I HAVE ATTACH AN SAMPLE  

Identify a possible topic that you plan to write on for your academic essay and explain briefly why you have chosen this focus. This is a preliminary idea so you may end up changing your focus based on feedback from your classmates, but starting to plan for your Assignment can help you manage your time in the next few weeks. Generate a list of changes in your field of study. Select the one change you think is most relevant to write about and that you know something about.  Then, post a preliminary thesis for that topic, applying what you learned about strong thesis statements  along with an informal outline that identifies at least two to three supporting details. Remember that the more detailed your outline is, the stronger your plan for success in the academic essay will be.  Include an open-ended question about any issue your initial post raises which your classmates can help you with. 

RESPOND TO STUDENTS POST

KIM POST

The main information is loyalty between you and your staff. Your business will never be successful if there is no loyalty. You also must make your staff aware that mistakes happen and that the business will not fail if you learn from the mistakes and make better decisions. This is part of the fundamental characteristics of a leader. Managers need to stay focused and alert and one way they can do that is to have a reaction to change instead of anticipating it. Warren Buffett’s leadership style was very successful, and it made all employees believe in themselves. This review has some great resources and helpful information from Warren Buffett. After reading this review it has left me wanting to know more of Warren Buffett’s helpful information.  

CORY POST

When I first started to think about managers and leaders I assumed that these roles were always separate and dealt with different aspects. At first managers were seen as those who managed their time and resources for short term goals, while also looking ahead for future needs without truly leading anyone, and that leaders focused on one goal leading those around them to achieve a common goal but without worrying about the resources it would take, or how much time and effort would be needed. Since reading this article: The Differences Between Management and Leadership, I have started to realize that both roles have similar paths although not completely, and yet each one needs the other to help themselves thrive. Good managers should strive to be good leaders and good leaders, need management skills to be effective (Wajdi, 2017). Now not all managers and leaders can attain the skills of the other and end up only ever being a leader or a manager, however, by honing your skills one can be a leader with proper management skills for future problems, and management can learn to become leaders and help strive their company for greatness with their co-workers. It is not easy, and not everyone can see the path that it will take to achieve and attain both sides of this coin, but if your willing to try and work hard, in the end both sides are attainable to become an effective leader or manager.

As mentioned above I have learned that although there are differences between both a manager and a leader, and that it takes a lot to incorporate both sides to become an effective leader/manager, I have also learned that it is possible to have both. This article helps as it talks about the differences that each role has including that management look forward for possible “bumps in the road”, and manage what they have on hand, and leaders, well, lead their people to achieve a common goal without thinking about future problems and or needs.

This article takes a view on other articles that have discussed the differences between the management and leadership roles and dive deeper and more in-depth as to what each role does and how each role/aspect has a different view point from their perspective. This article even includes the different qualities that refer to each role like managers should have good communication, organizational, negotiation skills, and leaders should have risk taking, toughness, and visibility.

TIFFANY POST

 One of the first and foremost strategies to be used would be language interpretation. Offering the utilization of translators for parents during conferences and other such events can lessen the impact of language barriers. The accommodations can be very vital for parents to offer their child support. Educators can also use strategies of speaking slowly when communicating, clear and annunciation verbal usage, and checking for understanding with parents. “Additionally, because teachers may dominate discussions with parents, at natural points throughout discussions (e.g., after telling a parent about a child’s fine motor skill development at school) early educators can ask parents to give opinions and share their ideas about what is discussed”(Cheatham 2011). Asking for parent input can help educators become aware of the families’ thoughts and opinions about their child’s learning. Many times, when communicating over language barriers; pictures can be extremely resourceful for helping guide understanding during conversations. There are many different strategies to use when communicating with parents and families who may or may not speak the same language. It is important as an educator to address any language barriers and offer accommodations to the student and family for support and success of the student’s educational career.   

STEVEN POST

Communication between parents and teachers is a crucial aspect to ensure that education continues even when the student leaves the classroom. This is especially an important issue when implementing behavioral interventions with individuals with special needs. Behavioral interventions are only effective when the principles of reinforcement are manipulated consistently and when replacement behaviors are also reinforced consistently. This places an added importance on communication between the school and home. 

