Chapter 6: Development Programs for Educational Leaders

 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?