Statement of Educational Philosophy
The “Why”:
I’m a TED (™) junky, one of those people who listen to TED Talks while working, walking and biking, or simply riding in the car. I find them relaxing, intellectually stimulating and sometimes, just sometimes, I find they can make one truly reflect on and examine their personal philosophies. One such talk is by Simon Sinek who has a talk that he refers to as the “Start with the Why” or really: “How do Leaders Inspire Great Action?”. In his presentation Simon asks people to reflect on “The Why”: “Why do we do this”, “Why do we need to teach or know that”, or “Why IS THIS the best practice (to follow)?”. In short, Simon asks the listener the quintessential question of “Why”, forcing the audience to reflect on their own intrinsic motivations, ultimately seeking to help people find their personal “why”, and from there discover the power of that “why” and eventually the purpose of their own actions, and how to utilize that purpose to motivate those around them. After viewing Mr Sinek’s presentation I realized that my “Why” has been something that sparked me as an educator, and has done so for far longer than I have known of Mr. Sinek and his TED Talk.
My “why” started long ago in a small music classroom in a Waldorf school in Rhode Island, and continues to this day, 24 years later. I believed it was my duty to ensure that every student I encountered, and who was entrusted to my care, would have equal opportunity for success in their education, no matter who they were, what talents they had, or their “rate of participation and engagement.” I started as a classroom teacher in Fine Arts Education, and as such, to me, this meant that if a student wanted to pursue “The Arts” as a hobbyist, my job was to prepare them for that pathway. However, if a child wished to pursue “The Arts” as a career, I had to prepare that child for their pathway, and do so without being preferential to one over the other. It was my duty (vocation) to ensure that every child’s educational experience was equitably viable and available. This was my “why” from the beginning, and became the cornerstone of my educational philosophy: Each and every student must be the center of education, their education. They are THE “why”of education: “Why” we get up and come to work, “why” we are educators, and, frankly, “why” we have schools, and “why” we educate children.
Thus, as I reflected more deeply on my “Why”, I came to this revelation: The education of children is about far more than simply ensuring that students learn the required curriculum as presented or be able to apply learned and acquired skills to passing classes and tests ~ whether Unit Exams, Project Based Learning experiences, or a State or Federally mandated skill achievement levels. I have come to understand that students need, and deserve, to have educators and leaders who have taken the time necessary to know, and fully support them: as learners, as students, and, most importantly, as individuals. Doing so will only strengthen their rates of success, as well as their rates of engagement and active participation in their education.
Consider this: Research shows that all children learn differently, but in order to know those differences, to truly differentiate for a child’s learning, requires that the educational team must make the time to know them, to create a rapport and bond with them, and to care about them as an individual first.
This is, and has been, the very cornerstone of my educational philosophy as a classroom educator, department head, advisory leader and, now, administrator and school leader. It is my “Why”.
As such, I have made this my mission: to come to know every student in my community, whether or not they are directly a part of my courses, department or division. My “why” is a goal to truly know our students not merely in the context of classes or activities, but as individuals who are affected by the very real pressures of school, family, adolescence and the world around them. To that end, I temper curriculum, classes, assessments and advisory time to not only ensure my staff and the school community, as a whole, produce the relevant curricular support necessary for academic success, but also provides the tools necessary to ensure appropriate time, energy and attention that students will need as individual learners, individual people and future leaders to succeed in and outside of the classroom environment.
Statement on Educational Leadership
When I was in school there were several variants of “leadership” one learned about: Autocratic, Democratic or Laissez-faire. And, of course, there were many debates sparked as to which style “was best practice”. Over the years, more styles have been either identified or named, and like in years past, they have generated debate over which of these is now “best practice”. These debates, of course, refer to what is the best practice to inspire your staff, to create educator, staff or student morale, or the best ways to motivate the school and stakeholder community. Personally, I have always taken a slightly different approach: as a leader, I have attempted to learn from the successes and failures of those who inspired, mentored and came before me, and to not adopt any specific “style” of leadership. I have come to believe that conforming to any “one” style of leadership is poor practice in of itself, because, just as there has never been any “one” way to teach a class, reach a child or assess student development, there cannot be any “one” way to lead a community of learners and educators. As such, I have adopted a leadership philosophy based on three tenets: Collaborative Growth Mindset, Transparency in Leadership and Lifelong Learning.
Collaborative Growth Mindset: As leaders, whether in education or any industry, we must recognize that no leader, regardless of how well educated, prepared or examined, can possibly have all the answers or become the expert in all subjects. Rather, my experience has shown that great leadership will seek out individuals who are truly experts in their fields, and then, through support and development of their talents, utilize their abilities to augment the educational growth and evolution of the school community in its entirety. Thus, in my role within senior leadership, I have learned to cultivate the talents, knowledge and intuition of the faculty and staff around me, collaboratively, in order to create the best educational environment, experiences and community life for all our students.
Transparency in Leadership: I have found through my career that one of the best ways to inspire and lead your team to reach beyond their goal is through transparency. And the easiest way to sow dissension, discord and distrust is through making decisions and negotiations through opacity. Transparency does not mean: “You’ll always get the answer you want”, rather it means that “You will know when and how a decision has been made, you may not like the answer, but you will be aware the how and why”. How do we, as leaders of a community, expect that people will open to us, if we are not open with them? The answer is of course, we cannot expect their honesty if we are not honest as well. This is true whether we are referencing any member of the stakeholder community: If parents, students, stakeholders and trustees want answers and change, the first thing explained must be the problem. Leadership, by contrast, must ensure that answers and change will be Open, Honest Consistent and Transparent. Does this mean everyone gets everything they want? No. But, it does mean that leadership must provide and explain the data, process and decision while respecting personal and legal confidentiality and holding firm to the mission and ideals of the institution.
Lifelong Learning: Finally, it is my belief that the concept of “lifelong learning” should greater than a phrase, buzz-word, fad or “battle cry” in any educational environment. Rather, it must be a demonstrable artifact of all members of the educational community, and especially for every educational leader and educator. This quality should be exemplified through daily action utilizing targeted learning and continued professional education to further professional and personal growth which will have direct positive impact on the experiences of all students in our care. As an administrator, advisor, mentor and educator, I continuously share with my staff, students and stakeholders personal experiences as a learner, whether it is learning from a fail forward moment, those nebulous “somethings” we learn daily, or an intentional learning experience. To that end, I challenge myself to accept new learning experiences and to develop new skills in administration, leadership, technology, education and professional development whenever possible, and to bring those new skills to my staff, colleagues, students and stakeholders as often as possible.