Types of Power

Social Power Model

French and Raven

Ed.D. 710-720 Summer 2006

REWARD POWER: The capacity to provide rewards, such as higher salary or better assignments

1. The strengths of the power increases with the magnitude of the rewards the person perceives can be obtained
2. The strength of the power depends on the actual rewards produced
3. Unsuccessful attempts to exert reward power will tend to decrease the perceived strength of that power in the future

2. COERCIVE POWER: the capacity to provide punishment or negative consequences
1. The strengths of the power increases with the magnitude of the punishment the person perceives can be applied
2. The strength of the power depends on the actual punishment produced
3. Unsuccessful attempts to exert coercive power will tend to decrease the perceived strength of that power in the future

3. LEGITIMATE POWER: defined as “legitimate authority”
1. The successful use of this power will depend on the willingness of the subordinate to comply with the expectations
2. Power has been granted by an outside source

4. REFERENT POWER: the tendency of others to closely identify with or be attracted to the “leader”: “You have believed in me in the past, and I ask that you trust in me now.”
1. The greater the perceived attractiveness, the more likely the identification with the leader
2. The stronger the actual identification, the grater the likelihood that referent power can be used

5. EXPERT POWER: power based on special knowledge or skill
1. Strength will vary with the actual knowledge or skill and with the perceived expertise
2. The stronger the perception of expertise, the higher will be the group’s satisfaction and evaluation of leadership

AUTHORITY= POWER CONFERRED: a right granted to make decisions within limitations

What legitimizes authority?

-Structure (higher up or legal authority)

-Tradition

-Earned or perceived as being deserved ( p. 51).

What is Istructional Leadership?

What is an Instructional Leader?

As defined by Hoy & Hoy, an instructional leader is a principal that is “responsible for developing a school climate that is conducive to providing the very best practices” They suggest that the “principal forge a partnership with teachers with the primary goal of the improvement of the teaching and learning.” (Hoy & Hoy, 2003) Principals cannot be instructional leaders from behind their desks. This requires the principals to step out of the office and become part of the teaching and learning that is taking place in the school everyday. Principals, as instructional leaders, “need to spend time in classrooms as colleagues, engage teachers in conversations about learning and teaching.”(Hoy & Hoy, 2003) Being a good instructional leader means being a good cooperator, colleague, expert, and team player. These are traits that must be traded from the traditional ways of the principal role.

How has the role of the principal changed?

In the 1950’s the role of the principal was simply managers of the school as administrators. As the educational world moved in to the 1960’s the principals became more like “street-level bureaucrats”, meaning they were making policies and getting things done. (Lockwood) In the 1970’s the principal became known as the “change agent”. This took all the attention to the principals and how effective were they being in their buildings. Finally in the 1980’s the role as the instructional leader was born. It was now that “principals were now viewed as key to creating conditions in the school as a whole that would support improvements in student achievement.” (Lockwood)

Today, however, the role of the principal as the instructional leader has changed even more. Today, the principal is key in leading learning communities. The National Association of Elementary School Principals said that instructional leaders have six roles:

• Making student and adult learning the priority
• Setting high expectations for performance
• Gearing content and instruction to standards
• Creating a culture of continuous learning for adults
• Using multiple sources of data to assess learning and,
• Activating the community’s support for school success.

These roles help the principal to do what is best for kids. Choosing the “best-practices” for the success of all stakeholders involved in the school. Some even consider the instructional leader to have shifted to a role of a “learning leader”. Lashway( 2003) quotes Liethwood and Riehl(2003) who identified some core roles of “best-practices”: setting direction, developing people, redesigning the organization. They also listed these that would be more specific to schools: creating and sustaining a competitive school, empowering others to make significant decisions, providing instructional leadership, developing and executing strategic plans.

What should an Instructional Leader look like?

