As I reflect upon school culture, I think about the way that things are done in any given school. A school’s climate is all the positive and negative
interactions among all people at the school in a given day. It is the values, traditions, beliefs, rituals and norms that have been introduced and practiced over time. By "all the people at the school" I mean the principal, academic coordinators, teachers, students, and families. I feel that the principal is the leader who creates procedures and communicates the vision for the school, sets high standards for student learning, and makes expectations clear to
teachers for meeting academic achievement goals, the school is more likely to be
high achieving. According to Wong & Wong school that are effective have a culture that is based on their beliefs and practices. (2009, pg. 328) I believe that it is important for teachers to create a learner-centered environment. An environment in which learning is personalized, collaborative, relevant, and flexible. Teachers should know their students as individuals, understand their strengths, needs, and learning
styles, and be able to differentiate the ways they learn grade level content.
The school I am currently teaching at in Watsonville, CA is committed, passionate, collaborative,
responsive, and has a wonderful mix of culturally and linguistically diverse educators with great
intellectual capacity. I feel that all of these attributes positively affect student learning. Personally, I aim to motivate my students to use their skills in order to make a difference in their community and the world. "It is not money, class size, or a new textbook that determines the success of a group of teachers or the esteem in which they are held. It is culture." (Wong & Wong, pg. 315)
Very well said Meghann! I completely agree culture is the " way things get done at a given school". Like you said it’s imperative that everyone from top to bottom are clear about what the school value and believes is important. However, I believe it not just by "all the people at the school", rather all the people in the community which share and practice the same beliefs and values.
ReplyDeleteEvery school and community has there own culture. However not every school and community have good leadership, and embrace and assess whether they achieve those set learner goals and a school wide culture. With my little experience, I have found schools which have good leadership go beyond establishing school wide goals and implementing part of their school culture, they develop and implement something that is often unique to their school culture and community. For my school it is practicing the catholic faith and providing services to the catholic community. Very good post, keep up the good work!
-Shane
Hi Shane,
DeleteThank you for your insight. I agree with you when you mentioned that it is "all the people in the community which share and practice the same beliefs and values". The community is very core to a school's culture. Thanks for pointing out this very important component of a school culture.
~Meghann
I like the idea "Classroom culture is the shadow of the teacher." It is true that each of the teacher's acts make the classroom culture. I agree that the teacher should know student individuals in order to give differential teaching. From the pictures of you posted, I saw lots of activities in your school. The activities really help teachers understand their students. By this way, the teachers could learn students in their different aspects besides the academic study, so they would find the factors which affect their students and provide appropriated help. On the other hand, by the activities, the students could feel comfortable and relaxed in the school environment, so they would be happy and enjoy the school time. Therefore, creating a warm and conformable school environment will benefit both teaching and learning to increase learning efficiency.
ReplyDelete