565 Week 6

My definition of leadership and teacher leadership has been reinforced. I came into this experience with a good idea of what it takes to be a teacher leader but as a young teacher in a large, urban school district I am sometimes overwhelmed with trying to be a leader. Being a teacher leader in my district and school has also helped me to become a leader in my community in a small way with the various projects I have taken on. Thanks to the simulation we completed, I feel that I now have a much better idea of how I can help lead more successful change within my own district and community.

I think that I have many of the required skills for leadership but I now know what I need to improve in order to be a better leader.The key things I learned more about are communicating with stakeholders and keeping people prepared and informed, not simply rushing ahead. I realize it is tough to slow down in the field of education but I definitely know what needs to change in the future. Finally, I agree that it it's best to improve education from within but sometimes it is necessary to bring in "outsiders". In my own district there are many teachers who are products of the district and think that the way things currently are are satisfactory and see no need for change or improvement. Sometimes it takes outsiders to bring in other ideas and experiences to raise the expectations of the students, schools, and community.