Why School Culture Matters and Strategies to Improve It

Why School Culture Matters I recently read a quote by Dr. Joseph Murphy, Associate Dean at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education, which really spoke to me. He said, â€Å"Seeds of change will never grow in toxic soil. School culture matters.† This message has stuck with me for the past several weeks as I have reflected on the past school year and look to move forward towards the next.   As I examined the issue of school culture, I wondered how one would define it. Over the past few weeks, I have formulated my own definition. School culture includes an atmosphere of mutual respect amongst all stakeholders where teaching and learning are valued; achievements and successes are celebrated, and where ongoing collaboration is the norm.      Dr. Murphy is 100% correct in both of his assertions. First, school culture does matter.   When all stakeholders have the same goals and are on the same page, a school will flourish.   Unfortunately, toxic soil can keep those seeds from growing and in some cases create virtually irreparable damage.   Because of this school leaders must ensure that creating a healthy school culture is a priority.   Building a positive school culture starts with leadership. Leaders must be hands-on, willing to make personal sacrifices, and should work with people rather than working against them if they want to improve school culture.   School culture is a mindset that can either be positive or negative. No one flourishes in constant negativity.   When negativity persists in a school culture, no one wants to come to school. This includes the administrators, teachers, and students. This type of environment is set up to fail. Individuals are just going through the motions trying to get through another week and eventually another year. No one prospers in this type of environment. It is not healthy, and educators should do everything they can to ensure that they never allow this mindset to creep in. When positivity persists in a school culture, everyone thrives. Administrators, teachers, and students are generally happy to be there. Amazing things happen in a positive environment.   Student learning is enhanced. Teachers grow and improve. Administrators are more relaxed.   Everyone benefits from this type of environment. School culture does matter. It should not be discounted. Over the past few weeks as I have reflected on this, I have come to believe that it may be the single most important factor for school success. If no one wants to be there, then ultimately a school will not be successful. However, if a positive, supporting school culture exists then the sky is the limit for how successful a school can be. Now that we understand the importance of school culture, we must ask how to improve it. Fostering a positive school culture takes a lot of time and hard work.   It will not happen overnight. It is a difficult process that will likely come with immense growing pains.   Tough decisions will have to be made. This includes personnel decisions with those unwilling to buy into a change in school culture. Those who resist these changes are the â€Å"toxic soil† and until they are gone, the â€Å"seeds of change† will never firmly take hold. Strategies to Improve School Culture The following seven broad strategies can help guide the process of improving school culture. These strategies are written under the assumption that a leader is in place which seeks to change the culture of a school and is willing to work hard. It is important to note that many of these strategies will require modifications along the way. Every school has its own unique challenges and as such there is no perfect blueprint for refining school culture.   These general strategies are not the end all be all solution, but they can aid in the development of a positive school culture. Create a team consisting of administrators, teachers, parents, and students to help shape changes to school culture. This team should develop a prioritized list of issues they believe harm to the overall school culture. In addition, they should brainstorm possible solutions for fixing those issues. Eventually, they should create a plan as well as a timeline for implementing the plan for turning around the school culture.Administrators must surround themselves with like-minded teachers who fit the mission and vision the team has in place for establishing an effective school culture.   These teachers must be trustworthy professionals who will do their job and make positive contributions to the school environment.It is important for teachers feel supported. Teachers who feel like their administrators have their backs are generally happy teachers, and they are more likely to operate a productive classroom.   Teachers should never question whether or not they are appreciated.   Buil ding and maintaining teacher morale is one of the most important duties a school principal plays in fostering a positive school culture.   Teaching is a very difficult job, but it becomes easier when you work with a supportive administrator.Students spend the largest amount of their time at school in the classroom. This makes teachers the most responsible for creating a positive school culture.   Teachers help this process through a variety of ways. First, they build trusting relationships with students. Next, they ensure that every student has an opportunity to learn the required material. Additionally, they figure out a way to make learning fun so that students keep wanting to come back to their class. Finally, they show a vested interest in each student in a variety of ways including attending extracurricular activities, engaging in conversations about interests/hobbies, and being there for a student when they are having a hard time.Collaboration is critical to developing a p ositive school culture.   Collaboration enriches the overall teaching and learning experience. Collaboration builds lasting relationships. Collaboration can challenge us and make us better. Collaboration is essential in helping a school truly become a community of learners. Collaboration must be ongoing between every stakeholder within the school. Everyone should have a voice.To establish an effective school culture, you must consider every little nuance in a school. Ultimately, everything contributes to the overall culture of a school. This includes school security, the quality of the food in the cafeteria, the friendliness of the main office staff when there are visitors or when answering the phones, the cleanliness of the school, the maintenance of the grounds, etc.   Everything should be evaluated and changed as necessary.Extra-curricular programs can foster an immense amount of school pride.   Schools must offer a well-balanced assortment of programs to give every student an opportunity to be involved.   This includes a mixture of both athletic and non-athletic programs.   Coaches and sponsors responsible for these programs must provide the participants with everyone opportunity to be successful Programs and individuals within these programs should be recognized for their accomplishments.   Ultimately, if you have a positive school culture, every stakeholder feels a sense of pride when one of these programs or individuals is successful.

