When I Reflect About My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

Researchers and experts in educational leadership argue that collaboration and partnership between unions and school systems are necessary pre-conditions for creating a trusting collaborative learning culture in schools and districts. For example, in Leithwood’s (2006) study of teachers’ working conditions, he points out that “teachers’ internal states and their classroom performance contribute much more positively to student learning when there is a consistent, largely uncontested sense of direction for change in the province.” Michael Fullan (2010) in All Systems Go extends this argument, suggesting that “there is no way to make whole-system reform work without the entire teaching profession and its leaders working together for the collective good.” The writings of these and others open doors to greater collaborative efforts between school systems and teachers’ unions both to improve working conditions for teachers and to build teacher satisfaction and morale, and in turn, positively impact teaching, learning and student achievement.

Why does it take so long to establish a PLC? Kruse and Louis (2009) suggest that trust is a key element of organizational culture that is often taken for granted, and routinely overlooked. High trust, they assert, is associated with improved performance on a variety of measures such as student achievement and parent engagement. Low trust is associated with stress and anxiety.

Kruse and Louis note that:

• Even where there are pockets of high trust among like-minded teachers in a school, there may be weak relational trust within the larger organization.

• Relationships between teachers and administrators may be less trusting than those among teachers, with the result that teachers may look cynically at an administrator-initiated change.

• Change itself decreases trust because it alters and disrupts the norms and functions within the organization.

Trust, then, is required for the development of effective collaborative learning cultures, and a factor that must be considered. Although leaders can’t be solely responsible for creating a trusting culture in the school or district, their words and actions set the tone and lay the foundation.

The goal I have for using this collegial experience to enhance my advocacy, policy, and/or system development work on behalf of young children, families, and the early childhood community is to apply the skills I’ve gained and developed in this course to my work.

Reference:

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/leadership/ideasintoactionspring.pdf

My Hypothetical Family Situation

Jack is a 6 year old boy with autism and has a 3 year old sister. He has difficulty playing with his peers but plays a little beat with his sister. He’s the only person with autism in his family. His father work’s as an engineer while the mother stays at home. Jack never initiates conversations and rarely makes eye contact with other individuals. He sometimes starts spoiling things around him and runs out from the class.

Jack was placed in a special education school. His teacher Mrs. Peter has been having difficulty in finding effective teaching strategies to work with Jack. He rarely listens to Mrs. Penny and has difficulty interacting with other students in his class. I experienced this couple of years ago while working with him. At home, parents have noticed that Jack loses his temper more frequently since they moved to New York City last year. In order to look for the strategies for working with Jack, Mrs. Penny scheduled an IEP team meeting with his parents.

I’m just wondering if you have an idea of any other service out there that you think it would be of help for Jack and his family. This is a child I’ve actually worked with during summer couple of years ago. Is there any strategy you know that may be used to help his situation?

Thanks in advance.

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

In the United States, more than 60% of all children from birth to age five spend time in the care of someone other than their parents. And child development research, neuroscience, and program evaluation affirm the long-lasting effects that high-quality early childhood experiences have on individual and societal outcomes, including school readiness and persistence, economic vitality, workforce preparation, and mental health.

Early education and care services for young children are provided by a wide range of programs with different designs and purposes, including the federal Head Start program; state child care programs that represent a mix of federal and state funds and requirements (and parent co-pays); and state-funded preschool programs. One of the strategies they used was bilingual program. Under the leadership of Jimmy Carter, Head Start began bilingual programs, supporting the expanding diversity of children who were in the program in order to respect the culture and diversity of each child which is very important in the field of early childhood.

 Bilingual programs which were established as a result of diversity issue really appeal to me. I believe this would enhance the relationship between the teachers and children and at the same time would improve the relationship between the teachers and parents in order to meet their needs.

Reference:

http://www.buildinitiative.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents

/Early%20Childhood%20Governance%20for%20Web.pdf

http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6765/02/mm/historical_overview/index.html