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A Lasting Legacy

          Attending graduate school was always a part of my plan.  Receiving my Master’s degree was a goal I set at a young age and one I always intended to check off my list.  I recognized, whether through family or personal expectations, that if I was going to reach this goal, I needed to do it sooner rather than later.  I found a program I was interested in and meticulously started the application process. I filled out the forms, wrote the essays and took the tests; everything I thought I needed to do to achieve this next goal.  Though I was confident I had the scores and qualifications, I was placed on the waiting list.  For four months, I waited with no update, no word, and no inclination as to where my future would lead.  The goal I had set for so long was becoming distant.  It became simply a memory; a previous hope I placed on the back burner when I realized I had to continue on with my life. If continuing my education was not a part of my future, then I needed to refocus and set new goals for my life.  In what seemed like a whirlwind and a divine intervention in my plan, I received an interview for my dream job without even applying.  I rushed to fill out the paperwork, threw together work samples and prepared myself in any way possible.  Though I was scared to death and felt far from qualified, I was offered the job on the spot.  That summer was filled with redirection and refocus as I primed myself to be the teacher, instead of the student.  In a humorous act of irony, on the first day of school as I started out on my teaching journey, I finally received word that I had indeed been accepted into graduate school.  Graduate school was still my goal; this just was not the right time.  My life and my dream of getting my Master’s was being redefined through my job and the course my life was now on.

          Though seemingly successful as a winning coach, in my first few years as a teacher, I struggled with student motivation, classroom management and productive lesson planning. While I was able to get things done, I knew there was more for me to learn. When I came across the online Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program through Michigan State University, I recognized that I didn’t have to give up my dream job or my dream of graduate school. With my new job experience at my back, I was primed and ready to take on graduate school. And now, the time was right. This was my season.

          Through the MAED program, I have taken a wide variety of education courses focused in counseling, educational psychology, special education, educational administration and kinesiology. These courses have had a great affect on my teaching and coaching philosophy as they have led to further definition in my thinking and understanding as well as my ability to educate, motivate and inspire my students to seek success inside and outside the classroom.

Transferable Life Skills

          In Kinesiology course 857, Promoting Positive Youth Development through Sport, Dr. Daniel Gould presents sport as an influential platform for coaches to mold competence, develop character, make connections, cultivate confidence and foster a caring and compassionate environment. This course jumpstarted my graduate journey as it led me to focus and coach with positive outcomes in mind. When a student arrives in my dance room, all drama is set aside and they are free to express emotions and feelings through movement. Whether they’ve had years of dance training or this is their first movement experience, whether they have full parental support or they come from a broken home, dance is the place where all students can come together for a common, united purpose. The majority of my students will find new passions as they grow and their middle school dance training will be left as only a memory. It is for this reason that I fully believe in, support and align my coaching philosophy to explicitly promote the positive development of transferable life skills and qualities.

This course recognized many factors that cause coaches to take winning out of perspective, something I had done in my first few years coaching.  Through this course, I was able to put winning back into perspective by taking into account developmentally appropriate progressions, goal setting and support vs. outcome qualities.  I was blessed that this was one of the first courses I took as part of my Master’s degree program.  This course put my coaching into perspective and helped me define my own coaching goals.

Communication of Goals

          In Kinesiology course 855, Psychosocial Bases of Coaching, Dr. Andy Driska takes a coaching perspective on interpersonal communication practices lead by the GROW (goal, reality, option, will) method that uses goal based communication to enhance performance. Coaches must effectively communicate with their athletes in a way that will teach skill acquisition, motivate growth and inspire action. Athletes are more prone to listen and attend to the communication when they understand what the message is trying to achieve and how it can help them.

          As a coach, I am tasked with communicating with my athletes on a daily basis. Driska focuses on the principle that effective coaches are effective communicators. My personal communication practices were addressed through a project that required me to utilize the GROW method of questioning to direct conversation and determine athlete goals. Effective communication requires preparation, attention, understanding and response.

