Educators and Administrators

Educators and Administrators

Manuel Salazar

December 20, 2018

Soc. 176

Introduction

For this project I will be focusing on educators and administrators. I picked this group because they are people who I admire and believe do a very important job in our community. My group also consists of many different people. Different ethnicities, races and genders. They all have different backgrounds but have come together collectively to perform this task for society. For my project I did three separate forms of collecting data. First I did three hours of observation with three different branches of my group. For my second form of data collection I picked three members of my group, all at different stages within the community and I interviewed them. My third form of data collection was through a content analysis. I found thirty articles about my group and pulled them all together to get the main concepts of my group.

Literature Review

        Qualitative methods in sociology is a multitude of research techniques and procedures that help sociologists understand society, and its views on the world (Ellis, C.& Ellingson L.). These research methods help sociologists get close to the group they are wanting to understand. This can be done in many different ways, classic interviews, participant observation, and life histories (Ellis, C.& Ellingson L.). Qualitative research has not been limited to just sociology but is used in many other fields of study such as; anthropology, communication, and education (Ellis, C.& Ellingson L.). Unlike quantities methods, which focuses on numbered data from surveys and polls, qualitative methods focuses on a different type of data, phrases from interviews and language, and behaviors of groups when doing observations.

        The two methods follow a similar scientific process of making a hypothesis, however qualitative hypothesis tend to be less formal and can have more options on how to look at and create a hypothesis. Qualities methods uses coding to transform interview answers, participation observation behaviors, and other forms of societal information to be able to

Understand the data. Qualitative research does not have to be transformed into numerical data, but it does need to be coded and analyzed in a way that is still scientifically able to test and prove a hypothesis (Ellis, C.& Ellingson L.). Qualitative research still adheres to the methodical procedures to insure ethical studies are done. According to Ellis & Ellingson these ethical procedures must never be waived so that a study can be found reliable honest and thorough. The writing styles of qualitative and quantitative research follow the same patterns. Taking out personal statements like "I" to make the author seem neutral about the research, data analysis and the results of the study (Ellis, C.& Ellingson L.).

        Methodological individualism is a theory in sociology that has been used for as long as the subject has been around. It takes a look at how individuals behave and interact with society around them. Daniel Steel believes that societies outcomes are all generated by individual behaviors and actions (Little, D.).  This theory is based on an "agent-centered" approach which means that each individual takes actions and behaves in a specific way that shape how society moves as a whole (Little, D.). This theory states that without individual thought and action society would cease to exist at all. There is a contradictory theory that is tied to methodological individualism, which is social holism. Emile Durkheim was the main advocate for this theory and suggested that there are factors that no single individual can cause. Durkheim believed that society is autonomous, and that there are social forces that have more power over society than individuals do (Little, D.).

Symbolic interaction is a theory that takes a look at the self. Psychologists and sociologists have a different fundamental belief and definition of the self. Psychologists believe that the self is a private possession based on ones personality, values, beliefs, and traits. While sociologists believe that the self is based on fundamental social factors. The self and symbolic interaction take into consideration of roles and statuses in society. These statuses and roles change as so does the person. A person can have a status of student and take on the role which would entail learning and following rules and directions given by the authoritative figures in the classroom. That same person on the same day could take on another status of father, where the role would be flipped and he would be the authoritative figure in the situation. Goffman states that the self is formed by imagery. This imagery consists of society, which is always changing and is a collection of interactions. Goffman also states that with society the rules and laws are made through interactions as well. Goffman believes that everything can be changed because society is always changing.

        Goffman discusses the looking glass self as well, this is another form of symbolic interaction he uses to discuss how people and society interact. The looking glass self is how others perceive us. The way that other people see us is the way that we play our role in society. Goffman discusses how these frameworks make us who we are.

Goffman also discussed the front stage and the backstage. A representation similar to a play, we take on roles for society and are expected to act in accordance with how society sees it fit, that is the front stage. We are told to maintain specific behaviors and appearance for the front stage.  The back stage is who we are behind closed doors, when society isn't looking at us and we are not being told how to act and behave (Cain, C). The two stages exist in itself without anyone being there, they are preconceived ideas created by society. According to Goffman when we step into these roles in the front stage we reproduce what the role means and therefor keep it going even once we step out of the front stage. The idea of a status and role are very important in the teaching of symbolic interaction. In class we discussed role taking and role making. Role taking consists of the agreement and coordination of one's role. It is something that is adjusted to fit within the expectations of society. Role taking takes practice, people practice by observing others who are already in that role. Role making are basically rough drafts for actions, they are constantly changing and improving with time. Another aspect of making and taking roles is aligning actions. This is what we do to smooth out a situation. This action consists of people trying to change the way people think about a role. Motive talk is something we use in symbolic interaction to explain ourselves. In motive talk we use accounts, excuses, and disclaimers to clarify actions and behaviors.

