From the Editor

SUPERVISION: Vision and Leadership

The Effects of Leadership on the Teacher Candidate

Dr. Michael J. Vetere, Jr. and Dr. James W. Bolton

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

As new teacher candidates enter the world of the classroom and schools, they encounter various variables that will affect their teaching. They learn early on that watching and listening will help them to be better prepared to enter the classroom with confidence and the tools needed to impact academic achievement. In Collective Behavior and Social Movements by Louis E. Genevie (1978), a discussion is held on leadership. Genevie shares his research on who is the leader and what can you expect to encounter in group behaviors. He also shares methods to deal effectively with this group dynamics. He goes on to say that the leader may not be the person in front of the crowd but the one who quietly gives the signals and exacts responses. Everyone in the group knows who this person is but recognizes a different individual as the group leader. The same may occur in the classroom. The teacher in the classroom may be the leader of the class but others in the school may be the ones that are creating an environment that will give the teacher candidate the skills for success. To be successful, a highly effective environment must be created permitting all individuals to accomplish their goals. In a classroom of highly effective people with highly effective leadership, teacher candidates will be able to learn from various sources and strengthen their chances for success. Looking at this situation, one realizes that leadership skills are not simply reserved for the building principal. These skills also need to be demonstrated and implemented by the classroom teacher, university supervisor. Just as important is what these individuals do with their leadership skills to impact the teacher candidate and student achievement.

In Listen up Teacher by Shirley Garcia and David Cottrell (2000), we learn about student voices. We are able to determine what students have to say about classroom leadership. Before the teacher candidate or the students in the class enter the classroom several things are already established. The reputation of the teacher is well established before they ever enter your class. They know how you handle homework, attendance, testing, grading, and they know if you have a commitment to education and your students. For a classroom teacher to demonstrate quality leadership skills, they need to accept nothing less than the best from all. They need to demonstrate and have high expectations of themselves and others, they will not accept inferior work, nor will they label individuals, and will strive to have everyone achieve the same level of success. The level of expectation remains high for everyone. Teachers as leaders also must demonstrate a fairness and consistency from one day to the next. This will demonstrate to everyone that you are in control; everyone knows what is expected on a day-to-day basis and therefore not creating confusion or causing stress in the classroom. Consistency creates a positive classroom environment that will lead to higher academic success and lower stress levels. This will also create an environment that supports a student code of conduct with expected consequences for all. A code of conduct will apply to all in a uniform manor regardless of diversity issues, ability, or affluence. Everyone will feel important and be part of the team for success. If change is required, then we must all know why what is happening and how it will affect us each day. A quality leader will share their thinking, methods, and implementation and why such a move is needed. At the same time, listening to the students in the classroom will allow for disagreement without fear of reprisal or creating an adversarial situation. Being able to communicate on a consistent basis allows for all in the room to feel as though they belong. As a teacher candidate views these traits, they realize the importance of teacher leadership and how it will affect the morale and learning ability of all the students in the room. They will also realize that being fair does not always mean equal. But being fair and consistent does require courage. This aspect in leadership is one that many people miss or they are afraid to demonstrate. Yet it is the one that will give your students the most to remember. It is the legacy of fairness that you leave your students that they will take with them forever and be able to use in whatever path they take. It will also be one of the most important lessons as a leader you will be able to leave your teacher candidate as they begin to formulate and emulate their own leadership behavior. They will understand the importance and the impact of fairness on the ability to teach and to learn.

A teacher candidate has learned through their years of training that people grow and learn in different ways. A leader recognizes these differences and makes accommodations for these differences without bringing undue attention to the learner. As a teacher candidate observes they realize through subtle differences in teaching style, movement from activity to activity, speaking in different voices or simply changing a teaching style, one student who might have been left behind has now joined the group of learners wanting to learn even more. As important as it is to using different teaching styles to fit different learning styles, it is also important to make the learning process relevant to real life activities. A simple example of this is using math and determining how much paint it will take to complete a wall or a room. When students see relevancy, they realize the importance of each step. As the teacher goes further up the chain of problems they can illustrate the science of flying, space travel, building a car, or walking to the store and gravity, calories, and how this will affect their lives or the lives of others.

A leader builds relationships. We all want to feel special. We especially want to feel special with a person who we look up to and who we spend much of our live with. A leader in the classroom will recognize the differences of people, encourage students to stay the course, and stay with us even when the going gets tough. Building this relationship enables us see that someone is with us and will support us through triumphs and failures without prejudice. We all have friends when we are successful but relatively few when things go sour.

