Take-away #1 - Prior to taking that first class, I did not think about the fact that managing is different than leading. the difference lies in the passion and vision that the leader has for what he/she is doing. A manager just does what is necessary to maintain the status quo. A leader inspires and brings the entire team enthusiastically along. The first class taught me that an idea can be born, developed, and brought to fruition by a team of individuals, none of whom has to have the spotlight.

Take-away #2 - I learned that dissension in a meeting can be a good thing. Since we were children we have been taught to get along, that disagreement is a bad thing. I don't know that prior to this class I ever thought about what makes a good meeting. I always remember being nervous at church business meetings if someone had an opposing viewpoint. This class has changed my thinking on how meetings should be run and what makes a good meeting.

Take-away #3 - I learned that a mentor is more than just a body assigned to impart information. The relationship that is developed between the mentor and the mentee is almost more important than the information. Information can be acquired anyplace. Relationships have eternal value and can affect a person's whole life. Little did I know that the person assigned to me would become my best friend and a treasured sister in Christ. Our relationship is most important to us, but yes, she does impart information to me all the time.

The Teacher Leader Endorsement program has already impacted my school. Because of the process begun in the first class, Maysville Elementary will have its first Art Walk. Between Beth and I, we have visited every grade level in the school and presented the proposal. It has been met with overwhelming enthusiasm. Teachers have contributed ideas and resources that we had not thought of. We were able to use our new "run a meeting" skills, and transfer the passion and vision we have for seeing the arts take a prominent place. Because we have met with enthusiasm and hopefully great success, we have enhanced our confidence to come up with new ideas in the future. We also know that if someone has a dissenting viewpoint, that is not a bad thing, but rather a good thing. Secondly, even if no formal opportunity to mentor someone presents itself, I can still use the relationship skills I learned from the Dungey book to invest in the lives of the people on my team. Maysville Elementary was already one of the most caring schools in the county. Having worked in most every elementary during the years I worked as a sub, this was one of the few schools where the staff even spoke to me, or cared about me as an individual. The school as a whole had a head start on investing in peoples lives. With how many people have taken the Teacher Leader Endorsement classes, this will become even better.

Instructional Rounds and Peer Assistance and Review are two programs which strive to make teachers better at what they do. Instructional Rounds is the process of observing excellent teachers for twenty to forty minutes for the purpose of improving one's own instruction. After observing several teachers, the individual or group of teachers then spends time reflecting on what they have observed and how it benefits them. Peer Assistance and Review, or PAR, can be used for the same purpose, or as a mandatory improvement program for teachers who are below standard. PAR pairs a struggling or new teacher with a master teacher for the purpose of guidance.

Both of these programs incorporate observation of exemplary teachers and self-reflection. Both of these programs can be utilized on a voluntary basis. One of the differences between them would be the length of time commitment. Instructional Rounds can be a one-time event that could take place in one day start to finish. PAR, on the other hand, is a commitment of a year at a minimum. Instructional rounds has nothing to do with teacher evaluation. The person observing is not evaluating the teacher being observed, rather they are simply looking for new ideas that they can incorporate in their own classroom. PAR is heavily vested in evaluations. The participating teacher is being continually evaluated by the consulting teacher, and is constantly engaging in self-reflection.

There are many positive reasons to engage in instructional rounds. There are established protocols in place. Interactions between teachers are very structured. There is a framework in place for organizing one's thoughts. It also provides many opportunities for professional collaboration. I think the most important positive reason for participating in PAR is the self-reflective piece. Despite the fact that I still do not particularly like thinking about thinking. I have come to realize that it is a very worthwhile process in becoming a better educator.

There are also some negative aspects to each of these programs. Regarding Instructional Rounds, instructional time is lost by the teacher doing the observing as he/she is out of the classroom, and time is lost by the teacher being observed when they have to spend time preparing the class for what will happen and the disruption of a group entering or leaving the classroom. While teachers volunteer to be observed, this could still cause some anxiety. With regard to PAR, for intern teachers or teachers who voluntarily enter the program, it is very time consuming. Teachers who are required by job performance to participate could view it as a punishment, but considering the alternative of losing a job, worth the effort.

