Kafele starts off by asking many valid questions that a teacher should ask him or herself. He basically states that no matter how much you know your subject area, if you do not know your students that you are teaching then you will not nearly be as effective. Another issue that many teachers do not take into consideration is that learning needs to be fun. Learning that is fun is often times the most successful, when a student sees that a teacher cares enough about them to think outside the box and to plan ahead so that the class goes well they will respect that and in turn care for the teacher.
Black males have a wide variety of obstacles and/or challenges that they may face during their lives. It is key that our teachers and administrators see these issues and prepare accordingly. Mentally a teacher must want to make a difference in our students lives. The students that come through our schools have are all sorts of races and have all sorts of backgrounds. The one constant needs to be the caring attitude of the teacher. The teacher discussed in chapter 2 of the book is described as friendly, firm, and fair all at once. This is the type of teacher that we need in our culturally diverse classrooms so that all students have the best chance to succeed.
3 important ethical considerations for instructional leaders
1. Inspiration - As administrators we need to be as inspirational as possible. We need to show respect to our faculty as well as work with them and make sure they know that the success as a whole comes down the school working together.
2. Community - The principal as well as assistant principal's in a building need to be aware of what is going on locally in the community. All stakeholders need to be accounted for and the administration needs to be socially involved in what is going on with these student's lives.
3. Reflection - Even though administrators have came up through the ranks and have earned the right to be an instructional leader for their building they still need to have the ability to reflect. Administrators need to evaluate and reflect their decisions and their processes on a daily basis to see what could be done more effectively. They will also need to have a quality evaluation procedure in place for their teachers in their current building.
I wholeheartedly agree with your final bullet; it is imperative that administrators, not just teachers, use the reflection process daily as to ensure that he is providing the best education to all students in the building. It is also important that administrators ensure that the teachers in his building are recognizing or cognizant of the obstacles placed before some students and actively work to assist students in coping with them, so as to get better results. Some teachers may be jaded, or feel certain students will not do well, due to their backgrounds. As an administrator, one must provide professional growth opportunities so as to delete such attitudes from the faculty.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement about administrators knowing their community. Forming partnerships with the different businesses in the community can be very beneficial to the students. They can provide monetary help, volunteer at the schools and set up co-op programs for the students to gain work experience. It is also helpful to work with the Big Brother/Big Sister and Boys/Girls Club because they have people of all ages available to assist students and be positive role models in their lives. The YMCA also has programs available after school to keep kids off the street and out of trouble. Administrators should encourage their staff to attend community events that the students are involved in. Students really appreciate the fact that their teacher showed up to a community or school related event. It really helps to build rapport and stronger bonds. In Kafele’s book, he mentioned how important a positive, solid relationship was for teachers and their students. It shows you are interested in them as individuals.
ReplyDeleteI agree teachers should be friendly, firm, and fair if they want to be effective in the classroom. A certain amount of friendliness makes students feel safe and welcomed in the classroom. Firmness helps with classroom discipline and ensures optimal learning. Fairness helps with respect in the classroom. Rules are meant for all students and all students should be held accountable for the rules. If you are not consistent with your rules your students will not respect you. Students do not mind firmness if it is direced towards all students. If one day you take a cell phone away for texting in class, but the next day you only give a warning for texting your students will soon stop respecting you and will disliking you because of your inconsistent behavior. One day after lunch several students came back to class late and I sent them out for tardy passes. The very next day a quiet girl walked in late and proceeded to go to her seat. The entire class just stared out me to see if I would send her out for a tardy pass. I could read their minds by their stares. I sent her out for a tardy and class went on as normal.
ReplyDeleteGina Rigby
Brandon mentioned the need for a teacher to want to make a difference in a student's life. At a practicum for college in East Henrico, I had a young black male student I had to repeatedly speak to about behavior. One day, I took him into the hallways to discuss his inappropriate behavior. Later that day, a white male teacher came up to me and mentioned he saw me talking to this boy in the hallway. His exact words, which I remember twelve years later were, "Don't waste your time talking to him. It won't make any difference." I was shocked, maybe because I was naive at the time to the fact that I would encounter educators like this. Here was a veteran teacher, in a predominantly black school, telling me to give up on a boy in the eighth grade. I try to remember when dealing with my students that this could be the kinds of educators that have been their experience in school. Not only must I try to change their perception of teachers, so they can have some semblance of trust for us, but I must also never look at a student and give up. I like to believe that the man (the teacher) who spoke to me that day respresents the few in education who think like that, however, I must take on the responsibility as a leader now and in the future to do my best to get those individuals out of education as soon as I possibly can. They ruin our profession, and worse, they could help ruin the lives of our students.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your statement about the caring attitude of a teacher being a necessity for the students to succeed. If the teachers don't care about their students, their students are not going to take notice. This attitude also stems from some of the points you made at the end. In order for a teacher or a leader to show they care, they need to know where their students come from. Knowing the environment our students are a product of will give us insight into what they need. Taking the time to find a way to connect to our students will go a long way in earning their trust.
ReplyDeleteI like how you categorized Kafele's first two chapters-inspiration, community involvement, and reflection. The first drives our reason for being in the school system, the second proves to our students that we care enough to go beyond the classroom. The last point is that daily check that we all need with the reflection piece. Those people like the teacher John mentions who are in the field but have lost sight of the mission could benefit from some reflection and a “reenergizer” if you will. Sadly, these people are not signing up for beneficial professional development activities or reflecting on their abilities in the classroom. That is why staff development should be used as a motivator for all educators. Sometimes focus is lost and we all need a reminder of our reasons for being in the school system.
ReplyDeleteBrandon mentioned that collaboration can help us achieve success in our school and communities. As instructional leaders we need to collaborate with parents, teachers, and other administrators. Working together can bring about school and community reform. Research indicates that when students work together it has a positive impact on interpersonal/social goals. It can build self-esteem, provides peer support for academic goals, forms interracial friendships and reduces prejudices (Hoy and Hoy pg. 136, 2009). I feel this is true for adults. As educators, we have to share a common vision of success for all students. When teachers form personal learning communities they are able to share ideas and different ways of presenting our curriculum.
ReplyDeleteMany of the undesirable behaviors brought into the school by students are repercussions from their home/community life. We need to form positive relationships with parents and involve them in their children’s education. Kafele mentions in chapter 2 how he would visit students at their homes and build relationships with their parents. He also conveyed to them his expectations of their children. Parents can provide support at home by reinforcing goals and lessons. Research has shown that when parents stay involved in their children’s schooling, grades and test scores will improve (Hoy and Hoy 2009). Joyce Epstein recommends finding ways for families to share information with the school about the child’s cultural background, talents, and needs. We can learn a wealth of information from parents to assist our students in school. (Hoy and Hoy 2009).