Guiding Principals of Professional Learning Communities Essay Example for Free

Guiding Principals of Professional Learning Communities Essay Normally, in a professional learning community also known as a PLC, the educators work together brainstorming ideas, lessons, and activities that will support a plan to be implemented all in hopes of the student’s achievement. A professional learning community can benefit a school’s environment by reinforcing teacher morale and leadership skills. As the school moves forward, every professional in the building must engage with colleagues in the ongoing exploration of three crucial questions that drive the work of those within a professional learning community: †¢ What do we want each student to learn? How will we know when each student has learned it? †¢ How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning? The answer to the third question separates learning communities from traditional schools. A PLC can serve as a support system that motivates teachers to follow a guided plan. Educators who are building a professional learning community recognize that they must work together to achieve their collective purpose of learning for all. Therefore, they create structures to promote a collaborative culture. This plan can include classroom assistants, parent volunteers, and other school personnel like librarians. The PLC culture can influence teachers through numbers. When teachers come together and have strength in numbers they can support each other, collaborate, and brainstorm the most effective methods and techniques to instruct the students. Even the grandest design eventually translates into hard work. The professional learning community model is a grand design, a powerful new way of working ogether that profoundly affects the practices of schooling. But initiating and sustaining the concept requires hard work. This is where the challenges may arise. It requires the school staff to focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively on matters related to learning, and hold itself accountable for the kind of results that fuel continual improvement. A PLC will construct a solid foundation of committed teachers who are passionate about their career and working with families a nd fellow colleagues. The benefit(s) of a PLC is that everyone has the opportunity to be involved and share goals and positive learning experiences of the schools learning environment. When educators do the hard work necessary to implement these principles, their collective ability to help all students learn will rise. If they fail to demonstrate the discipline to initiate and sustain this work, then their school is unlikely to become more effective, even if those within it claim to be a professional learning community. The rise or fall of the professional learning community concept depends not on the merits of the concept itself, but on the most important element in the improvement of any school; the commitment and persistence of the educators within it. In conclusion, educators who work together form structured atmospheres that promote learning. References Barth, R. (1991). Restructuring schools: Some questions for teachers and principals. Phi Delta Kappan, 73(2), 123-129. Marzano, R. (2003). What works in Schools: Translating research into action, Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Of Course Theyre Worth It :: Sports Athletics Texas Essays