Joseph and Jo Blasé did a study in 2000 where teachers were asked to describe the behaviors of principals that had a positive influence on student learning. The results came back with two themes. Positive principals are ones that talk with teachers and promote professional development of those teachers. These teachers felt that good principals had certain behaviors that made them successful as well. These included: “making suggestions, giving feedback, modeling effective instruction, soliciting opinions, supporting collaboration, providing professional development opportunities, and giving praise for effective teaching.” (Lashway, 2002)

In the article by Graseck (2005), he gives a list of what good administrators do. He says that “effective school administers know that their actions can enhance teacher happiness, which in turn contributes to improving the quality of the learning environment. He says good administrators do the following:

1. Listen to their teachers
2. Seek advice from the teachers
3. Sympathize with teachers and their vocational struggles
4. Embrace their teachers
5. Recognize that teachers are the backbone of the school
6. Build community with the staff
7. Trust their teachers and involve them in decision making
8. Articulate a defensible educational vision
9. Exhibit a passion for educational excellence
10. Teach, even in a classroom, remaining on the same side of the teacher

Richard DuFour says that teachers need a leader that encourages, recognizes and celebrates the progress they make as teachers. They also want a leader that will confront teachers that fail to fulfill their responsibilities. (DuFour, 2002).

The Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) have six standards that they use to define a good instructional leader. The themes are as follows:

· Facilitating shared vision

· Sustaining a school culture conducive to student and staff learning

· Managing the organization for a safe, efficientm, and effective educational environment

· Collaborating with families and community members

· Acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner

· Influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and community context

I have been extremely privileged to work under such a leader. My principal has done a fairly good job at meeting the above list of traits. She too has developed those skills over the time that I have worked with her. Principals do not all start out knowing and doing it all. I believe that if we as principals want to exemplify the traits of an instructional leader we too must recognize our areas that need to grow and develop and focus on doing so each year. The leader of my school continues to do so each year. She has developed a good repoire with the faculty and staff. She has earned a sense of respect from those of us that have been there for an extended period of time. She was put in my school eight years ago to clean up a disaster area of a school environment. She had to makes some extremely hard decisions and deal with much resistance to change over those first few years.

Lashway quotes Elmore’s identified key players in reform:

1. Policymakers
2. Researchers and program developers
3. Superintendents and central office staff
4. Principals
5. Teachers

He says that the role of these is vital for any change to take place. The role of the principal is to be responsible for designing and implementing a well-focused school improvement plan. Principals must first “create coherence in improvement efforts” (Lashway, 2002). We usually see this as creating the “vision” of the school. This means that all of the stakeholders understand and work toward the common goal. The instructional leader then becomes the “organizational glue” that keeps things on track. (Elmore, 2000)

Next, the principal has to “achieve a finely tuned balance of mandate and empowerment” (Lashway, 2002) This may mean that the principal makes it clear that change is not an option and that teachers may have to give up some of their personal preferences to do what is best for kids. It also means that the effective leader creates a safe place for these teachers to implement the change without fear of repercussions when a mistake was made.

Finally, the research says that the leaders” must model” (Lashway, 2002) Principals will have to be able to recognize good teaching. This includes “lessons that are aligned to standards, creating assessments that are consistent with standards, and evaluating student work for evidence that the standards have been achieved.” (Lashway, 2002)

When I read this it made me aware of the exact place that our faculty is at this very point. For the past week our faculty has been involved in staff development. We are moving toward whole school instruction strategies that a few grade levels experimented with last year. In third grade my team tried several types of instruction which included thematic units and variety of individual instruction to meet the needs of the students in reading and in math. We were the “guinea pigs” last year. Now though we have become the experts. It was an amazing experience this week to watch the other grade levels start to develop their own themes and begin to look at the strategies that we tried that were extremely successful. It was also awesome to see how several “seasoned” teachers began to give up some of their “tried and true” ways of instruction and begin to educate themselves on some of the “best-practices”. Our principal actually addressed the faculty on the last day and basically quoted the concepts presented in this paper. She told the faculty that we need to change and explained that the administrative team would be expecting to see us trying these strategies in our classrooms. She also said that we would be reflecting constantly on how these strategies were working. She was going to set up discussion groups for the teachers to make sure that the focus stayed of the instructional issues we are facing. Our administrative team also participates in all of our staff development that we have at our school. They know what we have learned. I feel it means a lot that they are their learning with us. It shows that they want to model the traits that we need to portray in our classrooms. Lashway quotes Kate Jamentez (2003) by saying that “instructional leaders must internalize exemplars of effective classroom practice so that they can make accurate judgments about, and give feedback to the teachers with whom they work.” I truly feel this is what our administrative team does for our faculty.

