EDUC 802 Leadership Seminar
Syllabus
Reflection: Concept of Power
Obama Leading in a Culture of Change
Winning Leadership Style: Remember the Titans
Final Paper: The Leader I Am
Throughout the
semester in EDUC 802, I was reminded of excerpts of my personal history as we
analyzed the concept of leadership in a variety of books, movies, and speeches.
I made connections to my past and found myself appreciating exemplary characteristics
of leadership in those around me. I also found myself becoming more self-aware
of my own strengths and weaknesses as a leader.
Particularly, I
uncovered a theme near the end of the course - while discussing the influence
of culture on leadership (Garcia and Lee articles) - that seemed to resonate
with my perception of both how my personal history and my future initiatives
will continue to influence my own leadership journey. The theme is this: You have to get comfortable putting yourself
through uncomfortable experiences if you wish to be able to see through someone
else’s lens.
Lieberman’s
article about making practice public was a favorite of mine. It is a terrific
example of how we can fuse focus and open-mindedness. Making practice public
encourages participants to invite criticism of others while focusing on their
own particular examples from practice. Starting with an example from the
classroom and seek to improve the practice – making it more personal, more
practical, and more relevant. Teachers become students of their own practice.
They take ownership for their ideas and are able modify them in the infinitely
iterative process Wheatley refers to.
The leader I am
today is not the leader I was yesterday, and will not be the leader that I am
tomorrow. I cherish the never-ending journey, but at this time, take on the
challenge to become more mindful because “mindfulness is the foundation for
acting in the world in a way that reflects our true power.”
