Week 5 Discussion – Voices from the Field

Access and read the article below, “Voices from the Field: The Principal’s Presence and Supervision to Improve Teaching.”

Link:   http://www.sedl.org/pubs/sedl-letter/v17n02/principal.html

In this article, Mr. Hall discusses why “being there” and “Goal-Setting and Walk Throughs” are beneficial to student achievement. While we will discuss this in an entire course later, there is a sentence in this article that is key. It reads as follows:

“The entire supervision and evaluation aspect of the principalship should be designed around the unwavering support and development of every individual teacher on staff. Individually, principals can tell their teachers, “I am here to help you grow and improve as much as I can. I will not treat you all equally, for you are all unique carbon life forms and you all have different skills, strategies, strengths, and weaknesses. However, I will treat you all fairly.”

We all know that this is a very easy conversation to have with the teachers in your building who are doing a great job with exemplary test scores. However, as you think about this sentence, apply it to the teacher in your building who needs improvement. You are there to help that teacher as well. You have just walked through his or her class and have seen some troubling areas in classroom management.

• How would your conversation go as you sit down together, keeping in mind that supervision is key to instructional leadership? (Please feel free to pull anything else from the article that grabbed your attention).

Your initial responses are due by 11:55 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday and should be between 200-250 words. The initial posting should be a statement of your point of view on the question, supported by the required readings.