Article #12

           This is a wonderful article about two strategies for helping students and families in low income communities. I have broken the article down into two papers because there were two very distinct procedures undertaken to help the students and families in the particular study.

            The first study was about the “Partnership for the Educational Village” which took place in Lynn, MA. The partnership was a strategic alliance between Salem State College and the Robert L. Ford Elementary School in Lynn Ma. The Ford School is a public school; Salem State is a MA state college. Salem State is located about eight miles north of Lynn.

Lynn MA is a very poor industrial city north of Boston. It once boasted shoe factories, textile mills and other early 20^th century industries. Currently there is a GE manufacturing plant in Lynn. For the most part Lynn is made up of immigrant families from Latin America, South America, Cape Verde etc… At the turn of the 20^th century Irish, Poles and Italians made up much of the Lynn labor force. Historically, Lynn has always welcomed and embraced immigrants. The economic problems in Lynn are extensive; there are not many jobs in Lynn. The social problems are just as extensive; poverty, ill health, illiteracy, substance abuse, violence and trauma plague Lynn.

The first half of the study focuses on the Ford school, the Lynn Family Support Coalition and Salem State. Dr. Claire Crane is the principal at the Ford school. The Ford school is located in a tough neighborhood of Lynn. Hungry, poor students represent the majority of the student population. Students’ needs are off the charts. Poverty is the biggest inhibitor to a proper education. The family structures cannot offer the support the adolescents need to be successful. Dr Crane took an unusual approach to this issue. She reached out to Salem State’s Education Dept as well as their Nursing Dept. to enlist the help of higher education with her local problems. Dr. Crane recognized the value in using a village to rear a child properly. By enlisting the help of higher education, Dr. Crane began the process of helping the entire family unit. The Ford School became the hub of the education, health, and opportunity not just for the students themselves, but for the family unit as well. By reaching out into the community, and enlisting help from various businesses, foundations, as well as federal and state grants, Dr Crane began helping her students, their families and the local community. Suddenly, an elementary school became the hub for social, academic and health help. With Dr Crane’s help families were getting help they needed begin helping themselves. This evolution continued to move out into the community itself.

Salem State offered all types of programs free of charge to the parents and siblings of the families of the Ford School. Life skills, intergenerational math skills, family science and family literacy programs were all sponsored weekly. The Ford project offered Salem State the opportunity to have its’ students participate in real life situations. The Salem students benefitted both academically and socially from the exposure and the experience of working with immigrant families in difficult situations.

The value of Dr. Crane’s mission was invaluable. She took education single handedly to a new height. Recognizing that the State and our Government were failing the people of Lynn, Dr Crane used a grass roots approach to improving the quality of lives of not only her students but their families. Realizing that education starts first and foremost amongst family members, Dr Crane reached into the families to make sure the proper tools were there in order for her students to succeed.

Ethically Dr Crane did all that one could do in her position. She went far beyond the call of duty by educating whole families. She built a school into a community center, a place where people could find answers too many problems faced by immigrant families. She provided a safe environment where students, families and all parts of the community were welcome.

Breitborde, M., & Swiniarski, L. (2002). Family Education and Community Power: new structures for new visions in the educational village. Educational Studies (03055698), 28(3), 305-318. doi:10.1080/0305569022000003744

Article #11

            Botswana is a country located in southern Africa. It is a landlocked country. Botswana is a mineral rich democracy that gained its independence in 1966. This article deals with Botswana’s attempt to teach democracy to its students. The article looked at pre-service and in-service education of Social Studies Teachers in Botswana.

            Historically Botswana was a colony of England prior to its independence. Prior to England it had tribal attributes. For 100 or so years Botswana had traditional English teaching of English and Arithmetic. Students had Christian names as well. Since 1966 Botswana has embraced democracy. In 1977 Botswana produced the Education for Social Harmony a document that listed an itemized five aspects of democracy that all Botswana students should be educated in and on.  This article looked at the abilities of pre-service and in-service educators when teaching democracy. The teachers were evaluated from May through July over a 3 year period.

            The government wanted specific areas of Botswana and democracy taught. Curriculum should teach the democratic institution, and should incorporate practical experiences of a democratic institution. Natural resources were taught. Botswana self reliance concepts were taught. National identity and unity was taught.

            After evaluating 72 Social Studies teacher it was evident that teachers themselves had trouble teaching to this platform. Democracy was difficult to teach. A lack of African texts by African authors was evident. Teacher student ratios were inadequate. A lack of interaction with community leaders was evident. Funding was an issue as well as proper training for teachers pre-service. All of these issues were apparent with the findings of the survey. On another note, teachers thought they did a good job teaching Botswana democracy, however the evaluations of supervising teachers were not as supporting.

            This was an interesting article with interesting issues. Coming from an established Democracy, it’s easy to see what’s at play here. Botswana is looking to educate its people on the virtues of democracy. A country with its people behind it is better than a country without its people. It was interesting to notice a lack of training in other forms of government from a contrasting standpoint. The more we open the eyes of students to the world around them, the better off we’ll be in allowing people to form their own opinions and judgments’. Too much of a good thing can be an issue, and this focus on Democracy may have its pitfalls moving forward.

