ETL504 Teacher Librarian as Leader - Module 1

My current understanding of leadership.

As a young, fairly new teacher my experience with leadership within a school has been fairly limited. I see the typical leaders of a school being the Principal (SLA), Deputy Principal (SLB) and our team leaders (SLC). Each has a unique role within the school and lead in very different ways.

School Principal - Makes the big decisions within the school and everyone reports to them. Has a responsibility to the School Network Leader and has to consider the financial needs of the school as well as the best educational interests of the students.

Deputy Principal - Reports to the Principal and acts as an intermediary on many things. Sometimes they feel they lack the authority to make the tough decisions because they have to report to the Principal. Usually more active in the day to day running of the school and the needs of the teachers. Often presents the views of the staff to the Principal.

Team Leaders - These are usually the most supportive and understanding leaders. They are often the ones who understand the issues that you are facing and present these to the Principal and Deputy in order to be solved. Sometimes they are teachers and sometimes they play a more specialised role within the school. They are the teachers first port of call when they are facing a challenge in the classroom or behind the scenes.

My current understanding is very hierarchical with clearly defined roles. Every person in the chain reports to a leader who is more superior than they are and any decisions made have to be justified to these leaders. However, each of these roles suit a different style of leader.

That being said, I have also seen a number of different leadership styles, some more successful than others. It is easy to lose faith in leaders when they do not support your ideas or values, if actively work to undermine you, or if they do not display the traits of a good leader.

Good leaders often exhibit the following traits:

• Clear, open, honest communication
• A good listener
• Provide timely feedback and constructive criticism
• Follow through with commitments made
• Inspirational and a good motivator
• Innovative - demonstrate some degree of risk taking
• Supportive
• Confident - in their own abilities
• Trustworthy - they don't betray confidences
• Teach and improve the skills of others
• Organised
• Passionate about their job and their school/organisation
• Approachable - with an open door policy

Whilst I do not see myself pursuing a position of traditional leadership within the school structure, I can see the value of having leaders within the school. As a teacher librarian, I see the opportunity to support and guide teachers within the school. This may be additional guidance to resource curriculum areas, support in planning teaching units, or team teaching. I can also see the role as a leader in educational technologies, being able to experiment and test out a range of technologies and assist in their implementation across the school

How do I show leadership within my school?

I feel that I support my colleagues in any way that I can. That can be by listening to the issues they are dealing with and offering advice, speaking to the executive on behalf of others, finding additional resources to support their teaching program, being a sounding board for new ideas, etc. I have also had the opportunity to present small mini-presentations to colleagues to build their capacity in new technologies.

I also hope that I act as a leader to the students within my school. I try to be a neutral ear when they are having issues in the classroom, encourage a love of reading, provide individualised recommendations of what to read next, and expose the kids to new and different things and ideas. I hope that I broaden their thinking.