The class was informative. One thing I learned was how to remain respectful to adult students even
when they keep repeating the same thing in an attempt for a lighter workload. I also learned from the
fact that every question had a response even if there was no answer to the question. The Angel Program
mentioned is something that I would institute in my school if I was in a position that allowed me to.
What I can do is teach my students to be angels for each other albeit in a different way( phoning a friend
when he is sick, taking homework for an absent classmate etcetera). Each student can be assigned a
peer angel . Thanks for getting the class off to a great start.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Reflection
Something I gained from last night's class was that you modeled your leadership style by getting us involved in the decision-making process. While it must have been somewhat annoying and unnerving to be met with a barrage of requests to alter your course requirements, you heard us out and validated our sense of being very overwhelmed. This is a valuable skill for anyone in a leadership position to posses. I really liked the ballots done on sticky notes at the end to determine which dates would be our "off" days. It cut out the raised voices and lengthy discussions; the issue was resolved in a quick and fair manner. That is a strategy I am sure to use in the future!
Reflection
Tonight's class was very interesting and provided food for thought. I enjoyed
hearing about the numerous methods of communications. I never knew there were so
many ways schools can connect with parents. I never considered using social media as
a communication tool. In the schools where I work, considering the cliental they cater
to, this can be very useful. I enjoy using technology and toying with new programs.
I am looking forward to learning more about these programs and sites and their uses.
I liked the quote, "Leadership is bringing people to where they weren't ready to go."
It's an interesting twist on the definition of a leader. I never thought of a leader in that
way but the more I think of it, I can see that it's true. I do not completely agree with the
statement "you own the meeting". I do not feel that it is true in my school. I do however
agree that you need to be prepared and use the opportunity to make a good impression. I
am looking forward to learning and gaining many new insights this semester. Thank you!
hearing about the numerous methods of communications. I never knew there were so
many ways schools can connect with parents. I never considered using social media as
a communication tool. In the schools where I work, considering the cliental they cater
to, this can be very useful. I enjoy using technology and toying with new programs.
I am looking forward to learning more about these programs and sites and their uses.
I liked the quote, "Leadership is bringing people to where they weren't ready to go."
It's an interesting twist on the definition of a leader. I never thought of a leader in that
way but the more I think of it, I can see that it's true. I do not completely agree with the
statement "you own the meeting". I do not feel that it is true in my school. I do however
agree that you need to be prepared and use the opportunity to make a good impression. I
am looking forward to learning and gaining many new insights this semester. Thank you!
Reflection
On June 6, 2012 during the class, I learned about the Angel program in your
Manhattan school, which was started by you. This program showed me that it is possible
with great planning, effort, time, and commitment to collaboration, a program can be set-
up to get more involvement of parents in the education of their children. I liked that this
program had a goal of more parent involvement, had a method for implementing the tasks
required to reach the goal, and a strategy to track the information/data on home phone
calls. Finally, it was modified based on the teachers' input. In this class, I was surprised
at the method that was used to obtain the student's working phone numbers. It sounds
interesting and I do not have a better idea of how to obtain the phone numbers, but I am
still concerned that somehow ------------------. In my professional practice, I would
apply your use of online survey's that are easy to track data and are not time consuming
for future projects that require my staff to be involved in. My reason for doing frequent,
survey's would be to remain knowledgeable about issues that need to be addressed and
are of concern to the majority of the staff.
Manhattan school, which was started by you. This program showed me that it is possible
with great planning, effort, time, and commitment to collaboration, a program can be set-
up to get more involvement of parents in the education of their children. I liked that this
program had a goal of more parent involvement, had a method for implementing the tasks
required to reach the goal, and a strategy to track the information/data on home phone
calls. Finally, it was modified based on the teachers' input. In this class, I was surprised
at the method that was used to obtain the student's working phone numbers. It sounds
interesting and I do not have a better idea of how to obtain the phone numbers, but I am
still concerned that somehow ------------------. In my professional practice, I would
apply your use of online survey's that are easy to track data and are not time consuming
for future projects that require my staff to be involved in. My reason for doing frequent,
survey's would be to remain knowledgeable about issues that need to be addressed and
are of concern to the majority of the staff.
Reflection
Wow! Here I thought I'm taking a low demanding class….. However, I feel bombarded with
all the course requirements. This class requires a lot of work I don't exactly understand how
I'm supposed to generate quality work if we will be meeting twice a week. When exactly are
we supposed to do work? On a positive twist, I greatly enjoyed the discussion of the two types
of leadership models; top-bottom vs. collaborative collaboration. In my years of educational
experience I have found that to be a successful leader and run a productive program you need a
combination of the two models, sometimes collaborative and sometimes top bottom.
all the course requirements. This class requires a lot of work I don't exactly understand how
I'm supposed to generate quality work if we will be meeting twice a week. When exactly are
we supposed to do work? On a positive twist, I greatly enjoyed the discussion of the two types
of leadership models; top-bottom vs. collaborative collaboration. In my years of educational
experience I have found that to be a successful leader and run a productive program you need a
combination of the two models, sometimes collaborative and sometimes top bottom.
