This week we had a group do their presentation on the topic of scheduling. I must admit that this is one aspect of administration that i know very little about -given this is my first year as a vice-principal at an elementary school.
The group gave us a run-down on aspects of scheduling in various contexts: elementary, secondary, and vocational schools. My experience with scheduling in the secondary school level is that from a teacher. When I was given a schedule, I normally occupied between 24 to 27 periods over a nine day cycle. The thing that interested me the most was the courses I would be given and the amount of prep time this entailed. One year I had 4 preps and this was very difficult to endure. I have already discussed this at length in last week's journal entry.
What I found interesting about the presentation was the amount of work that goes into planning a schedule and the disparity in terms of time involved between elementary and secondary schools. What I mean is that at the elementary level, the obvious difference is that the homeroom teachers workout most of their schedules alone given that they teach their own math, English, science, etc. Or at least, they are able to work out a schedule amongst themselves as cycle teams. The administration is then left with plugging in the specialist courses like French, phys ed. music, computers, etc. This entails less work for the administration than the more complicated schedules at the secondary level.
One interesting tip that was mentioned by the presenters is that phys ed. classes at the elementary level are usually slotted in blocks of time for younger classes together to facilitate equipment set up. This is something that I will be considering when I meet with my principal to set up next year's schedules.
The breakout room activity we were given involved discussing the question of priorirties reflected in the master timetable for out particular schools. One thing that i found interesting was that in one of the secondary schools that I worked as a teacher, students requiring remedial English received instruction 8 days out of a possible 9 day cycle. Normally, English was slotted for 6 periods out of a nine day cycle. Also, these classes never exceeded 15 students per class. At the secondary three level, students were exempt from taking courses like geography in order to receive help from their resource teachers in other courses like math, English, science, etc. I don't believe that this was an ideal situation because this sends students a message that some courses are more important than others. In summary, schedules were modified to meet the special needs of students.
A question that we were asked to consider and respond in our journals this week was: "What makes a good schedule." I believe that first and foremost, the schedule must reflect the special needs of students as described above, but not sacrifice courses considered to be "soft". This is an old problem that deals withcurricular issues like replacing art courses to supplement science and math. I think we needs to have a balanced curriculum that requires more creative ways of providing quality instruction, not quantity. Adding more minutes for math and science will not yield better results. I would like to come back to my experience of teaching remedial English to secondary two students. As I mentioned above, I was teaching 8 classes over a nine day cycle as oppossed to 6 which was the norm. At the end of the year, I don't believe that this added time helped my students. I think it woulod have been more helpful for them to have a teacher who had some experience teaching "special ed" students. I had absolutely no training, experience, or support during this time. I found other colleagues who also taught this course to be left alone without support. This was one of the most frustrating experiences I had throughout my teaching career. Unfortunately, I was a first year teacher and i was given the assignment that nobody else wanted.
Schedules should be more than just plugging in people in convenient slots. They should be about maximizing your staff's talents to meet the needs of your students. Ideally, this is what one should consider before drawing up a schedule. Shedules should also give teachers proper time to prepare for transitions between supervision and class time. Nothing was more frustrating to me than to be on supervision and then hustle back at the end to my office to prepare for the on-coming class. Another problem was having a last period class and then having to run over to supervision after school. After class, at the end of the day was the time most students needed to see me and I would have to postpone this because i had to rush down to do my supervision. These are things that should be considered when planning class schedules and the accompanying supervision schedules. Not an easy task, but one well worth it for the sake of students and teacher satisfaction. Will I consider these things when given the opportunty to create schedules? I'll defintely try!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
March 10 (Journal No.9)
This week Gil and Lisa presented their topic on managing human resources. The issues presented included staffing, hiring practices, teacher retention and disciplinary measures.
One of the breakout activities involved a discussion on the issue of whether teachers should participate in the hiring process. Most of the members of my group were in agreement that teacher input is vital. For example, the administrator may not be fully familiar with the tasks associated with a science lab technician. It was pointed out that in one school, the principal allowed a science teacher to make the hiring decision. Some individuals were against going this far; pointing out that the administrator must have the final say when it comes to hiring.
