January 29th, 2013 by jdkoontz
jdkoontz
This article caught my eye because of the connection to Myers Briggs. As I read the article, it interested me for two reasons. One, it speaks to how there are varying degrees of being an introvert or an extrovert. This concept intrigued me during our first summer of the program. The article also held my attention because of the methodology it used to gather data for this study. The author used a meta-analysis of 35 studies with 4,000 individuals. The article contends that individuals who are at the extreems are less sucessful that those who are in the middle somewhere. It used a 7 point scale with 1 being most introverted and 7 being most extroverted. The study comes out of the Warton School of Business looking at the sucess of sales people. It found that people who scored a 3,4, or 5 were more successful. How does this relate to our program and leadership? The arthur also contends that leaders of organizations/companies are in fact “salespeople.” Here is the first paragraph of the article:
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March 27th, 2012 by jdkoontz
jdkoontz
One of the items up for discussion at the policy meeting I attended for our assignment in EDLP 705 had to do with state code § 22.1-79.1, a.k.a. the King’s Dominion Law. This law passed in 1986 requires Virginia schools to start the student school year after Labor Day. Currently, 77 of the 132 school districts have an exemption to start prior to labor day. Henrico believes the extra time the other systems have puts Henrico’s students at a disadvantage on AP, IB, and SOL testing. An article in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch illustrates how the semantics of the written law can be interpreted differently by two side. Nearly all of the other districts have a waiver for weather related reasons. Most are in the western part of the state where snowfall is a bigger issue. Henrico can not justify an exemption based on weather, so it is using option “3″ of the state code which states,
3. A school division is providing its students, in the school year for which the waiver is sought, with an experimental or innovative program which requires an earlier opening date than that established in subsection A of this section and which has been approved by the Department of Education pursuant to the regulations of the Board of Education establishing standards for accrediting public schools. However, any waiver or extension of the school year granted by the Board of Education pursuant to this subdivision or its standards for accrediting public schools for such an experimental or innovative program shall only apply to the opening date for those schools where such experimental or innovative programs are offered generally to the student body of the school. For the purposes of this subdivision, experimental or innovative programs shall include instructional programs that are offered on a year-round basis by the school division in one or more of its elementary or middle or high schools; or
Henrico sees their plan to get ten extra school days prior to the AP, IB, and SOL testing as an “innovative” measure to increase student achievement. They are not requesting to lengthen the year, they would just like to move up the start date. The school board and administration are highly supportive, but it is up to the state to ultimately decide the outcome. It is amazing to me that the fate of this decision lies in the interpretation of one word, INNOVATIVE, that was written in a law more than 20 years ago.
Link to the Richmond Times-Dispatch article here: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/news/2012/mar/27/tdmet01-henricos-early-school-start-could-meet-res-ar-1796492/
Posted in Law, policy, Richmond Times-Dispatch, schools | 1 comment
March 16th, 2012 by jdkoontz
jdkoontz
One of the areas that I have found interesting about our study of policy is the unintended consequences of policy and law. When policy is written, there is no way to fully anticipate how the regulations will ultimately play out and be enforced. A hot button issue across the county right now is teacher evaluation systems. DC Public Schools is a leader in the area with their IMPACT system. Critics of the system contend it relied too heavily on single measure student data. I read an interesting article last week by Bill Turque in the Washington Post. It tells the story of a bright young teacher who seems to have been fired too soon based on the inflexible regulations within the IMPACT policy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/creative–motivating-and-fired/2012/02/04/gIQAwzZpvR_story.html
Here is a related article discussing the flaws in the IMPACT system’s “value added” measures.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/firing-of-dc-teacher-reveals-flaws-in-value-added-evaluation/2012/03/07/gIQAtmlGxR_blog.html
Posted in Law, policy, schools, Teacher Evaluations, The Washington Post | No comments
February 13th, 2012 by jdkoontz
jdkoontz
House Bill 576 and Senate Bill 438 both look to end the continuing contract system for the teachers and administrator of Virginia. Under the current system, teachers are not guaranteed a job, only due process and documentation in order to be terminated. If we move to annual contracts or three years contract with a large portion of the evaluation tied to student performance, we could see some unintended consequences. I think teachers should be held accountable and student achievement should be part of the evaluation, but there is more to it. With limited resources, intervention resources are scarce. Administrators rely on teachers to give and take and share intervention resources. A teacher worried about an annual contract will be less likely to collaborate and share those resources. What about the current teacher training process, “student teaching.” If I am a classroom teacher, I might think twice about wanting a student teacher. If I am worried about an annual contact, am I going to be willing to turn my classroom over to a “student” for a good portion of a semester. The same could be said of veteran teachers taking the time to mentor newer teachers. I can see this type of system creating a very competitive, non-collaborative work environment. I think we need to proceed with caution and realize the unintended effects of all the current legislation. I think there is a middle ground where we can hold teachers accountable, but also show them the respect and appreciation of a continuing contract.
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January 24th, 2012 by jdkoontz
jdkoontz
An article came out today in USA Today about a new book by Susan Cain who spent five years studying Introverts and their counterparts, Extroverts. The book is called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. The article highlighted some of the topics in the book. It reinforced some of my learning from the summer about the misconceptions of Introverts.
People often confuse introversion with shyness, but “shyness refers to how much social anxiety or discomfort you feel,” Sills says.
Jonathan Cheek, a professor of personality psychology at Wellesley College in Massachusetts has studied shyness for 30 years. “Some shy people have social anxiety but are not really introverted, and plenty of introverts are not shy. Introversion has zero relationship with shyness.”
The article and the book claim that Introverts are under-appreciated and that our society (especially in the work place) places a greater value on extraversion. I had never thought about this in terms of societal values, but it is an interesting theory. I am an Extrovert, so I do not have a different perspective. I would love some comments or feedback from an Introvert if you feel this perception is true?
Link to the full article: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/mind-soul/story/2012-01-23/Time-for-introverts-to-get-some-appreciation/52761332/1
Link to the Book: http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/about-the-book/
Posted in MBTI/ LCI | No comments