Essay on Platos Cave - 1124 Words

The basic premise of Platos allegory of the cave is to depict the nature of the human being, where true reality is hidden, false images and information are perceived as reality. In the allegory Plato tells a story about a man put on a Gnostics path. Prisoners seating in a cave with their legs and necks chained down since childhood, in such way that they cannot move or see each other, only look into the shadows on the wall in front of them; not realizing they have three-dimensional bodies. These images are of men and animals, carried by an unseen men on the background. Now imagine one of the prisoners is liberated into the light, the Gnostic path will become painful and difficult, but slowly his eyes will begin to accommodate†¦show more content†¦Many want a vampire boyfriend, not distinguishing that its just fantasy not reality. I myself once became the victim of this imperfect reality, when I was in elementary school I used to watch many Soap Operas and soon I began to beha ve like one of the characters. It just goes to depicts the power the media, and movie directors have over us because they are capable of creating stories that many us cannot distinguish whether its a story, fantasy or reality. Some continue to live in that darkness of perception, believing everything they see on the screen, and never grasp true reality. To break loose of this imperfect reality, one must simply not rely on what they see on the screen and higher being, but rather inner consciousness, and individual autonomy for creating their own philosophical belief. In George Orwell novel 1984 the bases of Plato story of the allegory is depicted, in the city of Oceanian, the idea of false reality and world, thats created by the government of Oceanian for its citizen to perceive as reality. The cave in the novel is represented by the city of Oceanian, the prisoners is the outer party members and the inner party members is the fire that feeds big brother all the information he needs to control the mind of its citizen. The Proles represents true reality, they possess truth about the world outside the cave, or in the novel the world outside big brother’s control. In the allegoryShow MoreRelatedPlatos Allegory of The Cave752 Words   |  3 Pagesinterpreting Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave’’ in which is a representation that described a narrative of the society of people in before Christ years. I realized how there was a major comparison of people in today’s society that reflected the same prisoner traits as th e prisoners that were described in the dialogue. According to the Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave.† It described conditions of people chained at birth unable to function as independent individuals that were locked in a protracted dark cave. TheyRead MoreRhetorical Analysis of Platos the Allegory of the Cave2111 Words   |  9 PagesEden Scharer Darrin Broadway English III-4 5th December, 2010 From Darkness to Sunlight: An Analysis of the Allegory of the Cave Imagine yourself sitting inside a dark, damp, cave where the only thing you can see are moving shadows on the cave wall in front of you. You can’t move anywhere or see anything besides the shadows, and these are the only things you’ve seen for your entire life, so these moving dark images are the most real things you’ve ever known. At some point in our childhood weRead MoreEssay on The Allegory of the Cave in Platos Republic901 Words   |  4 PagesThe Allegory of the Cave in Platos Republic This paper discussed The Allegory of The Cave in Platos Republic, and tries to unfold the messages Plato wishes to convey with regard to his conception of reality, knowledge and education. THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE Platos Allegory of the Cave is a story that conveys his theory of how we come to know, or how we attain true knowledge. It is also an introduction into his metaphysical and ethical system. In short, it is a symbolic explanationRead MoreThe Void of Learning Explained in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave834 Words   |  3 PagesAfter reading Plato’s Allegory of the Cave I began to wonder whether or not others have encountered an experience similar to what Socrates described here. In the cave Plato conjures up the theory that humans and the prisoners in a cave have similar characteristics. One of the characteristics is that we are close-minded people until someone or something comes along to prove that our ideas are incorrect in some way, shape, or form. As humans we have an interesting way in which we learn things andRead MorePlatos Allegory of the Cave Compared to the Human Condition Essay1025 Words   |  5 Pagesfor reality and truth. This is the basic premise for Platos Allegory of the Cave, in which prisoners sit in a cave, chained down, watching images cast on the wall in front of them. They accept these views as reality and they are unable to grasp their overall situation: the cave and images are a ruse, a mere shadow show orchestrated for them by unseen men. At some point, a prisoner is set free and is forced to see the situation inside the cave. Initially, one does not want to give up the securityRead MoreEssay about The Value of Life in Plato’s Cave and the Divided Lines674 Words   |  3 Pages Plato’s Cave and the Divided Lines People must learn the value of life and the difference between living a dream and making your dreams come true. Being considered a father in western philosophy, Plato presented the Divided Line and Plato’s Cave to show the differences between the intelligent and visible world people live in; as the visible world being a world of one’s own reflections and shadowing’s, while the intelligent world is about the mind and thoughts. Plato uses a complex dialogue ofRead MorePlatos Cave And The Cave1622 Words   |  7 PagesPlato’s Cave We first learn about Plato’s cave in book seven of the Republic. In his book, Plato describes a conversation he has with Socrates. He tells Socrates the story of some men who had lived their entire lives in a cave. These men knew nothing beyond