Another theory in symbolic interaction is breaching. This theory was created by Harold Garfinkel. Breaching is an experiment done that tests social norms. Breaching is a way of disrupting taken for granted realities in everyday life. An example of breaching would be standing facing the opposite direction of a door in an elevator. The point of a breaching experiment is to make the participant anxious. Being able to do this and study how people interact with situations can be very helpful for a sociologist trying to observe a group (Gregory, S.).

Methods

Final Exam

The first major qualitative method is an ethnography.  An ethnography is a form of research that calls for interaction with people in a specific setting. The  very first step in creating an ethnography is selecting a setting. Selecting a setting consists of who you are wanting to study (Warren, C. A. 53). An ethnographic setting depends very much on is being studied. An example that the chapter gives is when a student is doing a study on the rituals of the courtroom. There are plenty of areas within the courthouse but the best place to have the setting would be in the courtroom (Warren, C. A. 54). Making that selection of the setting will best setup the ethnographic study. Being able to nail down the setting will allow for better description during the ethnography. The chapter discusses how a location like the courtroom has so many options that for a student it may be too much to take on. But this could turn into a broader setting in the social world (Warren, C. A. 56).

Another aspect of an ethnographic study is the accessibility, interest, and cost to the

researcher. With a public group getting access is not very difficult, however the more private a group a researcher chooses the harder it will be to gain access (Warren, C. A. 57). An example of this is if someone wants to study an AA group, the chapter discusses how along with gaining access to this group would be difficult it would also be become an ethical issue. The cost of doing a study comes into play as well, in forms of money and time (Warren, C. A. 57).  This cost can be in forms of traveling from location to location. Depending on how far a researcher has to travel can impede on the entire ethnography.

The second  major qualitative method is an interview. An interview is another form of research that calls for in person face to face, over the phone, and electronically (Warren, C. A. 120). A main form of interviewing is a qualitative interview, which is intensive in-depth interviews. This form of interviewing centers on how life experiences have shaped the individual being interviewed (Warren, C. A. 120).  For this type of interviewing there are two types of interviews that are acceptable, face to face and over the phone. Research interviews happen only once, which are called single events. Qualitative interviewing is a form of research when studying large groups. It is also based on what your main research question is being asked ( Warren, C. A. 121). When conducting an interview the researcher is interested in the respondents biography and personal accounts (Warren, C. A. 122). An interview is more structured than the other qualitative research methods. This starts with constructing interview questions, the researcher is to form specific questions that will help them with their research question. Then second part is selecting a respondent. After selecting a respondent the researcher will have to audio recording the interview (Warren, C. A. 122). Interviews must have their research questions ready during the proposal stage of conducting research, the IRB will need to see what respondents will be asked (Warren, C. A. 123).  The questions must be formed in such a way that it feels comfortable to the respondent. Easy questions should be the first few questions, the interviewer should work their way into the more difficult questions. There are alternative forms of interviewing. Even though qualitative interviewing is focused on one on one and face to face interviews. However, interviews can take place with multiple people and and more than one interviewer (Warren, C. A. 129).

The third major qualitative method is content analysis. This form of research requires analyzing forms of media. The following are a few examples of the forms of media used to collect data; visual images, magazines, newspapers, videos and films (Warren, C. A. 169). All of these forms of media surround us in everyday life. This form of analyzing a group is interesting because it analyzes the culture of a group. Magazines and advertisements are two main sources of content that are used as data (Warren, C. A. 170). These two sources are important because they depict what cultural ideas that a group is structured to be. Media is a key form of data collection because it gives examples of the types of appearances that a group is wanting to portray to the public (Warren, C. A. 171).  Studying culture is a big part of content analysis because it shows what the ideals are for groups. Sampling from documents is another important form of content analysis. It is important to be specific when collecting your data for a content analysis, some documentation is less useful than others when you are looking to hit specific aspects within a group (Warren, C. A. 173). A researcher should have a great understanding of the purpose and context for the group. Without having that deep understanding of the group a researchers content analysis will suffer. Another form of content analysis is using visual images. This form is used to get another perspective of social life of a group (Warren, C. A. 179). Visual content research is based on the fact that you see into a group, the world is seen and what better way to obtain an analysis than by viewing the group in action.

Ethnography

For these observations I went to three different locations for my group. For each observation I was met in the front of the building and escorted to the room the meetings were being held in. I knew going into my group meetings I was not going to be able to record my group meetings, so for each meeting I went to I took a pen and notepad with me. I tried to listen intently and pay close attention to how each person behaved within their group. I knew that I was being allowed behind closed doors, so I wanted to pay very close attention to how each person was acting. I studied what they said when they said it and how they said it. I believe that a person tone and timing has a lot to do with how a group is structured.

