BESRA

Views on BESRA

By: Grace D. Suminguit

                                                                                       

                      

            Our government spends much budget for the Department of Education. This is to address the need of our country which is to have quality education to every child. To achieve this need, the undersecretary of the Department of Education together with his committee established some reforms and programs. They made some key reform thrusts for the fulfillment of the Education for All (EFA). This program of the Department of Education was established to provide basic competencies to everyone to achieve functional literacy for all. This project of the Department of Education was very significant to all Filipinos especially that we all desire to have brighter future. 

          We could not deny the fact that many of our fellowmen are poor. In fact, many of the Filipinos work hard just to eat three times a day. Our country is suffering from poverty. That is why there are still parents who could not afford to send their child in school even if the primary and secondary education is already free. Instead of sending their child in school, they let their children work as young as seven years old. You could not see these children in school but you can see them in the streets selling rugs, cigarettes and many other things. Others are in the damp areas looking for some thing to sell. This scenario is very much alarming. In the Children’s Rights, it is stated that every child should enjoy their right to education. It simply means that parents must send their child in school regardless of their status in living. That is the reason why the basic education was made for free so that everybody would have the access to education. I could not help but pity on the children that I see in the streets everyday selling anything or asking money from the by-passers. How I wish I could send them to school. 

          Aside from this, we also have another problem in our country today and that is the number of unemployed Filipinos. One of the reasons why we have plenty of unemployed people is due to lack of education. Many did not have a degree. In fact others did not graduate from high school or even elementary. As they said, these people are “no-read no-write”. They don’t know how to read even the simplest word and don’t know how to write even their names. Good thing that the Department of Education established another program and that is the ALS or the Alternative Learning System. This program is to address the problem of unemployment. With ALS, those who are unemployed were trained to earn their own living. They are taught how to cook, how to make handicrafts, how to raise pigs and chicken so that they can produce money even if they have not graduated from elementary. TESDA is also established to address the need of unemployment. Different skills were taught to the students. With TESDA, many Filipinos were already working abroad. They earn dollars and now have a good life. 

          Recently, the issue of K + 12 is already declared in public. This program of the Department of Education is no longer new since we have already heard of this long time ago about the bridge program. However, this time it is already push-through. It might not be effective this June but it is already finalized that there will be Kindergarten plus six years in the elementary and another six years in the high school in the succeeding years. I absolutely agree with this program because I have seen the good sides of it towards our youth. The additional two years in high school is very much needed for our students. With these two years, they can already acquire many skills needed in applying for a job even if they will no longer proceed to college. As we all know, many could not afford to go to college to earn a degree and be employed. However, because of the additional years in high school they will no longer worry for they can already choose many jobs after graduating from high school. It may be costly but it’s all worth it.  We have to support this program because this is for the betterment of our youth. 

         

Reflection on...

Curriculum Leadership

By: Grace D. Suminguit

                                                                                       

            

              We all aim for quality education to our students. We want them to have the best learning so that soon they will be useful in our country. The quality of education that we give to our students lies upon the curriculum, the teacher, the community and most especially to the school head. These are the important elements to deliver quality education to our stakeholders. Teachers play a very important role in the lives of the students for they are the primary source of all the knowledge that the students should acquire during their basic education. That is why we have to have a teacher who has the qualities of an effective and efficient teacher. A teacher who is committed to teach and has a vast knowledge of the subject area that she will teach. However, we could not only depend on the teacher alone in achieving the quality of education that we want to have. The school head also plays a vital role in attaining this goal.

          The school head’s function is to make sure that there is quality curriculum in the school and that she should monitor if these curriculum were effectively implemented by the teachers during the delivery of the lesson. Curriculum is the meat of the instruction. It is the guide of the teachers in teaching. Without the curriculum, fragmented lesson will take place. That is why it is the role of the school principal to really make sure that there is quality curriculum for the teachers to follow. The principal must also be updated on the new trends and issues in the field of education so that he could integrate these in enhancing the curriculum. 

