TLP: David Toze, Superintendent at International School Manila

by | Apr 7, 2012 | The Leadership Project

Mr. David Toze is the Superintendent at the International School Manila.  Wait a minute did I misspeak?  Certainly I must have meant Dr. David Toze, right?  If one looks at the School Head Welcome Message on most international school’s website, they’ll notice a similarity between most heads, three letters…PhD.  During my conversation with Mr. Toze, he explained why he chose not to pursue a PhD and how he and other leaders have developed independently. Since starting the process of interviewing different International ED Leaders, David Toze had been recommended numerous times by his peers as a bright, innovative, and unique leader in international education.  Admittedly, Mr. Toze has his own style, which influences the way he leads ISM, but his decisions are always based on core experiences and values. He was kind enough to share with me how he established these values, and how they integrate into his leadership style during an interview last week. (If not specifically quoted I’ve paraphrased his responses to these questions) How have you developed from place to place?  Did the big development happen as you took on new roles, or as you matured in a role? The majority of my development came from maturing in a position.  “The longer you can stay in a particular place, the more you experience.”  It’s the daily challenges and “confrontation that comes from a wide variety of experiences that is the key to growth.”  I believe it’s the opportunity to learn from experience that has benefited me the most.  This is why I chose not to get a PhD, because I’m not convinced that it’s worth the...

The Leadership Project: Dr. Dick Krajczar

by | Mar 16, 2012 | The Leadership Project

In the first installment of The Leadership Project I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Dick Krajczar, the Executive Director of the East Asia Regional Council of Schools, better known as EARCOS.  Dr. Krajczar generously discussed a number of topics regarding international education for over an hour, and not surprisingly had much to say about this quickly growing field. After over 40 years in international education which included assignments in Afghanistan, Syria, Jordan and Malaysia, it’s obvious that Dr. K has seen international Ed change in many way. “[When] many people started in these schools they generally would come for maybe two or three years…then they’d go home…because it wasn’t as easy to make international education a professional career opportunity.”  Certainly the rise in professionalism amongst teachers and administrators has led to a flip in relations between international schools and schools in the states and other developed nations. “[As international] schools get more sophisticated and more refined…many of us [school leaders] feel that we are working in the best schools and we would be a big help to a lot of the schools back in the US or other countries.” Where as budget crises and low student performance has been common in the states, international schools, especially in Asia, are performing at high levels and continue to spring up all over the region.  When asked whether this was a bubble, Dr. K explained, “many schools will survive because…[only] 12 years ago in China there were only 20 international schools and today there are over 200.  With the economy booming in China and with so many international companies doing business...

Introducing The Leadership Project

by | Mar 13, 2012 | The Leadership Project

Over the last few weeks I’ve been scratching my head a lot, thinking about characteristics of leadership and educational change.  So far I’m excited to see that there are others out there that are interested in this topic and have been checking in.  However, my original goal in starting Learn[ed]Leadership wasn’t just to examine the traits of leadership–and why bother, there are thousands of books out there already on the topic.  My goal has been to learn specifically about what great leaders are doing in international education.  I also hope in doing this I can find out what educational leaders are doing in common to advance schools and develop talent. So with this in mind I want to introduce The Leadership Project.  An industry specific forum to examine and interview leaders in international education.  In most job interviews the prospective employer often asks “what questions do you have for me?”  Unfortunately, especially in international education, it’s not common to have a lot of time to ask questions about what’s shaped that person’s leadership philosophy.  My hope is that by “flipping the tables” on school leaders we can learn from their experiences what motivates, inspires and challenges them to be relevant in a changing educational world and also see what our industry is doing well, poorly or just not doing. Dr. Dick Krajczar, the Executive Director of the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS) agreed to be my first interviewee and I will post his responses to my questions within the coming days.  He already mentioned a number of school leaders he thinks I should interview next, but I...