        The main concepts that I found between the three hours of observation were; ideology, status and role, role taking, front stage and back stage, and emotional labor. I think that by observing three different branches I was able to get a more well rounded observation of my group. There is no way I would be able to observe every single member at the same time because the group does not ever meet in such ways. I think that this was the best possible way for me to observe my group, having three different sets of people and three different time and locations and still managing to see how connected and uniform they all were.

Interview

I collected my data via in person interviews. For each interview I used my smart phone, I also made sure that my phone had a full battery charge and had the same settings on for each interview, to make sure I had consistency between the three interviews. My first interview took place at the teachers' school. It was on a Monday after class had been let out. I informed the respondent of what we were doing and the anonymity they had. My first interview lasted a total of seventeen minutes and seventeen seconds. I went into this interview with about ten questions. I knew that I would have follow up questions with the given answers so I allowed myself some breathing room. For my second interview we met at a little coffee shop on a Wednesday after I had gotten out of work, around 7pm. I made sure that I had as close to the same conditions as the first interview. I, again informed the respondent of what we were doing and the anonymity they had. This interview lasted just about the same amount of time as the first interview, seventeen minutes and two seconds. My third interview was with the administrator. Again I informed the respondent of what we were doing and the anonymity they had. For this interview we met in the administrator's office a few hours after school had gotten out. It was a Friday afternoon. My interview with the administrator lasted the longest, which I had expected. It lasted in total thirty-two minutes and seventeen seconds. During this interview the administrator went into so much more detail than the two previous interviewees. I expected that as being an administrator she had much more experience and had more to talk about.

        After conducting all of my interviews I feel like I have a much better understanding of my group. In hind thought I wish I could have asked more follow up questions and switched a few things. However, I feel very good about the data that I have collected. Data collection via recorded interview is a great way to collect information about a group. And having those one on one conversations with people gives me great insight to the group I have chosen.  

        I used Nvivo to analyze my data. I got the transcripts of my three interviews and plugged them into Nvivo. Using Nvivo I was able to dissect the interviews and come up with five nodes between the three interviews. My nodes included status and role, front and back stage, role taking, ideology, and ruling practices. Running a word cloud I found that the most commonly used words between each interview were, constructive, community, changing, and evaluate.

Content Analysis

For the content analysis I spent one week finding 30 sources that applied to my group. I started with the looking in the most public of places that follow my group. I searched news articles that had to do with my group. Fortunately my group involves informing the public of all sorts of events and issues going on, since it is a publically funded group they are advised to be as public as possible. I first searched on the school districts public website. I found a few articles but they were not what I was looking for, they were more focused on informing parents what was going on for their students.

        I was able to find numerous articles about what was happening within my group in the news. It was a great reference because it spanned many years and many different aspects of my group, from electing new board members to individual members excelling within the group and being a spot light to the nation. These articles also covered policies and issues within the group. I feel like it is important to look at the group without a positive lens. I took the good with the bad.  I also used articles from outside of my source that they use to help structure the group. It gave me many examples of why they perform in specific ways.

        After collecting my sources I put my transcripts into Nvivo for analysis. After reading through all of my sources I found that the five most recurring nodes were; ruling text, claims, framing, collective action frames, and grounds/warrants/conclusions. I then ran two queries for all of my transcripts. In the first query the most used words were, school, student, teacher, and work. In the word cloud that I generated the biggest words were, school, teacher, students, work, and positive.

Analysis

Ethnography Analysis

Ideology

        Ideology is the lens a person sees through; an ideology is something that can bring people together. It is a set of beliefs and values that connect people.

"From subject to subject the passion and concern for student's best interests was a mainstay for each one in the group. It seemed as if when one teacher said something that another would almost instantly follow up with positive reinforcement about the subject."

This quote fits into the ideology node because it is describing how the educators were working together collectively to find solutions. The passion and belief was there for each individual educator and it was seen throughout the room.

"I could see how everyone was on the same page. They were talking about multiple subjects and curriculum but one thing that seemed consistent to me was the shared ideology. From subject to subject the passion and concern for student's best interests was a mainstay for each one in the group."

This quote is another example of the group ideology. Seeing all the teachers working together and understanding one another and be completely involved even if it did not directly affect them was a clear sign that they were all there for the same reason and had the same beliefs.

"Once each subgroup had gone through their check ins the entire group came together to talk about curriculum that affected everyone."

This shows commonality and community through working with each other on the same issues even if they people are from different disciplines.

Status and Role

       

        Status and Role is something a person takes on in their group. A status in my group would be a teacher or an administrator. And the roles with the given status could change depending on which status is given. Statuses and roles were a big part of what I saw during my interviews. My respondents, when asked about the environment of their group gave me such great answers describing what it is like being in the group.

