The Purpose of School

Schools are essential in preparing students academically for a better future and access to excellent life opportunities. School education is fundamental as it gives students basic qualities that are essential in maneuvering on their present and future daily activities. The purpose of education has reformed from producing a literate society to producing a learning society that can learn and embrace new ways to solve society's rampant problems. There are various levels of schools, but to mention a few, elementary, middle, and high schools. They all serve different yet closely similar roles in impacting students' lives as they navigate from one level to the other. It is worth noting that traditional culture and value beliefs play an essential role in the school's success. This paper elaborates on the purpose of school, how traditional culture and values affect the success of schools. Besides, the paper will address how socio-economic status affects the success of predominantly African American schools and conclude by explaining how cultural dynamics affect the success of schools.

The primary goal for Elementary, Middle and High Schools

There are various levels of schools, but to mention a few, elementary, middle, and high schools. They all serve different yet closely similar roles in impacting students' lives as they navigate from one level to the other. Elementary schools consist of the first years of initial structured and formal education that happen during childhood. Thus, elementary school is an institution where children acquire the first stage of compulsory schooling. The primary goal of elementary schools is to ensure that students develop basic literacy and numeracy, which forms the basis of all other learning for the rest of the student's life. It entails shaping and establishing the foundation in history, science, geography, and other social sciences. According to Susan (2018), an essential aspect of elementary schools is introducing students to the larger picture of society. That encompasses socializing and learning appropriate social skills and behaviors while interacting with teachers and peers.

The curriculum of elementary schools aligns with the ability of the students to learn during their early stages of schooling. The curriculum emphasizes writing, reading, and arithmetic skills. The United States has a decentralized education system where kindergarten is integrated with elementary school (Stephens, 2016). That makes the overall elementary school. Thus the elementary school mostly starts from kindergarten and ends at K6. The early age makes it suitable for students to be introduced to the local environment and then drastically introduce them to the larger environment as they navigate through the elementary levels. The ability of the children to learn and grasp essential concepts makes it possible for elementary schools to achieve their goal of literacy.

Once the students accomplish the elementary education, they proceed to Middle school. The primary goal of middle school is to usually bridge the gap between elementary school and students' entry to high school. According to Susan (2018), middle school is established to serve as a transition where students move from the world of childhood and introduce to mastery of knowledge and techniques essential in advancing to the next level of schooling. Middle schools equip students with vital concepts that make it easier for them to navigate to other levels of learning. Even though the organization of middle school varies from nation to nation, it is usually from the sixth to the eighth grade. Students in middle school are generally between the ages of 12 to 14. Students here are natured emotionally and socially, providing them with guidance in social relationships, academic and other studies.

Middle school forms a significant time in student learning. That is because students' educational expectations rise, and puberty's biological and social changes affect their learning. The middle school combines the elements of both elementary and high school buildings to create an enabling environment that is both familiar and new to the students (Sanders & Simon, 2016). That makes it possible and easy for the students to transition from elementary to high school learning. In the United States, middle schools are under the jurisdiction of state education departments that are run by the local school boards. The schools are set up to ensure that different schools work in an interconnected manner in the flow and maturation of the students. That makes it possible for middle schools to work with the elementary schools for the incoming students and the high schools for the graduating and transitioning students.

Early adolescence impacts students' learning and can make students' progress or struggle during their middle school life. Therefore, the middle school teachers play essential roles in guiding the students during this stage and ensure that their learning progress is not adversely affected. Students are brought back on course during middle school and ensure that they progress to their academic and career success. The significance of this stage cannot be underestimated, as students learn essential study habits required to see them through their high school stage. According to Sanders and Simon (2016) , the students' brain specializes as their brains grow and change during middle school. Thus, teachers should use this stage to impact students with essential skills and learning habits necessary in transitioning to the subsequent levels of their academic life.

The high school period is the time when students are prepared for adult life. Even though most people argue that high schools prepare students for entry into colleges, the primary purpose of high schools is to equip the students with essential skills necessary for adulthood (Stephens, 2016) . Typically, a student will finish high school, join college, get a degree and begin their careers. However, a significant number of students fail to progress from one step to the other if their high school preparation is inadequate. Therefore, high school education is essential in preparing the students for the tribulations and the trials to encounter as they transit to adulthood.

