Reflection of the Shadowing Experience

     As I reflected on the experiences that I has while shadowing, I took out the information on the ISLLC Standards that I thought about what I had witnessed in relation to the standards. I note that both administrators and the classroom that I observed in these experiences demonstrated a compilation of the standards.  I looked back at my questions that I asked and the responsed that the administrators gave. These responses caused me to delve deeper into the overlapping of the standards within individual instances that faced each of the administrators. You must first understand the community that you are in, the legalities involved, and have a deep understanding of the school's vision for student learning. While one administrator, the assistant principal, faces the daily challenge of dealing with disciplinary issues, he sees the importance of parental involvement, being visible around the school, and consistency in regards to dealing with policies and procedure of classroom and school management. The principal focuses on another area of management such as curriculum, instruction, and assessment of students. She knows exactly what is going on in the classrooms at our school and is constantly abreast of the movements in current research and instructional practices within the state and nation.

     Because our school is small, I also visited our alternative school setting. The man who is in charge of this classroom is a former administrator at another school. He must understand and ensure the success of students who have had difficulty finding success in the regular school setting. He deals with any issues that arise with students within his class. He oversees curriculum for students in a variety of grade levels. I see the importance of having a person with a leadership background for this posititon because a person working in this capacity must know and understand a great deal about the students, the community, the curriculum, and fairness.

     Through this experience, I feel that I would most likely enjoy working in an administrative area, most likely in the area of curriculum since this is where the majority of my educational background lies. Although I realize that a career in administration can be stressful, I find that can be a great challenge, but a challenge that I plan to face some day.