Leadership: Leaving the Classroom

 For this entry for my AQ course we have been asked to consider whether we would potentially leave the classroom for a leadership role.

I have discussed this with a few people but I don't think it was overly public knowledge. My answer is yes. I actually was really considering going into the instructional coach (IC) role, I really hope this role makes a comeback in our board when everything settles down. For some reason this leadership role has always appealed to be more than becoming a curriculum leader (though this is something I have also considered).

I like this role because you get to engage with teachers and students from a group of schools and build relationships while helping the system innovate and move forward in education. My informal leadership within my schools has often been around leading by example through trying new assessment and instructional strategies and sharing those strategies with those around me. This is the nutshell of the instructional coach role - you work with teachers looking to try new things and help them navigate those changes.

I also appreciate that this type of role would allow me to build on my skills for working with adult learners. I have facilitated many workshops at this point but have not done much formal work with other teachers of the coaching nature. In the last couple of years I have also started to realize that there is another role I would like to end up in at some point, and the IC role would be good experience to prepare me for this. But that is another story for another day!