what they could see on the cave wall. One day, a man is freed. At first he rejected his new found knowledge of the world but, once he accepted what he learned outside of the cave, he could never go back to his sheltered existence. The cave isRead MorePlatos Allegory of the Cave1521 Words   |  7 PagesPlato’s Allegory of the Cave Essay One of Plato’s more famous writings, The Allegory of the Cave, Plato outlines the story of a man who breaks free of his constraints and comes to learn of new ideas and levels of thought that exist outside of the human level of thinking. However, after having learned so many new concepts, he returns to his fellow beings and attempts to reveal his findings but is rejected and threatened with death. This dialogue is an apparent reference to his teacher’s theoriesRead MoreAnalysis Of Platos Allegory Of The Cave864 Words   |  4 PagesOn the surface of Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† it is just a simple piece, but the main purpose of the piece is to explain people living in a world of face value and having individuals break free from the main idea to create a new sense of what the world is truly about. In here, Plato uses the writing style of allegory to encompass the use of imagery and symbolism to explain his purpose. He also uses very clever dialogue w ith constant repetition to represent a bigger idea about the philosophy withRead MoreExplain Platos Allegory Of The Cave1483 Words   |  6 Pagesquestions they raised. For instance, Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† is essential for philosophy because it answers the question of why should anyone engage in philosophy. This paper will explain Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† in both classical and modern manner as well as suggest philosophical topics for further inquiry. Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† is told through the lips of Socrates, Plato’s teacher, to Glaucon, Plato’s brother. Socrates suggests imagining a deep cave having a large room and a steep

Ethan Frome Essay Free Essays

Ethan Frome Essay Destiny can shape the lives of many different kinds of people, such as princes who are meant to be kings and the poor who know they will not have the opportunity to be wealthy. Ethan Frome taught me that it is human nature to follow the destiny and predetermined life patterns bestowed on us upon birth. In one of the earlier chapters of Ethan Frome, the author describes the gravestones of many Ethan Fromes before the main character. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethan Frome Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now It shows that Ethan will live and die in Starkfield, and he cannot change that regardless of what his aspirations are. Humans seem to have picked a spot and stayed there. A girl who grows up in a small town in the Midwest in a school with a class of one hundred, will experience the same lifestyle but through the eyes of a grown up woman. Even though this girl might have had dreams of living her own lifestyle, the barriers her destiny have formed between her aspirations and the reality of her predestined future. Life seems to be similar to a computer for many, as it is for Ethan Frome. One can type in a course for someone to follow, and it seems to never run off the tracks. Having a predetermined life does not always have to be about where you come from geographically. Even looking around Morristown High School, you can see patterns where, sadly, certain students do not have the same opportunities for success as others because of their past. The child of a well known cardiologist who lives in The Summit is given the drive and determination to learn as a characteristic from their parents, and it is already programmed into their life course. The child of an immigrant who is doing as much as they can to get by, might not be able to find that drive and determination as easily within themselves as the child who has been given those qualities from birth. On the other hand, there are those who can break those barriers. Every once in a while, you hear about a success story of somebody who fell off the life course but eventually found their way to a new and improved one. Those people are far to scarce. I will never forget a billboard I once saw in New York that read â€Å"Homeless to Harvard. † The picture showed a girl who looked as normal as a next door neighbor, but her struggles and accomplishments brought her to an ivy league school. Ethan Frome, Zeena, and Mattie Silver fell unbeknownst into the course of life that Starkfield Massachusetts had made. Cold winters and relationships forced them to stay on a path to mental destruction and misery. The story taught me that it is human nature to follow the set of rules made by the surrounding society. How to cite Ethan Frome Essay, Essays

Report (3) Essays (996 words) - Metaphysics, Philosophy, Idealism

In today's America, foreign policy is a hot topic that comes with a great deal of controversy, as well as many opinions and arguments. Most of which comes from an amalgam of the many events and circumstances that have taken place in this country as well as others. Terrorist attacks, wars, a new President, with that you have only began to slightly delve into the factors of today's foreign policy climate. When it comes to topics as such, or politics in general, people usually land on one of two sides. Idealist or Realist. The typical idealist will tell you that they believe in the power of good over evil. Idealist believe that the majority of humans have good intentions, and are good people inside and out. This said, an Idealist would completely disagree with anything even relative to a travel ban, or restrictions on foreigners. They believe situations like this are unfair, or unjust. I believe in Realism. Meaning that I understand that it is in human nature for people to act in their best interests, or act in accordance with their own personal morals. Thus, the situation is what it is and must be dealt with accordingly. We can begin with the evident history of terrorism within our nation's