The first thing I would share with a colleague, administrator, and/or parent is that it is very important to have a support system. When you have a support system you have someone or a group of people to help aide you in decision making processes but also help you cope with decisions that you have made. A support system can allow you different ideas and thoughts that you may not have considered and will give you different points of view. Also, a support system will give you coping strategies which are “ways to think about things, attitudes, self-talk, strategies for resolving conflicts, problem-solving techniques, and the avoidance of needless conflicts.” (Payne, 1996) A good support system can keep you in check, it will never let you get too high and never let you get too low. It is important when you are a leader, no matter what level, to be as even keeled as possible because the moment you lose your cool then the people you are leading will lose theirs too.
Second, I would share with a colleague, administrator, and/or parent is that it is very important to create relationships. A lot of people refer to relationships as “politics” (Payne, 1996), however, establishing positive relationships with those around you will give you the trust you need to be a leader. To be a good leader you need to have the trust of the people who follow you or else you have no one to lead. Also, according to Payne, a good relationship has deposits and withdrawals, which means that each person must have give and take in the relationship. Relationships cannot be one sided or one person feels left out.
Lastly, I would share with a colleague, administrator, and/or parent is that you need to have discipline. A common misconception is when you hear the word discipline most people think there is some form of punishment. But the discipline I am referring to is the discipline to stay sound in your principles. Do not use discipline as a form of punishment, use it to reinforce behavior and to create structure. Especially when you are dealing with children of poverty, they need to have structure in their life; they need to learn to be disciplined. According to Payne, “the two anchors of any effective discipline program that moves students to self-governance are structure and choice. To be able to govern yourself you need to have structure in your life and need to be able to make your own choices.
References
Payne, R. (1996). A Framework for Understanding Poverty 4th edition. Highlands, TX: ahaprocess.
Creating a support system is so important! It never ceases to amaze me how many of my students lack a positive support system. This stems from having few to no positive relationships, which you also view as important. As educators, and especially teacher leaders, we must make sure to provide these relationships and support systems to our students and their families to give them the best opportunity possible.
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