[Ous-lp-rp13] EDAD 6020, Response to Question #1

[Nicholas Turon]

*Molly, I love your principal’s blog. Outside of your answers I looked into
that, read several entries, and I was impressed. I will use this when I am
a principal. It helps with the structural “nuts-and-bolts” by giving a look
at the week and outlining all of the building events so there are not any
“surprise pep rallies” (that happens frequently at my school). It humanizes
the principal by allowing him to show vulnerability and what he is
struggling with that week and it shows how he is responding to his staff.
(here is a link
<https://sites.google.com/a/greenbobcats.org/green-high-school-principals-site/good-stuff>
for those interested)As it relates to your content, I want to respond to
classrooms being rational systems. That statement first gave me a knee-jerk
response. The way the state has it set up with the standards and
standardized tests being a top-down push makes me feel as if maybe
government believes classrooms are rational systems. Is this correct? As a
principal, how should I view classrooms?The spread of abilities, strengths,
weaknesses, and lack of interdependence in a normal classroom leads me to
feel classrooms should be natural systems focused more on the individual
than on the group goal of mastering standard 1.6. A factory mindset almost
assumes some sort of standardization among students in skill and attitude.
Also, in most cases, students aren’t so much “achieving a group goal” as
they are “achieving an individual goal.”I don’t know if I have answers to
these questions just yet. One thing is for sure though, what each classroom
will look like is vastly different.  A band class looks very different than
a math class and I do not believe that distinction should be acknowledged
when I do come up with an
answer.---------------------------------------------------------------------------Molly’s
Original AnswerOne aspect of rational systems that can be found in schools
is the focus on learning standards and standardized testing. Each of these
have several characteristics of rational systems. One such characteristic
is that learning standards and standardized tests are implemented using a
top-down chain of command approach, showing the division of labor between
the Department of Education and the teachers in the trenches. Another
characteristic is that the standards and tests are meant to optimize and
generalize teaching across the state, and they may do so with some
effectiveness. Both are also incredibly goal driven and formalized
processes intended to maximize prosperity for the student. Ultimately,
these standards and tests also have the potential to squash the individual
teacher's creativity, forcing them into a limited direction through one
final authority, as rational systems do. At Green High School, we are
blessed with a principal who cares very much for his teachers and staff. He
exemplifies a natural systems model intentionally in daily and weekly
actions. One example of this is his weekly blog, in which he takes time to
address our our well-being as people, not just as teachers and at the same
time he addresses the well-being of our students. His blog motivates us
with quotes, stories, and anecdotes, leaving us with something to return to
on tough days. We often find ourselves discussing his weekly blog together
informally. There is no scheduled time to meet and discuss, but rather we
may strike up a conversation in the hall or at lunch. In this way, he
brings us together as one large group motivated to move forward together,
but also brings us together in small groups, that focus on similarities of
content, grade level, or interest. It brings us into conversation which
ultimately boosts morale, increases productivity as we care for each other
and our students, and makes us all the more likely to follow him as a
leader. Our district is currently in the process of building a new school.
The elements of an open/social system are evident in every move we make as
we move toward our levy on the November ballot. There is a great history of
football in our community, yet our high school team has been quite
unsuccessful in winning any games the last decade, let alone fielding
enough players to have a team. However, the idea of including a new sports
complex on the ballot is quite appealing to many influential voices in the
community who believe it will help us pass our levy. Additionally, we have
heard a number of ideas and felt pushed by the State to design our building
in pods with furniture and rooms capable of collaboration, arts integration
STEM/STEAM. However, many teachers in our district are unsure that these
things fit our current culture and style. It's certainly a complex
push-pull battle of voices from the top-down and from the inside-out. Our
district is finding itself heavily dependent on our community and the
teachers are finding themselves heavily dependent on the Board and the
Superintendent, all of which have different motivation and desired outcomes
in this project.*

*Nicholas Turon*
Director of Bands
Paint Valley Local Schools
nicholas.turon at gmail.com
(740)-816-8266
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