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=__**Aaron's Educational Leadership Wiki**__ - __**Beginning of Program**__=

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=**MS Educational Leadership** Program Goals=

__**Program Goal 1: Envision and guide organizational change.**__

I feel that I am particularly strong in this area, as I've always been very good at thinking outside of the box. I enjoying thinking outside of the box immensely, because allows me to understand "what is" and "what could be." No one should stop there, however. "What could be" can easily become "what is" if one wishes it to be. I think it's important to understand a vision of what sort of organizational change you want to see and how to particularly implement it. This can be done by not only envisioning the "big picture" of what you want, but understanding the various steps and how to get there. It's important to realize the tools one has around them to create this change and the tools that need to be acquired in order to garner even more change. By creating specific steps, the looming change isn't necessarily seen as a large, overbearing thing, but rather a thing that can be broken down into a number of different parts. By breaking the change down into a number of different parts, it no longer seems like such a daunting task and provides optimism for those who are implementing it. I feel that I am always putting myself in the right position for change not only with my ideas and mindset, but with education of what has worked in the past and seeing where opportunities can be seized. In a world that is constantly changing, it's important to understand and envision how organizational change can be carried out efficiently using new, innovative tools to help constituents.

__**Program Goal 2: Communicate effectively, engage constituents, develop people and build community**__.

This is one area that I feel very strong about. I believe that in order to have effective change in a post-secondary institution or, for that matter, in any professional context, one must communicate well with all individuals in order to build a community that is more centralized, a community with common goals and beliefs, rather than continuing to have a decentralized institution that has clear lines of division. A clear vision with appropriate justification should be communicated and provided to all individuals in an institution in order to support the ultimate goal(s) of that very institution, allowing everyone to take an active part in shaping the very context of a professional environment. Transparency and justification, to me, seem to be huge things to communicate to various constituents, co-workers, departments, employees, etc. to explain why you feel something is important and then allowing individuals through all aspects of a professional community to be granted access to it to continually build a more centralized environment, and as a result, build better lines of communication through various aspects of a professional context in order to create more progressive change. I think positivity, trust, and respect are all things that should be stressed when communicating in a professional environment. By providing these things to all individuals, constituents seem to become increasingly engaged and actually want to take active part in the change that is being proposed. Decreasing division between departments at a post-secondary institution will only help to enhance the institution and will build a better professional community. After all, the point of a post-secondary institution is to continually enhance learning for all of its constituents, and this can't be done in a more formidable way than by creating a community of active participants that are positive, trustful, respectful, and work for the collective good.


 * __Program Goal 3: Advocate and promote equity for diverse populations, and respect for individuals__**

In an educational environment that is increasingly diverse, this is one goal that I feel should be addressed more often to make active participants out of //all// constituents of a post-secondary institution, not just a select few. Increasingly, the breakdown of college students is changing, including higher numbers of students of "race" and non-traditional students. As these populations change, it's important to remember that the goal of a university is to help all of it's constituents learn. This can be done best by including as much equity, such as groups, presentations, and resources for diverse populations that may need them in order to help advance learning. It's important for an institution to reach out to all of its students and constituents, to help every individual learn better and to create a positive environment. All too often, diverse populations aren't represented and become increasingly frustrated due to the lack of resources and lack of individuals that will advocate for them, resulting in higher number of individuals dropping out of post-secondary education. They become disenfranchised by the institution's ways and feel they'd be better off on their own. It is important to remember that the institution should help the very individuals who come to it and who strive to better their education to potentially advance their lives in one way or another. Individuals in leadership positions at post-secondary institutions should do everything in their power to provide the best available resources and support for diverse populations. By doing so, these diverse populations can increasingly become change agents at the post-secondary level and help create a campus environment of inclusion that will help bring together the entire institution and create a great learning experience for all students.

__**Program Goal 4: Integrate theory, data, research and ethical standards into the context of one's practice through continual learning.**__

I feel that integrating theory, data, research, and ethical standards into the context of one's practice is increasingly important and beneficial to positive change in an institution. These various tools, if you will, can help set the basis for a strong "structural approach" towards making leadership decisions. I call the idea a "structural approach," as theory, data, research, and ethical standards all help to shape one's vision of what an institution looks like and what it could look like. Given that I have extensive knowledge of English that I learned as an undergraduate student, I think it's important to look an institution or professional setting/context as a story. There is information that has already been provided to you, the new or innovative leader that wishes for change, yet the future of the institution, or the story, rather, has not been written yet. Given past information, such as a data and research, an individual can change what the future looks like. These are tools to help inform a leader how change should look like in a professional context and provides adequate justification for writing the story a specific way. Theory, again, helps structure a leader's approach to a specific situation and helps the said individual in shaping the way an institution can go. It's sort of like a "pick your own adventure" story. Up until this point, you've been given clues and information about what has already happened. Given these tools, you are now directed to make educated risks that can provide positive change for an institution. To this extent, you are "picking your own adventure," or determining the path you want to go by using the things that have already been provided to you. By using data and research to determine what HAS happened or upcoming trends, one can use theory and ethical standards to head forward and essentially "re-write" the story for an institution, providing positive change that will be beneficial to the entire professional context.

