From Day One I connected with the class and they were eager to learn. I found that with having a positive rapport with the students, I was able to truly focus on providing a rigorous academic environment where student learning was stretched. By May, I was able to expand the 8th grade science curriculum to include elements of a high school Physics class. It was amazing how the students loved and were successful learning a subject that most high school students dread. The following year was much the same, but toward the end of the school year an opportunity arose for me to take a position as a teacher in a charter school in west Philadelphia at a public school which was turned into a charter due to low performing scores and what the district declared as an "unsafe learning environment."
Having 3 years experience entering the position, I was one of the more veteran teachers. That being said, I realized during my first day that I knew nothing about teaching. My management techniques did not work and most students were not academically motivated. My first year there I learned what resiliency in education really means. Days were long and challenging but we had a united faculty who together grew daily as professionals. We weren't afraid to take risks and our hearts were in it to provide our students with a high quality education.
Becoming a leader of a school is something that I always thought about and being one of the most experienced (even if it was only 3 years) our middle school team would look at times to me for leadership. There is a debate whether leaders are born or made, for as long as I can remember I tried to be a leader in everything I did. However, true leadership doesn't occur until others look to you for guidance. Once I started my grad classes I knew I made the right choice. I was thoroughly engaged in each class and I was able to bring a lot of what I learned back to school. Like I am sure most of you who are principals will attest, going through any ed. leadership program, your teaching effectiveness skyrockets. In a way it brought everything together and I was able to look through each lens (teacher/principal) and understand the true system. I understood how important the principal's role is in providing a safe learning environment and ensuring that each student is provided a top notch education.
Do I miss the classroom? Yes, and after this year I will have spent more time as an administrator than in the classroom, but I have not forgotten where I came from. I engage with students daily and "management" issues are left for before/after school so student learning is at the forefront of my daily walk abouts.
Today, now more than ever, we need resilient, passionate, visionary educational leaders. The current reforms in education are not simply "initiatives" but rather a new way of focusing on what is best for our students and their future is in our hands.
“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.”
- John Maynard Keynes
