Blog 5: "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" - Stephanie Esposito

Stephanie Esposito
Blog 5 (Chapters 7&8)
Creative Connector & Rigorous Researcher


Creative Connector:

1.     “Bringing about meaningful change in public schools can be even more difficult because seemingly every year teacher are required to master and teach the latest and greatest program to improve reading or math or spelling scores, only to find that this year’s innovations are inevitably replaced by next year’s” (p. 85).

This passage reminded me of an experience I had while I was student teaching. I did my last practicum placement and first student teaching placement in the same classroom. Over the summer, the school had implemented a new math program in the school; therefore I had to learn a new program all over again. Even though I was only at the school for two months, I had already experienced a major change that teachers experience repeatedly throughout their careers. I can see how this constant change can be frustrating to teachers, especially when you feel as if you have become very good at teaching something and then you’re told it has to change.

2.     “Given the multicultural nature of our society, and the fact that there’s a wide variance in the communities we serve, it’s to our advantage to have as diverse a faculty and staff as possible” (p. 93).

As educators it is important to embrace the diversities of our students. I also believe that having a diverse faculty and staff is also significant for several reasons. The first is being that we are all different and have had various experiences in life, giving us different perspectives. As educators, this one way in which we can learn and grow from our colleagues. Another reason is that we have diverse students in our classrooms and having a diverse faculty and staff can allow us to relate to these students better.

3.     “Rome wasn’t built in a day” (p. 92).

Chapter 7 discusses how to manage change in a school successfully, but I feel that this quote can be applied to all changes and all learning experiences throughout one’s life. Administrators need to embrace faculty and staff during change within the school district, and teachers need to embrace their students as the curriculum is becoming more difficult and knowledge is being built.

Rigorous Researcher:

1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:

What is it? An act to enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the attorney General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity.

What does this act do? The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in employment (hiring, promoting, and firing) on the basis of race, gender, age, national origin, religion, sexual preference, and so on.

2. Maslow’s (1943) Hierarchy of Needs:

What is it? A theory of motivation that explains our basic human needs. The basis of Maslow's theory of motivation is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs need to be satisfied before higher needs can be addressed. Per the teachings of Abraham Maslow, there are general needs (physiological, safety, love, and esteem) which have to be fulfilled before a person is able to act unselfishly. These needs were dubbed "deficiency needs." While a person is motivated to fulfill these basal desires, they continue to move toward growth, and eventually self-actualization. The satisfaction of these needs is quite healthy, while preventing their gratification makes us ill or act evilly.

Basic Needs: Maslow has set up a hierarchy of five levels of basic needs. Beyond these needs, higher levels of needs exist. These include needs for understanding, esthetic appreciation and purely spiritual needs. In the levels of the five basic needs, the person does not feel the second need until the demands of the first have been satisfied, nor the third until the second has been satisfied, and so on. Maslow's basic needs are as follows:

1.     Psychological Needs

2.     Safety Needs

3.     Needs of Love, Affection, and Belongingness

4.     Needs for Esteem

5.     Needs for Self-Actualization