Cedo599: Week One - Getting it Together

So, we're finally at this moment! Yhee ha! I totally feel overwhelmed, however, to be honest. I have the proposal, but I've had a change of heart after looking more closely at the virtual website I'd like to incorporate into the social studies curriculum. The website, Wiglington and Wenks, is designed for grades 3-6, so I was going to go with it as a way to introduce 3rd grade to virtual worlds. Visually, it's perfect for them, somewhat mimicking a Club Penguin feel and look. When I started thinking about the incoming 3rd grade, however, I quickly had a change of heart. In particular this year, there will be several lower-level readers and students I know who will need much more guidance. This last group of 3rd graders I had were extremely tech savvy and independent and would have thrilled at the prospect of working their way through this virtual maze.

So, after more consideration, I've decided to go to the other extreme and use W&W as a 6th and 7th grade social studies unit. I'm hoping once the students get past the little kid look of the avatars, they'll find the website interesting and challenging. I've already spent a lot of time exploring the various geographical locations, collecting artifacts and historical figures, and I have yet to solve anything, so I'm thinking it'll keep them challenged.

My challenge right now, however, is not so much visualizing the task at hand; rather, it's trying to get all my ducks in a row, and I'm concerned that I've really bitten off more than what is realistic. As a complete unit, this will be fabulous and is certainly something I'll take directly back to my classroom in the fall. But in order to introduce W&W, I first need to review/introduce newer concepts in Internet Safety. W&W includes a great Internet Safety tutorial and is one of the first tasks students must complete in order to obtain a passport to travel. I wanted to branch off on theirs, however, an include several teaching units from Netsmartz.org. Finally, I also want students to reflect on what they're doing, so I have spent a huge amount of time, revising St. Ann's Ning that I created last year. Rather than focus only on Computer class, I have broaden the Ning to include Grades 5-7 in all subject areas and hope that I'll be able to demonstrate to the appropriate teachers how they can upload and use the Ning. But for my purpose, I am using the Ning as the gateway for everything we're doing for this project. So, that's where feeling overwhelmed comes in.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Ced0565: Week Six - Final Thoughts

Now that we have completed Leadership and Planning, I have gained some new perspectives on what it means to be an effective leader in the educational system. Some of the things we learned, as well as the descriptions listed in the textbook, we not necessarily new to me, but it helped to have everything laid out in a way that was easy to understand. Many of the leadership skills I always search for in my co-workers and superiors were very much reinforced in the class; I think all of us want leaders who are assertive, organized, good listeners, insightful, and progressive. In addition, we want leaders who reinforce what we do in our classrooms, and those who are not afraid to "walk the walk" and jump into the trenches along side us. Finally, as the textbook described, we want leaders who value our knowledge and who ask for our insight on important decisions that go on everyday in our classrooms. These skills I have always held to be of the utmost importance, and I was thrilled to see them developed both in our discussions as well as in the textbook.

What I did find most revealing, although not necessarily new, was the whole concept of change within and planning for change. I don't know how other teachers feel, but when it comes to making changes, I have always felt ultimately powerless. I know there are many important things I do to help the school along, but when it comes to implementing changes, the decision always rests with the principal. Therefore, although I found the suggestions and strategies helpful, I'm not sure how effective they would be in my setting, and I wonder how many other teachers had the same gut reaction. Perhaps others find that their administrators are much like our author - someone who really seems to view his teachers as the stakeholders they are. In my rather limited experience, I have really seen a wide spectrum of leadership - those who relish that team feeling and those who see themselves as the wise and powerful Oz who hold all the answers. The hope, of course, is that more and more administrators, teachers, parents, and community members acknowledge their importance as a group.

As for my view of my own leadership potential, I do think I have many of the skills necessary to be an effective leader, but I also know that there are several areas in which I could improve. I think what I can do to help most in my current position is to continue encouraging and motivating others to go outside their comfort zone and get excited about new ways to teach. So far, I think I have been a fairly good resource, but I need to find time to be even more accessible to others when needed. I also clearly see that I need to start saying no to some of the bigger projects and focus on my students more. Right now I have my hands in just about every facet of the school and church building, from programming the A/C to updating the software for our heart machine, to reviewing security tape, that I am beginning to run out of steam when teachers are looking to me to spearhead classroom projects. I desperately need to refocus my attention and remind myself of what my first priority at my school should be.

