The Culture Of A School

In order for teachers to create a learning environment that is culturally responsive to each individual student, a teacher must learn the student’s funds of knowledge. The importance of learning the funds of knowledge of your students is crucial. A teacher can approach learning more about a student’s prior knowledge and culture in a variety of ways, including, instructing personal interviews with questions about their personal life such as what are the most important things in your life. Another way to discover your student’s funds of knowledge is by placing yourself in their shoes and doing a school and community walk through. You can also be provided with more insight into your student’s lives by conducting an adult interview from someone that also lives in the same community. In order for me to create lessons and classroom practices that are culturally responsive is by discovering my student’s funds of knowledge. I am at Blackwell Elementary School, which is located in Marietta and is apart of the Cobb County District. After having the students create heart maps and interviewing them, doing a school and community walkthrough, and talking with an adult, I was greatly impacted by all the new information and perspectives I learned. Without going through this process to obtain the information, I would have no knowledge on my students or the community surrounding Blackwell besides what meets the eye. This experience impacted my own thinking about the school I am working in for

Through the analysis of this data, another question arose: What is our school culture? In Chapter 5 of School Culture Rewired, we were introduced to the School Culture Typology Activity (SCTA). The data above caused me to reflect on the 12 Aspects of School Culture, specifically collegial awareness and communication. The SCTA chart describes collegial awareness as, “It’s important to know how much teachers in your school believe they can learn from colleagues-- not only by talking but also by actually watching each other teach” (Gruenert & Whitaker, 2015, p. 70). In a truly collaborative culture, teachers seek out each other to identify methods that are successful in reaching and educating all students or even specific subgroups. With this in mind, I am curious if teachers in seventh grade use curriculum that is more engaging for certain subgroups or employ different methods of delivering information that increases retention of knowledge and skill than in 8th grade. Similarly, are we communicating enough between grade levels? According to Gruenert and Whitaker (2015), “Any teacher can talk to any other teacher about

School spirit is a show of strong support for the place that we call school, and is a defining aspect of the school culture. Someone who shows school spirit goes beyond requirements and is involved, participates in events and spirit days, and shows respect towards the educational institute. So, have you shown your school spirit?

The culture of the Perdue schools affects the communication and coordination of services in a major way. Part of our mission statement is to learn through experience. Professors don't just create course work, they create experiences for their student to learn from. Business plan projects, mock financial analysis, group projects are all examples of real world experiences that you get in the classroom. We encourage high ethical standards. Professors don't tolerate cheating or breaking the rules. Most students that do get caught cheating are kicked out of the school. Each and every professor I've had in the Perdue school follows the mission statement and all of the rules for the school. This creates a good learning environment and helps shape

Rad’s school culture will provide a foundation for the larger social culture results, which will influence Rad’s negative behavior to become positive behaviors from the conscious and unconscious perspectives, values, interactions, and practices. His social interaction and situated learning will be aided by our entire school staff in particular from his peers, teachers, administrators, and other staff members, as well as his parents. We all will contribute to Rad’s cultural

Culture shapes values, behaviors, and institutions . Culture determines what is perceived as a problem and acceptable approaches to solving the problem. If you do not notice your culture or the culture of your organization, it is probably because you are a member of the dominant culture . Culture determines interactions with students and reactions to things that happen in the classroom. Cultural biases are judgments of behaviors that differ from the norm. Organizational norms, school climate, and unwritten rules are all a reflection of an institution’s culture.

Schools vest their interests in creating a culture in which students identify and relate to norms and traditions set forth by their school environment. While this certainly benefits the members of that school environment, the activities and extracurricular programs that students partake in also possess a culture unique in their own right. Youth serving organizations present a faction of these extracurricular activities and are well versed in creating cultures of their own. I was tasked with discovering what kind of culture is present in these organizations and what creating a culture entials within these programs, that posses the qualities of an informal education setting. I discovered that many factors infuse the creation of these cultures and that many of these informal educators strive to benefit the students in their charge to the fullest extent.