Adeyemi, M. (2002). An Investigation into the Status of the Teaching and Learning of the Concept of Democracy at the Junior Secondary School Level in Botswana. Educational Studies (03055698), 28(4), 385-401. doi:10.1080/0305569022000042408

Article #10

          This article was found in Educational Studies 2002. The article looked at respect amongst three groups. The first group was comprised of all the people at a particular family center in England. The second group was a project group of young individuals who all had some criminal involvement activity. The third group was mostly professionals of various backgrounds and ethnicities. The author or researcher was attempting to understand the concept of respect and what is meant to various peoples. From an educational standpoint I think the author was trying to determine better ways to interact with young adolescents.

            Three groups were interviewed extensively. If interviewees did not want to participate verbally they had the opportunity to participate via surveys and written questions. The researcher/author was attempting to understand respect and what it meant to people in different situations.

            Two distinct interpretations were determined. Respect for some meant proper recognition due to a particular social standing; teacher student. The other meaning was based on regard and attention. The family centre afforded students, workers and staffs a mutually respectful environment. Everyone was on a first name basis, and people’s views and opinions were valued. This was determined via interviews. The pilot project participants looked at the acrimonious relationships developed at school for most of the participants. The participants implied teachers employed power techniques and demanded respect. The third group identified various manners respect was afforded adults.

            It was apparent respect meant something different for a lot of people. When dealing with adolescents, it became apparent that less formal was better. Listening and paying attention was achieved easier in situations that afforded adolescents mutual standing. The project center had success because formalities and titles were not used. This informal atmosphere lent itself to a positive social environment for all the participants.

            This was an interesting study. Having worked at a school that employs a first name rule for all students, faculty, administration and staff, I could see the benefits of teacher student interaction on a regular basis. Students loved saying hello in the halls, on the fields and in class. Whether this is a direct result of using first names I don’t know, but parts of this study would confirm that some young adolescents thought it was valuable and afforded them equal status or mutual respect. The question remains though is respect something that is earned or afforded. I’m a fan of affording it until it isn’t warranted.

Jones, H. F. (2002). Respecting Respect: exploring a great deal. Educational Studies (03055698), 28(4), 341-352. doi:10.1080/0305569022000042381

Article #9

           This was another article regarding education outside of the United States. This article focused on team collaboration in four distinct schools that were respected for their creativity and collaborative approach. The researcher used previous data as well as new data collected by surveying teachers at the four selected schools. Team collaboration was embraced by the majority of those surveyed. This study looked to determine what were the negative connotations associated with collaboration.

            Team approaches are currently in favor in Australia. The benefits to both students and teachers outweigh the negatives researchers suggest. The study looked at previous findings and mingled them with current findings at four separate schools. Each of the four schools selected were very different from each other, except the fact that they all employed team collaboration.

            Collaboration or a democratic approach to teaching is favored here. The benefits to educator and pupil far out weigh the negatives. The negatives associated with collaboration were interesting but also disturbing. The main objective to collaboration was the educators were basically silenced. Dissent and debate are basically silenced due to a majority accepting conformity to norms and practices. So although the majority sees all the benefits of collaboration such as; morale, moral support, teacher learning, the minority saw the loss of autonomy as detrimental to their own pursuit of better teaching practices.

            What to do? I’m not sure. I’ve seen the benefits and shortfalls of team teaching. The negatives seem to stick out stronger than the benefits to me. This article seems to suggest further studies are necessary for a better understanding of the problems associated with team teaching. What is certain however is that people will always a particular view either negative or positive on a hot button subject. Team teaching or teacher collaboration is one of those topics. It’s obvious by reading this article/study that plenty of more research is necessary to determine the good and the bad of team teaching.

Johnson, B. (2003). Teacher collaboration: good for some, not so good for others. Educational Studies (03055698), 29(4), 337-350. doi:10.1080/0305569032000159651

Foundations Article #8

           This article looked at Scottish Schools and the presence of additional adults in the classroom along with a supervisory teacher. This article takes a look at the role of the teacher, as well as the impact other adults have in classroom. These other adults would be considered special educators or para educators in the United States. Scotland has a firm policy on inclusion and this paper attempts to look at the role teachers have in delegating authority to other adults and making sure the classroom functions in an optimum manner.

            Traditionally classes in Scotland have one teacher per classroom. With inclusion came the appearance of support personal for special needs students. These support personnel are not always trained in education. Lots of veteran and novice teachers are not trained in supervisory or management roles of adults. Teaching has long been seen as a solitary profession. With the emergence of special needs and inclusion in classrooms, lead teachers need to know how to adequately meet the needs of diverse learners.

