Reflective Discourse

Joe Greaves

EDU 695 has really made me reflect about who I am and who I want to be as
an educator and as a leader. This whole leadership program at UNE has made me do
that, but it has been as of lately, nearing the end of my program, when I have truly
sat down to think about who I want to be. The number one thing that continues to
come to mind, when I think about all the roles and all the hats an administrator
must wear, is keeping the students best interest at the heart of every decision.
There is no doubt this masters program had taught me volumes of
knowledge about instructional strategies, school law, differentiation, school
budgets, supervision of teachers and many more things. While all of these ideas and
courses are very important they dont mean anything if we do them and dont keep a
students best interest at heart.
There is no doubt in my mind that as I move forward in five, ten and twenty
years instructional strategies that I believe in will change, curriculums will change,
and how I evaluate teachers will change, but the one thing that I dont think should
ever change is who is the number one most important person in the school. I think
many administrators believe its themselves, other believe its the teachers, but Im
sold its the students and that wont change.
As an administrator and leader I want to make sure that philosophy is shared
and believed by teachers, students and the community. From there we can set our
priorities as to what we do to make the best learning environment for students. I
think starting with a safe building and caring faculty members is a good place to
start. From there we can work out curriculum, assessments and instruction.

REFLECTION OF MY UNE EXPERIENCE
There is no doubt that my experience in this leadership program at UNE has
been a very positive one. When I think about where I was as an educator before I
began this journey and compare that to now I am very thankful I decided to enroll in
this program. Not only has my growth through out his program been very
important but the completion of this program has also given me the confidence to
become a leader. Im grateful of everything this program has given me and excited
to move forward and put everything I have learned to the test. As I reflect about the
past I am also excited to think about the new challenges I will encounter in the
future.