I was working with a teacher leader in my school on our staff development plan for second semester when she said something very interesting. She told me that because I was the School Improvement Leader I was supposed to have all the answers about how to create student-centered classrooms and develop problem based learning in all content areas. "You're supposed to be teaching us. Aren't you the expert?"
Reflecting on that comment I think it drives right to the heart about what does a teacher do? I'm reminded of that old paradigm-shifter, "Sage on the Stage or Guide on the Side." She was definitely putting me on the center stage under a white-hot spot light.
As a leader, I should be alert to trends, ideas, and methods for refining teacher practice. But an expert on all things problem-based learning? Wow! I'm just not sure I can do that. I guess I have been approaching my role as a networker for my staff-- hooking them up with new ideas, other thinkers and each other in a way that creates dialog and development. I certainly don't think I have all the answers. I am not a filing cabinet of strategies and solutions. But I can create the conversations to discover those strategies and develop those solutions.
I probe people's thinking with questions. I learn from them and share with others what I have learned. I build the structures so that they can be in the right place at the right time with the right people to do the hard work of figuring it all out. And I roll up my sleeves and work just as hard right beside them.
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