Reflection
My first impression from the class was the realization of how important and advantageous is to be able to use technology in my role as a leader. While I am not particularly technology savvy, I understand that using technology is an extremely effective way of achieving success in many different areas, such as getting in touch with all members of the school community, including parents, students and teachers.
I also liked the idea of withholding (or canceling) ----------- from students with frequent absences or other infractions. This is a very effective way of motivating students to comply with rules and regulations. However, this particular method is mostly effective in JHS and HS, since most elementary school students do not have ------------.
When discussing leadership styles, specifically top-down/ bottom-up vs. collaboration, I believe that there is room for an "in between" effective leadership style which I felt was not addressed after it was brought up by some students.
Reflection
I liked the fact that you brought your own experience into the class. I was impressed how you used technology to get parents involved. I thought the texting was great! I also liked how you gave your teachers an incentive - movie tickets if they completed the task. We get more with honey than vinegar! I would love to use this in the future with my staff.
I liked how we discussed the top to bottom and collaborative methods. Most of us felt that our organizations use both methods. It was food for thought of how I would conduct my working environment.
I was not impressed by the noise level and cross discussion that were going on , It distracted me and I needed to hear things again that were being said. I felt overwhelmed by the amount of work we have to do for this course- I did not expect it due to the fact that Cynthia had said it was an easy course,(since we are all doing the internship over the summer.) I also am technologically challenge and was nervous when you asked us to bring in a lap top. I was happy that you said we can work in a group.
I like your technique of everyone writing down the dates they did not want to attend class on a sticky and then placing it on the board for all to view- very democratic!
Overall, I thought this was a positive first session.
Reflection
- It is important to reflect on your day in order to make changes or improvements.
- Setting up a texting system school wide is a great way to be in touch with your parent body.
- I would like to incorporate into my school one day a texting system to be in contact with parents for emergencies and regular messages that children often forget to bring home.
Reflection
Tonight's class allowed me to gain many insights about communication between the
administration and parents, teachers, and students. In particular, there were two aspects of
the lesson that I found especially useful as a future administrator/supervisor.
First, I learned first-hand how one could be a collaborative leader. Professor
Monheit demonstrated throughout the lesson how a supervisor can empower the teachers
to be involved in the decision making process and voice their thoughts and opinions, while
taking responsibility for the final decision. For example, the class was given the
opportunity to discuss their thoughts and concerns about the class assignments. However,
knowing the vision of the course and its purpose, Professor Monheit made sure to explain
to the class the importance of the various projects. In addition, although he was able to be
flexible on certain issues, there were other assignments that could not be changed and he
made those decisions. Also, by giving the class the ability to choose whether we want the
Wednesday classes extended and what dates we would like to cancel class, Professor
Monheit empowered us and made feel comfortable with the class.
As a student of a leadership program, I have learned about the characteristics and
actions for each of the different leadership styles in a theoretical manner. I did research on
the types of leaders and I learned a lot about a collaborative/distributive leader. However,
seeing this leadership style in person helped me realize how I would like to conduct myself
as a leader.
In addition, I learned from this class the importance of communication between the
administration and parents. During this class, I learned many interesting methods to
communicate with parents effectively. The system that I really enjoyed learning about was
the "Angel Program." I thought it was a wonderful idea to have teachers call a certain
number of students' parents each week in order to communicate with them and discuss
how their children are doing in attendance, grades, behavior etc… I think the "Angel
Program" helps make sure that the parents are having effective communication with their
child's school. It also holds the teachers accountable for opening the lines of
communication. I believe that if schools would implement a mandatory communication
system such as the "Angel Program," many issues could be addressed before they become
larger problems. I also think that this type of program is a positive method of
communication since the teachers communicate with these parents once each week
instead of just calling when there is an incident. This allows the school to be proactive in
communication rather than reactive. Also, when parents are called on a regular basis,
instead of when an issue arises, they are more likely to be receptive to the concerns of the
school.
administration and parents, teachers, and students. In particular, there were two aspects of
the lesson that I found especially useful as a future administrator/supervisor.
First, I learned first-hand how one could be a collaborative leader. Professor
Monheit demonstrated throughout the lesson how a supervisor can empower the teachers
to be involved in the decision making process and voice their thoughts and opinions, while
taking responsibility for the final decision. For example, the class was given the
opportunity to discuss their thoughts and concerns about the class assignments. However,
knowing the vision of the course and its purpose, Professor Monheit made sure to explain
to the class the importance of the various projects. In addition, although he was able to be
flexible on certain issues, there were other assignments that could not be changed and he
made those decisions. Also, by giving the class the ability to choose whether we want the
Wednesday classes extended and what dates we would like to cancel class, Professor
Monheit empowered us and made feel comfortable with the class.
