Program+Goals

**Program Goals **
**1. Envision and guide organizational change. ** At this point I think that I am a person that thinks about how things could be. I don’t necessarily think just because we have been doing something one way for years that it should continue. I am willing and ready for change in the education system we have now. I realize that we don’t have what it takes to fully prepare our students for the careers that they will have and that frightens me. I feel like I am doing a disservice to my students if I don’t educate myself about technology and future possibilities for them.


 * October 2012 **
 * Through the classes in the cohort I learned to look at education in a more complete way. For example, I was able to see the different reasons why people reacted to the changes in education because of our look at //Who Moved My Cheese?// by Spencer Johnson. Spencer really demonstrated the different avenues people go down when change is upon them. His illustration helped me to think outside of myself. It helped me to understand my co-workers fears about the new school that was being developed in our building. It helped me to understand why some educators stuck to the same thinking for many years without changing. In addition to that through my reading of different education literature I could start to forecast some of the upcoming and now present trends in education. Saffo said in “Six Rules for Effective Forecasting,” “The primary goal of forecasting is to identify the full range of possibilities” (Saffo, p.124, 2007). Before being in this program I don't think I looked at things fully from the various angles. I don't know that I made educated forecasts about the future, instead I was at surprised and blindsided by changes. Now I feel now I am more capable to handle changes in education, more confident in my ability, and I am expecting that the educational system of tomorrow will be very different than the one we know today. **

At times I feel that I am very inarticulate with my colleagues. Due to this, I often hold back and don’t share the ideas that I have. I do feel that I have a talent for helping people feel included and developing community both in my classroom and with my co-workers. It is important for me to feel included so it is something that I try to do with others.
 * 2. Communicate effectively, engage constituents, develop people and build community. **


 * October 2012 **
 * My confidence in my ability to communicate with my colleagues has risen a great deal. Over the last two years I have been willing to state my beliefs and give my opinions because I had knowledge from the program to back up my thinking. As I went through the program I started to realize that to be a leader you need to be an active participant in what is going on around you. In my Leadership Vision paper for Dr. Gibson I examined how I thought the lack of community in the building I was at was causing a breakdown in the system. I discussed ways that I could help build community and how the current administrator could as well. The following quote I included in the paper from //Fundamental Concepts of Educational Leadership and Management// (3rd ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon. **

"Educational leaders must envision strengthened schools and be able to bring about conditions that will ensure a high-quality education. They must also be capable of conveying symbolic meaning to nourish aspirations and achieve goals. They must articulate a coherent vision as well as define the components of quality education for students. More important, they must motivate professionals at the school and district levels to implement these visions. In a word, schools need to become more collegial and less bureaucratic" (Razik & Swanson 2010. p.123).


 * I realized that so much of the collegiality in a building depends on the examples from the leadership. **

I feel like I have always had a special awareness and acceptance of peoples’ differences. In college my minor was sociology because I was so fascinated with different groups of people and how your culture forms so much of the person you become. As a teacher I try to think of students diverse needs. I realize that they all have different backgrounds and experiences that shape their views. Currently I am part of our diversity committee at school which is working on helping the staff to be sensitive to the different backgrounds of our students. Eventually the committee will work on issues with students as well, but we need to educate the staff first.
 * 3. Advocate and promote equity for diverse populations and respect for individuals. **


 * As I mentioned dispositions section, I took a stand about the Halloween party in my classroom. In addition to that, I was part of the Diversity Group at the middle school. Our may goal was to bring awareness to both staff and students about the diverse needs of the students and the various beliefs of people in the building. It was very common to see people with Christmas trees in their classes and things of that nature. The diversity team put together newsletters and workshops to educate the staff about how these practices may isolate some students. With my recent job switch I feel like I am not doing much for leadership in the my new building. I know it will take some time for me to adjust and begin working on different committees and projects. I do feel that I am at least bringing awareness to some people by my decision about Halloween. **

I am definitely a ceaseless learner. I love learning about new tools or techniques to try in the class. In Ripon we have to do a data research project in our classroom each year, to show student growth (or not) in an area we choose. Research is something that does not come naturally to me. I don’t generally enjoy reading a heavy data loaded book, however, I do see the benefits in using practices that have research to back up their effectiveness. Maybe I will develop more of an appreciation and desire to do research through this program.
 * 4. Integrate theory, data, research and ethical standards into the context of one’s practice through continuous learning. **


 * I am currently implementing my research project into my class to determine if using a math journal increases students' mathematical understanding. In addition, I use data to back up my teaching strategies. I assess my students and use those to determine if what I have implemented is working. I am also working on following the progress of two students in my class for reading. I am implementing various research based practices used to increase reading abilities. I am systematically using each method and checking progress frequently. This is something that I had never done or thought of doing before I was in the cohort. I am a data driven practitioner now! **