Management and Motivation Plan - Dissertation Example

Management and Motivation Plan Introduction ‘Nature’ and ‘nurture’ are two elements that determine the ‘personality’ of a child. Nature is intrinsic but the kind of nurture meted out to a child largely decides the kind of person he becomes. The process of nurture includes under its fold social institutions like family, school workplace etc. A child’s learning process starts from his home and parents are his first teachers. However, as Man is a social animal, society too has a huge influence on him. The elementary schools are the first platform that helps in the development of child’s social behavior. Providing academic education is not only the primary objective of an elementary school. Rather it guides the students to develop the sense of discipline, management and motivation. This paper will discuss the guidelines necessary for an elementary school to meet the objectives of developing discipline, management and motivation in a child. 1. Purpose The primary objective of an elementary school is to create a learning environment which would promote all around development of a child. Before establishing an elementary school it important to form a set of plans aimed at meeting the predefined purpose. An elementary school should aim to produce caring and capable people. The schools “must foster a climate for learning, one that bring community and curriculum together in a unified whole” (Worzbyt et al. 2003). In order to meet the purpose, the elementary school should develop a set of plans. These plans will attempt to cover all the necessary code of conduct that a school district maintains. The purpose of the plan is to ensure the development of character, ethics and manner (Clark County School District. n.d). The plan for this elementary school will be framed after taking into account six important qualities that are very essential for the development of a child. These qualities are integrality, courage, responsibility, respect, justice and empathy (Clark County School District. n.d). Students, parents and teachers are the three important groups of people who are directly engaged in the elementary school. A ‘group effort’ involving all the three groups is required to inculcate the above mentioned qualities in a child. The school authority and the administrators also play a vital role in assisting the students, teachers and parents. 2. Student Characteristics An elementary school is the place where students from all communities, society and culture meet with each other. It is the primary school that helps provide education to the initial level grades. The grades of this elementary school are generally from first to fifth standards. Children generally start their first academic education from home till the age of 4 or 5 when they join the first elementary school. Thereafter the student is expected to spend the prime couple of years with this institute. At the age of 11 years, a student is expected to complete his elementary school and prepare for the high school. The elementary school for which the plan will be framed will include students from all races, cultures. However, the linguistically diverse students, other than English language, will be provided with special classes having proficient teachers. The curriculum structure is another important criterion that should be formed keeping in mind the important facets of child behavior along with the demands of the age. The subject areas will include the first language (English), second language, arts, mathematics, social science, science (basic technology), sports and physical education (including health care) and other activities like drama, music etc. 3. Standards for Behavior Discipline is the key to good behavior. Discipline is needed to maintain the code of conduct both inside and outside the school. The elementary school in question will have classrooms, restrooms, playgrounds, cafeteria, assemblies etc. Apart from these, the student will meet different kind of people in the schools like classmates, others’ parents, teachers and the school staffs. The students need to behave in a proper way with all these people. The guide for the code of conduct has been illustrated in the following charts. Class Room DOs Respect and obey the teachers Concentrate on the lectures Complete the home works and assignments regularly Keep the classrooms clean Be attentive and cooperate with the teachers and classmates DON’Ts Litter or eat in the class Fight with classmates and abuse them Destroy properties like chairs, benches, computers etc Run in the class rooms Cheat in the class rooms during the examinations Restrooms and cafeteria DOs Help the staffs to keep the restroom and the cafeteria clean Cooperate with others in the restroom and cafeteria Maintain an healthy environment within the restroom and cafeteria by keeping a low voice Use dustbins for disposing leftovers and wrappers Wait quietly if seats are reserved DON’Ts Litter in the restrooms and cafeteria Fight in the restroom and cafeteria Run in the restroom and cafeteria Destroy the properties of restroom and cafeteria Sit unnecessarily in the restroom and cafeteria during class hours Playground DOs Show the spirit of a true sportsmanship Help others if they get injured Follows the playground instructions Place the sports equipments in their proper place Leave the playground when the time gets over for playing DON’Ts Practice harmful activities or game Litter and eat in the ground Destroy the sports equipment Fight with other Cheat while playing the games 4. Title I Compact In order to help the students meet their