Tom Johnson ict-design.

org 720026373

School & Community Relations - EDL606 Brother Tom, PhD.

Compare and Contrast Websites

In this analysis of the culture and climate of the New Albany Plain Local Schools Districti and my own school, Concordian International Schools websiteii, I will base many of the key points of comparison upon the Missions, Goals & Visions, Values and the evidences of Community Relations of the two educational facilities. I propose that my school, CIS, states it is giving or catering towards international education-mindedness, but the schooling community as a whole is exerting against Thai traditional values which when juxtaposed to a North-American forward thinking school proves to exhibit its lack of actual attainment and attainability. Mission Statements I will start with the Concordian International School mission statement which reads, CIS promotes academic excellence while nurturing young people to become moral and intellectual leaders, people of dignity, integrity and compassion, who want to make a difference in the world. Although this statement sounds pleasant and could be something a school could yearn for, it seems to leave out quite a bit of vital information. For example, while CIS promotes academic excellence, it seems to leave out artistic and athletic excellence as something to strive towards. While we know that academics are definitely necessary for getting to the top in todays world, a focus on these alone might move us away from well-roundedness and whole-learning approach for our children. We may be shunning or stifling certain students

abilities through the misguidedness of the mission statement on down through to the philosophy of learning. Compare this statement to The mission of the New Albany-Plain Local School District [which] is to create a Learning Community that empowers our young people to develop the knowledge, talents, and virtues necessary for success in a changing world. This more inclusive statement ascertains the enrichment of academics but also uses vocabulary attributable to the arts and athletics education. The NAPLS mission statement is found on the same page as the diversity mission

statement, which reads, Diversity in a Learning Community exhibits that equity is assured regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, age, exceptionality, or socio-economic background. A Learning Community strives to create an environment that affirms the dignity, safety, and uniqueness of each person. While Concordian International School states they would like moral leaders, the mission does not state what this morality is specifically or implicitly. NAPLS, on the other hand, has a clearly defined policy about inclusiveness and equity for everyone to see and use. It leaves out any ambiguity and possible misinterpretation.

Tom Johnson ict-design.org 720026373

Goals and Visions

School & Community Relations - EDL606 Brother Tom, PhD.

Concordian International School comes up short in terms of available goals or visions available online. Found on the website are some goals of the PTA and the library, but whole school goals are not readily apparent. Nothing can be found that has a set time or date or prescribed methods in which a plan of action may take place. There is also nothing available to be measured or gains that are results oriented. Comparatively, NAPLS states a lot of attained goals. For example: The Ohio Department of Education has rated New Albany-Plain Local School District Excellent for the past three years 100% of our students graduated last year and 95% of them are going on to college SAT and ACT scores have increased; students taking Advanced Placement courses and test scores have also increased Technology proficiency guidelines have been implemented K-12 Arts opportunities are growing Character initiatives at all schools are being embraced by the students and the community The district mentions details about Financial Health which is in the black and has voter-backed accountability. They give statistics to back these claims. They also talk about managing their growth with increased enrollment

monitoring and the addition of facilities which will enable this type of expansion. Finally, they talk about the future of their community. But it is this final examination of what seems to be in the future for NAPLS where their own ambiguity and undetermined deadlines makes them come up short for set, attainable and timely goals. They mention you get what you pay for and work smarter with less but have no viable, sought-after solutions for such clich terms. Neither school seems to talk about international awareness through their website, but both mention it through certain aspects of their curriculum. However, I wouldnt say this is enough. With the advent of technological globalization there needs to be a more concerted effort put out by both schools in this area. Both school communities need to set their scope beyond the borders of their local communities and they need to set this out in writing. Values CIS and NAPLS name their values under their Guiding Philosophy statements. Schools summary of points is: Concordian International

Education through the International Baccalaureate Organization.

Tom Johnson ict-design.org 720026373

School & Community Relations - EDL606 Brother Tom, PhD.

A learning environment that equips students with essential skills, concepts, and knowledge. A safe, supportive and positive learning environment. Opportunities for independently and collaboratively working environments. An international education. Enrichment through the cultural and linguistic Thai setting. An environment of mutual understanding and cultural respect. English and Mandarin languages of instruction. High quality faculty who are encouraged towards professional development. A sense of community among the students, parents, faculty, and administration, based on open communication, mutual respect, cooperation and concern. These philosophy points are clearly set to entice prospective students/parents/clients to come to the school.

