educator collaborator mentor
Alex Schwartz
MAED Synthesis: A Reflection on Growth
I applied into the Masters of Education program at Michigan State in my second year of teaching. At that point, I had already realized the need for furthering my understanding of schooling and perhaps more importantly, broadening my own thinking. Although I was being pushed with my lesson planning and immersing myself into extracurriculars, I wished for something that could pull me further into the larger educational world. Once in the program, I sought to take classes that would help me achieve my more practical goals, but also offer points of view that challenged my own. Reflecting on this and my two years of studies, I truly believe that I have more than accomplished what I had originally set out to do. My graduate degree has not only improved my theoretical knowledge of education and leadership, but also provided me many practical skills that I have and will continue to use into the future.
One of the areas that I have grown the most in is in program and climate building, meaning the ability to create a structure that allows for growth and change. I have always been fascinated with strong leadership and how these individuals are able to generate systems, climates, etc., that are exciting, efficient, and demand responsibility. Moreover, these systems are facilitated by or stem from a leader, but by the end are much greater and durable than any one person could be. I hoped to learn how to build such programs or climates in a school setting and set off to do so in EAD 867: Case Studies in Educational Leadership. Immediately, I found that this course was what I was looking for. The class in itself was a representation of such a program that stems from strong leadership; class discussions were always insightful, students were motivated, and the learning that occurred was outstanding. Through the experience and the many case analyses, I found tools, strategies, and mindsets that I too could use in order to help create a strong school climate. For example, C. Dean Pielstick’s Transforming Leader, imparted the need for creating a shared vision. When such a representative vision is created, all actions can be centered around accomplishing that mission. Furthermore, when combined with other actions and behaviors, a vision can serve to motivate all stake holders by allowing them to understand what to do and where to direct their energy. Using many of the messages found in Pielstick’s writing, I helped found a School Climate Committee at my own school to revamp our actions as a school community. With guidance from my studies and help from colleagues, I was able to facilitate discussions between staff and students, that contributed to a new mission statement at the middle school level. I attempted to be compassionate, listen more than talk, include a diverse range of thinkers, and apply anything else I had learned to make a space that people wanted to come to and that would implement positive change.
While focused on learning on how to create a system that fostered enthusiasm and positive change, I also pursued more specific elements of the educational world that would help me apply what I learned to any realm of school. One example of this was through athletics in KIN 855: Psychosocial Bases of Coaching. This course focused on developing athletes through the mental and emotional components of sport, in and beyond the field of play. Elements included improving athlete visualization to improve certain skills or creating proactive team building sessions to improve camaraderie and communication. The learning throughout this course helped me as a soccer coach, especially as I took it during the soccer season, but also as an assistant athletic director. For two years, I helped support our athletic program in this coaching-administrator role, which required me to be thinking with both hats on during many occasions. One of my goals as the assistant athletic director was to improve student-athlete participation, not just through enrollment numbers, but also in the role of the student-athlete as an inclusive leader. To do this, I created the Athletic Leadership Committee (ALC), which was made up of a small group of student-athletes. The founding of the ALC coincided with EAD 867 and KIN 855, both of which helped prepare me to become a better facilitator of the group and mentor towards the students. During the initial weeks of ALC meetings, I continued to think about Pielstick and Herzberg: do we need a vision? How can I motivate these student-athletes who are already strapped for time? Indeed, we did come up with a vision that drove our initiatives and actions. The ALC’s mission was to “create a proud and respectful community” using sports as their medium to do so. After creating the vision and borrowing from Herzberg, I asked the students to lead, challenging them with what they wanted to accomplish. Once we had decided what to do, I provided them guidance but also additional material to improve their endeavors.
