All You Need is Love

Well, not quite, but almost. Love is a requirement, a foundation, the place from which we start when we form a community, especially a learning community.

As a leader I would start by letting each and every staff member and student know that they are loved, automatically, without having to earn it first. This is because in order for me to do the job I need to do, need to start with love for the people with whom and for whom I work.

Love is a scary word for many people. It's too intimate, too mushy, too touchy-feely, too insincere. But I don't think anything short of love will do the job. If a community accepts me, asks me to join, and most importantly asks me to lead, I'm going to love each and every member of that community.

That love will help me find the energy, the compassion, the perseverance I will need to help every person grow. Wherever they are, each teacher, each staff member, each student can grow and learn and improve, and they will do that best when they are loved.

This does not mean I will have less love for my family and friends. This does not mean I will have no other life outside of my job. On the contrary, if I also love myself, I must make time for me. Self-love includes taking time for yourself, doing the things you love, and staying connected to the very people who make your life worth living. But it does mean I will work hard, I will spend extra time, I will keep learning and growing myself.

At the center of it all is our students. Every adult needs to feel the same love I do for our students. For us to work as hard as we need to work, to recover from setbacks, to get past the overwhelmed feeling we all have sometimes, to care most about the kids who are hardest to care about, there must be love. Once the foundation is there, the community that is built can support each member on his or her learning journey.

Leading is Serving

Some who read the title of this blog will understand it immediately. Some may need clarification. Some will think I've written an oxymoron.

It might be helpful to know that I am an educator. Currently I serve as a Lead Teacher in a K-4 school  in Connecticut. Previously I was a classroom teacher for fifteen years at the elementary and middle school levels. In all of these positions I led students and staff by serving them.

I find resources for teachers who want to try new strategies with their students. I process problems with children to help them learn from their mistakes and restore their relationships with their friends. I meet with parents to plan family activities that get people involved in our school. I supervise in the cafeteria and at dismissal. I say hello and smile at everyone I pass in the hall. I stop and listen to anyone who wants to let me know when there is an issue or when a student has met a goal or when a parent is ill. I believe every interaction is an opportunity to build a relationship.

Of course a leader develops a vision for his school. In creating this vision, the leader is serving his people by imagining a lofty goal that he expects the school to reach.

However, in order to guide and support the school in achieving the vision, the leader must serve his people through strong relationship-building and hands-on involvement in the day-to-day activities of the school. This is leading through serving.