Another important issue discussed, and the issue which I would like to address predominantly in my blog this week, was teacher retention. Gil pointed out a startling statistic: 50% of teacher leave the profession within 5 years. This is significant given the high turnover we are experiencing already due to retirements.
Our breakout group discussed ways to increase retention for teachers. My contribution to this discussion was that as an administrator I support my teachers when it comes to dealing with unruly students. Teachers need to feel that they can come in your office and discuss these things, and that you are able to listen, provide encouragement, and help them with solutions.
A comparison of reasons for low retention from North America and around the world demonstrated that teachers everywhere are having a hard time staying in the profession for reasons like unruly students and low salary.
The article that I read: "Responding to New Teachers' Concerns", addresses the issue of teacher retention. It reports the results of a 3 year in depth study of factors that push teachers out of the profession.
One contributing issue to low retention is the fact that most new teachers receive the worst teaching assignments. The study reported that the subjects (novice English teachers) felt a sense of hopelessness and were overwhelmed at their workloads. Receiving 5 different 'preps' and giving new teachers the most difficult assignments has no place when teacher shortages are a reality, according to the aurthors.
I have to admit that I came close to quitting the profession during my first year as a high-school teacher. I was given Drama (Sec. 1), Special Ed. English (Sec. 2); English (Sec.4), and Economics (Sec.5). Not only did I have 4 preps, but I was dealing with the entire spectrum of students from sec. 1 to sec. 5. Adding to this frustration was the fact that I had some of the most unruly students in the school. Long nights preping and contemplating early retirement were the norm that year. The only reason I decided to stay was because I was lucky enough to be transferred in another school where I taught courses in the social sciences: History and Economics. Courses I was comfortable teaching and not having to worry about multiple preps.
The authors also refer to mentoring programs as a means to improve retention but offer the caveat that such programs can be detrimental. The subjects of the study discussed how such mentoring programs can be a sham: teachers are asked to meet late in the evenings and are often paired up with "mentors" they don't respect or get along with. The conclude that novice teachers can benefit from a broad network of contacts with peers and external resource people.
Another means of improving teacher retention is to encourage greater participation in associations affiliated with specific subjects areas.
My own observations lead me to believe that novice teachers require administrative support when it comes to dealing with parents and unruly students. Here, I have made myself present in certain classrooms and have taken some of my teachers aside to provide constructive strategies to improve their classroom managment skills. Also, I often attend parent-teacher interviews to lend my support and intervene when necessary. The presense of the adminstration on such issues is crucial if we want to keep our teachers.
One of the breakout activities involved a discussion on the issue of whether teachers should participate in the hiring process. Most of the members of my group were in agreement that teacher input is vital. For example, the administrator may not be fully familiar with the tasks associated with a science lab technician. It was pointed out that in one school, the principal allowed a science teacher to make the hiring decision. Some individuals were against going this far; pointing out that the administrator must have the final say when it comes to hiring.
Another important issue discussed, and the issue which I would like to address predominantly in my blog this week, was teacher retention. Gil pointed out a startling statistic: 50% of teacher leave the profession within 5 years. This is significant given the high turnover we are experiencing already due to retirements.
Our breakout group discussed ways to increase retention for teachers. My contribution to this discussion was that as an administrator I support my teachers when it comes to dealing with unruly students. Teachers need to feel that they can come in your office and discuss these things, and that you are able to listen, provide encouragement, and help them with solutions.
A comparison of reasons for low retention from North America and around the world demonstrated that teachers everywhere are having a hard time staying in the profession for reasons like unruly students and low salary.
The article that I read: "Responding to New Teachers' Concerns", addresses the issue of teacher retention. It reports the results of a 3 year in depth study of factors that push teachers out of the profession.
One contributing issue to low retention is the fact that most new teachers receive the worst teaching assignments. The study reported that the subjects (novice English teachers) felt a sense of hopelessness and were overwhelmed at their workloads. Receiving 5 different 'preps' and giving new teachers the most difficult assignments has no place when teacher shortages are a reality, according to the aurthors.
