- Family culture
- School culture
- Neighborhood culture
While schools have a limited role in directly determining the family or neighborhood culture of students, they can have an immediate means of altering the school culture in a meaningful way. Educators can make schools monuments to learning by making them inviting and pleasant places for students and their families.
After you have viewed Dr. Maynard's introduction to Chapter 2, please read the chapter and comment on this blog posting responding to the prompts below:
- What barriers are present in your school or classroom culture that would prevent you from implementing a Ron Berger type program?
- How can we work together to overcome those barriers?
I cannot definitively say there are any barriers in my school or classroom culture that would prevent me from implementing an ethic of excellence type of program as prescribed by Ron Berger. We are very fortunate to have the rural small town and strong community, as mentioned in Ch. 2. We are held to a higher accountability, as both our strengths as well as deficits are more visible than in a larger scale school. A possible barrier I foresee lies in student and/or parent support. Perhaps one way to ensure success is to invite parents frequently into the classroom, not as volunteers, but as casual observers so they too can benefit from the culture of excellence we are striving to create and then extend that culture in the home to promote their child's success both in and out of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comments Nicole. Having parents see themselves as part of the school community and engaging them in activities brings ownership and support. In addition, having expeditions with connections to the community will not only make the learning more meaningful to students but will get "buy-in" from community leaders.
DeleteThat is exactly what I was trying to say. I think the parents and community want to be a part of what we are doing and this can give us the opening to make it meaningful for all. Good point Steve B.
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DeleteI like the idea of inviting parents into the classrooms as observers. There are going to be a lot of changes this school year. Maybe this could be a way of helping them understand the culture of excellence we are trying to create.
DeleteParents as observers would give them an opportunity to view our day to day tasks and what it takes to make things work. Good Idea
DeleteI think this change at HES is really going to need the parent support. They need to know that the bar is going to be raised and the kind of work that will be produced will not come easy for the kids-it is going to take hard work. We will need their support and know that it is what is best for the kids.
DeleteYour comments are very much on target. The bar is being raised and the parents and community will be able to see and feel what excellence is all about!
DeleteI am not sure barriers is the word, but I have noticed that even though we say our school is parent/community friendly we have less and less interactions with the community then say we did 4 or 5 years ago. I am not sure why that has happened but perhaps no one, staff or community, knows what direction to go with parent/community. I just recall mentors, business partners, and helpers in general doing more than seems apparent lately. Yes, we do have parents in and out of our building but maybe we need to define what that should look like as a whole. Maybe as we reach to achieve higher expectations and self motivation our PBIS will also become intrinsic and not require rewarding appropriate behavior, just pondering....With that being said, I feel confident that we, as a team, can accomplish whatever we set as our goals.
ReplyDeleteI feel the PBIS reward trip incentives do create barriers with our parents. When a parent becomes upset over their children losing a trip the first thing they do is go out into the community and talk bad about the school to anyone who will listen. I like the idea of rewarding the children who earn the reward but I wish there was a way around the negativity that comes from disgruntled parents at the end of each nine weeks.
DeleteI wish there was a way around that negativity as well. I think our community is so small that when someone complains about the school it always gets back to us...
DeleteMaria, I agree with the change in the community interactions from 4/5 years ago. I was a long-term sub at HES for half a year in 2013. I remember the parent/community interactions from that time being more positive. I never felt "threatened" or uncomfortable with the parents. I felt like they respected me, wished our school to be successful and were willing and actually did help out in anyway. I had just moved back to the community and was so thankful that parents/community welcomed me with open arms into the classroom. The group of parents/community members now have really changed. Last year when I came back to HES full time it was a different story. I was cornered in my classroom within a month by an unhappy parent who thought it was okay to put my co-workers down, "helpers" who were honestly intrusive and tried to put themselves between the teachers and parents and a group of community members who plotted to meet up prior to PCTO meetings to plan in a negative sense. This sort of behavior put me on edge the rest of the year and made me wary of parents. I know as a result of these negative interactions I was more guarded and not as open and friendly to parent involvement as I should have been. I think a few negative interactions had a larger impact on school climate than I thought before today's reflection. I just think we need to set boundaries as to what we accept but I'm not sure how to verbalize this to those difficult parents/community members?
DeleteMaria, I agree with you. Although the school feels welcoming when you enter, there seems no vision for how the community can be involved with the school. There used to be an opening picnic inviting parents, students, staff and community and I am not sure that is still happening; if it is, it is not advertised well in the community. Once they come and talk (and eat, of course) they may be more comfortable in coming in and volunteering, especially if they have some idea of how they can help.
DeleteI agree, Maria. I feel like we have MORE parent involvement events than perhaps were held in the past; however, since there are so many we are not able to do any of them as well. We need to focus on truly involving parents, instead of just having events so we can turn in a sign in sheet with names on it to show that our parents are involved.
DeleteMaria I sometimes think we get so rushed to get everything done that we forget to reach out and invite parents and community member in unless it's one of our special days. But I wasn't part of the crew when they were in our building frequently so I can't say it's different. I totally agree we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to!
