Leadership for Mortals: Developing and Sustaining Leaders of Learning by Dean Fink - Essay Example

I attended the summer spearheaded by Dean Fink on a Friday morning. His key was about ‘Leadership for Mortals: Developing and Sustaining Leaders of Learning”. He proffered an array of interesting ideas comparing ‘deep learning’ to ‘slow learning’. Educational leadership was emphasized to focus on commitment to ‘deep’ learning. I agree with his contention because contemporary school system is not just centered on teaching a vast quantity of subjects to students; but more on quality of instructional methods and approach.

Teachers need to understand learning and be exceptionally equipped with contextual knowledge prior to practical application. Also, teachers need to know how to deal with students by assessing intricate and unique academic requirements, including understanding emotional needs, students’ abilities, and specific skills that need to be honed. When he mentioned about slow learning, I asked myself whether slow learning is really an effective method which could be applied for all students. I definitely agree that “the students will successfully accomplish a number of important tasks if they are given the time”.

From a personal perspective, I can get better marks and accomplish more things if more time is accorded to review and prepare when I study. I admit that I am not a fast learner and therefore a slow learning approach is viable. Slow school will be helpful for better learning, depending on the capacity of the student. If a student can absorb things really fast and want to know more things at a faster pace, then, slow learning would not be an applicable approach. Likewise, parents might not agree with the slow education method because they might perceive that slow learning is analogous to covering fewer subjects than what traditional schools encompass in the regular school curriculum.

I honestly believe that slow schooling is not consistent with the standard pace with which the world is currently advancing. However, if I need to be apprised of the concepts of slow learning for my future students who might need this educational approach. I am convinced that learning should be student-led and student-centered. The instructional approach and method that should be used should cater to the needs and capacities of students to make learning more fun and engaged and harness the creative spirit of children.

In a related topic, I agree on Fink’s views on the standards and sustainability that were explained. Nowadays, students are often tested and achievements are based on what they get from tests. Concurrently, the general impression is that learning is based on achieving the best or highest grades from examinations. As a consequence, students and parents focus on the marks; but I think there is more to education than ranking and marks. Learning encompasses broader perspectives than performance in examinations.

The reason why I agree to the argument is that when I took Chinese class, I had to study in a short time to pass a test. Although I got really a good mark in that class, I did not remember many things as I only focused on getting a high mark and studied in a short time. There was no long lasting value in just striving to get a good mark. So, as an educator, I envision enhancing ‘deep’ learning for my students and giving them adequate time to learn vast quality of substantial information instead of focusing on a getting high test results.

Overall, the experience was memorable and valuable in terms of its ability to provide new information that enhanced my understanding of developing and sustaining leaders of learning. If future learning modules of this type are given, I hope I would be given the opportunity to attend, participate and learn more on the theoretical and practical facets of learning in contemporary environments to enable me to imbibe the qualities needed to be a good and effective teacher.