Week 12: Command and Control Versus Key Principles and Autonomy

 I wanted to continue with this theme of so many of you returning to the classroom. While I have been in the classroom since August, I know returning after a year may seem overwhelming and somewhat futile for only two months. Mcleod notes, "in the rush to serve children and families and create new modalities of learning and teaching during the coronavirus pandemic, I wonder how many school systems gravitated toward greater ‘command and control’ and how many embraced ‘a few key principles … with high levels of autonomy for individuals within that system.’ I also wonder about the organizational contexts and leadership mindsets that fostered one or the other, as well as which approach worked better"(2021).

I feel my district rushed into decisions for our school year and did not give us time to fully bring new modalities to fruition. I have had a sense of learning with the students all year. We have been Hybrid, except for the first three weeks, everyone was virtual. I hope my district takes this summer to really look back and survey staff and faculty and see what worked and what did not for next year. However, I believe that is wishful thinking. 

Do you think your district handled the pandemic well? Has this year been okay or have you been overwhelmed with new policies to fit a system that did not work for your classroom?

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/page/2

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 10: Google Meet Attendance Extension

Image
  If you are using Google Meet and are struggling with keeping up with attendance, this is a must-have for attendance. I know for me teaching Hybrid, I have Four options that I can put into my attendance, so mistakes can be made easily! This extension has helped me be able to go back and correct my attendance later, without any questions on whether I the student was on campus, virtual, absent, or tardy. It is all there in the extension. For a much better explanation, watch the tutorial video below. And if you are not using this valuable extension or are about to go into Hybrid teaching, you must start using this! Since we all love data so much, this extension is just a great way to keep track of our kiddo's attendance. It also helps you when you are gathering information for IEPs, 504s, or RTI information. They are also constantly updating the extension with new features. The newest one is a ghost feature. It tells you how long the students have been idle on the meet. This tells me...
Read more

Week 8: Remind Messaging App

Image
  Remind is the most invaluable communication app out there for educators to use to stay in touch with students and parents. It has even evolved into a system much like Google Voice, where you can call parents and students from your personal cell phone and it will hide your phone number.  Another great feature of this app is that translates to over seventy languages. This translation is a two-way street. You can translate your messages before you send them, or the recipient can translate them to their preferred language once they receive a message from you. I teach in a Title One District that has a 98% Latinx population, so this has become my go-to way to communicate with parents and students over phone calls. It also is a great way to keep documentation of the conversations you have had with the parents. My students also love the accessibility they have to me through this app. They can reach me quickly. I will get a notification on both my phone and computer when they send m...
Read more

Week 15: Dangerously Irrelevant

Since this is our final blog of the semester, I thought I would give my thoughts on how following this page has gone for me as an educator. I like that there is a page for educators that is not afraid to dip their toes into politics. I think education is political, and too many are afraid to broach the subject as such. Scott Mcleod has found a way to not only be political but thought-provoking, relevant, bring technology and leadership to the forefront of this blog. He started a podcast this past year called  Silver Lining for Learning  that chronicles issues globally and how they intersect here with the United States Education system. If you have time, I would check out the podcasts, they are enlightening and relevant to what we have learned this semester. I will continue to follow this blog, it has captured my attention! http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/
Read more