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Positionality Paper

South Dakota State University

EDFN 790 : Capstone

Mandy Tetzlaff

June 27, 2018

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Positionality Paper

Educational Administration has allowed me to grow and broaden my perspectives. I have

had a chance to learn more about my personal beliefs and where they may stem from.

Throughout this course I have set many goals to improve as a professional leader. This program

has helped me view myself a confident individual that has the capability to positively impact

many individuals. The ELCC standards has kept me focused on what is truly important in the

field of education. Throughout this paper I will reflect my critical examination of my positions,

assumptions, biases, relationships, and perceptions.

The principal that I become has been decided by many factors that have shaped me. A

few factors that I believe have shaped my perceptive are being a white female, being the middle

child of five kids, and my midwestern values. I have a brother who has down syndrome, a

husband with divorced parents, and a brother in law who from the Dominican Republic. These

are just a few areas that have shaped my background and will create perceptions for my future

role in education.

Tetzlaff (2016) sums up that “Growing up in South Dakota my whole life has a lot to say

about how I have been raised. The culture I have been raised in is much different than those

around the world. My dad was a farmer for many years, he showed me his hard work and

perseverance through the tough times and good times. Since growing up on the farm, I enjoy

working with my hands and learning though experience. I believe through my midwest values,

my dad, and farm lifestyle I am a very down to earth, cooperative, hard working, goal orientated

and focused individual. I do believe that these are traits that will help me in my future

administrative role.”
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My mother, grandmother, and aunts have been teachers for many years. I have always

enjoyed hearing the stories about their relationships and experiences they have had in education.

My mom has shared with me many different stories over the years about culture, religion, and

ethnicity. These stories have helped shape my perspective in a very positive way. I am very lucky

to have had such great influences on education. Education can definitely be challenging, but it is

overall very rewarding (Tetzlaff, 2016).

My brother Casey, is one of the biggest blessing I could have in my life. He is one year

older than me, but we were raised in the same grade our entire life. Casey is the middle child of

our family. He knows how to bring a special joy to each of our lives daily. Casey is a great

example that all individuals are capable of succeeding. The Watertown community has picked

him up on their back and supported him in every direction. Casey now works at Hyvee. He is the

most caring, passionate, driven, and loving person I have ever known. He inspires me and

everyone around him. I will know that in education I will work hard to make sure all children

have the opportunity to succeed. We never know, maybe they will be the one who places a smile

on everyone that they come in contact with. It has become so evident to me that it takes a team

of school personnel to foster a child with special needs in the school environment (Tetzlaff,

2016).

My oldest sister is married to a man of Dominican background. “When he first came here

he knew some English, but it was very hard for him. I was able to see the challenges that come

when being isolated from conversation because of language barriers. I will keep this in mind

when I have a ELL student. I will have a better idea of how to make adjustments. I was also able

to see the challenges he faced because he was Domincan. He found it very upsetting because
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people would just look at his skin color and make preconceived ideas. This showed me that it is

so important to not make preconceived ideas about students or staff members. I need to get to

know individuals before I make judgements. (Tetzlaff, 2016)

Lastly, my husband comes from a family with divorced parents. I have seen the

challenges there are with having families with split parents. There can be miscommunication,

disagreement, and constant pull one way or another. Many students come to us with these same

challenges. It is my goal as a educator to make this as easy as possible on the students. Allow

there to be a form of communication that gets to both parents.

The people I have been around and the way I have been raised has shaped my views for

education and how I live my life. I view myself as a very positive, outgoing, caring,

hardworking, and passionate individual. Life is going to throw many curve balls at us. The way

we react in these situations is what defines us. I hope to continue my skills and knowledge for

education because the students and staff deserve it. I went into teaching because of the love I

have for students, and the love of being around people. Knowing this I know that I should be

able to build great connections with both staff and students.

