Fowler- Chapter 8

Chapter 8 in Fowler discusses the third and fourth stages in the policy process- formulation and adoption.

I learned a lot from this chapter that I never really thought about before.  "Battles fought on two fronts:  words and money" (p. 174). One piece was language.  On page 173 Fowler discusses that policy makers understand that their choice of words really matters.  For example- in saying may rather than must, it gives a lot of leeway to those enacting the policy and almost the option of not enacting anything when the language is "may."  The other is funding and that policy can be passed into law but the government passing these laws have no obligation to fund them.  Seriously?  Then what's the point?

Legislative Proposals and Where They Come From

• legislature
• more power- only group that can introduce directly into legislature
• president or governor
• administrative agencies 
• interest groups

Important Quote to note-- p. 177- "Education leaders may find it sobering that education interest groups were relatively unimportant; even more sobering is that both instances of education interest groups influence teachers' groups"

The next section discussed how bills move through a legislature and how a policy is adopted with policy actors.  I underlined and made stars by the term companion bill-- if only the lower and upper houses would coordinate-- think of how much more efficient our government would be!

With budgets at the state-level, I do not agree or like that in many states governors can have line-item vetoes   The example of Texas was great where the governor can sent the spending ceiling, and it is up to the legislature how the money is spent and allocated.

After laws comes rules, and administrative rules are made for a variety of reasons

1. fill in gaps from laws
2. defining key terms
3. administrative agencies use them t define their own internal procedures
• complaints with this include that the rule making here is undemocratic and inefficient/rigid

Judges can also act as policy actors-- and often their political ideologies influence how their interpret rules and how they implement case law.  Nevertheless, judges can only react when a case is brought to them; they cannot seek to change laws on their own.

How do people keep up with all the new and different rules and policies?  Fowler on p. 196 believes that it's everyone's responsibility-- but in many cases, it falls on principals and superintendents.  

To influence policy formation and adoption, there are three general approaches-- with all "the time to make friends is before you need them" (Turner as quoted in Fowler, p. 198)

1. government relations
2. working through professional organizations
3. lobbying

Another quote that stood out to me- "Legislators will make laws with or without you.  They will make better ones with you"  (p. 200)

-Great examples in this section, but they weren't the most heartwarming.  In most cases, bills passed and minor exceptions were made-- still didn't seem like legislators listened to other policy actors as much as they should :(

Week Four- Class Reflection

“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.” -Toni Morrison

Having Anne Charity Hudley in class tonight was great-- it was really interesting to hear her talk about meaning making along with symbols and language and especially how as educators do we best best reflect, serve, and incorporate the communities we serve?

Key question that has driven her research—How do we value the home language and build on it while learning standardized English, without demeaning the student’s linguistic and cultural background?

-This resonated with me, particularly after taking the Leadership and Cultural Competency class.  We read many articles about how people were thought to not be as smart due to accent (southern drawl), culture, etc.  

 The comment that Professor Hudley made about talking so well for being black is something I have heard and read about on many occasions.  (microaggression!!)

Another thing that stuck out was when we talked about front porch initatiatves.  At Bucknell, all the dorms were made out of "Bucknell brick", with the exception of the 7th Street House for Africana studies.  This was a big rambling house with an awesome front porch, and the house did a lot of their programming right on their front porch.  This was a big aha moment for me-- and I wish I would have been able to make that connection earlier.

I really enjoyed the connections that her talk made directly to the readings.  I loved hearing about Prof. Hudley's research but especially how it has implications in the everyday, particularly with the variations in language depending on the time and place and that we speak differently going from one situation to the other.

When do I speak differently?

- with my husband

- with friend versus work

- in my office vs admin meetings

-this list goes on, but it made me think about my persona-- and made me think critically if just the way I spoke changed or who I was as a person. I should be the same from one scenario to the other-- but am i?

