teaching and leadership

deep dive

Leadership

Throughout my career in education I have been entrusted to apply my theory to teaching and leadership within the structures of the school communities in which I have participated; a theory based on the belief that successful schools are steered by leaders who have the ability to nurture, to teach and to learn from others in order to reach above and beyond the confines of standards and trends to find inspiration in the nature of and the humanity within the individuals we teach. In doing so, I believe it the school’s leader who inspires, mentors, and who is to be open to being humbled by teachers and students in the pursuit to discover the remarkable potentials in learning (receiving knowledge) and in the contributions (applying knowledge) of young people. It is this process that advances a school’s mission in the classroom, in the hallways, on the playing fields and through word of mouth; and it is this that brings people to the school, investment to the school and builds the foundations for the future of the school.

Working together to live mission and build confidence for an enduring is inspired an organization's leader, whose responsibility is to model and live by exemplary values of character and work selflessly to bring together teachers, students, parents, alumni, board members, and external community leaders to find a shared articulation in modeling the aspects that define the school community. I believe this partnership, forged by the school’s leader, can build effective pathways through strategic planning and creative visioning to lead a community through the ethos of a school’s purpose by valuing the tradition (history), context (relevancy) and vision (future) of mission.

These three strands serve as compass when leading the varied constituencies of a school forward in the work to educate young people for a better and more virtuous world. When the threads of tradition, context and vision are depended upon in unison, and when the school’s leader develops partnerships and builds relationships with members of the school, a leader can be transformative-melding tradition and innovation to inspire a community to live by the school’s values and, in return, want to contribute in the school’s forward reaching aspirations-building a sustainable continuum of school mission for generations of students, alumni and legacy families.

Teaching

In our hurriedness to explain how our schools remain relevant within the demands of educational reform and societal concerns, I believe it is easy to neglect the fundamental qualities of teaching and learning. These qualities, centered on the encouragement and refinement of the aspects that make people so remarkable, are communication (written and verbal expression), creativity and critical thinking, character education and ethics, and the importance of embracing the best of community through the complex act of collaboration. These characteristics, commonly known to as the ‘5C’s’ [1], are often part of the framework for successful 21st century schools, but have long been embedded in the nature of learning.

Drawing upon these aspects through the learning process is not a new perspective amongst highly skilled teachers or successful schools. What makes these aspects so necessary in education today, however, is that we look to achieve these qualities as a cohesive ‘whole’- not separately nor sporadically. Excellent schools perceive the 5C’s as important focal points in instruction, serving as reminders to how we want young people to employ the knowledge we provide. Thus, they are not accidental outcomes, observable moments or units of study; instead they are important curriculum strands held in equally high regard as subject matter counterparts.

Through this perspective, I believe our students cannot simply be vessels of information who are defined as being successful for knowing how to spell, using a vocabulary word in a blank space within a partial sentence or for identifying the order of operation in a math sentence. Don’t misunderstand this point; I, in fact, believe developing young learners need to know their ‘facts’. I value the need for students to make marked acknowledgements of historical events, and I believe they need to know the truths of science and of mathematics. I also believe our students need to study the masterpieces of cultures throughout time and our students need to know how to read for enduring meaning and to write with precision; all fundamental pieces of knowledge that provide the scaffolding for independent thought. But, to be contributing members of society and to compete in a world that is ever evolving, our students must be prepared to anticipate ideas and appreciate what diverse people bring to discourse. And finally, at the root of my educational philosophy is the belief that our job as teachers is to instill within our students the importance of depending on others; comprehending that excellence and success are not achieved singularly, but through the influence of community and through the interaction and exchange with others.

It is the later that begs for us to consider a sixth critical characteristic in modern teaching and learning-cosmopolitanism [2]. The ability for our students to value the melding of the contributions of others to build upon their own learning experiences and become ‘worldly’; knowledgeable in navigating people, culture, art, science, humanities-a blending of tradition and culture to build new ideas for advancement and progress, and for the ability to employ such concepts with a set of core values and through ethical practice. A school culture which encourages this unique aspect in learning is one that can simply be defined by the exceptional quality of students it promotes; model world citizens.

Unlike the classrooms my generation knew, where rows of students nodded in acknowledgement of information as our teachers recited facts; I believe the masses of students we teach today are best served and effectively taught in small collaborative groups where students can grow from being passive recipients of teaching into active thinkers who bring to the group each of their unique ‘expertise’ to construct new and budding ideas; working with teachers to develop curriculum by experiencing learning outcomes. It is within these small learning communities young people are afforded the opportunity to build upon their learning capacities by discovering new potentials within themselves and others. And at the helm of this structure, I believe students are most successful when they are carefully coached and advised by educators who steer learning with strategic essential questions intended to guide student achievement to excel beyond published standards, (much like the‘Mayo Clinic’ model established in the 1980’s).

It is the blending of these qualities that I believe inspires excellent teaching and quality learning and ignites the spirit of human nature for ingenuity and innovation, discovery and entrepreneurialism; qualities that encourage and sustain progress and leadership within in people, schools, communities, institutions and nations.

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[1] Bassett, Pat. “Bassett Blog, 2011/11: The Five C’s + One”. National Association of Independent Schools: NAIS.org.

November 2011.

[2] Bassett, Pat. “Bassett Blog, 2011/11: The Five C’s + One”. National Association of Independent Schools: NAIS.org. November 2011.

Patricia Marshall