21st Century Learning Matters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L2XwWq4_BY&feature=related

What + How + Where = 21st Century Learning

It is true technology is constantly changing and growing. We must adapt our teaching to meet the needs of our students. It is true content alone is not enough for students to be competitive in the 21st century. In many of the videos I have seen a reoccurring theme, we are preparing our students for jobs that don’t exist yet, technology that isn’t invented, and problems that we don't understand or that hasn't occurred at this time. As these things change in society our way we teach and relay information to our students must change and evolve to keep up with the current trends in education.
I feel that it is important to make our lessons relevant to the lives of the children we teach.  The more we capture their attention with things that are important to them, the more involved they will be in the learning process. The way that our parents and grandparents were taught may not be the most relevant way for children to learn today. As society is changing so are our children. We have to meet them where they are and do our best to raise their achievement to a higher level. The end of the clip mentions everyone one must be a learner and a teacher! Let’s give the children a chance to be completive 21^st century learners.

Social issues in the schools

I believe it is the schools responsibility to aid in handling social issues as it does affect student learning.  We were just looking at the school climate chapter and how important it is to create a positive and safe environment. I know that teachers and administrators have a lot of things to teach and handle on a daily basis but if we don’t create an atmosphere conducive to learning then it will be hard for everybody to accomplish their goals. I think it is important to get involved with social issues such as bullying, discrimination, and even abuse inside or outside of the school. I know it isn’t easy but these students need us. They need to feel like they have somebody they can come to, trust, and help them handle issues they can’t deal with on their own.

When students don’t want to come to school because they are afraid of what might happen to them there is a serious problem. In some instances school is the only place where students can feel nurtured and safe outside of what is going on in their community. If we don’t help provide the opportunity for students to learn in a safe open environment students will turn to other means to survive.  As we saw in the video students may turn to crime, drugs, violence, or even suicide to help them cope with these social issues. We have the ability to touch and change the lives of children daily and we should do what we can to help them! Also by getting other students involved in creating the change is important because they will be able to relate to the students on a different level.  Then not only are we implementing yet another policy but we are creating a cooperative learning environment.  Then the more people you get involved the higher success rate of the policy or program.  By giving students, teachers, and even parents duties and responsibilities to help one another gives them a sense of importance and value needed to make a positive environment.

Schools can’t do it all by themselves but it is important to start the process and then involve as many other people as you can to help your initiative. There are community workers, different agencies, and programs to help create a good school climate. If we teach our students how to respond to these social problems then the more time we have to teach and create lifelong learners. I agree with the video we must invest in our students now rather than later in a negative aspect. Get involved first and create the environment that you would want your students and staff to work in.  As I read in the principal book, strong school cultures equal motivated teachers! When you have motivated teachers you tend to have motivated students.

Decision 2

Currently the principal is involved in a decision that has carried over from the previous year.  There was a second grade student who was recommended to the retention committee at the end of last school year.  The committee reviewed all the proper documents and decided to retain the child with an opportunity for the child to retest in the fall. The parents are in the process of contesting this decision with the school board.

The teacher involved has taken all the proper steps in retaining the student but the parents strongly disagree with the decision of the committee. The teacher alerted the parent several times during the year with action alerts and notes home.  The school also put interventions in place to help the child progress during the year, although interventions were in place and some growth was noted not enough to be promoted to the next grade. The student also received small group instruction in a group called Reading Club.

The parents have currently decided to agree with the testing but have put limitations on the test setting.  The test will be conducted off campus at a neutral location and it will be scored by the learning community where the test will take place. The principal still has the ultimate decision in this situation.  She has decided that if the student scores a seventy or above she will promote the student and if below seventy she will retain the student.

This problem seems to fall into the Maier Model upper right quadrant (Q*A).  The decision requires great knowledge in order for a good decision to be reached. It also calls for expertise of the team involved in the decision. The facilitative leader model is necessary in the fact that they have to gather information and input for the team to come to a decision.

This problem seems to have gone on too long.  Unfortunately the parents are not in agreement with the school and team of teachers who have evaluated the situation thoroughly.  I like the fact that the administrator is supporting her team and teacher involved in the situation. If I was faced with the decision to retain the student I would have made my final decision at the end of the school year that way the problem doesn’t have time to linger and grow bigger. I would have tried to gain the support or agreement of the parents at the end of the school year in order to save the problem from going to the school board. I know in some situation it is hard to get parents to see your team’s side in the situation regarding retention. If at all possible I would try to put a plan in place for parents who do not agree with retention. It is hard on a child and parent to be retained but at the same time it is hard for a school to continue to move students up and down during the school year.   It is frustrating and stressful for all who are involved in this decision, including the parents and not to mention the student! After the test the principal has put the test scores in place to end the decision. Wow what a decision!

Decision 1

Recently our principal was notified that the school had the budget to hire another teacher assistant.  In the past when hiring teacher assistants it was the leader's decision.  The school had a set of standard questions they would ask the applicant. This year the school is in the process of changing administrators and the Interim Principal is currently in charge of hiring.  She has decided to use the advice of her current teacher assistants in hiring the new teacher assistant.

Not only is she including the teacher assistants in the process, she is changing the questions for the interview and allowing the teacher assistants to be in the interview. She is soliciting the input of her current staff by having the teacher assistants create the questions to be asked of the potential candidate. Now the teacher assistants have created questions and will be asking the questions in the interview.  At the end of the process the assistants will be rating the candidates and giving their feedback to the principal.

She felt it was important to include the people who would be directly affected by the new staff member.  Also she wanted to empower her teacher assistants by giving them more of a leadership role.  It was important to her to involve her staff in making this decision, even when ultimately it would be her final decision. I see this model to be similar to the Maier model upper left quadrant (A*q). She wanted to make sure her decision was a fair and sensitive to the needs of her staff and students.  Also it goes along with the facilitative leader model where she gathered input from individuals and decided.

If I was an administrator I think I would handle the situation similar.  I feel like it is important to empower your staff and give them opportunities to be in a leadership position. I would have had the same assistants sit in on all the interviews in order for the assistants to get a clear picture of each applicant. That way they can make a decision and rate the applicants accordingly.  When you see two out of four applicants it makes it hard for you to decide which applicant you would choose.  I think it was a wonderful idea for the assistants to help create the questions because they are in the position and know what is expected of that individual.