George Washington Carver, a native of Missouri with many obstacles to overcome stated, “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” It is my belief that vision for improving student achievement is embedded in hope for the future. This vision should be shared in every component in our instructional structure and the aim will be to enhance teaching, learning, and engaging all stakeholders in our district and the community with the knowledge and understanding of the district’s vision and mission. Peter Senge stated, “A shared vision is not an idea…. it is rather, a force in people’s hearts, a force of impressive power.” The concept of vision in organizations has almost become commonplace. Every organization has to have a vision and mission statement. Most visions, however, are not shared visions. They are imposed on others by the head of the organization or a group of people at the top. These visions are not very effective long-term because they “command compliance – not commitment” Senge ,1990.
It is my belief that the vision for improving teaching and learning in our school district is based on our leadership model, “The Team of Eight” It is our hope for the future that our school leadership structure focus on enhancement of teaching, learning, and assessment of students and teachers. The aim is to improve quality and delivery of classroom instruction and enhance student achievement, and in addition, to engage all members of the community in the vision and mission. According to Senge (1990), a shared vision incorporates individual visions, inclines commitment, and focuses on energy. When people truly share a vision, they are connected, bound together by a common aspiration…. Shared visions derive their power from a common caring.” Shared visions bind people through a common aspiration.
There is reason to believe that shared visions evolve in part because of a strong underlying need for people to be connected in achieving some common goal. Few, if any, forces in human affairs are as powerful as shared vision.
The relationship between curriculum, vision, and discipline is of paramount importance. If a child attends two years of pre-school, nine years of elementary, four years each at high-school and college, it will total nineteen years. If we multiply this with the average six-hour day, thirty-hour week, or twelve-hundred-hour year, we derive a sum of 22,800 hours. If we also realize the relationship between academic achievement and economic possibilities, it may behoove us to critically assess what takes place in the classroom. Virtually every national standard and state framework calls for fundamental changes in what teachers teach and how content is organized (curriculum), how they teach (instruction), and how student learning is monitored, evaluated, and reported (assessment).
I believe “A Relevant Curriculum,” is essential to maintain students curiosity and enthusiasm from the primary grades through college and the relationship between thinking skills, high expectations, self-images and discipline. Current standards are based on the premise that learning is something that students do, not something that is done to them. Standards set the stage to establish an active learning process in which students describe objects and events, ask questions, formulate explanations, and communicate their ideas to others. In this way, students build strong knowledge of content, apply that knowledge to new problems, learn how to communicate clearly, and build critical and logical thinking skills. Standards and assessments define learning and how parents and members of a community determine whether students have mastered the standards. Standards identify what we expect students to know and be able to do, expose students to selected content, and develop skills we expect them to acquire as well as expose the intellectual qualities and habits of mind we expect them to develop. The content standards describe the knowledge and abilities students need to develop, from kindergarten through high school, in order to become scientifically literate.
Assessment linked to specific standards define the various ways students demonstrate that they posses the knowledge and skills the standards demand. The results usually indicate the extent of progress students and teachers have made towards meeting the standards. Emphasis should be focused on the instructional strategies that will be student centered and teacher driven to improve student performance. If educational reform does not reach the classroom level, then there will be no chance in improving the potential for achievement.
References
Kunjufu, J. (1984) Developing Positive Self-Images and Discipline in Black Children. Chicago, Illinois: African American Images Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline. New York: Doubleday
It is my belief that the vision for improving teaching and learning in our school district is based on our leadership model, “The Team of Eight” It is our hope for the future that our school leadership structure focus on enhancement of teaching, learning, and assessment of students and teachers. The aim is to improve quality and delivery of classroom instruction and enhance student achievement, and in addition, to engage all members of the community in the vision and mission. According to Senge (1990), a shared vision incorporates individual visions, inclines commitment, and focuses on energy. When people truly share a vision, they are connected, bound together by a common aspiration…. Shared visions derive their power from a common caring.” Shared visions bind people through a common aspiration.
There is reason to believe that shared visions evolve in part because of a strong underlying need for people to be connected in achieving some common goal. Few, if any, forces in human affairs are as powerful as shared vision.
The relationship between curriculum, vision, and discipline is of paramount importance. If a child attends two years of pre-school, nine years of elementary, four years each at high-school and college, it will total nineteen years. If we multiply this with the average six-hour day, thirty-hour week, or twelve-hundred-hour year, we derive a sum of 22,800 hours. If we also realize the relationship between academic achievement and economic possibilities, it may behoove us to critically assess what takes place in the classroom. Virtually every national standard and state framework calls for fundamental changes in what teachers teach and how content is organized (curriculum), how they teach (instruction), and how student learning is monitored, evaluated, and reported (assessment).
I believe “A Relevant Curriculum,” is essential to maintain students curiosity and enthusiasm from the primary grades through college and the relationship between thinking skills, high expectations, self-images and discipline. Current standards are based on the premise that learning is something that students do, not something that is done to them. Standards set the stage to establish an active learning process in which students describe objects and events, ask questions, formulate explanations, and communicate their ideas to others. In this way, students build strong knowledge of content, apply that knowledge to new problems, learn how to communicate clearly, and build critical and logical thinking skills. Standards and assessments define learning and how parents and members of a community determine whether students have mastered the standards. Standards identify what we expect students to know and be able to do, expose students to selected content, and develop skills we expect them to acquire as well as expose the intellectual qualities and habits of mind we expect them to develop. The content standards describe the knowledge and abilities students need to develop, from kindergarten through high school, in order to become scientifically literate.
Assessment linked to specific standards define the various ways students demonstrate that they posses the knowledge and skills the standards demand. The results usually indicate the extent of progress students and teachers have made towards meeting the standards. Emphasis should be focused on the instructional strategies that will be student centered and teacher driven to improve student performance. If educational reform does not reach the classroom level, then there will be no chance in improving the potential for achievement.
References
Kunjufu, J. (1984) Developing Positive Self-Images and Discipline in Black Children. Chicago, Illinois: African American Images Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline. New York: Doubleday
