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Different types of diversity in classrooms
Different types of diversity in classrooms
Role of school in society Essay
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Learning is the essence of education and serves as the catalyst in all decision-making for academic communities. School systems serve students, families, and the community and have the responsibility of providing learning opportunities that allow students to grow academically and socially as they prepare for adult life. Embedded in this undertaking is a responsibility for establishing the right “fit” between the school system’s goals and its people. Forming meaningful relationships and investing in deeper levels of understanding assist in providing a structure that embraces empowerment, support, open dialogue, and collaborative decision-making. Aligned with this structure is what Bolman and Deal (2013) referred to as the human resource frame that “centers on what organizations and people do to and for one another” (p.113). Grounded in this relationship between the organization and its people are core assumptions outlining that systems exist to serve people’s needs and that people and organizations need one another. Understanding how interrelationships influence teaching and learning and honoring the complexities inherent in academic communities are critical for those serving at the division level. From the perspective of the human resource frame, three examples (division, school administration, and teacher/reading specialist) are provided within a balanced literacy scenario to capture the importance of shared leadership and decision-making in promoting employees’ professional growth in literacy instruction. People are the most important resources in a public school system, and as Hackman (2002) noted, one of the functions of leadership is setting direction for teams that is “challenging, energizes team members and generates ... ... middle of paper ... ...monthly professional learning for principals based on their needs assessments and group requests; and (b) monthly professional learning for reading specialists who devoted a year to the development of four literacy modules to be utilized county wide for job-embedded learning. As a result, stronger alignment existed between school improvement goals and division level goals based on collective understandings. Conclusion Forming meaningful relationships and investing in understanding perspectives are essential in the human resources frame. As provided in the scenario, strategically outlining processes for multiple groups through shared leadership and learning paved the way for intentional goal setting based on feedback from division leaders, school leaders, and teacher leaders. Continued efforts have resulted in tiered support systems based on individual needs.
Gorton and Alston (2012) pointed out in Chapter One that effective leaders “provide direction and meaning, generate and sustain trust, display an eagerness to take action, and spread hope”, through motivating and empowering others to reach the desired goals (pp. 7-9). Thus administrators must be skilled communicators, attentive and responsive listeners. Meanwhile they must also be able to build relationships with others, multitask, prioritize, delegate wisely, relate to, and motivate others. Reading that both the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the American Association of School Administrators have noted the importance of communication to the school system's success (p. 101), has affirmed for this student that the need for outside assistance with communication is indeed a serious concern for administrators.
Ms. Hall has had many years of public education experience and higher education training in which to hone her leadership style and framework. She started her career as a teacher in the Kirkwood School District. She then served as an assistant elementary principal at both Ritenour and Pattonville School Districts before being selected to serve as the assistant superintendent of the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District in 2008. Throughout her career she continued to pursue her education as a means o...
For this assignment, I completed a survey to assess my school’s literacy program by using a survey that was adapted from by Patty, Maschoff, & Ransom (1996) to analyze the instructional program and the school’s infrastructure. To be able to answer my survey, I needed to go colleagues of mine in the English Department and to my administration to help with these questions. Being a math teacher, we hardly ever discuss the literacy and the students’ acquisition of it in our department meeting during staff development days. Since I am not truly current with literacy acquisition in education, I am hoping to understand more from this process so I can help all my students. I want them to be able to read texts related to math and find information that will be useful to them during the year.
Slavitch and Zimbardo (2012) assert that adult learners desire to improve their understandings by adjusting their “frames of reference,” including their points of view and habits of mind. In the case of the grade change initiative, the frames of reference were shaped by the parents, students, and administration. The committee entered the situation already having used instrumental learning to arrive at a solution. Their jobs to “reframe” the teachers’ beliefs and practices was able to work through the committee’s use of modified andragogy, allowing the teachers to discover their own truths as educators (Mezirow, 1997). Although entering the situation with an already-decided, seemingly autocratic decision in place, the committee was able to use their passionate transformative skills to win the teachers over to their side. The teachers’ self-discovery then enabled them to believe their decision was a wholly democratic one, which was not quite the case. As cited in Slavitch and Zimbardo (2012), Bass and Riggio’s (2010) explanation of transformational leadership perfectly embdodies DKJA’s grade change initiative: the follows were inspired to be a part of a shared vision, they had to challenge themselves to be problem solvers, and their leaders both challenged and supported them at all times. The teachers’ decision to “put themselves on the line” and “take one for the team” showed their allegiance to the group and their desire to be a part of something authentic, fulfilling, and true to themselves as both humans and
Two years ago School District 74 organized a series of leadership workshops designed to strengthen the leadership performance of school administration and teaching staff. Participants were encouraged to think of themselves as leaders and to identify situations in which they were or could be leaders. The idea seemed to be not only that our school system will be improved through the development of strong leadership (on its own an important recognition), but also that anyone (and everyone) can be a leader in his or her own position within the system. This is a ridiculous idea. If leadership is approached as the only label that designates personal merit or importance, then the implication is that followers are less capable, less thoughtful and less important than leaders. If everyone is a leader, then the idea of leadership quickly loses its meaning; leadership implies followership, and without followers leaders could never lead effectively. Past emphasis on leadership has largely ignored the reciprocal relationship between leadership and followership. The purpose of this paper is to briefly discuss followership, and to acknowledge its importance to organizations, especially school systems.
