Agricultural Education, School and Society

Lesson 7:	Governance
Introduction:	Where does the agriculture teacher fit in the overall chain of command in a school system? That is an excellent question to ponder. In larger schools the agriculture teacher might report to the head of a vocational education department or to some type of vocational director. In some schools the teacher might report directly to the principal. Typically, principals report to the superintendent who report to the school board. In many rural school districts, the majority of the school board members may be farmers or merchants and rely heavily on the superintendent to advise them. It is also possible for the agriculture teacher to be very close to school board members in rural areas. It is not uncommon for an experienced agriculture teacher on a 12 month contract to make more than the principal and to be held in high esteem in the community, and this may be a source of friction. In this lesson we will examine the structure of the school system. A savvy teacher should understand how the system works.
Learning Objectives:	Upon completion of this unit the learner should be able to: Determine how schools are funded. Analyze the causes of funding inequity and the consequences of such. Recognize the federal government’s role in American education. Understand the official and unofficial roles of school governance. Describe how teachers are responsible for school governance. Identify the importance of having a functioning advisory committee. Describe the governance of agricultural education.
Instructional Activities:	Take the interactive pretest on school governance. Read the following chapters from Teachers, Schools and Society (Sadker & Sadker) 8th edition: Chapter 9 "Financing and Governing American Schools" Most states have a State Board of Education. Visit the NC SBE web site to learn more about the SBE. The NC SBE is typical of those found in other states. If you want to see how other states compare you could visit the SBE sites in Oregon, Ohio, and Arkansas. If you have a desire to learn about the State Department of Education (SDE) in your state or other states, The National Association of State Boards of Education has a page with links to all SDE web sites. Please read "Your School Board + You" at The Illinois Association of School Boards web site to learn more about local school boards. In some areas, schools are experimenting with site-based management. Jane David's article "The Who, What, and Why of Site-Based Management" in Educational Leadership (Volume 53 Number 4 December 1995 / January 1996) provides information about this concept. View the PowerPoint presentation on Governance and Agricultural Education. You can click here to download the presentation if you have PowerPoint.
Lagniappe:	Leaders often display posters touting teamwork, achievement, etc. in order to motivate the employees. www.despair.com has developed a whole series of such posters, but the message is often not what one expects. Browse through the various years and themes for their posters to get a good chuckle. I really like their achievement and ambition posters.
Review:	After you read the chapter in the text go to the following site and see how much you learned. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073525901/student_view0/chapter9/multiple_choice_quiz.html
Assignment:	Should the state superintendent of education be appointed or elected? That question has been a source of considerable discussion. Your assignment for this lesson is two-fold. Decide whether you think the state superintendent of education should be appointed or elected and why THEN go the following web sites and read the biographical sketch of each state superintendent of education. Two are elected and two are appointed. After reading their biographical sketches, rank the four from the most qualified to the least qualified. See if your rankings support your view about whether or not the state superintendent should be elected or appointed. Share you views about electing or appointing the secretaries and your rankings with the class and tell why. Ohio Superintendent of Education (appointed) Texas Commissioner of Education (appointed) North Dakota Superintendent of Education (elected) South Carolina Superintendent of Education (elected) Looking ahead: One of your major assignments is to observe a school board meeting. You should be able to see school governance in action. If you haven't yet made arrangements for this observation, you need to. This is due in a couple of weeks.

Lesson 7:

Governance

Introduction:

Where does the agriculture teacher fit in the overall chain of command in a school system?

That is an excellent question to ponder. In larger schools the agriculture teacher might report to the head of a vocational education department or to some type of vocational director. In some schools the teacher might report directly to the principal. Typically, principals report to the superintendent who report to the school board. In many rural school districts, the majority of the school board members may be farmers or merchants and rely heavily on the superintendent to advise them. It is also possible for the agriculture teacher to be very close to school board members in rural areas. It is not uncommon for an experienced agriculture teacher on a 12 month contract to make more than the principal and to be held in high esteem in the community, and this may be a source of friction.

In this lesson we will examine the structure of the school system. A savvy teacher should understand how the system works.

Learning Objectives:
Graphic of a Road Sign

Upon completion of this unit the learner should be able to:

Determine how schools are funded.

Analyze the causes of funding inequity and the consequences of such.

Recognize the federal government’s role in American education.

Understand the official and unofficial roles of school governance.

Describe how teachers are responsible for school governance.

Identify the importance of having a functioning advisory committee.
Describe the governance of agricultural education.

Instructional
Activities:

Take the interactive pretest on school governance.

Read the following chapters from Teachers, Schools and Society (Sadker & Sadker)

8th edition: Chapter 9 "Financing and Governing American Schools"

Most states have a State Board of Education. Visit the NC SBE web site to learn more about the SBE. The NC SBE is typical of those found in other states. If you want to see how other states compare you could visit the SBE sites in Oregon, Ohio, and Arkansas.

If you have a desire to learn about the State Department of Education (SDE) in your state or other states, The National Association of State Boards of Education has a page with links to all SDE web sites.

Please read "Your School Board + You" at The Illinois Association of School Boards web site to learn more about local school boards.

In some areas, schools are experimenting with site-based management. Jane David's article "The Who, What, and Why of Site-Based Management" in Educational Leadership (Volume 53 Number 4 December 1995 / January 1996) provides information about this concept.

View the PowerPoint presentation on Governance and Agricultural Education. You can click here to download the presentation if you have PowerPoint.

Lagniappe:

Leaders often display posters touting teamwork, achievement, etc. in order to motivate the employees. www.despair.com has developed a whole series of such posters, but the message is often not what one expects. Browse through the various years and themes for their posters to get a good chuckle. I really like their achievement and ambition posters.

Review:

After you read the chapter in the text go to the following site and see how much you learned. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073525901/student_view0/chapter9/multiple_choice_quiz.html

Assignment:

Should the state superintendent of education be appointed or elected? That question has been a source of considerable discussion. Your assignment for this lesson is two-fold.

Decide whether you think the state superintendent of education should be appointed or elected and why THEN go the following web sites and read the biographical sketch of each state superintendent of education. Two are elected and two are appointed. After reading their biographical sketches, rank the four from the most qualified to the least qualified. See if your rankings support your view about whether or not the state superintendent should be elected or appointed. Share you views about electing or appointing the secretaries and your rankings with the class and tell why.

Ohio Superintendent of Education (appointed)
Texas Commissioner of Education (appointed)
North Dakota Superintendent of Education (elected)
South Carolina Superintendent of Education (elected)

Looking ahead: One of your major assignments is to observe a school board meeting. You should be able to see school governance in action. If you haven't yet made arrangements for this observation, you need to. This is due in a couple of weeks.