It has been a crazy week....

Whew... what a busy week it has been.   Lots of stuff to do for class.  And, much like a "real" student... it is getting down to the wire for my posts.

As I've mentioned before I am an online "teacher".   I put quotes around it because about 90% of the time I am an online "grader".  The company I teach with has a self-contained course where the students do all sorts of activities that include reading, writing, listening and "speaking" which is really just recording themselves reading their written work in some cases.    
I bring this up because I really like how this textbook is laid out.  It gives REAL classroom examples for a truly facilitated experience which I feel I am lacking, especially since I am teaching a foreign language. Well, any course, really.

I understand that there are different learning styles that we all have、but I feel the work-at-your-pace with minimal feedback, other than a note or an email isn't the best way to teach.  This could be partly because I am only a part-time instructor and don't have office hours.    I'm not sure, I don't know what the solution is.   This comes to mind because the textbook gives many practical examples on integrating technology into an existing classroom.

Although I think learning styles all need to be accounted for and some students are more than capable of working on things on their own and doing well, I do feel that having actual interaction with a teacher is extremely important.   Things like the alligator in the sewer project in chapter 4 won't happend in a setting like what I teach in because there isn't a "class" per se.   I think that is were some students miss out.   I also think it will be all of the students who are not already highly motivated.

Let's be honest here, motivated students will do well in pretty much any setting.  It's the other students who might need a little motivation that I feel will miss out. They are the ones I feel need that flexibility and the power of the "teachable moment".  

 Humans are social creatures by and large and need to be in social environments.  Even though we have "social" media, a status update is not the same with direct communication with another person.

21st Century Learning

Well,  just minutes before our first class I was at my school board's meeting.  They had a presentation on the new 7th grade technology initiative/pilot program.

Although it was interesting, it wasn't an open forum for the general public to comment on.  I had a few questions since I now teach online.

One of the great benefits of online teaching is all of the hands on stuff.  My local middle school is using Gamestarmechanic.com (I think that was it) to have students write a story and a game that matches up which leeds to a lot of cross editing to make everything work together

The other thing the teachers commented on was their ability to communicate with their students. Two of them commented that even while they were at a conference.

Their presentation brought up a few questions for me.

1) Is there a set expectation for how soon teachers need to get back to students?  Do they have weekends off?  Is time allotted in their schedule?   I know where I work, we have to respond to emails within 24hours.    Also, if teachers are being paid to attend a conference or seminar....should the be responding to emails?

2) How long do teachers have to grade papers/assignments/projects?  I get 72hours to get my assignments graded.  

There are also some other concerns I have about the possible future of online teaching, etc.   I see a lot of great possibilities... but I think, depending on the political climate work conditions/pay/etc could vary quite a bit.

I say that because I am more of a facilitator who grades assignments, but the class itself is all inclusive.  My students have onsite, local "teachers" that assist in their learning in some cases.  I'm not sure of their qualifications... if they are actual teachers or helpers.  Other students work through it on their own.   So, what I am doing right now is very, very different from the classes we are taking or blended learning.

Well... I think I've rambled on long enough.

It's great to be part of this cohort.  I missed this class before and look forward to taking it with all of you.

"This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end Of our elaborate plans..."

Feeling like a little Jim Morrison today and the lyrics were appropriate for the last blog of this class.

Anyway, reading the book and reflecting has not only reinforced my ideas of what a good leader is, but reassured me that I made the right choice.

I think I mentioned this before, but my first time at USA Summer camp, I had no idea what I was doing and I was really open and honest with my counselors.  That worked GREAT.  We had a great rapport, and if I didn't know something or wasn't sure of the best way to do something, I asked and it went awesome.  Best summer ever.

Unfortunately, what I thought I had learned my 1st year about being a director actually worked against me my 2nd year.  The next year, even though I was working with completely different couselors, I tried to manage them like the year before.  While it wasn't a disaster, it wasn't a smooth as the previous year.  I took what I thought I knew (which is the most dangerous) and tried to recreate my successes instead of being flexible with my previous year.

My third, and last year, at camp I did more like what I did my first year. The result was another amazing summer at camp.  


Reflecting on this, I learned that it's important to have a relationship with everyone working for you.  I made an extra effort to talk to all counselors equally so that their wouldn't be favorites that were too obvious.  Everyone has favorites, the trick is to limit the perception of that and make sure you have some rapport with everyone so when you want to try something new, it's easier.

I understand that if you're in a position of power, you can always say, "Because I'm the boss." or use means of intimidation, etc. to get your way.  Unfortunately, that poisons the well and does more harm than good.


I feel some of the best advice in the book, which I have used, is to be humble and go in asking questions and not with "this is the way we're going to do it" or a "my way or the high way" attitude.  I think by being open, connected with whomever you're supervising allows you to offer advice and create change.  Feelings of insincerity or lack of connection with whom you are supervising creates problems and mistrust.

I've begun to ramble, but if you play nice and build the relationship, the rest should follow. The simulation game addressed that, and if we think about relationships and smaller management tasks we done in the past, think how much easier it has gone when you've had a good relationship or rapport with the ones you were directing.

