I have built my philosophy of education over two decades of international teaching experience and serving in different leadership roles. The following points shape my fundamental beliefs about education and leadership:
1. Commitment: You must put considerable effort into everything you plan to achieve or execute and concentrate your energy to accomplish the expected outcomes effectively. Your motivation should guide you to complete the project with enthusiasm and satisfaction to benefit others.
2. Risk-taker: At every crossroad, there is a risk of one kind or another. It’s hard not to wonder “what if” when risk is associated with the road not being taken. Pablo Picasso said, “I’m always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” The more you practice taking risks, the more comfortable you will become with the emotional discomfort that can accompany it, and be willing to take more risks.
3. Research: Enhance your knowledge and discernment of problem-solving challenges in a situation that requires specific know-how with the ability to navigate and find solutions. Through curiosity, you are constantly seeking the most recent information available.
4. Team building: Leadership requires building and maintaining an active and collaborative team of individuals working toward the same goal. Team building skills are essential to motivate, guide, organize and implement a project strategy to achieve your ambition.
5. Integrity: Integrity is often seen as just truthfulness or honesty, but, in many cases, it also means having or standing by a set of solid values. Integrity in the workplace often means being able to make ethical choices and help your institution maintain a positive image.
6. Emotional intelligence: Refers to the ability to identify and manage one’s emotions, as well as the sentiment of others. There is a need to put more effort and preparing students to face different situations daily. When students are conscious of their emotional state, they can use specific tools to control themselves in each scenario.
7. Differentiation: Tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Teachers can differentiate at least four classroom elements based on student readiness, interest, or learning profile; content, process, product, and learning environment. We have different skills level and individual capacities in the group, and this is the only way to achieve each student’s maximum potential.
8. Inclusion: We must create environments that genuinely accept differences, no matter if you have different nationalities, religions, languages, or particular opinions. International schools must foster this ability as we usually have multicultural families represented in our community. Inclusive schools embrace diversity and accommodate students with learning differences.
9. High expectation culture: We must always encourage students to do their best; the search for excellent and competent professionals is enormous in a rapidly innovative and dynamic world. Todd Rose tells us in the book, The end of average: How we succeed in a world that values sameness that this average-size-fits-all model ignores our differences and fails at recognizing talent. It’s time to change this mindset. To create a learning environment, the school’s leaders must inspire students to be risk-takers and use their mistakes as a learning opportunities.
10. Collaboration and service: The central idea for any educational institution is the student; with that in mind, teachers have to leave their ego outside, bring their strengths together with a positive attitude, and share best practices to benefit our students in the end. The sense of teamwork is vital to building a solid group of professionals trained to put considerable effort into creating a healthy learning environment.
The above 10 points represent my beliefs in education and leadership. “Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.” (John Maxwell).
Schools’ leaders must guarantee a healthy and exciting place where all stakeholders feel safe, engaged, and challenged daily.
Learning, Sharing, and Inspiring 