So we've learned a lot this week about leadership and what it means to make changes. Our team worked pretty hard at the game we were doing in class and we discovered, well maybe I discovered, that it takes a lot more talking with colleagues and other people in the district to really create an environment for change. I really thought, probably naive of me, that we were all in this together and no matter who brought up the idea, we could make change. I was dead wrong. There are so many other aspects to think about and discuss with outside members in order to make that change happen. It was quite surprising to me and really and eye opener.
This next school year I am planning to taking some of the ideas from the reading and focusing on one each month of the school year. Since discussing this with my wife, who is also in education, I realized that I don't speak to my administrators as well and as thought out as I could. So this year will be the year of learning how to better communicate with my administrator and how I can effectively communicate with not just him, but also with other staff members. We are all in this together but it's the way I go about creating this environment of change that will really determine our success or failure.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Data Analysis
This week was filled with a lot of data analysis. I find it is very interesting to see the areas that should get a focus but may not be for whatever reason. The hard part of this whole assignment is that there are a lot of numbers to pay attention to a lot of screen flips to get it all figured out.
This we we also read chapters 2 and 3. Now, there was a lot of information regarding the potential hiring of new teachers, what questions should and shouldn't be asked, and how to properly ask the questions so that we do not lead the person to the answer. However one section just got me laughing aloud, and that was the discussion on proper e-mail etiquette. Wow was that fun. I spoke in the questions about how there are teachers that have difficulty with understanding that e-mail is also a professional way of communication. Everything that is sent through e-mail is saved in public record and can be used as evidence or as a way to gain information about a specific teacher. There are two such people in my department who have difficulty understanding this concept, and one of them does not understand that by using italics and quotations does not help us understand what you are trying to say.
Given our current political environment, I found the funding area of WINNS to be most interesting. Although there are no clear trends I did pay attention to the fact the local tax rates to fund the school district have gone up in recent years. The explanation for that is that we have been inside our 5 year referendum that was voted on a passed by the taxpaying community. After the 2011-12 school year, that referendum will have expired and we should see a decrease in that category. That is the scary part for our district.
This we we also read chapters 2 and 3. Now, there was a lot of information regarding the potential hiring of new teachers, what questions should and shouldn't be asked, and how to properly ask the questions so that we do not lead the person to the answer. However one section just got me laughing aloud, and that was the discussion on proper e-mail etiquette. Wow was that fun. I spoke in the questions about how there are teachers that have difficulty with understanding that e-mail is also a professional way of communication. Everything that is sent through e-mail is saved in public record and can be used as evidence or as a way to gain information about a specific teacher. There are two such people in my department who have difficulty understanding this concept, and one of them does not understand that by using italics and quotations does not help us understand what you are trying to say.
Given our current political environment, I found the funding area of WINNS to be most interesting. Although there are no clear trends I did pay attention to the fact the local tax rates to fund the school district have gone up in recent years. The explanation for that is that we have been inside our 5 year referendum that was voted on a passed by the taxpaying community. After the 2011-12 school year, that referendum will have expired and we should see a decrease in that category. That is the scary part for our district.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Leadership in School
I was the department chair for the music department for 2 years, grades 7-12 in two different buildings. I was an experience. I chose to resign as the chair after the birth of my daughter so that I could spend more time at home but also because it was apparent that the position was designed to fail, and although my best efforts were focused on changing the position, the administration refused to follow through.
More recently, I have tried to introduce new technologies to other teachers and to help influence the tech department to consider opening up Twitter to our district. Although there is no plan at this time, I am slowly demonstrating how this can be used in classrooms and show that it is possible to develop a plan for inappropriate behavior on the school network.
Other music teachers in my department are open to my ideas and welcome any ideas that help make their job more efficient or that will be interesting to introduce to their own students.
More recently, I have tried to introduce new technologies to other teachers and to help influence the tech department to consider opening up Twitter to our district. Although there is no plan at this time, I am slowly demonstrating how this can be used in classrooms and show that it is possible to develop a plan for inappropriate behavior on the school network.
Other music teachers in my department are open to my ideas and welcome any ideas that help make their job more efficient or that will be interesting to introduce to their own students.
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