Why should children and learners serve as the primary focus of educational leaders in any school organization?
Do you remember the children in your work and preparation for a role in school leadership?
How can you provide a clearly stated correlation between the song above and your ELCC Standards and selected elements?
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How does the message in the music related to the School of Education's Conceptual Framework outcomes identified for the course (see your syllabus and what ELCC Standard(s) and Element(s) correlates with the song's overall message, your educational leadership philosophy and a problem in education for which you seek to resolve through your leadership and service?
12 comments:
Leadership, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY
This song is Malcolm X on so many different levels. It captures the essence of the plight of Black America: the anger, the struggle, the pain, the hopelessness and the hope. This is young Malcolm Little, Detroit Red, Satan, Minister Malcolm, and El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz all wrapped in one. At the very core of Malcolm’s existence, ironically, is education, or the lack thereof. From his street education to his somewhat unorthodox “higher learning” in an American penitentiary, education is what developed him into the transformational leader he was.
When you listen to “Living in the City” you can literally hear the anger and frustration in Stevie’s voice, symbolizing the same sentiment emanating from the characters he’s singing about and also from the larger Black community. But as grim as the tone of the song sounds, this is the harsh reality of so many of our youth, especially our young Black men. Think Malcolm X. As a school leader, professional educator, Black American, and as a Black man it is my duty, responsibility, and obligation to be a transformational figure to my followers. And the term “follower” in this context is not pertaining to other educators; it’s pertaining to my students, especially my young Black males. According to the Conceptual Framework, a school leader should demonstrate “the content knowledge of the cultural, historical, social, political and economic realities…of all students…” This should be at the core of our existence. Again, think Malcolm X. Think about his level of understanding and commitment to that very concept. Now envision yourself as a school leader, as a Black school leader, and the impact you could have on a student living in similar circumstances as the characters in the song. Think about the impact you could have on an innumerable amount of students just like young Malcolm Little. Think about leadership ‘By Any Means Necessary’.
If you interpret one of Malcolm’s most famous quotes:
(We declare our right on this earth…to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.”)
and draw a parallel with school leadership, you end up with this song, “Living in the City”. This “by any means necessary disposition” is what we need from our 21st century school leaders; a disposition that is passionately committed to social responsibility, cultural sensitivity, and socio-political advocacy. To empower our students, whether they come from affluent families and communities, or “living in the city” we have to embody that principle and be transformational just as Malcolm remained committed to up until his untimely death. Just as he was the very personification of that particular strand of the Conceptual Framework and the ELCC (standard 3), we must, as school leaders, remain devoted and passionate about demonstrating the Knowledge, Skills, and Disposition of a transformational leader. Think Malcolm X.
"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." –Malcolm
I meant "Living For the City", by the way.
Part I
A family's struggle to make ends meet is depicted within the lyrics of “Living for the City” through a series of stanzas chronicling their difficulties & steadfast character. The parents work long days, often up to 14 hours & do menial work. This indicates that the parents themselves did not have the opportunity to pursue advanced education to attain a higher status job. As parents, they have created a loving home for their children. Their children may not have refined material items but what they do have is clean & cared for as evidenced by the daughter’s skirt she wears to walk the long distance to school. This is a clear indication the family exhibits pride. Relocation from MI to NYC takes place & the son is swept up in a drug deal that lands him in jail for a decade as decided by a jury of his peers. The sounds of sirens & a striking gavel is intertwined with voices of police officers & a judge who are all white. No audible legal defense is heard.
The conceptual Framework is segmented into three core, overlapping areas: knowledge, skills & disposition. All three are exemplified in this family’s struggle. The context of the story, a hardworking family that cares for their own & yet struggles immensely is faced in the last stanza with a son who is jailed for a crime in which he had little to no involvement. His unfair sentence is an example of the CRT. The circumstances leading to his arrival to the ‘cruel’ NYC streets demonstrate that his family did not have access to transportation to get to school or a living wage. When faced with legal proceedings, the son also didn’t have adequate representation & was subsequently handed an overly harsh sentence.
