I enjoyed reading a few of the tips in the last chapter of How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader. I feel a lot of administrators loose sight of the idea of providing instructional leadership. It is important for administrations to be aware of what is happening in their building as well as provide guidance when they feel there is an area a teacher needs to improve on. Most teachers aren't experts in everything and therefore could use some guidance. Administrators also should be available to offer support for teachers when dealing with difficult students or parents. Overall, administrators need to be present and easily accessible.
Administrators also need to provide staff with a solid curriculum that meets state standards and is aligned across grade levels. This is something our district has been striving to do for years. It is a key component for student and teachers success. Effective teaching builds and expands upon concepts that have already been learned in previous grade levels. It is important for administrators to facilitate this conversation between grade levels and to provide a map of what is taught in each grade for incoming teachers.
Finally, the book mentioned how important it is to provide students with silent reading time. This really hit home to me because our district is starting a new program called Action 100/100 Book Challenge. Each day students are provided 30 min, uninterrupted, reading time. They are supposed to be reading books at their level 1 hour a day (30 min in school and 30 min. at home). We just started this program and I am excited to see how our test scores are in the spring. Hopefully by making reading a priority we will increase our scores.
I suppose it is the reality of today's education system, but measuring everything based on the scores of standardized tests has never sat well with me. Your reading program sounds great and the value improving student reading skills will be an enormous boon to their life far beyond a test that no one will remember when they are 45 and still know how to sit down and enjoy a good book.
ReplyDeleteAs an administrator I can possibly shed a little light. Realize that my administrative duties at my school may not be typical however. There are so many things going on behind those doors that the average teacher hasn't a clue about. I've spent this entire week dealing with issues around 1 parent. I haven't even had time to get the computers up and running in the classrooms yet as the Tech Coordinator. I want nothing more than to be able to get out onto the floor and into the classrooms to help teachers with technology and student learning. My paperwork and dealing with a thousand other things keep me from it. I think many/most administrators would love to be able to spend more time working with teachers, school improvement and the like but there are so many other things.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you pointed out that us teachers are not experts in everything and we do need support. Our leaders do need to realize this and when they do success can be had. Just like we must scaffold our lessons, leaders must scaffold their changes.
ReplyDeleteI think you touched on some major responsibilities of administrators here, but there is always one thing that I have to remind myself of: In order for an administrator to do those things effectively they need to stay in touch with the daily structure and activities involved in running a classroom. That may be easier said than done, but it is extremely important. I remember how I felt when I received a mediocre performance review from a principal who hadn't stepped foot in my classroom in 2 years. As a leader, they need to keep that in mind if they want to have more credibility among their staff.
ReplyDelete