Past reflections on high-stakes testing

IIn a world focused on accountability and test scores, it’s vitally important to create a balance in our schools. We should ask ourselves: what kind of people do we want our students to be when they graduate? What are the abilities and knowledge that we should be incubating within our schools to guarantee the values we prize in society? Testing should be used as one of the tools to assess what students are learning. Data should be used to provide information about our practice, and to identify the individual needs of the students, “use of discourse as an analytical tool rather than a means for control” (Ylimaki, 2010, p.55). Our desire to help children develop into authentic individuals, democratic citizens and community advocates should drive our choices in the curriculum. Choices need to be made about what subjects should be covered, and these choices need to include an extensive cultural and intellectual appraisal of the members of the classroom. In this manner, the activities can mirror the actual realities of the students and evolve into a cohesive curriculum.

For this to be accomplished a relationship of trust and a collaborative culture that values open and honest communication must exist between teachers and leaders. In addition, key decision makers in the school can utilize the guidelines the state standards recommend, and amalgamate them with the ones found to be essential to that particular community and their corresponding vision. As a result, students will obtain a deeper understanding in key subjects as opposed to a perfunctory and superficial one. If the goal is to produce successful students, it’s in every one’s best interest (students, teachers and leaders), to contribute to this ongoing and ever changing process. Working together to create a greater scope of knowledge will not only enrich the curriculum in schools, but will also create a more inquiry based school environment, helping students experience that learning is an active and passionate process.  If the passion is there (the wish for knowledge is ignited) it is a sign that things are working well. This will hopefully lead to a school culture that fosters inquiry and community, where students will grow to become individuals fully prepared to contribute in society, with strong tools and an active desire for positive change.

Principal for a Day

In the past few classes and blog posts, some of us have discussed the importance of creating a network of people to support us, give us advice; as well as creating moments of peace during our day. This week, I found a sacred space within the school day: it consisted in talking and interacting with the students during their lunch time, and playing with them at recess.
The day started out by opening the school early in the morning, as I was acting principal for the day. In this role, I had to make quick decisions. I had to call a parent and inform her that I was sending a note home for an expulsion hearing. Two teachers were absent, and one was out sick, and I had to figure out how to provide coverage in the classrooms. I stayed late to help teachers, students, and families with their after-school project on Family Culture. I had an angry parent come into the office screaming, upset over a DCF issue that I had had to file a few days prior. There were gratifying moments as well, such as a parent calling the school giving thanks for the care and effort that teachers and administrators  had for her child. All in all, it was a well rounded, interesting experience that I enjoyed thoroughly.
    However, the favorite moments in my day were the times I spent with the students. Going into the classrooms and being in touch with the student’s perspectives and experiences in the school was refreshing to say the least. Stepping into their world is not exactly peaceful because children make noise, but it made me feel calm. Part of it is that their presence reminds me of the importance of doing our job for them. It is also refreshing to be near them because of their ability to be in the present moment; emanating joy, and light to those who stop and listen. Also, they are usually honest and straightforward, and when things are not right with them, you know it.
As principals we should not allow ourselves to get too far away from the opportunity to hear their voices, and include this in our day with equal importance as we do giving time  to students who misbehave, and improving the curriculum as instructional leaders.

The "Jack Elgart" case

        After class last on Wednesday, a question lingered in my head; What can be done about teachers that don’t buy in to the vision of the school, or that are inflexible with their teaching methods? As leaders, we have to be managers, while also instructional coaches for our teachers. How can we manage, and lead in both areas, especially when some teachers are more resistant to change?

The Pfeiffer and Sutton readings this week discussed the idea that “natural talent is overrated” and that while a lot of it depends on a person’s motivation and experience “talent [ultimately] depends on how a person is managed or led” (Pfeiffer & Sutton, p. 92) What does this mean for the schools, i.e. teachers, staff, and also leaders?

• The leader is responsible for building and sustaining systems in the building where growth and improvement are encouraged for everyone, while also providing the time, resources, and support for teachers who seek to improve their practice.
• As principals we need to create a school culture of collegiality and trust where mistakes are valued as learning opportunities, and teachers and managers are encouraged to bring up other people’s mistakes and also receive suggestions without feeling personally attacked.
• The idea that at any given time, anyone can be a leader as the need arises must be believed by everyone in the school. The principal in my current placement motivates people with the metaphor that the faculty and leaders are “ a crew, not passengers” to encourage involvement and so that every one's talents will be used and maximized.
• When hiring,  it is important to look for people “who know the limits of their knowledge, who ask for help when they need it, and who are tenacious about {improving their skills] and [eager] to help their colleagues” (Pfeiffer & Sutton p. 102).
• And lastly, it is important to “offer support and “redesign” systems before concluding that a person is [undesirable] or “crappy” (Pfeiffer & Sutton p. 102)

Culturally Responsive Schooling

I am from a culturally diverse background, having been born and brought up in Mexico until I was 18. This experience speaking the languages of two different cultures and embodying both perspectives has given me the insight to help connect with students and parents in my school who have had similar experiences. However, insight alone isn't enough to create change. Students and parents encounter a lot of obstacles trying to fit in, while maintaining their own cultural values. 
After reading Ladson Billings and Lisa Delpit for my principalship course, and then the readings for class this week, I am becoming more aware of the multiple layers that cultural understanding actually involves. As a future leader, creating a culturally responsive culture is important to me, and while I know that there is no “recipe” to follow to create this, I think a deeper understanding of other cultures will help students become more aware as citizens and will broaden their perspectives on life, regardless of what their ethnic background is. Some of the fundamental parts that I believe are needed to create an authentically inclusive school culture are:
a) Opening the dialogue about diversity within the school; reaching beyond discrimination laws and data on the unfavorable academic and personal outcomes of minority students. I would form teams of teachers to collaborate on the best ways to teach ethnically diverse students the skills needed to be successful in the power culture within the context of creative and critical thinking (Delpit, 2006).
b) Exploring the human resources within the community. I would involve teachers in projects to spend time inside the social and cultural networks where the children live. This would include arranging conversations between the parents, teachers and myself, about possible solutions addressing the needs the children have to honor their inherited culture and the knowledge emanating from it.
c) Empowering staff . In order to carry out this vision of a culturally responsive school, staff does need to be diversified, but above all, the school should include teachers that share an enthusiasm for working with minority students, regardless of their cultural background. I would use the statistics about ethnically diverse students and the disadvantages they face in the school system to motivate teachers to foster growth and change in all the students and to brainstorm ideas to tailor the instructional choices of the school to meet the needs of all students.
d) Focus on success stories. A focus on the success stories of teachers and leaders that have worked with minority groups, both known to only the community and in world-renown spokesmen.
e) Listening to the students: I would also emphasize the importance of listening to the student’s voices, letting them tell us who they are to a greater extent. The students that are not ethnically diverse will be enriched by this experience, continue to value and be proud of their own culture, but also feel comfortable probing into other students’ experiences as a way of knowing their world. Students would be encouraged to transition smoothly from the culture at school to the culture at home and vice-versa, without the agony or belief that they have to choose one or the other. For ethnically diverse students, this knowledge will empower them to stay true to the values of their culture while also becoming knowledgeable about the power structure of the majority in pursuit of academic excellence.
My ultimate goal for a culturally responsive school culture is one where all  students celebrate that the connection to their own culture makes them a valuable part of the community, as well as qualified agents questioning their own realities.