High school education prepares the students in areas that are beyond the classroom curriculum. Students learn how to research, collaborate, lead, listen, and be innovative and creative at high school. The subjects and the elective subjects help the students to explore their interests and advance their career goals (Stephens, 2016) . Besides, students gain essential aspects of decision-making that are important during their college life. Therefore, high school instructors prepare the students and make them ready for ready in college enrollments. Therefore, High school prepares important roles of preparing the student for adult life, to be good citizens while learning various subjects and critical thinking essential in transitioning to colleges.

Assignment Part 2

Effect Of Traditional Culture and Believes on The Success of a School

A student's upbringing, beliefs, and culture significantly affect how they process information and learn. Thus, traditional culture and thoughts impact students' academic performance and affect the school's success accordingly. There exist several theories that explain the differences in school performance among different ethnic and racial groups. First, the cultural deficit theory explains that students perform poorly because their home environment's social, linguistic, and artistic nature does not prepare them for what they must undertake while in school. According to Lynch (2020), students come from different cultural backgrounds, which influences their learning and performance. For instance, a student can be from a tradition where education is not supported and there is inadequate access to learning materials. That student will be negatively affected by their cultural background and will not perform well.

On the other hand, students from traditional cultures who support education will be empowered to learn and perform adequately. Crul (2018) argues that when students perform excellently, the school is considered complete, which is a measure of the success of the school. Thus, the school with students from traditional cultures that support education will contribute and make their school progress positively towards success.

Conversely, the cultural difference theory is based on the concept that students raised in different cultural settings will approach learning and education differently. That makes it essential for teachers to distinguish between the school learning environment and the home environment. Students from different cultural traditions have an approach to education that differs from the mainstream system used in most American schools (Lynch 2020). For example, the Polynesian learning concept presents a method where older children teach younger children instead of adults. According to Lynch (2020) that approach differs widely from the American way of learning and can hamper students' admission to American schools. Besides, the difference in cultural settings can either advance or hinder the school. Schools that are lucky to enroll students from cultural traditions that support the American way of learning have higher chances of academic success, and the reverse is true.

Moreover, we live in diverse societies with unique and varying beliefs. Cultures with positive social and moral values will churn out children with positive morals. Traditional cultures have various ideals and customs that every member is required to follow and obey (Zhiwen & Zhijun, 2019). Positive traditional beliefs include practices that do not harm self or others and promote positive interactions and existence within a given society. Traditional cultures that discourage stealing and adultery and encourage honesty, respect, and peace will provide their children with essential core values required to succeed in school. Acting and moral behaving enhances students' ability to learn and perform (Crul, 2018). Besides, Crul (2018) established that honest and students who engage in positive behaviors perform better than students whose discipline is questionable. That is because disciplined students blend with educators easily where they learn instructions vital for academic success. Therefore, positive traditional beliefs and practices contribute immensely to the success of learners. The success of learners is directly proportional to the success of the school. Thus, positive traditional belief enhances and supports the positive progress of schools.

Contrary, negative traditional cultures and beliefs hinder the development of schools and delay the schools from achieving success. Harmful conventional practices amongst some communities prevent students from enrolling in schools and pursuing their careers. The dangerous practices encompass violence that is primarily subjected to girls and women from specific neighborhoods. Besides, the deadly violence is presented by the perpetrators as accepted cultural practices. The most prevalent traditional practices include early or forced marriages, female genital mutilation (FGM), and the actions of honoring gender-based violence. The exercises occur across sexual identities and sexes. The communities practice them without realizing the dangers the practices possess to the school-going children. For instance, FGM forms an insignificant factor in students dropping out of Scotland schools (Zhiwen & Zhijun, 2019). When school-going children are subjected to accept but harmful traditional practices, it becomes challenging to attend schools and learn. FGM poses no health benefits and harms girls and women in several ways. The young girls experience severe pain, infections, and psychological and emotional shock that hinders them from performing in school and can consider dropping out. That means the schools cannot teach the victims as some fear going public and prefer to remain at home. Besides, that is a setback in realizing the school's objectives which are integral to the school's success.

Furthermore, existing traditional believes in various communities prevents schools from growing and achieving their intended success. In some communities, the boy child is valued and provided ample opportunities to attend school and achieve their career goals. However, the girl child is not empowered in the same neighborhoods, and their beliefs do not support educating women (Zhiwen & Zhijun, 2019). In such countries, women are required to remain at home and practice routine roles such as cooking, washing clothes, and taking care of their houses. Such beliefs are biased and only see boys as the only ones who should be educated. That means schools in such regions will enroll more boys than girls. In worse cases, the schools might admit few students, which adversely affects the school's journey for diversity and success. However, in societies where the value of their beliefs recognizes gender equity, both genders are enrolled in schools, and students achieve success together. The success of students significantly contributes to the success of the school.

