Blog Post #4 - Leadership Connector, Safety

"No tolerance policies are examples of inflexible procedures.  In the name of consistency school boards often adopt no tolerance policies to demonstrate to the community and to potential offenders that the district is tough on crime and violence."  It is sad how some administrators just see rules black and white and fail to see that there are exceptions to every rule. As teachers and administrators it is important to remember that we are dealing with children and that decisions we make can drastically affect their lives.  Being flexible is not being weak, but being fair. As teachers we also have to remember to be flexible, I have seen teachers bragging about not allowing a student to take a test even thought the student had an emergency.  It is important for administrators when they see a student, a teacher and an administrator being a bully to stop them and confront them and stop their behavior.

Blog Post #3

“Support begets support” How true is that!

If administration wants us to help out, but if we as teachers do not feel supported it is difficult to be motivated to volunteer and support their programs.  I am fortunate because my administration is very supportive. I attended the Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Literature conference this summer. I donated a whole week of my vacation time, and did not get paid, but my school supported me by paying for the conference at a cost of over $1,000.00. This mutual support in return has helped me to be better prepared for my AP Spanish Literature class.  Although this is a very good a way to support a teacher, there are other ways I had felt supported by my school administration. For example, if a parent ever calls to complain, I know that my side will be heard too. I know that if I need materials for my class, my administration will try its best to provide those materials for my class.  Since we are in the process of developing our Professional Learning Communities (PLC) our department has been supported by providing substitute teachers to cover our classes in order for all the teachers in our department to work together.

Blog Post 2: Written Based on Chapters 1 and 2 Leadership Connectors

I was very impressed on how accurate and practical the advice and guidance was in this book. I have been teaching for over twenty years and had worked under four different principals. While reading these two chapters I could see various characteristics from each one of them.  I noticed their weaknesses in some areas and their strengths in other areas.  My first principal was a very intelligent man. He would always frame situations as opportunities. This helped us feel that our goals were achievable."Reframing offers the opportunity to build on what works, not to lament what you cannot control."(Hensley & Burmeinster, 2009)  My present principal has many good communication skills. I  respect him and admire him. At the beginning of every school year he sends a letter to each teacher telling us about everything that has been going on at school and at the end of the letter, he personalize each one of them.  He write something like this, " I am so pleased to have you as part of our school 's team.  You are an amazing teacher and I appreciate everything you do for our students. I know that you had volunteered in ELAC and that you had made a connection with the Spanish speaking parents. Please continue the great work!" Somehow receiving a letter like this makes everyone feel appreciated. He is a great communicator. He has been able to motivate us to volunteer for activities we normally would not. "Support comes in many shapes and forms. It might be financial, material, physical, emotional, human, and/or moral".  Yes, teachers need the support from their administrators, but in order for administrators to know how to support the teachers, their is a need for administrators to find out where teachers may need the most support.  I am encouraged that this book provided with ideas how to obtain the above stated information.In summary I am very inspired after reading the first two chapters of this book.

First Face to Face EAD 269

Purposely Driven

This short video was eye opening for me.  I did not realize that in order to motive other we need to use a reward that is more intrinsic than extrinsic.  What an eye opening! How can anyone be a leader and not know this? I guess my current principal is very aware of this notion.  He asked all teachers to volunteer to teach a study skills class during our prep period and only offer $100.00 He received a great amount of teachers volunteer and I know it was not the $100.00.  We teachers value our prep time tremendously. What he did, he had as meet at lunch time, he had pizza, and drinks and was very enthusiastic and he just this motivated the majority of teachers.  Other schools wonder how he was able to accomplish this.  I would definitely like to use this technique to motivate others in order to better serve my students.  I am aware of the Latino parents’ lack of participation at the schools and would like to use this to motivate and inspire them to participate.

 Jeanette Wullschleger

09/02/2011