Serenity

This weeks chapters in the Schein text have taken my mind in a few different directions. I first found myself thinking about my principal and the style of leadership that he exhibits. I think he can be most closely related to that of Ken Olsen of DEC. My principal is very open to ideas, and he never seems to believe that he has all the answers. He gives us all guidelines, but he does not tell us there is only one way he expects us to do things. Instead, he invites our ideas and acts upon them when they are shared. He gives credits to teachers who come up with new ideas, and he praises us for our efforts. I think his leadership style is quite effective, but I don’t think everyone in my school feels that way. I think some teachers don’t really realize that this is in fact his leadership style. Instead, they might see him as being somewhat passive or even weak because he does not assert himself and boldly state his opinions. But for me personally, I see him as a Ken Olsen who is waiting for us to come up with ideas, and he will support us when we do.

Chapter 13 frequently mentions the idea of consistency. This immediately made me think of my grandfather. Papa was a school principal for many years, and from what I hear, he was incredible at it. I have visited the school where he once worked, and there is still a tile mosaic dedicated to him on the wall. Even though Papa is gone, many people still remember him as a leader. He had one simple rule that he led by- a leader should be “fair, firm, and consistent.” He followed this mantra, and it made him great.

Papa’s rule, combined with the ideas expressed by Schein, make me reflect on my own teaching. Sometimes I remind myself that I need to be more consistent. One part of this chapter had a particular impact on me:

“what leaders consistently pay attention to, reward, control, and react to emotionally communicates most clearly what their own priorities, goals, and assumptions are” (Schein 2004, p. 254). I might even write this down and keep it in my classroom…