"I could see the older members taking the lead with the administrator who was the one clearly in charge. It did not seem that there was a strict difference between the administration and the teachers."

This was a good example of status and role because it was so obvious. Everyone in the room knew who was in charge and everyone knew which status they had and what role they were playing within the group.

"There was a clear leader at each table with the administrator leading them all. They started off with a group activity about restorative practice."

This was another example for this concept. It was a running theme during my observations that everyone knew who was in charge and who was leading the group and how people had accepted their own status and roles.

"I could see the older members taking the lead with the administrator who was the one clearly in charge. It did not seem that there was a strict difference between the administration and the teachers. As the first order of business came up it was targeting a specific group of teachers."

This group seemed to take the status and role more seriously than the other groups. It was more structured and a dominant and subordinate meeting. People still accepted the roles that they were given but it seemed to be bit more rigid.

Role Taking

        Role taking is when a member of the group takes on a specific task, either asked by the group or self appointed. Role taking can be adjusted to fit specific needs within a group.  It also is something that happens everyday, but at the same time takes practice to master.

"The meeting started with overviews of what had been going on during the week. They went by teacher to teacher and they discussed what they were doing in the classroom."

This quote demonstrates what the environment was and every one knew what role they had and when to perform the role.

"As the meeting progressed I saw some people taking leadership roles and others not. Role taking is something I saw a lot of within this group right away. The administrator was giving things out to the teachers and while doing so clearly showed me what status people had within the group."

This is another example of role taking. This quote demonstrates what and when roles are given to the members of the group. During this I did not see much resistance to the way roles were being given out.

"Not a single person was not involved. This brought me back to roles of these teachers, they really take on many while under the umbrella of educators."

This examples shows how when role taking is accepted and how smooth things can go when you have members who are committed to what they do.

Front stage & Back Stage

Front stage and back stage are concepts that people use in everyday life. Front stage is what we present to the outside world while back stage is what we present to ourselves. This showed up in my interviews often. Having an interesting dynamic in a school causes front stage and back stage to collide.

"It looked like the teachers all took a direction from the administrator, not only with what work they had to do but with their demeanor as well. As the administrator relaxed the teachers seemed to relax."

This quote clearly demonstrates how frontstage and backstage play a role in the groups dynamic. This is also taken on by the leader of the group. It seemed as though the front stage and back stage would be determined by one person in the group and it would go back an forth as that person decided.

"After most of the meetings business was taken care of the room lightened up and it felt like I was sitting in a room full of people who had been friends for years."

This quote is another example of front stage and back stage but in a different light. It seemed that they handled business and then when the easier subjects came up a different mood and setting came into place.

"The relaxation within the group while in a professional setting was interesting for me, even though I knew most in the group I saw them all as professionals, this was my first time seeing them outside of that lens."

This quote is something that surprised me, I think that because I had always seen these people in a professional manner seeing them relax and let loose was a type of culture shock. This also gives example of how people put on two different faces depending on where and who they are with.

Emotional Labor

Emotional labor is when people are in a professional workplace and have to suppress their emotions. They have to keep their feelings in line that are set by the organization and to show positive relations no matter what is happening to them at work or in their personal life.

"I noticed some people check out since it did not technically pertain to them. Others stayed attentive even though the conversation was not directed at them."

This example shows how emotional labor can be hard on a member of the group. They have to stay focused and string for so long that when they were in these meetings and something was brought up that did not need their attention they were easy to stop paying attention, taking moments for themselves to take a breath.

"I sat and listened to members talk about emotional stresses they had during the week. I saw that as they started to let out what had been bothering them they were able to relax more and I could see the stress coming off of them."

This quote was from when teachers were able to let out all of the emotions that they had gone through during the week. This screamed emotional labor and I saw it as a healthy release between people who go through the same issues.

"After everyone had gone around and talked about what they had on their mind they focused on tasks designed specifically for each grade to answer. The administrator gave them a question and the groups would huddle up at their tables work it out and come back with answers."

This group also did the same thing, they went around getting issues that had off their chests and letting it go. Holding emotional labor during the work week can be very stressful ad these teachers all rallied around each other with support.

Interview Analysis

Status and Role

        Status and Role is something a person takes on in their group. A status in my group would be a teacher or an administrator. And the roles with the given status could change depending on which status is given. Statuses and roles were a big part of what I saw during my interviews. My respondents, when asked about the environment of their group gave me such great answers describing what it is like being in the group.

"I feel like, sometimes I could be their friends. And I could talk to them, like, if they were my friends, or I could talk to them. Like, if they were like, my kids, or I could talk to them like a professional. It just depends on the day and the environment and the way our class is running."

This quote taken from my first interview gives insight to what type of roles an educator has to jump into on a day to day basis. For most people roles may vary between one to three in a full day. My respondent explained to me how she could go from being a friend, to a listener, to a parent, and so on in just a matter of a few hours.  

