George’s Presentation
Today my ECMP teacher,Alec, invited his brother George to do a presentation on leadership and what administrators are looking for in new teachers. If I’m not mistaken, George is actually a principal at a school in Humboldt and shared with us his own experiences as well as really good advice in how to be the best teacher. I really admire him for his leadership. Being a principal is a huge responsibility, because not only do you have to manage finances for the school but you have to be involved in the school, talk to the students, talk to the parents, and even get involved in the community. I would say that being a principal is very a hard position to fill and do right but from all the things George said to us today, I can tell he is doing a very good job!
He opened my eyes a lot when it came to how I viewed the roles and responsibities of teachers and principals. I thought back to a time where the principal at my elementary school couldn’t multi task very well and unfortunatley spent more time with the financial part of the school rather than spending more time with the students. Students did not like him, and in fact, he was also a teacher at the same time and taught my grade 6/7 class. Students were upset with him because they could see he really didn’t care about the students. If he did, he did not show it one bit. He was focused on other things rather than focusing on what was most important: paying attention to students and getting to know his students. To be honest, I do not remember much of any times I was at school and seeing the principal walk around and get involved with students (other then speeches at assemblies and large school functions). George told us how a parent brought up the question if there was a “hugging policy” at the school he became a principal at, and he went on to say he didn’t know there was such a thing. I guess parents and students were used to a principal that kept to himself/herself and didn’t open up to the students; hugging was going beyond their impression of what they thought a principal was supposed to do. What I admire about this is George not only opened the eyes of his students with his welcoming presence, but he also opened the eyes of parents too. That got me thinking! Principals should be involved in as much as they possibly can with his/her students. It is important for a principal to show students that he/she cares about them and the school and is not just there for a pay check. Principals and teachers are humans with emotions like everybody else. Being a principal or teacher should never block out emotions and change a person into a cold and secluded person.
I forgot to add in that not only does a principal have a responsbility to keep engaged with his/her students but so does the teachers! Teachers should also do the same as far as making sure they socialize with their students and make sure the students know the teacher cares for them and their well being! George said it is always good to see a teacher try and work with his/her students and their problems rather than go to the principal and make it the principal’s job to take care of students. I completely agree with that. Teachers should never give up on their students and should always believe in their students for change and success in life. That was one important thing that kept being stated: A teacher must believe in his/her students. If a teacher doesn’t believe in his/her students, a student will see that and might just hinder a student in believing in themselves. It’s about supporting students in their decisions and helping them steer in the right direction in life.
Near the end of the presntation George showed us a video made my Daniel Pink based on his book Drive. It is based on a teacher’s motivation to be the best teacher out there and to ask yourself “what’s my sentence?” The video goes on to say in order for you to answer that question, you have to ask yourself another question first. Before you go to bed at night, ask yourself “Was I better today than yesterday?”. Keep asking yourself that because that is how you improve your teaching. Ask yourself this question wherever you are and once you make your sentence, it will help you create and follow the path in life that you want to! You can think of past events that happened in your elementary years or even high school years.. teachers that inspired you.. and your sentence can become what you want to do better in your teaching career. The video was very touching and it has motivated me to want to read Daniel’s book!
Sarah Koster's Blog 
I really appreciated your comments, and yes, students are ALWAYS first in my mind. All of the other stuff to do with finances, has to do somewhat with the vision, but is mostly on the “management” side of things. A true leader helps to inspire people that they work with and by getting to know everybody, I feel that I have a better chance to do this.
I also appreciated your comments that as a teacher, you should never give up on your kids. When we watched the video of Dalton Sherman, he talks about that you are sometimes the only thing that the students have. This is true in many cases and as a teacher, I know that your job is much more than simply passing on information. Connecting with kids is always number one and once you do that, you will see that they can do almost anything with your support and guidance.
I really appreciated your post and reflection on our discussion today. I know that as a principal I have so much to learn from others in the field, and reading posts like this just helps to further me in my own career. For that I am very grateful.