Risk taking is by its very nature a challenging and intimidating process. An organization may say it wants risk takers to lead their organization to find out their definition of risk taking is much different from the one in a leadership position. The core mission of the organization is the determinant as to the type and characteristics of the risk taken. A school with a mission to graduate drop out recovery students would most likely not want a leader who implements traditional instructional methods and curriculum; it is one of the determining factors of failure for the students. Placing students in positions to succeed requires commitment to accomplishing what previously did not. Curriculum that is non-traditional; instructional methods that differentiate from those normally implemented, and collaboration with peers that test what works is significant to risk measurement and attainment in a high-risk environment. The answer is the one that achieves the mission; all ideas and concepts presented and thoroughly vetted will distinguish success and failure. A comfort level in risk taking is endemic in schools that experience their definition of success. By comfort level, it is the level of risk measured against the achievement of the academic program. The community has an active role in determining the risk schools will attempt; conservative communities are less likely to attempt change that affects what they all ready perceive to be achievement, whereas, progressive communities will achieve change through risk that is seen as radical or trend setting. The core values, or the beliefs and systems held by the community and school, also dictate the academic risk taking in a school. Beliefs held by a community are difficult to change; whi...
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The major concepts of this article relate to the ineffectiveness of school leadership programs. Arthur Levine found that a majority of the programs were inadequate. He noted four areas in which these programs lacked efficiency. These areas of concern were the rise in off-campus low quality programs, weak research-intensive universities that are working towards awarding doctoral degrees in administration, competition for students is causing lowered program quality and admission criteria, and the fact that state and local school districts are adding to the problem by salary incentives for advanced degrees. Levine noted several major issues that affect school administration programs. First, he revealed that many people who had finished these programs agreed that the curriculum was irrelevant; they said that it did prepare them to deal with "on-the-job issues." Second, the issues of low admission and graduation standards were addressed. The study illustrated how many schools lower their standards to increase admission and create tuition "cash cows." Third, he discussed the issue of these schools having weak faculties.
According to Blase, Blase, and Phillips (2010) educational leaders in high preforming schools effectively balance administrative and instructional leadership and provide stability, predictability and support. The current paradigm of educational leadership is management of facility, budget, school safety, and student discipline. Administrators must place more emphasis on methods to balance the responsibility of instructional leadership. It will require effective leadership characterized by their ability to redesign their schools into an effective organization. This can be done by a leader’s willingness to take risk. Risk taking would involve the leaders’ commitment to work collaboratively with teachers to set school wide and classroom goals suited to meet the unique needs of the students. It would require educational leaders to refuse to adopt a manufactured educational program but to make a commitment to their students and teachers to create a learning environment that is unique and relevant. Educational leaders would evaluate teachers on the effectiveness of their instructional practices. Each teacher would be held accountable for data that supports the need for goals developed for their classroom and methods used to track progress, use of instructional strategies, how assessment will be incorporated to drive instruction and monitor learning, and the effective use of assessment
Leading organizations of school administrators offer educators various opportunities to encourage educators to become leaders. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has mandated that leaders be better prepared for the task of providing quality education to all. NCLB “… is forcing all educational stakeholders to face the weakness of contemporary school leadership and is making it impossible to ignore the need for higher quality principals” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). It is believed that all educators can be and are leaders in their own right. A leader is a visionary and has the ability to inspire others to aspire to greatness. Of the numerous opportunities that are offered, those that are most beneficial include but are not limited to leadership training programs, professional development, and creating shared leadership opportunities for teachers to become leaders. The systems “…that produce our nation’s principals are complex and interrelated – and governed by the states. Each state establishes licensing, certification and re-certification” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.1). States use the ISLLC standards “…as the framework for preparation programs and in service professional development of school superintendents, principals, and other leaders” (Hale & Moorman, 2003, p.3).
Following, Staying Centered, Gross continued to develop his turbulence theory, and further inculcated it into school leadership with the publications of the following books: Promises Kept: Sustaining School and District Leadership in a Turbulent Era (2004), Leadership Mentoring: Maintaining School Improvement in Turbulent Times (2006), and in partnership with the educational researcher Joan Poliner Shapiro, Ethical Educational Leadership in Turbulent Times: (Re)Solving Moral Dilemmas (2013). Gross (2006) tells us,
Leaders in the school have hard decisions to help make on a daily basis. They need to evaluate their decisions to make sure they are ethical and effective. Administrators need to listen to all sides of a situation and evaluate all options before they make a decision. This process is difficult because administrators need to make sure that all parties involved are satisfied with the decision that was formed.
Gambling in the form of traditional games has always been a part of many American Indian tribes’ cultures. Though many tribes began using other forms of gambling, this continues today. However, the use of gaming to obtain profit was not as successful until the late 1970's and early 1980's. It quickly grew from an industry that made $100 million annually to over $22 billion annually. Gambling started with simple games such as bingo and continued to grow until the states the tribes were in eventually took notice. Additionally, because of the rapid growth of the gambling industry some tribes used this to better their ailing economies. As more states started to take notice of the increased amount of income the tribes were bringing in, the states’ governments began questioning whether it was a legitimate operation or not. In response states began lobbying for the Federal Government to regulate Indian gaming. The states wanting to both counter infiltration by organized crime and tax income gained by Indian gaming. Tribes fought the states to maintain tribal sovereignty and to protect gaming revenues for further economic development and support. Congress responded with the set of compromises which then evolved into what is now known as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. The Act separated Indian gaming into three separate classes with a different regulatory scheme for each.