Of the two programs, I would be more likely to use Instructional Rounds. The difficulty would be that in order to  observe my specific subject at my grade level, I would have to leave my building and observe in another district. This is the case for most special area teachers. Currently, whenever Beth and I do something in our teaching, or our class does something that we are excited about, we invite each other to bring our class over to see a performance, or we talk together about what we have done, and how it would work in each others classrooms. The other thing I was thinking about as I was reading, particularly with the Columbus City Schools PAR Program, was how does this work with the OTES system, and the new four year Resident Educator program. I can see these working with classroom teachers, not so sure about specia

When reading Chapter 2 of The Mentor Leader, from which this question is taken, it seems to me that Mr. Dungey is saying that if you have not got your priorities straight with the people you live with and interact with on a daily basis, you are not going to be very effective in your job. People who are so focused on success in their career, miss out on all the important things. Then when they have achieved success and turn their attention back to the people around them, it is too late. One big way that I have attempted to serve and have in turn been served relates to the grade level programs at school. As the years have gone by, Beth and I have arrived at a place where we both attend both nights of each others programs. We share the duties of set up and take down. We also help each other direct with the person whose program it is taking the lead and the other assisting as needed. Having an extra set of hands has made a big difference in what we can expect from our students. Mostly, though, the feeling of not having to do things completely by ones self makes a big difference. In the special areas team, as a rule, we make ourselves available to each other. We cover for each other when it is needed. We also make sure that if someone has a family obligation, we work to ensure that the person can attend to that obligation. The key is to make yourself available to do whatever needs to be done without thinking about whether there is any reward at the end. We know as a team what is going on in the personal lives of our team members. Not from a gossipy standpoint, but because we care for each other and know that you cannot invest in someone's life if you have no idea what is going on. My idea of building into the lives of others is to do what needs to be done for myself and for others with out making a big deal of it.

    There are many people I could write about - potential candidates that I am not writing about. My current mentor is Beth Sellers. I connect with her on multiple levels. For leadership direction, I look to my husband. For daily life kinds of things, Jesus Christ is my go to.
     As I thought about this reflection this week, my mind kept going back to high school to my orchestra director, Myron Bazarian. He had a profound effect on where I am today. He was not responsible for my decision to be a music teacher, that was made in second grade. But he is responsible for what kind of a music teacher I turned out to be, and my attitude toward learning in general.
     I took the list on page 19 in the Carr book and thought about how that applied to Mr.. Bazarian. The characteristics that most applied were consistent, willing to share information, demanding, able to listen, facilitator, and committed to providing time. He did not change who he was from student to student. For me, he did not say "I am the teacher, you are the student". The four years I interacted with him, he tried to impart every possible piece of knowledge he could. He was demanding - he expected nothing less than excellence from every single student. My most vivid memory is the day hd said that I needed to learn to play a stringed instrument. I was a pianist, vocalist and bassoonist. He handed me a viola and gave me lessons in school. He gave me conducting opportunities in the spring concert and featured me as a soloist doing a piece for bassoon and orchestra. He was committed to making sure I was prepared in every way possible. He greatly upped my level of confidence in myself. To this day, he was one of my favorite teachers and he was one of my most demanding teachers.

     There are several things that I would put into a personal evaluation for myself. First and foremost, I would ask myself are the children I am teaching music to enjoying music class while at the same time learning useful skills. I think it is very important that children develop a love of music. It is something that will surround them their entire lives. They should find it enjoyable. Secondly, on a personal level, I would like to meet as many of the teacher goals in the OTES rubric as possible. This is a goal that feels overwhelming to me, but as a teacher, I feel compelled to strive as high as possible. Both of these should be accomplished while giving my family and myself the attention that they both deserve. It is a difficult balancing act, some weeks more so than others. (As I write this, in the next two weeks, I have three concerts, two sing around the tree, and one nursing home performance). Lucky for me, I have a person who asks me on a regular basis how I am doing, and tries to alleviate as much of my stress as possible. I will always expect more of myself than I am sometimes capable of doing. At my age, there is no inherent need to continue to learn new things, but I have a compulsion to lifelong learning. I cannot sit back and continue as is. I know that I will be successful if I keep working at learning new things, if I am not satisfied with the status quo, and I continue to push myself. I know I have been successful with the first thing I mentioned becausse I have parents stop me in the store to tell me how much their children enjoyed being in a program, or that their child really enjoys music. I know I am being successful when the children transitioning from primary music to intermediate music have the foundation in place to build more in depth skills. None of this is based on data, but these things combined with the required data, can tell me whether I am bei