          These “Power Listening” qualities can help a coach employ better listening skills that when used in combination with the GROW method can enhance overall communication.  Prior to this project, I approached athlete communication from a power position of leading conversation and filling in the silence. Following this activity, I was amazed by the amount of conversation that could spark when I took the time to listen to the individual athlete and prompt continuation through questioning instead of answering. This communication method scaffolds athletes into voicing goals and creating an action plan for how they hope to reach those goals. By using the GROW method of asking questions and actively listening, I was able to engage, involve and empower my athletes by strengthening our relationships through the process of soliciting input and taking the opportunity to listen to the true needs of the team, beyond simple skill acquisition. The GROW method focuses on determining goals so that both the coach and athlete can be on the same page regarding the destination of the journey they are on together. As a coach, my communication style can streamline information in a way that helps the both parties gain understanding, share plans and enhance relationships.

Necessary Change

          This personal analysis brought clarity and understanding to how I operate within my organization. Through understanding my own leadership style, I was able to diagnose my role within this context and realize that change is necessary and important, as we cannot stagnate within our lives or within our organizations. In this course, I recognized a challenge within my program framed within the need for a constant creative push within the artistic community to remain not only current, but ahead of the curve. Identifying the need for innovative processes in the advancement of success is a mindset change that my leadership style must adopt in order to remain relevant within my field. Eliminating the gap between voice and action, what we say as leaders and what we do as an organization, can help create a united front and a cohesive mission that will create further buy-in from individuals within the school and community. By recognizing my piece and place within the organization and taking ownership in this role, I am able to understand what elements are within my control and seek opportunities to fix them while modeling the accountability that needs to be demonstrated in order for the adaptive challenge to move forward. By fully investing in my role and recognizing how some qualities of my personality and leadership style are holding me back, I hope to inspire my organization to seek positive change in ways that might not be comfortable, but will do what is best for the students and the organization as a whole. Change and evolution may be gradual and productive in proving the worth of a new mission and idea. It is my responsibility to build change in a way that others want to be apart of. This course brought to light the many inconsistencies within my own leadership style and that of the organization I lead. Bringing forth the necessity of change and constant evolution follows suit with my intention to continue learning and evolving as a teacher. Just as I seek a personal goal to be a lifelong learner, I must maintain the same values in my organization, teaching and leadership style. Stagnation is not an option; change is necessary to continue reaching success.

          In Educational Administration course 801, Leadership and Organizational Development, Dr. William Arnold tasked his students with taking an objective look at the context of their educational organization to diagnose leadership styles in order to analyze a challenge, make decisions and take action. As a leader within my dance program, I am influential in the advancement of such adaptive challenges. I was first asked to define my role and determine my leadership style as a teacher and coach.

          Through the course of this program, my teaching, coaching and leadership has been altered and transformed for the betterment of my students, my program and myself. I recognize that as a teacher, coach and mentor I hold a powerful position. I am not just affecting my students through the knowledge I seek to teach them or the skills I coach them in. My actions and my intentions speak louder than my words as my students learn from everything that I do. Through this program, I have honed my skills and crafted my understanding in a way that allows me to be an active role model, dynamic life example and approachable leader. I am constantly reminded that I am building something bigger than myself and impacting lives that will reach way beyond the walls of my classroom. The ways in which I teach, motivate and inspire will live on in the lives of my students as I seek to impact their holistic development and character. This program has helped me define the legacy that I hope to leave with each and every one of my students; the ways in which I hope to be remembered.          

          In August of 2014, I was just starting my graduate journey. As I was watching the NFL Hall of Fame inductions, Aeneas Williams outlined his narrative that led him on his journey to greatness. In his speech, I was faced with the nine words that have stuck with me throughout this education process. With every course I have taken, every new theory I have learned, and every concept I have implemented in my teaching, these words continue to ring true.

“Begin with the end in mind and die empty."

          This program has been a journey of personal change and transformation. To begin with the end in mind, an idea that stems from Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I understand the importance of communicating goals to develop a clear destination and ensure that we are moving in the right direction. To die empty, I recognize that every day is an important opportunity to change a life. With a focus on explicitly promoting positive youth development, actively communicating goals to build relationships and embracing change and its role in my leadership development, I hope to give everything I have, offer everything I have learned, and inspire my students in every way I know how. I will use my position as a teacher and coach to transform the lives of my students and leave a lasting legacy. For when I teach life skills, develop relationships and hold my students to high expectations, they continue to surprise, inspire and transform me.

"Legacy is not what's left tomorrow when you're gone. 

It's what you give, create, impact, and contribute today

while you're here that then happens to live on." ~ Rasheed Ogunlaru

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