Educational Administration

Leadership at the Core

Learning about this leadership eye-opening!  Seeing the roles, responsibilities, and qualities of good leaders really had me reflecting on my own preparations towards becoming a successful administrator.  Good administrators have so many of the qualities discussed it's almost scary to think I can become like that.  My respect for my current and past administrators has increased at least twofold.  

The other night, I was chatting with my district's assistant superintendent, and he was very kind and helpful.   He posed a question to me, one that he's heard many a time from parents and community members throughout his career, "Why do the best teachers always become administrators?" He then answered his own question with, "Aren't you glad our administrators aren't the worst teachers?"  I find it interesting that most administrators do come from the best teachers around.  And I believe they are the best teachers because they don't bind themselves down with all the restrictions, they still find a way to be creative, inventive, and fun for their students.  They make the decision to be that way.  On page 53, Larry Cuban states that, "Autonomy is the necessary condition for leadership to arise... Without autonomy, there is no leadership."  These teachers use what little autonomy there is and cultivate qualities of leadership.  

As I learn more about the core of leadership - who they are, what they do, how they deal, etc., I am glad that I have time to prepare.  I plan to take on a few more administrative roles this coming year and strive to develop the qualities I lack.  The more I learn, the more I'm aware, thus the more I can improve.  The more I improve, the more ingrained these qualities become, which will make me a better person, teacher, and administrator.  This chapter was truly eye-opening - daunting, yes, but also gave valuable insight.