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My Philosophy of Educational Leadership

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Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership
and Postsecondary Education
University of Northern Iowa
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In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Master of Arts in Education
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by
Andrew F. Marama
American School of Bombay,
Mumbai, Maharastra, India
(March 1, 2013)
--
Tim Glison


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Ramsey (2006) differentiates managers and leaders by stating, Managers deal with
the moment. Managers make do, monitor, and maintain. Leaders, on the other hand, energize,
and excite the organization and the people in it by showing what it can become. Leaders deal
with vision (p. xix). Along my leadership journey, I have learned that I can acquire various
skills and paradigms allowing me to extend and apply myself. While I cant change my
genetic makeup, I can take action and make decisions that will help me grow into an
effective leader.

In this paper I will discuss five concepts, which convey my leadership philosophy. To
be a leader in education, I believe that a leader must,
- have a passion for education,
- be committed to the students and society,
- bring people together,
- be an effective planner
- and have integrity


Teacher Leadership
I am pursuing teacher leadership, because I believe that I am an advocate for change,
and can make a difference. One of my favorite quotes, is from Mahatma Ghandi, Be the
change you want to see in the world (Ghandi, 1999 p. 24). It is because of this ideal, that I
became a teacher, and now, aspire, to be a teacher leader. The ability to change things for
the better is another mark of true leadership. If you dont want to change anything, you really
dont want to be a leader (Ramsey 2006, p. 55). I want to make a change in the way that
students learn, and to make a positive impact on the school community. Thus, my passion for
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education has been one of my strengths. I believe teacher leaders need to know about current
educational theories and practices, and promote these amongst their colleagues.
Collaborating, and occasionally leading meetings, is something that I have enjoyed doing,
throughout my twenty years in education. Attending workshops, working on various
curriculum and strategic planning committees, allows me to access and use current
educational understandings and teaching practices, to improve practice and student learning.


Students and Society
I believe that families, cultures, and communities have a significant impact on
educational processes and student learning. Schools should promote high expectations for
all students. At the same time, schools need to acknowledge, that students may come from
diverse, economic and cultural backgrounds, and that all students have individual learning
needs and styles, and that these differences are value. Parents and the community should also
be encouraged to be involved in school life and together, work towards the ideals of the
schools mission. I believe that students, should also give back to the community, through
social service or action. A teacher leader needs to consider these aspects when planning, to
create student learning experiences, with the knowledge that, families, the school, and the
wider community can enhance the education of its students.

Bringing People Together
To have my colleagues believe in my abilities, I believe that as a leader, I need to
model respect, and empower colleagues. Teachers love to work with someone who
demonstrates respect, and praises them for their efforts, as well as their achievements. While
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one person can play an important role in the transformation of a school, no one person can
make that change or maintain excellence, without the shared leadership of other colleagues.
Colleagues possess so much knowledge and experience, and this is where a leader needs to
tap into the energy and promote collaboration amongst their team. I have been a part of
different committees and teaching teams, and it is through collaboration, that we were able to
bring about change. As Ramsey (2006) states, Collaboration, congeniality, open
communication, caring, listening and loyalty are essential to the success of our schools (p.
21).
A staff that comes together shares and values the same goals of providing the best
teaching practices for the students. Getting the most of out of people, I believe, is also a
strength I possess. Empowering and inspiring staff to complete tasks, within appropriate time
frames is important. Business columnist, Chuck Martin explains this in his principle of, Law
of Expanding Urgency, (as cited in Ramsey, 2006, p. 43). By modeling enthusiasm and
commitment, when I get excited about something, my colleagues reflect this too. The
satisfaction and success that comes with leading a team that is goal oriented, and completes
the task at hand, is incomparable and vital to the success of a school.

Planning and Organizational Skills
I believe that a leader needs excellent planning and organizational skills. As a leader, I
know that in order for changes to be made and implemented, one must plan, Planning
involves, setting goals, motivating colleagues, training others to take on responsibilities,
reflecting on what has been done, then evaluating and ensuring quality control. Leaders are
always visioning the future, and are consistently planning, planning is an attitude and a way
of doing business (Ramsey 2006, p. 27). At the American School of Bombay (ASB), I
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coordinate various school wide events, such as assemblies, student council, and the
elementary school productions. Experience tells me that I need to be an anticipatory
planner. By looking at the big picture, anticipating the unexpected, and planning for it,
gives the project a better chance to succeed. I dont believe that I can, or should do all these
things myself. As a leader I look for opportunities to delegate. Delegating, empowers
colleagues to help make decisions and gives them a sense of being feel valued for their
expertise.

Personal Integrity
I believe that to be an effective leader, I must have personal integrity. What I do will
be an example for others and will be based upon honesty, respect, inclusion and fairness. I
believe in keeping my word, and treating people fairly, being respectful, acknowledging
diversity, and appreciating the rights of each individual. I will trust the members of my team
to make sound, ethical decisions and I will guide and support them. I will also ask my team to
support me by being open and honest with me too. I know I can be strong willed at times, and
I would expect my team to call me out when it happens! I am not perfect, and I need the help
of my colleagues to help me improve as a leader.

Conclusion
When I reflect on inspirational teacher leaders that I have worked with, Craig
Johnston, the Superintendent at ASB comes to mind. Craig radiates, an aura of confidence
and air of competence (Ramsey, 2006 p. 119). He is always visible, in and around school,
and he can, manage while walking around (MWWA). If you were to ask the students who
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he was, they would tell you his name and the position, in the school. Craig is inspirational.
He wanted to take ASB staff, to the moon and beyond. This was his metaphor for doing
more than wonderful things for student learning. He was encouraging us to do incredible
things. Craig empowers teachers to make decisions through coaching, rather than managing
and handing down directives. One final thing that stands out for me is his belief in
maintaining a balance. Craig as a leader acknowledges that, there is a life outside of
school. He demonstrates trust in his staff, as professionals, by offering, flexi time, and
from this, staff respect and enjoy working for him. The principles of confidence, inspiration,
trust and respect that Craig exhibits, inspire me, and are traits that I as a future teacher leader
wish to exemplify. This course and paper has made be reflect on what I hold to be true as a
leader in education. I have learned that I can learn the skills, habits and attitude, to succeed as
a leader.









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References
Ramsey, R. D. (2006). Lead, follow, or get out of the way. How to be a more effective leader
in todays schools (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Ghandi, M.K. (1999) The collected works of Mahatma Gandhi. Retrieved from
http://www.gandhiserve.org/cwmg/cwmg.html
Teacher Leader Exploratory Consortium. (2010). Teacher leader model standards. Retrieved
from http://www.teacherleaderstandards.org/downloads/TLS_Brochure_sm.pdf