Response to the reflective exercise
What questions about the schoolwork environment will the assessment team ask the school administrator? Teachers? Students? Parents?
To obtain a clear and vivid explanation of the work environment, the team would have to ask the following questions:
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Teachers
How is effective learning assessed and identified?
How do you ensure that the students have achieved the teaching’s objectives?
Were the students provided with any strategies to aid them in learning?
Students
In what ways do the teachers give you motivation?
How are the curricula followed?
How do you perceive your progress?
Administrator
How are the day-to-day activities run in the school?
How do you communicate with the teachers and the students?
How often do teachers get promotions?
Parents
How often do you communicate with the school administration and the teachers?
What do you learn about the school reports about your children?
Which areas of the school do you think is less addressed?
What will your team focus on during classroom observation? Observation of common areas? Observation of the whole-school faculty meeting? Observation of meetings of various teacher groups?
During observation of the classroom, the team will focus on the behaviors of the students as well as the teachers and how the class sessions are undertaken.
When observing the whole-school faculty meeting, the team will embark on the mode of communication and whether the teachers communicate freely with the administration and the general faculty.
During the observation of meetings of various teacher groups, the assessment team will concentrate on their relationship and communication and the amount of time they spend together.
What school records will you review, and what specific data will you gather from those records?
The school records that will be reviewed are the student and teachers records, the school's policies, and the schedules. The particular information that will be obtained from the teacher and student records are the cultural and ethnic profiles of the school. The schedules will provide data on the amount of time spent by each teacher and student in the classroom sessions. Moreover, the policies will provide an in-depth elucidation on the mode of operation of the school.
Response/reflection on the prompt
What are some ways that the problems of teacher isolation can be addressed?
To deal with teacher isolation, I would recommend the process of shared and unanimous decision-making. This is usually essential for effective leadership, which generally decentralizes the authority and the decision-making process. This would make the teachers feel the sense of responsibility and belonging and thus ridding of their stresses due to isolation. Another way would be through training and staff development where the school staff is brought together to relate, communicate, and facilitate team building thus addressing the issue of isolation.
If you are or have been a teacher, think back on your first year of teaching. Did you experience the problems of beginning teachers described in this chapter? Did you receive support from one or more educators that helped you cope with the challenges of your first year of teaching?
During the first few weeks amid my teaching practice, I experienced the problems that were described in the chapter. I found it hard to cope with the school’s system and I even almost quit. However, due to the open communication facilitated by the school, I was able to receive support not only from the administration but also from my colleagues, and they helped me settle into the place.
What can be done to attract and retain the most qualified teachers to school serving low-income communities?
To attract and retain the most qualified teachers in schools that serve low-income communities, I recommend that the working conditions and the teachers’ salaries should be significantly improved to act as an incentive for them to stay.
The last section of this chapter describes several ways that traditional schools reflect the Newtonian paradigm. What are some additional ways that traditional schools mirror the Newtonian Worldview?
Some additional ways in which traditional schools mirror the Newtonian Worldview is through materialism. This is because just like matter, all the aspects of the traditional schools are primarily due to the results of interactions of different parts of the system.
