Inspiration vs Frustration: A reflection on practice to lead to my espoused platform of leadership

What inspires me

I’m inspired when I am working in a situation with peers who are on the same wavelength with me.  It took me a long time to realize that I really thrive when working with others.  But it can’t just be any others; I look for others who share the same ideals of education.  This doesn’t mean I’m looking for others who are just like me.  Instead, I want to work with others who also believe in student-centered, self-regulated learning.  I also crave working with others who are seeking to improve their own understanding rather than just going off of “gut”.  The times when I have really had great working situations were when I have been with a team of teachers in situations like this.  This has happened twice so far in my career – each time only lasted for a year.  I’m hopeful that this next year will be another one – it certainly holds this promise.

What frustrates me

I’m frustrated by the opposite of what inspires me.  I hate working in situations where I am isolated or when I am constantly fighting against what I perceive as bad practice – or at least ineffective practice.  I really dislike being pigeon-holed as unaware or naïve; as if my understanding of education is that of a doe-eyed intern who doesn’t understand what education is really all about.  This hasn’t happened to me lately, but it did happen in my fourth year of teaching when, as I was explaining the cooperative learning structure I used to go over DOL, I was told “oh, I see what you are doing…you’ll learn eventually” or something to that effect.  I also get frustrated when working on teams where others don’t seem interested in learning or improving – only continuing the status quo.  Not far off from that is when others are willing to try new things, but aren’t willing to actually go out and read and find them; instead they wait for me to do it.  I get tired of pulling others along with me.  Again, I’m really excited for this upcoming year because the team that is assembled seems to be a lot of people who are willing to pull their own weight.