The courses in this program have challenged my assumptions to what education consists

of. I have become aware that school law and financial budgets direct the course of education. It

is important to be well aware of these challenges so that we are prepared as educators. When you

become a principal, there are many aspects to balance. Balancing staff, student, and community

needs are very important. Students need to stay at the center of all three aspect. Although as a

principal it is very important to balance each of them to their needs.

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Tetzlaff (2016) states that “my goal as a principal is to build the student, not only

academically, but also as a person. I want students and staff to believe in themselves and build

confidence in all that they have to offer. I want them to feel we have built a connection and that

they are a highly valued person. I want to build an environment of support that will assist my

students and staff to become successful. I will consider what tools they need, but also what do

they need from me to become successful. I want students and staff to know that I care about

them and I have their best interests in mind. I want to take an interest in their lives and have them

know that I am making an investment in them, and I believe in them. I want student and staff to

have high standards, not only in my school, but for their lives. I want my students and staff to

develop goals and learn to push themselves outside of their comfort level.” My goal is to be

fiscally responsible with the public funds that come into my school. I will work hard to allocate

them into the highest priority programs and academic needs of the students. Throughout my

courses I have learned I need to develop a strong vision and have it be clearly communicated to

staff. The standard I have found to be most meaningful is standard one. This standard discusses

that educational leaders have developed a vision for the success of students. I want staff and

students to succeed in a ever changing world. I want them to feel safe and cared for. Students

should have a high self worth and be able to make a positive difference in the world.

Tetzlaff (2016) states “as we think about the purpose of education it is important to think

about how the human brain learns. Throughout my courses I have been shaped on how I learn

and also how others around me learn. The nature of learning occurs instinctively. Look at a

newborn for instance. They are inquisitive of everything around them. They are intrigued with

the five senses of learning new things. This does not stop at childhood, but continues all the way
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into adulthood. It is human nature to want to continue to learn new ideas throughout our entire

life. If a student feels that that there is a purpose in learning new ideas, they will be more open to

engaging in discussion. A teacher needs to always keep in mind the ways a child naturally wants

to learn. My goal is to help my teachers develop strategies to engage all students in learning. As

humans we have instinctive traits to want to learn. I will implement this through motivation,

building a self-worth, finding the interests of students and staff, and setting a purpose for

learning.”

School districts and teachers need to develop an environment that students and staff feel

safe, important, and that their presence matters. It is my philosophy that if a child feels that I care

and believe in them, they will in return want to do well for me in class. The student will also

respect my input and follow directions. I always felt that my parents cared for me, and believed

in me, and it pushed me to be the best I could be. It all simply starts by showing a student they

matter. This applies at the student level but also the staff level. Staff need to feel highly valued

and respected by their principal. This will encourage an environment of students and staff taking

ownership in their work. Students want to have their peers value them as much as they want

their teacher to acknowledge them. Teachers should develop a class environment that students

are encouraging to one another. The purpose of education is building them socially, emotionally,

and academically.

As a principal or teacher it is important that a child learns to have a positive self-esteem

and the confidence that they're able to carry into the world. Develop the child so that they feel

they are cared for, important, smart and that they are going to positively impact the people

around them. A teacher should clearly identify that every student is different, but that's what
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makes every student unique. This program has allowed me to broaden my perspectives and know

that students come to us with all kind of backgrounds. The more I learned about myself, the more

I was able to understand that individuals have all different stories. Allow the student to develop

into the man or woman that they want to be. The educational purpose is to build a student so that

they are confident, knowledgeable, and that they are ready to enter into the world and be a

successful person. I have come to believe that I am an essentialist in my view of education. I

strongly believe that to be an effective principal it is so important to stay up to date with all the

new innovations and curriculums. This being stated though there are essential elements of

education that will never be replaced. I will always examine first and foremost in my programs,

curriculums, and strategies if these essential components of education are being met. To become

a successful person a student must be taught all aspects of being a well-rounded human being.
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Resources

Tetzlaff, M. (2016), Positionality Memo, Unpublished Manuscript, South Dakota State

University