Professional Growth Assignment

By Jennifer Dyck
For City University
Judy Chapman
ECC 509
November 2, 2014

In creating a growth plan, the process of reflecting on the past, assessing the present, and
planning for the future is invaluable. Through this essay, I will articulate who I am as an
educator and leader at this point in my career. I will explore my core educational beliefs, and will
reflect on how my upbringing shaped me to be the person I am today. I will discuss what I
believe constitutes a good leader and what my place in the world of education is. I will identify
what issues in education today resonate with me, and finally, I will articulate the biggest area of
growth that if developed, will make me a better leader than I am today.
As a leader and educator, I am driven and passionate. I have strong values, and
communicate them confidently when necessary. I am a risk-taker who will try anything it takes
to get the students I work with to engage in their learning, and ultimately, to believe in their own
abilities. I value time spent with others who share similar values. I am energized in my role as an
educator when a child looks up at me, eyes bright, and a smile of understanding stretches across
his or her face. If anyone or anything causes that child to question his or her worth or ability, I
will do what is necessary to advocate for that student. Over the last three years in my teaching
role, I have taken on many teacher leader positions that include being the IBLT Teacher Leader,
being the RTI Teacher Leader, organizing and running school wide assemblies, and running an
LSS program that systematically meets the learning needs of learners.
Taking the time to articulate my core beliefs as an educator has helped guide my teaching
and interactions with others on staff, and in conversations with parents. I believe in my students.
I believe in their ability to tackle any problem when equipped with the necessary strategies and
skills. I believe it is my responsibility to ensure my students succeed. I believe education needs
to address the needs of the whole child; intellectual, physical, emotional, and social. I believe
differentiation is necessary to adequately address the individual learning needs of my students. I

believe that a school community encompasses all teachers, support staff, students, parents, and
administration and that it is our responsibility to work together to meet the needs of our students.
My childhood, adolescent and university years significantly influenced who I am today. I
grew up in a traditional home with two parents, two younger sisters, and a cat. We were a
traditional family in the sense that my dad worked where I participated in the Youth Group for
many years. I was 17 when my parents divorced and my world was forever changed. In the
emotional wake of the divorce, my parents sent me off to University to pursue my teaching
degree. I was not given an option what direction of study I would take. I wanted to be a Social
Worker but my parents insisted I become a teacher instead. My first years of teaching were a
terrible experience as I begrudgingly did what I thought I was supposed to do. To be clear, I
always loved my students. I resented the planning, prepping, assessment, academic expectations,
staff meetings, school goals, and basically anything to do with the job of teaching. All I wanted
to do with my students was explore and learn together, but I felt so bound by the curriculum
expectations, that I ended up being a do this, then that type of a teacher for many years. I look
back at that time in my career and cringe at the missed opportunities for critical thinking and
creative expression with my students. Through many years of soul searching I eventually
recognized that it is my choice to remain in this profession or not. During that time, I concluded
that I DO belong in this profession, and that I DO, in fact, love my job. The freedom of personal
choice has completely empowered me to become the educator that I am today.
After spending the last number of weeks learning about various leaders, and reflecting on
the many attributes of leaders, I have identified that the most effective leader is transparent, is
competent, is visionary, and possesses a high emotional and social IQ. A leader must be
transparent, living her life, both at work and outside of work, staying true to consistent moral

values. Without this consistency, constituents will have a difficult time building the necessary
trust that is required when working in a situation that demands vulnerability and self-reflection.
A leader must be competent and learned in the specific content area of study where she leads.
Constituents will be more willing to accept new initiatives, and structures of change, if their
leader has a solid understanding of the research and has the conceptual knowledge to back the
initiative. A leader must possess a long-term vision for the organization. In times of change,
losing sight of the big picture has the potential to result in failure at worst, and fear and doubt at
best. A leader must have the capacity to look past the immediate issues, to focus on the longterm vision, and to re-visit the strategic steps that will continue to move the organization to the
end goal. Finally, a leader must have the emotional and social intelligence to be able to develop
and maintain relationships with others. Sensing the emotional and relational dynamics of others,
addressing issues when they arise, and being sensitive to the emotional needs of others will help
constituents feel respected and understood. If constituents feel respected and understood, often
times they will be willing to work harder, and will be more committed to the goals of the
organization.
As I look to the future, my place in the world of education is evolving. I know I want to
be in a role of leadership where I can work together with those around me to meet the learning
needs of students as a collaborative team. As I have a deep-seeded desire to work with students
that are less fortunate than I am, I want to work as an LSS teacher in an inner city school. Having
only worked at two schools during my career, (Ross Elementary, and Auguston Traditional
Elementary) I think it is essential that I get a broader base of experience before I would be
competent enough to work as a Vice Principal. In addition, working at the District level as an
LSS Helping Teacher would give me further opportunity to develop as a leader, while exploring

