EDUC 2110-Lesson 3:

School Climate and The Whole Child

Overview Viewpoint:

Lesson three of Education 2110 focused on the school climates a school might face. We were asked to describe in our own words what we might think school climate and school culture was. The purpose was to see if by the end of the lesson our knowledge about it would improve. First, we had to watch a video about one of the dangerous schools in America. Which we had to answer a question about it. Then we had to look at three seperate powerpoints about school climate, school achievement, and The Whole Child. Lesson three overall is about why its important to have a good environment. It benefits the students and help them achieve.

 

 

• Question #1

In your own words, describe "School Climate".

                When I first here the words “school climate” I think about what’s going on in a school and its school life. I think about the impression the school makes on a parent or student. The School climate determines the mode in the environment. I think if it’s a school that needs improvement then the school would have a bad climate. I also feel that if it’s a school with a good and healthy environment then it has a good environment. Having a good climate creates a better learning environment socially and mentally.

 

• Question #2

In your own words, describe "School Culture".

                When I think about school culture I think about all the different personalities that are around the school. School culture focuses more on the beliefs and relationships that everyone has. School culture is a good thing because it creates more of a diverse environment and helps make a school unique. Another culture would be what the school main thing they want for students like their fundamental beliefs. That means the mission and the vision of the school. It’s like the schools rituals and procedures.

 

• Question #3

Describe the four (4) dimensions of School Climate.

                Safety, relationships, teaching and learning, and institutional environment are the four dimensions of school climate.

• Safety is for every student and faculty that is in the building. It places rules and procedures if something was to happen like a fire or tornado that a person will be safe.

• Relationships refers to engage between the student and others. It also goes for the teacher engagement. Relationship is important because it helps the student learn and get better. If a teacher has a good relationship with the student it makes it easier for the student to come to them for help.

• Teaching and learning is another one. This dimension focuses more on if the teacher knows what they are talking about and has the skills.

• Institutional environment focuses on how the school physically looks. Making sure that it’s a clean place and that it has a good learning setting.

 

•  Question #4

The "Whole Child" initiative seems to be interwoven with School Climate. Describe the "Whole Child" approach towards education.

                The “Whole child” initiative is that they want to do more for the child then just being education the main focus. They feel like concentrating solely on academic achievement doesn’t mean that the child is going to be educated. They want to do more than that. They want to teach students about their inner selves and who they are and what makes them unique. They are trying to make a change and go beyond academics by creating a healthier environment.

Question #5

Regarding the video for this lesson, would a positive school climate and whole child approach save this school? Describe.

            In my opinion I think it would. Children act the way they do in school mostly because of what goes on at home. Using the whole child approach would help with their personal problems and see what they can do to help them because it does go beyond just their education. The whole child approach would help them connect better with the students and the families because if the school had it would support high relationship between them. The principal made a big impact on the children because she was showing support and that she cared. It would also provide a more successful classroom management. If the school had a more positive climate the students would feel a lot safer put I don’t think they feel too safe because of the additional cameras that had to be installed and the bad environments like the fighting.

 

• Question #6

List and describe some of the positive outcomes associated with a positive school climate and educating the whole child.

            Educating the whole child goes beyond just academics. You’re educating them on things that they will need to know throughout their life. Some outcomes would that they would have more knowledge about being healthy. It helps them create better eating habits and having become more physical so they can maintain healthy lifestyles. It helps them become more confident in themselves which helps them be more confident in their school work. Getting the whole child approach to make a positive impact they also want to gain more involvement with the parents so that they will have more family support. Having family support a child starts to feel more comfortable with asking for help and it helps the teachers figure out more ways to help their child.

 

• Question #7

What can schools do to develop a positive school climate? Describe.

            Having positive environments makes the child feel safe and can engage in learning a lot easier. Some things a school can do to help develop a positive school climate is to get some opinions from staff and people in the community on what they can improve on. It’s good to ask the student’s guardians and parents on what they think so it can help better their child. When asking for opinions they should focus on the four dimensions because those are the most important ones. To make it effective everyone has to get involved.

 

• Question #8

What can YOU do, as a teacher, to help develop a positive school climate? Describe

                As a teacher to help develop a good positive school climate I should have a good relationship with my co-workers. Having a good relationship with them can help me work with them to focus on the students together. Sometimes it takes more than one person to make an impact on some people. I would also have to feel confident in myself because when teachers doubt there job in my opinion they start to slack off and stop caring about the well-being of the school. So If I feel good about being in the school and confident It easier doing my job and having a successful relationship with other teachers and students. As a teacher I would make sure that I do my job correctly and follow all procedures so that the students safety is always first and a main priority.

 

 Summary

                This lesson focused on how school environments could affect a child. Having a safe environment helps a child a whole lot because it make them feel comfortable and safe. When a child feels safe it’s easier to get them to do something and feel confident in doing it. It also focused on how safety played a big role and how important it is to follow procedures and rules. Another thing the lesson focused on is the importance with having a relationship with the parents and other staff. Having a relationship with the parents helps come to an understanding on what they can do to better their child’s education and ways to get support from the parent and how they can get involved to help. This lesson also focused on how the looks of the school also plays a factor in a positive climate. When you have an environment that is good and looks good it makes someone want to be there. If there is bad things that goes on at the school like fights and teachers not doing their job in makes students not to be there and sometimes causes them to act inappropriately. Positive climate plays a big part on a child’s way of learning. Having different school culture is a good thing because it helps the school be diverse and unique because of the different personalities.

 

•  Research Question

What are some things teachers can do to stop school violence?

http://www.nssc1.org/a-teachers-role.html

 

• Research analysis

                A lot of times teachers are put in a lot of difficult situations. School is often interrupted by school fighting and other violence such as school threats. One thing a teacher should do is let the students know that if they have any problems that it is okay to come to you. Sometimes a child feels more comfortable talking to an adult at school then their family members. When they talk to a teacher it’s their job to figure out a solution and issue the child that it’s going to be okay. Being that they are around you more than the consular sometimes they feel more comfortable to talk to you rather than them. If the feel comfortable to getting more help they should be appointed to them. When a student comes to you with a concern you should never ignore because they will stop coming to you for help and the problem may progress. The teacher has to be more involved by to set positive examples.

                A teacher will have to know the warning signs and keep their eyes and ears open. Most times a lot of problems happen out of class like in the hallways or during class. If a teacher listens closely when walking around sometimes they can over hear a conflict and do something before it gets out of control. If you know the warning signs you can predict when something violent is going to happen. Many fights happen over bullying. The first thing to do is put a stop to it. The students that are bullying should be punished.

 

• Summary

            Teachers cannot prevent every bad thing that occurs in the school climate. Being aware and getting involved can do a lot more then what people may think. Getting parents involved and encourage the students can to do the right thing can go so far. Many teachers quit because of the school violence that goes on because they don’t know how to handle it. If more teachers knew more ways to prevent and help less teachers would quit. Some teachers feel like their only job is to just educate the children but it’s a lot more to that and more about their well-being as a whole. The teacher has to be there for the student and help them with any problem to the best they can. There is many different types of school violence resulting from bullying, gang violence, and electronic aggression. I think a teacher can do a lot if they just stop and listen and don’t hold off on things and act promptly when situations occur.