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Running head: DIRECT LOG WEEK EIGHT

Lindsay Gigous
DIRECT Log Week Eight
Drexel University
EDUC 829: Superintendent Internship: Budget and Finance
February 28, 2016

Describe
This week, I had one of those picture perfect moments with my mentor in which she
really helped me to solve a problem I was currently having in my classroom. I came into my
weekly meeting with my mentor sharing a frustration: my freshmen students had submitted a
paper to me, and I was having difficulty reading them due to the many fragmented sentences,
poor APA formatting, and grammar errors. I had already devoted two of my thirty two
instructional hours this semester on these topics, and I didnt want to continue teaching them
how to write in a class in which I am supposed to be teaching them about education and its
foundations. After commiserating about the writing quality of students together, my mentor
helped me to think about this situation in a different way. She asked me to think about the
ultimate goal of what I want from these students when they leave my program. My ultimate goal
for them is to become quality teachers, so she asked me to then think about how I could turn this
problem into one in which they would develop teaching skills. We brainstormed that I could have
my students teach each other about writing. I had already planned to give them experience this
semester in flipping a lesson, so I decided that I would have them design a writing lesson instead
of my original idea, which was to have them teach a science topic. This way, I could have them
teach each other and also get teaching experience. My mentor, by having me look at the big
picture, helped me develop a vision for my students that was personalized to them and their
needs. We also had a bigger picture conversation about the communitys needs in general,
discussing how writing has shifted focus in recent years. I truly felt as though this was one of
those weeks in which my communication with my mentor turned into one of more of a mentor
quality than of a teaching quality. It was just a great moment and made me look forward to my
future encounters with her.

Identify
The ISLLC standard that I feel is most relevant to this situation is Standard 1: A school
administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the
development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared
and supported by the school community. This situation allowed me to see how I contribute to the
capacity for leaders in the classroom to grow by helping them to learn the basic skills needed, as
well as classroom management skills by modeling and by instructing. It also allowed me to see
how an administrator can help me with looking at the bigger picture, which is something that I
will strive to do when I work with my future faculty and staff. The Drexel competency that this
opportunity allowed me to develop was educational values.
Reflect
Often when working as a teacher, it is easy to get consumed by small details and get
frustrated when you have to reiterate certain concepts with your students. It is even more
frustrating to feel as though your concerns are not being heard by administration. My mentor has
shown me that I have to consider the perspectives of the teachers when I make decisions but also
remind them to think of the bigger picture. I have to be receptive to new ideas and willing to
make changes in my curriculum as an instructor, which is what I will have to inspire them to do.
In order to be able to do this, I will have to have a well-reasoned education philosophy that
centers on looking at the types of students that the school district aims to create. Knowing how
to engage with staff members in a way that allows them to feel inspired is no easy task, but there
is some common ground that all educators have: the desire to help students. If I develop a
philosophy in which I have my staff members thinking about the long run, I will start to see

results and see them get caught up less in the small details. I feel as though my personal
relationship with my mentor is growing immensely, and she is very willing to help me bridge the
gap between what I have not had experiences with and what I still want to and need to learn to be
an effective superintendent. Standard 1 stresses that a vision of learning is shared among staff,
community, and administration, and I feel as though by learning to look at things from a bigger
picture and more of an end game approach, I am building upon those visionary skills so that I
can become a more effective leader.
Evaluate & Connect
In looking at the felt need that exists of my lack of staff members in my current position
to guide through these types of experiences, I have had plenty of past experiences that allowed
me to influence others to think in terms of the big picture. When I worked for Delaware Stars as
a technical assistant, I often had to have teachers think about what their long term goal was in
order to help them make their short term goals. I have never worked in an administrative
capacity, so I do not know the thought process that is involved in making management decisions,
but I am very good at getting others to stop complaining and think about how to solve their
problems. I was fortunate that my mentor could do the same with me. The ideal administrator
would be one that has an open line of communication with all staff members to be able to serve
in this same type of mentoring capacity and have the type of relationship with staff that allows
them to feel comfortable coming to their administrator with these types of concerns. I can work
to make sure that that happens by guiding my own students, who will be future teachers, to have
that type of relationship with the adults that they encounter now. Those adults include their
observation placement mentors as well as their instructors and advisors in their programs. In my

advisement of students, I will make sure to have students think long term and big picture when I
advise them on their future actions.
Toward New Actions
My next steps in this situation include reframing my advisement questions when a
student comes in for my office hours. I will have them think of the big picture so that it becomes
a second nature process for me. Additionally, I will make sure that I increase communication
comfort level by being available and perhaps scaffolding in these types of conversations with my
own current students so that it becomes second nature for them to be able to come to someone in
an authority role for guidance. By creating this type of relationship, I will set into place a
procedure of open communication and big picture thinking.
Hours Log
2/22/16 (3 hours)
Attended District Board Meeting
Artifact gathering
Weekly meeting with mentor
2/23/16 (2 hours)
Classroom Observation
Black History Month Event
2/24/16 (2.5 hours)
Completed readings for class
Completed discussion board
2/25/16 (1.5 hours)
Meeting with district business director

6
2/26/16 (3 hours)
Completed DIRECT log
Portfolio formatting and uploads
2/27/16 (2 hours)
Portfolio formatting and uploads
2/28/16 (2 hours)
Reflection on Log Growth for Portfolio
Total Hours Completed This Week: 16
Total Hours Completed This Semester: 76/100

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