"what we were talking about, like, their break, kind of, you know, and they're like, you always listen to us, we want to know about, you know, like, tell us about you, like, you know, so that's when I start to bring in my personality, but I have found myself where I kind of bringing my personality too much where I'm like to chill, you know, like, like, Okay, well, I'm not their friend. You know, like, I need to be a teacher right now".

This quote also describes balancing the roles one plays as an educator. My respondent was explaining that the students want to get to know her on a more personal level and she wants that as well, but the role of educator and teacher has to stay present in the setting. She has to be aware of her status with the students and make sure she stays professional in the setting.

"I never would have identified myself as being a disruptor. And so because I see it as serving the benefit of children. I heard someone else say, Oh, I like the word angelic. disruptor. I'm like, Yeah, because you're creating that you want to disrupt these conditions, because the conditions right now we recognize are not working, right, right. If it was working, brown, and black kids would be doing better, right? And so we have to do something to break up those conditions in order to lead differently"

This quote comes from my interview with the administrator. It pulls at another angle of the aspect of role. My respondent was taking on a role of an angelic disrupter. She explained to me that this role was something new to her. Even in the many years she been in the group. As her status is an administrator she has to learn how to push the boundaries to make sure her group is moving forward and pushing the envelope. So to set an example she has to take on that role and push herself to better her group.

Front Stage & Back Stage

        Front stage & back stage are concepts that people use in everyday life. Front stage is what we present to the outside world while back stage is what we present to ourselves. This showed up in my interviews often. Having an interesting dynamic in a school causes front stage and back stage to collide.

" I have to express it to like, loved ones. They don't quite understand that. There's like, oh, like, you know, just kind of get over it. But like, how do you get over like, knowing that 11 year old is going to be homeless? Like, how do I get over like, 11 year old like, not having a parent bigger? And they're like, coming to me? Like, I don't know, it sucks sometimes."

I used this quote for front stage and back stage because of what my respondent mentioned. How she maintained front stage and back stage and how she keeps her feeling in check while she is at school but sometimes has to vent and let go of the things she sees to loved ones. It shows how challenging being a member of this group could be, it brings a new light to what they go through on an everyday basis.

"yeah, I think like, sometimes my colleagues and the teachers are a little older, so I'm mostly like a co workers to them, like a colleague, but the age I find myself treat them more like friends. Okay. And, like, well, how side conversations are, we're talking about, like, your personal life, things like that. So, like an aspect, it's different."

This quote relates to the node of front stage and backstage because the respondent is giving an example of how the members of the group break the front stage and backstage concepts during the work day. This quote also gives insight to what happens behind closed doors in my group.  

"Yeah, I feel like the professional front doesn't work sometimes. Okay. You know, so if a kid comes in, and, you know, he gives me attitude or whatever, a snarky little comment, right? I wouldn't be snarky back with him. But I'd be like, Okay, do you want like, say it again? Like, do you want to say it again? Well, you know, and they'll kind of look at me and be like, okay, like, I'm not gonna say anything, but, you know, I just kind of let them know, like, I'm not gonna write, take, you know, what, am I gonna take your attitude, like, you know, so, don't think he can walk into the classroom, but so, but I feel like that when I do that, it works a lot better than being like, okay, like, I'm gonna give you one more chance, or, you know, I'm gonna send you to the office because sometimes they want to be sent to the office, you know, so I feel like he can give them that."

This quote is especially cool i think. It explains how sometimes educators can't always keep a strictly professional front stage while with their students. Some people dont respond the best to that, so the educator needs to blend front stage and back stage to help better connect the group. The respondent also says that it is helpful relating to the students to be able to connect in a different way.  

Ideology

        Ideology is a lens that people see the world through, I believe that my group all have the same ideology. They all came into this field because of a shared love and interest to be educators. This shared ideology helps construct the main purpose of this group.

"The most rewarding part of being educator is when you're teaching the lesson. And so when kids when you're teaching a lesson, and then kids are able to go back to like, previous lessons and say, Oh, my gosh, this is like, you know, we read this book, and then they're relating it to like, the stuff that we're now. Yeah."

I believe that this quote is a great example of ideology, it explains why my respondent is in the group in the first place. The rewards of being in this group and why my respondent is so happy to be in the group.

"Uh, yeah, I keep it strictly business. Um, I do, but then other teachers will come in and try to, like, talk to me about this, honestly. Like, you know, like, no, like, I don't want to get involved in like, you know, that like language, I guess? Like, that's not the academic or worker or whatever language, you know. Yeah, like that."

This quote fits into the ideology concept because it demonstrates how the educators know what line to not cross. There are rules within the group and those rules are based on the collective ideology.

