This past week, I took a 21 point self-assessment to determine my strengths in areas of leadership. Within the first minute of the assessment, I could tell exactly where my strengths and weaknesses were, but it took me almost a week to digest them. The most striking discovery was that I am considerably weaker in areas that lead to increased student acievement (according to Fig 4.2, p. 63 of Marzano).

Over and over again, I was marking myself low in areas of Situational Awareness and Flexibility. Some of this is definately tied to my own self-image as a young educator (which I can tell by my responses to the wording of the questions). In the past few months, I have taken drastic steps to embrace my youthfullness. I have found in my travels and research that young educators are largely discounted in the current school system. Because of my youth and this general perception, I scored myself low in areas of Providing Useful Resources, Adapting my Leadership Style, and Situational Awareness.

These scores trouble me to some degree! I am looking at a long career in education as an educator and administrator. In my work, I feel like I do a great job of adapting to the situation and managing my resources. This assessment hits me in areas where I am a little sore from previous wounds (in interviews, etc.) and points out obvious flaws that are part of my youthful approach.

The beauty of taking this assessment now is that I am learning so much in my professional and personal life. This year I will continue to grow and develop my Situational Awareness by engaging in some of the activities of administration and copious personal and professional development.

In a years time, these scores will change. Take that Marzano!