Tonight's lesson was insightful and informative. I learned much about communication between schools and the community as well as between schools and teachers.
First, as a teacher in a large school, I found it fascinating to learn that the professor observes his teachers approximately seven times each year. I believe that those observations are a wonderful vehicle to open the lines of communication between the principals and teachers. It provides the administrator(s) with opportunities to observe the teaching skills/abilities and then communicate with the teachers their teaching strengths (which teachers seldom hear feedback about) and the areas in which they should improve. Such communication between the administration and teachers not only benefits the teachers, but the students as well.
In addition, this lesson changed my view about the importance of communicating with the public and surrounding communities. I used to be under the impression that as long as schools are providing proper education to their students, there is no need for promoting publics relations between the school, parents, and community. However, after hearing the various stories from the professor about the tremendous effects of the public's opinion and perception about the school, I realized how crucial it is to open the lines of communication and communicate successfully with the public.
