1 Leadership Credential Abstract

Abstract Looking at the interviews and the amount of mentoring that has been received by over forty teachers in the early care and education field; it is evident that mentoring is sadly lacking in our field. Not just because of the interviews showing that there is a lack of mentoring, but also the fact that so many centers in the state as well as the Milwaukee area are two star centers is an indicator that we need more mentoring in order to make sure that we have more quality centers available to the children and parents. In the case study that I wrote about in class three, we talked about Ms. Sunshine and her experience as a teacher and director in the field. When Youngstar was implemented she was a level one on the registry while at the same time she had been a director at several centers and was currently a supervisor. She had a high school diploma that the T.E.A.C.H. program would not recognize as legitimate forcing her to return to classes to obtain her G.E.D. After reading about her experience, it is evident that she would have been further along in the field and would not have gone through as much as she did if she had had a mentor to help her with her professional development. Ms. Sunshine as well as each teacher that was interviewed indicated that they believed that they would have been further along in the early care and education field if they had had someone to mentor them. In class two we talked about leadership effectiveness. One of the competencies that a leader must possess is interpersonal skills. Effective leaders know how to motivate and energize others to pursue common aims (Bloom) This leadership competency is important because of the way that the early childhood field is changing in Wisconsin. As one that is promoting mentoring, I need to be able to motivate others and energize them to pursue this as an avenue to help teachers continue to improve. Another leadership competency is discerning the needs of others.

2 Leadership Credential Abstract

This is important in mentoring. I need to be able to determine what is really happening in an interaction and make sure that I get to know people well enough to really understand their viewpoint and their needs. This is not saying that I have to agree with the viewpoint, but to care enough to listen to their viewpoint and to help them reflect on their beliefs while helping them to make the changes that are needed to succeed. (Sullivan, 67) In my vision statement that I wrote back in spring of 2012, I had said that I wanted to be a leader in the field of early care and education. Not just in the field, but in the African American community. I want to be an example to others. That is one thing that a mentor should be-an example to others. I think this is what the entire Leadership Credential has been leading to for me. To take what I have learned and put it into practice at the center that I currently work for and begin to mentor and train some of the people that are there that are willing to be mentored. Some of them have already said that they feel like I am their mentor because of the interactions that we already have, but after doing the research into what are the components of a good mentor I would make sure that I am applying those elements. We need to identify what the mentee wants to learn as well as what they need to learn. We have to explore the current situation and then define the desired goals or outcomes. Questions need to be asked that the mentor and mentee need to answer together in order to decide how the mentee is going to meet the desired goals. (Scallan-Berl, 2003). After mentoring and training people at my center, I need to work on expanding the mentoring to other centers by getting the people that I train involved outside of our center. It should not be something that stops at one center, but something that can grow in order for others to be assisted as well.

3 Leadership Credential Abstract

References Bloom, P. (2003). Leadership in action. Lake Forest, IL: New Horizons Scallan-Berl, P. (2003, Jan/Feb). Mentoring teachers...a partnership in learning. Child Care Information Exchange, 34-39. Sullivan, D. (2009). Learning to lead: Effective leadership skills for teachers of young children. 2nd edition. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.