ReplyDeleteI do not think we have "barriers". I think our school has high expectations for behavior and "almost all" students rise and meet those expectations. But the with students who do not meet the expectations-we always tend to make excuses--we blame it on their home life and some always want to make exceptions for those students--I wonder if we are enabling or adding to the problem when this happens--we went to a cooperative learning training last week and the trainer said we have to learn to separate that from our classroom--yes we can feel bad for those students "at a distance" but if we let them know the expectations for our classroom then they will eventually rise to those expectations--we cannot feel bad and lower our expectations for them.
ReplyDeleteAs far as having a pride in our school-I feel we have this-The kids and teachers clean up after themselves. We know how much Ms. Sondra cares for our school. the older kids help the younger kids and teach them and set good examples.
I feel like we are welcoming to our parents and community-but have a few that want to come in and run the school--I feel like no matter what we do it is hard to please them. When we invite them in to help and participate--but just a select few--but very vocal few use this as a chance to just find things they want to change. I feel like they make us resent them and get very defensive when they are around.
My last thought is one of my favorite things from the book--we cannot just look at the test scores--I feel like our students will rise and give us that high expected work ethic---but we cannot give up just because those "tests that have questions designed to trick students" (We were also told this at a training) don't show the numbers.
I like your thoughts Gina on addressing aspects of students' lives that we can control. Things like the home life of the students are not things that we can change as much as we would like to improve them. We can change how WE deal with the knowledge, skills, emotions and baggage that the children bring to school as a result of variables outside of our scope of influence.
DeleteThank you for your insightful comments.
I agree that it is ok to feel sorry for a student's situation at home but we must also understand that we have no control over this. We can try to help them cope but it should not change our expectations.
DeleteGina I like your thoughts. Being required to do home visits puts a different spin in the fact that I can at least experience, very briefly, what the child comes from daily. I can not change the home life, but I can empathize with the situation and acknowledge the situation for what it is, if that makes sense. I often say, I know how this is at home but in school here is how we are going to.....
DeleteGina I have to agree with you that we are a school that have high expectations, but there are a few students who do not produce quality work. There always an excuse because they don't produce queality work. We also have to deal with parents who do home projects for their child instead of assistanting them.
DeleteI agree that test scores aren't everything.
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ReplyDeleteI do not feel we have any barriers in our school culture that would prevent us from implementing a Ron Berger type program at HES. Our staff takes great pride in our school and has created a culture of family for our students. HES sets high standardsfor our students and for the most part our students do try hard to meet these standards.
ReplyDeleteI don’t want to say it is a barrier but rather an attitude that needs to be changed. I have noticed more and more adults do not value education anymore. This attitude is being reflected in their children some of whom are our students. It makes me so sad that people feel this way especially when they are so young.
I feel we are open and inviting to parents and the community. But maybe we need to reach out a little more. Try to get some of the ones who never come into the school. They can view first hand the culture of excellence that we are creating so that they will see that education is a good thing.
I agree with your comments Dianne. It’s discouraging to do parent involvement activities when the ones that could benefit never show up. When I plan a classroom event that brings those types of parents into our school I feel like I’ve really accomplished something.
DeleteDiane I agree if parents do not value education as important their children do not either.
DeleteI have to agree that we need to have a plan to get parents in our school that need to come to school to be able to help their child. I had workshops for Social Studies Fair. The parents sent their child and didn't come with them. The workshops are for the student and parent.
DeleteI agree that we as teachers need to reach out to parents more. However, most families are so busy that parent involvement activities are just one more thing to try to fit in. I also find myself concerned about the lack of value placed on education in our community. We can encourage and expect excellence at school, and I hope the families will support us in this.
DeleteAs of now, I feel that Hillsboro Elementary is in the perfect position to implement a Ron Berger type program. We are small, our staff cares about our students, our school is the cleanest in the county (thanks Sondra), and our community/families are involved. I see our barriers as maintaining positive relationships with parents and community members. A few years ago we changed our parent/teacher organization to involve more parent/community members. As more parents and community members became a part of the organization it took on a negative atmosphere. I often wonder if the negativity came because the staff loss control in some decisions related to our school. I believe that a Ron Berger type program involves some shared control in family culture, community culture, and school culture. In order to do this program successfully we need to work hard to stay positive about things the community and families bring to our school.
ReplyDeleteI agree that when the new PCTO took over there was some negative feelings. I have no problems with them planning activities for the kids--(I think last year was much better) But when they first started they wanted to take over everything-and they wanted everything bigger and better- then they would plan these big events and then there was no follow through and everything fell back on us. I think as a teacher I felt- If we were going to get stuck "cleaning up their mess" when help didn't show up we might as well plan it and do it-so we could count on it being done.
DeleteLast year things seemed a little better-I felt more comfortable because we were there to do our part and not have to fill in and re-plan when parents and community members did not show up.
I do think that parents and community need to know their place. With the school being so small everyone seems to know everything. As a parent I would never go to my kids' school and tell them how they should run their discipline program or how their teachers should teach and what they should teach-
I mean I am there for their school when they need me to be and I may not agree with everything they do but I know they can't please everybody. And I think as a staff I guess we need to know even with this "New Hillsboro" we will probably not please everyone. Just cross our fingers that most are on our side with this change.