 Acronym ultimately based on S&M's Observations/reading--SPEAKING

-thought this was a great concise way to explain it

·         S- setting and scene.—stands for time and place as well as the psychological characteristics of communication 

·         P- participants—speakers and audience—both intended and unintended

o    Ex- wedding toast- intended audience are guests, unintended- catering staff

·         E- ends-stands for purpose of the communication and what participants seek to accomplish

·         A- at sequence- refers to the form of the order of the communicative event.  Discourse order of the situation

·         K- key represents the tone, manner, spirit of communication, much as we talk about music being in a certain key.  The key can be communicated both verbally and nonverbally.  (key should relate to end goal)

·         I- instrumentalities- forms and styles of speech that are used

·         N- norms refer to the social conventions governing the communication, including the participants’ actions and how the events unfolds

o    How the social interactions and the norms of the school influence/suggest how you act/respond

·         G- Genre- refers to the type of communication—written, oral, multimedia

Microagressions-- I also found this really interesting.  I was always outspoken as the oldest of five children, but I feel like I really found my voice during my freshman year of high school when I attended an all-girls school.  Not having males around for some reason was so liberating  and I felt like I could really speak my mine.  Then when my family moved, I went to a very rural high school.  I was called a dumb cheerleader, etc, and being outspoken in such a small, conservation town, I certainly had microagressions targeted against me. 

But I'm hypocritical and use my own toward others-- the most common one is "Oh, Honey" -- similar to the Bless your heart we talked about.  I need to work on this.

 Speaking out and being your own advocate is important, especially when women aren't heard or don't speak up as much.  One of my favorite readings/books from my organizational behavior class was entitled Women Don't Ask and it discussed that women make significantly less because they don't ask for me/don't negotiate.  I do more publicity for my blog than for me personally, but I appreciate how much Prof. Hudley puts herself out there to advance her career and does it deliberately.

Here is my last note from Prof. Hudley's talk--

Hmm—I want to help her with research---fourth book, college area.  How/when can I get involved?

I think maybe I need to get my master's thesis done first, but it's a thought :)


At the end of class, we watched the videos from bureaucrats, President Reveley, and teachers, and we filled out the worksheet "language and symbols of policy."  Depending on the actor, the tone and approach was very different.  Kerri's point about ethos, logos, and pathos was very appropriate, and it was another thing that made perfect sense, but I don't think I could make the connection on my own.  I should have because I am tutoring a young man in tenth grade English, and that's what we covered this past weekend :)

P.S.  I did reach my goal for this week-- I sat in a different seat this week-- I met a couple wonderful people, but one not so great person.  In the downtime sitting next to him, he told me was sorry for me because I advise one of the "bad" sororities, sang a song about my sorority's stereotypes, and insulted my rec kick ball team.  I was and still am so taken aback.  I know we all have our own biases, but I would hope that in a professional setting or with someone new, you wouldn't put them out there so easily.  It makes me a little sad and a little worried for the students that he works with and if they get a fair deal when working with him.

Tan: Variation Theory

Variation theory is (my definition) of way of explaining phenomena what looks at the variation within rather the differences between
ex- teach less, learn more

Politics of discourse- struggle over meaning.  This related to the politics of policy making and the importance of language.

Ways phenomenon can be experienced:

• Theoretical aspect- conceptual in nature
• Analytical aspect- looking for exactness in answer
• slightly annoyed with this definition because I hate when a word in the phrase (analytical) is used over and over again in the definition- it's not very helpful 
• Pedagogical aspect- why and how people experience the phenomenon differently

Teach less, learn more cam from a Singapore educational initiative.  It came about as a vision for the country's learning environments.  I think a good analogy provided by Tan is that of switching from quantity to quality.  Instead of spending more time being taught, the time spent in the classroom should be at a higher level.  With this philosophy, there would need to be both qualitative and quantitative measures to see if it is successful, and Tan argues that it is "impossible, if not illogical" (100).  I'm not sure if I agree- I think using both types of measures are important.  It makes the research regarding the philosophy more subjective (agreed- objective measures would be better), but it doesn't mean that evaluating this philosophy in action is illogical.

Later in the article, Tan discusses that variation theory can explain how each teacher will teach a phenomenon differently and in one class how each student will understand and be influenced by their teacher differently.

I tried to summarize the article as best I could, but I am a little confused by its overall messaging.  I'm looking forward to class to help explain it!

Smircrich & Morgan-- Leadership: The Management of Meaning

The article is looking at leadership in terms of a larger organization.  The quote in the beginning sums up leadership well, in my opinion:  "successful acts of organization are often seem to rest in the synchrony between the initiation of action and the appeal for direction" (pg. 257).

Pg. 258- "Leadership lies in large part in generating a point of reference, against which a feeling of organization and direction can emerge."  The article goes on to say that leadership results from interactions and the ability to help definite the situation.  It also says it's natural for people to come together and formalize their group with a leader.

I like on pg. 261 where the discuss leadership as the management of meaning-- the best bosses I have had and best leaders I have seen have always managed expectations and relationship.  Along with that comes framing a situation appropriately to motivate people to work in a specific direction.  The best leaders I have seen have them lead without you even knowing it.  They have built strong relationships and understand people and situations so well that you trust their instincts even if you are skeptical.  It helps make them more effective if there isn't constant questioning.

