Week 1 Journal - A Leader I Know

 When I think about a leader I know personally, my mind jumps to my mom. She has been an educator my whole life, but did not actually become a classroom teacher until after I did.

History Time!

My mom received her Child Development degree from Cal State Northridge and worked at their Children’s Center from before I was born until I was in elementary school. She then got a job as the librarian at my elementary school and continued there for a few years. Due to budget cuts, she eventually had to switch jobs and worked for awhile as a Special Education Aide. The year after I earned my teaching credential, she went back to school at Cal State Channel Islands and earned her own multiple subject credential. Since then, she has taught elementary students in all grade levels.

Teacher Leader

My mom works tirelessly as a teacher to do the best she can for her students. First, she served as the PTA president of my elementary school after I attended. Why? Because she cared so much about the school, and especially the library, that she wanted to have a leadership role. As the PTA president, she organized a reading night for the students to attend.

Next, she has worked with technology to solve problems she discovered in her schools. She realized that many of her students did not have many books at home or their parents could not read to them. Her answer? Creating a website and filming videos of herself reading countless books. Instead of students only being able to read at school or the books they could check out from the library, they could now watch videos of as many as they wished. Since she created a website, these videos can be shared all over the world to anyone who wants them.

Click Here to check it out! --> Ms. Perry's Storytime

Another great quality of a leader is to be encouraging to their followers. In this case, I will consider her students as the ones she leads. When she taught younger students, my mom realized that many of them did not know how to tie their shoes! Instead of tying dozens of shoelaces a day, she created the “Golden Shoe Club.” When students could prove they tie their shoes (by tying the shoelaces on a spray-painted golden sneaker), they got to be a part of the club. If a student needed their shoelaces tied, they could then seek out any of the club “members” for help. Leaders should empower their followers to solve problems. By creating this club, my mom was able to empower her students to learn a skill and then use it to help their classmates.

When I read about teacher leaders this week, I instantly thought of my mom. I am proud of her and strive to be as good of a leader as she is.