Madeline Thoreson

Professor Danneberg
EDEC 435
05/07/14
Final
At the beginning of this course I honestly thought that I would never be a true
leader. I was intimidated by the thought of having the responsibility, power and decision
making left up to me, and I felt that it would be impossible for me to ever feel
comfortable in a leadership position. However, with guidance from our textbooks, our
class discussions and our guest speakers, I feel more confident about being a leader in the
field of education. I have realized that the only way for positive changes to be made to
the education system in California is for people like me to step up to the plate and
become informed advocates and effective leaders. I hope to be a leader who can be an
informed advocate for children and families, who has expert power, who openly
communicates, who can make tough decisions and who uses EQ to positively interact
with others. I feel that with these qualities I will be an effective, informed leader and
advocate in the field of education.
As an advocate in the field of education, the first step towards effective advocacy
is building strong, trusting relationships with the families you are advocating for (Kieff,
40). I firmly believe that relationships with children and their families is the strongest
foundation an advocate can have because it ensures that you know what the families
want, need and are capable of doing. I take pride in being able to build these
relationships; I value what parents and guardians bring to their childs education and I
want to serve them to the best of my ability. My goal as an advocate is to be informed
about the local resources that are available to families. I strive to be knowledgeable
about the information and tools that can help a family receive what they need, no matter
what their situation is. If I am unsure of how to help a family, I want to be able to direct
them to someone who can help them or provide them accurate information about what

they need. Part of my dream as an educator is to be the go-to person for community
resources because, for me, helping people is the most fulfilling part of any job. After
conducting extensive research on bilingual education for my advocacy plan, I realized
that I am more passionate about advocating for bilingual education than I thought I was.
The part of my plan that I was most proud of was finding resources for parents and
community members to become educated about bilingual education. I found that I
wanted to tell the world about the amazing benefits that bilingual education has for
communities and I wanted to inform everyone I met about how they could support
bilingual education in their communities. I have decided that in the future I would like to
dedicate more time to finding resources for bilingual education, including everything
from support for educators to involving parents and families.
As a leader in the education field I value competence, organization, integrity and
positivity. I had never thought about holding any sort of power before I took this course,
but after readings and class discussions, I found that I connected with certain ideas and
models of power. I value expert power because people look to the person who is
knowledgeable about certain topics and who continues to educate themselves about those
topics. This person has power because others see them as a resource, as someone with
valuable knowledge who can help others make good decisions (Davey Zeece, 2). Should
I ever be in a position of power, I would want to be an expert. I would not want others to
comply with what I asked simply because I held their professional future in my hands, I
would want them to comply with my decisions because they trust that I am
knowledgeable and competent to do so and that I would consult the opinions of others. In
class discussions we covered several models of power relations and I connected most
with the candle analogy. When one candle lights other candles to illuminate a dark room,
none of the flames are reduced or put out. Instead, each flame becomes a part of the glow
that illuminates the darkness, and together they create light. I felt that this was a really
great analogy for the way I would want to hold power: to distribute it among those that I
work with in order to create a team full of knowledgeable, competent educators. I am
aware that this is not always an easy task because it takes a lot of effort and teamwork to
make it happen. However, I have never been one to need a lot of power over others; I

thrive when power is distributed so that each person can make decisions based of their
own strengths, knowledge and expertise.
I value open communication within every aspect of my life, and I want this value
to carry over into leadership and advocacy. I believe that there is always a way to
communicate what needs to be said in a respectful, caring way. Before taking this
course, I had difficulty expressing my opinions because I never wanted to make waves,
however, I have since come to understand that if I value open communication, I have to
walk the talk. I really connected with Carlos lecture about crucial conversations,
because that is the area that I had the most difficulty with. Carlos lecture was about the
positive outcomes of conflict and how to handle conflict so that conflict becomes
productive rather than destructive. If I am to have open, meaningful communication with
my coworkers, children and families, I need to be able to have these crucial conversations
when conflict arises, if I choose not to address conflict then I am not being authentic to
who I strive to be as a leader. I must identify where I am stuck, slow down, be honest,
and not try to convince others that what I feel is true for them also. Honesty and integrity
are crucial because when people are honest with one another they can reach the pool of
shared meaning and find solutions to problems.
Power and communication are intrinsically connected to decision making as a
leader. I feel that decision making should be a collaborative effort as a team, and that
everyones opinion should be seriously considered in the process (Week 6 lecture). Final
decisions should be put to a majority vote for two reasons: the first is that a unanimous
vote might be impossible, and if decisions must be made unanimously they may never be
made at all; the second is that decisions made only by the leader (even if they take other
opinions into consideration), often leave others feeling devalued or left out of the process.
A majority vote ensures that everyones opinion is seriously considered by all involved.
When a final decision is made, it is essential to uphold it with integrity and honesty. As a
leader I value integrity and honesty, even if it means admitting fault. Owning up to a bad
decision and its consequences is not an easy task, but by apologizing for it and taking
steps to fix it, I can build trust with my coworkers in my ability to handle difficult
decision making situations (Bruno, 36).

The most important aspect of being a strong leader and advocate in the education
field is to have emotional intelligence (EQ). Bruno describes emotional intelligence as
being able to read people they way we read books and to be use that information wisely
(Bruno, 18). I feel that I have a strong EQ and that I use it wisely in order to understand
where others are coming from and why they might be feeling what they are feeling. I
think that one of the most important ways to develop a strong EQ is to withhold judgment
of others and try your best to understand the situation from their point of view. This is
not an easy thing to do, and I am not always perfect at it, but I strive to use this strategy
every time I find myself in conflict. It allows me to see the issue from a different
perspective, which in turn allows me to find solutions that I may not otherwise have
thought of. Having a strong EQ is essential for being a strong leader or advocate because
other can see this quality in you. It allows for open communication, trust, reliability,
authenticity and strong relationships.
As a future leader in the education field, I strive to be an informed advocate for
children and families. My goal is to be someone who has expert power, who openly
communicates, who can make tough decisions and who uses EQ to positively interact
with others. I feel that if I embody these qualities I will be able to make a significant
differences in my efforts to lead and advocate for children and families.

Parent-teacher relationships take so much work because they are just that:
relationships. All relationships take hard work and determination in order to make them
strong and positive, and teachers and parents are no different. As an educator, it is
important to understand that parenting and teaching are two different things and that the
parent has just as much (or more) knowledge about their child as you do. The parent will
always be the childs first teacher, and that role needs to be honored, even when your
beliefs clash. In class we discussed how parents might be feeling about their child going
to school or child care, and we realized that parents are going through a lot when they
leave their child in the care of another person. Parents may feel guilty for not being able
to spend more time with their child, jealous that an educator has more authority or a
better relationship with their child, sadness or anxiety for leaving their child in the care of

someone else and frustration or anger when their parenting beliefs and practices are not
aligned with the educators beliefs and practices. It is essential, then, to put yourself in
the place of a parent in order to understand where they are coming from and how they are
feeling.
As a leader, the technique I will use most often to build strong relationships with
parents is to try seeing things from their perspective. I believe that once I can understand
more about them and how they are feeling, I am better able to bridge the gap between us.
Once I have done this, I can practice active listening, open communication and
withholding of judgment. It is also important to acknowledge parents accomplishments
and the positive aspects of the relationship that you share with the child. I would
encourage my employees to do the same, and to start by withholding judgment to build a
strong foundation with parents. By taking these steps parents will see that I am dedicated
to doing what is best for their child, and that we can work as a team to make that happen.