=**MS Educational Leadership** Program Dispositions=

= = __**1. Value change as the source of opportunity for improvement.**__

If //The World is Flat// by Thomas Friedman is any indication of which way the future is heading, it seems obvious that we all must change in all areas of our professional contexts in order to meet the growing needs of constituents and thrive in an environment which continues to change //every single day.// One thing that I think is very interesting about the book by Friedman is that a lot of things he wrote about even made me nervous or had me thinking "how can I currently change myself from the way I am right not to become a better professional even in the next days, weeks, and months," and yet, I continue to forget that these changes he talked about have already happened in the world. This is not the newest piece of literature on the shelves, and I need to continue reminding myself that there are even more changes in the present and yet, still so many more changes still to come in the future. However, I do not look at these changes and fear them. I embrace them. I realize that these are changes that are actually opportunities, and by becoming educated about these various changes, I can use these to improve my professional life and essentially become "cutting edge." There is nothing wrong with people the first one to adapt, especially if thing that one adapts for works out in the end. In my opinion, it is good to change, even on a daily basis and to continue creating more positive changes in life that will help improve life, again, may it be professional or personal. In terms of professional life, I find all the new technological advancements to be great things that I can eventually integrate within my future professional context to continue and change, and thus, make drastic positive improvements in the professional context.

__**2. Display the ability to understand people and relations and be receptive to the ideas of others.**__

As a leader, I feel that it's very important to take everybody's opinions into account and remember that it is not just about what you think, but it is what about everybody thinks. Creating a collective force of change can only enhance a professional environment and make it more beneficial for all. Furthermore, by creating an environment that everyone feels apart of, more can essentially be done. Individuals feel as though they have an active part in changing a professional environment for the positive, and thus, want to participate even more. Also, I believe that this creates a positive environment where people try to help one another out, rather than creating lines of division. I think that by effectively communicating with each other, individuals can express themselves and tell how they feel, resulting in a better professional experience for all individuals. A leader should be an individual who tries to bring everyone together and help everyone communicate, even when lines of communication might possibly break down. It's important to take a step back and look at the "big picture," not catching yourself up in any particular situation and assessing the situation appropriately by continually prompting individuals in a professional setting to participate and share their ideas in hopes of not only creating a collaborative force revolving around positive energy, but effectively changing an institution for the better. I feel this is one of my strongest areas, but I think there is always room for improvement. I know that in the future, there are going to be challenges that I must address, but that does not make me nervous. I believe that one must continue to improve themselves often and this disposition is certainly no different.


 * __3. Show a willingness to implement non-discriminatory access, accommodations and assessments.__**

It's my firm belief that everyone should be included in an institution, and that resources, access, accommodations, and assessments should mirror that. All individuals are situated within an institution, and thus, the institution should reflect that. As workplace and institution populations become increasingly diverse, it's important to show that, as a leader, you want to provide for all constituents. Much of the data and research that I have looked at in terms of class as well as my research position at Dempsey Hall indicates that this is an increasingly important trend in higher education. To me, it's one of the biggest concerns. From some of the research that I have done, I have been exposed to instances where individuals feel out of their comfort zone or do not have other individuals that they can "connect with." If it is true that we have a "collective community" at the university level, it should be reflected in terms of access, accommodations, and assessments. It is easier to be inclusive and create a positive environment rather than be exclusive and only cater to the few. I believe that this disposition goes along with change well, as much of the access, resources, and accommodations for diverse populations in post-secondary institutions are doing an overhaul to see how they can better fit the needs of these individuals. Certainly, I do not know everything there is to know about what is available in terms of access, accommodations, and assessments, but I do know that it is important to provide these very things in such a way that is beneficial to various individuals. I can better myself as a leader by becoming more aware of what sort of resources, access, accommodations, and assessments can ultimately benefit various individuals and how one would perceivably go about implementing such ideas into an institution to meet the needs of all constituents.


