Final Internship Plan

Good news, Dr. Nicks and I were able to meet this morning and I now have an approved Internship Plan and application documents signed.  All of these are posted on my Wiki --
http://sandy-rucker.wikispaces.com/  

Dr. Nicks has also introduced me to the Assistant Superintendent of Kountze ISD so I will be able to do some of my field work through this district.  He didn't have too much to say about my plan other than look through it an nod every now and then. 

He was very interested in issues we had throughout the first course with documents, blogs, TK20, etc.  Even though it doesn't help our group that just finished the program it will assist those coming in behind us into a smoother transition. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

At present, I am unable to post my final Internship Plan as I was unable to meet the schedule for my Site Supervisor.  I am hopefuly that Monday morning will be a time in which I am able to meet with him and finish this posting. 

I have reviewed several others comments and plans that were able to finalize their plans and believe I will have the same comments that the plan is workable and if anything needs to change throughout the program, we all kow this is a working document.  I was able to send several email and make comments on others plans and their meeting.

Internship Plan

 Please view and review my Draft Internship Plan on my Wiki -- http://sandy-rucker.wikispaces.com/Internship+Plan

Thanks,
Sandy

Posting of Vita

http://sandy-rucker.wikispaces.com/Vita

Superintendent Interview

I interviewed Dr. Bob Nicks as I am not in a school district but working with Lamar University.  Dr. Nicks gave some very profound statements, which any of us can only hope to measure closely. 

The first statement that really hit home was his statement of making sure your approaches are positive and student centered.  His next statement about not being able to make everyone happy is one that is so very true.  What I have found is the more you try the less people you seem to make happy.  Just remember your focus and remain as ethical as possible and that is the best you can do. 

Dr. Nicks stated that he adhered to AASA (American Association of School Administrators) Professional Standards for Superintendency.  I looked these up and was delighted to see Dr. John Hoyle wrote it.  I had the privilege of meeting and visiting with while Dr. Rucker was attending Texas A & M.  You could see these qualities within him as you would speak and work with him. 

Dr. Nicks next stated that we must lead by example from everything of punctuality to work day to attending school functions.  If you want your faculty and staff to do something you best be willing to do it yourself.  From personal experience, even cleaning restrooms and helping clean up after an activity.  This makes a distinct impression upon individuals, that you are not above them but with them. 

One area that is vital to a leader is communication and it is one of the most volatile as Dr. Nix states.  Have a plan for dealing with internal and external communications.  Know who is responsible throughout the district.  Misspeaking whether in an email, memo, phone call, or newsletter is not something you or a district employee should do.  Make sure you are informed and everyone is on the same page.  Make sure the district’s goals are wrapped within the communication, which are outgoing into the community.  The last part of the information Dr. Nix stated is how do we measure whether communication is effective?  Very often this measure is completely overlooked. 

This reminds me of many times going to my superintendent and giving them firsthand knowledge of incidents so they would not be “blind sided”.   

The last thing Dr. Nix spoke about was how do you decide what is important to a superintendent and school board.  He said, look how many personnel are attached to a program or issue, how much time is given to this issue, and how much money or resources are devoted to the task.  The items that have a large amount of all three are at the forefront on the leaderships list.  I really had never thought about it from that perspective before but he is so right now that I think back at school districts and major focus of staff development over the school year cycle. 

I found this interview to be very productive; it not only gave me a new perspective of Dr. Nicks it also gave me a better perspective of our training to come here at Lamar and how applicable it will be. 

Transfer Theory

Transfer theory is well grounded and crosses over many disciplines.  In counseling, we learned and used transference theory when working with student, parents, staff, and community members.  When a teacher asked what is wrong with Johnny we would look at his home life, and what may be going on there to formulate a possible answer.  How many times have you had a teacher or staff member say, “Well, when I met Johnny’s father, I knew why he acts the way he does.”  Transfer theory being shown here in its ultimate. 

We as educators usually refer to transfer theory as an aha moment.  Someone explains and explains something to you but until you hang it on something, you have experienced or understand it is as though that individual was speaking Greek. 

