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Essay Subject: Leadership, problems, educational vision, types (parent-centered, business-centered, public figure-centered), cultural diversity.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Leadership, problems, educational vision, types (parent-centered, business-centered, public figure-centered), cultural diversity. Paper Introduction: Leadership, Vision, and Cultural Diversity in Large Public Schools The difficulties of creating and managing effective schools in the nation's metropolitan areas have been a major societal challenge for several decades. For purposes of this paper, metropolitan areas are defined as those population centers which contain at least one city of 50,000 inhabitants or more. The surrounding counties are also metropolitan in character, socially and economically integrated with the central city (Reller, 1974, p. 2). There are approximately 250 such metropolitan areas in the United States. In these areas and the surrounding counties, the large majority of the labor force is engaged in nonagricultural work. There is an intricate transportation network and a high Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. For purposes of this paper, metropolitan areas aredefined as those population centers which contain at least one city of5 , inhabitants or more. The effective educational visionary is also able tomentally formulate the process of change that is necessary to reach the endgoal as well as the individual steps within the process (Beare, Caldwell, &Millikan, 1989, p. 1 8). Beare, Caldwell, and Millikan saythat leaders have a strong sense of personal responsibility. One can imagine schools inwhich the curriculum and activities are decided by select business peoplewho decide to assist the schools. For purposes of this paper it is helpful to consider three possibleinterdisciplinary plans for improved metropolitan schools, using thepreviously discussed ideas as the vision.A Parent-Centered School A key to improved schools is greater parental involvement. At the present time approximately 7 percent of the children ofschool age live in metropolitan areas. They have the capacity tohandle stress and the capacity to coordinate the efforts of others toward acommon goal (1989, p. Greenwich,Connecticut: JAI Press, Inc.Beare, H., Caldwell, B. Distance widened between the core city and the contiguous surroundingareas. Parents who have the time and expertise act as teachers and assistantteachers, presenting their specialized knowledge--the life of a migrantworker, the experiences of post-Vietnam immigration, or Black experiencesin religion and business. Evaluations are decided cooperatively by theteachers, parents and students. L. Flux is the theme in these vital centers. (1989). Why not depart completely from the traditional leadership modeand draw from the ranks of those who obviously do have vision andleadership qualities--prominent figures from entertainment, the media, andsports? 4).Governments in these urban centers tend to be decentralized with myriadbureaus and commissions to serve the various practical civic, cultural andutilities needs of the people. Individuals and groupsare needed who have continuous staying power in the face of remarkablechange (Bacharach, 199 , p. Parents and teachers may work together to decide onappropriate disciplinary expectations. The press, TV,and radio serve the entire area, and there are hundreds of specializedpublications and stations to serve those with particular tastes. Creating anexcellent school. They must beable to enthusiastically persuade the community and the school staff tocarry the same vision. What is neededis a new reality, a new vision, and new leadership to carry it out.Bacharach calls for a quality called "deep coping". The environment of movies, advertising, andneighborhoods shape the child's learning (Reller, 1974, p. Adequate structures for educational serviceshave broken down. ReferencesBacharach, S. They are able to be sensitive andcaring as well as competitive and team-oriented (Beare, Caldwell, andMillikan, 1989, p. Parents may decide that practicalskills such as word-processing, auto repair, and child-rearing may replaceprevious studies of other civilizations, higher mathematics, andliterature. A. Perhaps much of the traditional curriculum no longer pertains to thereal world of the inner city student. All the students participate in the basiccurriculum and are expected to achieve. There is frequent praise andrewarding of good performance. They are committed to equity and the development of a community-based school culture. Theodore Reller summarizes the major difficulties facing themetropolitan area school systems. Several writers havedescribed the qualities of effective leadership--self-confidence, strongvalues, wisdom, energetic, risk-taking, persuasive, empathetic, focus, andgood humor (Rosenbach & Taylor, 1989). Strong leadership is an absolutely essential ingredient to theresolution of the metropolitan educational dilemma. There is an intricatetransportation network and a high concentration of residential, industrialand cultural facilities. In these areas and the surrounding counties, the large majority ofthe labor force is engaged in nonagricultural work. Militancy among teachers, students, and parents have transformed manyschools into war zones rather than fertile oases for carrying the culture.Teachers barricade themselves into classrooms to protect themselves fromweapons-bearing gang members. This business-centered school would require that the teachers andadministration take a lesser role in the power and structure of the school. Manyspecialized medical and cultural services are available. Effective schools show staff stability,site autonomy, parent involvement, and community-wide support (Davis &Thomas, 1989, p. Contemporary issuesin leadership. Jerry Lewis campaigns nation-wide eachyear for children with multiple sclerosis. Schools are apparently unable to raisestudent skill levels. London: Routledge.Davis, G. Uniformly, good schoolshave strong leadership, high achievement expectations, a heavily academicatmosphere, and a focus on basic skills. Advances in research and theories of schoolmanagement and educational policy: A research annual. In a parent-centered school there is noplace for condescension toward those who might be lesser educated.Equitable education requires that those who are being served by the systemhave a powerful voice in that system.Business-Centered Schools Funding is a problem in the schools as they presently try to operate. 12). A shift tothose who have obvious financial success would dramatically change theemphasis and financial base for the schools. Somebelieve that the metropolitan area is the maelstrom of the worst of society--crime, poverty, violence, alienation, inhumanity, and feelings of futilityand loneliness. In a business-centered school, the entire focus would shift fromdealing with an out-moded bureaucracy to creating a new entrepreneurialentity that is vital and completely self-supporting. These people would providea clear focus and aim for the mission and morale of the school. To a greater degree than is commonly recognized, the problems ofeducation center in the metropolitan areas. 