"totally that we have an obligation to ensure the public and our parents that are learning I wholeheartedly believe that. But I think that it's made teaching very difficult for teachers, because we fail to recognize their individual gifts and talents and strengths, because we only look at one measure"

This quote is really strong in identifying the ideology of the group. This is explaining why they do what they do and who they do it for. Being an educator is a task not many people can do and the ones that do it share this thought that they are bettering society. I also believe they are doing a great service for the community.

Ruling practice

        Ruling practice is the structural base for the group. It is how things are done, from structures within the group to structures in each subgroup. This are things that happen because they are known to be fact and the rule of the group.

"I feel like, sometimes I could be their friends. And I could talk to them, like, if they were my friends, or I could talk to them. Like, if they were like, my kids, or I could talk to them like a professional. It just depends on the day and the environment and the way"

This quote represents an educator taking on the role that educators have had for years. It is normal for an educator to make themselves more relatable to a classroom. They have to think on their feet because every day there is something different going on.

"I feel like it's more like pressure on me. Because I'm like, Okay, I have these two. So I feel like I'm in competition with them. Because one they're doing they're less as then they're like, Oh, you know, my kids did this. And my kids that they know this, you know, and then I feel like, oh, gosh, like, man, my kids to step up their game, you know, but yeah, I do feel like there's a lot of competition within the department. It's not like, like, main competition, but just when they're talking about how great their kids are doing, or then you kind of feel like, Okay, what am I doing wrong or right, not that I am doing anything wrong, but, you know, there's different kids different levels"

We see competition as a ruling practice within my group. It keeps the members striving to be the best they can because they don't want to be seen as the worst one. It is all good competition but it happens at every level in my group.

"I think that when we adopted Common Core three, there are three parts to education. So you have the state standards, it's what the state says is written and what we adopt that should be taught. So you have the written curriculum, the state standards, and then this you have the standards and then how teachers teach and then how we assess the written the taught in the assessed."

This quote is talking about actual ruling practice, something that is set in the core of the group. This is something that has been established and practiced and known to work. It is specific and gives a great example of why they use it.

Role taking

        This is when a member of a group takes on specific tasks that are needed of a group. Role taking creates coordination between members in the group. This can be adjusted to fit specialized positions in the group. It also is something that happens everyday, but at the same time takes practice to master.

"16 or 17 years. And I'm currently the president of (City) consolidated, which is representing school leaders and present unified that there's a level of recognition and I appreciate that my colleagues feel that I represent them well, when I have meetings with the superintendent or the head of human resources, and that my colleagues know that I'm committed to being their voice and in representing them around issues pertaining to student achievement or but as well as things like staff safety."

This quote shows how many roles one person can take within my group. This quote is from a member who is higher up in the group and explains why they take on that role and why being able to take on roles is so important.

"I was only looking for two volunteers per grade level six teachers at the to start new, all 12 primary teachers are they come to work every day loving math, excited to learn the coaches that they have now supporting them, I'll say, how's it going? They're like, Oh, my god, they're so excited. We don't want them to kill themselves by December, they're working so hard. And the coaches are saying to me, they're working so hard, they love it so much. They're further along than we thought they would be okay, in their implementation. Okay. So this positive energy is, is really building Okay."

This quote shows how when a group is determined to do good for the entirety of the group people will be willing to take on different roles at a moments notice. They all understand that roles must be taken and that they are all important for the group to succeed.

"honestly, say that I'm more like a life coach, or like someone that they can talk to you then an educator, like, yes, I'm teaching them the basic standards and like what they need to know. But I've had like instances where I've had students stop what I was doing, it asked if I could talk that they could talk to me outside just to express their emotions. And it's like, it's crazy, sometimes, like, the things they say, and what happens at home that we're so like, not aware of."

This quote fits to this idea because it shows examples of what educators can get themselves into on a daily basis. They know that the role they take one day may not be the same they take the next day. But all the same they are completely willing to do it day in and day out.

Content Analysis

Ruling Text

        Ruling text is the principles and rules that govern how a group is structured and ran. Ruling text structures ruling practice, which is the base for every aspect of the group, from its image to how each individual acts within the group. Ruling text can change in time which causes rifts within the group and ruling practices.

"First, many principals need to control what goes on in school. Principals are ultimately responsible. If I, as a principal, delegate or accept a teacher's leadership of something and it goes badly—say, staff development or developing the science curriculum—the superintendent isn't going to call that teacher. He or she is going to call me. So I have to be really careful about relinquishing control. And most principals just don't want to relinquish it."

Having control within in a group is a part of ruling text, it also aligns with the ruling practice. It is been known that the principle is the leader and the pathfinder for the group. It also deals with the hierarchy of the group. As the quote states when things don't go right with a teacher they do not go to the superintendent they go to the principle. This reinforcement of structure is a prime example of ruling text.