Of Course They're Worth It The year 2004 promises to be exciting for sports fans and sports figures alike! Let's look at the state of Texas for instance: sports fans in Houston have the opportunity to enjoy professional sports' greatest show, the Super Bowl, in February, and then the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July. Sports fans in San Antonio will welcome back their NBA Champion Spurs, and fans in Dallas will most likely be filling the seats of Texas Stadium to cheer on America's Team once again. For the athletes who call Texas home, 2004 might not be as exciting as it is lucrative. Up the middle, the Texas Rangers organization will pay nearly $30 million for sub-par defense and a combined .250 batting average, and $21 million alone is wrapped up in one man, Alex Rodriguez. Despite being the fourth best team in the Western Division year after year, Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks have the highest payroll in the league with four players making over $10 million in 2004. I guess you don't have to be from Texas to make bank as a professional athlete, though. Those guys on the hard-wood are doing okay I suppose. Orlando Magic shooting guard Tracy McGrady will "earn" about $13.5 million in 2004. Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets will make close to $17.5 million while Pacer center Jermaine O'Neal will rake in about $18 million in 2004. Am I the only one who thinks this is ridiculous? If that isn't enough, just take a look at baseball. Guys like Shawn Green, Pedro Martinez, and Carlos Delgado will all make close to $20 million each in 2004. Is this fair? Do these guys really deserve that kind of money? Does it make sense that a teacher, someone who shapes the lives of so many other people, makes around $40 thousand a year while these guys make that in about three and a half innings of play or a few trips up and down the court? From a purely ethical standpoint, I think it's safe to say that professional athletes are not worth the millions of dollars they get paid each season, no matter how many points they score a game, how many boards they pull a night, or how many home runs they hit a season. However, from a purely economic standpoint, it's hard to argue that professional athletes who generate billions of dollars a year in revenue for their respective cities aren't deserving of that kind of money. Of Course They're Worth It :: Sports Athletics Texas Essays Of Course They're Worth It The year 2004 promises to be exciting for sports fans and sports figures alike! Let's look at the state of Texas for instance: sports fans in Houston have the opportunity to enjoy professional sports' greatest show, the Super Bowl, in February, and then the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July. Sports fans in San Antonio will welcome back their NBA Champion Spurs, and fans in Dallas will most likely be filling the seats of Texas Stadium to cheer on America's Team once again. For the athletes who call Texas home, 2004 might not be as exciting as it is lucrative. Up the middle, the Texas Rangers organization will pay nearly $30 million for sub-par defense and a combined .250 batting average, and $21 million alone is wrapped up in one man, Alex Rodriguez. Despite being the fourth best team in the Western Division year after year, Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks have the highest payroll in the league with four players making over $10 million in 2004. I guess you don't have to be from Texas to make bank as a professional athlete, though. Those guys on the hard-wood are doing okay I suppose. Orlando Magic shooting guard Tracy McGrady will "earn" about $13.5 million in 2004. Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets will make close to $17.5 million while Pacer center Jermaine O'Neal will rake in about $18 million in 2004. Am I the only one who thinks this is ridiculous? If that isn't enough, just take a look at baseball. Guys like Shawn Green, Pedro Martinez, and Carlos Delgado will all make close to $20 million each in 2004. Is this fair? Do these guys really deserve that kind of money? Does it make sense that a teacher, someone who shapes the lives of so many other people, makes around $40 thousand a year while these guys make that in about three and a half innings of play or a few trips up and down the court? From a purely ethical standpoint, I think it's safe to say that professional athletes are not worth the millions of dollars they get paid each season, no matter how many points they score a game, how many boards they pull a night, or how many home runs they hit a season. However, from a purely economic standpoint, it's hard to argue that professional athletes who generate billions of dollars a year in revenue for their respective cities aren't deserving of that kind of money.

Boys don’t play with dolls’ Essay

The Vietnam War is still the United States’ most famous (or infamous) war even if new conflicts have risen over the years. The numerous films made about the Vietnam War are a testament to its fame (or infamy). This paper would be a review of two internet sites reviewing the cause of conflict, social stratification, type of conflict, and how the war ended. According to vietnampix. com the war on Vietnam started because of the splitting of the country. The French used to dominate Vietnam but when they were defeated, the country was divided into two. Sometime between 1955 and 1960, the communist occupied North Vietnam tried to invade the Democratic South. Aided by two other communist countries China and Russia, the North was determined to conquer the whole country. Fearing the spread of communism, the US had to interfere. (The Vietnam War Background). Social Stratification had a big role in the war; in fact, it is part of the cause. Communism is based on a form of society where everybody else is equal, except for the officials. Democracy on the other hand believes in open opportunities for all. Not being able to agree on this divided the country which would eventually lead to the Vietnam War. The type of conflict of the Vietnam War is a mixture of different types. It was first a revolution against France which has ruled the country for a long time. And then it became a Civil War as the country was divided into two halves—the communist North and the democratic South led by Ngo Dinh Diem. (Vietnam. vassar. edu). It quickly became a feud of all sorts when America decided to take part in the war in order to stop the spread of communism in the world. On paper, the conflict was ended through the Paris Peace Agreement in January 1973 but hostilities between opposing forces were still happening. (Vietnam. vassar. edu). The result of the conflict were, a rare US loss, millions of lives gone, and a country devastated. References Vietnampix. com (n. d). The Vietnam War: Background. Retrieved June 25, 2009. from: http://www. vietnampix. com/intro. htm Vassar College (n. d). The Wars of Vietnam. Retrieved June 25, 2009. from: http://vietnam. vassar. edu/overview. html

