Kent De Zeeuw

Wayne State College

EDU 690
Internship Reflective Summary: South OBrien JR/SR High School
The experiences that I was able to attain at South OBrien will no
doubt help me in my future administrative endeavors. The following is a
summary of what I have learned.
First, I learned that an administrator must not outsmart common
sense. Teachers are constantly attempting to get students to use this, so it
stands to reason that leaders should do the same. Students need
opportunities to both succeed and fail, for it is in both of these opportunities
that education can happen. Administrators must strike an appropriate
balance of challenging students without losing them. Mr. Bruder has shown
me the appropriate ways an administrator is able to do this.
Second, I learned that a school must be representative of its
environment. As I walked through the halls of South OBrien, I realized that
what works there cannot work in other places because the environments are
different. Also, what has worked at other places may not necessarily work
at South OBrien. Administrators must find a way to blend research based
educational practices into the environment of a particular school in order for
them to be successful.
Finally, I learned that an effective school counselor can be a God-send
to a school administrator. Mr. Bruder reinforced this lesson to me by sharing
conversations he has had with the counselor that has helped him in his
mission of delivering a high quality education to his students. These

Kent De Zeeuw
Wayne State College
EDU 690
conversations have really cemented to me the need for a high quality
counselor that I would be able to work with.