Chapter 10 speaks about the mechanism of change in the field of Education. Change is an extremely hard thing for some, especially for those who have been behaving in the same manner for many years. Change is a constant, everything is in flux. It is necessary, yes, to improve student learning, but more so in today’s day it is necessary to maintain relevancy, Without relevancy, education cannot be effective.
That is the point we are at. In the past months we have been introduced to a variety of intended and supposedly, already implemented, changes in our education system. This constant struggle is what we will continue to pursue. The positive effects of which are unforeseen, however aspiring to be anything less than vigilant would be an injustice to the next generation.
There are 4 principles behind implementing change, focus, support and accountability, collaboration and staying the course. These principles are in play from the legislative level, to the board, to the school. Without focus, goals can be compromised, and the path needlessly diverted, resulting in a loss of enthusiasm, time and money. Without support and accountability, it would be difficult to recover from setbacks, issues would go unreconciled, could not be traced and understood, and prevented in future. Collaboration is necessary to be freed from the constraints of one’s context, it’s very easy to get lost within one’s own point of view, collaboration is a balance check in these situations, as well as a means of generating fresh content. Staying the course is a common struggle for all humans, hopefully keeping the next generation in mind can help us remain steadfast in our pursuits.
There were a couple points that Cooper brought up, that were especially relevant to my experience. For one, Cooper acknowledges the notion that teachers and students should work collaboratively to generate a positive classroom environment.
When I was a “Mad Scientist”, I tried to implement this dogma, however was some what unsuccessful. I would spend too little of time with my classes. An hour a week for 8 weeks, and the program was run after school, so the attitudes of my students reflected that. I would make it apparent to my students that they were responsible as well for the smooth facilitation of activities.
That is the point we are at. In the past months we have been introduced to a variety of intended and supposedly, already implemented, changes in our education system. This constant struggle is what we will continue to pursue. The positive effects of which are unforeseen, however aspiring to be anything less than vigilant would be an injustice to the next generation.
There are 4 principles behind implementing change, focus, support and accountability, collaboration and staying the course. These principles are in play from the legislative level, to the board, to the school. Without focus, goals can be compromised, and the path needlessly diverted, resulting in a loss of enthusiasm, time and money. Without support and accountability, it would be difficult to recover from setbacks, issues would go unreconciled, could not be traced and understood, and prevented in future. Collaboration is necessary to be freed from the constraints of one’s context, it’s very easy to get lost within one’s own point of view, collaboration is a balance check in these situations, as well as a means of generating fresh content. Staying the course is a common struggle for all humans, hopefully keeping the next generation in mind can help us remain steadfast in our pursuits.
There were a couple points that Cooper brought up, that were especially relevant to my experience. For one, Cooper acknowledges the notion that teachers and students should work collaboratively to generate a positive classroom environment.
When I was a “Mad Scientist”, I tried to implement this dogma, however was some what unsuccessful. I would spend too little of time with my classes. An hour a week for 8 weeks, and the program was run after school, so the attitudes of my students reflected that. I would make it apparent to my students that they were responsible as well for the smooth facilitation of activities.