A leader will listen and at times never give any advice. The best leader often only needs to be there to offer a tender ear for someone to talk his or her problem through. The safety net of leadership can stretch over a wide expanse for students and colleagues who need to be able to share with confidence in order to help them find their own answers. This positive relationship builds the power of the leader by encouraging continued growth, learning, confidence and knowing that failure can lead to success. But that same classroom leader must know when to take control. It is great to build relationships, to have students feel comfortable in their classroom and to be able to talk freely but it is also important that chaos does not prevail. Good teacher leaders control their classrooms and their students understand the established boundaries. The teacher candidate recognizes in the quality teacher leader the ability to control with passion and not to embarrass their students. It takes a great deal of time to build trust and only a moment to destroy it. Being organized, controlling the situation and staying under control will lead to greater success and a more efficient classroom. A teacher leader recognizes that being organized and preparing for the unknown will lead to better discipline and will encourage greater creativity in students.

The image of the teacher leader goes beyond what an individual does in the classroom. Although we have all heard it before, we do not leave our personal lives outside when we get to the classroom and we do not stop being a teacher when we leave the classroom. We personify an image that we share each and every day of our lives. Everything you do counts and will effect how we teach. If you cannot be trusted or you do things outside the classroom contrary to good character, how do you expect to teach your charges? If you cannot be trusted, most people will not learn from you. Although some will state that this is an unfair burden placed upon them, it is essential to realize that leaders are often held to a higher standard. Everything one does counts towards their image. Your integrity must be spotless and you must realize that quality leaders are accountable for their actions. Keeping your promises, speaking out for what is important and knowing that people can rely on your voice will build that character. People may not always agree with you but they will respect you for standing up for what you believe to be right. Everything a teacher does, teaches a lesson, whether it is in the classroom or outside in the real world of life. Your students watch your actions, and hear your words. They are influenced by your decisions, actions, behavior and responses. As teacher candidates observe you, they realize this as well. If they see one person in the classroom and another outside, they learn that character doesn’t really count or they may learn that you do not believe it is important. Your integrity is your most prized possession. Guard it as close as you guard your life or you may loose your most prized treasure.

A word at this point about the leader as a person is important to share. If the leader does not take care of himself or herself, they will never be able to care for anyone else. People will observe this as well and be more concerned with themselves instead of others. It is important that teachers have a life away from the classroom. Be sure to remember all the important comments about character, integrity and actions, but enjoy yourself as well. We all need to recharge our batteries and be ready to go each week. Without taking the time to relax, enjoy family and friends, your leadership skills will become worn and tired. Your ability to think clearly and without extreme emotion will become frayed. You need to be at your best each day without creating undue stress on everyone around you. Know when to get away and how to relax. If you are not at the top of your game, no one else will be either.

We have now reviewed eleven elements about quality teachers. But knowing these, observing these elements and mentoring the teacher candidate places the quality teacher into a new position of leadership. It also places the university supervisor into a position of recognizing leadership in the classroom and how they must pass this on to the teacher candidate. The authors have identified five elements for school/teacher/supervisor leadership. They are: 1. Mission, vision, and values, 2. People Management, 3. Energy, 4. Implementation, and 5. Great Expectations. By observing each of these and building on their purpose, the university supervisor will be able to assist the teacher candidate to develop skills to take with them into their first years on the job. They will also be able to identify master teachers who demonstrate leadership skills beyond the classroom.

Mission, Vision, and Values

The university supervisor should be looking at the classroom and school to identify the mission of the school and whether the lesson and daily activities in the classroom supported this mission. Does the classroom teacher demonstrate the vision created by the mission? In addition, do they share this purpose with the students, the teacher candidate and with the university supervisor? From the university’s perspective, does the mission of the school match the mission of the university’s education department? And if we take it a step further, is the mission and vision of the university supervisor match the same vision? In other words, are we all on the same page and are we all trying to support a teacher candidate to create a highly successful teacher?

People Management or People Leadership

This is often misunderstood by the leadership at both the school level and university level. This might be related to the old standard of managers vs. leaders. Managers act to limit choices while leaders strive to develop fresh approaches to problems. Leaders look for ways that are creative, that enhance the learning environment and permit options to solve issues and problems. A manager usually will stay with the same plan, be uncreative and will not look for alternative solutions. As a university supervisor, you need to support a teacher and classroom that is open to creativity that fosters growth and permits failures as well as successes to develop long reaching achievement. A leader will recognize that even in failure there is learning and growth. In a classroom that is overwhelmed with worry about grades, little creativity may occur and the teacher candidate may be unable to grow beyond the limits of the very structured curriculum.

