3 Things I learned:
The reading on Teachers, Administrators, and the Schools stated that there were usually shortages in French Immersion teachers. Although I have attended a French immersion elementary school and high school, I never noticed the shortage of French teachers until now. I found this interesting because this article is a little older and yet, the demand of French teachers remain the same.
A section that I found interesting in the same reading is the section on the hiring process. Many school boards who are looking into hiring new teachers typically base their candidates off their resumes, the interview process, observations, and references. But something that I have learned are the other ways they decide whether to hire someone or not. For example, the article states that many school systems like to hire teachers who graduated from their own schools. I found this surprising, yet I was able to realize the truth behind it, because I have noticed that many of the people who have graduated from the same school system as myself, are working as educational assistants or real teachers in the same schools/school systems we graduated from. Another interesting fact that the article states is that evidence suggests that university grades are often given little importance in hiring decisions. I found this fact a little unfair, as some people work hard to achieve higher grades, yet are not prioritised. Yet again, teaching should not be a career based on one’s competency in school, it should be based on how their competency working and teaching their students.
2 Connections:
The article Teachers, Administrators, and the School states that one of the perceptions in Canadian education was that in the years ahead, we may be facing a significant shortage of teachers. This estimation was made in 2003. It is now 2018, and Canada, in fact, is facing a shortage of teachers. The article also mentioned that one of the primary reasons as to why the demand for teachers increases is due to the number of retirements from the profession. A connection I made with this was a conversation I had with a family member who spoke to a representative of one of the Canadian schools boards. They mentioned how present education students are in good places now, because in four years, there will be a significant amount of retirements and therefore, job opportunities for us. This demonstrates the consistency of teacher demand within the school system and how it is a field that is constantly changing.
The second article discusses leadership within the school. Schools are typically places of authority and hierarchy, with principals and administrators being at the top of the pyramid. Although this may be the case, the article states that admin staff cannot do it all. With that, it demonstrates that teachers play a role in being school leaders. A connection I made with this was all the leadership opportunities that my high school provided to both teachers and students. I believe that allowing anyone the chance to take part in leadership can help with collaborating with others, creating a closer-knit community, and overall just makes the school more inclusive and fun. Throughout my high school career, I was able to see all the different extracurricular activities and clubs that were put together and run by teachers and students.
1 Question:
The article also lists attributes of a good teacher leader. With that, a question I have regarding this is: Are people just natural born leaders or can leadership traits be developed? Does being introverted/extroverted play a role in successful leadership?