borders. Successful and unsuccessful, there have been many attempts on the lives and well being of our citizens. These attempts have come from many sources, and if not based in foreign countries, usually inspired by recruiters from other countries. It goes without saying that this needs to be stopped. As a realist, when there is a problem at hand, you recognize it, and deal with it. An outstanding majority of these terror situations have been caused by people and groups outside of our borders. A simple solution is to limit acceptance of foreigners that may have roots in the places these attacks have come from. To an idealist this is completely wrong. But as someone who deals in facts and facts only, this is the only way to protect our soil and the many people who inhabit it. The lives of innocent men, women, and children isn't necessarily something I believe we can take risks on, or be "friendly" or "politicall y correct" about. We can't continue to unknowingly accept future murderers and terrorists with open arms. We need to thoroughly screen people attempting to gain entry into the U.S.. It may inconvenience good people but that's the price we'll pay to protect our own. The same realistic ideals apply in relation to the U.S.'s participation in other people's wars and conflicts. As a realist, I believe we should be concerned with our problems and our problems only. In regards to safety, we draw more enemies and potential threats by constantly choosing sides or participating in situations that don't directly affect us. In regards to spending, we dish out enormous amounts of money in order to have a presence in these foreign lands or fight for other countries. An idealist believes that as a nation of power it is our duty to protect and serve others. Realism has led me to believe that this is untrue. We have to do for ourselves first and foremost. We have to protect our own first and foremost. Anything that can threaten that should be eliminated from our priorities. In all aspects, I believe that these entities we assist, will always be out for themselves and will eventually abandon, if not totally betray us if necessary. Investing in shaky bonds such as these can only do us harm. In terms of the War on ISIS, I believe we should continue efforts to infiltrate and destroy all entities whose identity is based upon a threat to our homeland. Realistically speaking, many groups including ISIS exist with a purpose to end as many American lives as possible. These groups become more sophisticated, trained, and experienced by the day. Any efforts we can put forth to tarnish their presence is much needed. The threat they pose is real, their past actions were real, and their existence is real. We cannot ignore or tip-toe around it. We have to face it head on. As a realist, I believe they will

Plato and Aristotle

Almost everyone has heard of the two great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. Few people though, know much about their life long achievements. Their own personal beliefs and philosophies. In order to understand them, we must fist examine the background of the two philosophers. Plato was born to an aristocratic family in Athens. When Plato was a child, his father died, and his mother married Pyrilampes, who was an associate of the statesman Pericles. As a young individual Plato had political ambitions, but he became disillusioned by the political leadership in Athens. He eventually became a disciple of Socrates. Socrates spent his time talking to people about ethical topics. He hoped by this means to discover definitions of the virtues, thinking that in learning what virtue is he would become virtuous and that this would make his life a happy one. He also hoped to expose other people's false conceit of knowledge about ethical matters, thinking that such conceit prevented them from becoming virtuous and happy. Socrates appealed to some people, but he repelled many others; he also came to be associated in the public mind with anti-democratic factions in Athens. In 399 BC, Socrates was tried on a charge of impiety, convicted, and put to death. Plato wit! nessed the death of Socrates at the hands of the Athenian democracy in 399 BC. By accepting Socrates basic philosophy and dialectical style of debate: the pursuit of truth through questions, answers, and additional questions. In 387 Plato founded the Academy in Athens, the institution often described as the first European university. It provided a comprehensive curriculum, including such subjects as astronomy, biology, mathematics, political theory, and philosophy. Aristotle was the Academy's most prominent student. During his life time, he had wrote many books towards philosophy, however The Republic is the one of more important work in the history of European thought. In essenc...

The History and Development of Inline Skating

The History and Development of Inline Skating There are historic ice skating relics that date back as far as 3000 B.C. But,  inline roller skates probably originated much later in Scandinavia or Northern Europe where ice skating was an easy way to travel short distances. By the early 17th century,  these early Dutch  called themselves skeelers  and skated on frozen canals in the winter. They eventually used a primitive form of roller skate, made by attaching wooden spools to a platform to allow similar travel in warmer weather. The first officially documented inline skate actually appeared in London in 1760. The progression from transportation to a substitute for on stage ice skating, to recreational skating, to fitness skating and eventually to inline competitive sports has been closely linked to the development of inline skate technology. Lets follow the developments and technological improvements that have been made to the original inline skates that lead to the comfortable and sometimes highly specialized equipment used by inline skaters today. The  National Museum of Roller Skating  was the source for many  of the historical facts in this article. 1743 The first documented reference to inline or roller skating was left by a London stage performer. The inventor of these skates, which were probably an inline design, is unknown and is lost in history. 