroom compared to a more experienced teacher. This is the same for all types of leaders. Different experiences enable us to lead/follow in different situations.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that a person's upbringing affects performance within a job setting. If someone has skills learned in school such as math, science, leadership or communication, they are more likely to excel in certain jobs compared to someone who did not have adequate education. They will be more likely to relate a past experience with an issue in the job and be able to handle it. Also if someone was "brought up" in a poor environment, they are more likely to fail in a job setting. Of course, there are always people who break the stereotype but this is typically what happens.
I had a math teacher in high school (I'm horrible at math) who motivated me to keep trying and find ways to excel. She spent a lot of time with me, was my after school tutor, gained my trust and helped me in any way she could. Because of her generosity and care for me as a student, I will always remember her as a leader who had a great impact on me in high school. She went above and beyond compared to other teachers. I gave her a card and gift certificate before graduation, but those things did not nearly show enough of how much I appreciated her.
How a teacher is raised and anything else they are doing outside the classroom will definitly effect their performance in the classroom. I can think of teachers in the past who have the job because its a job. These type of teachers are not fun to be around. However I have also had teachers who truly care about students well being. These are the teachers that I can remember the most. When I think of teachers like that I truly believe that they are leaders within education. They make an impact on every student who gets the opportunity to have them. If a teacher does not really care about their students and its just a job then they will not be remembered.
ReplyDeleteHaving a sister who is a teacher makes me undestand how the external factors that affect her teaching. She is someone who is very strong and can put up with alot, however there are times when i see her getting frustrated because of her coaching and instruting she does on the side. In any job, not just teaching there can be factors that impact one performance. How ones raised and background i believe effects everyones job. Growing up on a farm gave my family the ability to withstand adverse conditions and fight through tough times.
ReplyDeleteI think every educator is different as far as what they are looking for in teaching. Im sure we all have had teachers who we wonder why they are doing this job. But, we have all had teachers who we have connected with. For me it was my high school basketball coach. He was not only a great teach but a great person. We still talk weekly to this day because we have developed a friendship that will last the rest of our lives