          During the discussion of curriculum leadership, I realized that to be a principal is really hard. You have to be knowledgeable enough to create the best curriculum. Checking of the lesson plan should also be done weekly if not daily. As a school head, you must also conduct formal observation to the teachers to check if they are really implementing the designed curriculum. I have learned that there are two views in the implementation of the curriculum. One is the laissez-faire approach and the other one is the authoritarian approach. The two approaches have its advantages and disadvantages. For laissez-faire approach, the teacher is given the power to choose what the best lesson to teach. They have the freedom to select the lesson which is appropriate for them to deliver. This approach is good but only to those teachers, who are diligent in teaching, can be trusted and has the vast knowledge of the subject area that she is going to teach. A teacher who doesn’t have to be monitored. A teacher who conducts classes effectively even without the supervision of the school head. Authoritarian approach on the other hand is an approach where the teacher is being controlled by the principal. The teacher here has no freedom in choosing the lesson that she want to teach towards her students. She has to follow the sequence of the lesson in the curriculum. The school head monitors the teacher almost everyday. In laissez-faire the teacher has the power to choose what to teach, but in the authoritarian approach, it is the school head who has the power to choose what the teacher should teach. This approach is good but too much of this is already destructive. There must be a balance between the two approaches. Too much of any of the approaches is not good. For this to achieve, there must be an open communication between the teacher and the principal. The teacher can choose the lesson which she thinks is appropriate, but she should consult this to the principal. 

          We want the best of our children. We want them to acquire quality education. However, this could only be achieved if we all work for it. Students, parents, teachers and principal must work hand in hand for the fulfillment of this goal.

Leadership Model 2

A look into…Postmodern Leadership

By: Grace D. Suminguit

                                                                                      

We are living in a diverse world. People came from different races, from different culture and from different religion. Every individual is a unique human being. We have different interest, needs, and desires. We possess varied intelligences and talents. This is very evident in a school community. In a school, we encounter pupils and students coming from diverse culture. They have different beliefs and traditions. They also have varied interests and needs which the school administrators, heads, staff and teachers should cater. 

The person that is in the great position to address this need of the students is the school principal. From the discussion that we had during our class, I have learned that there are plenty of leadership models where a principal can adopt. However, among the leadership models that I have heard, it is the postmodern leadership where we can truly cater our diverse stakeholders.

In the postmodern leadership, the focus is on the individual’s needs and interest. The culture of every student is respected and appreciated. Here, the principal does not only focus on one particular culture. He must recognize the different cultures of his stakeholders. In order for him to recognize these varied cultures, he must have the knowledge on the different cultures that we have in the Philippines. For example, if you are assign to manage a school in a Muslim community and you are a Christian, you must study the culture of the Muslim.

In addition, the school principal in a postmodern leadership style must be versatile. He must be very flexible to any situation for him to adjust immediately in a certain condition. As I have said earlier, we are living in a diverse world. There is no constant except change. And so, it is the role of the principal to find solution to every problem that might come along the way. Let say for example, in the previous year there were no Muslim students enrolled in a particular school. All students were Christians and so in the school there is a prayer room intended for the Christians. There were also activities for the development of the spiritual aspect of the Christian students. However, in this year there were already Muslim students who enrolled in the same school. In this case, the principal must find ways how to cater these Muslim students. Say for example, a small room intended for the Muslim students will be reserved for their prayer session.

 To be a principal is really not an easy task. There were so many things that we have to consider when we plan for the betterment of the school. If I were given a chance to be a principal someday, I would do my best that I would be able to cater all the needs of the students because that is the main reason why I became a principal. What for that I become a principal if I could not address the students’ needs and interests. Yes, it might sound idealistic for we could not cater all their needs especially when we are handling a big school. There might be many hindrances, problems, and difficulties that might come along the way, but we must make sure that at least we are able to be fair to all students. We must recognize the different cultures of our students. We must be able to build a harmonious community in the school where we are operating. Peace must be present in the school and must inculcate in every students for them to bring this value outside the school. It is only through education that our students will transform into a better citizen in this country. That is why we should work hand in hand to achieve this transformation of our students because as Dr. Jose Rizal said, “The youth is the only hope of our nation”. 

Leadership Models

“A leader is a dealer in hope.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

             When leaders are chosen, everyone wants them to live up to their expectations. A lot of hopes are pinned on them to bring about change and reform, for the betterment of the field they belong to.       

