Module 2: Excellent Leaders and Self-Improvement

In any location, teaching is one of the most difficult careers.  There are many factors that make teaching difficult beyond conveying the subject matter, and teaching in Southern West Virginia is an area where teaching can have many challenges that go beyond the general instruction.  Poverty, a lack of higher institutions, few local public resources, and an extremely sparsely populated location merely seem as a tip of the iceberg of challenges to teaching in the coalfields. 

However, the best leader I have observed is a teacher that worked in these settings.  This educational leader, while working in one of the most impoverished areas in America, helped to establish his high school as a competitor not only in the state of West Virginia but also on a national front, as his high school theatre group placed in the South Eastern Regional Theatre Conference, the first time a school from West Virginia placed in almost 30 years.  

How was this accomplished? How did a school from Southern West Virginia, with no major metropolitan area within 200 miles, with a mountain of forces working against it, seem to be so successful?  This feat was due to the educational leadership this teacher sought everyday he walked into the classroom. This teacher constantly worked to improve the arts in Southern West Virginia.  

To analyze his leadership style, the first aspect might be his standards.  This teacher placed extremely high standards on his students but also on himself.  In the theatre, the standards he set for his students would mirror that of a professional theatre.  The time spent learning the basic conventions of theatre, the historical and literary importance of the script, the ability to perform, and the quality of work produced were all very high.  He understood his students to not only be just kids, but highly intelligent, highly capable beings to do wonderful things in the world and in the world of the play. 

Another aspect of his leadership style was the level of importance he placed on individual work ethics and self-improvement.  This teacher was able to translate his work ethic and how each person in the theatre was an integral piece of the puzzle.  As each person was important to the theatre troupe, he taught us a high level responsibility, not only to ourselves, but to the group at large.  Becoming a cohesive team, all working together to create the best environment possible, was something this leader instilled in his students.  

Finally, this teacher was not only constantly working on improving his student's craft, but he was also dedicated in improving the arts of all areas of Southern West Virginia.  Many local schools did not have the quality of performance space that our high school has.  And because of this, there were many times other theatre troupes would come to our theatre and perform their play in a space that was comparable to the space where they would be competing.  On his own time and often with schools that would he be competing against him, he offered his theatre and his advice on how he thought their play could be improved. I've come to know many teachers and many students from other schools because they often traveled to our theatre to practice. This showed his students not only his professional reputation, but an ethical choice to help other schools and improve art in the area.

In conclusion, it came to no surprise when this teacher won Art Educator of the Year. He provided a wonderful example of being an excellent teacher and an excellent educational leader.  

Key Points From Assessment 1

To be successful in your career, regardless of your title or position, focus on developing your leadership skills.

Effective leaders can add value simply by being present on teams. They are inspirational and motivating. They know the right things to say to people to help them understand what's needed, and they can convince people to support a cause.

When you have talented and effective leaders in your organization, you're well on your way to success. Develop these leadership skills in yourself and in your team members – and you'll see the performance and productivity of your entire team improve.

From Assessment 1, my lowest score was in the Providing a Compelling Vision of the Future.  This is definitely an area that I need to improve.  I have not had much experience in designing clear goals to help my future of leadership and I know this is something I need to work on.  Having clearly defined goals are important and further training on how to create a vision for the future will be very beneficial. This can be in formal and informal ways, and I am looking forward to learning about new types of educational technology skills to help career building and goal driven motivation.  

In the second assessment, my lowest score was in the Self Reflection. I've always had a very hard time understanding my strengths and weaknesses.  Understanding and conveying what my strengths are have been tough, but having this self assessment is a good place to start.  I am typically my worst critic and I need to learn to improve my self esteem and self outlook. 

I want to be a leader in which my work ethic speaks for itself. I believe that being a role model starts with the individual example and explaining to others how hard they should work should start with myself.  I hope to be encouraging and inspiring, and be the best at explaining what needs to be done and how it can be accomplished efficiently.  Explaining what needs to be done and providing the resources to help others achieve their goals is very satisfying and something I hope I can do in the future.