Shine what? (an introduction)

Several years ago, I set out to update my Personal Philosophy of Education. I wanted to pursue system-level positions in my school board (specifically, I had my heart set on the role of Learning Coordinator: Special Education). An updated philosophy was an application requirement. I went back to the first philosophy I’d written, wanting to see just how much I’d changed. Turns out, I really hadn’t. A few years later, I wrote my Philosophy of Educational Leadership. While it was a requirement of my Principal’s Qualification course, no one since has ever asked to see it. Still, I check in with it now and then, looking to see how closely my actions mirror my beliefs.

Written philosophies are funny things. It’s easy to get hung up on the words themselves. If written well, their meaning is clear and memorable, and fits the writer. My leadership philosophy is written as a series of action statements:
Speak your truth. . .stay true to what’s in the best interests of students.
Be involved. . .Know faces and names; use technology; roll up your sleeves and pitch in
Pass the ball. . .let your teammates score the winning touchdown
Listen
Learn
Let go.

You get the idea.

The philosophy that inspired the name of this blog came earlier, as I sought the system-level position I never did attain. It is as much a part of my belief system as the other, and I’ve shared some of it below.

“Imagine, if you will, a wide body of water. Waves break gently over the pebbled beach. Walk softly. This beach has a life all its own, affected by all of the forces acting upon it. It is strewn with immeasurable treasures. Sand dollars, pebbles, sea shells of all shapes and sizes, the muted perfection of polished glass shards. Each one an integral part of the beach, indeed of the entire seascape. Such are the students in every classroom. They are treasures in their own right and vital parts of a much larger whole. . .None is most or least precious. . .The teacher, like the waves, persists and challenges, encouraging each student to create and recreate. . .The impact of sun and wind, parent and peer, are no less important than the action and effects of the waves, all gently shaping each individual object that in turn becomes the beach. . . The waves will continue, strong and steady. . .This beach is precious, for these are my diamonds. Walk softly.”

In looking at both, it seems that my personal philosophy addresses beliefs about students, while the other is more of a checklist for working with adult professionals. But aren’t all adults, whether staff, colleagues or peers components of the same beach? Isn’t an educational leader’s role then to polish, hone, refine, challenge and support the adults as well as the students? Perhaps the one philosophy isn’t so far removed from the other as it might initially appear. My personal philosophy is the Why that Simon Sinek writes about, while the educational leadership philosophy provides the How. As I look toward the start of a new school year, my third year as Vice Principal and my first year in a new school, I wonder how much my Why and How will change. Should they? Or will they continue to provide a roadmap for my educational leadership journey?