The strategic plan for improving chronically low performing schools will utilize a leadership component, and four phases. The four phases are equivalent to the frames of Bolman and Deal. Bolman and Deal (2003) discuss four frames: Structural, Human Resource, Political, and Symbolic. They define the frames as follows: Structural- reflects a belief in rationality and a faith that th...
With my background as Supervisor of Curriculum and then as both principal and superintendent, I have a background of collaborating with teachers in developing and then implementing curriculum guides, curriculum maps, professional development plans and innovative programs. Establishing an instruction...
He had secured the county’s reading specialist to lead a variety of professional development activities throughout the school year to support us. The administration team would conduct walk-throughs to ensure we were utilizing what we learned. This new vision was to enhance what many of us were already doing and to ensure we were all on the same page. Similar to the penguins, communicating the new vision was met with a mixture of emotions. The majority of the teachers were supportive while a few naysayers, such as NoNo were skeptical (Kotter & Rathgeber,
circumstances. For this reform effort to be successful, it will take district and school leaders that act as both instructional leaders and politicians. As the instructional leader, they must ensure that every child every day receives an education rooted in high expectations and facilitated by staffs that genuinely believe that all children can learn and deserve the best opportunities to do so. As
Tomlinson, C. & Jarvis, J. (2006). Teaching beyond the book. Educational Leadership, ASCD Publication. p 16-21.
Benjamin Franklin said “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Education opens the door for everyone to excel in life. To become a strong nation, its people, especially children, must have a good education so the nation can continue to excel and become stronger. Nevertheless, America is suffering through an education crisis today. The current statistics show that the United States is falling behind in education compared to other countries. The illiteracy rate is high, and the graduation rates for inner city children are low. The causes of this crisis are everyday problems such as lack of interest in school, poverty, and standardized testing. There are many solutions to the problem, but one solution, Professional Learning Communities, is more effective because teachers, administrators, and parents come together as a whole, to help the children. Despite the child’s background, the school community comes together to help the school. The method used to test Professional Learning Communities is a previous case study of PLCs in Twin Falls Idaho school district. The entire school district consists of mostly white middle class families. The school created a Quality School Committee to create and implement new ideas to improve the school district, and standardized the main subjects. In the end, the entire student body improved in test scores and other assessments. Other cases studies have been done on PLCs and other solutions are mentioned in this research paper. Nevertheless, Professional Learning Communities make a difference.
behaviors which includes ; defining and communicating shared goals, monitor and provide feedback on the teaching and learning process, and promote school-inclusive professional development. Communicating shared goals encompass activities that emphasis attention to the methodological core of schools. Locke and Latham, (1990) lamented that these goals increase the effort exerted by school members, increase perseverance, and increase the development of schemes which will in turn
Schlueter, K., & Walker, J. (2008, March). Selection of school leaders: A critical component for change. NASSP Bulletin, 92(1), 5-18. Retrieved from http://online.sagepub.com
Just like what Uncle Ben told in the Spiderman movie “Great power comes great responsibility,” as a leader it is my responsibility to build a systems and make sure that those systems are working to ensure students achievement, a system that will help teachers grow professionally, a system that will help other colleagues function to their fullest potential and system that will bind the community and other partners to be one of the pillars of the school.
Leadership is an important factor in managing change in organizations (Sarros & Santora, 2001). Leadership is one of the most vital success factors in organization (Murphy & Ensher, 2008). At any time in history of any community, there has always been a great leader and leadership has always been practiced (Leech & Fulton, 2008). For all successful organizations, there has been an effective leader who is able to mobilize all the resources in the organization to achieve its goals (Malusu, 2003). Schools, like other organizations, require effective leadership to achieve their goals (Barnet, McCormick & Conners, 2001). In an educational system, a principal as the coordinator of all educational and training activities