Instructional Leadership: Facilitative/ Shared Leadership

Larry Lashway also discusses the ability for effective leaders to play different roles. He says, “ High-achieving schools had principals who boldly led the academic program, set goals, examined curriculum, evaluated teachers, and assessed results.” He also suggests that today’s views of the leadership role of a principal should be more of one that does not direct others but creates a school culture that decisions are made collaboratively.

I believe that these two go hand in hand. In Linda Lambert’s article A Framework for Shared Leadership (2002) she states, “Instructional leadership must be a shared, community undertaking.” The old model of one person in charge,

“Leaves the substantial talents of teachers largely untapped. Improvements achieved under this model are not easily sustainable; when the principal leaves, promising programs often lose momentum and fade away.” (Lambert, 2002) I believe that this is where our school is going. There will be a time, especially in this highly transitional county, when our principal will have to move on to something else. I know that the work that we have done under her guidance will be sustained. It was not just her vision but also the vision of the entire school. The new members that she has hired each year either join in our vision or they find somewhere else to teach. This is not something that she has to deal with; it’s an issue that the faculty will not tolerate. We have expectations of the people we work with and we value the work that we do collaboratively as well as individually.

Conclusion:

The role of the principal has changed dramatically over the past years. As new leaders we are responsible for keeping the momentum. We cannot do this alone. As the leaders of our schools we need to appreciate the values and talents of the people that we work with and utilize these for the success of the students. I know that it is a dated saying, but we are preparing the future. The students that we teach are what the future holds. How well we do now effects how successful they will be. We as educators have a huge responsibility, how under-appreciated it may be, to give our very best each and every day.

References:

DuFour, Richard (2002, May) The Learning-Centered Principal, Educational Leadership,

Vol.59, issue 8, 12-15.

Fink, Elaine and Resnick, Lauren B. (2001, April) Developing Principals as Instructional

Leaders, Phi Delta Kappan, 598-606. Retrieved June 6, 2005 from

http://www.ncsl.org.wk/media/F7B/94/randd-engaged-fink.pdf

Graseck, Paul. (2005, January) Where’s the Ministry In Administration? Attending to the

Souls of Our Schools, Phi Delta Kappan, 373-378.

Hoy, Anita W. and Hoy, Wayne K. (2003) Instructional Leadership: A Learning-

Centered Guide, A Pearson Education Company, Boston, MA. 2-3.

Lambert, Linda (2002, May) A Framework for Shared Leadership, Educational

Leadership, 37-40.

Lashway, Larry. (1995, May) Can Instructional Leaders Be Facilitative Leaders? ERIC

Clearinghouse on Educational Management, ED381893 Retrieved June 7, 2005

from http://www.vtaide.com/png/ERIC/Instructional-Facilitative-Leadership.htm.

Lashway, Larry. (2002, July) Developing Instructional Leaders, ERIC Digest 160,

Retrieved June 6, 2005 from http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/leasers.html

Lashway, Larry. (2003, July) Role of the School Leader. Clearinghouse on Educational

Policy and Management, University of Oregon, Retrieved on June 7, 2005 from

http://eric.uoregon.edu/trends_issues/rolelead/index.html

Lockwood, Anne Turnbaugh. The changing Role of Principals: An Interview With Philip

Hallinger, Retrieved on June 6, 2005 from

http://www.ncrel.org/cscd/pubs/lead31/31hallin.htm

What is Effective Leadership for Today’s Schools, Retrieved on June 7, 2005 from

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EffectiveLeaders/effective-leadership.html

My personal Statement of Faith Jeremy Taylor

Statement of Faith

The Scriptures

I believe in the Holy Scripture: accepting fully the writings of the Old and New Testaments as the inerrant Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and therefore altogether sufficient as our only infallible and authoritative rule of faith and practice. Psalm 119:160; Proverbs 30:5a; II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:19-21.

The True God

I believe in the one true God: who is an intelligent, sovereign, spiritual and personal Being; perfect, infinite, and eternal in His being, holiness and love, wisdom and power; absolutely separate from and above the world as its Creator, yet everywhere present in the world as the Upholder of all things. He is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three distinct persons but without division of nature, essence or being, and each having a distinct ministry in God's relation to His creation and people. Genesis 1:1; Exodus 15:11; Psalm 83:18; 139:7-9;
Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; 15:26.