Our school culture is one where lifelong learning is valued, excellence is expected, and improvement is continuous. High expectations permeate every aspect of what we do. Collectively, we believe in the importance of each and every child and are committed to providing a personalized and positive learning experience for all students.

To be nominated or become the school cultural leader at McAuley I want to focus on two particular elements of this role, and that is the culture of Catherine McAuley Westmead as a high school and a community and secondly, the opportunity for each individual student to be able to express their cultural background.

                Another theory that clarifies my perspective is Canter’s Assertive Discipline. The focus of this theory is to show teachers how to establish a classroom climate in which needs are met by maintaining a calm, productive classroom environment. To achieve this goal the teacher must attend to students’ needs, establish understandable class rules for behavior, and establishing a climate of understanding and trust. I believe that when students and teachers respect one another the climate of the classroom is more pleasant than in classrooms where there is no respect from both the students and the teacher. Canter says that this type of relationship is developed through speaking respectfully to students, a true sense of fairness, and giving

If I was a teacher in the Harrah Hotel College, the type of culture that I would like to create within my class would be mainly based on respect and the importance of teamwork. In my classroom culture my students will be expected (will learn) to respect different things. The class culture will teach my students to respect the time that the class starts, and the opinions’ from their fellow students. Also my class culture will create a sense of “brotherhood” between students and will promote the importance of working as a team and hopefully will teach my students to work as a part of a team.

Ms. Rollison needs to approach the classroom with an open mind and interact with the kids and learn their behaviors. Moreover, she needs to learn what impact their behavior and understand that not everybody views the world the same because outside factors play a role in the student’s behavior. Something that Ms. Rollison views as being impolite or rude, might be seen as something suitable in her student’s culture. Understanding other students culture is extremely important because when she creates her classroom management plan, she will know what will be appropriate for her students.

Martin Luther King Junior Laboratory Middle School is a magnet school in Evanston that was made to serve children of all different nationalities and socioeconomic statuses. Evanston is seen as one of the more affluent suburbs of Illinois. It is a safe area with many great amenities for residents to enjoy. There are children that come from affluent backgrounds, children whose parents both work to support their families, and children whose parents’ employment statuses are unknown to me. One-third of the King Lab student population is eligible to receive free or reduced lunches. This lets us know that one-third of students would go through the school day on empty stomachs if this option wasn’t available. One could only think that if there is this many students that are eligible for free or reduced lunch, the same amount of children may be coming to school with empty stomachs in the morning as well. Since breakfast is the most important meal

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people. It is learned and transmitted from one generation to the next. Culture will change as situations and the needs of people change. A school environment itself constitutes a subculture within a larger society. Each school has a culture of its own, like a minuscule society. The school culture reflects the community in which the school is located and its students’ characteristics. This will consist of the values, attitudes, beliefs, norms, and customs of those making the system. This is because of the racial and socioeconomic segregation of residential communities. A school’s culture is formed by its history context and the individuals in it. Each school has a

Culture is “the knowledge, values, attitudes, and traditions that guide behavior of a group of people and allow them to solve problems of living in their environment” (Woolfolk 193). It is clear that a students cultural background shapes who they are, therefore this could shape what kind of student they are in the classroom. The visible signs of culture are clothing, language, and traditions. But taking a look deeper into someones culture can reflect who they are and their beliefs. The text suggests that some psychologists believe that cult defines intelligence. I am not sure I totally agree with this. I believe cultural tendencies can definitely impact the way children participate in the classroom. To engage students effectively in the learning process, teachers must know their students and their academic abilities individually, rather than relying on racial or ethnic stereotypes or prior experience with other students of similar backgrounds or culture. “Knowing a student is a member of a particular culture group does not define what that student is like” (Woolfolk 197). People are individuals, and just because they have a certain culture background, does not mean they have the same attributes shared by other members of their culture. I do believe that culture matters. To truly engage students, as teachers we must reach out to them in ways that are culturally responsive and appropriate, and we must examine the cultural assumptions and stereotypes we bring into the