Leadership Cometh

Do you choose to be a leader or does leadership choose you or does it happen by default? To begin with, we all might have different opinions on what is a leader or what is leadership.

Can you be a leader without leadership or have leadership without being a leader? I have stated this before that politics, no matter what level, is one of the few areas that one can rise to the top without qualifications and knowledge unlike in the business and professional worlds. (Sometimes I wonder about that too)


Here are some common saying about leaders:

'Leaders surround themselves with good people.' Does that make you a good leader or a person with a good choice of who to choose? Where does the leadership come from?

'Leaders inspire others.'  'Leaders let others grow.' These two traits go hand in hand. They give you the freedom and opportunity and desire to advance and thrive.


'Leaders have a vision.' This vision is concise and clear to the others around them. The vision is the goal.

'Leaders are good communicators.' Clear, concise, understandable. They are also good listeners. They don't just hear to respond, they listen.

9 Reasons That Make Good Employees Quit



We all strive to be good leaders and show good leadership in what we do. Unfortunately, some people are better than others but that shouldn't stop us from trying. Unfortunately, this quote comes back to haunt me when I reflect on my leadership. "People rise to their level of incompetence." I hope I recognize that before this happens to me even when we strive to do better.

I believe this graphic summarizes things quite well. (not an endorsement)

                      Can Leadership Cometh within all of us?

Action Required?

"Our brightest blazes are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks." (Samuel Johnson)

The pro-active, re-active, knee-jerk reaction, responsive, due diligence, avoidance, forward-looking, steadfast, visionary, moored, progressive, regressive, scattered, grounded, reform, transform, leader, followers, initiates, rebukes.   These are all terms you hear being thrown around by teachers, administrators, staff, trustees, Ministry and yes, parents and community when talking about Education.

Which of those action words are you? Am I? Should we be? At what time? During what circumstance? A question should not end with the answer. The answer should not be the end of the response. A response should not end the action. The action should end with a question.

Yes, it is better to be pro-active as opposed to being reactive. But can you always foresee a circumstance? A knee-jerk reaction may be required to defuse a situation? But what rationale/reasoning behind the decision will determine if the responsive action was the correct one. We should always be doing our due diligence to discover and avoid any pit holes that may arise before us. Are our thoughts and thinking forwarding looking or are we steadfast in our actions and thinking to change? Are we visionary and willing to explore and challenge what is before us or moored in the tried and true (known)? Is what we do progressive or knowingly (or unknowingly) regressive? Do our plans and thinking keep us grounded in our actions or are they scattered with no plan to follow?  Are we reforming or transforming our practises and mindset? Do we know when to be leaders and when to be followers? Is rebuking initiatives accomplishing your goals or just hindering those of others? 

Every thought, plan, action, happening, circumstance &/or reasoning does have action and reaction (cliche). Does the term 'practical wisdom' by Barry Schwartz from the video Using Our Practical Wisdom come into play here? Does more knowledge whether practical (life) or academia give you more wisdom? Whose wisdom is proper? How does wisdom play into action? 

Is Action Required? Action will happen. The Who, When, Where, Why, What and How will depend on you. Where are your actions taking you?

Contemplating the Future

This blog post was not inspired by this tweet but was the kick in the rear to write a post. I often struggle with what to write about. Is it relevant? Do I actually know enough about the topic? Am I saying anything new? Why am I writing this?

I am always reflecting/questioning my job as a Trustee, "Am I doing a good job?" and the role of a Trustee, "What is a Trustee's role?". It has been 2344 days since I was elected a Trustee. It is over a year away but October 2018 is an election year. What will I use as my criteria in determine to run again? My Job or My Role?

I looked back through some of my old posts for reference and referral. These ones seemed most applicable. Why? (Nov 2010) The Trustee Dilemma (Sept 2012) The Good The Bad The Ugly (May 2016) Others have a glimpse &/or a spark of my thoughts and motivation.

Have I learned a lot as a Trustee? Yes. My trouble is relaying that knowledge on to others

Have I accomplished my initial goals? No. That will always be on going. Improvement? Yes

Have I been an effective Trustee? Within the system? My peers can answer that question. To my Constituents? Election time will determine that. There will always be the conflict between doing right for the Board and right for your constituents. School Trustees Job Represent Constituents & Ask Hard Questions

Yes there is unfinished business.  Am I making a difference?

Depending on what happens with Bill 68, will determine how soon or late I will need to decide if there will be a box beside my name waiting for the X in 2018.

I will leave you with this article. Trustees: Perhaps No Political Office Is More Important

MARKS. GRADES. AWARDS

Twitter these last days seems to had more talk about the abolishment of student's marks, award & ceremonies and even grades. Is today's society/mindset ready for this? You read posts by @Nunavut_teacher, @gcouros, @joe-bower and it all seems so simple.This movement even gets airplay, @MrWejr What drives students and even parents to learn and excel? Is their motivation extrinsic or intrinsic? How do they know what they know or where they are at? Is education & learning a competition with winners and losers? Here in Ontario how could a teacher, school or board move away from grading, when they all use the same Provincial Report Card? I believe this train of thought or movement has merit but I am not a convert yet.

What is Education?

After reading this article Can There Be A More Apt Example Of Trying To Do The Wrong Thing Right Than In Schools? one can be drawn into many areas of reflection.

What is the Philosophy of Education? Philosophy of Education

What is the purpose of school? What Is The Purpose of Education? It is continually changing through the years.

What is school? Instilling, acquiring, mastering &/or executing knowledge. What Is Education? Insights From The World's Greatest Minds

Is school the acquisition of skills? What skills? Eight Critical Skills of Modern Education What about 'Life Skills'? Life Skills Education I meant cooking, financial, etc. Or are those home taught skills?

These are some of the many questions circulating in the Education world. There are many more questions from curriculum & content to authentic/relative learning to assessment to technology use.

Can school be all of these? Do you choose different parts from different areas as your base? Are these questions and their answers, why education is accused of slow change? Little changes over time resulting in fundamental changes are used in the face of  'that was the way school was when I went' (status quo).

                                 

Schools are criticized for not teaching cursive writing. Maybe they should teach cursive and not printing. What other alphabet(Latin) has two written/printed forms? Which form is more prevalent?

Can you see part of the dilemma? What is Education? Or is this a look at Education from an acedemic view as opposed to a practical/in practice view?