2). Peoplemove frequently. Parents meet withstaff to decide what is to be taught. Some inner city schools became so hopeless that the only solutionseemed to be for the federal government to assume responsibility. Many of these children are fromdiverse groups who live close together but without communication andunderstanding. This assistance would take the form ofpolicy formation, instruction, and supervision of student interns who wishto gain particular business experience. H. Instead of education taking place within the revered sacredwalls of learning, it takes place on the streets, in the churches, in thetheaters, museums, and parks. A., & Thomas, M. (Eds.) (1989). Whatever happens in thesecenters, whether positive or negative, tends to be a precursor for widerinfluence. Everyonewould simply be too busy and involved to even desire destructive outlets.Public Figure-Centered Schools Higher education teacher programs do not seem to draw the type ofeffective leadership that can productively solve the metropolitan schoolproblems. He notes that the most important problemis the sharp decline in the belief in the potential of the public educationenterprise. The vision includeswhat is good for society in general as well as the students and theimmediate community. In the public figure-centered schools, prominent, successfulindividuals would be asked to sponsor schools. The vision will embody the leader's own deeply felt personal view ofwhat constitutes excellence in schooling and learning. 1 3). (1974). 327). The content and exact activities would be decided bythe successful business persons who essentially run the school. Without that belief in the leaders and school personnel therecan be no truly effective school. Thefinances are inadequate. Leadership, Vision, and Cultural Diversity in Large Public Schools The difficulties of creating and managing effective schools in thenation's metropolitan areas have been a major societal challenge forseveral decades. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Rosenbach, W. This typeof school would immediately change the poverty and crime difficulties whichpresently riddle the current metropolitan educational centers. The leadership is timid, and the curriculum doesnot meet the needs of the student or the society at large. A parent-centered curriculum and management provides an arena for theparents of the students to formulate an institution that carries out theirown true values. These hot spots of cultural and economic intensity were at one timethe lighthouses of educational advancement. They provide the spearhead for school-basedmanagement which is then carried out by teams of teachers, and other widelydispersed groups. It appears that no one wishes to assume responsibilityfor the effectiveness of the schools. It is essential that metropolitan educationalcenters attract leaders with the same charismatic vision as Martin LutherKing speaking of "I have a dream" and John F. Educational administration in metropolitan areas.Bloomington, Indiana: Phi Delta Kappa, Inc.----------------------- 3 Authorities agree that the capacity for creating, communicating, andcarrying out a vision is the hallmark of a successful school executive.The metropolitan school principal and superintendent must be able to infuseimportant, transcending values into the school enterprise. The school has lost status to these children in deference to thestronger influence of the street life, the gang, the automobile, ortelevision. 83). L. Effective educational leaders are able to transform communityattitudes. Interdependence and specialization mark metropolitan living. The streets and sidewalks are filled with people andvehicles in motion. J., & Millikan, R. People freely changetheir tastes, styles, and employment. The best schools do not havecompensatory programs. This pool of talent and moneycan be focused on schools for amazing benefits for everyone concerned. San Francisco: Westview Press.Reller, T. However, during the 196 's themetropolitan areas became characterized by futility, tension, and violence. Themetropolitan area has been characterized as a crazy quilt of various ethnicgroups, the poor, the middle class, and the rich (Reller, 1974, p. Billboards and store signs change frequently.Buildings are constantly demolished and rebuilt. Effective schools and effectiveteachers. Ifparents have a voice in the curriculum and teaching, their vested interestwill undoubtedly result in improved morale among the students and staff.More caring individuals will be carrying the responsibility of effectivelyeducating the children with the positive effect of less teacher burn-outand less destructive vandalism against the school property. Strong leaders embody both masculine and femininequalities regardless of their gender. Dennis Weaver has worked to assist the homeless, and Bob Barkertirelessly works for animal rights. They are task-oriented, persistent, creative, and influential. The state has traditionally taken responsibility for the finances of theschool, and that arrangement seems to no longer be working. MagicJohnson and Elizabeth Taylor are examples of such individuals who have doneremarkable work in a brief amount of time in the area of AIDS publicity andresearch. There are approximately 25 such metropolitan areas in the UnitedStates. Administration and teachers have become insecure.The board of education is not seen as an adequate instrument for settingpolicy. Davis and Thomas describeeffective schools according to various research. Kennedy speaking of a man onthe moon before the end of his decade. 1 8). Essentially, the culturally diverse student populations ofmetropolitan schools simply are not served by the old systems. Finances could comedirectly from the interested successful businesses, from Junior Achievementtype enterprises, or from separate foundations to which all involvedbusinesses are expected to contribute. Some children virtually do not leave their neighborhoodsduring the course of a day, month, or year. (1989). E., & Taylor, R. (199 ). They, themselves decide what skillsand knowledge will be important to the quality of living for the nextgeneration, and the salaried staff work to carry out the wishes of thecommunity based decision-makers. B. The more talented candidates foreducational service opt for more lucrative careers in business. The surrounding counties are also metropolitanin character, socially and economically integrated with the central city(Reller, 1974, p. The school leader should hold a constant mentalimage of a positive, desirable future state for the school. The staff would be available to assist the business leaders as needed withthe creation of learning materials, supervision of classwork, and skilldevelopment drill. Much of the present difficulty is that the values of theschool do not match those of the people being served. In order to achieve better schools in the metropolitan areas, it isnecessary to clarify the nature of that vision. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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