Reflections on subject leadership

This half term, I have been tested like never before. My motivation, ambition and direction have come under fire. Sometimes I've felt isolated, intimidated and a little insecure. However, this is a positive story, and I hope that there are some useful tips here for subject leaders. This post follows on from a previous one on subject leadership.

Some of the questions that I have grappled with are:

Who do I support most, the senior leadership team or my team?
How far do I challenge the status quo?
How can I get what I need to improve learning in my area?
Do I really want to be teaching?
Is this just a dead end?

For inspiration, I turned to the mountain exploits. The picture at the top of this page shows a mountain side in North Wales. At first, the climb ahead may seem like an impossible task. especially as during this day there were a few novices to winter conditions in the group.

But, with the right equipment, in this case ice axes and crampons, combined with a good guide, the mission ahead becomes achievable.

So what lessons have I learnt?

1. It's always better to get face-to-face than use email

Even if it's for a fleeting moment, it's always better to talk to somebody. Emails are easily misunderstood!

2. It's best not to assume that everyone is against you

There's no doubt that some people are, but this month I've learned to speak first and approach from a positive viewpoint.

3. Gather supporters before jumping in

I am naturally an impulsive person. This is not always compatible with subject leadership. Progress is made by talking to others, within and outside of an organisation. Sometimes, it's not worth being a lone voice.

4. Support my team by thinking like them

I have decided that sometimes, it's best to support my team. I know that I can often get around, over or through obstacles, but can others? If they can't then learning will suffer.

5. Keep the focus on learning

Learning is my core purpose. Young people are my main client. By keeping the focus on learning and young people it has been easier to convince others. I hit some political barriers on my recent journey (which has only just begun) and I have yet to develop a way of dealing with them.

6. Choose the battles

It's important to challenge the status quo. By getting people talking, awareness of an issue is raised.

Anyway, if this post had a soundtrack, it would be by Queen :-)

I will continue to teach. It's just too much fun!

Comments

High Impact, Low effort

This month is the start of the #29daysofwriting challenge. I enjoyed this last year and will be using my Staffrm account to post. I'll also be reporting here, both to give a little more detail and to keep a log of what I have written. The challenge developed a great sense of community last year, which is why I'm choosing to write on Staffrm. What I would say to those who are new to writing or don't want to run out of ideas is: Write for yourself. Clarify an idea, write something out loud. The process of distilling thoughts into writing is immensely beneficial to your practice. If other read, comment and respond, that's a bonus. Ignore the muppets who know nothing of your context, style or students. Mix it up - I like to read about real stuff from real classrooms and schools and also about other stuff. If we always write about school, how does that work for workload? If you've nothing nice to say, don't say it. So, the following has been ...

What makes a learning experience profound? Personal reflections and possible implications for classroom practice.

I have recently begun a Leadership Pathways journey. As part of the first core day, we were asked to reflect on a profound learning experience. This got me thinking about how many profound learning experiences I have both been involved in, and how many I have been able to give to others. Our group came up with a huge long list, but these are my five. Emotional Connected Demanding Reflective Collaborative As always, these are personal thoughts and quite mixed up. I put them here so that I can look back on them (plus they’d get lost inside my world-cup-free brain) 1. Emotional I can’t think of a time where deep learning hasn’t engaged my emotions. From being awe inspired to that tingle feeling when a student gets a light bulb moment. From this-is-the-happiest-day-ever, to I-think-I’m-about-to die. How often do we engage the emotions of those we teach? Here, I would argue that having a safe learning environment i...

Banned Word Board

Today I want to share some simple ideas that I have found to be very effective in the classroom. I can't say that they are my own original ideas, although I have played around with them. The first is the Banned word Board. This is a simple display in the classroom that lists a number of words that are not allowed to be used by pupils in their written or oral answers. The effect has been an increase in the quality of written work, and I have almost made comments such as 'Sir it's simple, the stuff just affects the thing and causes people problems'. Pupils are now more able to use specific language, something that is vital especially at GCSE. I have had to make a few modifications, such as the introduction of 'Heavenly Words' This is an additional display placed on the ceiling. I found this necessary as pupils needed some stimulus in finding replacement words. After advice received after posting the idea on the SLN forum , I have also introduced semi-banned words...

David Rogers

Search This Blog