Decisions are a constant in administration. Principals and school leaders alike are faced with decisions all day every day. Decisions that not only shape and mold the school culture and climate, but the shape they students that attend our schools and their families. It’s critical that school leaders are aware of the ethical ramifications of the decisions they make and are cognoscente of the moral and ethical implications of their decisions. Educational leaders are not only leaders of schools, but leaders in the community.
Legal gambling seduces desperate local economies and profits from the very citizens who are least able to afford it. An alarming number of lottery sales rely on a small number of less-educated, low-income individuals from poor neighborhoods. Money reserved for education from these lotteries primarily fund scholarships, scholarships that are acquired mostly by middle class students. As a result, low income families are aiding in the progression of middle class families’ education, but little to none of these funds are aiding in advanced education of those on or below the poverty line. Despite states stating that revenues from lotteries are a crucial part of financial support for their states and community, none could prove that program funding would not be available if lotteries did not exist. In reality, most of these states experienced a decrease in general funding for programs lottery was created to improve. Although Native Americans boast that the establishment of a casino helped many tribes to overcome severe levels of poverty by creating jobs, Native American reservation populations still remain at about 50 percent unemployment. Among other casino types, such as destination resorts and smaller commercial casinos, those employed by indian casinos take in the lowest average pay, are not unionized, maintain low job security, and experience a lack of federal employee protection laws being followed. Convenience gambling, such as stand-alone machines located in easily accessible public locations, creates a minuscule amount of jobs and generates no local economic growth. These alluring rapid paced video gambling machines are readily available and exploit compulsive behaviors of local citizens to obtain as much money it can i...
As a leader candidate, I can understand the challenges and multiplicity of complications that administrators must face each day. However, I will not accept any remote possibility that the students must be affected by some flaws of the school organization. We all as leaders, must be strategic with people, time, and money to guide our students towards an academic success.
The last issue to address is leadership. This role is challenging, but with commitment and determination it can be done. Strategies that I can take to encourage great leadership is to first build trust and confidence by fulfilling the school’s mission, vision, policy, and working environment (Drexler, 2007) on a daily basis. To be involved in school activities, in the classroom, at PTO meetings, and community affiliations will establish strong leadership skills. Providing valuable feedback, strategically planning to improve the school, and encouraging community support are other strategies that can be used to enhance leadership.
With the passage of NCLB, many school reform efforts have been initiated using top-down model in which each school leaders have been charged with initiating bold administrative changes to address the legislation. With the number of leadership theories and models, researchers have become interested in studying those to determine which might bring forth the most significant results for leading such change. Due to the lack of highly qualified administrators and the increasing demands for administrators, Bush, O’Brien & Spangler (2005) studied a program, the Southern Tier Leadership Academy, a collaborative of the New York Education Department. The study included three separate cohorts who completed an eight month program. Whereas, Somech (2005) chose to investigate directive and participative leadership approaches, and which would more significantly impact school effectiveness. Perhaps Somech’s reflect Scherer’s (2009, p.7) understandings as described in Educational Leadership, ‘broom-wielding leadership can indeed be beneficial’ as is putting advocates into positions of power and influence and building teams, both of which are seemingly contrasting opposites.
Thomas Sergiovanni (2015) describes three essential dimensions of leadership as “the heart, head, and hand of leadership.” The heart describes those characteristics within the school leader that reflect personal “beliefs, values, and dreams.” The head of leadership refers to the practice of teaching and educating. The hand of leadership reflects actions taken by school leaders with respect to management behaviors. (p. 5) Within these elements, there is room for personal choice in how leadership is practiced and it is incumbent on new principals to find an individual leadership style that responds to the uniqueness of each school.
In the 1983 smash hit Risky Business, director Paul Brickman takes his audience on a wild ride through Chicago. The film spans across the Chicago land area, and beyond. From a small high school, to a world famous hotel, it really shows what Chicago is made of. But it also holds a dark side to itself, when the dangerous and socially perverse world of prostitution comes into play.
Risk taking is considered an everyday staple of life and a major part of growing up. When we limit the risks we take in our lives we also limit the capabilities those risks present, such as encountering new experiences and situations that improve us as human beings. Risk taking is imperative to personal growth and when discussed in good context it seems harmless, however that is only a half truth. To say risk taking is always safe is completely incorrect and sometimes these risks are often unsafe and not thought out. This essay addresses the following question, why do teenagers engage in this form of unhealthy risk taking? I will also be discussing whether or not certain groups are more at risk and any known strategies to make teenagers aware
The purpose of risk management is to protect an organization’s valuable assets information, hardware, and software. The purpose of risk management process is to identify and manage risks in such a way that a company is able to meet its strategic and financial targets. Risk management is a continuous process, by which the major risks are identified, listed and assessed, the key persons in charge of risk management are appointed and risks are prioritized according to an assessment scale in order to compare the effects and mutual significance of risks. It is very important that the organizations and business to be very well prepared to see what kind of risk we are facing, or the business can suffer in case of a major disaster.