The case study presented by the authors provides an example of disconnect between leaders and the worker bees if the leader cannot make the appropriate connections and relationships with his/her employees.  The leader's ability to make decisions and "sense-making" (270) takes priority over others' same skills, but a connection need to be made between the two as there is strong interdependence 

Week Four- Fowler Chapter Six

This chapter discusses the policy actors or participants in education law and policy.  Fowler felt focusing on the state level was important because little is known about state politics and govenment as opposed to these on the state level.  I find that to absolutely true--I know very little about the state level, and even less about the state level in Virginia since I grew up in New York/Pennsylvania.  It's ironic, as I feel like I should know more as a Virginia state employee.

Here are the players:

• Government
• legislature
• Executive branch--governors- "issue catalysts" in policymaking-- and other staff such as state boards
• judicial branch
• local-- 
• school boards- have to follow law but can use larger framework-- must meet minimum qualifications but can go above and beyond (ex- school year must be 180 days but can be longer)
• Superintendents-- see not below on Ole Boys club
• Nongovernment
• interest groups
• education--most important= teacher's union
• business-- most influential non-education interest group
• Policy networks
• Media

It was really interesting to read about the legislative branch and how most state legislatures are not viewed as highly professional.  I believe that many states do not have their legislatures as full-time.  I can understand the cost implications of this, but I also wonder (since many of them are in business/industry) if their loyalties lay with their constituencies or the interests of the employer who pays their larger paycheck?

Ole Boys Club

This theme kept emerging in Chapter 6, in some ways verbatim but indirectly in others.  Pg. 127 expresses that state legislators often do not demographically represent the people they represent.  State legislators are constantly running for re-election and must have independent sources of money to not necessarily hold another full-time job and connections to be able to keep running for election.  This severely limits who has the ability to run and hold office. 

Furthermore, demographics are not the case for superintendents within school districts.  Only 4% were African American or Hispanic in 2010 (pg. 135), and 25% were women.

Questions

The speaker of the house in VA-- Tommy Norment is a WM alumnus-- I wonder how this connection helps our students and the College in resources allocated in the legislature?  Or doesn't it?

Week Four- Goal

My goal for next class- sit in a new location.  Analyze how my perspective changes based on where I sit and other people's reactions to my new location (if any-- probably only a reaction if I steal a seat).  Also, be social in my new location- learn names!!!

Week Three- Class Reflection

It was great to be in class last night.  I felt a little out of place because I don't know people too well, so I need to try to be more social, remember names, etc for next week!

I really love the discussions in this course and how much I learned about the content but also from each other.  When we discussed the Fowler definitions, it was great to hear what definitions stood out to others.  The instructor at TNCC was also drawn to the definition I liked (compromise and leading to more problems) although he through the use of problems could be type o.  I liked it because compromise (while important) can often water things down and doesn't necessarily fix the problems it had meant to and, in fact, create additional problems.

Talking about coupling helped a lot too, especially the examples others provided-- airport, circus, where there is a center than influences everything (air traffic control, circus master) and the outside things (planes, elephants) don't change the overall picture and how things run.  My example of law school ranking was a little muddle, but I think your perception of where you are in the law school system also influences whether you think you are tightly or loosely coupled to rankings.

This diagram helped me the most:

For the group work, the prompt was to look at policy process (ch 1) first and then through lens of each of four theoretical frameworks (ch 12).  Here's what our group came up with-- it made sense for me but not necessarily other group members, but I like to look at things linearly (first column) and put things in neat, tidy boxes (even if that always can't happen- I will still try) with the other columns.

	Competing Values	Policy Types	Institutional Choice	International Convergence
Issue Definition
Agenda Setting
Policy Formulation
Policy Adoption
Implementation
Evaluation

I loved the conversation our group had about assessments.  It was great to have K-12 perspective, higher ed perspectives, and even my perspective at the law school.  When I was working in undergrad/liberal arts, I would have said absolutely no to national assessments in college.  Now from the law school side, I am not too sure.  Maybe there needs to be something unifying what skills and abilities students graduate with. I see too much variation in writing and speaking abilities in the law school admissions process to not feel like more of our students should be better prepared when coming to law school.

