My Supervisory Philosophy
Schools, Teaching, and Supervision
EDA 551
Jack West
March 21, 2012

Before I am able to decide on a supervisory platform, I must first look at my personal educational platform. Glickman states, “After all, supervision is in many ways analogous to teaching. Teachers wish to improve students’ behavior, achievement and attitudes. Supervisors similarly wish to improve teachers’ behavior, achievement and attitudes.”(Glickman p. 95)
Simply put, as a supervisor, I will be doing the same as I did as an educator. I will be helping others learn. As a teacher, my philosophy has always centered on the idea that all students have their own unique needs that must be unleashed in order for them to achieve success. I feel the same can be said for teachers. Each teacher has their own style of absorbing new strategies, and teaching their students. As a supervisor, it is my responsibility to understand these diversities, and work within their unique needs to see that each teacher succeeds. I must help each teacher use their strengths to reach their students in a way that in turn helps the students succeed. That is my definition of instructional supervision. Helping teachers use their personal strengths, which then in turn help their students succeed. As stated by Wright, Horn, and Sanders (1997) more can be done to improve education by improving the effectiveness of teachers than by any other single factor (p. 63).
Who Should Supervise? Who Should Be Supervised? A supervisor should be a person who has demonstrated a mastery of the skills needed to oversee, lead, guide, and coach new and experienced teachers so that they may help their own students. Although a new teacher may need more guidance simply because of the newness of the situation, even the most experienced teacher need support and guidance every once in a while. The difference