Cedo565: Week Five

Okay, after last week's disasterous game playing, I'm happy to report that we finally got the hang of it this week. It's always interesting how one can go from completing lost to catching on. Normally, I'm very slow to catch on, at least when I'm working alone. Example; I purchased this very appealing app from my Droid that has me trapped in a very creepy room, and my goal, apparently, is to get out of that room. I have spend hours on this app, but I have yet to find a way to get out of the creepy room. It seems everytime I try to pick something up or gather a clue, I'm told that I cannot proceed. I totally don't get it, and I'm like that rat in the maze that has cornered itself and cannot move any farther. Last week, I was feeling the same way, in terms of our role playing game. It seemed everytime we made a move, we discovered that we had taken a step back instead of forward. It was very frustrating, and I was not seeing clearly the point.

This week, however, we all took a breather and spent several minutes really talking about what we maybe did wrong and what new direction we needed to take. With Jenny leading the way, we shared the notion that in order for a change to take place, the first steps really have to involve communication, communication, and more communication. You have to make sure everyone has at least knowledge of the change you'd like to take place before you can start creating the team and working toward implementing the change. Clearly, we weren't doing that before. Once we met and talked and talked again to various members of the community, we started to see progress. We also learned quickly that there are always going to be people who are not on board, no matter how many times you talk to them and listen to their concerns. Once we started making progress, everything else just seemed to fall into place, and the game became very enjoyable.

Honestly, at first, I wasn't sure of the significance of this role playing game, and I wondered why we were spending two class periods on a "pretend" activity. At the conclusion, however, I really was glad we had invested the time, and I found the game incredibly significant. In fact, I'm saving all the handouts. I know in the next year, there will be numerous changes taking place, and I think the handouts will be a good reminder for me to include the important people and take the right steps. In addition, the game was a perfect reminder of how one can stumble indefinitely if one does not take the appropriate actions before implementing change.

Cedo565: Week 4 - Lessons in Leadership

Wow! What a disaster! This week taught me so much in leadership it's mind boggling. In teams, we played a leadership game,selecting from a wide variety of scenerios that mimic much of what we do in school. The object, I think, was to choose the correct path toward making our school into an ongoing learning community. I really thought this was going to be a breeze, especially when I discovered that we didn't actually have to create the tasks, just get them in the right order. I couldn't have been more wrong, and now I have no idea what I'm doing for the continuation of the game this next week.

Overall, there were really two paths of leadership we were following. The first was the game itself which asked us to decide what steps we need to make to initiate change and keep it ongoing in a positive direction. As stated above, I was a flop. The second path, however, was just as meaningful and in some ways taught me even more, and that was the dynamics happening in our team. Of the five or so, I would say three for sure were outspoken, myself included (no surprise there). The other two were very helpful but were more on the quiet side and had difficulty getting their ideas out there for the rest of us. And of course as it turns out, one of those people, in particular, is extremely knowledgable. We should have listened to her much more, but the more talkative ones were too anxious to make decisions and attempt to get the game moving forward. We were definitely Scurry and Sniff, but unlike these two rats, we never made it to the golden pot of cheese. The others were more Hem and Haw, but Jenny in particular was Haw, conservative, reflective, and questionning. Too bad the rest of us didn't pay more attention to her. We'll know better next week.

So, again, I'm thrilled that we participated in this activity because it taught me a ton. I used to think I would want a bunch of Sniff and Scurrys on my team, but now I see there is a real need for Hems and Haws to question the paths and to articulate the correct order of things. I hope this week's game-playing goes better, and my goal is to try to listen to my "Haw" a little more.

Ced0565: Week Three

I liked this week's focus in particular because rather than center around the skills needed to be a leader, much of the material focused on various qualities of leadership and how all are important in some way. I used to think that on my team I would only want those who are "go-getters" and leaders themselves, but now thinking about it, I think I would need people whose qualities complimented mine, and I have to be honest and admit that being somewhat of an alpha, I would probably have a difficult time working with another alpha. I don't mind people who have great ideas and are assertive, but I have worked with those whose opinions only matter - people who tend to have the I-know-what's-best attitude, and it makes me crazy, to say the least. Thinking about the "Who Moved My Cheese" story, it's the Haw type of personality who makes me crazy. After awhile I get fed up with trying to convince someone that change is important. In fact, I've quit committees before because of these types of personalities. Contrary, I think I would rather work with enthusiastic people who aren't afraid of change. Of course, there's a downside to these types of people as well particularly those who are all mouth about change but then don't actually DO anything. Instead, they just blurt out all these tasks that should be done but then expect everyone else to do the actual labor. Those types make me equally crazy. In the end, we have no choice. Unfortunately, most of us don't get to pick our team and are stuck with all types of personalities. The key is to continue looking for ways to work with everyone ... or find better ways to avoid them. Hmmmm, I've done that as well.

