Educational Coaches Essay Example for Free

Educational Coaches Essay Educational or instructional coaches – also called â€Å"master teachers† – in elementary and secondary education are facilitators who train other teachers to improve instructional practices and generate higher levels of student achievement (Buly et al, 2004). Specifically, they are trained to serve as support for schools and districts experiencing â€Å"market failure;† i. e. , that have large numbers of students unable to meet state and federal achievement standards (Buly et al, 2004). This document is written as an outline to provide qualitative and quantitative evidence (in economic and real terms) that justifies educational managers (elementary, middle and high school principals, superintendents and school board members) utilizing educational/instructional coaches to achieve the following goals: (1) improving aggregate output through schools’ and districts’ overall level of student achievement on state- and/or federally-mandated testing, and (2) improving micro-level behavior through resource allocation, individual classroom management, implementation of learning strategies and instruction of subject matter. The following is a summary of the main points of this document: †¢ Discussion of what educational/instructional coaches are and their estimated microeconomic impact on students’ and teachers’ performances †¢ Discussion of district and schools’ economic costs and factors including fiscal policy, funding sources, overall output and the impact of budgetary decisions such as hiring educational/instructional coaches †¢ An econometric case study: regression analysis of schools in Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida that utilize educational/instructional coaches Definition The field of education, unlike some markets, is not perfectly competitive. Individual buyers (students) and sellers (teachers) do have the ability to significantly influence the cost and quality of education. Consequently, educators continuously strive to make the educational marketplace more efficient and productive; i. e. , they search for methods and tools that improve the process of and environment for learning and address the diverse and changing needs of teachers and students. Unfortunately, the field of education is constrained by limits, and the equitable and efficient distribution of income (state and federal funding) and other resources (teachers) remains an issue that managers (educational administrators such as superintendents, school board members and principals) must address annually. In 1989, an educational organization called the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) developed America’s Choice, a school design model based on high quality instructional materials, technical support and professional development for teachers (NCEE, 2009). Educational/instructional coaches are a central component of America’s Choice (NCEE, 2009). The goal of this paper is to determine whether or not educational managers are making the most fiscally responsible decision when hiring educational/instructional coaches to meet district- and school-based needs. While educational/instructional coaches are an often-used solution in some school districts, managers have other alternatives available to provide support to teachers and students in the classroom. These options utilize different methods of resource allocation. One alternative to â€Å"classroom coaching† is making capital improvements. An example of a capital improvement is upgrading a district’s and/or school’s technological infrastructure. This would involve purchasing computers and/or networks with more memory and larger capacities for data storage and manipulation, increasing the value and useful life of a district’s or school’s technological infrastructure. This could also involve purchasing software such as web-based educational tools for both students and teachers to use. Another option is additional training for teachers through in-service workshops (training provided during the school day) or additional education courses (college and/or university level). A third alternative is realignment of the student-teacher ratio based on aggregate demand; i. e. , the total demand (number of students) for goods (teachers/classes) and services (instruction) in the educational market (classroom). A fourth alternative is awarding financial bonuses to teachers with high or greatly improved student achievement rates. Educational/Instructional Coaches: Their Economic Costs and Factors When evaluating the benefits of using educational/instructional coaches, educational managers must ask themselves, â€Å"What are the accounting and opportunity costs of this decision? † In other words, managers need to determine expenses like salary, benefits, health insurance for the educational/instructional coaches; they also must construct the benefits of other educational options. According to payscale. com, a global, online compensation database, the average salary for K-12 public school teachers in the United States is $42,000 annually for a nine-month school year (Payscale, Inc. , 2009). Educational coaches are often at the top tier for teachers’ salaries and make on average $52,000 each year (Payscale, Inc. , 2009). Thus, the opportunity cost of hiring an educational coach at a school is, on average, $52,000 annually. An educational manager have an additional $52,000 (plus the cost of insurance and benefits) within his/her budget to invest in computer hardware, software, training for existing teachers, or actually hiring a new teacher (thereby reducing the teacher/student ratio). If a school principal hired more than one educational coach – many schools have one for every major academic discipline – the costs would be even greater. Across a school district, the aggregate costs would be much larger. For example, Duval County Public Schools is a school district in Jacksonville, Florida, has 160 schools, and uses America’s Choice, employing educational coaches at all 160 schools (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). At the very least, Duval County Public Schools’ accounting cost for hiring 160 educational coaches would be (on average) approximately 8. 32 million dollars annually, not including benefits and insurance. While educational managers must consider costs, they must also contend with economic factors. There are a wide range of economic factors that affect educational managers’ ability to hire educational coaches. Some of the most important are federal and state government policies, school district management, taxation, and student achievement levels. Before educational managers can make hiring decisions, school districts must meet state and federal approval through accreditation (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). Accreditation is the process by which â€Å"an official body gives authority to something when recognized standards are met† (Lindberg, Ed. , 2004, p. 8). The governing body for public schools in the southern part of the United States is the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools (SACS). In October 2008, SACS awarded Duval County Public Schools full accreditation, which indicates the district complied with meeting state and federal standards for student achievement (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). Schools must be accredited to hire new staff. Thus, the accreditation process was necessary before educational managers could hire educational coaches. Another factor affecting the hiring process is district management. Before principals can finalize hiring any new educators, including educational coaches, the new hires must be approved by the school board (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). The school board is â€Å"a local authority responsible for the provision and maintenance of schools† (Lindberg, Ed. , 2004, p. 1220). In Duval County Public Schools, for example, the school board must vote on whether or not they approve principals hiring educational coaches. Another factor affecting the hiring of educational coaches is funding. Funding for school districts is a fiscal policy issue and comes from a combination of local, state and federal sources (Howell Miller, 1997). Local funding is generally financed by property taxes (Howell Miller, 1997). State financing is generally through sales taxation (Howell Miller, 1997). Both local and state taxation are affected by state policy decisions and voting decisions of the population (Howell Miller, 1997). For example, a governor may issue a proposition to reduce property taxes across a state. If the population votes to accept the tax reduction, the funds available to make hiring decisions are reduced. While federal monies are financed through national income tax, these come to schools and schools districts via an assortment of federally mandated programs, often for at-risk student populations (U. S. Department of Education, 2007). For example, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is the most recent federal education legislation. Enacted in 2001, NCLB is an initiative of former U. S. President George W. Bush and it authorizes the distribution of educational grants for low-income students, textbooks, professional development for educators and more (U. S. Department of Education, 2007). Often a school’s student population determines how much and if that school can receive federal funding (U. S. Department of Education, 2007) Thus, government policy decisions at the local, state and federal levels affect educational managers’ decisions to hire educational coaches. A final factor that determines whether or not educational managers hire educational coaches is actual student achievement. If a school has a significant number of students not meeting state and federal achievement standards, educational managers seek solutions through options like educational coaches. For example, in Duval County Public Schools, William M. Raines High School has a student population characterized by low-incomes and low test scores (Duval County Public Schools, 2009). The school district also contains Stanton High School, rated

