Everyone's path to leadership is different and it's one that has helped me get to where I am today in terms of why I lead.
Like all educators turned admin, it started in the classroom. In my case, leading a classroom of Grade 4's to not only learn, but do all the schoolwide activities opened my eyes to how much fun being a leader was. More importantly was how much the students got out of the experiences. The question then became whether or not I could lead a whole school of staff and students to achieve the same results.

The chance came and I took full advantage of the new challenge. So far in all my situations, each being different, has allowed me to build on previous experiences. The two most exciting aspects of why I enjoy educational leadership are watching teachers take risks in their class and then take the time to teach their colleagues as ongoing professional development. It's exciting and the payoff are how engaged the students are.

This is my first official post to my newly revamped blog. My goal is to continue my learning journey that began while going through 2-1/2 years of the MET program at UBC.  My need to learn more is even greater now as a school based administrator in Vancouver to find the best ways to inspire students to be creative and innovative in the 21st Century.

This is an exciting time in education and I want to ensure that the staff, students and parents I work with are given the best chance for success in the future. I hope to comment and bring relevance to articles that I come across, share personal discoveries in my day to day life as a Principal, parent and colleague by providing examples of what's working and not working in my educational environments. I also hope to inspire and create a sense of excitement in using the strategies that work best in allowing our students to be creative, collaborative, communicators and critical thinkers.

I appreciate any comments and/or questions. My twitter feed and contact information is found on the home page. Also if interested, take a look at the artifacts I put together for my final UBC MET e-portfolio.


Darren