DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET Admit You’re the Supervisor i Exploring the idea of leading adults given your success with children. i Ready for greater leadership opportunities within your teaching position. i Eager to become a supervisor. i Excited and nervous about being a supervisor for the first time. (Even positive change can be hard.) i Reluctant to become a supervisor. Others encourage you to lead, but you are afraid. i Committed to remain a teacher. We need master teachers. You may not carry the title of supervisor, but you still lead through role model- ing and helping others. i Hesitant about dealing with diffi cult supervisory situations. It’s fun to lead when others are following, but more challenging to guide adults to change and grow. i Comfortable with your leadership skills, but in need of more ideas to encourage and connect to staff. q What Do Supervisors Do? What do supervisors do? In the very basic sense, supervisors help adults to succeed just as teachers help children to succeed. Here are some more ideas. Supervisors do the following: i Value children and families i Guide and coach staff i Build relationships i Encourage innovation i Role-model excellence Does that sound like you? I forgot to include plunging the toilet—that’s part of the job too. Being a supervisor in early childhood education is a challeng- ing job at times but a thoroughly rewarding one. You have the opportunity to positively affect the lives of many children by encouraging the adults who teach them. Are you ready for the challenge? You are! COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL 13 being a supervisor Be honest with yourself about how you feel as a supervisor. Supervising can be diffi cult and complex, and no two people will accomplish it the same way. Your feelings about your position may vary from day to day, but it’s good to have a sense of how you approach your position. As you read this book, you may find your feelings toward supervising changing—and that’s okay too! I