Week 2: Action Research

There are so many things a teacher has to do on a daily basis, and somedays I wonder how any of us make it through!  There are many situations we face daily that we many not quiet understand, but while participating in this program we will learn how to gain a deeper understanding of anything we face.  Action research allows us to focus on one question at a time, and then extend our wondering in whichever direction we choose.

This week while watching the provided videos I learned a great deal.  Mr. Briseno caught my attention when he said he said if a teacher comes to him with a problem he first asks what the problem is, and the what the source of the problem is.  He said not to focus on the data for the whole story as to what an individual student's performance is.  His reasoning is one that I agree with whole-heartily.  Like him, I believe what happens at home has a great affect on a student's perfomance.  I've had students who were staying up late doing homework because they were too busy taking care of younger siblings to do it when they got home.  I've also had students who were going through unthinkable events.  I also have had students whom had test anxiety so bad that they shut down as soon as I started passing out tests.  One school year I had 4 girls that would cry and freeze up everytime we tested, and it took me about half the school year to get them confident in themselves so that they didn't break down. Now their class grade was great, but their test scores were lacking.  Data is not the answer we need, performance and understanding is what we should focus on.  I tell my students all the time if they work their hardest during the school year to learn as much as what they can, then when it comes time to test, they will okay.  I know what my students do on a daily basis, and I know what I do to help my students succeed, that i don't depend on data to give me any insight into my students.  I do what I have to do with the data for my district, but I put it off to the side and focus on what matters, the 75 futures I'm in charge of this year.

I've learned a lot just by reading the action research examples for the nine passions of leadership.  The nine passions include: staff development, curriculum development, individual teachers, individual students, community/culture building, leadership skills, managment, school performance and social justice.  Each passion is important in the building of a great school leader, and the way one goes about implementing them is key to a successful school.