Heroism in Othello Essay -- Othello essays

Heroism in Othello  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Who are the true heroes in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? What is their perspective on making deep sacrifice for what they believe in? Let’s find the heroes and analyze their perspective on suffering voluntarily.    Helen Gardner in â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune† considers Iago’s wife Emilia to be a true hero of the play because of her fearless outlook on death itself:    Emilia’s silence while her mistress lived is fully explicable in terms of her character. She shares with her husband the generalizing trick and is well used to domestic scenes. The jealous, she knows,    are not ever jealous for the cause But jealous for they are jealous.    If it was not the handkerchief it would be something else. Why disobey her husband and risk his fury? It would not do any good. This is what men are like. But Desdemona dead sweeps away all such generalities and all caution. At this sight, Emilia though ‘the world is a huge thing’ finds that there is a thing she will not do for it. By her heroic disregard for death she gives the only ‘proof’ there can be of Desdemona’s innocence: the testimony of faith. (145)    At the outset of the play Iago persuades the rejected suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo, to accompany him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, in the middle of the night. Once there the two awaken the senator with loud shouts about his daughter’s elopement with Othello. In response to the noise and Iago’s vulgar descriptions of Desdemona’s involvement with the general, Brabantio arises from bed and, with Roderigo’s help, gathers a search party to go and find Desdemona. Once that Brabantio has located Othello, the general stands wit... ...lling her. She dies an unsung heroine of the play, giving her life for what she believes in, namely the innocence of her lady and the guilt of her husband. The abrupt change in her character toward the end of the play is a pleasant surprise.    Despondent Othello, grief-stricken by remorse for the tragic mistake he has made, acts heroically, following the example of Emilia. He stabs himself and dies on the bed next to the one he has wronged.    WORKS CITED    Gardner, Helen. â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from â€Å"The Noble Moor.† British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.   

Influences of Cartoons on Children Essay

Children watch on television a lot of kind of cartoons like Tom and Jerry, SpongeBob, Mickey Mouse and others. Many parents agreed today that every child is interested in cartoons. It is very good if a child watches only educational cartoons, but there are a lot of cartoons which have bad influences on children. However, nowadays children become addicted to watching cartoons and, as a result, there are a lot of debates about whether children are affected by cartoons more positively or negatively. Some people, especially elder people, state that cartoons in the Soviet Union were kinder, more colourful and harmless. Unfortunately, these people claim that today’s cartoons have more violent acts that cartoons during their childhood. In contrast, younger generation mentioned that cartoons are not bad for children. Also, a research review on watching cartoons and language in the early years, conducted by Robin Close on behalf of the National Literacy Trust, found that for children aged two to five, good-quality educational television can have a positive impact on attention and comprehension, receptive vocabulary, some expressive language, letter-sound knowledge, and knowledge of narrative and storytelling (Close, 2004). So, although, cartoons can be educational and entertaining, many people believe that modern cartoons are very violent, create false sense of reality and negatively affect the development of children’s social skills. Firstly, while watching cartoons, children’s brain processes a lot of violent acts. There are a lot of children who suffer from mental and psychological diseases because of cartoons. Most people think that cartoons are colourful and harmless movies for children. However, it is not true. Children from the age of two or earlier begin to watch cartoons. Unfortunately, they see some materials, which are not acceptable for their age. Also, most cartoons contain violence, which can affect child’s mind. One example of such kind of cartoon is Tom and Jerry. Tom always tries to hurt and catch Jerry, but usually he is the one who is injured. One of the studies indicates that boys are more affected by violent cartoons then girls (â€Å"Effects†, 2011). Also, cartoons