Effect Of Socioeconomic Status on The Success of Predominantly African American School District

The essential task of the educational system is to enable students to acquire knowledge and cognitive skill necessary for community life. Therefore, identifying the factors that contribute positively to achieving that purpose is mandatory. A study by Berkowitz et al. (2016) established a close relationship between socio-economic status and the success of the schools towards achieving their overall targets. Besides, the study demonstrated that the academic performance of students impacts and is equivalent to the success of schools. Socio-economic status entails a blend of economic and sociological measures of an individual and usually encompasses educational level, occupational status, the premise of one's income .According to Thomson (2018) socio-economic aspects have a significant impact on public schools, and particularly the Predominant African American schools. The African American schools face various socioeconomic challenges such as inequality, discrimination and inadequate government funding. That makes the schools inadequate to compete and measure the states of schools considered to comprise of majorly white students .These schools host millions of black students, and they are primarily segregated by income and race, which largely impacts the progress and the success of African American schools.

Predominant African American schools are highly segregated by race. Besides, the members of the schools live in areas concentrated on racism and other racially instigated injustices. Students in these schools encounter racism which has psychological effects on their school life. However, African American schools have developed a unique way of experiencing racism and ensuring that it does not adversely affect their schools. The school management has created a culture where students do not see discrimination as a problem but rather a vice they must overcome (Thomson, 2018). The boards of these schools recognize diversity and use it to achieve progress and success. Acknowledging the diversity in these schools makes it possible to overcome stereotyping. Besides, the school boards have created a culture to prove to the whites that they are equal and can compete and achieve success. That way, the school boards work hand in hand with the African American parents to initiate developmental projects that make them appropriate for student learning. That way, the schools can overcome racially motivated stereotypes and focus on achieving the school goals and targets.

Furthermore, African American schools are characterized by abject poverty and inadequate income among their stakeholders. The schools share uniquely high exposure to poverty and are concentrated in certain regions. Exposure to concentrated poverty neighborhoods harms the students' life chances. Besides, the high poverty levels in African American schools mean that the schools have few resources, resulting in an achievement gap between the white students and the minority Students (Berkowitz et al., 2016). Besides, the African American schools are not adequately empowered, which systematically provides lower learning opportunities. Due to the poverty present in these schools, the African American students are scoreless, which has been a significant challenge in African American schools.

Moreover, the inadequate access to materials and resources hampers developments in these schools. It is common knowledge that poverty hinders development and thus delays achieving success. The African American schools have a lower development rate when compared to the white schools. Therefore, poverty levels are responsible for less growth, development, and success in African American schools.

Fostering excellent school relationships is essential in achieving the school's progress and success. The African American schools are focused on helping the students to make successful transitions from one education level to the other. Particularly among the minority and poor students who are not familiar with the education systems, schools play an essential role in preparing the students for post-school training (Thomson, 2018). Besides, African American students rely on their schools to provide them with the information and tools they need to succeed in their school life. The social systems of the schools, comprising of teachers and administrators, enhance positive and healthy relationships that are essential in meeting the organizational targets (Debnam et al., 2017). The relationships affect students' educational expectations and teachers' ability to meet objectives and significantly impact the board's skills to run the school efficiently. When there are healthy and working relationships among the school stakeholders, it becomes easier to develop cohesively. That happens by creating an environment where every stakeholder plays their role and works towards the general improvement and success of the school.

Regardless of the rhetoric of equality in America, African –American schools are substantially unequal and separated. Only a few people realize that U.S educational system is the most unequal across the globe (Debnam et al., 2017). Besides, students receive different learning opportunities based on their social status. The minority and poor minorities are concentrated in the least and worst-funded schools in rural areas or central cities. A study conducted for schools in New York, Alabama, and Texas showed that African American schools have significantly fewer resources than schools where most students are white (Carter, 2012). Besides, the same schools receive fewer instructional resources, and that adversely affects their performance and success. The final results of the inequalities in African-American schools are increasingly tragic. Inadequate allocation of resources does not satisfactorily cater to a large number of concentrated minority students. When the schools cannot provide basic amenities due to underfunding, the students find the schools uncomfortable, and some can opt to drop out (Carter, 2012). The effects of dropping out and inadequate resources to run the school hinder the school from achieving its development agendas. For that reason, most African American schools remain stagnant without making commendable positive progress.