 * __4. Demonstrate empathic understanding of diversity in all domains.__**

While I consider myself an empathic individual that enjoys positive energy and tries to maintain that diversity be represented in all domains of any workplace, institution, or otherwise, I again cannot say that I know everything about how diversity affects all aspects of these various contexts. I certainly understand myself well enough to know that one of my favorite things to do is educate myself about these types of situations and issues before making any executive move. That is to say, I prefer to learn about something before blindly jumping into a situation. I've always been one that feels that everybody should have an equal shake or that equal portions of a population should be represented in some fashion. Diversity, certainly, affects all domains and situations of post-secondary education, may it be the curriculum, housing, food service, academic or student services. I think that it is important as an individual to step into various individual's metaphoric shoes in order to see situations from their perspective. It is clear to me that diversity, may it be constituent populations or diversity in academic and student affairs, affects all aspects of an institution and as a leader, one should try as often as possible to see from other perspectives and to gain valuable insight into the process of change in post-secondary institutions and how this affects diversity in general. For many of my reports at work, I look at various academic websites, including data, that could be beneficial for graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. In my opinion, online websites tell a lot about how devoted institutions are to providing needs to diverse populations with differentiated approach forms that help to connect all students and staff together. I strive everyday to better understand not only how diversity affects post-secondary institutions, but ways in which diversity can be better expressed as well.


 * __5. Regularly reflect upon the philosophical assumptions, ethical principles, and rationale that guides one's practice.__**

I never believe that it is enough to think "well, I've developed a certain way of doing things and a certain way of thinking, so I should stick with that for the rest of my life." One of my favorite things about education is that the great thinkers of our time always continued to challenge themselves and continued to learn, never content with "the truth" as it currently stood. Individuals such as Leonardo Di Vinci, Galileo Galilei, and Benjamin Franklin were never satisfied with where the currently were in their lives. They were always working towards progress. To this degree, they tried to reinvent themselves every single day and to always question their own practices in order to make better progress. It is this sort of reflection that has always inspired me to reflect upon my life, professionally and personally, every single day of my life. I do not believe that one should ever be content exactly where they are, but try to better themselves every single day. That being said, when an individual is working in any professional context, I believe that they should question philosophically what they are doing and why they are doing it as well as what the real rationale is behind it. Often, it seems some individuals just "work to work," just doing their assignments with never really adding passion in their professional lives to care enough about what they are doing and specifically why one is doing it. I think that, again, it's important to view situations from various perspectives in order to understand ways that things could be done differently. I try everyday of my professional life to take myself "out of the box" and think about "what could be." Rather than just believe that "what could be" is just a dream, I believe that "what could be," essentially what is being dreamed up, can become "what is." Just like a phoenix, I try to break myself down everyday and come out of the ashes a brighter individual, an individual who has changed myself for the better that day. This same ideal is not solely for personal life either. While there is the idea of situational space, which dictates that we as individuals put on "different masks" in different contexts, it is also important to realize that when reflecting on oneself that an individual should try to become better in ALL aspects of his or her life. I certainly try to understand all aspects of my life better and enhance them in a more positive manner which in turn helps me to understand my philosophical assumptions, ethical principles, and rationale behind all the professional work that I accomplish.

__**6. Understand oneself as a learner, and value learning as a core capacity.**__

I have always understood myself to be an individual who wants to know everything. Occasionally, I think it's sort of strange that I cannot stop learning, but I find that it helps put meaning to my life. Certainly, speaking of the professional world, I love to understand the intricacies of post-secondary institutions and all the data I come across, as it helps me to provide meaning to what I am doing. I enjoy taking a holistic approach to this, as I believe post-secondary institutions are together one university, rather than a number of different parts. I continually try to learn new things that can enhance my life, both professionally and personally. Often, these lines are not so black and white, and the things that I am able to learn I can apply to all parts of my life. I think that with so much knowledge in the world, no one should ever go bored. I think that by trying to learn as much as possible every single day, I appreciate life more. I understand more about it and work to understand what it is as a whole. I continually remind myself that I am in an age where I can research anything I want to, may it be the past, present, or future, just with the click of a button. I have been blessed enough that knowledge is essentially at my finger tips and I have only myself holding me back from learning as much as possibly want. Furthermore, I believe that by persisting my learning, I continually market myself and only enhance my prospects every single day. As I've previously stated, one can never know enough about themselves, but I continue to try. To an extent, I believe that I can continue to grow in this area. I do not believe that anyone truly knows enough about themselves that they cannot continue to learn more. Everyday, I strive to learn new things and to better understand in mind, body, and soul.