The purpose of education is to provide education for students based on their needs and future aspirations. The two main purposes of education are to equip students for the future by teaching them how to think, understand, integrate, and prove knowledge; as well as to create a learning community within the schools and community that adjusts dependent on dynamic conditions. It is the mission of the educational community to help students realize their potential.
The education community includes "parents,…members of the business community, religious leaders, political leaders, and taxpayers in general" (Schlechty, 2001, p.105), as well as students, teachers, and administrators. It is the responsibility of the education community to work together to consider the needs of the primary customers, students, when establishing an educational foundation for our students (Schlechty, 2001). The purpose is of education is to create "organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together" (Senge, P.M. "Give Me a Lever Long Enough…and Single-Handed I can Move the World" 1990). It is within this type of educational environment where educators become dedicated to providing all students the most effective educational learning environment possible. It is within this type of educational environment where we hope to set our students' aspirations free.
Students need to be an integral part of the learning community because the results of what students learn, need to learn, and have an interest in learning are influenced by their "lifeworlds" (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2007, p. 56). Therefore, educators must make connections between what is learned in the classroom and the student's lifeworld. The learning "students are encouraged to undertake" must "have meaning and significance in the present lives of students and [be] are related to consequences to which students attach importance" (Schlechty, 2001, p.127). More specifically, today's students are different than students from just ten years ago. Today's students have grown up with access to technology that was not invented when many of today's educators were growing up. As a result, students need constant stimulation and expect to be connected to others through technology 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As a result, the world is getting smaller and educators must respond to the different needs of today's students. "It is through working on the tasks given to students and designing them in ways that increase the likelihood that students will become engaged in them that teachers have the possibility of improving student performance" (Schlechty, 2001, p.106).
Educators must guide students to become productive members of society and be able to interact with other members within the global society. Educators are responsible for not only knowing what their students should know and be able to do, but also are responsible for providing a curriculum that addresses student needs and involves students in the selection of authentic learning activities in order to increase "student ownership of the quality of the results and that foster both individual and collective success" (Schlechty, 2001, p.127). In addition, students must be involved in the assessment of their own progress (Schlechty, 2001). Education no longer simply refers to the academic skills of reading, writing, calculation, speaking, and listening, but also such skills as problem solving, conflict resolution, cultural competence, communication skills, and technology skills. Educators serve the needs of students at all ability levels and learning styles. Students are successful when they participate in learning environments that are "culturally responsive" (Delpit, L. in Canestrari, A.S., & Marlowe, B.A., 2004, p. 35) and provide for student directed learning, as well as participate in environments that provide novel and varied (Schlechty, 2001, p.123) learning experiences.
Educators must be well versed in how students learn, how students are motivated, and how to enhance instruction based on these needs and motivational preferences. In addition, in order to ascertain students are achieving at high levels, educators must also be experts at assessing student progress. The goal of assessment is to provide distinctive experiences of learning succeeded by meaningful feedback for improvement. Feedback must include a plan for improvement. Assessment of student learning is developmental in nature because the goal of assessment is to gain knowledge. It is developmental when you work toward a specific target. Assessment may be summative or formative in nature. Assessment needs to be a collaborative effort between the teacher and the learner so that both participants are aware of the goals for learning. The effort is collaborative when the teacher and student or student and student engage in meaningful communication about learning. Teachers use assessment as a means to determine what has been learned and what needs to be learned in the future. Students need to be involved both as assessors of their own learning and as resources for providing feedback to other students. Providing effective feedback can be a means to motivating students.
If educators come to the profession of educating without this knowledge base or with a lack of understanding and experience, it is the duty of educational leaders to provide for continuous improvement of educators in order to meet the needs of students.
Preferred pedagogy places the student at the center of the learning community. Students must be part of the process of educational planning, active learning, and "are encouraged to assess their own work in terms of the standards set" (Schlechty, 2001, p.115). Pedagogy must be tied to real life situations that students are exposed to in order for learning to be meaningful. With students at the center of the learning community they must be taught how to reflect and communicate knowledge. Preferred pedagogy encourages higher order thinking, engages students in big ideas and complex understandings. Collaboration toward common goals effectuates learning. The process of developing purposeful curriculum takes pedagogy into consideration.
The content of the school curriculum must take into account the purpose of education. The purpose of education includes preparing students for the future, as well as developing their skills within a learning community. The content of the school curriculum should follow the content standards for each course. However, the learners (teachers, students, and parents) in the school community should have a voice and "considerable choice of what they will do in order to learn what it is intended that they learn" (Schlechty, 2001, p.125). The content of the school curriculum must include a foundation built on a "curriculum of community" (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2007, p. 57). A "curriculum of community" is "a community that intentionally and explicitly attends to the building up of knowledge, skills, and disposition which constitute the work of becoming and sustaining a community" (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2007, p. 57). Students should be taught how to learn, to grow, and to develop based on virtues and values, in accordance with individual learning styles. As students and society changes, so shall the purpose of education.
Encouraging communication, establishing collaboration, and building relationships are all integral parts to community involvement of schools. Schools must encourage open and supportive communication with students, parents, and members of the community in order to build trust and develop relationships. In addition, schools must employ teachers as leaders within the organization.
Successful leaders communicate a vision, mission, goals, and expectations in order to facilitate teaching and learning. In addition, successful leaders facilitate the growth and development of teachers to cultivate future leaders. Successful leaders act with integrity in every aspect of their lives. They focus on creating a vision and creating a trusting, morally connected and collaborative culture in order to accomplish clear, attainable, and sustainable goals. Educational leaders set high expectations for students, staff, and themselves. Successful leaders focus on student success, address obstacles to learning, and focus on supporting best practice pedagogy. These leaders create professional development opportunities for staff that focus on teaching and learning. Successful leaders exude energy and are able to juggle the managerial demands of the job, in addition to the instructional leadership demands.
The main goal of successful leaders is to "help increase the opportunities and the capacity of schools to contribute more effectively to students' academic success" (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2007, p. 7). The goal is to continuously monitor and evaluate teaching and learning in order to make continuous improvements. In addition, educational leaders must create and support an environment that changes based on student needs.
References
Delpit, L. & Perry, T. (1998). What should teachers do? Ebonics and culturally responsive
instruction. In A.S. Canestrari & B.A. Marlowe (Eds.), Educational foundations: An
Anthology of critical readings (35-43)). CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Schlechty, P.C. (2001). Shaking up the schoolhouse: How to support and sustain educational
innovation. CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sergiovanni, T., & Starratt, R. (2007). Supervision: A redefinition (8th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
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