The fishbowl was a really interesting exercise.  I would be nervous to be in the hot spot, but I always wanted to speak up during the conversations.  The conversation about the Culver article mirrored my own ideas that it wasn't as successful as intended since all schools didn't participate and inputted only the data they wanted to share.  CHEV wants tight coupling and the institutions want loose (I didn't think about that when reading since I didn't read the coupling articles at that point).  The fishbowl overall was great.  It was really interesting to be an outside and have that perspective.

Birnbaum- How Colleges Work

Birnbaum's article also talks about loose and tight coupling.  I am a little completed with the boxes she used (predictable and perverse) to describe the types of coupling.  The preserve is the loosely coupled, but the image also confuses what I think loosely coupled systems are.

On pg. 39, it is said that loosely coupled is attacked because it is often used to describe waste and inefficiency in a system.  This seems in contrast to another reading where loose coupling was supposed to cost less.  I don't know if I believe either description.  I can understand that attack in this article, but I do not know if I believe it.

The way loose coupling is described that I like in this article is that it allows organizations to try new things, but not let it influence what else is going on in the organization. If it doesn't work, it can be discarded, but if it does, this new idea can be brought into the tightly coupled system.  I don't consider this waste-- it actually seems smart.  Test pilot something before introducing it to everyone as the new system.  This seems like a good model in policy.

Weick- Educational Organizations as Loosely Coupled Sytems

This article really helped in my understanding of loose and tight coupling, but I still have questions as I head into class on Monday. Tight coupling makes much more sense to me-- since the idea of loose coupling hasn't quite sunk in.  Loose coupling, I feel like, is more indirect effects that direct like in tight coupling.

Loose coupling- tied together weakly, minimal interdependence (also more independence?)
Tight coupling- directly affects/effects one another, more crucial to survival of system (pg. 44)

With loose coupling, I highlighted loose coupling with local adaption. I think this would work with state mandates and how each district interprets.  I see a connection between this and Fowler with policies written broadly.

The article mentioned the idea that loose coupling would be less expensive because it doesn't require as many resources.  I'm not sure about that.  Someone is coordinating the efforts-- it might not be their full-time job like in a tightly coupled system, but someone is still doing the work.

I tried to put on my research methods had when the article started talking about dependent and independent variables with couple systems.  Dependent variable certainly exist in tightly coupled systems, and loosely coupled systems are more independent.  However, I think I understand it to say that loosely coupled can also become dependent variables, but tightly coupled systems can never have independent variables due to the interdependence of tightly couple systems.

Culver- The Virginia Example

I was a bit confused when I finished reading the Culver article.  I was anticipated how it showed that Virginia was a model of coming together and sharing information, but that wasn't the case.  From what I read, the state wanted schools to share information, so it could be analyzed, but most schools did not participate and only reported what they wanted it to be.

This seems to be in line with my understanding of the Virginia higher ed system.  I grew up/worked in New York State and Pennsylvania, and these systems seemed to be much more hierarchical than Virginia.  New York has the SUNY system, and Pennsylvania has the flagship with branch campus and other state schools that are tied together with specific missions (many of these schools have a focus on teaching).  Virginia has nothing like that.  Each state school is completely differently.  People are always surprised when they learn William & Mary is a state school since it is its own separate entity, and it really is. I don't see a lot of communication and sharing among state schools, almost like it's a competition- maybe it is.  Since Virginia has such a strong public education system, the non-sharing surprises me.  Yet I can understand that every school wants to maintain its uniqueness.

The only way sharing could happen and Virginia could in fact be "an example" would to have mandates from the state-- but this would require resources and funding that are severely lacking in support of individual schools.  As a result, I do not know if that will happen in the near future.

Bragg- Examining Pathways to and through the Community College

The article talked about the American Graduation Initiative (AGI), and I struggled with this article because of my own personal beliefs with community colleges.  I have known so many not know what they wanted to do, so they went to community college to figure it out with plans on getting a four-year degrees.  Years later, some have their associates, some went on to a four-year school, but most did not achieve either of these.  Community colleges certainly do serve a purpose for more adult learners who need more flexibility with degree programs (most times-- their expectations and end games are different), but I personally do not see the counseling and help at the community college level to get people to four-year degrees.

I know I am making some very large, overarching arguments, and I hope and know there are certainly exceptions, but I would rather see more focused on four-year degrees than community colleges. Financial aid is available just a much to students from lower SES to go to a four-year school than a community college.  Yes, a little more expensive for a four-year school, but I think the value added is there.  Seen on pg. 355, it says that community college will provide more access and credentials.  I disagree- many more access, but I do not think it will add more degrees (associates or otherwise) at the end of the day.