1760 The first known inventor of an inline roller skate was John Joseph Merlin. Merlin was born on September 17, 1735, in Huys, Belgium. He grew up to become a musical instrument maker and accomplished mechanical inventor. One of his inventions was a pair of skates with a single line of small metal wheels. He wore the skates as a publicity stunt to promote his museum, and from the beginning, stopping was a problem. It is believed that one of his ballroom stunts ended in a dramatic crash into a mirrored wall because of this defect. For the next century, roller skate wheels followed the inline design alignment. 1789 The inline skate idea made its way to France in 1789 with Lodewijik Maximilian Van Lede and his skate that he called the patin a terre which translates from French to â€Å"land skates† or earth skates. Van Ledes skates consisted of an iron plate with wooden wheels attached. He was a sculptor at the Academy Bruges in Paris and was considered as very eccentric. In 1819 the first inline skate was patented and inlines remained until 1863 when skates with two  axles  were developed. These quad skates allowed more control and their popularity spread quickly in North America and Europe. The four-wheeled quad skate quickly dominated the skate manufacturing industry. Some companies continued to design skates using wheels in a line, but they were not taken seriously. 1818 In Berlin, Germany, inline roller skates were used in a ballet for ice skating moves when it was impossible have ice on a stage. The ballet called Der Maler oder die Wintervergn Ugungen: â€Å"The Artist or Winter Pleasures†. Ice skating was one of the winter pleasures simulated by roller skaters. No one knows what kind of skates were used. 1819 The Petitbled, the first roller skate patented, was an inline. This patent was issued in Paris, France, in 1819. M. Petitbleds invention had three inline wheels which were either wood, metal or ivory. He thought his inline skate would allow a skater to simulate ice skating moves, but the wheel construction did not allow it, and the wheels kept slipping on hard surfaces. 1823 Robert John Tyers, a London ice skater, patented a skate called the Rolito with five wheels in a single row on the bottom of a boot. The center wheels were larger than the wheels on either end of the frame to allow a skater to maneuver by shifting his weight, but the Rolito could not follow a curved path like inline skates today. 1828 Another roller skate patent was issued in Austria in 1828 to August Lohner, a Viennese clockmaker. Until then, all designs had been for inline skates, but this version was like a tricycle, with two wheels in back and one in front. He also added a ratchet to prevent the skate from rolling backward. In France, Jean Garcin got a patent for the Cingar. The name was created by reversing the syllables of his last name. The Cingar was an inline skate with three wheels. Garcin opened a skating rink, taught skating and even wrote a book called  Le Vrai Patineur  (The True Skater). Garcin had to close his rink because of the number of  skating injuries  to patrons. 1840 Monsieur and Madame Dumas, professional dancers, led a performance of fancy roller skating at Paris’s Port Saint Martin Theatre in 1840. The Corse Halle Tavern, near Berlin, featured barmaids who served the patrons on roller skates. This was needed due to the large size of beer halls in Germany at this time. 1849 The first successful use of a skate with wheels in a line was recorded in 1849 by Louis Legrange, who built them to simulate ice skating in the French Opera, Le Prophete.  These skates had major  problems because the skaters who used them could not maneuver  or stop.   1852 English J. Gidman applied for a patent for roller skates equipped with ball bearings. He had to wait 30 years to see them in use on skates. 1857 Public roller skating rinks opened in the Floral Hall and in the Strand of London. 1859 The Woodward skate was invented in London in 1859 with four vulcanized rubber wheels on each frame for better traction than iron wheels on a wooden floor. Like the Rolito, these skates had middle wheels that were bigger than the end wheels to make it easier to turn, but this did not fix maneuvering problems. This skate was used by Jackson Haines, the founder of modern figure skating, for exhibitions. 1860 Reuben Shaler, an inventor from Madison, Connecticut, developed a skate designed to solve the maneuverability problem. Shaler patented a Parlor Skate, the first roller skate patent issued by the U.S. Patent Office. This skate had four wheels attached by pins to a hanger which resembled todays inline frames. They offered a rubber or leather ring on the wheels to allow them to grip the skating surface. These inline skates never caught on. 1863 James Plimpton initiated  quad roller skate history. When he invented quad skates, they provided greater control than the inline models and were much easier to use. Plimpton put one pair of wheels in front and another in back. He put the wheels on pivots, so they could turn independently of the frame and inserted rubber cushions, so skaters could lean in the direction of their turns. 1866 The first Plimpton skates clamped on to the shoe, but improved designs used straps with buckles instead. Plimpton installed a skating floor in his furniture business in New York, leased skates to customers, founded the New York’s Roller Skating Association, introduced skating proficiency tests, operated roller rinks in the Northeast, and traveled to give lessons. Four years later, the proficiency test medals were being given out in 20 countries where Plimpton skates were used. 1867 Jean Garcin’s Cingar skate had a brief revival at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris. But, eventually all inline roller skates became obsolete after Plimpton’s â€Å"quad† skate became popular. 