Leadership In A School Environment
When we talked about the definition of leadership, definitely, there are multiple definitions and different leadership theories exist. According to searchcio. techtarget. com, Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to influence and guide followers or other members of an organization. Leadership involves making sound -- and sometimes difficult -- decisions, creating and articulating a clear vision, establishing achievable goals and providing followers with the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve those goals.
“The moment you choose to be an educator, you choose to be a leader” quoted by the very Estimable and reputable resource speaker Dr. Sulpicio C. Alferes, Principal at Camarines Sur National High School. He shared his inspirational talk about “Transformative Leadership in Education” during the 2nd day of seminar themed On Becoming a Teacher-Leader, held at Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (main campus).
A simple thought that really reflected a lot to all of us educators. Being an educator we need to possess this very essential attributes that will help us to facilitate teaching and learning process efficiently and effectively. Soon, we will be the leader for learning that is why we need to be knowledgeable about it. We will be the ones to set directions and develop our student’s knowledge and values to promote better outcomes. Transformative leadership consisted of different qualities: Self-worth, self-management, courage for decision-making, set a standard, inspirational, entertain new ideas, adaptability, proactive, know your people and lead with clear vision. The inspirational talked made us understand more about Transformative leadership which focuses on improving performances, leading changes and creating new ideas. He also discussed about Servant leaders in which according to him, Servant leader blends and balances a leader and servant. The Servant leaders focus on supporting their followers and meeting their needs first like student achievement and well-being.
As a future teacher we are a servant leader in a way that we are the ones to impart the knowledge and skills to our student. To initiate change that is necessary in adapting to ever changing demand in the 21st century. Using our skills and expertise in teaching, we can be able to support and ensure participation in teaching learning and development.
According to Dr. Sulpicio, Servant leaders values diverse opinion, they regularly seek for others opinion, they cultivates a culture trust, help people with life issues. They acts with humility and sells instead of tellAs a servant teacher-leader we must ensure that our top priority is to meet our students need, not only in terms of knowledge and skill but most specially the values that are essential and fundamental as they face their future life. We should set our mind that as a servant leader we need to be a good example of behavior, to have clear goals and vision in which we are being expected to do our best.
“A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better. ”- Jim Rohn
Educational Leadership
Educational leadership is usually the responsibility of school administrators and principals, who strive to create positive change in educational policy and processes. Educational leadership involves working with and guiding teachers toward improving educational processes in elementary, secondary and postsecondary institutions. Those in educational leadership roles tend to go above and beyond just management and administrative tasks, however. They are trained to advance and improve educational systems and create and enact policies. Educational leaders usually are employed as school principals or administrators but can take on additional roles, such as department chair or academic dean.
Organizational Leadership
Organizational leadership is a dual focused management approach that works towards what is best for individuals and what is best for a group as a whole simultaneously. It is also an attitude and a work ethic that empowers an individual in any role to lead from the top, middle, or bottom of an organization.
Principles and Practices of School Culture
Learning environment is one of the most important components in aiming to improve teaching and learning process and so it is a must for us to know the significance of a school culture. A school culture generally refers to beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes and written and unwritten rules that shape the influence every aspect of how a school functions, but the term also encompasses more concrete issues such as physical and emotional safety of students, the orderliness of classroom and public spaces or the degree to which a school embraces and celebrates racial, ethnic, linguistic or cultural diversity.
School culture Principles and Practices is consisted of different qualities; student relation promotion, instructional program coherence and extracurricular activities. Our understandings about these qualities will help us review what school culture is and how it plays a vital role in the learning and teaching processes. The practices and principles we must abide to promote a successful school culture.
Quotes: School Culture is the personality of the group, which is influenced by the leadership, the community, the school‘s history and the unwritten rules people abide by. Climate is the general attitude of people in the school relative to specific situations. - Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker
The most important rule of educational leadership is to always remember that people not policies or programs are what drive high effective schools. - PJ Caposey
Empowering Leadership and Empowered Work Force
“The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see. ” – Alexander Trenfor. This saying simply explains that we cannot develop people by ourselves but we should let them develop by themselves. Every one of us needs to feel empowered if we want to be at our best self and live our best life. To empower others, we should teach them to have courage if they want to be successful in their life, relationships or even on their career. So the important question is, “How do we empower people?”Empowering others is not only about getting things done, but it is also about the relationship that is being built in getting things done. Giving and receiving feedback is important in assessing our achievement, wherein we can be able to consistently bloom in our field and provide us motivation and empowerment to continually perform at our best. Helping other and appreciating other peoples help will foster support and collaboration that will make people stronger and active in getting things done which also result to unity. There are lots of ways in empowering leadership, but we have also barriers or this thing called “Leadership Traps” which are Anger, Ego, Competition, and Urgency which we can encounter along the way that makes being an empowering leader difficult. However, we should see it as a challenge to surpass I order to succeed. According to the old saying, if there’s a problem there’s always a solution.
So let them know that self-love is as important as being empowered in life. Knowing yourself will lead you to to grow, change and develop to the best version of you. Value yourself more, be confident, be brave and be empowered to take risks and try things that might seem scary and unsure, just be the best of who you are, and feel free to pursue the things that are meaningful to you. In this way, empowerment leads to happiness.
Teacher and Community
A teacher’s role in the community is to transfer knowledge that is important for the future of each individual in the society. The teacher characterizes the best values and attitudes of the community, standing as examples of fairness, compassion and concern. Teachers should manifest as educator, caregiver, community leader, colleague, and even student. All of these roles will create the best education that he can give to his students that can build strong community.
“One of the most important leadership lessons is realizing you’re not the most important or the most intelligent person in the room at all times. ”- Mario Batali
