No Excuses Leadership Essay

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In Damen Lopez’s book No Excuses Leadership: Nine Bold Choices Exceptional Leaders Make, Lopez writes about nine bold choices leaders can make in their school that are simple and challenging, but when implemented in their districts, can create cultural change and sustain momentum. These choices are; choose to be a servant leader, choose to be present, choose to communicate with candor, choose to crack the code of the naysayer, choose simplicity, choose to make laughing mandatory, choose to feed and be fed, and choose to go all in. A free extra nugget of information includes “move the baby!” As a high school counselor who currently serves 420 students in a poverty-ridden area of Missouri, I am constantly searching for ways to grow as a servant …show more content…
As a counselor, balancing the paperwork, personal student crises, and trying to reach the overall student population, balancing time is challenging and frustrating. If I could have my way, I would never do paperwork and always be around students. Being present with my students is something I love and always make time to do, but I am not always purposeful in the planning of the day. Lopez challenges the reader to not only be intentional about being present, but to organize your schedule so being present becomes a natural part of your schedule.
I always make it a point to greet students as they enter the door and have crucial “check-in” time with my at-risk students. However, after reading this chapter, I gained some new ideas on how to become more present for my students. These strategies include; create a rotating calendar that allows me to focus my attention on a particular grade level, eat lunch in the cafeteria with my students, make class visitations as part of my daily routine, and greet students at the bus or different drop off

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