CEdu 527--Week 4: Change and Leadership

During this week, I have thought about different situations in life where I was involved in change and leadership. The recent death of the pastor who confirmed and married me particularly brought this home. Pastor Opem encouraged me to become a leader in the church I grew up in. He understood how to do this as a process. First, he asked me to teach Sunday School and serve as a lay reader. He then gradually moved me into positions of leadership such as Sunday School superintendent and lay preacher. As a leader, Pastor Opem recognized how to develop new leaders, but only over an appropriate time period. In addition, he orchestrated the change of a building program. He followed many of Gabriel's adaptive leadership techniques, some of which I have used as Little League president (building a 4 diamond complex) and my wife has used as a pastor (church building projects). When I go to his visitation tomorrow evening, I will be thinking of his leadership and mentoring skills.

Several things from our work this past week were very helpful. First, the Analysis of Change Activity made me realize how important it is to plan ahead, anticipate potential problems, and reflect when involved in the change process. Second, Gabriel's chapter 5 offered so many practical ideas for improving our school climate, morale, and community. His section on how to work through the many problems with our current high stakes testing environment was helpful and made me look forward to helping students in the future with my business vocational license. I also found many tips on how to support my fellow teachers. Even though I am not a department chair, I can still serve as a teacher leader by supporting my peers through collaboration, hallway presence, recognition, social activities, help during difficult times, and communication.