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Leading In And From the Classroom

August 21, 2017

PARENTS Janelle McLaughlin

The role of a creative leader is not to have all the ideas; it’s to create a culture where everyone Follow @Ms_Mac4
can have ideas and feel they’re valued.

Baby
~Sir Ken Robinson Janelle is an education consultant, adviser,
presenter, coach, and trainer. Over the
I am a middle child and relished the role of “leading” my younger brother. He, however, wasn’t a very cooperative years, she has also been a classroom teacher
and district administrator. Today, she
follower. :) While I was somewhat shy as a child, I could organize my group of friends at recess like it was my job. I
Toddler combines those interests with experiences
lived in the country without many neighbors, but the two younger neighbor girls that I played with always
in entrepreneurship, professional blogging,
heeded my direction. Okay, so they didn’t have much choice, but it worked for me, nevertheless. and social media strategy.

Kids I had the mindset of a leader and my actions re ected that. As I entered adolescence, and then young adulthood,
those leadership skills were somewhat dormant as I battled teenage angst and all that goes with it. Later, they
reemerged as a classroom teacher, and then continued to strengthen and grow when I became a curriculum
director, and now as a consultant.
Teens
I have always enjoyed spending time with young children, and have always enjoyed learning and growing. Those
two passions led me to a career in education. That took leadership to a whole new level. I’m not of the notion that
you are either born a leader, or not. No, while some people might have characteristics that make leading easier
Special Needs for them, we can all develop leadership capabilities.
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Teachers, you are all leaders. You are the leaders in your classroom, in your hallway, and like it or not, in the Students

community. The number of students you impact each year is mind blowing. Why did you become an educator? I
Preschool Monitoring Grades and
think it’s safe to say that the majority of us became teachers because we wanted to make a difference in the lives Assignments: Tips for Parents In
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Think back to a time when you were a student in your favorite teacher’s classroom. What made him/her your
favorite? I bet it wasn’t because of the awesome lectures they gave, or the super fun worksheets you got to do for
Digital Demysti cation: Real life
homework each night. I’m guessing it was more about how they related to you personally, or how engaging they has no lters
made the learning process.
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Exceptional teachers and exceptional leaders all seem to possess the same traits. They have a servant attitude. Classroom
They work to build relationships with each of their students. They think and teach innovatively. And they each
have a desire to continue growing.
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In the classroom
A Marcos Attitude
Building relationships has to be what happens rst before true learning and change can occur.
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As a teacher, you enter the classroom every day with the absolute assurance that you are going to in uence
every student’s life that day. It’s true. You will make an impact of some kind every single day you see that child.
The question is, what type of impact will you have?
Games

Connect with them

Start each day with the goal to serve your students better than you did yesterday
Maker
Allow students to hold the reins of their own learning

Teach leadership skills (true leaders produce more leaders)

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Before PokemonGo was even a thing, I had a young boy who would only write about Pokemon during writer’s Contact Advertise Login

workshop. Every. Single. Day. I tried to “encourage” him to investigate new topics…to no avail. In order to grow his
writing skills I had to nd a way to connect with him. So, I let him teach me all about the world of Pokemon
Outdoor through his writing. He’s twenty-three now. I’m pretty sure he grew out of the Pokemon phase, but still has
writing strategies to help him be successful in everyday life. I could’ve played the teacher card and “made” him
write about something else, but he wouldn’t have enjoyed that or produced his best writing. He was willing to
learn what I was teaching because I met him at his place of interest. We have to allow students to hold the reins
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In the hallway (and beyond)

Teachers are not only leaders in the classroom and to their students. You lead in the hallway. You lead in your
school building. And you lead in the district. You probably all have a grade level or department chair. Most likely,
that person is seen as the leader of your team. While that is true, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other leaders on
the team, and multiple ways to serve as leaders.

Share what you are doing in the classroom

Be vulnerable with one another

Re ect on experiences and discuss best practices

Use your gifts (organization, etc.)

Open your classroom up for visitors to observe

Have you heard of the #ObserveMe movement? If you are open to having other teachers or administrators
observe you during their free time, then you simply hang a sign outside your door with the hashtag #ObserveMe.
Some teachers include pieces of paper, like this teacher, to inform the observer what she wants you to look for in
 her instruction. Others just have a dry erase board that they change when their goals change. It’s a brilliant way
to increase your learning, while being vulnerable with your colleagues. Some amazing learning occurs for both
the observers and the teacher being observed. And it costs you nothing but time and some brain power.

In the community
I once heard a principal say that they’d never live in the town where they worked. While I understand the need
for privacy, I think that is a sad statement. You miss out on learning about your students’ lives and connecting
with their families on a personal level if you aren’t a part of the community.

Interact with parents and students in the community

Go to community events

Attend sporting and ne arts events (shows you support your students)

Be real, but maintain integrity

What leadership characteristics most resonate with you? Having a servant’s heart? Building relationships?
Being innovative in thinking and teaching? A strong desire to grow? In which areas do you need to try a little
harder? Why do you stay in education? I stay because I believe in the power of innovative education. I believe in
the foundation of servant leadership. It’s not a job. It’s not a position. And it’s more than a philosophy or style of
leadership. It’s part of who we are. We are educators. AND, we are leaders.

Feature image courtesy of Flickr, Kalexanderson.

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More articles on Classroom, College, Educators, High, PD, Preschool, Primary, Special Education By Janelle McLaughlin Updated: August 21,
2017
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