As a student of a leadership program, I have learned about the characteristics and
actions for each of the different leadership styles in a theoretical manner. I did research on
the types of leaders and I learned a lot about a collaborative/distributive leader. However,
seeing this leadership style in person helped me realize how I would like to conduct myself
as a leader.
In addition, I learned from this class the importance of communication between the
administration and parents. During this class, I learned many interesting methods to
communicate with parents effectively. The system that I really enjoyed learning about was
the "Angel Program." I thought it was a wonderful idea to have teachers call a certain
number of students' parents each week in order to communicate with them and discuss
how their children are doing in attendance, grades, behavior etc… I think the "Angel
Program" helps make sure that the parents are having effective communication with their
child's school. It also holds the teachers accountable for opening the lines of
communication. I believe that if schools would implement a mandatory communication
system such as the "Angel Program," many issues could be addressed before they become
larger problems. I also think that this type of program is a positive method of
communication since the teachers communicate with these parents once each week
instead of just calling when there is an incident. This allows the school to be proactive in
communication rather than reactive. Also, when parents are called on a regular basis,
instead of when an issue arises, they are more likely to be receptive to the concerns of the
school.
Reflection
The nature of a concentrated summer-school session is that it engenders stress. In reflecting about our first session I was quite agitated.While I am not an AP nor do I aspire to be one,I have been a professor of graduate studies at --------------- .(so much for anonymity which I contend does not exist in this kind of forum)While Prof. Monheit finally relented about the 1st assignment's due date(and yes, I already ordered my book through Amazon Prime) I experienced behaviors that I would not want to emulate.In a graduate course, accountability and flexibility are a two -way street.The first day of a session can be harrowing.Expecting the unexpected is par for the course.How unfortunate that the professor was uninformed that students only find out about texts at the first session(due to the lack of communication at-------------------------------.How ironic that in a class of community relations and communication we were initially subjected to a void of communication, respect, and empathy.I should be reflecting on gaining from the professor's expertise in using media and technology to enhance communication.Perhaps we can implement some of the professor's suggestions in helping --------------------------- become more efficient!Kol HaHaschalos Kashos. I look forward to experiencing a semester of growth. I appreciate my colleagues' and Prof.Monheit's efforts in making the course requirements doable in the span of time that we have. Successful communication requires identifying and sharing a problem, and proposing and implementing an appropriate solution. Our first session ended on a positive note carrying theory into practice.
Reflection
Today's class was informative and confusing. I learned a lot of new strategies for how o organize a messy situation in a room with numerous parties that are differentiated on opinions. I very much enjoyed the usage of post-it's in the class today. I have always considered them a useful tool and was pleased to learn of another way to use them.
I was happy to hear we would also be discussing appropriate ways in which administration can encourage parents to communicate with the school and allow there to be a two at dialogue between school and home life.
I find that the more of these administrative courses I complete, the more dissatisfied I am with the ---------- system and the quality at which they run their schools. I how I continue to learn more about being an effective administrator so I can be in the position to help implement positive changes into any school I work with.
Reflection
Neil Monheit
Reflections on Special Education www.naftalimonheit.blogspot.com
Reflections on Special Education practices www.nmonheit.blogspot.com
Reflections from other courses www.monheit.blogspot.com
To see other reflections please review www.neilmonheit.blogspot.com
To learn more about Integrated Co-Teaching visit www.neilmonheit-ict-teaching.blogspot.com
To learn more about Collaborative Team Teaching you can review www.ntctt.blogspot.com
This blog will allow us to explore our reflections on public relations and leadership. Your posts will be anonymous. This forum is a safe venue for sharing our collective understandings. In keeping with a policy of full disclosure, it is imperative that we maintain our professionalism and respect for each other. Some posts may be moderated to insure that we feel safe sharing in this public space.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Friday, September 17, 2010
Adding comments
Clicking on the word comments under a post will allow you to post a comment and maintain the flow of our conversations.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Neil Monheit Welcome ot our space for reflection and thoughts on leadership
This new blog will allow us to share threaded conversations.
Better than email, the threads are maintained so you are current and can follow the conversation instead of isolated emails.
See our other blogs on education
Better than email, the threads are maintained so you are current and can follow the conversation instead of isolated emails.
See our other blogs on education
Reflections on Educational Leadership http://www.reflectionsedsa535.blogspot.com/
Reflections on Special Education http://www.naftalimonheit.blogspot.com/
Reflections on Special Education practices http://www.nmonheit.blogspot.com/
Reflections from other courses http://www.monheit.blogspot.com/
To see other reflections please review http://www.neilmonheit.blogspot.com/
To learn more about Integrated Co-Teaching visit http://www.neilmonheit-ict-teaching.blogspot.com/
To learn more about Collaborative Team Teaching you can review http://www.ntctt.blogspot.com/
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