Radical Leap Leadership

Radical Leap Leadership

A teacher is a leader in the classroom. Leadership can come in many forms. Leadership can be motivating and supportive or it could be the opposite. When I look back in my life at leaders that I respected it always came to the thought of their willingness to help. When there was times to get work down we all pulled up our sleeves and made it happen. It made me respect them and trust them. 

What needs to happen is to...

Cultivate love, generate energy, inspire audacity, and lastly by providing proof.

One of the best leaders I have ever had has been my teacher mentor. She has since retired but she was fierce. She made me feel loved and she loved teaching. It streamed through everything she did and every conversation she had with kids. She was someone who believed in relationships. She really supported and cared for others. People would come for her advice and she would listen intently. I couldn't believe all the different people who she made a connection with that would come and visit her. I was across the hallway but she also helped me find a place in our school. She was tough but she cared so much. She also cared a lot about me and how I felt. If I was worried or was overthinking she would say the right things. She just knew how to erase negative feelings. She generated energy for language arts and was excited and got into deep conversations with me about grammar and books. It made me love what I taught even more.

The biggest quality she had was to cultivate love. When she retired I put together an event at a coffee shop and invited her there. It was a surprise retirement party. She hates surprises. I had her closest friends bring their favorite books. So many people came! I inserted a sticker inside each book honoring her and her years of service as a teacher. She was shocked as person after person appeared. You can tell she had deep connections and great leadership too. Her mentor from years ago came to visit. It was a beautiful day. All those books were donated to different libraries and to this day I look for them. She taught thousands of students and her love for reading will be scattered around the community she loves for new readers to enjoy.