Love the person you are Jennifer!!! sally
On 3/31/08 6:50 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Judy, I think you are really asking what it takes to be a literacy leader--a > role model for the active intellectual and literate life for your > colleagues. There are two keys to this, I am thinking. I do NOT pretend to > be any kind > of expert here...but this is something I have been doing a LOT of thinking > about over the past couple years and pretty intensely over recent weeks. > > The first key is that you need to live the intellectual life > yourself---don't hide it! This has been one of the hardest lessons for me to > learn...I am an > avid, dare I say, a "fervent" learner-- I always have been. I love to learn > for learning's sake. I am the kid who drove adults nuts with all the > questions--and as an adult I can read almost anything and be interested in > it. (My > bedside table right now includes not only "To Understand, but also a Tom > Clancy > novel, a classification guide for butterflies, 2 books on leadership, a > science fiction novel and a Smithsonian magazine!) For a long while on the > job, > though, I really 'low-keyed' that part of my personality from all but a few > colleagues. I finally got sick of it, and decided to be myself, but I > realized early on that there's a way to do it. Approaching all I do with the > question "What can I learn from this experience?" became a guiding principle > that > helps me improve as a teacher and as a person. I expect each person I work > with to have strengths, some aspect that I can learn from and when I started > approaching them with that in mind, I began to have more productive > professional relationships. To me, being an intellectual role model for > colleagues means > to exhibit a curiosity, an openness to ideas others have to offer and to > look for opportunities to validate the ideas of others by incorporating them > into my own practice. It is not so much about sharing all I know, as it is > being > open to the sharing. That is a lesson I am still learning and it is not an > easy one for me. > > The second part of being a literacy leader is to develop relationships. When > you are an equal, you don't lead from a position of power. You lead through > the power of your relationships. As reading specialist, many more doors opened > when I started coteaching. Really, I think, most people want to do a good > job. They don't become teachers to do a lousy job. Once I shared students > with > someone in a coteaching relationship, and shared responsibility for teaching > and planning---it became easier. In my most effective relationships, I made > sure that I asked lots of questions and learned from my colleagues all that I > could and then shared what I knew gradually, as people became more > comfortable with me and as we identified a need for our students together. I > won over > a couple of really tough skeptics over time...but it was kinda like a > marriage. There is give and take...and probably a whole lot more giving than > taking. You really need to work at the relationships and build trust before > you > can really move anyone forward. This takes time and patience. It worked best > for me when I didn't try to force opportunities but rather worked first to > show > that I cared about the person...then later showed that I valued the teacher. > > Now please understand, I don't say any of this is easy. Again, I am no > expert...and I don't claim to be anyone's intellectual role model. I have > struggled, and still struggle in some professional relationships. I am just > someone > who sees the importance of modeling an intellectual life for colleagues and > students and I am someone who is absolutely passionate in her belief in the > power of colleagues learning together.(That's why I am a long-time > participant > on Mosaic!) I am just sharing my 2 cents for what they are worth. I hope > this > helps... > Jennifer > > > In a message dated 3/31/2008 8:48:52 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > When I was an administrator for a few years ( that's actually when I joined > this group, as I was feeling very alone), we were trying to bring about > change in a district. Much of the reading I did at that time dealt with how > to > handle teachers who did not embrace change. The research said that you can't > wait for everyone to get on board. The lesson in that for me, now a reading > specialist, is that I try to help those who want the help, in hopes that more > teachers will be inspired to try something different. > > There are other people at your school who are trying to lead an intellectual > life, but sometimes they are hiding fairly well. Keep looking and good luck. > > > > > > > > > **************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL > Home. > (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15&ncid=aolhom000 > 30000000001) > _______________________________________________ > Understand mailing list > [email protected] > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list [email protected] http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
