N2 Leaders Growing Leaders program – my leadership philosophy change

As a result of the N2 Leaders Growing Leader program, it affirms my belief in taking ownership to develop my teachers so as to improve ability and address willingness. 

In school, the most important people are our students. However, our primary role as school leaders and middle managers know is to develop the teachers. The best way to enhance the learning for the students is to provide them outstanding teachers.  That is why in both schools I was attached to during my attachment focused on  raising their teachers’ efficacy through training in curriculum such as Understanding by Design (UbD) and differentiated instruction in Chongfu Primary, and Concept based and Skillful Teacher in YTSS. The focus is on students – by focusing on teachers!

Also the readings on the Leadership for Organizational Learning and Student Outcomes (LOLSO) study shared by my principal mentor Mr de Silva showed that though many factors influenced quality of learning, and changes in programs and process can have some impact, the only way school leaders and middle managers effectively affect and contribute to learning in school is by influencing and improving the teachers already in the school. 

I am sure that our teachers will do their best they know how. If we want them to do better, we must help them improve their skills and master new ones. And since teachers do their best they know how, we can expect that they will put new skills into practice. 

Take for example, engaging in positive teacher student relationship (TSR) which applies to all teachers. All teachers build TSR the best they know how. Why am I so sure of this? Simply because having positive TSR is in the teacher’s best interest. Which teacher does not want a foster a positive TSR? Teachers will struggle with fostering such positive TSR will eventually, if not immediately, become frustrated with their students’ negative development and lack of motivation to learn. Surely, if they know how to better build positive TSR, they would do so. The best teachers may build positive TSR for the sake of their students, but all teachers want to interact with their students positively if they have skill.

I believe that recognizing this fact of human nature is important towards brining changes in my teachers, not just in positive TSR but in all aspects of teaching. With this assumption that all teachers do their best they know how, our attention is now on improving what they know. 

Hence, the peer observation of teaching in Chong Fu primary and Open classroom concept in YTSS are ways, I thought, of enabling teachers in schools to be much better teachers! Even for me, I don’t’ pretend to visit my teachers’ classroom just to only improve their teaching. Quite contrary, I learnt from them, the techniques and approaches that I could model in other classrooms. My visits also provided me with the opportunity to support my teachers. Hence, getting other teachers into their classrooms is an essential tool. After all, who better to “teach” the teachers than those with the best skills?

My only concern is whether it is a good idea to put the best teachers as examples for other teachers. My personal take is to frame the observations as a two way learning, an interaction between fellow teachers. For example, getting an outstanding teacher and less skilled teacher to observe each other’s lesson so that they build a relationship. Otherwise, less skilled teacher may just work hard not to learn anything from the other teacher:)

Teacher Student Relationship_Part 1

Teaching is a universal pursuit – everyone does it. Parents teach their children, senior colleagues teach their juniors, spouses teach one another and of course, teachers teach their students. As students spend a large part of their waking hours in school, teachers also spend an amazing amount of time teaching their students in class. Teachers find that time richly rewarding because it helps students to learn new skills and acquire new knowledge. Such times are joyous learning for both students and teachers – it motivates the teachers to continue contributing to the development of their students.

But as practitioners, we teachers also know that teaching students can also be terribly frustrating and draining mental and emotionally with disappointment. These are times when the teacher discover to his/her dismay that his/her enthusiastic desire to teach something worthwhile to students somehow fails to cause an enthusiastic desire in his/her students to learn.

When students seemingly without reason, refuse to learn what teacher so unselfishly and nobly willing to teach them, teaching is anything but nerve-racking to the teacher. In fact, it will be a miserable experience which may lead to feelings of fear, hopelessness, inadequacy and too often, hate and deep resentment towards the unwilling and ungrateful learner!! Have you observed others or had conversations with others about such situations in your personal and professional teaching experiences? Are teachers equipped to deal with his/her own or the students' emotions?

