Letters from the Principal: Reflections on Thoughtful Teaching and Learning
This month’s Free Resource is an endorsement for and illustration of the art of journaling. Dean Auriemma, a new Principal in Illinois, encourages all educators to journal on their practice. Dean’s letters are one reflective communication that inspire him to stay connected to his teachers in his role as Principal Dean says:Within my fourteen years’ teaching career, I was fortunate to learn the power of reflection through journaling, as well as the impact that the act of writing has had on my effectiveness as an educator. Now, as a high school administrator for the past six years, and as a first year principal, I find myself starting from scratch. Entering my twentieth year of education and feeling much like I did when I was a brand new, neophyte teacher, I rely once again on the power of reflection to anchor me in the values I hold close to my educational beliefs. Every week I invest several hours in reflective journaling in the promise of writing to thoughtfully lead the students, staff, and community I serve. Schools are communities in which each person should open oneself and take risks. The attached Letters from the Principal offer my hopes for those that I endeavor to lead.
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Dean Michael Auriemma won the Golden Apple Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001, and, consequentially, became a Visiting Scholar at NorthwesternUniversity that year. He also won an Illinois State Board of Education “Those Who Excel” Award in 1996/97. Dean holds a BS in Education (1990) from NorthernIllinoisUniversity, DeKalb, as well as an MA (1995) in painting from NIU. He is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in the area of Early Adolescent-Young Adult Art. As an artist, he has had several one-person shows and has been honored at several juried /group exhibitions. Currently he is working on his Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction at NIU.