It takes a knowledge base and an innovated mind to succeed in a competitive society. Preparing to succeed starts in early education programs where students learn discipline, structure, and organization in a safe learning environment. A teacher's positive relationship, high expectations and confidence in students allow for students to learn in an environment that is conducive for learning. Varied student activities and instructional methods arranged for students to engage in, allows for individuality, growth and a quality education. School administrators have an important role in their community. Their professional behavior must be respected and their leadership must be accepted by those that they serve. They follow the National Association of Elementary School Principals and National Association of Secondary School Principals (NAESP/NASSP) ethical code of behavior. This ethical code helps to assist the profession in protecting those deserving its protection. It also helps to raise the confidence and conscience of administrators on behavioral issues. Fundamental ethical principles are always present to guide administrators in confronting, predicting or defining situations. The administrator serves in a public school. He/she is responsible for providing educational opportunities to all and displaying exemplary professional leadership. The motivational factor for the educational administrators is to do what is best for the student. This is important because students are the future of our country.
Issues, Benchmarks, and Needs
At the federal level, President Obama and his administration have addressed educational issues such as early education programs, student loan debt, education reform, easier standards for the No ...
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...to the lives of its citizens. Citizens were faced with foreclosures, stock market crash, loss of pensions, and lack of appropriate healthcare. Government was free to rob its citizens with high gas prices and incredible debt. Citizens experience the agony of not being a true human. Ayn Rand (1964) believed that government should serve as the instrument of objectivity in human relationships. It should operate with checks and balances so that it citizens can have a chance to pursue their individual rights to live one’s life, with a right to liberty, acquire property and consistently pursue his happiness. This is what the Obama Administration has done. The Office of the Attorney General is responsible for checks and balances in the Obama administration of federal funds. These funds has helped millions of people to survive and have some hope of a bright future.
But I have to wonder, it seems that every-other president and every-other governor refers to himself or herself as the education president or education governor, yet they fail to deliver the necessary funding to maintain a high level of education for all of his or her constituents’ children. Why is it that class and culture is the determining factor for who receives a quality education, this social injustice must be remedied? My Awakening Much like Mike, I have had some amazing academic mentors that were not afraid to get down in the trenches with me and ask what I was trying to say. I had Ms. Lewis my freshman year of high school, she would sit down with me and rip apart my paper and rework it as necessary. During my senior year of high school, I had the privilege of taking a U.W. English class, that was a seminar format where the instructor would frequently conference with us, and he gave me the tools to continue my education.
Chapter one of Ten Traits of Highly Effective Principals opens with one of the most influential traits of what an effective principal should possess, the communication trait. To be successful in any venue in life, you must be able to communicate with people; this is especially true in the education world. Principals are responsible for communicating with people in all walks of life, parents, students, teacher, administrative office personnel and the general public, as an administrator, you must make each of these individuals feel a sense of trust and belonging while communicating with them. Principals use conversations and gesture to build confidence and open lines of communication for learning and growth.
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.
Tuition and fees has extremely risen over the past years which makes it extremely difficult for both social economic groups to invest in a higher education for their families. Today’s college students borrow and accumulate more debt than previous years (The White House). For instance, “In 2010, graduates that borrowed money graduated with owing an average of more than $26,000”(The White House). As a result, President Obama has expanded federal support to help more families and students to afford higher education (The White House). Also, he believes that it is a shared responsibility of the federal government, states, colleges, and universities for making higher education
Allan and Davis mention the spike of college cost since 1995 has increased by 150 percent; student debt has increased 300 percent since 2003, and with education, second to the mortgage industry in the nation’s debt, America needs to redirect their attention to the future and focus on education (Allan n. pg). Budget cuts from national to state
Duncan, Arne. "Partners in Reform." Reform Education. White House, Washington, DC. 2 July 2009. Speech.
"President Obama Announces Steps to Reduce Dropout Rate and Prepare Students for College and Careers." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2014. .
In the United States, education plays a vital role for the government. It was a major interest of our Founding Fathers in writing the Constitution because our democracy relies on an educated society. John Adams once stated, “Education for every class and rank of people down to the lowest and poorest.” Our Founding Fathers did not want education only for the upper class, but also for the lower class as well. Education is essential for the development and prosperity of our country. It has enhanced American financial and administrative leadership. In acknowledging the importance of education, the federal government took upon a grander role of financing public schools with the passage of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965, which along the years was subjected to various reauthorizations. In 2001, the reauthorizations included No Child Left behind Act (NCLB), which required the states to set the standards for student performance as well as teacher quality. This act helps the educational advancement in schools because it improves the comprehensiveness and fairness of the American education.
The Code of Ethic for the Education Profession does not just involve the schools staff with its student but with everyone that is involved with the school. A quote from the first code “educator values the worth and dignity of every person” (1), to be an educator one has to keep their colleges, boss, parents, student and community in mind. To be in the education profession one is signing up to be a trustworthy, knowledgeable, devoted, and understanding individual. They must guarantee equal opportunities for everyone. Their primary concern is to their students learning and potential. One has to “sustain the highest degree of ethical conduct” (1).
School administrators are important in setting the path for a successful school (Glickman, et al., 2014). The principals could play a dynamic leadership depending on how they exercise their beliefs of the organizational and social environment (McNair, 2011). The principals are the primary facilitators for developing the foundations in learning that will last, to manage the student’s performance at schools, and seeking the improvement at school that will cause great impacts in school‘s education (Gordon,1989). In the recent years in the U.S., education has change in a more cultural diversity population, it is imperative that school supervisors, are trained to encounter this cultural issues, but also assisting others with the opportunities to develop appropriate abilities to deal with different cultures (Glickman, et al., 2014).
Week, E. and B. Obama (2009). The Obama Education Plan: An Education Week Guide, Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.
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.
President Obama’s policies on education helped make a great president. According to the article (“President Obama highlights education policy achievements”) “president Barack Obama come into office promising to stem the decline of public schools and to implement reforms that would set all students on the path to success.” Obama showed evidence that his education policies had worked. On-time high school graduation reached 83.2 percent. Obama announced 100 percent of seniors at Benjamin Banneker academic high school graduated. Obama has also helped many other schools in the U.S in the years of his presidency.
Before such things can be implemented, there is some specific ground work and strategies that must be done within the schools before situations or dealt with and handled. In this groundwork, principals are vital in the success of the program they implement in their schools (Ballard, Argus & Remley, 1999). They are the conductors of each category needed in a successful program. Principals must hold students and staff accountable for their roles in changing the climate of the school and they must allow for the time and manpower implementing a new program will take. Gil (2002, p. 73) explains that first a solid code of conduct must be in place and operating smoothly. These clearly stated rules are to be communicated to all students and staff what the expectation is for behavior and they must be “enforced without
As mentioned before, leadership styles take an important role in running a school. Unfortunately, many principals have not yet defined their leadership style and struggle to administrate their school. They are responsible not only of teachers and students, but of every employee in the school. They have the power to control all the resources available to improve and meet academic goals. Despite their power, principals need to identify appropriate leadership styles to succeed as