can be addictive. Children spend more and more time watching cartoons and cannot live even a day without this process. Adults have to understand that cartoons with violence will influence child’s brain. So, cartoons can negatively affect children and lead to some diseases. Secondly, children a re unable to make the distinction between reality and fiction, they cause harm to themselves by imitating what they see in cartoons. There are a lot of cartoons which show how some characters are jumping, diving and shooting each other. In cartoons, people jump from high buildings and they do not have any injuries. After watching such kind of cartoons, children have an incorrect sense of real life. It can leads to some injuries or dangerous situations or even it can kill a child. According to Choma et al. (2004), for every hour of TV viewed per day, the risk of injury rose by about 34% in the children studied (p.5). Children can try to do what their hero did. â€Å"There are three major television effects on children : not sensitive to the pain of others, children who watch violence do not fear violence nor are they bothered by violence in general; and finally, kids might become aggressive and even can hurt others† (Choma et al., 2004) (p.3). Finally, children do not develop good social and communication skills. There is a growing body of opinions among professionals that an increasing number of children are suffering from communication difficulties. Children need to be confident communicators in order to hav e happy, fulfilled and successful lives. Verbal communication is the method used by the vast majority of people to communicate. People use it to have their needs met, to indicate their likes and dislikes, to request information, to refute something, to socialize, as well as to establish and maintain relationships. The ability to communicate is the basis of social and emotional well-being. Children who have difficulty communicating often go on to develop behavioral problems, mainly due to their frustration at not being able to express their needs, participate in social exchange and achieve in education. These children do not ‘grow out’ of their difficulties as education progresses. However, there are a lot of educational cartoons on television which can give moral lessons and entertainment to children. Educational cartoon characters help children become comfortable to express their feelings. Children learn so many new things. When a child begins to watch educational cartoons he finds out a lot of new things before going to school. While watching cartoons, children try to repeat everything that the ir favorite character says. They try to speak in the same manner. After that they can tell it to other people. So, they improve their speaking skills. Cartoons are also a source for entertainment. Each child spends around two or three or even more hours per day watching cartoons. A child from the time when he starts school until his graduation watches TV around 18,000 hours (Choma et al., 2004). Indeed it is real interesting for children to watch cartoons and it is real a good source for entertainment. In conclusion, adults have to understand that it can really influence a child’s brain and can push a kid to do terrible things, it can be dangerous for children because they try to do unreal things after watching cartoons. On the other hand, there are many cartoons which teach children new things which can be useful in future child’s life. So, parents should choose a good environment for their children which will protect them from some failures. Next generation is the future and adults today have to care about their future life. References. Gunter, B. (2000). The impact of television on children`s antisocial behavior in a novice television community. Child Study Journal; 30 (2). Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=e314cccf-8419-46fd-b27e-175f4e7b01a9%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=hch&AN=4055672 Choma C.J, Hossler S., Leu R., Nelson D., Ray S., Wilcox B., Ybarra B. (2004). Effects of cartoons on children. Retrieved from http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/tcom/faculty/ha/tcom103fall2004/gp9/ Josephson, W. (1995). Television violence: A review of the effect on children of different age. Retrieved from http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/resources/research_documents/reports/violence/upload/television_violence.pdf Osofsky, J. D. (n.d.). The impact of violence on children. Retrieved from http://www.icyrnet.net/UserFiles/vol9no3Art3.pdf Thompson, A. (n.d.). Pros & Cons of cartoons on kids. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/list_6874711_pros-cons-cartoons-kids.html