So, what makes the difference between teaching that works and teaching that fails and teaching that brings joyful and rewarding learning and teaching that causes frustration and anguish? Certainly there are many different factors such as teaching practices, engagement in learning, teacher student relationship, peer relation, recognition and discipline that influence the outcome of the teacher's efforts to teach student. But I feel that one of the factors contributing the most – namely the degree of effectiveness of the teacher is establishing a particular kind relationship with students. In this, I mean that it is the quality of the teacher student relationship that is crucial – more crucial, in fact, than what the teacher is teaching, how the teacher does it, or whom the teacher is trying to teach! Why is this so? Well, I believe that without quality teacher student relationship, very little learning will take place.

Setting my boundaries

As acting Head of Department (HOD), I felt as though I am on the job six days a week, twelve – fourteen hours a day. And in many ways I am. But I came to realize for those middel manager who don’t establish a sense of boundary between their own lives and the contribution they make to their school run a risk of low job satisfaction and a high rate of burnout. Hence, I did a quick relook of my new role and responsibilities three weeks ago, and decided to set clear boundaries between my work and my personal life as I did when I was Subject Head (SH).

Not every lunch has to be a working lunch at my desk. I can take some time off by myself at the staff lounge or to chat with colleagues I really want to be with in the canteen, not just working colleagues who I need to work with. There are times I must say to myself – No bringing work back home today! But at times it is impossible not to bring work back – then I need to say to myself not to bring certain kinds of work home with me!

As I worked on my roles and responsibilities this year 2013, I hope to learn from the experience, and next year be able to establish a plan where I will take work back home only on certain days of the week. Hence, I will need to delegate more freely, particularly when there are other SHs and teachers who are more experienced and better trained or more capable of managing certain events or doing Raa─Raa than I am. I also refused to be led by some colleagues who try to draw me into other teacher’s personal concerns. By refusing all these do not mean that I am not a caring people developer or caring HOD. Instead, I find that it would be beneficial to everyone to detach myself from problems which I believe the teachers themselves really have to solve by themselves.

I also have to keep reminding myself that I cannot give other what I don’t have myself – this been my first year in my new role. I really need to establish boundaries so that I will not deprive myself of all my energy and more importantly the sense of calm, without which, I would not be in any position to help my SHs or teachers even if I try to.

Student Leadership – in the direction it needs to GO!

I read this quote in the internet by Mahatma Gandhi “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” which made me think about today’s work with my student councils on the 12th Student Council Investiture next Monday.

This morning the student councilors, having accomplished a goal which may seemed a bit overwhelming as a task to take on during a single day in their capacity especially the new SC EXCO, but today at least, I saw their determination and effort in trying to be the change they want to see as AI student councilors. In other words, if there were distrust and low morale, today they showed to me by extending trust through teamwork and cooperation. If the student councilors suffered from lack of energy, their focused in all of their runs and re-runs reflect heightened energy which came out from within them.

Whatever it is, I felt in the environment, a renew sense of trust and heightened morale. I too was influenced by them and this was reflected in my attitude and interactions with the student councilors today.

One thing that I learnt from today was that although I won't be able to effect a significant change in a single day, but I am sure to say that with the trust and energy showed by the student councilors, I will definitely discover a way to start taking in the direction that the student leadership unit needs to go!

Encouraging the Heart of Our Student Leadership!

The recently conducted focused school climate survey study reported our student councilors see themselves existed to serve the student body and the school. If leadership is rooted in service, then service is rooted in encouragement. There is then a need for our school leaders and us teachers to help unlock the strengths and passion of our student leaders through encouragement. Our student leaders need to be reminded that they are worthy and capable, instead of being “blasted” by teachers at every opportunity! There are so many in the school that needs our student leaders! The school and teachers need their help to reach their purpose. Hence, I believe that these student leaders need to be encouraged by words of inspiration and conversation of hope. As long as we want good student leaders, we have to take care of them. They need to be told they have potential. They also need support when they falter, and assurance that they can make the next step.

I see a major part of my role as middle manager in charge of student leadership development involves encouraging and inspiring my student leaders so that they are transformed into achieving higher levels of motivation and character. In addition, through my belief in them, my encouragement to bring the best in them and my reminder that they are capable, I hope that our student leaders are able to uncover their unique leadership potential so as to achieve great accomplishment. For if there is not hope, inspiration and constant encouragement, those accomplishments present or future of our student leaders may never have taken place.