Personal Reflection Of Leadership As A Good School Principals

As a visiting international educator, I have had the opportunity to work with several great school principals, dedicated teachers, terrific students, optimistic parents, and caring school community. Similarly, I have worked with the total opposite of the described individuals. Nonetheless, each teaching experiences gained from working with these individuals have helped to shaped who I am today both personally and professionally. Some experiences have been wonderful, part of the reason why I aspire to be a principal, while other experiences have challenged me to question my role as teacher and as an aspiring principal. I choose to speak of latter as I reflect on Tschannen-Moran’s (2004) book entitled, Trust matters: Leadership for successful

It was scheduled on a non-staff meeting day and a selected group of individuals beside the regular teaching staff was mandated to attend. This meeting was different from all the meetings I have ever attended at the school. After all required staffs were present in the meeting room, the principal asked that the doors be shut, and that the teachers sat in a circular position around tables where they could all see each other. The meeting was about the behavior of teachers and other administrative staff. Prior to the meeting, it was obvious that there were tension among staff members in the school. One major problem discussed in the meeting was that the principal was wrongfully reprimanding individuals without thoroughly investigating information presented to her by some members of staff. The principal did not take this problem presented in the meeting lightly. Hence, she apologized about it and since then, she has been making every attempt to remedy the situation by visiting classrooms more regularly, and sitting in and participating in different group meetings. Tschannen-Moran (2004) advised that trustworthy school leaders must learn to create conditions in which trust can flourish within their school as well as between their school

Tschannen-Moran (2004) posits that principals and teachers who trust each other can better work together in the service of challenging problems of schooling. It is imperative that my actions within the school and the school community exemplify trustworthiness, never taking sides with any opposing team but strive to maintain a balance of equity among all members of staff.

The reflective discussion questions provided by Tschannen-Moran (2004) at the end of each chapter have been thought provoking. “What steps have you taken to cultivate bonds of trust with parents and the community at large?” (Tschannen-Moran, 2004). In attempting to answer the question truthfully, I have realize that I have not made much effort in cultivating bonds of trust with parents and the community. As I continue my practice as a classroom teacher, I do see the need to work on my relationship with parents and the