objectives, the parents are also required to maintain certain commitments. The required commitments of the parents and students, and teacher are given below. The commitment of the parents Provide a healthy learning environment at home. Help the children to finish their homework. Provide all the necessary study materials like books, notes, pens pencils etc. Always present in case of assistance. Cooperate with the school teachers. Attend the parent-teacher meeting regularly. Encourage the children to attend the classes and to participate in the school activities. Signature of the parents or legal guardians___________________ Date___________ The commitments of the students To come to school. Always prepare to learn. Maintain the code of conduct of the school. Complete the homework regularly. Cooperate and respect the teachers, classmates and other school staffs. Signature of the Student___________________ Date___________ Commitments of the teachers Try to find out the different needs of student and teach accordingly. Cooperate with parents and students. Report to the parents about the student’s performance in the meetings. Help the students to meet the required objectives. Maintain the record of the students’ performance and evaluate it on a regular basis. Signature of the teachers ___________________ Date___________ Signature of the Principal ___________________ Date___________ 5. Consequences Sometimes students are found to be engaged in unsocial, unethical, and harmful activities within the school premise. The school authority will have to take correctives measure in the event of any student found guilty. The multiple applications by the school for taking corrective actions are given in the following table. Problem behaviors Consequences for Grade 1 to 3 Consequences for Grade 4 to 5 Undone homework Minimal: Informal meeting Serious: Parent meeting Minimal: Informal meeting Serious: Parent meeting and temporary suspension Irregular and Class bunking Minimal: Informal meeting Serious: Parent meeting Minimal: Informal meeting Serious: Parent meeting and temporary suspension Violence and destruction of school property Minimal: Parent meeting Serious: Parent meeting and fine Minimal: Parent meeting and fine Serious: Fine and permanent suspension Misbehaviors Minimal: Informal meeting Serious: Parent meeting Minimal: Informal meeting Serious: Parent meeting and temporary suspension Racial discrimination and harassment Minimal: Parent meeting Serious: Parent meeting and suspension. Minimal: Parent meeting Serious: Parent meeting and temporary or permanent suspension and juvenile justice service Cheating or plagiarism Minimal: Informal meeting Serious: Parent meeting and temporary suspension Minimal: Informal meeting Serious: Parent meeting and temporary or permanent suspension Possession and use of illicit objects Minimal: Parent meeting Serious: Parent meeting and permanent suspension and juvenile justice service Minimal: Parent meeting Serious: Permanent suspension, juvenile justice service Other serious activities like nuisance, vulgarity, forgery, stealing, extortion, drugs etc. Minimal: Parent meeting Serious: Parent meeting, rehabilitation programs, permanent suspension Minimal: Parent meeting Serious: Parent meeting, rehabilitation programs, permanent suspension, and juvenile justice service. 6. In-school Contact During ones stay at the elementary school, a student will across various kinds of people. The students will have to deal with their classmates, teachers, staffs and other occasional guests. They must behave in a decent manner while interacting with these people. The guidelines for school-level contacts are given below. Cooperate and help others whenever needed. Respect the teachers, other staffs and school guests Do not abuse or discriminate others on the basis of race, culture, ethnic etc. Do not engage in fights with the classmates Cooperate with teachers and other classmate during school programs Do not interfere with others’ activities which is against the rule of the school To show love and care towards the teachers and classmates. Do not disturb other classmates and teachers. Helps other classmates to follow the code of conduct of the school. 7. Safety Safety of the students, teachers and other staffs is one of the major responsibilities of the school authority. The school thereby should conduct safety programs to prepare the students for sudden emergency situations like fire, weather, and earthquake etc. The school authority will use the latest fire extinguishing devices. The infrastructure of the school building will be equipped with fire alarms and multiple emergency exits. The students should be trained by conducting mock fire and weather drills. However, in order to comply with the safety measures; the teachers, students and other staffs should follow certain instructions. The instructions are given below. The student should not bring or play with inflammable substances like fireworks, fuel etc Teachers should train the students for emergency drills. The teachers and students should be aware of their responsibilities during the emergency drills. The teachers and the staffs should not smoke within the school premise. In case of fire, teachers will lead the students to a safer place and the students should cooperate with the teachers. The school staffs should inform the fire brigades immediately. The teacher will be responsible for maintaining first-aid box in every classroom. 