I am just finishing up my Special Education Specialist Additional Qualification course and the assignment is to write a blog post about what I have learned about leadership. Here are my thoughts :
Leadership in Special Education: What You Need To Know
Special Education is an area of teaching that touches every aspect of education and learning, whether it be the students we teach, the strategies we use or the technology we’ve just been introduced to. One only has to look back at the last 50 years of education in Ontario to see the huge strides that have been made and the changes enacted for the better. So how can you be a leader in Special Education? What does that look like for the average teacher and what skills do we need to fill this role? Read on to learn more about what it entails to be a special education leader and ask yourself, not am I able but am I ready? Here’s some information to keep in mind:
INSPIRE: As a Special Education leader you get to inspire others and be inspired yourself. You will hear stories that break your heart and you wonder how students and families can keep moving forward and in the next breath, they are inspiring you with their perseverance and courage. Your job is to inspire others to greatness without being preachy, to ensure quality instruction without dictating and have compassion for families without being perceived as soft.
BE BRAVE: Sometimes in Special Education we have to go out on a limb, we have to go against the grade or we have to make decisions that aren’t popular but are necessary in the best interests of students. Leadership can be lonely, there aren’t as many colleagues to speak to and everyone will have an opinion about how situations and problems can be solved. It’s easy to sit from the sidelines and judge the choices and outcomes. If you have to blaze a trail to make change and be a difference maker, be brave, your students will thank you.
LEADERSHIP ISN’T LINEAR: Oftentimes we think of progress in a linear perspective, it’s straightforward for all those involved and there is an obvious order in which progress should appear. The thing that no one mentions? Leadership isn’t linear, a leader doesn’t overnight become all knowing. You can try something new, back track when you realize it’s not a great fit, make a mistake, admit failure and still grow. This makes you no less of a leader than anyone else. Growth and the ability to grow is what sets apart leaders and great leaders. Leaders learn from their situations and vow to make changes. Difference makers embrace what they don’t know and demonstrate their openness to growth, they understand the power of learning from mistakes.
BE READY TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE: Change is uncomfortable, in 2020 we have experienced nothing but learning to pivot on a moment’s notice and do it all while smiling. If you are open to change, that’s great, but to be open to being uncomfortable is something else entirely. Awkward moments as we wade into a new type of learning and new understanding of the shortfalls of society are to be expected. As a leader in Special Education, you set the tone. Are you going to be at peace with being uncomfortable and learning all you can to support ALL students regardless of their identity and background? Will you fold when the uncomfortable feeling settles in and revert back to the practices of the past? Difficulty as we learn to listen and understand doesn’t devalue this process and doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing, if anything, these feelings point to the fact that we must move forward.
IT’S A PROCESS: Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither were you. To be a great Special Education leader you must be patient. You can read all the books you want, take all the courses necessary but it’s the work with students, parents and colleagues that really are beneficial as a leader. The understanding that you are seen as an advocate for students and parents and will fight for their children can not be underestimated. This, of course, takes time and it is imperative that you continue to move forward and not be bogged down with questions of self doubt, wondering about how you will be able to do it all and if you will make a difference. You will, have faith.
BE OPEN: Leadership and Special Education leadership in particular come in all shapes and sizes; all forms and approaches. No one form or strategy is better or worse, just different. The sooner you can take preconceived ideas of what leadership “should” look like, the better off you are. As well everyone you meet will teach you something, but only if you are open to it. If you shift your mindset to, “What can I learn from this? How can I apply it in my classroom today?” you will become the leader you want to be.
BE PASSIONATE: Be unapologetically passionate as a leader. You set the tone of the journey for your colleagues around you and the passion you have will spread to them. For staff, they are looking for someone to be inspired by, are you going to be joyous and positive or are you going to be anxious and negative? Our students deserve our very best and that means us showing up every day ready to grow, learn and advocate for their needs.
Being a leader in Special Education isn’t for the faint of heart but having a big heart is what makes the role so worthwhile as we make a difference in the lives of our students. Take the plunge, you won’t regret it!
Kathleen :)
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