Personal Reflection: Program Dispositions My Experiences Over Essay

Personal Reflection: Program Dispositions

My experiences over this course forced me to fundamentally re-examine what is meant by student equity, the first, fundamental concept of all of the program dispositions. Before, I had a relatively narrow understanding of equity as being 'parity.' Now I understand that equity does not mean treating all students the same, but rather it means having the insight to perceive individual student's needs yet the ability to unite them in a common curriculum. Equity means tailoring student learning experiences while still keeping in mind the ideal of a high-quality education for all.

As well as having teachers who take the time to get to know their students, it is also essential to have regular screening mechanisms in place to assess students and ensure that every child's education is up to a certain standard. The concept of equity is thus critically linked to the course disposition concepts of scholarship and diversity and unity. The disposition of 'scholarship' underlines the need for objective, data-driven evidence about 'what works' and what does not work in educational settings. Using quantitative statistics can actually be very helpful in fostering unity, given that it is an objective rather than a subjective measurement of student success that cannot be argued with, unlike personal feelings. However, it is still important to use anecdotal evidence in constructing school policy and lesson plans because certain aspects of human experience cannot be fully encapsulated by numbers alone.

With this course in mind, I will thus place an emphasis on positive student assessment, but use a variety of instruments and types of feedback to make decisions as a leader. Teachers and parents must be actively involved in the process of assessment. This will encourage 'buy in' in terms of any changes of policy and will ensure staff members become committed to any changes which must transpire. The core elements of leadership are often referred to as influence, empowerment, creating a viable process, and fostering an inner circle (Adamek, 2007). As a leader, it is important to set high ideals regarding equity and student standards and take proactive steps to empower educators to become involved with curriculum development and truly understand student strengths and weaknesses. Teachers should feel empowered to take individual actions to suit the needs of students when necessary in the classroom but be fully aware of…