“Reformation and Transformation”  Please respond to the following:

• Analyze the reasons for curricular reform in the past. Determine your position on curriculum reform in respect to the Common Core Standards for your grade level. Provide support for your position.
• Analyze two ways that the democratic imperative can influence a school. Determine whether or not this will improve a school’s ability to become a more effective learning organization

Peer Response

  In the past curricular reform was needed to reach students that could not comprehend and read on grade level which affected their ability to learn other subjects. Also, some teachers were thought of as being illiterate such as the students. The reform was to strength students abilities. As well as teachers knowledge, abilities and training to be able to give students the necessary material needed to be productive. My position as it refers to the curriculum reform for kindergarten students is to ensure measures are in place during the foundation grade level so that students do not fall behind that are deemed illiterate. Intense intervention measures should be put in place for these students the intervention will work towards making sure an individual can read and comprehend before the promotion to the next grade level. My position is similar to the past reform plan. Students need more interventions in place geared to assisting in areas of weaknesses in education. Teachers should have the proper training to identify a student with learning struggles and create an intervention plan to work towards improving students skills.         The democratic imperative can influence the school in many ways. Two ways that it influence a school is in the long-term, it helps develop well-informed citizens who work toward creating a democratic, vibrant, and just society. In the immediate term, it nurtures self-determined and caring individuals who enjoy learning for the sake of it. Learning in an engaging and participatory environment provides a more effective learning organization.

Schlechty, P.C.  (2009). Leading for learning: How to transform schools into learning organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

“School Systems” Please respond to the following:

• Select one disruptive innovation and determine how it would impede systemic reform. Select one sustaining innovation and describe how it will support systemic reform.
• From the e-Activity, analyze the critical social system you selected. Evaluate the effectiveness of the three different attempts to reform certain aspects of the selected critical social system. 

Peer Response

Technology is an example of disruptive innovation; technology can improve the learning experiences of students and teachers and create an environment that is flexible, accessible and simple enough for everyone to participate. Technology will interrupt systemic reform only if the organization is resistant to change. If a new product or new technology is introduced that will change an organization for the better the only way it will fail is if the organization is determined to maintain the status quo.

An example of sustaining innovation would be classroom environments. Most classrooms are teacher-centered. Environments such as this do not consider how students can add to the learning experience and teachers usually set the tone for how the class will run. This example supports systemic reform because it supports mediocrity and does not consider the social systems.

Critical system: Recruitment and induction systems

Recruitment and induction systems not only explains the culture of the organization to the new employee, but also how to attract those teachers to the organization. Organizations vary in their methods when it comes to attracting new talent, but it also imperative that once they attract and hire the best candidates they provide a clear picture of how the organizations works.

An example of this social system would be the attempt to recruit and retain minority teachers. The supply of minority teachers is consistently dwindling and school boards across the country are trying new recruitment tactics to bring in more minority teachers. The National Education Association (NEA) has recommended several ways to recruit and maintain teachers. The NEA recommends “organizing media campaigns in minority communities, recruiting from other sectors such as military or business and offering fellowships and scholarships” (NEA, 2017).