Event Essay

Event Essay
Jake Mulholland
William Paterson University

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For this assignment, the event I chose to attend was a school board meeting in Kinnelon, New
Jersey. My Mom has been working in this school district as a principal for almost ten years now
so I have heard my fair share of various stories in regards to these events. Board meetings are bi
weekly meetings where both citizens of the respected town and all of the towns educators get
together to discuss a variety of topics, plans, and other concerns that are occurring on a district
wide level. This being the first board meeting I have ever attended, I got to observe and learn
about the culture that this event is apart of, as well as all of the nuances that come along with it.
It was interesting to see all of the factors that come into play when it comes to running a school
district. Everything from psychiatric evaluations, teacher pay, stipends, curriculum, and
approving student clubs were covered during this meeting. Among discussing these topics, many
parents and other members of the community were allowed to ask questions and or make
comments. While observing what was going on, the culture of this meeting began to present
itself to me. I would label this culture as being based around education. Every person that was
present for the meeting (aside from the educators) were from different backgrounds, but they all
had one common interest which is Kinnelons educational system. While I could tell that some of
those who attended had their child in mind, most were interested in what the district was
accomplishing on a wide scale level.

The first concept that applies to this meeting is intercultural responsiveness. Throughout the
course of this event many individuals were able to ask questions and make comments to the
members of the educational board. When various questions and comments were directed to the
board members, they responded in a certain way to each person. Considering the variety of
questions that were asked, as well who was asking the questions, played a role into how the
educator responds to the question. Intercultural responsiveness plays a major role in the world of

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education, being able to see and empathize with all different kinds of parents and children is
extremely important. Adapting to each individuals needs when it comes to the educational
system is in my opinion the most valuable skill for an educator to possess. Seeing all different
types of citizens and parents posing different questions to the board put it into perspective how
important it is to be aware of all the different cultures and beliefs people have when it comes to
schooling and all othering encompassing topics.

The next concept that applied to this board meeting is intercultural conflict. This concept stuck
out the most to me during the course of the meeting. While discussing the various concerns that
some had, conflict definitely came up regarding some of the topics. Intercultural conflict was
expressed during this meeting when members of the board of education, as well as citizens,
discussed or even disagreed about some of the topics that were presented. As learned in class, not
all conflict in various cultures is a bad thing. As the meeting went on, more and more topics were
covered with most being resolved by an explanation either from another person in the audience
or a board member. What I experienced was a by the book example of what I learned in class,
which usually isn't the case. For example, when the topic of field trips came up most were in
favor while one or two were still unsure of what side they were on. After hearing some of the
arguments for these trips, the one or two who were unsure ended up being fine with the trips.

In conclusion, this event was an overall positive experience for me. This board meeting did a
great job in regards to showing off the culture of the education in Kinnelon. Everyone expressed
great care and interest for education, as well as doing what would benefit the children who are in

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the district the most. The identity that this event gave off was one that was passionate for the
children who would be learning in the various schools in Kinnelon. The most memorable
moment that I had was definitely listening to all of the various topics that were being discussed.
Before this meeting I thought I had a good idea of what went into keeping a school district going,
as well as some of the smaller details that went into the system as well. After leaving this
meeting I was blown away by how much more goes into the this school system than I thought.
Overall, this board meeting was a very positive experience for me. While at times it was stale, I
did take away a good amount from it. I would without a doubt recommend going to a board
meeting if you want to learn more about the inner workings of a school district and to see what
really goes into it. The meeting itself is important to its small group of members for the reason
that everyone gets to be on the same page of what is going on in the school district overall. With
a district with a lot of stuff going on, it helps everyone involved feel like they have a grip and a
say on everything.