Jesus Christ

I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ: who is the second Person of the Triune God, the eternal Word and Only Begotten Son; that without any change in His divine Person, He became man by miracle of the virgin birth, thus to continue forever as both true God and true Man, one Person with two natures; that as Man He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin; that as the perfect Lamb of God He gave Himself in death by the shedding of His blood upon the cross, bearing there the sin of the world, and suffering its full penalty of divine wrath in our stead; that He arose from the grave in a glorified body; that as our great High Priest He ascended into Heaven, there to appear before the face of God as our Advocate and Intercessor. John 1:1, 14; 3:16; Matthew 1:18-25; Galatians 4:4, 5; Philippians 2:6-10; I Corinthians 15:3-7; Hebrews 4:14-16; I John 2:1, 2.

The Holy Spirit

I believe in the Holy Spirit: who is the Third Person of the Trinity, and the divine Agent in nature, revelation and redemption; that He convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment; that He regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals and anoints all who become children of God through Christ; that He further empowers, guides, teaches, sanctifies and fills believers who daily surrender to Him. John 3:5; 14:16, 17, 26; 16:7-14; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:13; II Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 1:13; 5:18.

The Condition of Man

I believe all men are by nature and choice sinful and lost: that man was the direct creation of God, made in His image and likeness; that by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful creature, the father of a fallen race which is universally sinful in both nature and practice, thus alienated from the life and family of God, under the righteous judgment and wrath of God, and has within himself no possible means of salvation. Genesis 1:27; 3:6; Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23; 5:12, 19; Galatians 3:11.

Salvation

I believe in salvation by grace through faith: that salvation is the free gift of God, neither merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man, but received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all true believers have as a present possession the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, sonship in the family of God, deliverance and security from all condemnation, every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness, and the divine guarantee that they shall never perish; that this salvation affects the whole man; that apart from Christ there is no possible salvation. Ephesians 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5; John 1:12; 3:14; 10: 28, 29;
Romans 8:1; Philippians 1:6.

Christian Living

I believe in righteous living and godly works: not as a means of salvation in any sense, but as its proper evidence and fruit; and therefore as Christians we should obey the Word of our Lord, seek the things which are above, walk as He walked, accept as our solemn responsibility the duty and privileges of bearing the gospel to a lost world; remembering that a victorious and fruitful Christian life is possible only for those who in gratitude for the infinite and underserved mercies of God have presented themselves wholly to Christ. Ephesians 2:10;
Romans 12:1, 2; Philippians 2:16.

Satan

I believe in the existence of Satan: who originally was created a holy and perfect being, but through pride and wicked ambition rebelled against God, thus becoming utterly depraved in character, the great adversary of God and His people, leader of all other evil angels and wicked spirits, the deceiver and god of this present world: that his powers are vast, but strictly limited by the permissive will of God who overrules all his wicked devices for good; that he was defeated and judged at the cross, and therefore his final doom is certain; that we are able to resist and overcome him only in the armor of God, by the blood of the Lamb and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 14:12-15; Ephesians 6:12; I Peter 5:8; I John 3:8; Revelation 12: 9-11; 20:10.

The Priesthood Of The Believers

I believe in the priesthood of all believers: that Christ is our Great High Priest and through Him every born-again person has direct access into God's presence without the need of a human priest; that the believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scriptures guided by the Holy Spirit. John 14:6;
Hebrews 4:16; II Timothy 2:15; I Peter 2:1, 5, 9.

The Home

I believe in the institution of the home as defined by Scripture: that it was divinely established in the beginning as the union by marriage of a male and female and is the basic unit of society; that each family member, husband, wife, or child, has distinct duties and responsibilities; that it is the responsibility of parents to train up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and to provide them Godly instruction through Christian example and formal education. Genesis 2:18-25; 3:16; 18:19; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 32:46; Psalm 78:5, 6; 127:1-5;
Proverbs 3:12; 13:24; 22:6; Isaiah 28:9, 10; Matthew 19:3-9; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21.