Gender Inequality in the Ancient World - 1771 Words

Francesca Succi Dr. Brown Western Civ I 18 September 2012 Gender Inequality in the Ancient World Throughout history, women have been regarded as unequal and subordinate to men. In the male-dominated Western culture, the issue of women’s rights seems unending; even thousands of years after the first evidence of gender inequality, society has yet to even the playing field. Although it seems like our culture is progressive, we still share many qualities with the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Greece. Women were in no way equal to men during these ancient times; in fact, in some areas, they were considered subservient to men, with no rights or privileges. However, there were some areas of Ancient Greece that had a different model†¦show more content†¦Women were believed to be irrational, fearful, and ruled by physical desires. One reason why women were kept secluded at home is that they were thought liable to sexual seduction (or other mischief) if they ventured out unescorted (Sacks â€Å"Greece†). Women were predominately seen as mothers – they would be married off at a very young age, begin bearing children as soon as possible, and consequently died much younger than men, often during childbirth. Women were taught not to speak unless spoken to, and were required to tag along beside their husbands the rare times they were ever permitted to leave the house. Although Athens was the birthplace of democracy and was one of the most progressive cities in history, they still stripped women of some of the most basic equality rights (Brown, Lecture, 2012). Athenian culture perpetuated the gender stereotypes that began in Mesopotamia and exaggerated them to ostracize women in society more than the Mesopotamians or Lacedaemonians ever did. 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