¶ … Leader
An important part of the job of a public school principal is to set a tone for others -- teachers, administrators, counselors and staff -- not just by producing memos and holding meetings, but also through his or her leadership and on-the-job performance. Leadership at this level of school administration is vital in terms of providing motivation and by setting an example. Leadership also entails the basic fundamentals of management; schools aren't businesses, but on the other hand running a school with a consciousness that emulates good business practices means being accountable for everything that goes on.
Meanwhile, by shadowing my principal for a few days I have been able to witness and record a number of leadership qualities that she exhibits.
Ten characteristics of leadership I discovered while shadowing my principal
ONE: I found that this principal conducts daily business similar to what Drs. Alex Schneider and Neil Burton describe on page 8 of their article -- "Education management should emphasize educational goals rather than managerial ends" (Schneider, et al., 2005). In other words, a principal's job is to manage people but within the context of education and learning, it's a different kind of management. She is more flexible than an executive in a corporation, she says, emphasizing her attention to events that may not turn out precisely as originally intended.
TWO: This principal is clearly very well organized. In the morning before school starts she has a list (on an erasable board in her office) of meetings she is obliged to attend during the day. Under each meeting she lists materials and reports she should take with her. In her computer (under "Reminders") she has events she is supposed to attend (including PTA meetings, parent-teacher conferences she has been asked to sit in on, birthdays of various teachers and staff members, anniversaries of important events in the history of public education in America).
THREE: In the Schneider piece, the authors assert that "management" in a public school is more appropriately the task of assistant principals. "Leaders construct vision and strategies" and "managers implement them" (Schneider, 8). In my...
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