Mastery of Leadership Dispositions

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Responses to my work from professors at WJU 1) You have a clear plan for the semester as well as identified areas of concentration. Reflection is an important part of learning. Thank you for including this in your plan. I look forward to learning with you. 2) YES! Your last sentence makes my day. The kind of things you mentioned, are exactly the experiences we want you to have. And, more importantly, we want you to reflect and learn from all your leadership experiences each and every day. Your reflection clearly shows you are see the school and system roles and responsibilities in a new way. You are noticing how all impact each other and, more importantly, student achievement and learning. Please continue to take advantage of every opportunity and to view each in an open and reflective manner. 3) You are working one job up! Your opening caught my attention and, in my opinion, it is right on target. You are also assuming many of the roles and responsibilities of a leader. You have become involved in curriculum, extra-curricular events, PLCs, discipline, etc. These are all part of leading and I am delighted you are experiencing everything possible. I've read both books by Todd Whitaker that you mention. They are good ones and well worth the read. Have a great week. Enjoy the experiences and learn. 4) My thoughts and prayers are with the Watson family. A heavy heart is very understandable. It appears the school family is stepping up to assist. When tragic things happen, the role of the school leader is intense and requires much compassion, thought, understanding, and common sense. The students, staff and community look to the principal for support and guidance. The sharing with students in small homeroom groups is a very good way to help them feel safe and allow them to talk. Sometimes teachers are not sure what to do or say, so the school leader and counselors must prepare quickly so teachers are prepared. 5) Yes, you do have a very busy schedule...one that will prepare you to be a school or system leader. I also like the saying...That which does not destroy me strengthens me. From your reflection, you appear to be getting wonderful experiences: board meetings, working with custodians, PLCs, writing assessments, monitoring and solving problems, and professional reading. I also like Whitaker's books. I have most of them on my personal library. 6) You are getting an excellent view of the roles and responsibilities of the school leader. In fact, you are living the role in many ways. Your ability to interact and de-escalate the situation with the student running out of the building shows your ability to connect to students, think on your feet, and help the student make good choices. Your skills are growing and showing. You noted collaborative work with the project and building supplies, faculty interaction with the teacher of the year selection process, demonstrating caring for students who watch what we do not what we say, handling of discipline, and many more important leadership qualities and skills. I enjoy reading your reflections and seeing your growth. From the posts, it sounds like many of the WJU candidates will be at ELI. Hopefully you will get to meet each other face to face. Let me know how the session goes. Enjoy preparing the nursery. I look forward to pictures. Consider sharing on class connect as we are a group that supports each other professionally and personally. 7) I've worked with Woody Yoder over the years and think very highly of him. He is an excellent principal and strong teacher. I am glad you found the experience valuable and had an opportunity to meet others from the WJU program. Your energy and enthusiasm related to the ELI experience is evident. Do not forget to send me a copy of your certificate or whatever they provided to verify attendance. 8) I like the positive attitude. It is effective. You seem to be having good learning experiences and great colleagues. You are looking at your learning from several views...teacher, leader, and parent. I look forward to seeing a baby picture under the class connects link. I am certain the visit from the Governor will be a positive event for everyone. Enjoy! 9) My thoughts are with you and your family, as you are blessed with the arrival of your newest member. Your father sounds like a great role model. HR is challenging. Keep your family and faith close as you face challenges and joys. I read your DB posts and realize jealousy could be a bit of what is happening. It is hard to tell, but it is not uncommon. You will learn a great deal about others. I am delighted that colleagues are coming to you for information and assistance. You covered some very challenging topics this week, but they are leadership learning experiences for you. God bless you and your family. I look forward to a picture of Gia on class connect. 10) I love the family picture. Gia is one lucky little girl. Having a baby is a life changing event. Your reflection shows the importance of teachers and leaders understanding the parent child bond. Congratulations to you and your wife. 11) Become good at (and patient with) scheduling. It is an important tool for promoting a climate of learning and for using staff effectively. Your PLC sounds delightful. I am glad it is a good experience and a learning opportunity. I enjoyed your parent exchange. You did a nice job of building a strong relationship with the parent while finding a mutually agreeable way for the youngster to meet the CSOs of the class. I bet your little on is growing rapidly. Enjoy her. 12) You are doing a wonderful job of getting a variety of leadership responsibilities. You have supervision of students, professional reading, custodian issues, meeting, academics and more. I can easily understand your time verification. I see you are attending ELI this weekend. Let me know how it goes. 13) Your reflection shows professional growth. You are clearly preparing yourself to assume the role of school leader. You accepted many new and, sometimes challenging, opportunities, and they seemed to have returned high quality learning experiences for you. You are putting your learning into practice. I thoroughly enjoyed learning with you this semester and look forward to additional learning opportunities as you complete your degree.