MD5 Dis 1
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MD5dis1collresp..docxModule 5 Colleague Responses
Amanda Puryear
Jan 7, 2023Jan 7 at 9:19pm
Social change is the practice of finding long-term solutions and promoting lasting effects that positively impact society (Callahan et al., 2012). According to Callahan et al. (2012), there are eight key features of social change Scholarship, Systems thinking, Reflection, Practice, Collaboration, Advocacy, Civic Engagement, and Humane Ethics. The two features that I am most interested in is the features of scholarship and practice. The feature of scholarship is essential to social changes because, as a scholar, I can apply the knowledge I have to real-world problems and help to solve them (Callahan et al.,2012). Without knowledge and research skills, it would be very difficult to initiate change in my society because I would not know how to identify the root cause of things that need to be changed. The feature of practice also interests me because it reminds me of my practice as a classroom teacher. Scholar-practitioners apply knowledge to a task by engaging in experimental learning, this aids in the growth of the individual (Callahan et al.,2012). This reminds me of being a classroom teacher because I modeled my curriculum after the idea of practice. I allowed my students to experiment and learn from their mistakes in a structured environment. By doing this, I found that my students learned more than my traditional fashion of teaching, and they were more engaged and happy
In college, I was a part of a group that did many service-learning projects. One of my favorite experiences was when the group adopted a cemetery. This project exemplified the features of scholarship, practice, collaboration, and advocacy. This cemetery was abandoned and did not have many records. My group cleared the land and documented the headstones that we could find using various methods we researched. We worked with the church to organize their registry and found that the cemetery was a predominantly African American cemetery that had been forgotten and left unused. Together we worked with the local news outlets to raise awareness of the cemetery and even got replies from relatives that still lived in the area, showing their appreciation for conserving the history of the community.
My vision for educational change revolves around students practicing and mastering skills for the real world. At the same time, they are learning content; however, content almost takes a back seat to skills. I was particularly moved by Fullan's (2016) comment, "we should not think of more education as a solution to getting better jobs, but rather we recognize education as enabling us to think and act better (p.263)" This idea is not shared by many teachers, and they will seek to resist a shift in educational mindset. Leadership skills that I would need to gain support in my vision would be to practice transparency, collaboration, a keep a close connection to the overall goal of improving our students and their community (Fullan, 2016). By establishing a vision for what we what our students to be able to succeed in their lives and collaborating to achieve this vision, ultimately, we as a society will see positive change.
References
Callahan, D., Wilson, E., Birdsall, I., Estabrook-Fishinghawk, B., Carson, G., Ford, S., Yob, I. (2012). Expanding our understanding of social change: A report from the definition task force of the HLC Special Emphasis Project Download Expanding our understanding of social change: A report from the definition task force of the HLC Special Emphasis Project [White paper]. Minneapolis, MN: Walden University.
Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press
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Katheryn Gonzales
Jan 13, 2023Jan 13 at 6:19pm
According to Callahan et al. (2012), social change brings long-term solutions that have lasting effects. Social change can occur through knowledge, skills, and attitudes and can be grouped under scholarship, system thinking, reflection, practice, collaboration, advocacy, civic engagement, and humane ethics. The two features of social change that interest me the most are advocacy and collaboration. As an early childhood specialist, I work with many children who need someone to be a voice for them when they do not have one. Advocacy allows me to be the “voice” for my students. I am highly aware in my day-to-day work with students of the services that will move students further in their education, the support they need in their home lives, and the system change that will benefit them. I also believe that to be effective with social change through advocacy, I will need to collaborate with the team of people working with me, the school, the community, and the district to make a change that will be long-lasting and impactful. As an educator, building relationships and partnerships with community members can help make a positive impact on my students and the community.
In my experience as a Title 1 teacher, I have experienced social change at my school through programs like All Pro Dads. All Pro Dads is a monthly breakfast that encourages fathers and father figures of students to build positive relationships with students and other parents in the community. All Pro Dads use collaboration, humane ethics, and reflection to support social change. Collaboration occurs through the partnership of local churches, grocery stores, and speakers that support the program by donating breakfast foods, speakers, and activities to use to engage fathers and their students. Humane ethics shows the responsiveness of the club to support the students’ needs for supportive and engaged mentors that will encourage them through their educational journey. Finally, reflection will help move the program forward as the team reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of the program and how to move the program further.
In my educational setting, I would like to create social change by partnering with local libraries to provide opportunities to work with parents and family members to encourage reading and early literacy activities for young children. To support my vision, I will need to enact leadership skills that will inspire and motivate other teachers to work with me to bring this vision to life. Fullan (2016) says good leadership encourages and energizes people to make good decisions and to do good things. I will do this by collaborating with others who have a shared vision and goals. I will encourage teachers by pursuing the significance and importance of early literacy for young children and its impact on their lives.
References :
Callahan, D., Wilson, E., Birdsall, I., Estabrook-Fishinghawk, B., Carson, G., Ford, S., Yob, I. (2012). Expanding our understanding of social change: A report from the definition task force of the HLC Special Emphasis Project Download Expanding our understanding of social change: A report from the definition task force of the HLC Special Emphasis Project [White paper]. Minneapolis, MN: Walden University.
Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press
