Service versus Leadership

For educators to thrive in their career, there is an expectation that they must leave the classroom. Yes, a teacher can be successful in the classroom, but that is as far as you will go, the classroom. There are opportunities to serve as a curriculum leader or department chair, but those positions do not result in enacting change in policies or procedures.

Many teachers are well-respected, but their insight is not taken into consideration. Suggestions to implement different ideas are made to department chairs and building leaders, but those ideas are being ignored and not even considered as worthwhile. As a result, some teachers are pursing career tracks to become administrators; however, they aren’t truly ready for all that comes with that title.

In any career, if your only intention is to make the big calls, you are pursuing leadership for all the wrong reasons. When pursuing leadership, you must be willing to accept challenges, make decisions that can impact others, and be willing to accept responsibility for bad judgment calls as well.

I had no intentions of pursing leadership. In my classroom, I was already constructing my lessons and curriculum to benefit my students and I felt needed in my classroom. I’m respected, liked, and even loved by most of my students, new and old. Even on those days when I wasn’t my best, my students made me feel worthwhile, so why would I want to leave? I was comfortable.

As my school year progressed, there were various decisions and actions taking place that I didn’t agree with, but more importantly, were not benefiting my students. The comfort I felt was turning into discontentment. The passion for teaching is still present, but I wanted to learn more about leadership and if I have what it takes to be a leader. I pursued educational leadership studies and, as I enter my tenth year of my career, I can view my school with a different lens. I know more about school finance, supervision and evaluation, and education law.

Transitioning to a leadership position does not mean that I will no longer be of service to children. It means that I will have to do the work to avail solutions that benefit not only students, but the educational system itself. That is service.