From what I have seen, the demographic of parents choosing a school like CIS seem to be from the mindset that teachers and administration are there to cater to the education of their child rather than work with them to create a complete learning community at home and at school. The students are 95% Thai and are rooted in traditional values, biases,

stereotypes and prejudices that contrast quite drastically to the ideologies of many western philosophies of teaching. A continuing example of this is bigotry taught from parents and shown by students against Blacks and Gays. Students often reflect the thoughts of their parents when asked about either of these abject peoples in different terms and circumstances. In best case scenarios there are situations of tolerance, in worst case scenarios there is down-right racism and sexism conveyed from students. The administrators and teachers have been talking about the need for a paradigm shift in the attitudes and educational awareness of the needs for parents to be onboard with many of the teaching philosophies we, as international educators bring to the school. We are however fighting against a culture that is not yet as progressive thinking as many of its western counterparts. On the positive side the school does have a trilateral approach to try to attain new ideals and possibly better values. This is through the process of enveloping both English and Chinese values along with Thai in an attempt towards

Tom Johnson ict-design.org 720026373

School & Community Relations - EDL606 Brother Tom, PhD.

internationalism. I attend that a more clearly stated acceptance and acknowledgement needs to be set in place which can unmistakably guide the school through and beyond the tolerating practice. Juxtaposed, NAPLS philosophy has community driven language and in doing so empowers efficacy from everyone to take a part in their statements. Examples of this are as follows: The community as a whole accepts the shared responsibility for the continued learning of all of the

community members. The school, government entities, and community organizations work collaboratively to establish joint

community goals. These goals may be articulated as themes (e.g., establishing a learning community, creating collaborative frameworks, accepting environmental stewardship, fostering intergenerational learning, and promoting community wellness). The community goals are clearly articulated by all community entities, and each entity has developed

mutually supportive strategic plans to address goal attainment. Community entities exhibit the characteristics of a learning organization. The participants aspire to

achieve personal mastery in their areas of responsibility (serve as model learners). Participants have a shared vision of the goals, learn as a team, and apply systems thinking to modeling situations and solving problems. input. Community entities actively seek to expand the base of public participation in the democratic process Community entities periodically communicate their goals and plans and have provisions for public

(actively encourage participation through educative programs and information dissemination). There is an emphasis on multiple learning opportunities for all community members from multiple

sources (clubs, businesses, community groups and agencies, on-line resources, theater, museums, libraries, educational TV, wellness center, etc.) The community serves as an audience for student products and performances. The community treats children as active participants in the community rather than community charges.

The community provides real opportunities for children to make contributions that result in real, rather than contrived, self-esteem.

The school provides multiple access pathways for community participation with students in the

learning enterprise.

Tom Johnson ict-design.org 720026373

School & Community Relations - EDL606 Brother Tom, PhD.

The school and community recognize the power of proximity (i.e., the Learning Community Campus) in

fostering a collaborative learning environment. While there is no mention of diversity in the community philosophy statement, it works hand-in-hand with the aforementioned diversity statement to form a well-thought-out and thoughtful protocol. Evidence of Community Relations Through the values of the guiding philosophy, I see a strong link to everything the NAPLS school does in conjunction with the community around it. The shortcomings that I see are that every statement exhibits only local community involvement. There seems to be no hint of a national or international scope. With a search for international, the findings on the website are dismal, with a couple of offshore international festival attendances arriving in the query along with contrived literature awareness, but there is no demonstrated recognition for the benefits of attending to a larger community. Jumping back to Concordian International School, it presents a Community and Service Program which necessitates student involvement in affairs locally and beyond the scope of the school. The school also mentions Habitat for Humanities which is a global community outreach program that enables members of poor communities around the world to profit from the help and funding of our school. Where CIS has shortcomings is in its community awareness and relations intraculturally. I purport that it needs to first help educate parents along with the students about certain areas of international communities where they may feel that stratification is not only normal but it is also expected. The barriers of such unequitability need to be taken down slowly, but what we are fighting here is not just the parents of our CIS community but the Thai society as a whole, with its patriarchal, pee-nong understanding of servitude and lesserness, combined also with the bigotry and unacceptance of abject groups. I suggest more involvement of a diverse community through staff hiring of minority people and policies that need to be set in place and written concerning diversity in order to set forth the ideal of an actual global and inclusive community. From there, I assert to set forth the drive of continued CIS involvement on a local, national and international front. However, I say we have to be community and internationally ready-minded before we set out to take on such a goal if we are to do something like this correctly, and by this I mean open-minded and accepting, not just tolerant. It is then that the accomplishment of moral and intellectual leadership can occur. It is then that we are setting our sights to become

Tom Johnson ict-design.org 720026373

School & Community Relations - EDL606 Brother Tom, PhD.

people of dignity, of integrity and of compassion. And it is then that I contend we will make a beneficial difference in the world.

Tippet, Brad. NAPLS District Information. 2008. Ohio. September 21, 2008 <http://www.newalbany.k12.oh.us/> ii Johnson, Tom. English Chinese IB International School of Bangkok, Thailand. 2008. Thailand. September 21, 2008 <http://www.concordian.ac.th/>