30 October 2017

Newsletter Articles

Principals supporting Principals… Principals supporting Principles!

Kia Ora

Please find this week’s Monday Mailing below.

A picture is now building of what education is going to look like in the future. Is it back to the future?

You can access all previous Monday Mailings by clicking here or going to the link below in your web browser.

Kind regards
Tony Mangan
Glenview School

WPA Dates

Rant

A thought for all of us to ponder

Last week the new Minister of Education announced that National Standards will go. I am sure we all jumped up and down and said about time as it was doing nothing to improve outcomes for students. As a strong opponent of National standards I too am pleased to see them go.

BUT, and this is a big but. So what now? Without this millstone hanging around our necks are we suddenly going to see a big shift in the learning of our students. Especially for our Maori students and boys who tended to be lagging behind. Are the teaching practices in our schools suddenly going to change, and teachers be able to get on and teach and students learn? If this has not been happening in our schools, then what has? Are we as Principals going to change the assessment practices we are using now to tell us where our students are at? Are we going to throw out the progressions that most schools use. How are we going to report to parents and our BOTs on where our students are at? How will we show added value? What will be the expectations of ERO and the Ministry be around showing student learning and school effectiveness? National Standards did highlight for us that there are groups of students not doing well and we must make sure we continue delivering for them.

We have all of a sudden got what we wanted as a profession, but it is now our responsibility to make sure we deliver on the promise that without them we can offer better learning for students, especially for our at risk students.

Note: Opinions expressed in The Rant are those of the editor, and not necessarily those of the WPA.

Hmmm…

Hauora… Health & Happiness

Leadership

A Thought… Leadership

9 ESSENTIAL 21ST CENTURY LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Posted at 18:02h in 21st Century Leadership by Maxine Driscoll 0 Comments

Educators around the world have been grappling with the concept of 21st Century Education for the past 20 years! Some are earnest, some are cynical and some are overwhelmed with the whole notion.

How are you dealing with the changes we need to make in schools to meet the needs of 21st Century Learners? Do you have a clear vision of your way forward? Are you feeling confused, frustrated or overwhelmed? Or are you just too damn busy to even think about it?

I understand how you feel! As a passionate educational leader for over 20 years I have recently carved out some time to research 21st Century Learning and 21st Century Leadership because I was feeling confused, frustrated and overwhelmed.

I don’t have all the answers but I now have a much clearer understanding of what we should be doing as 21st Century School Leaders and I’d like to share it with you.

Here’s a snapshot of my thinking to date.

1. 21st Century School Leaders are visionary. They …

• Want the world to be a better place
• Want to make a difference
• Believe in collective genius
• See now and the future as collaborative

2. 21st Century School Leaders are emotionally intelligent. They …

• Lead from the heart, align vision with passion and unite people
• Use a distributed leadership model
• Empower others and unleash passions
• Actively seek and promote Talent Development in their teams
• Use an abundance not scarcity mindset
• Recruit smarter more creative people than themselves
• Think ‘Yes’ and then work out ‘How?’ and encourage others to adopt this approach
• Are supportive, authentic and sincere
• Do not use a ‘blame’ approach and ultimately take responsibility for everything that happens in the school or organization
• When necessary, hold people accountable to the vision and their individual responsibilities

3. 21st Century School Leaders master self-leadership. They …

1. Are driven by purpose, not ego, power or money
2. Have grit and commit to see tasks through
3. Develop ‘Focus’ as a 21st Century Skill and simplify wherever possible
4. See their work as joy, creating their own happiness and making a difference to the lives of others
5. See failure as a growth point, an iteration and ask what have I/we learnt from this and plan next steps
6. Are courageous and conquer their fears and limiting thoughts
7. Manage their well-being

4. 21st Century School Leaders embrace change and innovation. They …

• See opportunities and possibilities in everything
• Are Change Agents and Change Advocates
• Understand how to manage organizational change
• Nurture a desire to innovate in their teams

5. 21st Century School Leaders welcome and value diversity. They …

• Seek different perspectives and empower others
• Are compassionate, responsible Global Citizens
• Empathize and adjust communication and styles of collaboration across cultures and generations

6. 21st Century School Leaders develop a 21st Century Mindset. They …

• Have a growth mindset
• Have a positive attitude
• Think outside the box
• Think strategically
• Are solution-oriented, proactive and non-reactive
• Use data analysis to inform decision-making
• Seek constant improvement for themselves and the organization they are leading, pushing themselves outside their comfort zone

7. 21st Century School Leaders are learners. They …

• Focus on learning for themselves and the organization
• Use systems thinking, design thinking, innovation and disruption to create Learning Organizations
• Are reflective lead learners
• Are Instructional Leaders
• Are learning partners with students and teachers
• Seek different perspectives about the future of learning

8. 21st Century School Leaders are connected with the world. They …

• Develop fluency with digital and social media
• Develop agile and flexible partnerships with others
• Are intercultural and Intergenerational savvy
• Understand that Sustainability must be embedded into the curriculum

9. 21st Century School Leaders take action. They …

• Operate with a strong results focus
• Emphasize the importance of efficiency, productivity and priorities
• Solve problems effectively
• Create the future.

A Laugh

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