Changes in Society and Schools

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Introduction

Change in every situation is inevitable as new issues usually crop up and necessitate adjustments. Change is however taken differently by those affected as some prefer to maintain their old ways of doing things while others are ready to absorb and appreciate changes especially when it is to their benefit. This piece of work gives an insight to the changes that are to take place in the United States’ schools and the society at large and the different ways in which the changes are received by different persons for instance the teachers, administrators and the parents. It also provides some recommendations or ways of dealing with the different reactions so as to come to a consensus.

With the economic conditions the way they are in the United States, many parents feel they both must work. What suggestions as a potential administrator would you make to parents regarding their school-age children?

Different aspects in the world are interdependent and they tend to affect each other either directly or indirectly for instance the economic, political, social and even cultural factors affect a situation either positively or negatively depending on the impacts experienced. The hard-economic conditions in the United States of America has greatly affected the way of life of the people as they feel they have to work a little bit harder so as to satisfy their increasing needs.

Increase in population size has particularly brought about increase in the level of poverty among the American people as competition for resources become stiff as each and every person try to make ends meet. Parents with school going children find themselves in situations that force them to be both working to deal with high economic conditions like high housing and food prices and also school fees. Parents should however under all circumstances make sure that their children’s needs are taken care of and also ensure that they have adequate time to discuss school related issues with their children.

As educators, we have no control over who is poor and who is not. In what ways do schools make poor children second-class citizens, and what can we do to prevent this from occurring?

Different people including children have different wealth levels; some are rich while others are poor. The differences are quite evident from the way people behave or respond to issues in life. Schools make poor children second-class citizens through the discrimination and poor treatment on them in comparison with the rich children. Even though we do not have control over who is poor or rich, we should always try to equalize the children by provision of equal opportunities and treatments and most importantly encouraging associations like group discussions and games among the children from rich and poor families.

Unmarried mothers are usually at the high school level, although not always. What educational options does your district offer for young unmarried mothers? How are these options conveyed to the pregnant teenager?

Single parenthood is not the best to school going children especially where the level of education of the mother is low for instance elementary or high school levels as the mothers have got limited knowledge and skills on parenting and the general life. Although it is difficult to take back the mothers to class special programs are offered to the young unmarried mothers where they are organized into associations and parenting issues are discussed during meetings. Pregnant teenagers are also encouraged to participate in the meetings to be well equipped with parenting skills.

Does your community have gangs? What evidence have you observed or read about their activities? What community or school programs have been created as a result of their existence?

Gangs are present in America and the rate at which they are formed and their increase in number and members is on the rise and therefore their activities cannot go unnoticed. They usually employ violence in their illegal activities and therefore are harmful to the general society. It is difficult to deal with the gangs due to the violence and power they possess.

However arresting and convicting them, providing educational programs that aim at informing the members of the effects of their illegal activities to the society and the importance of positive change, provision of counseling in regard to drugs where people are told of the effects of drugs and the importance of living positively and avoiding violence and rebellious acts and also provision of treatment which helps the victims recover from the effects of drugs is offered to counter their effects (Albaneese, 2003).

Answers to the Case study questions

During the planning for a possible switch to a year-round system, some school- community techniques were overlooked for instance there was poor communication where some information was leaked to the community by the staff at the wrong time when the idea was not fully synthesized. All the participants for instance the parents, staff and the community should be given the right information at the right time through the right means to avoid conflicts.

Some teachers, Mr. Brown and Ms. Silver could be the ones responsible for the breakdown of communication to the site-level administrator and superintendent. This was however due to poor planning since better planning could have ensured that the information reach the right people at the right time. The reactions of the parents could be anticipated by gauging the positive and negative attributes of the introduction of the new system and the effects it is expected to make.

Sampling would also help to gauge the public opinions by taking different ideas and opinions from different people. Knowing that at least two outspoken teachers were against the proposed plan, Mr. Johnson could have been more careful and know that the two particular teachers could be voicing the opinion of the majority of the staff and therefore take necessary steps. Some of the factors influencing the teachers and the parents in regard to the year-round school system are the changes the system is to bring along for instance elimination of holidays for the teachers, congestion of the teachers and students which will result to sharing of the limited resources. These issues could have been discussed in advance to anticipate the reactions.

To avoid alienating either the parents who want to hear the music performance and those who want to discuss the year-round school issue, Mr. Johnson should stick to his word that the meeting was meant for the music but promise another meeting for the year-round school issue soon. He should then take necessary actions with immediate effect and be ready to listen to different views of all those involved.

Mr. Brown and Ms. Silver attitude towards the issue should be dealt with appropriately to avoid influencing others and a balance should be reached between the different opinions so as to avoid conflicts between the staff members. There should also be effective communication to all participants including the community of any action taken in regard to the year-round school issue to ensure that everyone is at per with what is happening.

Reference List

Albaneese, J. (2003). Organized Crime: World Perspectives. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Click Here To Order Now!