Whoops!

So.... what happens when you have a few weeks off in the middle of class.... you completely forget to show up.   Not cool.    Fortunately, there was a recording to watch.

Watching the recording allowed me an opportunity to see some kinda cool stuff that I wouldn't have had I been in class like I was supposed to.

I really enjoyed listening to everyone talk.  I wish I could've been in class.  I will agree that talking to people is key. Building that rapport is very, very important.

But as my group said, it's probably not likely that you would be able to talk to someone 6 times like we did.  However,  I definitely think that the talking aspect is very important.  We had a team building day at the high school I used to work at.  It was really memorable.

So using activities to promote trust and good feelings would be a great way to initiate change.  


Another thing I mentioned in our group work is that teachers are often motivated by Admin wielding data.      Data seems to be the "whip" of choice to motivate.  Data is great... but so many times we are inundated with data and we start to get cynical.   I think building relationships would be a much, much, much more effective.   There definitely needs to be changes in how leadership happens in schools.

Week 4 - Aftermath

Well.... our game did go MUCH better that last time.  IT is clear now that we are social creatures and really need to get our social on to create change.  So.... by that, Socialism should've worked better than it does.
Anyway.......

Since last class I have put some distance from classwork (NOT to be read as forgotten about) and starting doing some new things.     Currently I am in a promotions consultant type position which makes for some interesting leadership/follower situations.

While I am helping with the promotions aspects (setting up online services, promotional items and eventually booking of events), there is another person working on the design aspect.   So while two of us ultimately work for Renee, there is a lot of give and take.

We are both seen as experts in what we do, but we need to make sure that she is comfortable with the change.  We also need to make sure that she is comfortable with our suggestions and ideas.

In many respects, it is what I would like to see a school learning environment to look like.  There is plenty of talk and respect.  We ultimately do what she asks but we don't feel like we can't state our opinions and thoughts.    She is a natural healer / life guide to name a few of her talents and walks in different circles than I do.  So even though I have different ideas and points of view.... it's been a very comfortable working situation.

So chapter 4 Adaptive Leadership is really appropriate.  It's been a very fluid type of leadership and while I am thoughtful with my comments/suggestions, I don't feel the sword of Damocles hanging over my head.

As for Chapter 5, Motivational Leadership..... it's awesome.  She is a very easy person to connect with and very positive.  That has made this experience really enjoyable.   She can give feedback and state her position with out coming off with the attitude of "I'm the boss."

This yet another one of my life experiences that will help me with future roles in leadership.

Week Three - Administration Simulation

Wow... that was a painful simulation.   We were so stumped as to how other people moved so much. Then, at the debriefing everyone talked about using team building.   Why didn't we think of that?  Well... part of it was that we had forgotten to check the second page of game options.   But thinking about our approach... we did kinda rush what we wanted to do.  Part of that may be because of our ages (remember that chart of the different ages of teachers) and we were impatient and then thought about what we wanted to achieve and overlooked the process a bit.

When I really thought about it... all of the team building for the simulation was really cool and the things I remember most about teaching at the high school.   We actually had a 1/2 collaboration where we got put in groups of teachers we ordinarily don't meet and sit and eat and answer some questions (kinda like questions from The Book of Questions or If.... (Questions for the Game of Life) and learn more about each other.   Then we went on to other stations like the DDR station and the t-shirt station.  It was a really cool way to build camaraderie.   I think activities like this are essential if you're going to be working with someone for 8 hours a day for 9 months.... year after year.

It was really cool and a fond memory of mine.  It's a lesson that can be learned at any work place.  What made it really cool is that time was given to us to do this.  It wasn't some activity that was organized after school... it was done during our regular work hours.  It shows us that administration supports us and values our interpersonal relationships.



I just went back and noticed I didn't specifically state how I would use this in my leadership personally... so here it is.  I would make sure to build solid, trusting good relationships with as many people as possible.  If you have trust, or trust someone change is more likely to happen.  I know I will bend over backwards for someone I trust.  And conversely, I have a difficult time working with (or for) someone I don't trust.    For me personally, I will continue to use my interpersonal skills and make sure to build connections with all that I work with.

Leadership? Whatcha got? Whatcha want?

I really enjoyed Wednesday's class. I find it interesting to listen to us talk as teachers.  Right now with all that's going on with government and all of the armchair politicians are having a hay-day.  However, with our discussions about leadership...we were mostly on the same page. I think this discussion showed us how much teacher leadership is really needed.   Forget the nitty gritty details.... we were all on the same page.  That was really cool.  I think it would be interesting to poll our co-workers and see what they think makes a good leader.  This would be a great discussion to have.  I think if we came to a concensus as teachers, we could maybe get rid of some of our administrators, save money in our districts and have better run schools.   Putting the power of leadership back into the people who actually DO the job.  

Viva la Revolution!!

(Over the top....perhaps.  An accurate assessment.... you bet!!!)