When setting up classes for a summer school session where I was principal I took all the students previous years grades, discipline referrals and parent contact information and began the process of looking for the proper “mix” of students for the ultimate learning experience for students.  Using this information and personal experiences with these students, I was able to transfer this knowledge and information into a successful summer school experience for our students.  Some of the teachers could not see the rational in the beginning but over time, they saw “the method to my madness” so to speak.  Students that had only been bullies before were placed in leadership roles began to blossom and academically sore actually befriending those they previously bullied. 

When I was beginning the task of learning how to schedule, I found I went back to learning which occurred many years before.  I worked inventory control for a precision tool bit company in Northwest Arkansas.  I was responsible for making sure I had sufficient product to ship due to the demand for my product.  I was to order new product made when supply was low, entailing making sure there was raw product available, etc.  I found that scheduling students was very similar.   Making sure all classes were full but not overfull yet making sure everything was in their place.  Granted inventory control didn’t have to deal with personalities but it did give me the rudimentary process to start from.  I transferred previous knowledge into another setting. 

Without some knowledge of how education works as well as at least some experience administratively, it would be impossible to step into the shoes of a superintendent. The background (knowledge to transfer) would not be there.  If you had not dealt with teachers, parents, and students in an educational setting, you would not be able to carry out Board Policy completely and appropriately. 

When in Alaska, I was amazed when a counselor from Nevada was hired and sent to a tiny village of 350 in the far northwest.  What concerned me is that Nevada does not require counselors to have any classroom experience to receive this certification.  When this young lady made it to the village and began telling teachers what was wrong in their classrooms and what they needed to change to make their lessons work with their students, well you can imagine.  She did not have any knowledge to transfer into the situation only the theories that came from the books, which she had read.  When she left the village to go back to Nevada in less than a month, I wasn’t surprised. 

Action Research - My definition

Action research, a new term to those of us that have not taken formal classes in a while.  When faced with this portion of the assignment I started asking others “What is action research?” and found many answers.  I guess the easiest for me to understand is what action research is not.  Going to the library and digging through everything trying to find every resource available to document what I was trying to prove or disprove. 

I found the following quote to giving me an better understanding of action research.  “We are convinced that the disposition to study…the consequences of our own teaching is more likely to change and improve our practices than is readying about what someone else has discovered of his teaching” (Corey, 1953, p.70).   

From personal experience, I find my own learning is greatly enhanced by getting hands on activities.   “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.  Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime” (Author unknown).  After watching the Academic Partnership Master’s in Education for Educational Leadership program for the last couple of years I see a well-developed, well prepared, and very confident individual completing the program.  I attribute this to their internship process of hands on experiences.   I compare this program to the one, which I went through with face-to-face classes and long drawn out lectures about many things not relevant to what we were expected to learn and I will definitely say I was shortchanged.  I did have a short internship but the individual I worked with was not prepared to give me any practical experience (I did a lot of lunch and bus duty), the whole one semester.  Even though I came out with the ability to take the ExCet exam and pass, I did not feel prepared to step into an administrative position.  I am not seeing this with the AP students completing the program now, they are ready, willing and able to take off running. 

I feel this is the ultimate in action research. This would be problem solving in the trenches so to speak, a much better method of preparation. 

The methods of usage in action research is endless in the educational setting is endless.  From brainstorming how to set up a workable schedule for students to how to get a bond issue passed. 

A blog would be a wonderful way to banter ideas and information around between colleagues and stakeholders.  You may have someone that will not talk during a discussion but will type into a blog when they have had time to stop and think. 

New to this!

Talk about nervous.  I work with technology every day but this is a part I have not delved into until now.  I hear my son and daughter-in-law talk about their twitter, wiki and such all the time.  I thought, I don't have time for that and went on my merry way.  Wish now I had paid more attention.  I have a feeling I will be calling on them very soon to clear up the how too and the where is it questions. 

This is an exciting adventure of learning more about the superintendent and adding this portion, well I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.