Invictus






Mandela's leadership is an excellent example of how change comes through compassion and strength for the greater good of the people and not from revenge. He could have used his position to punish those who had put him in prison over the years and no one would have blamed him. However, great leaders lead their organization in order to form a unified vision for change. He knew that this could not happen without all the stakeholders being involved in the process.

 Mandela was masterful in bringing together all the stakeholders to unite his county. His actions surprised not only those who once opposed him but his own followers. The lesson he taught was that leadership is about bringing people together for a common cause, building bridges, and a culture that is inclusive. I always say that" leadership is not a popularity contest." Leaders are often tasked with making unpopular decisions that many do not understand.

 Mandela's decision to allow workers in his newly acquired position to keep their jobs and support a sports team that many of his followers despised was not popular but the right thing to do. One might say that he knew he needed to keep his ememies close, but I think he learned through research (in prison) that many things such as the color of ones skin might separte us on a superficial level but over all everyone wants the same basic things in life. Mandela knew these things could only be obtained by working together.

Drive

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I believe that teachers should model for students the high expectations we want students to uphold. Last year, a university came to Whitman and did a huge study on student nutrition. Teachers were required to teach student the benefits of a healthy diet and lifestyle. As a result the school was given gift cards from Target and one of the students wrote an essay for a local grocery store and won an additional $1000 more in gift cards. 

The problem with the teaching of healthy habits that I realized was that we were training students and the staff was not healthy at all. Many teachers, including myself was over weight and not exercising. We would make the children bring healthy snacks and participate in running club while we sat and watched (do what I say, not as I do attitude). To change this I put out a Principal's challenge. The challenge was a carrot and stick challenge I thought everyone would benefit from it they participated. I was especially targeting teachers who has a history of being out a number of sick days. These teachers went to lunch everyday and brought junk food coupled with large sodas. The challenge was that the staff member who walked the most steps in three months would win a $100 gift card. All the teachers were required to do was get a pedometer and record their progress weekly. In order to support them I modeled times when they could get additional steps. For example, walking around the classroom and helping students instead of sitting and teaching from a desk, walking the field with the students during running club or joining Zumba which was right after school two days a week. Easy, right? What I found so far is that this carrot and stick seems to work for those who are motivated to get healthy and probably was already exercising. However, the teachers I was targeting didn't think $100 was worth the effort of joining the Principal's challenge. The teachers who participated seemed to be motivated by the idea of getting healthy with friends as support and didn't really care about the reward but the competition.  Money didn't matter. What I learned from this experience is that carrots and stick will not motivate everyone, no matter the reward to themselves or their bank account. The sad part is that the teachers who really could benefit from this challenge didn't participate. In the long run their unhealthy habits will continue to cause them problems and add to the number of days they miss from work.

 As a principal, autonomy is important. I think good leaders need the room to be creative and innovative. I don't mind being given deadlines or task but I don't want to be micro-managed when doing them. For example, I was told I needed to market my school to improve enrollment. I chose to change Whitman into a STEM magnet. I had to do this without the support of the district resources. If I has waited for the district I probably would have had to follow district rules and procredures on gaining support and partnerships for my school. I have heard of principals being told to wait on ideas because the district was not really to implement their idea or deal with parents who might not want their children in certain programs.  I didn't want this to happen to me and my staff. So we worked together and came up with a plan for implementation and agreed to support it as a staff - a year later we were a STEM magnet school who had partnered with the Ruben H. Fleet museum, who gave us a professional developer to train teachers and provided field trips to the museum for students. In some cases, it's better to ask for forgiveness instead of permission.

Learning in New Media Enviroments

Michael Wesch Video

As the author spoke of his experiences in New Quinea and the effects of media on the people's relationships I though about how much life has changed in my own culture as a result of media advances. I can remember growing up in a very poor community where all the Blacks lived across the railroad tracks and basically experienced the same type of upbringing. Years later you could meet someone from your past and joke about things such as having to be in the house before the street lights came on or how you celebrated certain holidays with the same types of food and traditions.
While I am excited that the world is more accessible to everyone I do miss the close personal relationships and bond that were formed before we started being "connected 24/7"! One example is my son, Joshua, who refuses to physically answer the phone without me threatening his life - he want me to text him. His life is anti-social/social networking system!
As an educator and a leader I am excited to see the advances that have been made in the area of technology and think schools should figure out ways to fully integrate it into our classrooms. I think the new common core standards will help pave the way.  Students who have access to technology are truly engaged in their learning and this tool is especially useful to special needs students. The problem is that traditional teachers and leaders do not have the skills needed to implement. This issue will have to be resolved somehow in order to make American students ready for college and career.