Energy

We have all been around people who just bring a feeling of success with them as they walk into a room. We always want to be around those people. They always seem to be upbeat, looking for new ideas and willing to take a chance at success. They have an energy that energizes themselves and the people around them. These same people do not micromanage but have a few clear and understood goals. They inspire others to take the lead. They encourage students, teacher candidates and others to look for new ways to achieve their goals and to achieve at the highest possible level. The sky is the limit with these teacher leaders. They celebrate good ideas but never belittle ones that fall short. They create a learning community which encourages people to learn. But even more important, they encourage the organization to learn and to grow. As each grows, the energy surrounds them and creates an atmosphere that leads to new ideas, creativity, success and people who want to be associated with success and want to share in its joy.

Implementation

Energy, people management, mission, vision and values are all part of the formula for success and high quality leadership. But to get to the next level you need to be able to implement. We have all met people who had great ideas and they could sit around for hours telling us of their wonderful creative thoughts. But they could never get to the next level because they could not implement their thoughts. This could be for a variety of reasons that might include fear of failure, not knowing how to implement, or simply not having the leadership or creativity to go to this level of success. The greatest contributors were people who have demonstrated quality performance on their own. They have demonstrated expertise in their subject area. The importance of a challenge and the visibility of that challenge present an opportunity that they need to face. They have also seen a wide range of experiences that permit them to know what has worked and what has not. They can therefore incorporate this knowledge into their plans to create a successful opportunity and implementation of a plan. They are not afraid of failure but know that with each failure they move a step closer to success.

Great Expectations

After the leader has implemented their ideas, they must recognize that they need to enhance the experience, extend the experience, and expand the experience. They do not stop with the implementation but they look for ways to make it more viable. They want more people to have the advantage and they want to find ways to do it even better. Quality teacher leaders are willing to share their ideas with others to create an atmosphere of several people to find these new and exciting ways to make the experience better and more creative. As a university supervisor, this is a perfect opportunity to see your teacher candidate grow and become excited about education, teaching, creativity and student achievement. It becomes a situation of leading by example and leading by sharing. It is often referred to as giving up power to get power.

Concluding Thoughts

As University Supervisors and Classroom Teachers, there is a major demand to develop teachers that are better and more versatile than ever before. For that to occur, a strong partnership must be developed between the school and the educational institution of higher education. It is imperative that both institutions are focused on the same mission, vision and values. If they are not, the teacher candidate will not be able to receive the best experience available to them. To just permit the teacher candidate to come in and do a lesson based upon a prescribed teaching script, will simply create a teacher with little creativity, no inspiration and no encouragement to implement new and exciting educational inspirations. If we are going to create new leaders, than we need to be ready for the challenge as classroom teachers, university supervisors, and teacher candidates. We need to encourage less experienced teachers to experiment and expand their horizons in a safe haven that will allow them to create new opportunities for their students and grow from their adventures in learning. A teacher candidate also needs to recognize that their training will last longer than one semester. This is a long lasting relationship and can be cultivated into a partnership that will last a career. And if developed well, it will overlap several teachers. As school administrators hire new teachers, they will also recognize that they are still developing, creating, and need to be nurtured through this development period. As we progress through the trials of leadership and training, it is important that we also keep our sense of humor. We cannot forget to laugh at ourselves and at the wonderful learning experiences that we all go through on a daily basis. For through a little humor, new creative ideas might flow and a new educational technique might just be born. As a university supervisor and classroom teacher, share your leadership. Do not be afraid to speak up and bring new ideas to the classroom. And do not be afraid to share a few of your teacher candidate’s ideas as part of your lesson (and give them credit for the ideas). They will feel pride in the fact that you respected them enough to share one of their ideas. Remember, leadership skills grow by building a scaffold of knowledge and trust. Through dedication, learning, leadership, and partnership, quality creative teachers will continue to grow and become our classroom leaders of tomorrow.

References

Garcia, S., & Cottrell, D. (2002). Listen Up, Teacher! Dallas: Cornerstone Leadership Institute.

Genevie, Louis E. (1978), Collective Behavior and Social Movements, Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc.