Standard 6: Understanding, responding to, and influencing the political, social, legal, and cultural contexts.
An education leader promotes the success of every student by understanding, responding to, and influencing the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.
Reflections and materials showing an understanding of diversity and human relations
Leading Schools in Context
Hackmann, Schmitt, and Tracy state, (2002, pg. 94) “The essence of effective school leadership in the democratic context is the constant monitoring of school community needs and appropriate deployment of resources to address these needs.” In reality our schools should be an extension of the communities they represent (pg. 177). An effective leader will realize this and be able to articulate and communicate “their vision so that others are also able to see things differently” (pg. 178). They will know they need the help of the community by working to enlist their help and support in trying innovative educational programs.
As an administrator there are many things I will do to influence inside and outside groups to join in our cause. First of all I will be aware that everyone wants to have a great school. I will need to be sensitive to the influences that are in my community and take time to listen and find out what problems exist. As I find common areas of concern I will strive to turn differing ideas and opinions into win-win situations in which everyone can feel good about the decisions that are being made (pg. 184). In our book this skill that I will work on developing is referred to as “constructive dialogue” and stems from ones belief that everyone has a valid point of view. I really believe this and want to create a sense of teamwork within my community. This will occur as I am constantly striving to understand and decipher community concerns and needs.
Although I must have an agenda as an administrator involving my mission, vision, and goals, I will need to understand my communities cultural values. It will be critical to align the school system and “the way it interacts with students and parents” (pg. 187) with what is appropriate for the community and its cultural values. As I have looked at job openings lately there is a lot of diversity of culture depending on where one moves. Within Wyoming there are many Native American reservation schools and cities where the predominant religion (for example) differs greatly from one place to another. A few cities have much cultural diversity, while others have none. As I understand my communities cultural values I will be able to align what we do to better meet their needs.
Lastly, I feel the best way to involve outside groups and influence their support is to reach out to them and involve them in the school. The majority of a community’s population don’t have children in school. To get more buy in on innovative educational programs a school leader must “get creative in working with the school staff in developing programs that extend the curriculum into the community” (pg. 191). Some ideas are getting senior citizens involved in judging competitions and teaching skills, involving grandparents, creating business partnerships where businesses open their doors for job shadowing, tours, and come to the school to present information that is critical in helping students apply their content knowledge to real world job experience. Those who are more involved in the school feel more connected and take more initiative in making a difference and giving back.
Hackmann, D., Oliver, D., & Tracy, J. (2002). The standards-based administrative internship: Putting the ISLLC standards into practice. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.
Standard 6 Reflection:
This past month I have had multiple opportunities to learn about, come to understand, respond to and influence the larger political and cultural context in my school district. First of all I was able to talk with and interview my superintendent about many of the topics found in chapter 6. We discussed the needs of our district, and what we need to do to respond to our specific needs. In our district the community agencies are mostly the local churches, VFW, Lions Club, and our local biker group. We feel like we can better involve them in our district, and one main idea that I brought up was to include parents and community members in our school improvement committee. That is something that I learned from Dr. McCullum in my Oral interviews. I also learned about many ways that our principal and superintendent stay on top of legal issues. They use their associations weekly emails, Wyoming education law yearly publications, legislative websites, and resources sent out by the Wyoming Department of Education.
I learned that our school policies are currently reviewed about every 10 years. Each year the board reviews sections of our school policy. They obviously skip to any pressing issues and change them. I talked with my superintendent about formalizing this process and maybe reviewing them more often. I was able to gain a lot of information on grants that our district applies for and receives. I learned that you have to make sure some grants don't actually cause you to receive less money in other areas from the state or national government. Lastly, I learned that anytime anywhere learning is effecting education. It is good in a lot of ways, but needs to be used wisely. The most important is that students learn how to learn.
Another great experience I had was an actual job interview. Mr. Gunderson encouraged me to explore my options and to try my hand at interviewing. I applied to two administration jobs and had one interview for a position at a k-4 elementary school. I prepared for my interview by researching their school and district, contacting a few parents with children in that school, and by researching reading programs and taking an hour with our school reading specialist/title 1 director to learn about RTI, reading programs, and helping struggling students. I learned so much and felt prepared. To make a long story short I was interviewed by four groups; students, the official interview committee, parents, and a large group of teachers. I did very well, and learned how important and challenging it can be to respond to everyone's needs. The social culture needs a listening ear. A good community wants to be involved in the school, and a good leader makes this to happen. I wasn't offered the job, but gained valuable experience.
On a side note I learned about a school leadership program titled The Leader In Me. I took time researching it, and emailing my administrators about what I learned and found. I then started reading a book about the program. It is built on "the 7 habits of highly effective people" by Stephen Covey and teaching students to live by these habits, to take control of their lives, and become leaders. I visited a school last year that is using the program and having great success with it, so when it was being used in the school I interviewed at, I was very excited. I look forward to continuing to learn about understanding, responding to, and influencing the political, social, legal, and cultural contexts of schools and communities.
Leading Schools in Context
Hackmann, Schmitt, and Tracy state, (2002, pg. 94) “The essence of effective school leadership in the democratic context is the constant monitoring of school community needs and appropriate deployment of resources to address these needs.” In reality our schools should be an extension of the communities they represent (pg. 177). An effective leader will realize this and be able to articulate and communicate “their vision so that others are also able to see things differently” (pg. 178). They will know they need the help of the community by working to enlist their help and support in trying innovative educational programs.
As an administrator there are many things I will do to influence inside and outside groups to join in our cause. First of all I will be aware that everyone wants to have a great school. I will need to be sensitive to the influences that are in my community and take time to listen and find out what problems exist. As I find common areas of concern I will strive to turn differing ideas and opinions into win-win situations in which everyone can feel good about the decisions that are being made (pg. 184). In our book this skill that I will work on developing is referred to as “constructive dialogue” and stems from ones belief that everyone has a valid point of view. I really believe this and want to create a sense of teamwork within my community. This will occur as I am constantly striving to understand and decipher community concerns and needs.
Although I must have an agenda as an administrator involving my mission, vision, and goals, I will need to understand my communities cultural values. It will be critical to align the school system and “the way it interacts with students and parents” (pg. 187) with what is appropriate for the community and its cultural values. As I have looked at job openings lately there is a lot of diversity of culture depending on where one moves. Within Wyoming there are many Native American reservation schools and cities where the predominant religion (for example) differs greatly from one place to another. A few cities have much cultural diversity, while others have none. As I understand my communities cultural values I will be able to align what we do to better meet their needs.
Lastly, I feel the best way to involve outside groups and influence their support is to reach out to them and involve them in the school. The majority of a community’s population don’t have children in school. To get more buy in on innovative educational programs a school leader must “get creative in working with the school staff in developing programs that extend the curriculum into the community” (pg. 191). Some ideas are getting senior citizens involved in judging competitions and teaching skills, involving grandparents, creating business partnerships where businesses open their doors for job shadowing, tours, and come to the school to present information that is critical in helping students apply their content knowledge to real world job experience. Those who are more involved in the school feel more connected and take more initiative in making a difference and giving back.
Hackmann, D., Oliver, D., & Tracy, J. (2002). The standards-based administrative internship: Putting the ISLLC standards into practice. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.
Standard 6 Reflection:
This past month I have had multiple opportunities to learn about, come to understand, respond to and influence the larger political and cultural context in my school district. First of all I was able to talk with and interview my superintendent about many of the topics found in chapter 6. We discussed the needs of our district, and what we need to do to respond to our specific needs. In our district the community agencies are mostly the local churches, VFW, Lions Club, and our local biker group. We feel like we can better involve them in our district, and one main idea that I brought up was to include parents and community members in our school improvement committee. That is something that I learned from Dr. McCullum in my Oral interviews. I also learned about many ways that our principal and superintendent stay on top of legal issues. They use their associations weekly emails, Wyoming education law yearly publications, legislative websites, and resources sent out by the Wyoming Department of Education.
I learned that our school policies are currently reviewed about every 10 years. Each year the board reviews sections of our school policy. They obviously skip to any pressing issues and change them. I talked with my superintendent about formalizing this process and maybe reviewing them more often. I was able to gain a lot of information on grants that our district applies for and receives. I learned that you have to make sure some grants don't actually cause you to receive less money in other areas from the state or national government. Lastly, I learned that anytime anywhere learning is effecting education. It is good in a lot of ways, but needs to be used wisely. The most important is that students learn how to learn.
Another great experience I had was an actual job interview. Mr. Gunderson encouraged me to explore my options and to try my hand at interviewing. I applied to two administration jobs and had one interview for a position at a k-4 elementary school. I prepared for my interview by researching their school and district, contacting a few parents with children in that school, and by researching reading programs and taking an hour with our school reading specialist/title 1 director to learn about RTI, reading programs, and helping struggling students. I learned so much and felt prepared. To make a long story short I was interviewed by four groups; students, the official interview committee, parents, and a large group of teachers. I did very well, and learned how important and challenging it can be to respond to everyone's needs. The social culture needs a listening ear. A good community wants to be involved in the school, and a good leader makes this to happen. I wasn't offered the job, but gained valuable experience.
On a side note I learned about a school leadership program titled The Leader In Me. I took time researching it, and emailing my administrators about what I learned and found. I then started reading a book about the program. It is built on "the 7 habits of highly effective people" by Stephen Covey and teaching students to live by these habits, to take control of their lives, and become leaders. I visited a school last year that is using the program and having great success with it, so when it was being used in the school I interviewed at, I was very excited. I look forward to continuing to learn about understanding, responding to, and influencing the political, social, legal, and cultural contexts of schools and communities.