why are foundations of education necessary if one is to become a school administrator?

Answer 1

as the course indicates, foundations of education. the course gives a future educator a background of the education, the development of education, the founders of the various approaches, the philosophical background, historical background, who are the pioneers in the field, what are the various fields of education.

learning all these will give you a good idea of education as an area of study. all other courses are anchored on your good working knowledge of the foundations of education.

the course is not only for teachers, its also for school administrators. how can you perform excellently as an administrator if you do not know how the whole area od education work? to become a good administrator, you must know what goes on on the front line, understand how the teaching profession work.

Answer 2

A few reasons: one, the best administrators have been teachers too. Very few people have become administrators without being a teacher for at least a couple of years. Second, you would be dealing with students who have trouble in one form or another--why else are they sent to the principal's office?--so some of the theory would be helpful, too. I didn't want to take the class either but I'm glad I did!
Third, as much as nobody wants to admit it, it is part of the curriculum and there is no way I can see out but through the class. Finally, some states may have this as a requirement to be completed before you get your administrator's certificate.

Please let me extend my thanks to you for wanting to become an administrator. We are going to need a lot more good principals and administrators as time goes on.

One last thought: if you have ever served in the military, there is a program called New Leaders for New Schools, designed to prepare new administrators for urban schools (Baltimore, Memphis, and other cities, to name a few). Their website is www.nlns.org or gooogle for New Leaders New Schools and you should be able to find them. I received a few e-mails and was so, I mean SOOOO tempted, to apply but my current situation precludes that.

Answer 3

School administrators need to know how students learn and what goes on in a classroom. They also need to know how teachers teach (adminstrators complete observations on teachers). The crappiest administrators are those with little to no classroom experience.