Our adult school is proud to be WASC accredited. Grossmont Adult School’s Mission Statement is: “to enrich the lives of our community members by providing high quality, affordable, lifelong learning opportunities; fulfilling personal, academic, and workplace goals for an increasingly diverse population.” How does providing a welcoming school environment tie in with our Mission Statement? Clearly we cannot enrich the lives of our community members and provide the services that we do, if we are not welcoming.
Let me paraphrase what I’ve heard: “If refugees need English classes, they’ll come here. We are in the same city and we’re free and some of our classes have childcare.” The sad truth is this kind of thinking does not foster a welcoming environment. It assumes that the convenience of our class locations will automatically ensure full classes. If this were true, then we never would have low class numbers and would never shut down classes. But, we do and we have. I want to share an unsolicited “secret shopper” experience. A long-time friend of mine was at a cross-roads in her education. She was deciding whether she wanted to pursue being a teacher. She asked if she could come observe me in the classroom. After I cleared it with my Admin, she went to the office to sign in as a guest. She reported back to me that the staff was “rude”. The clerk kept her head down and continued working when she walked in the office. When she finally looked up and spoke, it was brusque. She noted that the students were addressed in the same manner. This type of unwelcome behavior needs to be changed. It will take a cultural shift to make it happen. Although the teachers do not usually assist students or visitors in the office, I think that we can help change the culture if we adopt and model some welcoming practices. Here are five things I am committed to implementing immediately to help promote a welcoming and inviting campus:
Having a welcoming school environment does not happen by accident. It requires deliberate actions. In our case, we need a shift in school culture. As Dr. Ian Pumpian stated, “Find that Welcoming is the first step to Engagement and Engagement is the first step to Learning and Learning is certainly part of the Culture of Achievement.” As we strive to fulfill our school’s Mission Statement, we need to consider how being welcoming is critical for our mission as a school. Resources Green, L. (2013). Practicing the Art of Leadership: A Problem-Based Approach to Supplementing the ISLLC Standards. 4th Edition. Pearson Education (Allyn & Bacon). Fisher, D., Frey, N., Pumpian, I. (2012). How to Create a Culture of Achievement in our Schools and Classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCED
4 Comments
Bill Robinson
9/12/2015 01:31:06 pm
Sheila,
Reply
Sheila
9/15/2015 11:40:25 pm
Prof. Bill, I certainly think that we need a cultural change and that leadership should make this a priority. I consider myself a helpful and friendly person. But, one of my habits is to check my email on my phone while walking to the teacher's lounge. This makes it hard to survey my surroundings and keep my "eyes up". I will make a conscious effort to change this habit.
Reply
David Ruiz
9/13/2015 04:57:46 pm
Sheila,
Reply
Sheila
9/15/2015 11:49:43 pm
David, thank you for sharing your thoughts. You are right, we sometimes don't consider that our words, motions, body language, tone, sarcasm, volume, lack of attention can make a negative impact on others - especially to those who are new to our schools. We can even consider email or text language. How many times have you "heard" sarcasm in a text? I know I have a few times. I try to be careful when communicating and interpreting, but this is an area I have not mastered.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Details
Sheila L. DavisPassionate Adult ESL Instructor at Grossmont Adult School. Seeking to learn new habits and unlearn bad ones. ArchivesCategories |