Weekend Two Reflection

Matt Townsley Visit
I thought Matt's visit was beneficial to us as aspiring administrators.  It was clear during his presentation the amount of passion he had for his career.  This type of passion is infectious and can really get a staff and/or district going.  His methods for communicating are effective, consistent and relevant.  I thought it was interesting when he said "when people tell me I'm communicating too much, maybe I've started to communicate enough".  I somewhat disagree with this statement in that if you communicate too much the information doesn't seem as urgent and can sometimes get lost in the shuffle.  Sometimes staff wants information they need to know, when they need to know it and that is it.

Key Questions:
1.    How would the students learn this objective without this technology?
2.    How are content, pedagogy and technology related?


Jason Glass
After the conference call with Jason, I have even more questions than when first reading the Education Blueprint.

1.  What research is there to show that this tiered system works?
2.  Why are the "best" educators taken out of the classroom?
3.  Will the blueprint ideas fall into place when the principal is freed to lead?

Hiring
Hiring is one of the most important tasks for an administrator.  This is by no means a new concept.  One idea I hadn't put as much emphasis on was staying connected with other administrators outside of your district.  Many ideas for potential good hires as well as red flags on certain applicants will help tremendously in the hiring process.  One of the best opportunities in your school can be a teaching vacancy.

Dan's T-Shirt
Can someone get this man a shirt!?!

Weekend One Reflections

Management vs Leadership- This is an interesting discussion.  Do you have to be a good leader to be a good manager?  Do you have to be a good manager to be a good leader?  There is certainly an overlap between the two.  In both instances organization, competence and communication are going to be essential.  It was interesting to listen to discussions about principals that are currently "bogged down" by the management aspect of their position.  How many principals spend at least 51% of their time on instructional leadership?  I certainly have more questions than answers after this weekend which isn't a bad thing. 
Instructional leadership excites me.  As a future administrator I need to find a way to efficiently and effectively manage in order to efficiently and effectively lead instruction.  We talked of delegating responsibilities is huge.  My only question is how will this be perceived as a first year administrator?  Real life management issues and examples from current and past administrators would be very beneficial to myself and the rest of the cohort.  An example: How do you make sure you cover all the scenarios with emergency plans?  I am excited for the results and presentations of our cohorts FBLA assignments.  I feel this will be one of the most authentic learning experiences we have had in this program.

Technology-  This was an interesting and stimulating discussion.  I would fall into the "tech enthusiast" category.  To me there are so many advantages of using technology in the classroom.  Stakeholders are going to have to understand there will be growing pains with this transformation.  Currently one of the most prevalent growing pains is how do we embrace technology without making face to face communication skills deteriorate?  I have tried several lessons involving technology in my classroom.  Some have worked, some haven't.  To maintain status quo pedagogy is a mistake.  We should never ignore an opportunity to help our students LEARN.  As an administrator I will want to challenge current thinking.  This will result in either a change in pedagogy or a rationale for current strategies.