On the other hand, I think the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is great idea to provide skillets and employ-ability to workers through trade classes and literacy/adult education work.  Pg. 360 discusses how important literacy is for better wages, standard of living, etc.

Another piece of the article talks about dual enrollment and how it will help everyone have access to college. I think this is false.  Dual enrollment is only available in schools once other courses have been exhausted, and it normally put aside for the top achieving students.  If students do not complete courses satisfactorily at the high school level, how can they then move on to dual-enrollment?  I do not believe they can.  The article states that dual enrollment will help prepare students more for college, but if they don't have the basics, taking classes at a community college will not be beneficial.  Community colleges can be a good collaborator for high schools, but the population taking advantage of dual enrollment are not the students who have difficulties with college access.  I do not think this is a viable solution.

I did like the discussion on pg. 384 about bridge programs. I think that is a tremendous idea to help students, and not just a bridge over the summer but one that continues and follows students with a  mentoring program throughout their time in college.  I look at programs like Posse and One Voice and see how successful they are as outside entities, and I believe that higher ed can emulate successfully to help students who normally may not have college access be successful and feel supported en route to their degree.

Week Three- Fowler Reading

Chapter One
Summary and Reaction

I love that the book started with a Wizard of Oz reference.  Besides for being one of my favorite movies, the quote, "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," is very relevant to where we are in educational policy. We don't know if the direction we're going in is the correct one (NCLB) but going in another direction is an uphill battle and other potential directions are unclear.

Fowler offers her definition of policy, but also provides other definitions.  I liked reading through these, and there were certainly some that resonated with me.

"Policy sometimes is formed from a compromise among political participants...none of whom had quite in the mind the problem to which the agreed problem responds."  Some things to note with this:

• compromise-- policy develops through people giving in to constituencies and no one quite being happy with the result
• one problem "solved", even more problems to combat/understand and deal with 

Fowler took time to go through the history of policies, specifically racial segregation in the schools.

As with statutes, these rules are regulations provide important clues as to what the policy really is.  It is especially important to note whether the rules are written narrowly or broadly.  pg. 6

Policies are always altered during implementation.  pg. 8

School officials had adopted a pattern of inaction that was tacitly supported by the inaction of their state governments.  pg. 9

I believe these quotes summarize implementation of rulings such as Brown v. Board.  I can see many rules and laws being put in place (particularly with compromise) that makes them written very broadly-- making implementation inconsistent among states, districts, etc.  If each group can view the statue differently and implement it as they see fit, the spirit of the law is not met even if techinivally the letter of the law is met.

Figure 1.1 on page 16 shows a diagram of the political process where it flows from one point to the next and vice versa:

Issue Definition

Agenda Setting

Policy Formulation

Policy Adoption

Implementation

Evaluation

Fowler discusses how this happens in different examples through political administrations.  In today's school systems, this system doesn't just exist at the macro level but also in micro levels in school systems, where school officials have to have their hand in policy making and in the individual schools.  

Week Two- "Class" Reflection

I wasn't in class (recruiting in Atlanta-- and boy, can I say a lot about my thoughts on HBCUs, privates, and large public institutions when it comes to career and professional school preparation just from my couple hours at each type of campus and interacting with their students and staff-- but that can wait for another day) last night, but two of my financial aid group members sent me their notes!

I watched the Shift Happens video, but this wasn't the first time I watched it.  I watched it previously in a Career Development course and found it so interesting.  Looking at it from a policy perspective, I really enjoyed it in a completely different way than when I first saw it.  With the career course, I took it more with we need to prep our students with life skills that will make them successful and adaptable in an ever changing job market.

From a policy standpoint, I had to really think about it.  With things changing so much, how can we make broad policies and expect them to stick and be rigid for long periods of time.  That's in direct opposition to how our students will need to react in the world, and it could put us at a disadvantage (if it hasn't already).  It also confirmed ideas of international convergence and how need to emulate what works in other countries (particularly those with growing economics and workforces) to help our students after they leave the traditional school system.

It also made me feel a little hopeless because we working withing many educational policies that are not successfully and are potentially disadvantaging our students with teachers teaching to a test at the end of the year instead of teaching students to think critically and analytically.  Important skills are being removed out of the classroom that need to be brought back in.