I have to admit that I came close to quitting the profession during my first year as a high-school teacher. I was given Drama (Sec. 1), Special Ed. English (Sec. 2); English (Sec.4), and Economics (Sec.5). Not only did I have 4 preps, but I was dealing with the entire spectrum of students from sec. 1 to sec. 5. Adding to this frustration was the fact that I had some of the most unruly students in the school. Long nights preping and contemplating early retirement were the norm that year. The only reason I decided to stay was because I was lucky enough to be transferred in another school where I taught courses in the social sciences: History and Economics. Courses I was comfortable teaching and not having to worry about multiple preps.
The authors also refer to mentoring programs as a means to improve retention but offer the caveat that such programs can be detrimental. The subjects of the study discussed how such mentoring programs can be a sham: teachers are asked to meet late in the evenings and are often paired up with "mentors" they don't respect or get along with. The conclude that novice teachers can benefit from a broad network of contacts with peers and external resource people.
Another means of improving teacher retention is to encourage greater participation in associations affiliated with specific subjects areas.
My own observations lead me to believe that novice teachers require administrative support when it comes to dealing with parents and unruly students. Here, I have made myself present in certain classrooms and have taken some of my teachers aside to provide constructive strategies to improve their classroom managment skills. Also, I often attend parent-teacher interviews to lend my support and intervene when necessary. The presense of the adminstration on such issues is crucial if we want to keep our teachers.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
EDEM 628:Week 8:Feb. 25 (PLC)
This week in class a group of students presented their topic on Professional Learning Communities. We began by clarifying terms like "leraning", "community" and "professional learning community". There were different definitions elicited by I particularly liked the definition of learning as an "on going process" - I don't remember who provided that one. I think that everyone was in agreement that a professional learning community entails several stakeholders such as administration, parents and students who work together to seek out solutions.
It was also explained that the principal of the school had a significant role to play in developing a PLC. He or she should be able to vmodel a committment to personal growth.
During the discussion, Gil asked a very significant question with regard to PLC: "How can a principal establish a PLC when there is such a high turn-over rate of administrators? Sam interjected by confirming that this is indeed a problem and that an administrator requires between 5-7 years to stay in a particular school and oversee the plan. I have to admit that this made me feel very cynical about affecting change in a school. As a rookie vice-principal, I have just completed my first year at Nesbitt and so far I have only been able to wet me feet, so to speak. I agree with Sam that an administrator requires a couple of years to see through any initiatives that are introduced. So why do the higher ups continue to move as around like pieces in a chess game?
I think one obvious reason is that we are at a stage where both teachers and administrators are ready for retirement. This huge block of babyboomers is going to leave a huge void that needs to be occupied.
During the breakout-room portion of the class, my group pondered the question: "What leadership qualities are needed by a principal to successfully develop a PLC? Some of the answers provided were: interpersonal skills, flexible, shared vision (ability to elicit input from the staff). It is this last point about eliciting input from the staff that led to an interesting debate between myself and Rob.
I made the point that a principal needs to be a strong leader. Yes, he or she should elicit input from the staff; however, you must also accept the fact that not everyone will be happy and as a principal you must accept losses and move ahead. I think my comments may have been misconstrued because Rob argued that you cannot have a successful plan unless the staff buys into it and ramming it down their throats is not very wise. I explained that I was not advocating any such thing, and that my position was that you cannot make everyone happy.
I think there are three types of people: those who do not particularly care and will go either way; those who have legitimate concerns and will challenge your views; and those who will challenge and oppose your vision just for the sake of challenging. This last group will continue to say black when you say white, and then say white when you say black. It is this group that I was refering to. It is individual staff members that fall into this group that I feel a strong leader must be able to leave behind. In my own experiences, I have seen how administrators can become paralyzed by such individuals because they are not prepared to accept the losses or to deal with conflict. Sam overheard this exchange and provided his own unique perspective which was similar to my view. He also provided an interesting example of how to minimize the negative effect that some staff members can have on others. The concept of staff meetings was modified to involve department meetings consisting of small groups of 7. This way, those interested in opposing just for the sake of oppossing (shit disturbers), became isolated and scattered throughout the samll group formation by department. An excellent idea that I hope to use one day.