1876 William Bown patented a design for roller skates wheels in Birmingham, England. Bown’s design made an effort to keep the two bearing surfaces of an axle, fixed and moving, apart. A toe stop design that helped skaters stop rolling by tipping the skate down at the toe  was patented. Toe stops are still used today on inline figure skates and on most quad skates. 1877 Bown worked closely with Joseph Henry Hughes, who patented the elements of an adjustable ball or roller bearing system similar to the system used in today’s skate and skateboard wheels. 1884 Levant M. Richardson secured a patent to use steel ball bearings in skate wheels to reduce friction, and allow skaters to increase the speed with minimum effort. The invention of pin ball-bearing wheels allowed skates to roll with ease and made skating shoes weigh less. 1892 Walter Nielson of New York got the patent for a â€Å"Combined Ice and Roller Skate.† His 14-wheel skates had a patent inscription that suggested that â€Å"a pad of rubber, leather, or like material should be placed ... so that when the skater desires to stop, it is only necessary to press the pad ... against the floor or ground.† This suggestion for stopping pads was ahead of its time. 1884 Levant M. Richardson  gets a patent  for steel  ball bearings  in skate wheels. These bearings reduce friction, so skaters can go faster with less effort. 1898 In 1898, Levant Richardson started the Richardson Ball Bearing and Skate Company, which provided skates to most professional skate racers of the time. The end of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century marked the appearance of cycles-skates with structures similar to modern skates online. They were invented in response to a need to skate on all types of surfaces and were the first step in the development of all-terrain skates using rubber wheels or tires. Later in the century, modern inlines emerged. 1900 The Peck Snyder Company patents an inline skate with two wheels in 1900. 1902 Over 7,000 people attended opening night at the Coliseum public skating rink in Chicago. 1905 John Jay Young of New York City creates and patents an adjustable length, clamp-on inline skate. 1910 The Roller Hockey Skate Company designs a three-wheeled inline skate with a leather shoe and the rear wheel raised to allow the skater to pivot on the center wheel. This inline was made for roller hockey by the Roller Hockey Skate Company of New York City in 1910 with boots from the Brooks Athletic Shoe Company. 1930s The Best-Ever Built Skate Company manufactures an inline skate with three wheels positioned close to the ground. The original patents for Jet inline skates for ice cross-training were filed in the 1930s. An advertisement for them was published in a 1948 issue of Popular Mechanics. 1938 Christian Siffert, of Deerfield, Illinois, patents a design for an inexpensive inline skate, which could not only be used on sidewalks but also convert to sharp-edged wheels, on ice. The Jet Skate, the ad claims, is the only skate with brakes to stop quick. This claim was probably false since at that time several brakes had been invented and patented for roller skates. The Jet Skate brake looked a lot like todays heel brakes and was designed to be used the same way. Brakes have always been a design problem for skate manufacturers. 1941 Modern inline skates begin to appear in the Netherlands. 1953 The first U.S. patent for modern inline skates, created to behave like ice runners with individually sprung and cushioned wheels, was granted under patent number US 2644692 in July 1953 to Ernest Kahlert of Santa Ana, CA.  They appeared in the April 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics and in the April 1954 issue of Popular Science. An inline skate with 2 round, artificial rubber wheels, and no brake was developed by Rocker Skate Company in Burbank, California. It was advertised in â€Å"Popular Science† in the November 1953 issue and in â€Å"Popular Mechanics† in the February 1954 issue. The ads described them as quiet, fast and good for stops and turning. 1960 The Chicago Skate Company tries to market an inline skate similar to todays equipment, but it was shaky, uncomfortable and the brakes were not dependable. A USSR inline skate was made in 1960 with 4 wheels and a toe stop. It appeared to have solid construction and is similar to some of the current inline figure skates with wheel-shaped, front-mounted toe stops. 1962 A heavy-looking inline skate called the Euba-Swingo was manufactured by the Euba company in Germany. This skate was available permanently mounted to a boot or as a clamp-on skate. Euba-Swingo skates were rockered, had a front-mounted toe-stop and were used for dry-land figure skating training. Inline skates also made an appearance in the Russian movie КÐ ¾Ã'€Ð ¾Ã »Ã µÃ ²Ã ° Ð ±Ã µÃ ½Ã ·Ã ¾Ã ºÃ ¾Ã »Ã ¾Ã ½Ã ºÃ ¸ (1962) at about 9m23s into the film.   1964 An advertisement in a magazine shows BiSkates, another inline skate intended as an alternative for ice training. 1966 The Chicago Roller Skate Company manufactures their inline skate with a boot. The inline skate which influenced Scott Olson was a 1966 Chicago Roller Skate Company skate. These skates featured four wheels in a line with the front and back wheel extending beyond the boot like an ice skate blade, and they played an important part in the development of inline skating.In Germany, Friedrich Mayer obtained a patent for his inline skate. No one was interested at the time, because of the popularity of quad roller skates, featuring two wheels per axle, a canvas shoe and a stopper in the front.In England, the Tri-Skate developed, a skate with three wheels, high leather shoes and a stopper in front, and according to Dutch articles on this topic, as many as 100,000 pairs of inline skates (not necessarily all Tri-Skates) were sold in Holland and neighboring countries. This happened before the development of  RollerBlade  and should be considered a great success. The details of Tri-Skate origi ns are uncertain. The design is either American or Dutch, the frames were made in England by Yaxon (a toy producer) and the figure boots were made in Italy. This means that the skates were sold in those countries, too. 1972 In 1972,  Mountain Dew attempted to sell  Mettoys  Skeeler in Canada. This  three-wheeled inline skate  was developed for Russian hockey players and speed skaters. The Skeelers, another name for skating or skater,  were early versions of today’s inline skates and were produced in adult and childrens  sizes. Celebrities who tried them as publicity stunts included  dancer Lionel Blair and runner Derek Ibbotson, who had set a world record for the mile in 1957. 