The Reflective Leader

Redefining my leadership philosophy has made me become more reflective as a student, educator and future leader. At the end of this journey my reflections can be divided into three categories; past perceptions, present perceptions and future perceptions.

Past and Present- It has always been the perception that leaders are bounded by the district rules and state mandates and that is the only responsibility, However, as I reflect on my leadership philosophy I realize that that is a major misconception as principals should be  leaders for student learning, through advance academics and pedagogical techniques. Principals should have systems in place for issues including student learning and closing the achievement gap and mentoring new teachers so that instruction is driven by data analysis.

Future- How will the roles of a school leader change in the coming years? It is with certainty that classrooms will become more diverse and addressing the needs of all students will be of grave importance. Technology will become more of normalcy in classrooms and focus will be centered on using it to supplement teaching. Also, there would be high demand for qualified teacher- less teacher turnover, more professional development and most importantly creating a safe school. These issues do not eliminate the fact that throughout three time frames, collaboration between all stakeholders; parents, teachers, community members and community-based organizations are important.

My Educational Philosophy

Seth Godin wrote Never again is someone going to pay you to give them the answers they can look up for free online. They will only pay you to solve problems that don't yet have answers. It is evident that in this 21^st century problem solving and critical thinking is important. Therefore, as a future leader my focus would be creating an educational environment that encourages students to develop and answer questions that have not been solve as yet and to support teachers and students in maintaining high academic standards.

Core Beliefs- I believe that all children are capable of learning and achieving at high standards, and therefore effective teaching would be require especially with the cultural and community conditions that influence them. Effective teaching requires planning, proper implementation of plans, assessment of progress, evaluation of teachers and implementation of professional development that will improve instruction. These would be applicable for different learning comities.  Parents are crucial partners in education and therefore communication between school and parents is essential.

Leadership

• Collaboration:  I believe that collaboration among all stakeholders is necessary for the realization for the vision and mission of the school.  Parents, students, teachers and community organizations can provide the support and resources that schools need.
• Systems: As a leader it is also important to have systems in place  such as common planning time, a School Building Leadership Team that will address the needs/goals of the school in a distributive leadership way. 

Conclusion
At the end of this program, I have realized that not much has changed, I still strongly believe that a leader should have a clear vision for academic success, should be able to prioritize things, should support teachers, should involve all stakeholders and should act with integrity, respect and with commitment to educational equity.