Yet, some members of the breakout room, in oppossition to my stance, refered to the McAdam article where it states that: "Leaders must be nurturing and supportive of others and must be adept at facilitating whole-group change where no one is left behind. " (McAdam, p.18). This is a wonderful sentiment, however I think it is idealistic and naive to believe anybody dealing with a large number of individuals can accomplish this task. I don't think that McAdam has ever worked as an educational administrator. I think this is a general problem with most academics who have never worked as either teachers or administrators. They write about the "correct" way to teach, develop pedagogy and manage staff without having ever been in the trenches themselves. There is a definite gap between what they understand the issue to be and how the rank and file actually live it from day to day.
It was also explained that the principal of the school had a significant role to play in developing a PLC. He or she should be able to vmodel a committment to personal growth.
During the discussion, Gil asked a very significant question with regard to PLC: "How can a principal establish a PLC when there is such a high turn-over rate of administrators? Sam interjected by confirming that this is indeed a problem and that an administrator requires between 5-7 years to stay in a particular school and oversee the plan. I have to admit that this made me feel very cynical about affecting change in a school. As a rookie vice-principal, I have just completed my first year at Nesbitt and so far I have only been able to wet me feet, so to speak. I agree with Sam that an administrator requires a couple of years to see through any initiatives that are introduced. So why do the higher ups continue to move as around like pieces in a chess game?
I think one obvious reason is that we are at a stage where both teachers and administrators are ready for retirement. This huge block of babyboomers is going to leave a huge void that needs to be occupied.
During the breakout-room portion of the class, my group pondered the question: "What leadership qualities are needed by a principal to successfully develop a PLC? Some of the answers provided were: interpersonal skills, flexible, shared vision (ability to elicit input from the staff). It is this last point about eliciting input from the staff that led to an interesting debate between myself and Rob.
I made the point that a principal needs to be a strong leader. Yes, he or she should elicit input from the staff; however, you must also accept the fact that not everyone will be happy and as a principal you must accept losses and move ahead. I think my comments may have been misconstrued because Rob argued that you cannot have a successful plan unless the staff buys into it and ramming it down their throats is not very wise. I explained that I was not advocating any such thing, and that my position was that you cannot make everyone happy.
I think there are three types of people: those who do not particularly care and will go either way; those who have legitimate concerns and will challenge your views; and those who will challenge and oppose your vision just for the sake of challenging. This last group will continue to say black when you say white, and then say white when you say black. It is this group that I was refering to. It is individual staff members that fall into this group that I feel a strong leader must be able to leave behind. In my own experiences, I have seen how administrators can become paralyzed by such individuals because they are not prepared to accept the losses or to deal with conflict. Sam overheard this exchange and provided his own unique perspective which was similar to my view. He also provided an interesting example of how to minimize the negative effect that some staff members can have on others. The concept of staff meetings was modified to involve department meetings consisting of small groups of 7. This way, those interested in opposing just for the sake of oppossing (shit disturbers), became isolated and scattered throughout the samll group formation by department. An excellent idea that I hope to use one day.
Yet, some members of the breakout room, in oppossition to my stance, refered to the McAdam article where it states that: "Leaders must be nurturing and supportive of others and must be adept at facilitating whole-group change where no one is left behind. " (McAdam, p.18). This is a wonderful sentiment, however I think it is idealistic and naive to believe anybody dealing with a large number of individuals can accomplish this task. I don't think that McAdam has ever worked as an educational administrator. I think this is a general problem with most academics who have never worked as either teachers or administrators. They write about the "correct" way to teach, develop pedagogy and manage staff without having ever been in the trenches themselves. There is a definite gap between what they understand the issue to be and how the rank and file actually live it from day to day.
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