Although it is very important to keep up lines of communication between home and school, it is often very difficult to so thoroughly. Issues related to communicating on a consistent basis can be attributed to the high volume of parents that teachers must contact. Additionally, parents often have jobs which make consistent communication difficult if the communicative medium is not readily utilized.

One solution to this problem is to use applications which facilitate quick and easy communication. One application which would be a viable option to expedite the communication process is called “Group Me.” I have had experience using this application to communicate with parents in between home service sessions. While I have not been the head teacher in a classroom, my success using this application with home services suggests that it will work for multiple settings. Applications such as this allow for instant communication, an attribute which is not present when using traditional, notebook-based communication.

KRISTY POST

I decided to research Head Start, since it was a program I briefly considered working with this summer. Head Start was implemented in 1965 during the “War on Poverty” of President Johnson’s term. It was established through the Office of Economic Opportunity. The program’s “overall goal is to increase school readiness of young children of low-income families” (Driscoll and Nagel). In 1998 the program was reauthorized to expand to full-day and full-year programs; in 2007, it was again reauthorized with the support of President Bush and both sides of the political faction. 

The Head Start program covers ages 3-5, while the Early Head Start program encompasses ages birth – 3, as well as prenatal support for families. 

Since 1965, over “32 million” children have received families through promotions “of education, health, social, and other services” (Office of Head Start). The Office serves over 1 million children and families per year in all 50 states, District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. However, more funding is needed to reach all eligible children. 

In my county of residence in New York State, there are nine independent Head Start center locations, four office locations for home-based services, and 4 locations with collaborations with other organizations (PEACE Org). All of the programs provide “high quality individualized educational programming to prepare children and families for kindergarten” and also provides “opportunities for parents to volunteer” (PEACE Org). The center-based Head Start programs provide a classroom setting, a choice of full or half day programs, healthy meals, and some transportation. 

HEIDI POST

In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) passed with “overwhelming bipartisan support” (edweek). NCLB was an update to the pre-exisiting Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was introduced in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program. ESEA “created a clear role for the federal government in K-12 policy, offering more than $1 billion a year in aid under its first statutory section, known as Title I, to districts to help cover the cost of educating disadvantaged students” (edweek). NCLB was intended to increase federal responsibility in education and boost the United States’ international competitive advantage. 

NCLB mandated that states “bring all students to the ‘proficient level’ on state tests by the 2013-2014 school year” (edweek). A special focus was put on increasing performance for certain “sub-groups” which included “English-learners and students in special education, racial minorities, and children from low-income families” (edweek). Participation in NCLB was not required, but states that chose not to participate risked losing their federal Title I funding. In order to comply with the goal of proficiency, students in grades 3 through 8 were tested annually in math and reading, and states had to report their test scores. NCLB required schools to stay on track by making an “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) goal. States were subject to the following sanctions for not making their AYP goal.  

NCLB was met with many criticisms. Educators and the public felt that it relied too heavily on standardized testing. There was concern that many teachers chose to “teach to the test” and only focus their lessons on what students would be tested on. Additionally, NCLB’s emphasis on math and reading “narrowed the curriculum” by compelling schools to spend less time and money on subjects – like science, social studies, foreign language, and the arts – that were not “explicitly tested” (edweek). As the controversy surrounding NCLB grew, test scores continued to decline or remained stagnant. 

Once it became clear that NCLB was failing and the majority of schools in the country would not be able to meet their intended goals, congress began offering a series of waivers that allowed “states to get out from under many of the mandates of the NCLB law in exchange for embracing certain education redesign priorities” (edweek) States no longer had to aim for the goal of 100% proficiency or offer school choice or tutoring. Instead, they had to set standards that were meant to prepare students for “higher education and the workforce” (edweek). This is known as the Common Core State Standards. By early 2015, thirteen years after NCLB was enacted, it was determined that no schools reached 100% proficiency (edweek).