Metareflection

What assumptions did you have initially about policy?

I initially did not have very many assumptions about policy.  In policies that I did not like, I thought they should be changed, but in many cases, I did not feel empowered to do so.  When I was a student within the university setting and administration, I was a strong self-advocate; however, this changed slightly when I went from being a student at a school to being an administrator at the same school.  I felt like in my new position, I could be less of an advocate and fight for change because my actions were not simply my own; they reflected on my office in the larger scheme of the university.

Upon moving to Williamsburg and started at William & Mary Law School, I was told that I was brought in for fresh ideas and to help initiate and implement change.  Yet, I have been here for over a year, and many of the changes I have suggested are still simply thoughts, and very little, except in the programs I coordinate, have come into fruition.  Change is hard, particularly when things have been one way for so long or when there is bureaucracy to hide behind. I did not realize how entrenched William & Mary Law School is in tradition and how hard change can be when people have been in their roles for decades.   

How have these changed over the course?

I do feel more empowered to fight the good fight.  Nonetheless, I am still concerned about what I am doing as a reflection on my employer.  My policy advocacy and reflection is a good example.  I have complained to co-workers, I have talked to our accounting office, and I have advocated for a change in travel policies via an email and some reminders, yet none of these yielded tangible results.  And now I am stuck—I should be doing something more, but I am not sure if I am in the right position to be advocating to the next level up.  Could this affect my position and livelihood?  I do not think so, but I do not want to put my boss, who is wonderful, in any uncomfortable situations. This is something I need to work on, to figure out how to be navigate these waters.

I still do feel more empowered as a whole.  Furthermore, I feel like I have better tools to look at policies and analyze and interpret them.  I have learned of the many lenses in which I can consider policies.  I am more careful in looking at language and the symbolism linked to that language.  In the way I write, particularly at work with prospective students and alumni ambassadors, my language has changed.  I am more purposeful with the words that I chose and how they can possibly be inferred and altered when received. 

What have you learned?

What have I learned? —so much, and it leads to more questions to ask and answers that I want to know.  I knew very little about funding for policies and how the federal government could issues polices but is not required to fund them.  I am now intrigued by budgets and funding.  I know what SCHEV is and Goals/Top Jobs and Race to the Top.  None of these were in my vocabulary before, and I can speak intelligently about them.  I think I might even contact SCHEV for data I believe they have collected, and I can analyze for my thesis.

I have read Fowler.  While I still need to reference the book for details, I believe I understand the salient points. I understand the political system a little bit more and the political culture and while things are so hard to push through legislation. Power is huge in policy development and implementation and individual values and ideologies. When I look at how organizations work together and apart, I think about loose and tight coupling.  I consider this, particularly with local adaptation in working at a law school, tied to a larger undergraduate campus, connected with a state college system.

My viewpoint is shifting on community colleges after listening to Chris Mullin in DC.  I lack faith in the Department of Ed after visiting, but I am energized by Illana and Kelly and their passion and activism.  I know what NCLB is all about and the controversy surrounding waivers.  Common Core Standards intrigue me, but I still am a little skeptical by how the federal government is tied to similar language but says it does not endorse the CCS specifically.

How does the class make you think differently about educational leadership?

I recognize even more than before than it is incredibly hard to be a leader, and a leader needs to have the pulse on everything in their worldview.  They need to know what is coming down the pipe from their government and organizations, and they need to be in touch (particularly with K-12) how they teachers are doing and feeling.  When a policy is enacted, they need to believe in it and get buy-in—all leaders should read Fowler since Fowler believes that we have the tools for successful policy implementation, and there is no excuse for failure.  I look at these leaders with a new found respect and cut some slack (in my mind) that I did not when I encountered them and unfair policies years before (particularly in high school—but not too much slack because of course when I was a high schooler, the world revolved around me).

What actions will you take now given what you have learned?

I will work on using the tools provided to me throughout this course.  I think of projects I need to start working on at work, and there is already resistance.  I’m going to go back to Fowler and read about buy-in and what are some of the barriers.  This is going to help me with redesigning the publications at work even if communications is not super excited right now.  I need to work to get them excited, and I am not better prepared to do that.

I am going to try to sit back and reflect before I act.  I am going to try to appreciate different opinions—I loved the conversations that people had in class and when classmates cited data and results and not just anecdotes and conclusions from personal experiences. Instead of jumping to conclusions, I need to consider the lens from which I am coming from and what are other lenses I should be considering?  What is the framework? I also need to be ready for all this to change as we go through time and priorities shift.  I feel much more informed than I need in the beginning of August.  I know what I have written just skims the surface, but even in writing this, my mind is going in all different directions in what I have learned. 

I want to get more involved with high school students and college access.  Talking about that in the last class, I almost forgot how passionate I was about it when I was in the thick in it.  I lost track of that a bit, and I want to feel like I’m making a difference, and sometimes I do not feel like I am in my current role.  I want to make a difference in individual lives—I believe in college access, and I am disappointed that results are not more positive—these are the kind of policies I want to fix and help.