Leadership in the field of education is very evident in the person of the principal. From the discussions that we had last Saturday, I have learned that school heads follow certain models of educational leadership. We have managerial leadership, participative leadership, interpersonal leadership and transactional leadership. These models are being practiced by the heads of the school in any part of the world. In fact, there are school leaders who practiced all these models at the same time during their term while some maybe two. Among the four models being mentioned, managerial leadership is the most traditional and formal type of leadership. We can always see leaders following this kind of leadership. This kind of leadership is regarded as formal and very systematic because it follows a cyclical process. These are goal setting, needs identification, priority setting, planning, budgeting, implementing and evaluating. This kind of leadership focused on management responsibilities. So when a leader accomplished his goal, that’s the end of his task. He doesn’t go beyond his responsibilities. He doesn’t have any vision for the school where he is working. 

Another model of educational leadership is participative leadership. In this model, the participation of the teachers, parents, and the people in the community is highly respected and given importance. Everyone is given the chance to share ideas for the achievement of the school’s mission, vision and objectives. This model is based on the principle of democracy where everybody is given equal opportunity to participate in the school’s decision-making. However, there are still disadvantages in this type of leadership and that is on how the principal synthesize the ideas thrown by his teachers. As we all know, there are ideas of teachers which are not acceptable or very idealistic. In this case, the principal must know how to handle such kind of situation in a professional way. 

The third type of model is interpersonal leadership. This kind of leadership gives more importance to interpersonal relationships. It stresses on how the leader mingles with his followers and how he works and relates with them. The last type of leadership that was discussed last Saturday is transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is a kind of leadership which is base on an exchange process. Here, the teacher assumes responsibility in exchange of a reward or benefits from the administrator or principal. The give and take relationship is very evident in this model. This is actually being practiced in the Philippines especially in the education sector.

     After the lively discussion that we had last meeting, I realized that there is really no perfect model for a principal or administrator to follow in handling people and in running a school.  There are still loopholes since all the models have advantages and disadvantages. The aforementioned models are indeed significant and contribute a lot in making right decisions. We just have to know the limitations in each model.

     If given the chance to be a principal someday, I will implement the four types of leadership because I have seen the good sides of it in achieving school’s mission, vision and objectives. I believe that all the types of leadership mentioned above strongly play a vital role in the success of the school’s programs and projects. We just have to know the limitations of it.

  “Manage things… lead people”

To lead or to manage? Which of the two is important in operating a school? Why is it important to understand the difference between the two? How does it matter?

These questions sound interesting, aren’t they? These are the most common questions that strike everyone’s mind. Operating a school doesn’t only require effective teachers and prepared learning environment, but most of all it needs an effective school head. A principal who can manage things and at the same time lead people.  One of the school’s thrust is to provide the best possible education to all learners. In order to fulfill this objective, good leaders and managers in the person of the school head must be hired by the school.

Leadership and management in the field of education might sound similar since both have its common goal which is to provide the best education to all clientele. However, leadership and management have differences in some aspects. One aspect is on the way they motivate people who work or follow them. Managers, by definition, have subordinates. These subordinates work for them and largely do as they are told. The manager tells the subordinate what to do, and the subordinate does this not because they are a blind robot, but because they have been promised a reward for doing so. On the other hand, a leader doesn’t have a subordinate. They don’t give formal authority to anybody because for them to lead is to have followers, and following is always a voluntary activity.

As the old proverb says, “Leadership is doing the right thing while management is doing things right.” When a leader tries to do something, he uses his heart. Manager on the other hand, uses his head to provide a good result. Leaders have no specific formula in leading people. It comes naturally in them. They have vision for their organization. They don’t care about the salary they will get  from their work, rather they are after on the success of the school activities and programs. Whereas, managers follow certain procedure in accomplishing certain activities. Planning, staffing, organizing and evaluating are the things to consider in management. Mostly managers are perfectionist. They don’t want any mistakes or failures in the process of implementing the project. 

Leadership and management are both important. They have certain attributes that are needed in operating a school. We need leaders who have the vision, character, charisma and commitment in accomplishing the school’s aims which are encapsulated in the vision or mission statement of the school. We need also managers who have the potential in doing tactical activities and organizing people to accomplish tasks. Mostly managers have high intelligence quotient while leaders have high emotional quotient. These are the reasons why we need a principal who are good leaders and at the same time good managers so that quality education can be given to all learners.

