Wk 2 Reponse - Timothy Bemiller

Original Post by Timothy Bemiller:

The Chapter 5 reading was very cool in the way it communicated proper leadership. The main theme to me was that leaders are in place to nurture and guide those under their leadership. This concept of leadership does not need to be in your face and dictator oriented. The concept to me is that leaders can lead and inspire from a rather subdued role, hence the name of the chapter. I like the idea that a leader’s main role is to make the people better through well timed insight and wisdom that is not intended to put people down, rather to lift them up.

I am not an intense person. I do however love to lead the group if I feel I am qualified to do so. I lead in the way the book identifies and that makes me feel good about my style of helping those around me. I thrive off of making people better and not just controlling them.

How many times have you had instructors that run their class as a “my way or the highway” mentality? This kind of leadership is embraced by some, but many feel threatened by this format and would rather the inspirational leader who thrives to make the class better no matter what. I believe sometimes pride gets in the way of a leader’s ability to make the people around them better.

Response by Rebecca Day:

A year or so ago, my classroom was situated across the hallway of a teacher who had been teaching for at least twenty years.  She taught only honors and AP classes.  I was talking with her one afternoon about classroom management and she told me that she runs her class like a dictatorship.  She tells her students at the beginning of the year that her classroom is not a democracy, the students have no freedom of choice or speech, and she is in absolute control.  What really got me was that her students LOVED her.  I would have hated not being able to have some wiggle room.  I guess the idea of "my way or the highway" worked for her.