How an Internship Enhanced My Knowledge of Public Schools

¶ … intern in the administration of an inner city school. Learning the "ropes" in terms of what administration staff does in a school environment requires the ability to research, it calls for good listening skills, and the ability to closely observe what skilled, experienced professionals are doing. It also becomes clear from the beginning that asking questions is a vital component of the learning process as an intern.

The underlying value of the internship -- personal experiences and observations: It would not be possible to place a specific value on the experience I had in participating with the administration, but there were lessons and achievements that certainly added value to my resume and to my brain's database of positive school-related experiences.

Overall I was pleased to have a chance to participate as a liaison with parents, and to learn about and participate with the parent educational program. Part of the school vision is to be inclusive of the community and of parents, and the research that is available mentions in numerous formats how vital it is for school administrators to interact with parents.

Discuss you most important learning experiences…how did they help you achieve academic and work related goals? Personally I enjoyed and learned from most of what I did, especially when I was in direct contact with the students. During lunch period, during recess and before and after school, I had duties that involved supervision. In Standard 4 of the ISLLC Standards an administrator is specifically responsible for the safety and efficiency of the school operation. A safe environment is so very important in today's world -- not just in anticipation of preventing the brutal and unconscionably cowardly school shootings that mindlessly take the lives of innocents. But safety also means putting a stop to bullying and making sure students have a safe path to and from school.

I participated in the development of plan for a "safe route" to and from school. I not only worked on this with other administrators, and learned how to interact in a business sense with vice principals and a principal, I reached out to neighbors and asked their input and participation as regards students coming to school and their safety in that regard. All the neighbors were very helpful and offered any assistance they were in a position to offer. In Standard 4 an administrator is asked to help with conflict resolution and we used restorative justice strategies when there were conflicts between students that could have involved physical aggression.

One of the most important things I learned was to carefully observe those with experience in the field of administration, and that includes learning to chose the right time to ask questions and taking notes during Q&A sessions so the principal or vice principals knew I was seriously wishing to learn and capitalize on my opportunities.

I worked with the climate culture leader in planning a student trip to a neighboring college, TCNJ, in order to show the students first-hand what a college experience looks and feels like. Part of the job of an educator is to plant the seed of a positive idea in the heads of students, and that was part of the reason for the field trip. Also, bringing law enforcement representatives in to speak to and listen to the students was a rewarding experience for me because I collaborated with the vice principal on setting up this program. It wasn't just about staying off of drugs and staying away from gang involvement; it was more about how students can make the community a better place to live and work.

Include strategies for capitalizing on personal strengths and overcoming your weaknesses that will be instrumental to becoming a successful school leader. In Standard 5 of the ISLLC Standards interacting with families and other stakeholders is paramount in terms of interacting with the community. When we say "parent education" we're not talking about literally teaching parents, but rather we are alerting them to what is going on at school to benefit their children; we are also establishing relationships with them so there can be consistent communication with them. My weakness in this regard would be that I haven't had that much interaction with parents. This opportunity gave me the chance to learn from the administrators that we don't want to just be in touch with parents when something goes wrong; we want to reach out and connect in an ongoing strategy so they feel like we really do care and want their input, and they feel like we are there to create a good future for their children.

My personal strength was the ability to be a good listener and show I was listening and that I cared. I was able to be an observer in the classroom on numerous occasions, and seeing how teachers manage (or struggle to manage) the dynamics of a class with 28 students is in itself a learning experience. As an intern, I was not in a position to make comments or offer input to the teacher but I was given the opportunity to share with administrations after my class room visits. Again, as a good listener and observer I helped the school and advanced my own skills.

Part of Standard 5 is that families are partners in the education of their children and there should be collaboration and communication with families, and in the school where I was an intern we tried to involve families when their children caused problems. I attended on countless occasions the discipline conferences with counselors, students and parents, and I had to do the background research on each contentious issue. The security staff and the other administrators were aware of the legal and ethical ramifications surrounding disciplinary hearings, and I learned from them. Also in Standard 5 the staff is supposed to "develop collaborative skills" and that was an important part of my internship -- learning how to collaborate and interact with other staff.

Explore personal biases and how they were challenged during the experience. Previous to this experience I had a bias against teachers who did not dress in formal attire. I don't mean suits and ties, but a teacher should look professional, I was always taught. An appropriate shirt and pressed slacks was always my thought when it came to how a teacher should present himself. But there were teachers who were more laid back and wore jeans and loafers and a pullover shirt that I watched in a classroom environment and they were excellent at teaching and leading -- which helped me get over my bias. It's the work done, the act of teaching, that matters more than what a teacher wears to school, I discovered.

Best practices that I observed included the ability of the principal to bring faculty into his office and settle differences. Sometimes a faculty member will have differences with the way another faculty member handles a particularly difficult student. There has to be consistency in a school, and collaboration between teachers vis-a-vis how to respond to that student is vital. I witnessed the principal admonishing both teachers -- using best practices for problem solving -- to get their heads together and agree on strategies. Schools don't want to suspend students unless it is absolutely necessary, so bringing teachers together to resolve disputes is very important. In Standard 6 the teachers and administrators are supposed to serve as role models, and when they are at odds, they can't do that. Were there situations in which best practices were not observed?