The responsibilities with leading a classroom

Week 2 Readings

The focus of the reading this week from The Art of Possibilities evaluates the role of a successful leader. Teaching is not considered a glamorous job but the role of an educator facilitates the role of a leader in many ways. Successful leadership in education directly affects the success of the student body. The three main areas of focus for successful classroom management are contribution, leadership, and attitude.

Contribution:
It is so important for students to feel that they are a part of what they are learning. An engaged student equals a learning student. The teacher is in charge of the class and must facilitate the learning but they should avoid the role of dictator. Rules and guidelines must be established but students should feel like there work matters. Some suggestions would be to include journals, writing prompts, and evaluations to the class. I also believe that providing choices and allowing an aspect of creativity and originality into the assignment makes students feel like they are contributing instead of just participating.

Leading:
The role of a leader should not come without great humility. Leaders must have a balance of authority and respect along with flexibility and modesty. I remember when I was in high school that I never performed well on book review writing assignments. The teachers of my literature classes did not agree with my interpretation of the novels. I believe that instead of telling me I was wrong all the time they should have suggested a different way of looking at things or suggested ways that I could improve. Ten years later I still look back on those teachers with a sense of disappointment and resentment.

Teachers must realize their great impact on the way students develop their abilities. The way that I was treated in those high school classes changed the way I felt about my writing abilities for years. The way that criticism is delivered is one aspect of teacher leadership that could make a difference in a student’s life. Delivering feedback, making positive suggestions, and encouraging future development are key roles for teachers to provide a healthy and inspirational classroom environment.

Attitude
“You catch more bees with honey”
A positive atmosphere is a more successful atmosphere. The mood that a teacher conveys in their classroom is delivered to the students. Neuro behavior science tells us that mirror neurons in our brain make people subconsciously mirror the actions and attitudes of the people around them. Our mirror neurons are responsible for “social learning, mob behaviors, and copy cat” actions. (Jensen, 2008) Teachers that smile and present themselves in a pleasant attitude will influence their students to “mirror” those behaviors. Teacher that set high expectations for their students theoretically will create a sense of high expectations within the learner. The value of a positive attitude in the classroom is high.


The role of a teacher is unspeakably influential on a student’s life and the responsibility should not be taken lightly. Great teachers are great leaders!


Jensen, E. (2007). Brain-based learning the new paradigm of teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Zander, S.,R, & Zander B. (2000). The art of possibilitiy. Boston, MA:Harvard Business
School Press.