Part II
In Keith Gilyard’s autobiographic work Voices of the Self: A Study in Language Competencies he tells of being torn between the pressures of growing up with the need to fit in with his friends while navigating through school with white peers. He had to rely upon switch coding to communicate effectively with both knowing that each group required a different standard of language. Since Gilyard was adept at communicating with his white peers, when a Black friend was faced with possible jail time, he was able to speak to the authorities on his friend’s behalf. He was aware that his communication skills were the reason his friend’s case was subsequently dropped. Had the son in Wonder’s song possessed the same skill he would not have been imposed with a decade long sentence.
The city is called cruel by Wonder. The family is illustrated as being loving & hardworking. There is an imbalance. No agency or agent comes to the aid of the family to assist with meeting their everyday needs or with mobilization to improve their current status. There is no empathy, there is no advocacy. An educational leader would have assured that the children had access to school with transportation (ELCC 3), may have provided site visits to the home knowing the families long work hours would prevent them from attending at-school conferences (ELCC 4) & would structure a curriculum that would enable the son & daughter with skills & knowledge to increase their capacity to attain an improved job path above that of their parents (ELCC 2). An exceptional educational leader would take it a step further to render services to the benefit of the entire family to uplift the parents as well. This leader would link together existing community agencies to offer services, job training & skills workshops at the school on weekends & evenings. My goal is to be an exceptional leader, & as such, I am cognizant that being empathetic toward our children’s plight ought to propel us to action to utilize the resources & community within our reach for the purpose of elevating our children & their families. This is the call Earth, Wind & Fire is making in "Remember the Children." We are to structure our schools with them in mind including how monetary & people resources are allocated to produce a future for both the students & us that this positive.
EWF "Remember the Children"
Since our business is teaching and learning, our core committment should be to the student. Period. Whether it be differentiated instructional strategies, promoting positive school culture, collaborating with families and communities, understanding the larger political context, managing staff and resources, or facilitating and implementing a vision, our core committment is to our students. I believe EWF's "Remember the Children" does not pertain to any one particular standard of the ELCC; the song embodies all of them. There's a reason why each standard begins with the same wording: "Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge and ability to promote the success OF ALL STUDENTS...".
The effect of school shouldn't fall anything short of having a positive, productive, and progressive impact on the intellectual, emotional, and behavioral growth of every single student who walks through the double doors of a school.
“Remember the Children”
There is no question that educational leaders are the most important determinant of student success and achievement. When students and learners serve as the primary focus in any organization, it fosters civic responsibility, respect for self and others, and the life-long pursuit of learning. Students are our most valuable assets. In the current post-industrial period, our society has charged school leaders with delivering a high quality, multi-disciplinary education to all students. The sharing of this power has had an impact on student-teacher relationships.
Assuming the role of a teacher leader has enabled me to prepare for a role in school leadership. The role includes being a resource provider and instructional specialist that assists colleagues in implementing effective teaching strategies. This also includes conveying ideas for differentiating instructions and planning lessons in partnership with fellow teachers. In addition to this, I serve as a mentor for novice teachers and help acclimate them to the profession. Last but not least, my profession as a teacher calls for me to be a catalyst for change. An example can be seen through me expressing a concern in a faculty meeting that various teachers were treating some students differently from others.
There is most definitely a correlation between the song “Remember the Children” and the ELCC Standards. ELCC Standard 1 is all about the vision. If we don’t have an identified, targeted vision of excellence for our schools, then who will have it? Therefore, Standard 1 sets the stage for all of the other standards. We must simply know the direction we are going in and stick to it. ELCC Standard 2 gives rise to the idea that an educational leader nurtures and sustains a culture of collaboration, trust, and high expectations. Thus, the leader should have knowledge of the elements of school culture and ways it can be influenced to ensure student success. ELCC Standard 3.3 focuses on the safety and welfare of students. ELCC Standard 5 supports the claim that as transformational leaders, we have the responsibility to ensure a system of accountability for every student’s academic and social success. Also, it is our task to plan, implement, and evaluate policies, procedures, and practices within our school districts that supports student achievement.
