It's the end of Week 1

The end of week 1, and today is 10/10/10. What an interesting figure.

All in all, week 1 has lead me to insight. After 4 years of undergraduate research, I was researched OUT. I had tapped out of all creative ways to manipulate data into something entertaining and educational, and for me, functional (as I needed to maintain that wonderful GPA). Masters level Educational Admin research is NOT starting off to be what I expected it to.

I am seeing that action research is very much like creating a case study and analyzing it, developing a process to fix the issue(s), and come up with effective, lasting solutions. I rather enjoy breaking apart case studies because I get to be creative and use my limitless imaginition. In leadership, those things should not be foregone simply because of the title and objective of it. Action research challenges good leaders to become great ones by changing the paradigm and forcing them to look outside of the box (sometimes Pandora's box, depending on what the campus issue is).

Participating in action research or a practitioner inquiry is similar to asking the question “how can I make more money” and versus an academic scholar telling you how, or some outside guru telling you how, you are investigating, examining, critiquing your own day to day, your own resources, your own needs, goals, and current situation to determine the answer to your question or solution to the problem. 

I came to a conclusion (one of many) that by performing action research, campuses are utlimately, truthfully speaking, more able to organically work within the otherwise rigid frameworks of state determined curriculum and “high stake” assessments thereof, in a way that adjusting to these strict, imposed frameworks becomes flexible in a self imposed manner.  And by learning this information now in a controlled leadership preparatory program, the article indicated that my data analysis skills will improve and more effective approach to professional development and school improvement plans will be easier to come by. I'm absolutely for those things.


 With that being said, this blogging thing might be quite interesting and could take off. I'm hoping that members of my class will be able to use our blogs for networking and bounce off of and rely on each other's ideas and voices as a tangible virtual community of Texas school administrative leaders. Now, on to week 2.