Archive for month: October, 2014

In the past year, most of my classes have had discussions about Common Core State Standards. Not only has this been a big topic of discussion in my classes and in schools but also in the media. I find that everyone slightly concerned with politics or education has an opinion about the new standards. I’m not here to say if anyone’s opinions are right or not, but I do often find that people are negatively affected by things they hear or read. I have also been seeing quite a bit of this in schools recently; some students seem to feel that this new curriculum is too hard for them and that is what they are being told. They can do it! We need to encourage them and provide them with a positive idea of Common Core rather than telling students that the work is going to be really difficult for them. One thing that I know for certain is that Common Core State Standards is what is happening in our schools now and we need to accept it and do our best as teachers to make it as fabulous for our students as we can.

Common Core has some great potential to be a successful endeavor for United Staes Schools. Right now though, potential is most of what it has. There is so much talk of implementing new strategies and providing professional developments for teachers to get everyone on track for Common Core success. I’m questioning though, how and who is making that potential happen so we can all be successful. CCSS gives teachers so much room to be creative and innovative which is an amazing opportunity. As a teacher, I am excited to be given more control of how I teach things.  That said, I am a new teacher, this is what I’ve been taught to do, what I’ve been trained for and I am prepared for this sort of teaching freedom. For more experienced teachers however, this is a terrifying situation. It’s not that experienced teacher’s can’t do these things, it’s that they feel they are being asked to change something that was working well in the first place. We need to help experienced teachers understand the steps they can take to utilize their old methods and incorporate Common Core strategies into them.

In addition, one area in which Common Care is a new endeavor that is not quite understood is in testing. The Smarter Balance test which is accompanying Common Core implementation is entirely computer based. This poses a major difficulty to schools in many ways. How are the schools going to accommodate computer based testing of students. Many schools don’t have the resources to efficiently allow that to happen. How are our teachers going to help the students with these tests? Many teachers are not technologically savvy and are not prepared to have to help students with the problems that are likely to arise.

As I mentioned before, there are a lot of exciting things coming as we delve deeper into implementing Common Core. Some people are upset that Common Core is asking for more challenge of students. As a college student, I can say that the things Common Core is asking students to do is preparing students for college and career readiness which is the point. I definitely took college courses I was not prepared for. For example, I don’t feel that I was prepared for the level of critical thinking that was demanded of me in college. I worked hard and was able to do what was asked but I was not as prepared as professors expected from a student coming straight from high school. The things I am seeing students doing in class and the responses to questions are amazing. Common Core is asking students to think in ways they are not used to but the students are doing an amazing job. Common Core is not hurting our students or our teachers, I see it as improving everyone. Change is good for keeping people on their toes and not just getting into a pattern but continually challenging their brains instead. As I said, Common Core has great potential and benefits can already been seen. However, we do need to think more about how exactly we can work together to make this all work for the students and the teachers.

Based on the scores you received on the Organizational Climate Questionnaire on page 190 of the text, what are your strengths and weaknesses regarding establishing a constructive climate for a group or organization?

I was pleased with my results from the questionnaire. I received a 54 which resides in the high range meaning that I try to create a constructive climate. I get all people involved and listen to everybody’s opinions. It also means I value opposing points of view as well as the opinions that are in line with the majority. I take great pride in this assessment knowing that I value all members of a group equally. By doing this, one of my strengths is creating a sense of unity and community amongst a group. One of my weaknesses that I discovered from the questionnaire is that I can become frustrated when some group members act stubborn with the majority of the group. There probably is an underlining reason why these group members act this way and it would be beneficial to talk with them privately to get a better understanding of how they feel. I could benefit more from communicating more effectively and forming relationships with group members.

What strategies for establishing a constructive climate for a group or organization discussed in the text could you employ to improve your skills?

Like I previously mentioned, forming special relationships with others is an area I can improve on which would build better communication, trust, and understanding with group members. This would also create a more productive and unified environment. Another area I could improve on is empowering others to act. Usually whenever I am leading, sometimes I tend to take control instead of sharing control which can destroy a group’s energy. Getting others involved is something that I need to improve at.

An important aspect of establishing a constructive climate is giving recognition to others. Is rewarding or praising others something that comes easily for you as a leader? Discuss.

Yes, I believe that this is one of my strengths. I love to see others succeed and to grow. I often praise others to encourage them and raise their morale. This will only motivate them to keep getting better. I try to do whatever I can to create a constructive environment.

This episode begins with the twist that occurred in Coyopa’s elimination of John Rucker, who had been blindsided by the rest of his tribe. Although most of them were glad to be rid of him and his aggressive nature, Dale feels secluded as he thinks that he is to be the next target.

After John from Hunahpu earns his tribe another win, he is forced to send his girlfriend to Exile Island. Along with her, he decides to let Drew accompany her. In doing this, the pair work together and Drew quickly confesses on his idea to throw the next challenge in order to make his tribe vote someone out. He firmly believes that he is the leader of the group and is the one who has been ensuring their survival. His actions prior, however, contradicts what he says. For example, in the last episode, he is seen sleeping rather than helping the group repair their shelter. He is also noted for being cocky and simply showing off his strength to the group, rather than actually working with everyone else.

According to the Big Five Personality Traits, we can associate carelessness and disagreeableness to Drew. The tribe knows that he does not pull his own weight around, but Drew is under the impression that he does. This makes him very disagreeable to work with as his group members do not think he is a great team player. When he purposefully throws off the second challenge, he attempts to convince everyone to vote Kelley off. No one agrees with his idea as Kelley is actually a positive player for the group. Drew, however, continues to push his want of eliminating her.

Drew intentionally threw off a challenge to make his tribe eliminate one of their members. Although he believed he would be able to eliminate someone he saw as a threat, the episode ended in Drew, himself, being voted off.

In this episode of Survivor, we focus on the conflict within the tribes and between the tribes.

The Hunahpu tribe faces an internal group conflict with one of their members, Drew. When they all decide to work together to fix and repair their shelter, Drew decides to take a nap instead. His excuse is that he simply cannot complete the task and resides to sleep in the middle of the group’s work area. By deciding to brush off the group’s task, Drew focused on his own needs and wants rather than the groups’. This could be looked at as an affective conflict, as Drew shows the group how lazy he could be compared to how the rest of the group is hardworking.

In another example of conflict, there arose a problem between the groups. Jeremy from Hunahpu and John Rucker from Coyopa had created an alliance to protect each other’s significant other. John, however, backs out of this agreement and allows his group to vote Val, Jeremy’s wife, out. Jeremy explains that he feels betrayed by John’s actions and therefore, there is a procedural conflict. When John decided to break his alliance with Jeremy and allow Val to be eliminated, he also put his girlfriend, Julie, from Hunahpu in a bad spot. Julie, now at risk of elimination, also feels betrayed.

The tension between the two tribes arise when during one of the games, Coyopa decides to play dirty and aggressively push and shove the members of Hunahpu. There is also some group hate against John Rocker when the Hunahpu tribe finally learns about John’s bad reputation and bigotry. When he is called out, John simply responds in a way proves his aggressive nature. Here, there is affective conflict due to their conflicting beliefs and moral values.