Administrators′ Corner
THE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT
TRAP
By Leisa Simapili
been long recognised and a new career
pathway called “teacher leadership”
was developed. Teacher leadership
programmes recognise the talents of
the most effective teachers and deploy
them in service of student learning and
school system improvement. Their time
is spent between actual classroom
practice while coaching and mentoring
their peers. Teacher leaders are also
compensated on a similar salary
scale as the school’s administration.
The programme draws on the skills of
excellent teachers while keeping them
in the classroom.
S
o, you have been teaching
for the past five or more
years. You have completed
your postgraduate degree in
education, actually, in educational
leadership. Every observation is
followed by glowing comments and
commendations echoing how fantastic
a teacher you are. You begin to think
that you may need a new challenge.
You are encouraged to apply for
the latest management post at your
school. However, you have never
really seen yourself behind a desk or
doing enormous amounts of paper
work. Interacting with the students is
what you enjoy. It is what wakes you
up in the morning.
The pressure from peers and even
family to pursue a management role
is great. You like the idea of becoming
an administrator, but your heart is still
in the classroom. You begin to look at
your options and realise that moving
abroad to teach might be just what
you need. After doing some research
online, you find a possible solution in
teaching abroad in the United Arab
Emirates. This opportunity comes with
the ability to travel, meet new people
and an attractive salary. Despite the
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Nov - Dec 2014
potential challenges that come with
teaching in a new country, you are
happy because you still get to teach.
You apply for a position to teach in the
UAE and are successful. The first year
of teaching in your new country was
a blur. You adjusted well to the new
school and you have made some great
friends. Three years have passed and
your administration ensures that you
are happy and why not? You are the
same fantastic teacher you were in
your home country. Then, that sneaky,
familiar feeling of wanting to do more
begins to cr