            The paper identifies management themes that are particularly important for classroom success. The supervisory teacher needs to be able to tailor classroom work for diverse learners. The teacher needs to be able to communicate this to the supporting teacher. The supervisory teacher needs to provide direction to supporting personnel. The supervisory teacher needs to be able to train and coach supporting personnel, especially those with no former educational training background. The supervisory teacher must also act as a motivator for both students and adults, and must be willing to share insights on dealing with students with conduct difficulties. Lastly, the supervisory teacher must act like a supervisor. Traditional thoughts on teaching have been a teacher is responsible for administering lesson plans, but that idea needs to be expanded. Teachers are the classroom supervisors, they need to reach everyone in the classroom and they are responsible for making sure students and adults alike understand the direction the class is going and why.

            The paper tells us what teachers should be doing in 21^st century Scotland. The role of a teacher has changed. A teacher needs to make sure students, special educators and para’s all know what is on the agenda. The teacher needs to make sure support personal are aware of the expectations and be able to communicate those expectations to all personnel involved. It would seem this is all part of the job to begin with, but the concept of teaching being a solitary job is apparently part of the problem.

Calder, I., & Grieve, A. (2004). Working with other adults: what teachers need to know. Educational Studies (03055698), 30(2), 113-126. doi:10/1080.0305569032000159778

Foundations Article #7

         This exercise of reviewing articles on Foundational Issues needs to be improved a bit. I have spent 5 hours today reading articles from Educational Studies from 2006 and 2005. I have written one response to one article that was a bit more of a case study than an analysis. Time is a precious commodity and I find this particular part of the classroom expectations difficult because I’m spending too much time looking for an article that is of value. That being said this article I’m reviewing deals with the lack of interpersonal skill training in professional teacher programs and suggests some ways at looking at particular situations.

            After two years of graduate classes and a semester of student/teaching, I am a bit surprised at the lack of classroom instruction regarding classroom management and interpersonal skill development. Most of my classes have focused on instruction, assessment and theories. The policies of classroom management is something an individual must develop a bit on his or her own, but there should be some basic concepts regarding the do’s and don’ts of classrooms in the millennium. However, that is not the crux of this article, this article attempts to address interpersonal skill development and training, which is something I have very little education in. Typically I have regarded skills of that sort as a development of one’s own identity, not a course in learning to empathize and communicate.

            The premise of this article is that more formal education in relationship management and teachers and educators will have the abilities to deal with real life situations as they present themselves in the classroom. This article acts in a reactionary manner, not in a preventive manner. It lists seven tools the authors find valid when dealing with classroom conflicts. The authors are educators as well, and used experience and discussions with other teachers to develop these seven suggestions.

I think the idea is valid. I do believe classes in classroom management and possibly psychology may help some teachers deal with their students. My own experiences have shown that you never quite know what’s behind the next door during the day so experience and exposure to different situations is important. I also think that interpersonal skills are extremely difficult to teach. It’s an inherent skill that needs to be developed personally. You can’t teach the essence of understanding, empathy, compassion and conflict resolution. Only exposure to different situations allows you to learn and experience the different ways people react when put in certain situations.

 Stemler, S., Elliott, J., Grigorenko, E., & Sternberg, R. (2006). There’s more to teaching than instruction: seven strategies for dealing with the practical side of teaching 1. Educational Studies (03055698), 32(1), 101-118. doi:10.1080/03055690500416074

Foundations Article #6

           This article was found in Educational Studies from 2006. The article was actually a study that examined the role of humor in the school and classroom environment. Specifically the study was focused on principals and their use of humor to make the classroom and school environment a less stressful place to be.

            From a historical perspective, Hurren found that not a lot of research had been done on humor or a sense of humor in the classroom or school. The premise being because humor isn’t serious, how can a serious study be conducted on humor. What Hurren found was that humor displayed by principals in most school house settings relaxed the overall environment and culture of the school. Whether humor was exhibited in the hall, or in a class or a faculty meeting, the presence of humor led to a reduction in stress. It has been thought that a teacher must have the ability to laugh at oneself. Administration has not had that same requirement. What this study found however was that schools that had a principal and administration that embraced humor, the culture of the schools was more relaxing, less stressful and more fun to be in. Lastly, executives who were polled about humor also expressed the importance of humor or a sense of humor in the business setting.

            I think the values being discovered or impressed upon us with this study is that things need to be taken with a grain of salt on occasion. Although education is serious business, by reducing the amount of stress daily, the environment becomes that much better to be in. Humor is a natural reaction in the body. By releasing endorphins, the body is able to reduce the amount of stress inside the body. Principals are able to make the school culture and environment that much more relaxing by utilizing humor to relieve anxiety and stress.

School culture needs to embrace and encourage humor. It has its place within the school walls, but also needs to be employed in particular situations where light humor can ease all aspects of the daily routine. Teaching is stressful business; Administrations need to do their part in reducing stress on a daily basis.

Hurren, B. (2006). The effects of principals’ humor on teachers’ job satisfaction. Educational Studies (03055698), 32(4), 373-385. doi:10.1080/03055690600850321