Module 5 - Reflections on Being an ELL Specialist and Leader

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If someone were to have asked me at the start of my Queen's certificate program if I was a leader in my school community, I would have said no. I would have said that I am only a leader in my own classroom (because I am the teacher), and that I would perhaps, maybe, consider stepping into more of a leadership role among staff after many more years of teaching. Honestly, the title of being a leader scares me. As I have shared in other posts, the amount of extra pressure, direction, dedication, and visibility that many leadership positions requires is daunting. 

However, as I continued to reflect on the role and duties of ELL specialists, I simultaneously began to visualize myself more and more as leader. Ottow mentions in her Confianza blog post that "ELLs are the fastest growing student subgroup across the country" (n.d.). While her data is based on information from the United States and cannot be directly applied to my context, I am confident in saying that I know my district has a growing ELL population. I am also employed by my municipality's parks and recreation division, so I not only see this population in schools, I see them in my community. Ottow describes her frustration when she meets ELL teachers who "just want to teach"(n.d.) and not be leaders. I remember feeling like a spotlight was shining on me as I read the following excerpt from Ottow's post:

Yes, it can be a terrible shock to learn that sometimes ELL students' only "lifeline" is you, the ELL specialist, and you are the one that help change the conditions our students experience at school.  You are the change agent that can make one difference at a time.

Figure 1  further prompts me to remember that "it's important to frame our thinking around the fact that the students we share in a public school are" all our kids" (Ottow, n.d.). As I think about the ELLs that I see both in and out of my schools, I wonder about the various supports that they need but don't have. I have to ask myself: "If I am not going to do my best for them, then who?" Unfortunately, one of the answers to that very well may be no one. Therefore, I do have the responsibility to continue my development as a leader for the sake of not only my direct students, but for students throughout my school and district. 

Figure 1. "My Kids. Our Kids. Your Kids." Retrieved from https://ellstudents.com/blogs/the-confianza-way/our-kids-the-role-of-the-ell-specialist

In one of our discussion forums, titled "Role Reflections", we were asked to share leadership skills and attributes that were essential for specialist teachers. I originally answered that having initiative and strong communication skills were the most important. While, I still stand by that answer, I think now I would add and prioritize selflessness as an essential attribute. I have realized that being an authentic leader is a selfless role, and all the things that ELL specialist teachers do, such as giving feedback to fellow teachers, training mentees, advocating, and reaching out to families, are all expressions of that selflessness. Devoting time to those actions is not about having or seeking personal gain - it is for our colleagues, parents, and of course, students. 

References:

Ottow, S. (n.d.). "Our Kids": The Role of the Language Specialist (ELL/ESL/EAL/ELD/ENL). Confianza. Accessed 9 April 2021 from https://ellstudents.com/blogs/the-confianza-way/our-kids-the-role-of-the-ell-specialist

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