Building Culture

After reading "The Culture Builder" by Roland Barth, I chose to respond to the following three questions:

1.) According to Barth, what is an Instructional Leader? How do you view yourself as an Instructional Leader?
Barth describes an Instruction Leader a couple of different ways. One way he explained such a leader as someone whose job is to change the current culture of a school. Another description mentioned that this leader must continually assess the habits present in a school culture and organize them into what should stay and what need to be addressed. I tend to think of an Instructional Leader as someone who has a good understanding of the ebb and flow of a particular school climate. This person is then able to monitor the culture and suggest positive changes when necessary.
I like to think of myself as an Instructional Leader in the sense that I am pretty good at reading different situations and the nonverbals that people tend to display. I can get a sense of when someone is ready to try something new and when someone isn't quite there yet. I feel that I can offer fresh insight to those that are stuck in a rut from doing the same thing for so many years. I also think my approachable personality makes people more willing to ask questions about the changes I have been making in my classroom. This year I am trying to set an example for my coworkers that it doesn't hurt to just try someone for a few weeks. Give it a shot... you don't have anything to lose!

2.) What are the challenges of being an Instructional Leader?
I think there are more challenges for younger Instructional Leaders. Being in Instructional Leader as a still relatively new teacher is sometimes easier said then done. It is a challenge to suggest changes to things that have 'always been this way' to those teachers that have been at my school for 20+ more years than I have been. Being in this graduate program has given me the extra confidence to approach these situations and the background knowledge of best practices.

3.) How would you describe the culture where you currently work? Did any of Barth's stories ring true for you?
My school culture, for the most part, is a relatively positive one. [Hmm.. or maybe I just choose to focus on the good things??] When Barth talked about the "nondiscussables" I definitely found myself agreeing with his thoughts. My school has a lot of these that are discussed in the teacher's lounge but rarely are taken through the proper routes to make any changes. For some teachers, they continue to let the tension build and then they end up blowing their fuse. At these moments you can feel the entire morale of our staff shift. I hope that the students would say wholeheartedly that our school has a positive culture. I think our staff does a great job of helping kids learn in an environment that they enjoy being a part of.