How Cultural Dynamics Affect the Success of a School

Culture is fluid and not static, which means the culture changes every day, all the time, intangible and subtle ways. Culture is an aggregate output of society's beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes. Any change in social attitudes signifies a culture shift. In our schools, the daily environment, assumptions, perspectives, and composition o stakeholders' experiences change, making the school culture dynamic. The school culture changes as stakeholders negotiate the values, beliefs, ideas, norms, ideas, making the system that makes up the school cultural environment change (Hesse-Gawęda, 2018). The changes in the school cultural environment have a significant impact on the operations and execution of activities in the school. The cultural dynamics are responsible for establishing how things are done, when, where, and by who. Various cultural dynamics can impact the success of schools, namely, communication and language, organizational culture, cultural diversity, leadership culture, and others. All have a considerable impact on the success of the school where the dynamics are present.

Language and communication impact the success of organizations. Besides, communication is the cornerstone to organizational success. The presence of non-English speaking students poses a challenge to the management of schools. Again, none English speaking students come from diverse backgrounds, and their beliefs and effectiveness in communication differ from that of natives. Therefore, educators must be mindful of students' cultural differences, inclusive of the languages spoken. That is essential in creating a welcoming environment for optimal learning and existence amongst the school educators. When language barriers are common in organizations, it is essential that the leadership devises strategies that will not make the barriers break effective organizational communication (Lo Bianco, 2020). In the case of non-English speaking students, the various school management have adopted procedures that promote understanding and the students' learning instructions. First, schools have incorporated parents into students learning process. The parents create a home environment conducive to learning that is not challenged by language barriers. Secondly, the schools have established effective school-to-home communication via hosting parent-teacher conferences and updating teachers on their children's progress. And lastly, use of translators. The schools have widely used translators to bridge language barriers among the various stakeholders. That ensures that our school stakeholders communicate effectively and in a coordinated way to achieve the school's academic and development success.

Organizational culture has an influential role in the workplace. Editor (2016) established corporate culture to be a unique combination of related factors. First, interactions between people create collective cultures. Second, organizational cultures encompass helping members to make achievements in their work. And lastly, culture develops over time and is based on historical circumstances unique to the environment. Organizational culture includes shared ideologies, philosophies, expectations, norms, and beliefs that knit the school together. Corporate culture can impact the school in three distinct ways: strength, pervasiveness, and direction. The organizational culture provides the school stakeholders with the approach to follow and perform essential tasks. The pervasiveness and strength are variables that predict the performance of the schools. According to Johnson (2019), organizations with solid organizational cultures work together cohesively and effectively to achieve organizational goals and targets. Similarly, schools that thrive in a cohesive and robust organizational culture are motivated and influenced to work and remain on course to achieve organizational goals. Thus, excellent corporate culture is essential and significant in directing and aiding the school stakeholders to complete the set targets collaboratively. That enables the schools to attain organizational success.

The other significant contributor to schools' cultural dynamics is cultural diversity. The Brown vs. Board of education Supreme Court case made a milestone towards achieving diversity and inclusion in American schools. The court ruled that it was illegal to segregate public schools based on race. That milestone decision has played an unmeasurable role in breaking racial barriers in public schools (Zhiwen & Zhijun, 2019). Besides, it has enabled schools to be more diverse, leading to students' increased understanding of cultural differences, creative thinking, and creativity. The benefits of mixed classrooms and schools contribute towards achieving success in both public and private schools. Various schools feature differences in socio-economic class, ethnicity, gender, personality, religion, and much more essential differences. Vital education programs empower school stakeholders to embrace and value unique aspects that make people different and use the differences to positively impact the school's performance and success. That makes diversity a positive factor in both the classroom and the development of our schools.

Diversity enhances critical thinking and improves cognitive skills. Diversity in schools enables students to consider perspectives and opinions beyond what they have already perceived or embraced in their background. According to Murphy (2017)), when students are exposed to different views and perspectives, they can think critically and advance their ideals. Besides, diversity alters how individuals think by promoting innovation and creativity. When students' cognitive skills are enhanced, they perform excellently, which leads to the school's success performance-wise. Besides improving students' performance, diversity is crucial in leading school administrative to achieve important school development targets. When the school stakeholders are diverse, the resultant impact is creativity and innovation. Innovative and creative teams are excellent at initiating and executing school projects professionally and successfully (Hesse-Gawęda, 2018). Besides, diverse leadership contributes positively to running the schools and influences educators, students, and other school personnel to realize the set school targets. Therefore, cultural dynamics and diversity make schools succeed by incorporating creative and innovative ideas from the school stakeholders. That contributes significantly to the positive progress and success of the schools.

References

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