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Professional Reading Reflection EPPSP Phase I: Summary

This article discusses how teachers can act as agents of change in education. It profiles several educators who initiated changes in their schools and districts. One teacher led colleagues in recording and reflecting on lessons, which improved student outcomes. Another asked critical questions about education policy. The article encourages educators to intentionally use their positions to advocate for change on any scale. It quotes one teacher as saying "Be intentional about utilizing your position, whatever it may be, to advocate. It’s about playing your role."

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3K views

Professional Reading Reflection EPPSP Phase I: Summary

This article discusses how teachers can act as agents of change in education. It profiles several educators who initiated changes in their schools and districts. One teacher led colleagues in recording and reflecting on lessons, which improved student outcomes. Another asked critical questions about education policy. The article encourages educators to intentionally use their positions to advocate for change on any scale. It quotes one teacher as saying "Be intentional about utilizing your position, whatever it may be, to advocate. It’s about playing your role."

Uploaded by

api-508196283
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Professional Reading Reflection EPPSP Phase I

Date: January 25, 2020


Student Name: Carolyn Gassmann
Title of article, book, or podcast: Dare to Go First
Author(s): Shanna Peebles
Publication Name and Date (articles only), link if using podcast: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development (ASCD) – Educational Leadership; Vol. 73, June 2016
Summary:
This article took a stance on the ignition of change in education. It begins by stating what many
teachers with a passion for leadership, change agents as the article refers, know to be true—that
creating change often means jumping head first into an opportunity to take a risk and be the first
person to try something new.
The article is written from the perspective of a teacher leader, rather than a building leader, but
can be applied at any level. The author goes on to detail an experience she had in which she and
a group of colleagues began an experience of reflective practice. They recorded weekly lessons
in their classrooms, shared them, and reflected upon them. With the support of their school and
district administration, they found that this practice, while humbling and challenging, allowed
them to better serve their students and become generally more well-informed, stronger educators.
At the conclusion of their school year, this group of educators reflected upon the experience and
stated,
“We wouldn’t have labeled ourselves as change agents that year, but that’s what we
were. The shift in classroom outcomes was clear and repeatable. Our administrators
were convinced by this evidence, and our superintendent supported the use of video
to improve teaching and learning across the district.” (Peebles, 2016)

The author then continues to share examples of other exemplary figures of teacher-led change.
One educator mentioned is James Ford, the North Carolina Teacher of the Year for 2015, who is a
high school history teacher, social justice advocate, and program director for the Public School
Forum of North Carolina. Ford was noted specifically for his first step to becoming an agent of
change—raising questions about education policy and how it affected my classroom. He is quoted
as saying, “I always found myself asking question about how certain rules were made, what
informed the process, and who was involved in the conversation.” Realizing that simply asking
these probing questions helped him enter the realm of education policy and ignite change.
Another change-making educator mentioned is Rusul Alrubail. She is an educator, writer, and
advocate. She believes in the importance of making strong connections with those around you. In
order to make those strong connections, she believes that leaders must demonstrate “Positivity,
listening to understand rather than to reply, and respect”. She notes that these factors are crucial
when attempting to make a difference, big or small.
Finally, Peebles goes on to note that effective change agents speak up and speak out. They
intentionally use their voices for the good of their cause. The aforementioned educator, James
Ford, is quoted as saying, “Be intentional about utilizing your position, whatever it may be, to
advocate. It’s about playing your role. There is more than one way to advocate for something.
You don’t have to be the movement, you just have to play your part.” The author’s concluding
point is that educators of every scope can impact change within a school, community, or even on
a larger scale. If the passion exists the change will come.
Reflection:
For me, the biggest impact of this article was the aforementioned quote from James Ford,
“Be intentional about using your position, whatever it may be, to advocate.
It’s about playing your role. There is more than one way to advocate for
something. You don’t have to be the movement, you just have to play your
part.”

As my journey into educational leadership is just beginning, I know that there will be countless
opportunities to make a difference in the lives of the students and educators whom I will serve.
The exciting part of this journey will be gaining countless experiences, tools, and strategies to
become a robust leader. However, the impact will not be felt unless those experiences, tools, and
strategies are put to use in a meaningful way.
Coming into EPPSP, multiple people mentioned the changes they hoped to make from the
moment they left their very first class. I remember hearing things such as “I felt energized to
make a difference” and “I felt myself becoming a better teacher for my students.” I believed their
words, but felt a little skepticism before experiencing it for myself. However, after two classes, I
can say that I already feel like I am gaining confidence in my leadership abilities and am
beginning to apply what is learned from our material, as well as from my new colleagues, to my
current position in the classroom.
While this EPPSP journey is eventually leading us all to become administrators, that surely does
not mean that we need to wait two years to begin making a difference. If we approach each day
in education with a change-making attitude and apply all that we learn throughout our
coursework, we will be impactful leaders from this day forward. We must dare to see education
through multiple lenses; we must dare to lead our students and colleagues with passion and
dedication. While the article is titled, “Dare to Go First”, I believe that for new educational
leaders, we must use our skills to impact change—we must dare to go now.

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