Verified Document

Educational Groups -- A Literature Term Paper

Many of these activities commonly focus on happy and positive feelings and thoughts, at the expense of allowing an examination of more painful issues. This is especially problematic for disenfranchised and failing students, who, through this type of structure, receive direct and indirect messages from the group structure to not deal with the depths of their pain, anger, frustration, sadness, hurt, anxiety, or fear." (Bemak, 2005, p.1) The need for a culturally diverse approach must not be lost, either in the approach of education of counselors and educators, despite the need to build teams and effective groups. Controversially, Bemak entertains the suggestion that an ethnic and gender match between students and guidance counselors might be a needed additional support for students from at-risk groups, although he finally rejects the idea as impractical. (Bemak, 2005, p.5) the article is provoking and challenging to accepted norms, suggesting that the need to build a school community must not conceal individual differences and special needs of students, and that the need for harmony must not cloud adminstrator's eyes to the reality of the student's home and social envionments. Any human resource professional should read this article and find interest in its unapologetic defense of the need to acknowlege the problems of creating a community filled with differences, although Bernak could have included more examples of effective use of groups that fostered the children most in need, whom are the primary preoccuation of his aricle.

Marzano, Robert Timothy Waters & Brian a. McNulty. (2005) School Leadership that Works. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, 2005.

Robert J. Marzano, Timothy Waters, and Brian a. McNulolty offer a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to implement a leadership program based upon faculty meetings, consultations with parents,...

Situational leadership, or flexible to on-site attention student needs is deemed key, as well as communication between faculty members. The authors strike a contrast between what they call first-order change or incremental change and second-order change which is a sudden, decisive step taken by the educational leadership. Although both forms of change are necessary, and first order change is inevitable, the authors stress the need for second-order, seismic changes to create better ways to monitoring and evaluating student success for quality, build a positive teaching culture based on communication and mentoring between faculty mentors and parent input, and to have a strong leader with clear ideals and beliefs. Constructing groups and meetings that foster and define such ideals are essential.
This type of actively induced change allows more subtle first order changes to occur, such as fostering personal relationships between the faculty, creating a deeper base of knowledge of the curriculum of instruction, fostering faculty optimism, and making the learning process constant for all persons involved at the school, including teachers. However, if sudden second order changes are not taken to improve today's schools, then the inevitable slower, incremental changes will not nearly be as positive.

This is a hands-on approach to participative management and not simply a theoretical restatement of its benefits. Human resource professionals in other areas might not find the prescription as interesting as educators, as the suggestions are specifically targeted to schools and the populations of administrators, teachers, parents and students the school serves. But for those educational personnel wishing practical solutions for the problems facing their school, this book is ideal.

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Educational Goals Are Important, As
Words: 737 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

I have done this with other goals in my life in various endeavors and it has usually worked out very well, so it appears that this is a good idea for me and one that will serve me well in working toward my educational and career goals. Since this is the case, I feel that it would be best for me to plan my educational goals carefully and therefore be

Educational Goals Why You Have
Words: 647 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

This can be accomplished through working with large financial institutions to gain experience. At which point, I can apply these concepts to a customized financial planning business that I will be starting in the down the road. What are your plans to utilize your three areas of concentrations after graduation? Like what was stated earlier, the areas of concentration will help me to have greater insights about: the markets and the

Educational Goals First Statement As
Words: 1817 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

While there have been some complains about these new methods (Moran, 2001) they come mostly from teachers that have practiced one way for years and are not comfortable of changing the way they work (Moran, 2001). Fortunately, as educational entities make training more available to teacher's, this negative opinion of diverse education, where the student and teacher become partner, will dissipate and allow for new discoveries and educational freedoms. Mumford

Educational Goals Statement -- College
Words: 568 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Past experience suggests that if well trained business leaders are important during times of economic opportunity, they are only that much more important in times of recent economic crisis. Because my most natural interests and talents seem to be in business-related concepts, the most useful contribution that I can make as a professional might be playing a small role in helping improve the economic circumstances that account for perpetual poverty

Educational Goals Consist of Transferring
Words: 861 Length: 3 Document Type: Research Proposal

On the other hand, I believe that if one's commitment to one's educational efforts and career goals derive from a heartfelt desire to help special-needs children overcome their disabilities, it is beneficial if a personal connection to special-needs children provides some of that motivation. My academic and vocational interests in early childhood development predated the knowledge of my cousin's condition, but my involvement in his life since his diagnosis has

Career and Educational Goals Postbaccalaureate
Words: 836 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

This writer has past volunteer work experience at senior centers, convalescent homes and assisted living centers has provided this writers with experiential knowledge gained through providing entertainment and interaction with older individuals in these facilities and this served to invoke a special empathy for these individuals coping with such challenging circumstances with which this writer has never had to cope. VI. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES Just as the world's reality has entered through

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now