About Eileen Gray, Furniture Designer and Architect

In some circles, Irish-born Eileen Gray is the figurative poster-child for the 20th century woman whose work is dismissed by a male-dominated culture. These days, her pioneering designs are revered. The New York Times claims that Gray is now regarded as one of the most influential architects and furniture designers of the last century. Background: Born: August 9, 1878 in County Wexford, Ireland Full Name: Kathleen Eileen Moray Gray Died: October 31, 1976 in Paris, France Education: Painting classes at the Slade School of Fine ArtAcadà ©mie JulianAcadà ©mie Colarossi Home Furnishing Designs: Eileen Gray may be best known for her furniture designs, beginning her career as a lacquer artist.   In her lacquer work and carpets,   writes the National Museum of Ireland, she took traditional crafts and combined them in a radical manner with the principles of Fauvism, Cubism and De  Stijl. The museum goes on to claim that Gray was the first designer to work in chrome, and was working with tubular steel at the same time as Marcel Breuer. Aram Designs Ltd. of London licenses Gray reproductions. Bibendum chairBonaparte ChairNonconformist ChairAdjustable Table E 1027Art Deco Lacquer ScreensEileen Gray Blue Marine RugDollhouse Miniature 1:12 Scale Eileen Gray Dragon Chair In 2009, Christies auction house estimated that a chair designed by the feminist architect and designer would fetch about $3,000 at auction. Grays dragon armchair, Fauteuil aux Dragons, set a record, selling for over $28 million. Grays Dragon Chair is so famous that it has become a dollhouse miniature. See more Gray designs on the Aram website at www.eileengray.co.uk/ Building Design: In the early 1920s, Romanian architect Jean Badovici (1893-1956) encouraged Eileen Gray to begin designing small houses. 1927: E1027—Collaborated with Jean Badovici on Maison en bord de mer E-1027, Roquebrune Cap Martin, on the Mediterranean Sea in southern France1932: Tempe à   Pailla, near Menton, France1954: Lou Pà ©rou, near Saint-Tropez, France The future projects light, the past only clouds.—Eileen Gray About E1027: The alpha-numeric code symbolically wraps Eileen Gray (the E and 7th letter of the alphabet, G) around 10-2—the tenth and second letters of the alphabet, J and B, which stand for Jean Badovici. As lovers, they shared the summer retreat that Gray called E-10-2-7. Modernist architect Le Corbusier famously painted and drew murals on the interior walls of E1027, without Grays permission. The film The Price of Desire (2014) tells the story of these modernists. Eileen Grays Legacy: Working with geometric forms, Eileen Gray created plush furniture designs in steel and leather. Many Art Deco and Bauhaus architects and designers found inspiration in Grays unique style. Todays artists, too, write extensively about Grays influence. Canadian designer Lindsay Brown has commented on Eileen Gray’s E-1027 house, an astute review with photographs of Grays maison en bord de mer. Brown suggests that Corbusier had something to do with Grays obscurity. Marco Orsinis documentary Gray Matters (2014) examines Grays body of work, making the case that Gray matters as an influence in the design world. The films focus is on Grays architecture and designs, including her modernist house, E-1027, in the south of France and the furnishings of the house for herself and her Romanian lover, the architect Jean Badovici.   The E1027 story is now widely known and taught in architectural schools, as emblematic of the sexual politics of modern architecture, claims reviewer Rowan Moore in The Guardian. A ongoing faithful community of Eileen Gray devotees and like-minded nonconformists stay in touch on Facebook. Learn More: Eileen Gray by Caroline Constant, Phaidon Press, 2000Eileen Gray, Freed From Seclusion by Alice Rawsthorn, The New York Times, February 24, 2013Eileen Grays E1027 – review by Rowan Moore, The Observer, Guardian News and Media, June 29, 2013Eileen Gray: Objects and Furniture Design by Architects Series, 2013Eileen Gray: Her Work and Her World by Jennifer Goff, Irish Academic Press, 2015Eileen Gray: Her Life and Work by Peter Adam, 2010 Sources: Sale 1209 Lot 276, Christies; Eileen Grays E1027 – review by Rowan Moore, The Guardian, June 29, 2013 [accessed September 28, 2014]; National Museum of Ireland - Eileen Gray Exhibition Details at www.museum.ie/en/exhibition/list/eileen-gray-exhibition-details.aspx?gclidCjwKEAjwovytBRCdxtyKqfL5nUISJACaugG1QlwuEClYPsOe_OJUokXAyYDHhBdpv5lpG5rQ5cW8ChoCppvw_wcB; Eileen Gray quotation from London Design Journal [accessed August 3, 2015]