Reflection About Instructional Leadership free essay sample

The reality is that are many demands on a principals time and management skills making it difficult for most of them to spend time in classrooms, when performing teacher evaluation. Principals often make sure that teachers have the opportunities for professional developments, since they themselves rarely have any time to directly affect their teacher’s growth. The approach of sharing instructional leadership with teachers can present some organization challenges. The writer understood from this course that Communication is critical in a principal’s job. A leader must be clear, consistent in communication with students, staff, parents and community which, is imperative to the role of a principal. Similar to the teaching and reinforcement of math and reading skills, policies, procedures, and expectations need to be taught, practiced, and reinforced to students and staff. The writer acknowledges that the reinforcement of policies and procedures with discussions regarding their purpose also helps in communicating expectations with students and staff members. We will write a custom essay sample on Reflection About Instructional Leadership or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When communicating with staff, technology provides leaders s with the tools and ease to communicate with all members on a daily basis. Although the principal is ultimately responsible for building decisions, successful principals delegate, consult, and collaborate with staff. With many duties to manage, it is imperative for principals to trust their employees (assistant principals, teachers, paraprofessionals, clerical staff, and custodians) and to create committees to take on responsibility for some of hese tasks. In addition to making the principal’s job more manageable, shared decision making also helps in empowering teachers and creating â€Å"buy in† for implementing change. Cotton (2003) suggests that effective principals not only collaborate with staff on decision making, but also encourage staff to work together on instruction and curriculum best practices. The writer feels that it also allows teachers and principals to learn and build on the strengths of their colleagues. If principals are effective in creating a collaborative school with professional learning communities, then risk taking and learning takes place at all levels, thereby improving instructional practices. If principals are to take the role of instructional leader seriously, they will have to free themselves from bureaucratic tasks and focus their efforts towards improving teaching and learning. Instructional improvement is an important goal, a goal worth seeking, and a goal when implemented, allows both students and teachers to control their own destiny in making a more meaningful learning environment. Brewer (2001) suggests that the role of the instructional leader be expanded to incorporate a shift away from management (working in the system of administrative tasks) toward leadership (working on the system) and in the case being argued it is ‘instructional leadership’. To achieve this quest, it takes more than a strong principal with concrete ideas and technical expertise. It requires a redefinition of the role of principals, one that removes the barriers to leadership by eliminating bureaucratic structures and reinventing relationships. Consequently, a leader needs to be passionate about their work but also needs to find a balance between work and home. The role of the leader requires one to be active and think on their feet. Reflecting on daily actions, keeping abreast with professional development, reading and engaging in a stress relieving activity, such as exercise, are all activities that can help the leaders manage their workload (Johnson, 2005). It is important to remember that the word leadership does not seem to define the person but rather the person defines what the leader is. The writer acquired the knowledge that Instructional leadership is a collaborative learning environment where learning is not confined to the classroom and is the objective of all educators. Instructional leadership is an important departure from the ancient model of administrator as authoritarian. The writer feels that learning should be a top-down process. If those in charge of the school are excited about learning, then they will share their enthusiasm throughout the community. Those who learn to be instructional leaders acquire many characteristics that are beneficial to their schools and communities. The writer concurs that Instructional leaders exhibit a clear sense of direction for their schools and prioritize and focus attention on the things that really matter in terms of the work of students. Furthermore, instructional leaders know what is happening in their classrooms and develop the capacities of staff by building on their strengths and reducing their weaknesses. These leaders also attempt to sustain improvement and change in their schools by anticipating and overcoming the obstacles that inevitably will emerge along the way.