"And finally, schools have been co-opted by a business model over the years. We hear the language of business in school. I even heard a principal talk about "our product line here." Give me a break! By and large, the business model doesn't model leadership of the line workers—Toyota, Saturn, a few companies have tried—but mostly the job of the line worker is, know what's expected of you and do it fast and well. That business model does not favor teacher leadership."

This quote is an example of ruling text because it talks about the foundation of the group, and the structure it takes on. It references to other groups and businesses. But in the quote you hear the person trying to change that ruling text. This quote is defying the ruling text. For a leader of as group to break away from the ruling text and practices can cause some rifts within the group that could lead to a disaster but it could also greatly benefit the group.  

"One of the historical failings of teacher evaluation systems in the United States has been their reliance on the school principal alone as the person expected to observe teachers, mentor beginners, coach those who need help, document concerns and support processes for those who struggle, and make the final call on whether to recommend dismissal based on the assembled record"

Expectations have a big role in ruling texts and practices. When one person is overly expected to perform this can lead to stresses in the group which in turn hurt each member. This quote shows how the ruling texts have hurt the group as a whole. It is explaining how too many expectations have been put onto the leader and how that can cause structural issues within the group. If the leader isn't confident or overworked the rest of the group will suffer.

Claims

        Claims are statements that help make a persuasive argument. A claim states something that is not always believed as fact. Claims bring into light issues within a group that people may be avoiding. They often deal with social issues that need working from people within the group.

"Long before formal schooling begins, many students—usually from families that are considered educated and that have economic means—have early opportunities for literacy development. Unfortunately, other students struggle with literacy for a variety of reasons. Some are considered unready for school or speak a language other than English. Others have identified disabilities or are impoverished or homeless. By tradition, these students are likely to receive special education, Title I, or English language learner (ELL) interventions."

This quote is a great example of a claim. It is discussing the subject of students who are struggling with literacy development. This is an issue that a group member believes to be a problem not only for the student but for the members of the group as well. Along with the claims provided in this.

"Creativity is risky. It takes courage. Revolutionary artists such as Henri Matisse recognized this about creativity. But you don't have to be a famous artist to understand that creative expression, while often beneficial to oneself and others, comes with its share of hazards."

This quote is also a claim, it is a bit different claim, one that challenges educators to make creative risks in order to better their group. This claim supports a new way of thinking within the group. Claims like this one are beneficial to the group, they provide a different aspect and new light to a situation.

"That's part of what the goal is for the dream center is-- to provide a legal path toward citizenship--it's to support DACA students make sure they get registered and to give community members information," said Superintendent ."

This statements claim is about a new program for students. It followed another quote opposing DACA. This claim is in retaliation of a wrongful doing. Stating that the group is going to help students who need protections. It is a subject that is already in the spotlight but was taking fire from people who opposed it. This social issue is one that my group has been very focused on fixing.

Framing

        To frame something is to put into a new perspective that is easier to understand, or that can be more relatable. Framing provides structure for groups.

"There are problems, of course; no school is perfect (not even mine!). The major problems are visible to everyone. Perhaps student achievement must rise, there need to be fewer disciplinary actions, and we need to make our cafeteria a less threatening place. These concerns may have been the topic of the August inservice training, discussed at faculty or board meetings, or even noted in the local newspaper or social media. They are part of the community consciousness."

This quote is framing disciplining issues of students into a collective problem so that the members of the group may understand it. It is taking an issue that is apparent but too broad and focuses it to one specific area and one specific time. Being able to frame it this way allows easy understanding of the whole issue at hand. Discipline has been an issue for this group and with the technologies people have nowadays it is very easy for perceptions of what is going on inside of the group to be altered negatively. So to battle back that perspective they must change the frame into something that is easy to grasp and can be worked out.

"This teacher, understood that outside of school, his students were listening to music, playing video games, and watching movies, television shows, and YouTube clips (among other forms of entertainment). He also realized that many of them were engaged in various arts in their out-of-school lives: participating in plays at their church or community center, drawing and painting, and creating music with their friends, for instance. Some of the students were engaged in these activities almost nonstop when they weren't in school. Rather than disregarding or working against his students' outside interests and practices, which is common in too many schools, this teacher welcomed them into the classroom. He used every opportunity he could find to talk with his students, either one-on-one or in groups, about the things that gave them joy, which tended to be linked to their interests"

In this quote we see an educator realizing his surroundings and his students, what they do and what they would be able to understand. He then realizes he needs to reframe his methods of teaching to best fit his students so they can succeed. Framing can be useful in many situations. This educator saw that being able to relate to his students was going to be the most beneficial to the group so he framed it in a way that everyone would have a better understanding.

