Week 6 - CEDO656

First of all, it has been VERY frustrating to log onto my blog in the past weeks.  I wish that Blogster would have notified me when they changed my email log-in.  Pulled out a lot of hairs before I finally was able to log in!!!

I guess my definition of leadership hasn't really changed, as what I always thought of as a good leader seems to have been proven through this course and the book.  Being a teacher leader can be very...frustrating.  We are working on further developing our technology K-12, and finding out how resistant to change people are is frightening.  What really surprises me is people's reaction to the change.  For example, I had a teacher email me, with several other members of the technology committee, that she wanted all of these items in her classroom - projector, laptops for the kids, smart board, etc.  Winter is a small school, and we can't afford to give all the teachers their own Smart Board, so we have one in each wing for the teachers to share until they have shown that they will use the investment of the equipment.  This is a teacher who hasn't touched a Smart Board, let alone take her students to the computer lab.  I emailed her back and very pleasantly told her that all of these things were available to her, all she had to do is ask for them.  Then I find out that the only reason she emailed me in the first place was when I denied her all of these items, she could say she tried to incorporate technology but was denied the use of the equipment.  Wow.  Being, or trying to be, a leader is tough.  You have to have a tough skin.

I believe that the only way education is going to become better is if the teachers make it better.  All the mandates in the world will not improve teaching if the teachers don't believe in them.  I believe that every little change is for the better, and that if I try something and succeed, someone else might be willing to try it.  It might spread slowly, or quickly, but if we the teachers don't change, and improve, education won't.  The state can tell us to do so many things, such as making sure your test scores improve every year.  Just because your test scores improve, doesn't mean you are doing the right things in your classroom.

Am I a leader?  I like to think so.  But when you read the paragraph above, I have to admit I have my doubts.  I always thought of myself as an enabler - I want to see people succeed, so I will make sure they have in their hands what they need to succeed.  Unfortunately, I'm realizing that I see things in black and white - you need or you don't need - and others see things in shades of....I'm not sure what color!!!  But I won't give up.  If this cohort has taught me anything, it is to persevere.  You CAN do anything you set your mind to!