New Module Two

             Few instances come to mind when thinking about observing leaders initiating change. Most of the grant-writing and pushes for change occurred behind closed doors. The only thing we were told was the progress of the grant and if we received the money to continue with the integration. This happened last year when the teacher leaders of our school wanted to change the decline of student graduates. They wrote a grant and looked into high schools in Texas that had integrated classes with one-to-one technology.

They got the permission, got us the “okay” to fly to Texas, and helped us push for Youtube at school. However, they themselves refused to take the new classes that they were asking for. This didn’t make sense to me, and they have a free period to discuss the progress of the integration. They started all the change, and now my school has an integrated math and science class, as well as an integrated English and history class. It’s difficult to completely change, when administrators and the “steering committee” don’t go to the training or conferences with the teachers initiating the change. Those group of teacher leaders may have been able to get the change rolling, but they wouldn’t be able to keep it rolling.

Therefore, the people I see making change are those teachers in the integrated classrooms, such as Kristin DeVaul and April Gilpin. They work hard to integrate their curriculum into one class and try to make it interesting. Technology is always used in their classroom. They have a portable laptop station with a classroom set of computers, as well as the amount of research and discovering they do on their cell phones and computers is impressive. They are always looking to improve.

My leadership assessment told me that I got 77 out of 90. My developing leadership assessment told me:

·         Assessing the environment: 52 out of 70—stronger score

·         Creating Clarity—visioning and mobilizing: 68 out of 70—excellent score

·         Building Trust: 64 out of 70—excellent score

·         Sharing Power and Influence: 63 out of 70—excellent score

·         Developing People: 62 out of 70—excellent score

·         Self Reflection: 52 out of 70—stronger score

I have high leadership abilities; however, there are some things I need to improve upon: providing support and stimulation, self-confidence, positive attitude and outlook, and emotional intelligence. I don’t have much confidence in my ability to lead. I have confidence in my skill set, but when it comes to leading people successfully, I’m not sure that I could pull it off. I tend to be a stickler for lists and production, which is why I had a lower score in providing support and stimulation. It’s hard for me to hear excuses for why things aren’t done, and I often get stressed if people do things differently from what I would do. I need to work on my empathy for things not finished on time or completely when I think they should be done.