"Traditional teacher leaders function in traditional ways, usually through the time-honored roles of department chair and grade-level chair. But with educators being held accountable for higher and higher student outcomes, schools need to make a major shift from traditional teacher leadership to shared leadership. Principals can no longer lead instructional reform alone: The voice and expertise of teachers are essential to improve teaching and learning."

This quote talks about how the entire structure is going to have to be framed differently. The current system is not working and the burden is too heavy so educators are having to reframe the thought process of leadership. When this is done well a transition of power can be smooth and when framed correctly the entire group would be on the same page. Framing this issue in a way that is constructive also helps with group moral about the issue.

Collective Action Frames

        This nodes main idea is about media and perceptions of reality. This concept also deals with how the group reacts to whatever is in the media or perspective that is given.

       

"President Trump's recent decision to end DACA has left much uncertainty for many school campuses across the U.S. -- including here locally. In a show of support for its students -- School District unveiled its new dream resource center for undocumented immigrants on Wednesday."

This quote fits into the collective action frame because of its over casting into the community my group serves. My group and the people they serve took an attack from a person in the media with a lot of power, and the leader of the group stepped up and reinsured where my group stands. They all collectively came together to show what they are working collectively for.

"As educators work to build impactful, sustainable relationships with students and co-construct classroom spaces of respect and reciprocity,1  they might consider gaining a deeper knowledge of students' outside interests and working those interests into lessons or using them to enhance the classroom climate. Today's students are passionate about music (of all kinds), TV shows and streaming series that feature characters they can relate to, magazines like Teen and Seventeen, comic books and graphic novels, video games, and sports. We should be reading and watching what students are interested in, and trying to connect to those interests inside of school."

This quote works towards a collective action frame by again realizing that the group is changing and that reevaluating the way they frame their work they can better serve the community. This quote also describes how it is collective because the issue is something that is affecting every member of the group.

"The normal tools of interpretation and comfort seem to be gone. Who would think that in a caring, thoughtful democracy, we needed a large political movement to remind police officers—and all citizens—of the simple truth that black lives matter? Who would think that when a police officer was asked why he shot an autistic man's caretaker—who was lying with his hands in the air asking officers not to shoot—he'd answer, "I don't know" (Rabin, 2016)?"

Grounds, Warrants, Conclusions

        Grounds are assertions of what is known as fact and argue conditions. Warrants justify taking action on issues. They also explain why something should be done to help the issue. Conclusions are statements about what should be done and what action needs to take place to fix the issues.

"That's part of what the goal is for the dream center is-- to provide a legal path toward citizenship--it's to support DACA students make sure they get registered and to give community members information," said Superintendent ."

This quote is a conclusion, it is dealing with an issue of dreamers and DACA being dismembered. This is the taking action part of this node. Grounds and warrants had been made and the superintendent explained how the issue at hand is being fixed.  

"Is this a promising time for teacher leadership? As someone who's been in education for 50 years, serving as both a teacher and a principal, I've found that it's always been a promising time for teacher leadership. It's just never been a successful time. It's never happened on a wider scale."

This quote is a ground. It is explaining assertions of what is known by the group. But it also argues the current conditions that are in place. It also shows supportive evidence of why this ground is to be true.

"So, why don't we bring more play into our work with colleagues?

I can think of three reasons why educators might shy away from play: First, there's the weighty moral imperative of educating all children. The work that teachers and administrators do is urgent and the impact consequential. Some educators may respond to this sense of responsibility with all-consuming seriousness, believing there is no room to play in this substantial endeavor."

This quote is a warrant. It is justifying taking action to fix an issue within the group. This quote also explains what will help the issue be resolved. Introducing new theories and methods into the group will help move forward the issue into being resolved.

Conclusion

In conclusion this project has been very eye opening to the group that I chose. Educators are such a fascinating group of people to study. The fact that so many people with so many backgrounds can come together to make the world a better place is amazing. Being able to dive into this group has been one of the most interesting things I have done. Taking the three qualitative research methods and applying them into studying my group was a test but each of them let me see the group in a different light. Seeing the concepts talked about in class come to life in a group was very interesting to me.

References

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Little, D. (2010). Methodological individualism. In M. Bevir (Ed.), Encyclopedia of political theory (pp. 881-883). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412958660.n283

Cain, Cindy L. "Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion: Identities and Presentations of Self in the Front and Back Regions of Hospice." Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion: Identities and Presentations of Self in the Front and Back Regions of Hospice, vol. 4, no. 6, 2012, pp. 668–694., doi:10.1177/0891241612458122.

Gregory, S. (1982). Accounts as Assembled from Breaching Experiments. Symbolic Interaction, 5(1), 49-63. doi:10.1525/si.1982.5.1.49

Warren, C. A., & Karner, T. X. (2014). Discovering Qualitative Methods: Ethnography, Interviews, Documents, and Images(Third ed.).