“Living for the City”
Like many of Stevie Wonder’s creations, this song is powerful. It is a social commentary song that tells of a young kid from Mississippi who moves to New York City. This young lad deals with many hardships with many hardships, but was surrounded with people who cared about him. He gets into trouble when caught with drugs, destroying his dreams when he is sentenced to ten years in jail.
This song is a reference to the number of families struggling to make ends meet. The academic achievement gap between low income and high income students is well known. Low- income children consistently fall behind their peers in test scores, graduation rates, college enrollment, and other measures of academic success. Poverty has an adverse effect on educational outcomes. What is less recognized is that even for academically high-performing students, income and poverty greatly affects educational attainments such as completing college. The fact that low-income students who perform at high levels of academic success still have less than a third chance of completing college should be of urgent concern to educational leaders and policy makers, alike.
As educational leaders we should develop lines of communication with local, state, and federal authorities and actively advocate for improved policies, laws, and regulations affecting our school districts (ELCC Standard 6).
The conceptual frames are based upon three entities: knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
Knowledge—The educational leader will know the cultural, historical, social, political and economic realities and impact on the population that they serve.
Skills—Capitalizes on students’ strengths to promote learning.
Dispositions—Values learning and advocates to improve educational systems, respect learner communities, and model ethical and professional behaviors.
Your thought provoking comments are worthy of consideration and deep reflective discussion!
Young children learn from everything they do. They are naturally curious; they want to explore and discover. If their explorations bring pleasure or success, they will want to learn more. During these early years, children form attitudes about learning that will last a lifetime. Children who receive the right sort of support and encouragement during these years will be creative, adventurous learners throughout their lives. Children who do not receive this sort of support and interaction are likely to have a much different attitude about learning later in life. Making children and learners the focus will yield success down the road.
Unfortunately, I do not work with children but I do work and manage adult learners. On daily basis, I try my best as a leader to provide the necessary support and training needed to promote thinking and creativity with my staff.
ELCC standard 1, which states a leader, has the knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a school or district vision of learning supported by the school community. This is most relatable to the song especially “See the message in their faces, tell us what the future brings” having a vision and purpose and pushing that forward can make a world of difference. Having a direction and an objective, which is what Standard 1 talks about, will set the tone for all future activities.
That was for Remembering the children.... Last post
A song about one boy in a good family growing up amongst injustice. Perhaps a hint that he turns to crime at the end. Social commentary and Stevie expressing his desire for change at the end. The conceptual Framework is divided into three core areas: knowledge, skills & disposition, which are all clear in the lyrics and, meaning of the song. As leaders, we should develop lines of effective communication with local, state, and federal authorities and actively advocate for improved policies, laws, and regulations affecting our school districts and communities- Standard 6. The problem I seek to resolve in education is “fairness” I think every child deserves an education based on learning and development not social economic status or the zip code where they reside. Education is so divided and it is sad that our communities (black) suffer so much and get the end stick. I will say that the blame is not all on the government and policy makers, but us. As people, we must stand up and fight for what we want and as a leader, I intend on doing just that.
How can you provide a clearly stated correlation between the song above and your ELCC Standards and selected elements?
The song by Earth Wind and Fire places a strong emphasis on remembering the children. Seeing the messages in their faces was a very interesting thing. The song did not say seeing the messages on their faces. This first of all encourages the leader to look beyond that which is on the surface towards a deeper understanding of the individual. The song then goes on mentions that the future can be determined by that which is given to the child today beginning with finding far off places. This encourages leaders to serve diligently in far off places which hold the mind of children at any given moment. Leadership is called to rescue the children with the soul which can bring children clean. One great philosopher said, “The children today do care what the facilitator knows until after understanding that the facilitator cares”. The job does not stop there as leaders must continue to serve in order to keep the mind of the child or learner safe and free.
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