Blog Post #6 - Leadership Connector Continuous Renewal

Leadership Connectors is without a doubt one of my favorite textbooks during the course of this Master’s Degree and Credential Program. Chapter five is one of my favorites. It spoke to me not just as a possible administrator, but also as a veteran teacher.  Many times I have neglected my health because I did not think that I had adequate time to go to the doctor, the gym or to cook healthy food. This reading made me aware that in order to do all the things I needed to do I urgently need to take care of my body and soul.  I also appreciated the section in this chapter that refers to “reflection”.   I have been using reflection as a teacher for several years. It has helped me to deal with students, and colleagues. If a student misbehaves in the classroom I ask the student, “Please go outside and wait for me, I will be outside in a minute or two”. Sometimes the student wants to talk about it right away and disrupts my class and I again say, “Please go outside and wait for me.”  I take a minute to calm down, since I may be upset about the interruption.  I then assign the rest of the class to work on an assignment.   In the meantime I am thinking about how I am going to handle the situation.  This has helped me so much, because by the time I am outside to talk to my student, he or she has calmed down and so have I. The student 8 out of 10 times is giving an apology and I am giving a warning or a punishment, but one that fits the crime and not one as a result of me being angry. I presume the same idea works as an administrator dealing with a conflict. Reflection is the key.