· What were some reasons for your choices?
· How do you believe you will improve your practice as you look at least two of these common mistakes?
Making mistakes is all a part of learning and growing in anything you do in life, even as an administrator. Let's face it, as teachers we made mistakes and especially as students we did. After looking over the 10 common mistakes that a new administrator may make, I chose 2 that I would like to focus more on as I begin my internship. The first common mistake is the lack of balance in my life and practicing effective internal communication.
As we all know, the education field is definitely not for the faint of heart and one of the most stressful jobs there is. But, we all are beginning to see through our internships that it is very time consuming and that our life is lacking balance now. For me, this is probably the number one thing I am going to focus on more as I begin my internship. Balancing life and work are already hard enough but throw in a family, children with disabilities, internship, athletic sports, clubs, and etc. I always throw myself into anything I do with everything I have. Many times I over extend myself and eventually get to the point I am overwhelmed, burnt out, and fall ill. I am doing better at planning out a routine and balancing everything that is already on my plate. Being organized and allowing myself to say no to many things as well as allowing people to help me with the various day to day tasks is a blessing as well. As I improve my practice, I think it will be beneficial for my school community as well as myself in the fact that I will be able to be the best I can for my school community and the well being of my own family. If your life is not balanced, how could you consider helping balancing anything else?
Practicing effective internal communication is my second choice of common mistakes and one that I am working on in the next few weeks of the internship. Communication is crucial in any relationship but for it to work effectively in the education world as an administrator, it is a must. I communicate well with my colleagues but now it is an entire school, I must learn to effectively communicate well with. I have to be able to do it efficiently and quickly too. Being able to make sure that every staff member as well as parents, students, and the school community are being communicated with not only on daily basis, but weekly and monthly. Being able to decide which types of communication will be able to reach the masses and whether or not they will is also crucial.It is not only about being an effective internal communicator but other aspects of the communication process. Many times I communicate but not to everyone because I do not fell that they need to know like others do. This is not the case any longer. In order for my school to effectively and smoothly operate, I have to be sure that I am communicating my needs, expectations, and daily agenda now to everyone. Again having a planner and being organized will help with communication and not overextending myself.I think I will improve my practice by doing just what I need to- communicate and find various ways of communication that will work and benefit my school community.