When interviewing my principal, Robin Murdock, on the resources utilized within a school she offered rich insight into how resources impact a school. For starters, she expressed the immense impact parents can have on a school due to “their vested interest in their children” and how this interest can lead to helping the school through volunteering, donations, or offering support as needed from home. Furthermore, Ms. Murdock emphasized how a parent’s involvement is often dependent on the experience they had with their own education and schooling. This factor cannot be ignored because it directly relates to whether parents show support for the school and/or how they may respond to situations occurring within the schools. I wholeheartedly agree
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Murdock had one key word: growth. She kept acknowledging the need for professional development in order to grow as a staff which in turn will help grow students. She also mentioned that the best, most successful PD is focused on “meeting the needs of the audience.” In other words every professional development should be centered upon the goals of the district, building, or teachers present. I agree with Ms. Murdock that professional development is at its best when it is focused on how to improve student achievement and it helps teachers find ways to do this. In the article, “The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning,” it states, “that leaders must become intimately familiar with the ‘technical core’ of schooling – what is required to improve the quality of teaching and learning.” If professional development directly addresses the needs of teachers, the intended audience, then it can be truly beneficial for teachers in finding ways to move toward the overall goals and vision of a school. If professional development is not aligned with the buildings goals or the teachers’ daily practices then it does nothing to grow teachers which would be met with resistance from teachers and would not encourage buy-in from the …show more content…
Murdock said that one crucial resource for her as an administrator is time. She mentions that her daily work is often “derailed” by something throughout the day and her only saving grace is to have a plan or goal for each day. An article titled, “Time management and Administrative Effectiveness: Lessons for Educational Administrators,” reiterates this notion when it states, “A time management plan enables an effective administrator to identify if he/she is using his/her time effectively and doing important activities with the highest energy levels in the system.” Having a goal for each day and starting each day with a plan will ultimately help keep some of those distractors from completely spoiling the day’s efforts and will help ensure that the central focus is on students and helping teachers. By making a plan it can also help ensure that administrators do not feel overwhelmed and bogged down because they have the ability to cross at least one thing off of their list for the day rather than constantly being sidetracked for a number of odds and ends. Time seems to be a crucial element for anyone within the education system and one resource that administrators definitely feel to be a hot
Murdock had one key word: growth. She kept acknowledging the need for professional development in order to grow as a staff which in turn will help grow students. She also mentioned that the best, most successful PD is focused on “meeting the needs of the audience.” In other words every professional development should be centered upon the goals of the district, building, or teachers present. I agree with Ms. Murdock that professional development is at its best when it is focused on how to improve student achievement and it helps teachers find ways to do this. In the article, “The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning,” it states, “that leaders must become intimately familiar with the ‘technical core’ of schooling – what is required to improve the quality of teaching and learning.” If professional development directly addresses the needs of teachers, the intended audience, then it can be truly beneficial for teachers in finding ways to move toward the overall goals and vision of a school. If professional development is not aligned with the buildings goals or the teachers’ daily practices then it does nothing to grow teachers which would be met with resistance from teachers and would not encourage buy-in from the …show more content…
Murdock said that one crucial resource for her as an administrator is time. She mentions that her daily work is often “derailed” by something throughout the day and her only saving grace is to have a plan or goal for each day. An article titled, “Time management and Administrative Effectiveness: Lessons for Educational Administrators,” reiterates this notion when it states, “A time management plan enables an effective administrator to identify if he/she is using his/her time effectively and doing important activities with the highest energy levels in the system.” Having a goal for each day and starting each day with a plan will ultimately help keep some of those distractors from completely spoiling the day’s efforts and will help ensure that the central focus is on students and helping teachers. By making a plan it can also help ensure that administrators do not feel overwhelmed and bogged down because they have the ability to cross at least one thing off of their list for the day rather than constantly being sidetracked for a number of odds and ends. Time seems to be a crucial element for anyone within the education system and one resource that administrators definitely feel to be a hot