BEd Course Code 8606| Promotion of Our Culture| Citizenship Education and Community Engagement | Solved Assignment NO 1| aiou

QNO 3    Suggest ways in which our education system may help in the promotion of our culture.

BEd Course Code 8606| Promotion of Our Culture| Citizenship Education and Community Engagement  | Solved Assignment NO 1| aiou

Answer:

It’s no secret that when searching for jobs, educators hope to find opportunities at schools
that boast a friendly, open, and positive climate. Parents follow the same process as they
check the area’s school system before deciding to rent or buy a house. Teachers and students

spend more than eight hours a day at school and a school’s environment greatly impacts the

education that takes place.

Staff and administrators in a positive school culture believe they have the ability to achieve their ambitions. Their counterparts operating in a negative school environment lack faith in the possibility of realizing their visions, according to Education World. Trust and connection are cultivated when students feel that their teachers believe they can be successful.

As an educator, there are ways you can improve your school’s culture that will benefit staff development, student achievement, and the collective spirit of the school.

Put Students First

Schools are first and foremost safe environments where students should grow, learn, and thrive. Putting the priorities of kids first helps teachers and administrators prove to students how important their engagement with learning is. A survey conducted by Youth Truth found only one in three students believe their school culture is positive.

•    Host student-led conferences. Ask the students to fill out a brief reflection sheet
                about their academic, social, and emotional progress. Encourage them to write down a
                few ways their families and teachers can help them be successful in the classroom.
                Some  question  ideas  include: What  do  you  like  that  is  happening  in  your
                school/classroom? What changes would you make in your effort or in your teacher’s
                instructional practices? How do you feel about your peers? What are some of your
                favorite learning activities/subjects? What do you do when you feel stressed out? Do you
                feel supported? Encourage older students to lead the conference. Early learners can be
                prompted to answer questions.

•    Begin monthly classroom improvement meetings. Place an improvement box in
                your classroom. Encourage students to write down ideas about changes they feel could
                improve relationships, academic success, and the overall positive vibe in the classroom.
                Every month, pull out the box and sit in a circle. Discuss the ideas and put some of
                their plans into action.

 •    Change your classroom environment. Instead of putting desks in rows, switch it up!

             How can you and your students design the classroom to emphasize peer-to-peer
collaboration, movement, and flexibility? Some ideas include putting student desks in
groups, investing in communal tables, and creating a wonder-wall in the classroom
where students can post questions they have before, during, and after inquiry projects.

Foster Independence

Let  your  students  lead  the  way.  Teaching  students  to  persevere  through  challenging situations is a quality that will help them succeed in the future. Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychology professor who coined the phrase growth mindset, says “when children are praised for  the process they  engage  in — their  hard  work,  their  strategies,  their  focus,  their persistence — then they remain motivated learners. They’re more likely to take on challenges and thrive in the face of difficulty.”

•    Set aside time for passion projects. Research shows that interest drives learning. Give
                students time  for  passion  projects where they must dig deep  to  find  answers to
                questions they’ve always wondered about. For example, if a student is interested in
                how plastic affects marine life, he can search through books, online resources, and
                interview a local marine biologist. Passion projects are also a perfect opportunity to
                use parents as support. Encourage them to come in and speak about their career!

•    Connect with local businesses. Provide students with ample opportunities to interact
                with the community. Community-based field trips help early learners make sense of
                the world around them. For older students, consider offering part-time, interest-based
                internships.  Some  ideas  include  helping  at  restaurants,  pet  shelters,  schools,  local
                farms, and environmental agencies.

•    Be a “guide on the side.” Becoming a facilitator takes practice. When your students
                partake in independent or group work, let them work through problems they face
                instead of jumping in and saving them. This not only promotes critical thinking skills,but                     also gives you time to document student learning and hand ownership over to your class.                     Instead of interrupting students as they collaborate, use a non-intrusiveapproach and jot                      down your feedback on a sticky note.

Model Collaboration

If you want your students to work as a team, you must teach them how! Effective teams challenge each other to take risks and try new approaches. Most importantly, successful collaboration  includes  healthy  conflict.  Here  are  a  few  ways  to  grow  your  collaborative learning community.

•    Get together. Dedicate time for planning at least once or twice a month with a few
                teachers that teach the same grade or speciality area. Discuss the standards you’re
                covering, challenges you’re facing, and successful ideas you’ve put into action. Be
                honest, vulnerable, and appreciative of feedback.

•    Participate  in  multi-age  classroom  projects. Design  a  few  multi-age  projects
                throughout the year, working with a younger or older class. Multi-age learning helps
                older students master foundational skills by teaching them and also allows teachers to
                see the fluidity across grade levels.

•    Use technology to share ideas. Create websites through Google Site or Blogger for
                each grade level as a go-to place for educational resources, including units and lesson
                plans.

Teach Tolerance

Celebrate diversity. Schools must provide an inclusive environment for all learners, no matter what gender, race, religion, or culture. How can you teach tolerance?

•    Find multicultural literature. Look at your classroom library. Does it include books
                that feature main characters of different races, religions, genders, and cultures? If not,
                check out library bag sales and local thrift shops for stories to add to your collection
                that feature a diverse range of characters, situations, and issues.

•    Expose students to multiple perspectives. Teaching about the wars going on in Syria? Include                     credible articles, websites, and interviews from multiple perspectives. Holding civil                             discourse and discussing challenging real-world events will help students recognize that                       there is never a simple answer. This recognition transfers to having empathy for diverse                       peers in the classroom.

•    Host a Cultural Day. Ask your students to create a project about their family’s culture.
                Some ideas include religious background, holidays, traditions, rituals, family history,
                sacred objects and more. Dedicate a day for students to present their projects and ask
                the students to bring in a food dish to pass.

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