8. Time Management Punctuality is one of the most important codes of conduct of the elementary school. The students must learn to manage their time and be punctual. Time management is imperative for the students to build their successful future. The school will prepare the routine that will be maintained by the students and the teachers. The following table describes the daily classroom routines. School opens at 8.45am Students must be in school by 8.50am Students must be meet their respective teachers in the assembly hall in a queue 8.55am Teacher must lead their students and they will be in the classrooms by 9am First period will continue 9am to 9.45am Second period will continue 9.50am to 10.35am Third period will continue 10.40am to 11.25am Recess 11.25am to 12pm Fourth period will continue 12pm to 12.45pm Fifth period will continue 12.50 to 1.35pm Sport and Physical education 1.40pm to 3pm All the Student must leave the school by (other than special occasion) 3.15pm The student and teachers must follow this timetable. In order to execute the routine properly, certain methods have been proposed. . The students should follow the schedule by maintaining notes. The teachers should contact the parents in case the students are not punctual. The teachers and the students should plan to meet the pre-designed deadlines The teacher should declare the necessary routines in advance so that students can be prepared for it. 9. Data Collection and feedback Teachers should evaluate the students’ performances based on their behavior, academic performance and other activities. In order to evaluate their performances it is necessary to collect and keep all the records of every student. There will be teachers who will represent each grade and will be responsible for maintaining the data of students’ daily performances. At the end of every month, the teachers will evaluate the performance and provide feedback to each student. The teacher in charge will collect these data from different teachers like sports teachers, mathematics teachers etc. The number of complaints will also be recorded. At the end of each semester or examination, a parents-teachers conference will be held where the teacher will provide the final feedback to the parents. 10. Floor Plan The floor plan for the school should be such designed that it enhances the students’ performance and encourages them to learn by providing an ideal learning environment. There will be two floors in the elementary school’s building with 8 classrooms in each floor. The principal’s office, the teachers’ room, the computer lab and the library will be in second floor. The cafeteria and the restroom will be in the first floor. The ground floor will include the assembly hall, a multi-purpose room, indoor-game room and the office of the administration. In each floor there will be separate washrooms for boys and girls. In front of the school premise, there will an open ground for outdoor games. Other than the main entrance there will be at least two emergency exits. A health care or medical room will be set up adjacent to the restroom and a permanent doctor will be appointed for regular medical checkup for the students. 11. Materials As per the curriculum of the school, the supported materials will be required for the elementary school to fulfill its learning objectives. The learning materials for the elementary school must aim to support and to develop the learning environment. The classroom will be equipped with necessary and comfortable furniture, projectors, speakers, necessary graphs, charts, pictures etc. The teachers will try to teach the students by involving fun and enjoyment, and examples of practical objects will be given to the students. Therefore, puzzle games, materials for the art & crafts, science and mathematics tools will be available in each classroom. For indoor and outdoor games, necessary sports materials will be provided by the elementary school. The library will have a rich stock of students’ books and literatures. Sufficient number of computer and other learning devices will also be available in the computer lab. 12. Self-reflection These set of plans for the elementary school have been developed in order to meet the primary objective i.e. educating the students by providing a proper learning environment that will encourage them to learn with enjoyment. The elementary schools focus on providing sufficient academic knowledge related to its pre-designed curriculum. The curriculum includes subjects like language, mathematics, science, physical education etc. However, apart from these academic functions, an elementary school should also concentrate on the development of “social relations, ethical behavior and the social and emotional development of the individual” (Carrasquillo. 1994). The primary objective of the elementary school will be to achieve the long term goal of producing successful and responsible individual for the society. These plans will provide the necessary criterion for meeting the long term goals. This long term goal can only be achieved when short term goals are successfully realized. Some of the short term goals are given below. To improve the students’ performance through various activities. To develop the sense of humanism. Encouraging students to perform to their potential. To promote an ideal learning environment that will help the students to achieve the above mentioned goals. Reference Carrasquillo, A. 1994. Teaching English as a second language: a resource guide. Taylor & Francis. Clark County School District. (No date). Elementary Students: Behaving Positively at School. Worzbyt, J.C., O'Rourke, K. and Dandeneau, C.J. (2003). Elementary school counseling: a commitment to caring and community building. 2nd Edition. Routledge Mental Health. Read More