The Local Church

I believe in the importance of the local church: that all believers should assemble and identify themselves in local churches; that a New Testament church is a local assembly of born-again, baptized believers united in organization to practice New Testament ordinances, to meet together for worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching and a united testimony, and to actively engage in carrying out the Great Commission. Acts 2:41, 42;
I Corinthians 11:2; Matthew 28: 19, 20.

Book summary "The seven laws of teaching" by Jeremy Taylor

THE SEVEN LAWS OF TEACHING

The Seven Laws of Teaching, written by John Milton, is written for those who have a great desire for teaching. In this book, Milton share his

Seven Laws or philosophies in which this helps all teachers master the art of training and teaching. This book is seen in its order and relations and can be an affective book for many teachers.

In his first law, the Law of the Teacher, the teacher must have the knowledge of what he is teaching and must know the truth that must be taught. The teacher must know what he is teaching. The teacher must prepare each lesson by fresh study and by getting the help of good books in preparing for the lesson.

The Law of the Learner, a learner is one who participates with interest to the lesson. You must get the attention of the learner in order to get his mind on the direction of the subject you are talking about. “Without attention the pupil can't learn". If the child will not give the teacher his undivided attention, he will not grasp all of what he has to learn. The teacher is never to begin a class exorcise until the attention of the class has been secured.

The Law of the Language is used between the teacher and the student and must be a common thing to both. You must be able to communicate with your students. Your body language may be words or signs but must have a similar likeness. Milton calls language as the "vehicle and instrument of thought". The language of the students can be measured on his achievements or his knowledge of what he has learned. The teacher must study constantly and carefully the language of the students. This will give you an idea of what the students are saying and what it means.

The Law of the Lesson must be mastered in the terms of truth already known by the learner, but the unknown must be taught by the known in which the case is the teacher. The lesson in which you teach should be a driving force in the students minds in which it will make them work harder an comprehend the things that you have taught. As the teacher, you must know what your pupils know of the subject in which you are going to teach them, this is your starting point.

The Law of the Teaching Process is arousing and using the pupils' mind to grasp the desired though or to master the desired art. As teachers, we must learn that students can definitely learn without a teacher. The student's knowledge and the desire for knowledge can arouse their own minds. The age of the child will affect the way on how he learn things.

The Law of the Learning Process, is thinking into ones own understanding a new idea or truth or working into a habit a new art or skill. The student must reproduce in his mind the things that must be learned. The students must learn something knew because his mind will adapt in which he already knows and might get nothing out of the teachers' lesson.

The Law of Review and Application is an important law because it helps the students review what they have learned and helps the teacher have better knowledge that their students have learned something in the classroom. As teachers, we should consider reviews as always in order. This law is to help students refresh the things they have learned and makes them understand even more the subject that was taught.

This book is a good book on the art of teaching. The fundamentals of his philosophies of teaching can profit any age teacher whether beginner or expert. Teachers can defiantly find this book more practical than technical. This book has many sound principles, which will make anyone a better teacher. Over this entire book can help anyone to become a better teacher.

My Personal Philosophy (Jeremy Taylor M.Ed)

Philosophy of Schooling

God does not intend for man to be ignorant. This can easily be demonstrated in II Peter 3:5 which says: “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.” Here the Bible is referring to the power of the almighty God and the ignorance of man and his rejection of God. God did not intend for man to be ignorant, he put in us the natural ability to reason and understand. If this were not so, then how could the heavens declare the glory of God? With this as a premise, one can see that the intent of God was to have an intelligent and understanding human race. Man, without knowledge and understanding, and faith would not be able to comprehend Gods earth or his handiwork.

Knowledge and understanding is the underlying reason for schooling. As a schoolteacher, I feel that m duty is to be an extenuation to the home and do the things that the home is not prepared to do. One of the primary duties as an educator is to instill my students with a love of learning, so that they can search for answers to their questions on their own. Since Man is accountable for himself, and must be ready with an answer to man and to God, (I Peter 3:15), it is imperative that he be given the tools he needs to prepare for those answers. Men and women alike are to be knowledgeable about life and how to obtain happiness and joy. In Titus 2:4, the bible teaches that the older women are to teach the younger women how to love their husbands and children. The Bible continues on to also talk about men and how they are to love their wives. Could men and women learn this on their own? Maybe, but how convenient is it for man to be taught by experienced people the things that are pertinent to living happier lives. This is the purpose and intent of the school; to pass on knowledge and understanding that will help people live better more fulfilled lives.

