A Leader in Edication Tells about his Achievements - Thesis Example

This paper is a reflection of the interview that I conducted with a leader in education who is from Australia but currently working in the UAE. The interview is the part 1 of a three step process that involves interviewing the leader, reflecting upon the interview and the lessons learnt from the same and finally, envisioning a future course of action for the recommendations that arise out of the interview and reflection. This paper is part 2 of the process. I have reflected upon the interview that is wide ranging and discusses a host of issues that range from bullying at schools to the interactions between the staff and students in ways that would benefit the school and the environment for education in the school. The interview also covered aspects like involving the parents in assessing the needs of their children and helping out the teachers in mentoring them better. The main purpose of the interview was to find out from the leader in education about the project on which she was working while she was in Australia. The idea behind the interview was to implement some of the methods that she worked upon as part of a comprehensive student management policy that she developed as part of her work in Australia. To give an idea about her experience, she was a principal in a primary school that taught classes KG- 7 for over thirty years and hence she has a wide range of expertise and enough experience in the field of education. The person whom I interviewed introduced far ranging changes in her school and helped the school make a name for itself in the field of imparting quality education and treating its children well. The overall objective was to make the students leaders in their chosen fields and equip them with the necessary skills to face the future without fear and with confidence. The stakeholders in the project that she was involved with are the students, teachers, parents and the leadership forum. From the outset, it was made clear to all the stakeholders that the agenda for the project ought to be clearly defined and understood and if any of them had any issues with the agenda, they were to report the same in writing to the leadership team to get them clarified and spelt out exactly what they wanted. The common goals for the project was the express purpose of implementing a comprehensive student management policy that included an anti-bullying plan among other things and the fact that every school must have a code of conduct that makes corporal punishment illegal and hence an offence. Upon reflection of this agenda, it is clear that there was a structured approach towards the issue of student management and a clear directive to the schools to desist from corporal punishment. The agenda for the project reminded me of my experience in UAE where bullying has become a menace which makes the teachers resort to punishing the students caught bullying harshly. I realise that it is a vicious cycle where bullying leads to corporal punishment and this in turn leads to more bullying. And this is where I appreciate the Australian government’s initiative to address the issue at its core and deal it with in such a way as to do away with the menace completely. As is clear from the interview, the person whom I interviewed displayed leadership rather than management. The difference I believe is the thing that separates managing an issue in a day to day fashion to treating the root cause of the issue. This, in my opinion is what the principal whom in interviewed did. She not only managed the issue of bullying but also made sure that the root causes behind the issue were addressed and that student management became much more than management and evolved into a vision for students and teachers to follow. The fact that parents were involved in the process helped the cause as the first teachers to any student are his or her own parents. The other aspects referred to in the interview are about the way in which the principal dealt with the parents and the business community that were so essential in mobilizing opinion as well as resources that could be used for the benefit of the school. The way in which the principal made sure that she regularly communicated with the different stakeholders by using different media of communication made the process of communication transparent and visible and reachable to the different stakeholders. In my opinion, a leader is one who can carry different sections of the people along with him or her with respect to meeting common goals. A leader should be able to communicate and bridge the gap between perception and reality. What I mean by this is that a manager deals with perceptions whereas a leader must be able to walk the talk and translate promises into reality. A leader should be able to reach out to different sections of the people and the way in which the principal organized the community events and succeeded in getting the message across about the various initiatives that she was undertaking were commendable. I believe that bullying and effective student management are part and parcel of any school administrators list of tasks. The ways in which he or she manages the same is a measure of their success as a leader. Bullying as a practice is reprehensible and leads to severe mental and psychological trauma for the victims. In fact, bullying leaves permanent scars on the psyche of the victims that haunts them in their adult lives. For these reasons, the practice must be condemned and hence all steps must be taken to control the menace. The principal did the right thing by looking at the issue in a comprehensive manner and not as an isolated case. In this way, she was able to deal with the issue in a much more orderly and structured manner. By emphasising the fact that corporal punishment and student management including involving the parents were taken up at the meeting of the stakeholders, she was able to convince and convey her firmness in dealing with the issue. Collection of data that leads to feedback is a necessary requisite for getting information regarding the various activities that the school undertakes. This would help the process of measuring results against goals and objectives. The way in which the data was collected as evidenced by the answers to the interview were indicative of the fact that the principal adopted scientific methods to arrive at the collection of the data and interpretation of the results. Among the other qualities required in a leader is the ability to work in a team and be accountable for one’s actions. The ability to work in a team is surely one of the strong points of the principal as can be seen in the way she organised the events and proceeded with the initiatives. Further, she was being honest with the stakeholders and as she makes it clear in her answers, she believes in being transparent about her actions and collaborates with other team members. The principal further believes in finding solutions that are permanent in nature rather than temporary fixes to the issues at hand. She has demonstrated this in her efforts to evolve a comprehensive school management policy. It is my opinion that we should embrace such a policy in our schools in UAE as well. This would surely go a long way in addressing many of the shortcomings of our education system. It is my view that schools need to places where education is not just imparted but values and principles inculcated as well. Hence, the schools must be centres of learning that foster creativity and innovation. Upon reflecting on the interview, it is clear that the principal who was interviewed is a leader in her field and can be taken as a role model for schools in the UAE. I have personally felt the need for schools in UAE to have a system of education that is comprehensive and includes a multifaceted approach towards the concept of education. I earnestly wish that we have a school board in place that is similar to that given in the interview that should be able to have a clear vision and mission along with a sense of purpose. In conclusion, I have benefited a lot from the interview with the principal and upon reflection; the many thoughts and ideas that came to my mind about our school system have helped me clarify what I have always been thinking about reforming the schools in UAE. It is my firm belief that the stage of education is an important step towards inculcating the attitudes and beliefs that go towards making the future citizens responsible members of society. Hence, we should all work together as stakeholders to achieve this dream of making our school system the best in the region, if not the world. Read More