Greg Rien

I’m going to cheat a little in wrapping up this weeks blog. I’ve been thinking about leadership teams for the past week and haven’t been able to put together any last minute on the topic. I was looking ahead to next week’s assignments when I came upon Dr. Cooper’s Leadership Priorities for Life. I know these are directed at the individual, but I think they can also apply to leadership teams. Looking at just a few of his definitions of leaderships helps me to get a grasp on what a leadership team in any organization should have as a focus. “Leadership is the act of making a difference”. To me, this suggests that a team should not be assembled if it is not allowed to institute change. I’ve read many posts where it appears a schools leadership team is either a rubber stamp for the principal or simply not listened to at all. When this occurs, the motivation to help the school goes away. “Leadership is trusting enough to be trusted”. Here it seems that a principal must be willing to give up some “power” and allow the team to make important decisions. The principal must then be willing to accept the changes proposed. “Leadership is having a curious mind, a listening ear, an open heart”. It would seem if teams and the organization’s leadership has these qualities then true change could occur. A team with these qualities would be able to look beyond what is and has been, be able to hear alternative suggestions and leave any conflicts within the walls of the meeting place. Leadership teams can work, it just takes a lot of trust and belief in the person sitting on your left, and on your right, and across from you.

On page 16, Lambert spends a fair amount of time writing about what could be called “What If” teams. I think that was what I was trying to get at with my Fresh Start post. What if we could start a school from scratch, how would it look. I think I probably ruffled some feathers when I asked “would you want the school to have a primarily experienced teaching staff with 10 or more years of experience or would you prefer that a majority of your teachers be relatively new?” My intension was not to disparage those who have already been teachers in schools, but rather to suggest that those who have not taught in schools before come into the process with less “baggage” than those who have never taught in schools before. I wanted to start with the assumption that there are no assumptions, no givens. For example, why do we have bells to signify the end of a period, what if a student is on a roll and wants to continue working? Why do we have buildings for that matter? Given the chance, I would like to start over completely and see what happens. What does this have to do with leadership teams? I think everything. Having read through the posts this week I have come to the conclusion that “most” regular ed schools that have tried to have teaming in their organization have failed, not all, but most. The common reasons seem to be money, politics, power and control. There are themes that seem to run through all organizations and as long as we are dealing with people, I don’t see that changing. Besides, sometimes it is fun just to dream, to wonder what could be if only given the chance.

Just a quick post this morning as I continue to struggle with the concept of leadership teams. In a perfect world I understand and support leadership teams, but we don’t live in a perfect world. Many of the students in the discussion board have posted comments about how their teams are ineffective or merely set up as a place to rubber stamp their leaders desires. There were some teachers who commented on the success of a particular team they were on, so they can be successful. I guess I’m coming from the “don’t waste my time” frame at the moment. If there is something that can be used to improve learning, to help the students be more successful, then I will do whatever is necessary, however, nothing is worse than sitting about halfway through a team meeting only to discover that the decision has already been made and my thoughts and ideas are ultimately irrelevant. Also, I understand the difficult position that leaders are often put in. Money is in short supply, the leaders leader wants things done a certain way. Those are realities, but then don’t try and sugar coat the facts by saying you want the team to come to a consensus over what to do about something when the decision has already been made. Instead, wouldn’t it be more productive to simply call people together and say, here is the situation and here is what we need to do to correct the problem? I’m really not trying to be negative, just trying to understand the dynamics.

Lambert writes, “Leadership is about learning together toward a shared purpose or aim” (2). Let me begin by saying that I believe in the leadership model that is being presented in Lambert. However, the model and idea as presented in Lambert is on that is difficult to obtain. In reading about leadership teams in the discussion area, I noted that many if not most of the students (teachers) are involved in leadership teams. However, I am not sure I have read a lot of success stories coming from these teams. I am not suggesting that they don’t work; I am just wondering how an organization moves from leadership teams to institutional change.
Lambert suggests that some major challenges exist in moving towards a team oriented approach including moving from a hierarchical relationship to a reciprocal one, creating a unifying vision based on core values, and involving everyone in the reciprocal activities of collaborative leadership (8-9). Lastly, and perhaps most difficult, Lambert discusses the need for sustainability. Clearly, these are major goals that a school or any organization needs to strive towards. My question is, how many organizations/schools are successful in meeting these goals? And if they do meet them, are they able to sustain them through the ongoing process of staff (teacher and administrator) change?
These are the questions I want to think about over the next few days. It is not my intent to say this can’t be accomplished, but rather to look at how it can be accomplished in my organization – and if I’m honest, do I want to see these changes occur for they would certainly require more of me as a teacher and a leader.

I first encountered the “classical” leadership style back in the early 70’s when I was working as a line cook for Perkins Restaurants. There was an assistant kitchen manager (all title, limited “real” authority) who relished the roll of King of the Kitchen, a person who could say and do whatever he wanted. He liked to punish the cooks, keep them under his thumb, and make them do the difficult tasks that were ultimately his responsibility. He was all about control. I occasionally wonder what ever happened to him? He did however teacher me an important skill at a very early age, he was the perfect example of what is not a good leader. I like to think I have remembered his example as I have grown in years. A distinction needs to be made, back in the 70’s we didn’t talk about leaders; we had managers – who managed!

