During this process I have learned to transfer the reflection process I use with my students to myself and my fellow teachers. I have held teacher leader positions in my history as an instructor and continue to be placed in leadership positions in my new school. In reflecting I have discovered that, for one, I am reflective and not everyone is. I have discovered I question to learn more and understand, and not everyone does. In retrospect I see I am very excited about education and learning but not all teachers are. I see now that I need to understand my teacher learners in the same way I see my student learners and take them from where they are to build relationships while building their understandings in a manner they are successful and comfortable.
• How does your knowledge of reflective practice impact your leadership work with others? I completed my National Board Certification almost 20 years ago and learned at that time the importance of reflection in teaching. I am constantly reflecting on my lessons and my students and looking at data to decide how my lessons should be structured and how I can support my learners. Sometimes my biggest flaw is my need to reflect on everything. I have reflected on my reflection process with my students and see now I need to use the same process when working with my teachers. Instead of getting angry at what they are or are not doing I need to ask myself why they aren’t and what I need to do to support them from where they are to where they need to be. It isn’t that they don’t want to do a great job, it’s that no one has shown them that they may need to look beyond the pages of a teacher’s guide in order to meet the needs of the students.
Although it may seem obvious that everyone brings their own educational background to the table I didn’t really take the time to reflect on the past of my students and their culture. My administrator with often talk about the trauma of the grandparents, who are raising the students now, and how it affects their opinion of school. I was under the idea that it was in the past. However it is not in the past and it needs to be taken into account when teaching the students. Delving into the transition from elementary to middle school took me far beyond where I thought I was going. I thought the problem stemmed from the integration into a mixed race school, from a school where not only are all the students native, but they have attended the same school together for at least five years. When I began to talk to parents and students I realized parents, or grandparents, do not understand the system of the school or their students plan for graduation. While I am beginning with the transition at the middle school level, the plan is to bring the stakeholders in and begin the educational pathway with them so they can better support the students.
• How will you assist others in using data and reflective analyses to drive practice, policy and organizational decisions? This is an area I am treading lightly in. My second year at my school I asked for more detailed assessment information than just numbers from a reading assessment because we were not allowed to test our own students. My coach was not able to understand why I would want this and a discussion ensued where my administrator told me I was being argumentative. I have learned that questioning has to be done in a very careful and non-threatening way. Our school likes us to do what the curriculum says and look at numbers. As I stated before I realize I need to start where I can and I will support my team in using their data to look at where we need to focus to support our learners and drive our practice. With the help of another teacher, my team has been able to dive deeper into assessments and categorize the areas the grade level is struggling in and go into resources to support specific areas. Our goal is to bring the grade level below us into the conversation and to our grade level meetings but as of now they have not attended. Personal Effectiveness
This continues to be an area I tread lightly. As I look into the graduation data and the data from the middle school showing student retention and dropout rates I see discrepancies in reporting. The data does not show a percentage of students not graduating because they lose a large number of students in their sophmore year. Discussing the retention and credit system at the schools makes it difficult for students to understand they are not moving forward and they need to go into some sort of credit retrieval. The grades and credit system is one most students must tackle on their own. I am hoping with the new administration at the district level I will be able to acquire more accurate data to help see where exactly the issues lie.
My understanding of Diversity, Equity, and Cultural Competence has evolved over this process primarily through the discussion groups. Although I have many activities I am involved with and I can find a million other things to do than attend a webinare on a Sunday night, I have to say it was the best part of the process. I grew in my understanding of inequality across the country. As I listened to teachers from diverse areas such as Georgia and Mississippi, I grew in my understanding of the challenges we all face when it comes to inequality and socially just learning environments. I understand that the teachers, those in the trenches, are gaining this understanding of the importance of acknowledging students personal identity and cultural background in order to build upon these strengths in the education of the students. However, it seems the stakeholders are the last to be listened to and the teachers understandings are falling to deaf ears behind the idea of increasing test scores and suspending students instead of listening to their struggles. My understanding has grown in that these discussions have led me to engage more in self assessment of what I am able to control and take baby steps to move the administration, beyond my school, forward in their understandings.