Sunday, June 14, 2015

*Leadership from the Trenches

I will be perfectly honest, I have never had much of a desire to go into an administrator role in a school environment.  I'm not sure I could handle being so far removed from children in a classroom, which is one of the reasons why I've never applied for a job at that level.  But do I believe the only way you can show leadership in a school environment is to be an administrator? Absolutely not!

I am a classroom teacher, a fully engrained classroom teacher.  I love the time I am able to spend with the most incredible young people. I love watching them learn and seeing their "aha" moments when something finally clicks for them.  I love it when they see themselves as readers and writers. But I believe as a classroom teacher I can also demonstrate leadership way beyond the walls of my classroom.

In today's day and age the world is a connected place, if you chose to allow yourself to be connected. Connections can happen through blogs or twitter or Pinterest or Voxer or Google+ or Facebook or.... you get the point. Educators of 2015 no longer can use the excuse that they didn't know when there are so many places to help them be in the know.   It is through being a connected educator that ANY classroom teacher can demonstrate leadership in education.  But how you may ask? By sharing  practice! 

Most of you know that I spend a fair bit of time on social media reading blog posts, joining discussions, and learning from others.  In fact I often believe that everything I know is because someone has shared it with me. Now I don't always agree with what I'm reading, but I am constantly learning. If I believe it's something that will positively benefit my students I will tweak it to work for them.  And that's the thing, if people didn't share with me I'd know so much less.

Sharing practice is one of the best ways to show leadership from within the classroom.  It is through my sharing in a variety of venues that I am able to have a positive impact on many primary classroom around the globe.  If I didn't share the only place I'd have impact is with my students.

So here's the thing, YOU are a leader too and if you're not already, YOU need to share too!

I honestly believe this video explains it best.




Leadership is very possible from the trenches, as long as you're willing to share. So go on now, find a platform and share!  

*This post is part of a series of monthly questions that Cathy Rubin is asking several education bloggers to respond to.  This month's question was "What are the best ways a teacher can share leadership in the classroom?"  It is an honour to be a part of this group.  Please check out the complete list of posts here  .