I worked in restaurants for the next 15 years. I had the opportunity to “learn” from a great many different managers. Most had a “my way or the high way” mentality. Looking back, I wonder what happened to some of those good people who were given the highway option because the manager didn’t like the way they looked, or dressed, or maybe just because he (always a he back then) didn’t get a good night sleep the night before. Management – now leadership carries with it a huge responsibility it seems. A manger looks at people as parts, how can I use this part to get the job done in the most cost effective way whereas a (good) leader looks at the people working for him – or her as a part of a team that when working together can do amazing things. Leadership is about responsibility; management is about control and numbers.

I’m looking forward to this class and the opportunity to examine myself and reflect on how things could be and should be done.

The course is winding down now and there is a hint of sadness as there always is with the conclusion of a course – and also one of relief, I can relax a bit before the cycle begins anew. I didn’t know much about blogs before this course has started, but now I’m thinking I want to get my own personal blog or diary as it were to be able to write and reflect and share what’s on my mind, be it serious or frivolous. The world continues to expand – never waiting for me to catch up. Perhaps a blog, much like this one, will allow me to slow down and reflect as I continue to race forward. The course has been good, a good learning experience – learning that continues as I still struggle will all the information and concepts, but I think that’s what learning is all about, the recognition that you’ve only begun, that there is much that remains to be explored, examined, and discovered!

Hi,

There are two ways you can view my final project. the colorful version is available at google docs:
Google Version

To view the non-colorful version:
Assessment E-Learning Final Project

I know that often I take on more than I can handle.  I find myself looking at the gathering storm of dust that is overflowing my tables and lamps, and pictures and I find myself saying, I’ll get to that over winter break.  I now have a bathroom that guests are allowed to use and one that only I am allowed in.  Projects remain undone and my dog stares at me wondering if I am ever going to play with him again.  Yet, once again, I am enjoying myself again.  I am busy – maybe too busy, but I am keeping my mind active.  I guess I live a contradiction, too busy yet never busy enough.  OK, I feel a little guilty about the dog, I’ll take him for a walk when I finish typing here.  As you can tell, this has been a busy week and I am focused on getting something down on paper for the final  I don’t want to leave that for the last minute and screw it up.  Yet I also know, once classes are complete, once my students are on break, I’ll be wondering around the house looking for things to do. Though seriously, if I could afford it, I’d find myself a nice quiet beach with lots of sunshine and NO technology and just relax for a week or so.

When comparing the assessment techniques from Casey’s journalism class to that of Khalsa’ class, what perhaps stands out most is the planning and development that occurred in the Khalsa course.  Khalsa writes that “creating a ‘real-time’ learning community through the use of online coursework can create interactivity with the student that evolves toward inspired, engaged learning.” (Khalsa,10). While Casey has clearly thought out the direction of her class, she doesn’t seem to factor in the need for community or direction nearly as much as Khalsa does.  For Khalsa, creating an online community is an essential needed to ensure that learning occurs. With Casey, that emphasis appears to be lacking.  Quoting Chang and Simpson, Khalsa writes, “that learning in today’s connected world involves moving from an individual responsibility of students to a collaborative responsibility, involving a community of learners (Khalsa, 11).

To insure that learning occurs, Khalsa has developed a map that the course will follow including:

• Having the students feel as though they are part of a team from the first day.
• Offer multiple methods of teacher contact including email, virtual office, discussion threads and instant messaging.
• Ensuring directions are specifically explicitly defined.
• Recognizing students have different learning styles and supporting those different styles through the course work.
• Use of student journals.
• Having students put their work online for all to see because “When students projects are put on the web for all to see they have an incentive to do their best work possible.”
• Use a final project to allow the students to share the knowledge they have acquired.

With these goals in mind, Khalsa can now develop the specific outcomes for the class.

In contrast, Casey’s class is more focused on the actual content of the class.  In fairness to Khalsa; the purpose of the paper was more about the developing an online course than supplying the actual content that went into the course.  Casey write in great detail what will be covered in the course, but is much more vague about how the course will be developed.

The Khalsa course offers a blueprint for developing an online class whereas Casey’s class offers topics that could be covered in a specific journalism class.  Therefore, the Khalsa paper is a better blueprint for developing an online classroom, starting with pre-class course design and ending with an evaluation that can be used for making improvements in future classes.

Things are obviously moving very quickly; I’ve lost track of which week we are in! That’s a good thing, but also a bad thing. It’s good in that the class is going very well and smoothly with lots of learning occurring. However, it is a little disconcerting in so far as I like to think I am better organized than that. Last week we had a short week at school with MEA and I think the added time made me feel too comfortable. At any rate, time to catch up!
Week 4 was mainly about the team project. I was really happy with the outcome. Generally I feel a little insecure working in groups, but I was very fortunate to be working with three great team members. We were able to come to agreement quickly on who would research what and then able to put the whole thing together. Most importantly, I was able to learn about some new tools and hopefully the others were able to learn a new idea or two about my topic. I’m still not doing great on the discussion aspect; I know I need to do better. I read all of the posts but everyone’s response seems to good that I don’t feel as though I have anything new or interesting to post. Again, it is probably more a question of self-confidence than anything else. All in all though, I must say I am learning new things every day.
Week five was probably the most difficult week I have had to date. Bloom’s taxonomy has always been a little confusing for me. I’m not sure if I did the table correctly. I did enjoy the Casey’s journalism assignment; this helped me to get a little clearer understanding of the whole process. I am looking forward to the online conference coming up; I am hoping that the time works out. I guess that’s it till next week, or until something new arrives!