Week Two- Fowler Reflection

Chapter 12
Summary
Four Theoretical Frameworks (to help guide later discussions of policy)

1. Competing values- values are cyclical with importance in US culture.  They change and shift between order and individualism, democratic values, and economic values.
2. Lowi's policy types- historical periods influence/dictate what type of policy is used/wanted at the time.
3. Institutional choice- policy incorporates five different types of institutions (and can incorporate more than one to varying extents)- bureaucracy, legalization, professionalization, politics, and the market
4. International convergence- our systems overtime become closer to those of international systems

Chapter 12 focused on going through time periods and showing how the four theoretical frameworks were applied, with a focus on the educational system.  It started with the birth of the US as a country (young republic) where education wasn't a national focus to the rise of common schools in the mid 1800s where education and some form of compulsory education began to take form.  The scientific sorting machine and searching for a new paradigm take us to present where issues of tracking at the school level and more bureaucratic at the national level begin and continue to take effect.

No Child Left Behind is discussed at a policy level and why it was allowed/passed into law and if it is in fact achieving its goals.

Reactions
I found it interesting that we started with Chapter 12 rather than Chapter 1 or another chapter close to the beginning of the book, but I appreciated the non-linear nature of reading the Fowler book.   In going through history and seeing how educational policy has changed, it is almost amazing to me how legalized education has become.  I see this contrast at the law school-- we were the first law school, starting with John Wythe teaching whatever he felt like to this highly rigid form of education.  The founders did just find with poor apprenticeships with lawyers to be the leaders of a nation, yet we critique lack of experience for all leaders today.  I get it; it just amazes me about how far we came.  Did we move in the right direction?

Some quotes that stood out to me:
pg. 314- "Americans have long regarded education as a cure-all for whatever ails the nations"
In defense of NCLB (the quotes are, not necessarily me)
pg. 319- "represent the resolution of the education reform movements of the 1980s and 1990s"
320- "might have found it impossible to pull together the votes to pass an education reform law if 19 terrorists had not flown airplanes into the World Trade Center..."
320- "teeth or enforcement mechanisms"
321- "pay more attention to certain children than they have in the past"
325- "It is extremely difficult for people whose salaries are paid with public money and who operate schools and school systems using public money to sounds credible when they object to standards and assessments"

Chapter 3
Summary and Reactions
This chapter talked about the economy and demographics.  What stood out to me was how the economy at the time greatly affects policy and school spending (no surprise there).  In addition, I enjoyed reading about demographics within the country and how the suburbs are increasing, urban schools get less funding as poverty rates increases in urban and close suburban areas to city centers, and how diversity is increasing.

Long-range trends in regards to funding were in three ways:  do more with less, do a lot more with a little more, and do a lot more with a lot less.  This puts the burdens on the school systems and private industry to education children through the system.  Chapter 12 said that many times education is seen as a cure-all for whatever ails the nation, but if there isn't an investment in education, how can it cure anything?

I was interested in the pro-con debate:  should the schools teach all children a core curriculum?  I initially thought yes, they absolutely should.  When I thought about it more, I was thinking of a core curriculum like in a college setting, rather than a prescribed everyone do exactly the same thing in order to graduate.  I do think there should be some commonalities across schools and classes, but there needs to be some flexibility for students as individuals and for the community that the school interacts with.

Week One- Class Reflection

I just left our first class, and I am feeling a little overwhelmed and out of my league.  I feel like my viewpoint is a little narrowly defined, and I do not have the background that many of the other students have.

I chose to take this class because I knew it would be a challenge, but more importantly, I thought it would be really interesting since I don't have any background in educational policy.  I was hoping that my coursework in my Master's program would help, but I can certainly see a difference in this class with all doctoral students versus my cross-listed graduate/undergrad classes.

I am hoping that this course will push me to think bigger and broader.  For example, when we discussed critical incidents, my example was on my alma mater's alcohol policy.  I thought it applied well to what we were discussing, and it did, but the scenarios that my group members brought to the table were much broader and had more real world implications that a college's alcohol policy.  I think the difference could be that my group was mostly K-12 and my background is in higher ed.  Having a discussion with my group members was really beneficial for me, and I hope that I also added some value back to the group.

In looking at our critical incidents in general, we saw that the policies were all top-down and buy-in was not created before implementation, and how the policy would be implemented and reacted to was not also thought through or the reaction was not anticipated by the policy makers.  It was a good group discussion, but the discussion as a class was ever better.

While a little overwhelmed, I really enjoyed this class meeting.  It makes me excited for two weeks (I need to miss a week for work, and I hope I don't feel too behind when I return) and to push me to add value to the class discussion.