Gina, I think our relationship with the PCTO group did have a less negative feeling this year than it did the first year. I’d also agree that we can’t except everything that comes into our school without thinking it over. We as teachers do need to have the final say in what happens within our classrooms and our school. It was hard trying to think of a barrier for us to overcome at Hillsboro Elementary. Everyone works so hard to do the things that are asked of them. This was just one thing that I could come up with for this question. We’re so ready to do the Ron Berger type program we just naturally overcome our barriers.
DeleteI also think it helped that we set up a rotation throughout the teachers to attend the PCTO meetings consistently. The parents would see our faces and knew that we were interested in their opinions.
DeleteI agree with all of your comments on the tone of PCTO tearing the school apart. I also agree that parents telling teachers how to teach created a multitude of issues. This year was a much better year with the change of parent leadership.
DeleteI feel we are on a good path that will resolve many of these issues. Creating a Ron Berger like program will place the focus back on the children where it belongs. Best practices and showcasing student excellence will help the culture to be more positive and student centered.
I agree with all of your comments on the tone of PCTO tearing the school apart. I also agree that parents telling teachers how to teach created a multitude of issues. This year was a much better year with the change of parent leadership.
DeleteI feel we are on a good path that will resolve many of these issues. Creating a Ron Berger like program will place the focus back on the children where it belongs. Best practices and showcasing student excellence will help the culture to be more positive and student centered.
Community support is not what it used to be at Hillsboro so I feel that would be a barrier we have.
ReplyDeleteI think we can work together to improve out community support by making sure we communicate with each other about when we have activities to invite the community too. Also, possibly a couple classes come together to work on a group project so more students would have the opportunity to work with community folks.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comments re barriers or lack of barriers. Barriers send a message about something that we are not able to change and is something very permanent. Your comments reflect an attitude that change in culture is not only possible but families and the community will support and will help us expand the culture to everything HES impacts!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you! I do feel there are parents I myself stress about them being in our school because they then go into the community and speak badly about whatever it is we're doing that they disagree with or could "do better". We will definitely have to build these outliers into our ethic of excellence mindset and keep it as positive as possible
ReplyDeleteThe biggest barrier is the family culture. There are some families that support the school culture, but others always try to do the work for their child or don't encourage them to do their best. Their child doesn't usually take time, pride, or care what they turn in they just want to be finished. This attitude is carried over into the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe staff is going to have to work by starting in the classroom working for a culture of excellences. As a staff, we need to get as many parents and community members on board to work toward a culture of excellences. However, this can be difficult because there are some parents that are always negative.
Excellent point Jenny. We need to create the culture of excellence in the classroom.
DeleteIf I had to identify a barrier present in our school culture that would prevent us from implementing a Ron Berger type program it would be family culture. I feel like success at school is not always a priority among our families for a variety of reasons. Some families just do not value education and see school as something that their kids must just get through. Some families are in crisis mode due to drug addiction or poverty or family issues. Some families are angry and do not support the teacher's efforts. Some families do value education and want to work with the school to help their child succeed. With that being said I don't think our problems are unique to our school. I think all the schools in our community are dealing with the same issues.
ReplyDeleteI think we want our school to succeed, I think we have buy in for this program from our teachers and that is the first step to working together to make a difference. I think offering meaningful family involvement opportunities is a step in the right direction. For example, after school events where parents can see and learn the process we take in our classroom towards excellence, like why we do several drafts and lay out several drafts of work and explain the process.
After reading the chapter and then all of these comments, I think that HES is the perfect place for Ron Berger's ideas. The community and parents are used to HES trying new ideas and they are pretty good at accepting those ideas when they are explained. I do not believe there are any barriers that cannot be overcome.
ReplyDeleteThose perceived barriers can serve as opportunities for a team to collaborate to find solutions. Focusing on shared goals allows a "crew" to evaluate resources and capacities to see whether stumbling blocks can be moved out of the way, walked around or broken into smaller pieces.
DeleteThat is totally me as well! I get so focused on the things I need to cover that it doesn't occur to me to invite parent help.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm a bit behind however I do agree with all on the community interactions within the school being the barrier. However, I think that Ron Berger's program may make a positive difference and open up more opportunities to have community members involved in the classroom and our students education.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my coworkers that family culture could be a barrier to successful implementation of a Ron Berger type of program at HES. While we have some families who are very supportive of teachers and hold their children to high standards, there are also many families for whom education and character education are not high priorities. As Maria pointed out, conflicts with parents over PBIS reward trips and just student behavior and consequences in general have created tension between parents and teachers.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I think it is important to rethink the way we view "parent involvement" at our school to encourage more positive relationships between the school and families. In the past, we have conducted LOTS of parent involvement activities to try to engage parents in their children's education. However, as we know, often the same parents show up time after time and the parents we would like to include are either unable or unwilling to attend. I am going to focus this year on true parent involvement - frequent phone calls home with updates about student progress and behavior, daily communication about what is going on in the classroom so parents are well-informed... I think frequent, consistent communication with parents will help build stronger family culture.