Supervision

Supervision

Final Paper

Leave it to a physical education teacher to say this, but, being a school administrator is based on teamwork, no one individual can run an entire school. To me, the idea of creating a collaborative culture simply means getting your staff, students, parents and community on board with your philosophy. Since the buck stops with the principal, it is important for his/her staff to be on the same page. In order for a principal to foster this kind of environment, they would have to utilize a variety of supervisory styles and techniques. The most important leadership characteristics designed to achieve this goal are:

1. Determining who your key people are on all levels within the organization

2. Being approachable

3. Establishing and maintaining credibility by:

a. Following through

b. Setting the example

I am learning some of the interesting realities of being an administrator this year. Although I am not supervising a particular group within the building, I have come to realize that there is a line between administrators and teachers. As a dean in a new school I entered with a few ideas of my own on how to improve the building. Early on in the year, my colleagues and myself decided try to implement some changes. We met with strong resistance from the teachers union on some of our ideas. Although we were able to see the benefits of these changes, some of the teachers did not. One major change we decided should be made was to eliminate the current homeroom format (in between first and second period) and attach an extra 10 minutes on to the end of first period. This move would eliminate a hallway transition and allow for more accurate daily attendance by attaching it to the first period. What we decided to do was speak to a few teachers that we knew we could trust and who may have some influence over larger portions of the staff. We gave this small group our sales pitch and explained that the only thing holding us up was the belief on behalf of the superintendent that the teachers union would grieve the change. This core group of influential teachers agreed with us and we determined that the best way to implement this idea would be to have the teachers make the proposal, eliminating the threat of ...

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...hey will feel appreciated.

The Gung Ho theory can certainly translate to education. The spirit of the squirrel would mean that teachers understand that educating people is important, and has a direct effect on them. The shared goal would be to have all students graduate prepared for life after school. The way of the beaver would involve staff, students and parents having input into how the school works towards achieving that shared goal. All of the above groups will work harder if they feel that they are all part of the process of improving the school. Lastly, the item that seems to happen least in education is the gift of the goose. Teachers are usually left feeling underappreciated both by the public and by their supervisors. The largest complaint from teachers is their monetary compensation. Teachers feel as if they are underpaid and therefore are not always enthusiastic about their work. Within a school, supervisors can do their part to make teachers feel appreciated by giving true active and passive congratulations. These congratulations can be verbal, written, or non-verbal, and would have a major impact on making a teacher feel as if they are doing right work the right way.