Karen Schmidt Klinzing
EdPA 5387 Administration of Teaching and Learning
Reflection Paper on Session 2: Foundations for Learning in Inclusive Contexts and High Quality Professional
Due February 16, 2011
Conducting Success for Students of Symphonic Proportion
Americans have conflicting goals in education making it tricky for the educational leader to lead educators down
a clear and meaningful pathway to success with students. Three of those very American goals that support inclusiveness
are: all children have what they need to succeed, all individuals can pursue their own dreams, all students should have
equality of opportunity (H & S, 165). All of these are laudable ideals but they are not always in concert with one another.
An orchestra of many different instruments that sound beautiful on their own sound like noise that hurts the ears when
they all play at the same time but a conductor is absent and a music score is not being used to inform the
instrumentalists what and how to play on their instrument and at what moments. When the conductor is passionately
conducting and the score is clear and written to bring out the best in each instrument at just the right times, an amazing
melody, that sometimes sticks in the head and heart for years to come are the result. A school or district needs a
passionate conductor in the form of a principal or superintendent and a dynamic musical score to conduct the many
different teaching styles, learning styles, debates and competing demands for resources into a harmonious symphony of
student success.
Blankenstein lays out an educational leader’s musical score for educating all children to high levels in Failure is
not an option (2009). He explains to educational leaders that their practice of leadership must be brought from within,
(much like a musicians musical passion), “from their core commitments rather than from a disconnected, surface
“management context” that may be at odds from what the leader believes( 248). Hargreaves provides “dynamics” for
this educational leader’s musical score by describing the 7 C’s of Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s):
communication, collaboration, coaching, change, conflict, creativity, courage. Hochschild and Scovronick (2003) provide
different movements and variations on the theme of instructional inclusion in the educational leader’s musical score by
describing the research, history and context of whether to include or separate out students receiving ELL or SPED
services or students with lower or higher academic ability. Levin adds to the variations and movements provided by
Hochschild and Scovronick (2003) by adding the movement on how to harmoniously include students and student
decision making in the education leadership. The National Staff Development Council Standards for Staff Development
(2001) lay out the theory and standards that should be the foundation of education leadership, much like music theory
and scales provide in music. But leading to those standards alone, without harmoniously conducting a symphony of
many themes, that includes a passionate educational leader conducting and bringing out the best of the teachers using
the 7 C’s that make the dynamics of good professional learning communities , will lead to noise, not a symphony.
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Karen Schmidt Klinzing
EdPA 5387 Administration of Teaching and Learning
Reflection Paper on Session 2: Foundations for Learning in Inclusive Contexts and High Quality Professional
Due February 16, 2011
Every good orchestral score has a theme tune that is woven throughout the many movements. The movements
can sound so distinct but if the listener is to listen closely enough, a common theme will be heard. High quality
instruction personalized to the needs of the students was the tune that was heard throughout each movement and what
an educational leader needs to conduct his teachers to achieve harmony.
There are many debates about whether to include or separate students with different abilities but as sociologist
Adam Gorman wisely reminds the education leader who may easily get mired in these school or district level debates.
”Decisions about grouping are preliminary and what matters most comes next: decisions about what to do with the
students AFTER they are assigned to classes. Given poor instruction, neither heterogeneous nor homogeneous grouping
can be effective, with excellent instruction, either may succeed.” (Hochschild and Scovronick 2003) This could be said for
arguments about scheduling, and prep hours, most curriculum debates and so on down the line. Blankenstein says the
belief and commitment to a system goal must come from the educational leaders’ hearts in order for the courage to act
to be successful. Are beliefs about classifications more on our hearts than the urge to teach well to every child? As an
educational leader, I want to harmonize teacher assets, through the dynamics of PLC’s, weaving the high instructional
quality through each movement and variation on the theme to reach student success of symphonic proportion.
Readings
1. Hochschild, J.L., & Scovronick, N. (2003) Chapter 6: Separation and inclusion. The American dream and the public
schools (pp. 133-167). New York: Oxford University Press.
2. Levin, B. (2000). Putting students at the centre of education reform. Journal of Educational Change, 1, 155-172.
3. Hargreaves, A. (2008) Foreward. In S. Hord & W.A. Sommers, Leading professional learning communities: Voices
from research and practice (pp.ix-xi). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
4. National Staff Development Council (2001). NSDC Standards for Staff Development (revised). Oxford, OH: author.
5. Blankenstein, A.M. (2009). Failure is not an option (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
a. Chapter 1: Why failure is not an option
b. Chapter 2: Courageous leadership for school success
c. Chapter 3: Building a professional learning community with relational trust
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