Philosophy of Students

John Locke looked at man as an open slate, ready to be filled with information from any direction. In many ways I believe this is true, not to the extent of empiricism, but on certain fundamental levels. Often Bible refers to man as sheep. In Isaiah 5:36 the Bible says that “all we like sheep have gone astray, and turned everyone to his own way”. This is the first Bible verse that I was taught as a child. Looking back, I see why, because the first thing that we as children, both in age and in maturity, need to understand is that we are not born with all the answers. Finding answers that are pleasing to God take diligence and understanding. Children are impressionable and need to be guided into all manner of truth. It is no wonder then that Jesus Christ is referred to as the shepherd. The second verse I was taught was Psalms 23:1 “the Lord is my shepherd”. The Lord guides the Christian into truth and life, John 16:13. As servants of the Lord we have a responsibility to teach the same truths that Christ taught us to our children, Proverbs 22:6. This is the basis for parents sending their children to a Christian school? Students need good role models and influences in their lives, this can be found by surrounding them with people who live their lives by the bible. A Christian school does not guarantee success, or a happy life, but it gives them the opportunity to succeed. Opportunity, is the key. Christ did not create men as robots, but he gave us a free will. Even children that are raised with great wealth and abundant opportunity often times waste their lives. The best example of this is found in Luke 15 with the parable of the prodigal son. It is our duty as parents and educators to give children every opportunity to do right, and love them when they do wrong.

Children as well as adults have a sinful, fleshly nature. They behave badly and ruin their lives because they have this old nature. We are prone to do wrong. Even the apostle Paul admits that he is prone to do wrong, and even when he wants to do right he doesn’t. But, Paul had the underlying principles of God governing his life. This is what the student needs. Yes, he is a blank slate, but not without instruction on what should be written on this slate. Students should be giving Biblical principles, as well as fundamental knowledge that gives them the opportunity to live a successful life. There is no guarantee to their living a good life, but they will learn by instruction and examples of others that live by principles and succeed.

Philosophy of Teachers

Teachers are expected to be authorities on their content area. Unfortunately, in my opinion, they often times are not. On the news we here about the decline of education in the schools; how the public education system is a failure. Why? Have students changed? Of course not, children in any generation will avoid learning if at all possible. Look at the classic literature by Mark Twain, many of his books were about children avoiding work and school. So who is to blame? In my opinion some of the blame must be put on the backs of the educators. If someone has chosen teaching as a profession then it is their duty, as well as responsibility, to be authorities on their subject matter. They must know their content well enough to convey the basic foundations of that knowledge to others. I believe students are not receiving a good education because many teachers were never required to have one, they just take the necessary courses and pass through our system without any accountability. How many interviews do teachers have where their knowledge of their content area is examined? In many businesses you are expected to have a portfolio, prove your worth. Galatians 6:4 states “but let every man prove his own work, then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another”. This concept seems to be lost in many of today’s educators. It is not the responsibility of the school board to teach a subject, it’s the teacher’s job to teach a subject. Teaching a subject goes far beyond the pages of a textbook. A person that is doing his job, and doing it well, will not be ashamed of his work as II Timothy. 2:15 states.

A teacher is also expected to be an authority figure. This in my opinion is the teachers’ greatest challenge. A teachers life, weather he likes it or not, is a life in the public eye. A person should consider this before becoming a teacher. How can we train youth, if we do not have subject over ourselves and our families? The Bible uses preachers as an example of a Biblical authority figure, and commands preachers to have control of their own family, before trying to maintain a ministry. Must take this same responsibility. Teachers must live their lives to be models to those whom they teach.

Parents/Home-School Relations

Proverbs 22:6 states “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he shall not depart from it”. This Biblical principle should be the basis of all school activity. In the school that I am presently part of, the mission statement sates “It is the Intention of Franklin Road Christian School to be an extension of the home”. This should be the primes, in my opinion, for all Christian Schools.