1978 Speedys, a product of SKF, were an inline skate that featured soft boots, a frame, and four wheels. Unfortunately, the late 70s market was not ready for inline sports and the production was discontinued. 1979 Scott and Brennan Olson, brothers and hockey players from Minneapolis, Minnesota, find a pair of Chicago inline roller skates and begin redesigning them using modern materials. They add polyurethane wheels, attach the frames to ice hockey boots, and add a rubber toe-brake to the new design. The modifications were intended for ice hockey training when ice is not available. After over 200 years of trial and error, inline skating is ready to emerge. 1980 Scott and Brennan Olson established Oles Innovative Sports which became  Rollerblade, Inc.  after selling inline skates with no brake at all to the hockey players who were the early adopters. The Olson brothers introduced a new skating phenomenon that has never been equaled in roller sports history. The proper term to use when describing this skating is inline roller skating or inline skating, but Rollerblade made such an impact that the name has become synonymous with the sport in spite of the fact that Rollerblade is an inline skate manufacturer. The modern style of inline speed skates was developed as an ice skate substitute and used by a Russian athlete training on dry land for his Olympic long track speed skating events. A photo of American skater Eric Heiden using Olsons skates to train for the 1980 Olympics on a road in Wisconsin was published in  Life magazine. The Olson brothers adopted and adapted the Chicago inline design over the years, and caused a public attraction to roller skating that has been hard to match in the sport’s history. The name Rollerblade has become inline skating to most people, overshadowing many other inline skate manufacturers and leaving out a lot of the previous history of roller and inline roller skating. 1982 In 1982, Scott Olson adds the toe stop to his inline skate but found that it didnt work well. 1984 In 1984, Scott Olson adds a heel brake to help beginners get over the fear of being unable to stop. Minneapolis businessman Bob Naegele, Jr. purchased Olsons company, and it eventually became Rollerblade, Inc. This was not the first company to manufacture inline skates, but Rollerblade expanded inline skating to include more than just hockey players by offering comfortable skates with dependable, easy-to-use brakes. This introduced millions to inline skating sports. 1986 Rollerblade, Inc., begins to market skates as fitness and recreational equipment. 1989 Rollerblade, Inc. produced the Macro and Aeroblades models, the first skates fastened with three buckles instead of long laces that needed threading. 1990 Rollerblade, Inc. switched to a glass-reinforced thermoplastic resin (durethan polyamide) for their skates, replacing the polyurethane compounds that were previously used. This decreased the average weight of skates by nearly fifty percent. In 1990, inline skate developers once again turned to efforts to find designs and materials that would allow skaters to simulate more of the ice and quad roller figure and dance skating maneuvers. Roller skaters discovered the competitive advantages of inline skates, especially increased speed. Skate designers also began to explore wheel sizes and frame alignment. However, the majority of the development during this decade was intended for ice hockey and ice speed cross-training for skaters 1993 Rollerblade, Inc. developed the  ABT  or  Active Brake Technology. A fiberglass post was attached at one end to the top of the boot and at the other end to a rubber-brake and hinged to the chassis at the back wheel. The skater had to straighten one leg to stop, driving the post into the brake, which then hit the ground. Skaters had already been tilting their foot back to make contact with the ground, before ABT, so this new brake design improved safety. Pat McHale secures the United States and European patents for  a multi-purpose inline skate in 1993. This skate design features offset inline wheels that create an inside-outside edge with lateral stability for control of edges that are similar to ice blades. In 1993, two other inventors, Bert Lovitt, and Warren Winslow work together to invent an all-terrain skate that uses 2 angled wheels. 1995 The Italian firm Risport introduced the 3-wheeled â€Å"Galaxie† figure frame and an entry-level cheap 3-wheels inline figure skate all-plastic: â€Å"Kiria† in white and â€Å"Aries† in black. Another model with a metal frame and plastic boot was called â€Å"Vega†. All of these inline skates were designed with toe stops. Risport also discovered that a flat 3-wheeled frame can behave as a rockered frame just by using a much harder wheel in the center, thus splitting unevenly the skater’s weight among them. Sporting goods company K2, Inc. comes up with a soft boot design which in most aspects of the sport (except Aggressive Skating) has become the most common design. This company also heavily promotes the soft boot design for fitness. By 2000, most skate manufacturers followed suit, although the hard boot is still preferred by aggressive skaters. Diederik Hol sees a bulletin board announcement that Dutch manufacturer offers a six-month research training into designing a clap skate. He saw an opportunity to develop something with the potential of setting new world records, and he used the project as a springboard for his career in design engineering. He graduated having worked on the Rotrax skate, a multiple-hinge frame that ensures a more powerful push-off and thus higher speed. John Petell, President of Harmony Sports Inc., contacts Nick Perna, a PSA master rated coach, to test a retrofit product they called the PIC. The PIC ® device attached to conventional inline skates to enable figure skaters to perform figure skating moves requiring a toe pick that was not otherwise possible on conventional inline skates. A French inventor named Jean-Yves Blondeau gets a patent for his 31-wheeled Rollerman suit (also known as the Wheel Suit or Buggy Rollin) in 1995. This suit is designed with wheels that are very similar to inline skate wheels carefully placed on most of the major joints of the body, on the torso and even on the back. 1997 Inline skates and skating accessories become a billion-dollar international industry, with nearly 26 million Americans participating. Lovitt Winslow file their first Patent Application for their all-terrain skate invention with 2 angled wheels. 