LSS issues in more detail. Ten years from now, I see myself as an elementary school principal in
one of our inner city schools. My hope is that I will be supporting a collaborative team, where all
team members feel valued and respected, and where we are working as a team to effectively and
strategically meet the needs of our students.
How to implement effective differentiation in todays classrooms, interests me
immensely. The increased needs amongst students today, with less funding available, create a
scenario where classroom teachers feel maxed out trying to meet the needs of their students. Dr.
Carol Tomlinsons work around differentiation is an area that I intend to study in more detail as I
move forward. I noticed that there is a Summer Institute on Academic Diversity offered on the
University of Virginia grounds in Charlottesville, VA. Dr. Carol Tomlinson is the keynote
speaker, and the entire workshop reinforces the principles and practices of differentiation. I
would love to go to the professional development to learn more about how to implement
effective differentiation in my LSS classroom.
Weeks of reading and reflecting on various leaders has challenged me to articulate the
one area of professional growth that I think will be most pivotal in helping me become a more
effective leader. As I looked at the Dimensions of Leadership, I quickly recognized that they
could all be areas of growth given that I am just at the beginning of my leadership journey. But
as I looked at all of those areas, intuitively, I knew I was not getting to the root of something that
all of them have in common; the seed upon which my growth or deterioration as a leader
depends. Although I am perceptive to mood, tone, and the subtleties of human emotion, I find it
difficult to navigate through anger and frustration effectively when it is in any way directed at
me. I might refer to myself as thin skinned. I am easily upset, and have a difficult time letting
go of negative emotions. I tend to analyze and second-guess myself a lot. Daniel Goleman says,

If your emotional abilities aren't in hand, if you don't have self-awareness, if you are not
able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can't have empathy and have effective
relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.
(Goleman, n.d.)
Further, Brene Browns work around vulnerability, shame, and connection has given me insight
into the root cause of my insecurities, and reactive emotions. If I look back at every interaction
over the last year where there has been any sort of conflict between me and another person, I can
see a common thread; at the root of my reactions is a wounded part of me that wants to defend
that I am good enough, that my points are valid, and that I deserve to be heard. I am constantly
trying to convince myself, and those around me, that I am worthy of respect and understanding.
Brown says, Wholehearted people live from a full sense of worthiness. They have these things
in common; courage, compassion, connection, authenticity, and vulnerability (Brown, 2010).
Deep down, I do not truly believe that I am enough. This realization has left me feeling
extremely vulnerable and exposed, as though I metaphorically ripped a bandaid off of a wound I
thought had long since healed over. I do not have a solid understanding of it all yet. I do know,
that vulnerability is the most accurate measurement of courage (Brown, 2010).
Acknowledging this deep-seeded source of insecurity is challenging me to be honest with
myself, take a look at the source of this insecurity, and to begin to take steps toward healing.
Without healing that crucial part of me, I believe it will hold me back from embracing all of the
leadership qualities that I know are within me. As Brown says, When we stop screaming we
start listening. (Brown, 2010). I want to stop screaming. I want to listen. I want to hear others.
I want to be whole. Above all, I want to honour the passion I have to lead others as we strive to
equip children for wholehearted living.

As I completed this growth plan, I articulated who I am as an educator and leader at this
point in my career. I explored my core educational beliefs, and reflected on how my upbringing
shaped me to be the person I am today. I discussed what I believe constitutes a good leader and
what my place in the world of education is. I identified an issue in education today that interests
me and motivates me to learn more. Finally, I articulated the biggest area of growth that if
developed, will make me a wholehearted leader. I am so thankful that my past has brought me to
this point in my leadership journey. I look forward to the future knowing that the combination of
self-reflection, academia, and practical application will bring exciting future leadership
opportunities.

References
Goleman, D. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved November 3, 2014, from BrainyQuote.com
Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/danielgole285391.html

Brown, B. (2010). Ted.com. Retrieved November 1, 2014, from Ted.com website:

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability?language=en