For too long have parents neglected their responsibility to raise a child. You have no greater example than that of the abortion rate in America. We are a society that condones murder and accepts immorality. It is no surprise, that society tries to shirk the responsibility of child rearing as well. It is not the duty of society to raise a child. For centuries, this has been the foundation for a socialistic society. We even see this philosophy in America. The former First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, pushed this idea in her book It takes a village. Must we continue to ignore the order that God has placed in existence? Everything else in this universe runs by a designed order, child rearing is no different.

God has given parents the responsibility to raise children, not the government or the school system. If we assume the responsibility of educating the child, it must be in full cooperation of the parents. We must exalt and enforce those values set forth by God and the home. If education is to be successful it must be in full cooperation with the education that the child receives at home.

Philosophy of Curriculum

The development of a curriculum is a very tedious process and one that I had little concept of before entering the masters program. What should be taught and what should not be taught is often times a topic of much confusion. In my opinion, it is not the job to teach morals, but to enforce them. As a school, an educator’s job is to be an extenuation of the home, not the actual home itself. A child is first commanded by God to be trained by his parent. This is where the child is to learn basic Christian living based on Christian principles. If a child is not taught this at home, how can an educator expect them to abide by the rules at school. No, the schools job is not to teach morals, but subject children raised by the principles to an environment that promotes them.

Outside of promoting Christian ethics, it is also an educator’s job to teach them basic social skill that will help them as they get older. Every character in the bible had an occupation: Jesus was a carpenter, Luke was a doctor, and Mathew was a fisherman. Everyone has a role to play in society. If these roles were of no importance, then it is hard for me to see why Jesus and his disciple’s would have spent their time doing it. . Proverbs 24:12 talks of the importance of man being paid according to his works. The fact is, labor is an important part of our lives and education can help prepare men for these roles. The secular society already sees the need for this, and government has made it a law that everyone must have an education for this very purpose. As Christians we are to abide by the law of the land. It would be a sin for us to reject those in authority over us unless they are contrary to the word of God (Mathew 22:21), thus creating the need for the Christian school. It is the duty of the school to teach core curriculum needed to operate in today’s society.

The Bible also gives man a way to figure out what materials should be taught. The Bible teaches that instruction in Isaiah 28:10 should be “line upon line, precept upon precept”. This is a pretty simple and easy concept that should be applied to education. When is a child old enough to be taught something? Simple, when he’s proved himself able to learn. I believe we have underestimated the capabilities of the youth. During the Golden Age of the Roman Empire the Latin Grammar School was perfected. Here youth were taught Latin, something most college students today struggle with. I believe this lack of educational demand has caused many of the social pitfalls that we experience today.

Materials should also be a concern in the development of curriculum. Too often we depend upon what a company tells us is acceptable and therefor do not demand any more out of our pupils. It is every educator’s job to develop their own curriculum in correlation with the demands of the school. The administration of the school should take it upon themselves to evaluate their educational goals for their students and give teachers instruction on how to reach those goals. The use of all materials available that are not in violation of ethical or biblical principles should be used to obtain these goals.

Philosophy of Methodology

There are many different learning styles. In many teaching classes, one is taught to adapt ones methodology these different learning styles. Jesus, our greatest teacher, used various means of teaching. He did not stick to the same type of teaching method all the time. I believe educators should follow His example. There are many examples of the types of methods that He used throughout the gospels. Some of the more common would be parables, rhetorical questions, and object lessons. He was even known to use exaggeration to emphasize a point (Mark 10:25). We as Christian educators should be sensitive to the needs of others and should do our best to meet the needs of various learning styles.

Philosophy of Administration and Organization

Administration and Organization can not be separated. The way a school is organized will then determine the type of administration acceptable for that school. Each school is different and therefor must find personnel that fallow the same direction as the intent of the organization.

Regardless if the school is a church run, parent-society, or interdenominational schools they should all have the same philosophy. The philosophy is simply that the administration of the school should have the most power. If it is a church affiliated school, I believe it should be no different. This is no to say that the Pastor should not be involved in the school, I believe he should be much like the president of the United States and carry Veto power. If something or someone violates biblical or ethical principles, then the pastor or those leaders of the church or organization should have power to have the person, or persons, removed. I believe that the administration can be subject to investigation and review, but otherwise should be left alone to fulfill the delegated duties he was hired to perform. An administrator is not a puppet and should be give a job description of things to be preformed, then given the opportunity to perform them.