1998 The collaboration between Nick Perna and John Petell results in the development of a  rockered  inline figure skate frame.  The final patent for the PIC skate was published on April 14, 1998. A total of  23 claims were granted by the patent examiner, but the key element to the PICand other similar skates is the toe pic angle which closely mirrors the pick angle on ice skates.  The jagged metal toe picks on ice skates are used to spike jumps  and assist footwork, and this inline skate has the same capabilities via the patented PIC.   The Rollerblade Coyote  skate was introduced in 1997 as the first true off-road skate in the industry. The air-filled tires were designed for shock absorption, traction, and terrain versatility. 1999 Lovitt Winslow incorporate the new LandRoller company to manufacture and market their new skates with angled wheels. Sportsline International offers Diederik Hol a chance to design a whole new product line of skates. After less than a year of dedicated thinking and drawing concepts, he designed what is now known as the Mogema Dual Box. 2000 Inline figure skating develops as an off-ice training tool for ice skaters and emerges as a competitive event in roller sports. Some manufacturers, like Triax/Snyder, respond by providing equipment options needed for figure skating. 2002 In November of 2002, after the first World Inline Figure Skating Championships in Germany, the coach of Chien-Hao Wang visits Arthur Lee to discuss damage to Wangs inline skates and request the development of a better inline figure skating frame. Three years after he made his first sketch, Diederik Hol convinces the Rollerblade World Team and others to use Mogemas at the World Inline Championships in France. 45 skaters won their gold, silver, and bronze medals on Mogemas. 2003 The prototype for Arthur Lees Snow White  Inline is complete. 2004 Snow White sponsors two Taiwanese skaters, Chia-Hsiang Yang and Chia-Ling Hsin, for the 2004 World inline Championships in Fresno, CA. Kadu, coach of  Gustavo Casado Melo  and Adrian Baturin, and Ms. Yasaman Hejazi, coach of the Iran Inline Figure Skating Federation, are among the first coaches to use Snow White frames. 2005 LandRollers  Angled Wheel Technology  breaks away from traditional inline designs with two large, side-mounted, out-of-line angled wheels that roll astride the centerline of the boot and maintain a low center of gravity. 2006 Wheel Anti-Reversing Technology was developed by Bruce Honaker to help new inline skaters by allowing them to keep both skates on the ground, and parallel to each other. This creates comfort and stability as momentum is gained. Fear of rolling backward on inclines is also eliminated. The device may be removed after skating skills develop. 2013 Brian Green and the  Cardiff Skate Company  offer an adjustable skate with a unique three-wheel configuration and braking system that is promoted as being more stable and more convenient than any other skate on the market. Flex Brake,  Ben Wilsons lightweight braking system  designed to fit most inline speed skates or fitness skates, Alex Bellehumeurs  DXS  Inline Skating Disk Brake  system  and  Gravity Master  calf activated  brakes from  Craig Ellis revive interest  in inline skate stopping technology.

Steps in Introducing a New Product in the Market Case Study

Steps in Introducing a New Product in the Market - Case Study Example This particular case was assigned to illustrate the notion that the success of a new product in the market mainly depends on the company’s ability to uphold customer demands as well as interests. In order to carry out successful research about product development, a four-step process can be adopted. The first step is idea generation which is followed by concept screening which is related to conducting surveys about the purchasing behaviour of the targeted people. The third step is related to product development and testing and this can be done through focus groups. The fourth stage is the quantification of the volume where the company estimates the likely sales volumes of the new product being introduced into the market. The other issue why the case study was assigned is related to the fact that the success of a new product in the market depends on measures that are put to satisfy unmet demand. The other issue is that a company should not be complacent after introducing a successful brand in the market. The company ought to be innovative so as to be in a position to keep pace with the constantly changing consumer trends. This helps the organization to stay ahead of the other rival competitors who may also offer the same products in this particular market. This entails that the company that has launched a new product should continue carrying out market research so as to be able to gather information about the interests of the consumers. The major challenge of launching a new product in a competitive market is that it may be difficult for the company to project realistic sales volumes that can sustain its operations. Over and above, it can be observed that a holistic approach should be taken when a company intends to launch a new product into the market. It is imperative for the organization to carry thorough market research so as to be in a position to satisfy the interests of the customers.