In addition to growing as a leader who can improve climate, I have also grown as a more informed and diverse educator. Prior to attending Michigan State, I felt limited in my knowledge area of national educational trends or in other larger areas outside of the classroom. Without a base in these areas, I did not feel completely comfortable in my own practice or pursuing my future leadership goals. However, courses such as EAD 830: The Racial Achievement Gap and EAD 822: Diverse Students and Families, provided me with more than comfort in these areas, but also certain skills and mindsets that I use in my everyday interactions. Both of these courses exposed me to the more heterogeneous society that we live in. For example, EAD 830 pushed me to see beyond my more ethnically homogenous school system and look at the nationwide learning deficit between racial majorities and minorities. I was shocked to find in my research that Connecticut, the state that I live in, faces one of the largest achievement gaps in the United States. This knowledge pushed me to assess what I was doing as an educator to combat this and provide the most equitable experience possible. Compounded with EAD 822, a course dedicated to using critical theory to analyze people and systems in the school community, I looked back to my own curriculum to see if I was truly engaging my entire student population. Through this reflection, I realized that my curriculum could do a better job of engaging all students and guiding them to confront troubling issues in a ethical and responsible manner. Because of this, I made structural changes in the U.S. History curriculum I use to include richer perspectives on Native Americans, African-Americans, and women. These changes will help more students become involved in lessons, but also provide them with a stronger skill set to understand the global world they live in. Moreover, EAD 822 pushed me to think more inclusively and more “critically” through the use of critical theory. Again, my responsibility as an educator is to my local and national community and in order to serve those populations best, I must understand who they are. Using bias-analysis, empathy, and compassion, I frequently analyze interactions, programs, and my own teaching, through this lens. It has served to make me a better educator for my students, while also making me a better partner to the parents that I am actively serving as well.
Despite the cliche, the past two years of study have helped me grow both as a professional educator but also as a human. My leadership skills have vastly improved, not just because of what I have read or written, but also because of what I have applied. Each course I have taken at Michigan State has in some shape or form been used in my classroom, in discussions, or on the field. This has been the true reward of the program for me (and another lesson learned); use what you study. Test it, talk about it, reflect on it. Due to this, I can better motivate, facilitate, and understand those who I work with, which in education, is essential to what we do. Looking ahead, I am optimistic and excited about the world of education knowing what I have received but now, what else I can provide.
In addition to Pielstick, EAD 867 exposed me to Frederick Herzberg and his work on employee motivation. Herzberg found that the things that make employees most satisfied at work were different from those that made them dissatisfied. Some of the things that created the most happiness at work were opportunity of advancement, holding responsibility, or completing challenging tasks. Not only did I whole heartedly agree, but I used this information too, to better my own practice with work on the School Climate Committee or even within my classroom. For example, I reflected on my lessons and classroom management; did I challenge my students; did I provide chances to explore? These questions informed my practice and have made my classroom a more stimulating and rigorous place to be for all students. Currently, I include more chances for students to choose their own work, while still holding them accountable for what they need to know and accomplish. Although treating students as employees does not work with many things, in this sense, which places the students as someone who is invested in learning, students thrive when treated with respect, when challenged, and when allowed to be creative.
Before each ALC meeting we held, I reflected on what I had learned in my graduate program in order to foster a positive climate. In addition, as I facilitated the group I incorporated as much as I could from KIN 855 as the lessons from this course truly could help the ALC accomplish their mission. One point of emphasis in KIN 855, was that the mental and emotional side of athletes is just as important if not more important than the physical components of athletes. Furthermore, as a coach, it is their job to help athletes to grow and learn; if the emotional side is neglected, growth will rarely will occur. Knowing this, the ALC and I attempted to improve communication, comfort, and enthusiasm, for all student-athletes by meeting with the captains from each team in a pre and post season meeting. During these meetings, the captains would engage in team building activities, which the ALC encouraged the captains to take back and use with their teams. Furthermore, the captains engaged in discussions on their individuals sports, the school as a whole, and how they could be leaders. These meetings built off of what our vision was as the ALC, but also improved the psychosocial standing of our athletes as a whole. Once again, I felt validated in my graduate program endeavors as I was able to apply and test what I was learning, but also share those things with my own students and school.
All Images provided by Wix, Franke-NAU, & U. Berkeley