School Leadership

 

 

Scratch the surface of an excellent school and you are likely to find an excellent principal. Peer into a failing school and you will find weak leadership. In today’s climate of heightened expectations, principals are in the hot seat to improve teaching and learning. They need to be educational visionaries, instructional and curriculum leaders, assessment experts, disciplinarians, community builders, public relations experts, budget analysts, facility managers, special programs administrators, and expert overseers of legal, contractual, and policy mandates and initiatives. They are expected to broker the often-conflicting interests of parents, teachers, students, and district office officials. They need to be sensitive to the widening range of student needs. This job sounds overwhelming, however to be a school leader is not just something a position or a prestige. School principal undergoes a critical role since the success of the school greatly depends on them.

Principals play a vital role in setting the direction for successful school. However, the knowledge on the best ways to prepare and develop highly qualified school leaders are rarely to be found.  That is why we can only pinpoint principals that are really effective. School leaders need to have effective leadership. If they don’t have this, for sure minimal learning will take place. School leaders, beginning with the principal or head teacher must provide strong leadership that sets a tone for the daily operations of the school community. In the absence of such leadership, discipline breaks down and academics falter. School leadership is not just about walking the halls and telling students to “tuck in their shirts.” Rather, it is about dynamic modeling that encourages and promotes excellence in every aspect of the school community.

In the school where I am teaching, there is indeed an evident of effective school leadership. And that is because we have an effective school leader. The characteristics of being an effective leader can be mirrored to our principal. She knows how to deal with all the people in the school community, make good decisions, handle her teachers professionally and make plans constructively. She knows how to deal problems of students, teachers and even parents. She is a visible principal. You can always see her in her office, corridors, classrooms, and faculty room. She is also a dynamic school leader. She enters the classroom not to find problems but to offer solutions, share recommendations, and encourage and affirm good performance. She encourages excellence while promoting a community spirit of collaboration. She is able to identify emerging issues and problems and swiftly deal with them in a positive way. She is indeed a good and effective leader.

That is why, if given a chance to be a school leader in the near future, I would likely to be the same with our principal. A principal with vision, character and commitment for the success of the school program and fulfillment of the school’s mission, vision and objectives. All for the greater glory of God.

The Leadership Inside Me

            Good leaders are hard to find. Not everybody has given by God with innate ability to lead. Lucky are those who have in-born traits of good leadership since it just comes naturally in them. As I look at myself way back ten years ago, I could say that I really don’t have that ability to lead people. It’s difficult for me to convince my classmates to follow my plans for a certain activity or project because I don’t know how to convince them. I don’t know how to communicate with them that they will believe in me. When I was a high school student, I used to be chosen as a leader in a group maybe because I usually excel in academic subjects. However, in handling the group, I find it difficult to organize, to plan, and to manage my members. I don’t know what should be done. I usually do our group project by myself, which is not good. I realized that I am not an effective leader because I did not give them the opportunity to learn. I did not push them to think and discover things. Although I can say that there are also some characteristics in me that are good in being a leader like I do have the vision and I am also trustworthy, but I know it is not enough to become an effective and efficient leader.

When I step up college, that’s the time where I slowly develop my skills and abilities to lead. I was elected as treasurer for two consecutive years in the College of Education at Capitol University. I believe that not only those who have innate abilities to lead become good leaders, but also those who are given opportunities to lead. Through experiences we develop our leadership skills. Aside from that, leadership seminars and workshops also help us to become effective leaders. However, although I have attended different seminars and workshops in team building and leadership training, I know that my experiences is still not enough to regard myself as a good leader. When I try to look at the characteristics of a good leader, I realized that there are still so many traits that I need to develop. Now that I am already a teacher, there is really a need to improve my leadership skills since our principal and administrators strongly believe in our capabilities to handle different organizations, programs and affairs in school. It’s quite difficult to handle such things, but with the help of my principal and co-teachers I slowly learn how to deal with it. I am actually learning a lot from our principal. She taught me how to build confidence in me and believe in my capabilities. She pushes me to become a good leader because she believes that I do have the qualities to become one.

For three years of teaching, I could say that I was able to improve my leadership skills through the experiences I had. I’ve been into different programs in school where I stand as a leader and I can say that most of the programs I handled are successfully done. However, I still keep on learning how to really become an effective leader because I know I still have so many things to learn. And for sure with the help of the people that surrounds me, I know I would become a great leader someday like the leader I admired most.