Ced0565: Week Two - Data

This week brought together the two things that I had always assumed I hated most - data and data analysis. Typically when anyone places a page full of stats in front of my face, my eyes glaze over and I begin dreaming of happier, peaceful places where numbers don't matter and the beer is always cold. And then when I realized that I had to look at data from my school, I really thought I was going to suffer, but, once again, I was pleasantly disappointed.

Rather than study the stats from my small school - we really don't have much data to report, I decided to find out what I could about the Diocese in which I teach. Lately, there has been some changes made and those changes are trickling down to my level. On occasion I have been scratching my head, wondering what the heck is going on and why we're making these changes. After study some of the data, however, things are beginning to make sense.

Anyone who attends a Catholic parish which houses a school understands how vital the parish/school relationship is. In most cases the parish helps to support the finances of the school, alleviating a portion of the tuition cost in order to encourage families to send their children. There has been a decrease in enrollment, however, in our Diocese, and so we're beginning to feel the effects of this change. Having never looked at the actual numbers, I never realized just how drastic the changes were. Not only is enrollment declining, but the monies that support the schools are dwindling as well. There is a greater expectation of both teachers and administrators to pitch in and volunteer their time on major projects, such as curriculum development and standards. Until I looked at the data, I didn't understand why people weren't being hired for these tasks. Now I get it, although I don't necessarily agree with the method of enforcing the changes.

Now that I understand the data, I really want to find out how, as a mere teacher, I can use the models of leadership to do something? I'm not easily envisioning how the two items will mesh. I think I am trying to do my part by becoming a team member of the tech group that has been organized to develop new standards, beginning this summer. I also have been in constant communication with certain people at the Diocesan office and have collaborated numerous times with my principal to help develop our technology plan at school. But at what point do these leadership qualities we're supposed to strive for get in the way of other, equally important things, like my family? Where-o-where is the balance???

565: Week One - Leadership Assessment

The timing of this class was really interesting. I have been starting to take a closer look of what my role at my school should be. Originally, five years ago, I was hired to teach computer classes and be the librarian. Since then, however, my role has changed drastically and I find myself taking more of a leadership role as the technology specialist. Hence, I found taking the assessment as a principal helpful. Obviously I'm not a principal but the questions asked helped me define some of the areas where leadership is important.

Currently, my leadership role is rather undefined; yet, I'm constantly looked to for advice and to in-service other teachers as well as make financial decisions for our technology at school. Since my principal has limited technology knowledge, including trends and practices, I'm the one expected to direct us. In some respects this role is empowering and in many ways I feel fortunate that I don't have to deal with all the red tape others do. At the same time, I feel a huge responsibility and pressure to make the right choices when sometimes I'm not sure what the best direction is. Fortunately, each year I'm feeling more comfortable with my role, as I really work to define exactly what my position is.

This weeks lesson was also eye-opening after something that happened at school. At the beginning of the school year, the first and second grade teachers met and decided to modify the grade descriptions they give to their students. Since I help with our grading program, I had spoken to them and was aware of some of the changes. What we all discovered later, however, was that they had also drastically changed the grading scale, which affected all of us who teach specials. What was once an A was now a B or C. The change was that big. So at our last staff meeting I, once again, was going on and on about how frustrated I was with the change to the point that the first and second grade teachers were becoming frustrated with me. After I got home, I tried to carefully think through the reason behind my angst, and thanks to our lesson this week, I think I figured it out. Because the two teachers had made the decision without anyone else's input, they had ignored each of the four frames we talked about. They failed to get everyone on board with their decision. In the end, it's not that I necessarily disagree with the decision they made. In fact, in retrospect it makes sense, but they failed to explain the philosophy behind their decision in the first place. Also, they didn't take into account how many others are affected by their decision. I had no idea the scale had changed so when it came time for me to do my grades at the semester (specials only give grades at the semester), the grades were very different from what they were in the past because I was not aware of the change in the scale. In the end I apologized to the teachers and spoke to the principal about it. I explained to her why I was frustrated, and I think she understood. It has all been a great lesson in how leadership works - or doesn't.