How My Philosophy of Education Affects My History Class

History is the study of those who did not study history. I was told this about a year before I began teaching; this phrase has guided me more than any other phrase when teaching others my curriculum content area. This has guided my philosophy of teaching, and helped me realize the importance of my field.

My philosophy is centered on the accountability of man. In my opinion, man is capable of so much more than we achieve. Some of this failure is because our talents are used for much of the wrong reasons, and we do not take accountability for the mistakes we make. Sin is one thing that man is accountable for. God did not create sin, nor is he the author of confusion. If this is true than all the confusion and sin that takes place in the world is because of mans actions. God also gave man away to escape the punishment for our actions through the saving blood of our Savior Jesus Christ, this is proven all throughout the book of Roman. And though man is for given of his sins there is still a price to pay for our actions. There are many examples that can be chosen to demonstrate forgiveness and responsibility. God has held man responsible for his actions since the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve, although forgiven by God, was accountable for the sin of disobedience that they committed. David, although forgiven by God for his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, still had to take responsibility for the troubles he caused. So will we be accountable to God for the sins, which we commit. History is a testimony to this, and I try to teach this to my students in every lesson.

Man’s sin is not the only thing that man is accountable for, however, he is also accountable for the talents that God has given him. It is encouraging to study history and see the hundreds of men that used their talents and had successful lives. Many others, although brilliant, have used their talents for things that are not pleasing to God. I make these points evident in my teaching. I feel my philosophy of the education, and his accountability for himself, continually forces me to address the application of history much more than the sheer content of the subject. I do not feel that an “A” on a test has fulfilled my educational duties. If a student walks away from my classroom not knowing why he believes what he believes then I have failed. Facts do not change lives; it is the application of these facts that make the difference. The projects given in my class, is not just busy work for the students to accomplish and then put into a stack in the corner with the rest of the things that others have taught them over the years. I feel that diligent work is the only way a student will ever truly learn. The Bible says in II Timothy 2:15 that we must study to show thyself approved. It mentions nothing about listening, or paying attention, it says study. I try to make my projects applicable, to develop character and responsibility in my students. They may not take the information I give them and use it later in life, but at least once in their lives they were forced to take it, study it, and apply it. I believe my philosophy of students being under challenged and underestimated has driven me to teach much more hands on, and fewer lectures based classes. When having done the best I could to make them use history, I feel my goal of teaching students is accomplished.

Man is also accountable to others. The Bible gives numerous examples of this: In Peter 3:15 “be ready always to give an answer”, Mark 12:17 “render unto Caesar, the things which are Caesars”, and in Luke 28 the parable of the servant being accountable to his master. God established order, and as man we are to fallow that order. This is always the basis for my government class. We study government in the light of obedience. I try to apply these principles with the duties that my administration delegates to me. I that believe in all areas of administration, financing, and organization, we are to do them as unto God. As my philosophy paper contends, God has put me in charge of many students lives, the way I conduct myself will prove if I am a good steward with what God has given me or not.

Lastly, my philosophy guides me in how I teach my class each day. I’ve read a lot of books, many of which I found exhausting. The Bible is not one of those. I believe Jesus did all that he could to captivate the attention of the audience. Christ could have used a lot of different means to get his point across. At times I have wondered why he didn’t. Would it not have been enough just to die upon the cross? Did he have to be wiped, stabbed, and beaten as well? Christ did these things for us; he bore our sins when we could not. Christ went through trials before death. He had heartache that no man could ever bear. And he did this for me. As a teacher, my job may not end at three o’clock. I may have to come in early and stay late. Little is that in the light of what Christ did for me. Christ could have given short, sweet, and to the point answers for the questions of man, yet many times he chose stories and examples. I could do the same in my history classes, lecture every day, and not answer any questions. Instead, I find myself challenged to make my class interesting, captivate the attention of my students just as Christ did.

I hope my philosophy is pleasing to Christ. I hope he gives me an “A”. If I do not apply the things that I believe to my classroom, then I am a failure. It’s easy to say what you believe, much harder to apply it. Through this application, I find myself more challenged than ever to give reason to my efforts. Although this may be the philosophy that I turn in, it is just a work in progress. I hope with experience and wisdom my philosophy continues to grow and expand, making me a better teacher.