1. Philosophy organization
1.1. Supporting Staff
1.2. Project Sponsor
1.3. Project Manager
1.4. Developers
1.5. Primary User Group
2. Schools as organizations
2.1. School Processes - powerful cultural qualities of schools that make them so potent in terms of emotional recall. I believe that we recall our previous schools so well because we enter them at a young age and go to school Monday through Friday for 7 to 8 hours a day. We continue to go to school until we are 18. That is 13 years that students go to school, when students are within a certain school system and spend so much of their time in school while they are young, then of course they are going to vividly remember the school and the atmosphere.
2.1.1. Project specifications
2.1.2. End User requirements
2.1.3. Action points sign-off
2.2. Student Composition - The variety of racial composition within schools. This talks about the wide variety of different races and cultures within school systems. While some may have little to no differences within race in a certain school system, others may be extremely diverse in the race and culture aspect.
2.2.1. Define actions as necessary
2.3. Degree of "Openness" - referred to as the "common school". Students are expected to enter school at the age of 5 and to continue going to school until the age of 18 when they graduate. The system has many opportunities to enter the school system, but few forced exits within it.
2.4. Governance - Most U.S. public schools are paid for by the revenue that is raised by local property taxes. Because of this, taxpayers within particular school districts have a substantial stake in the schools within their districts and are able to make their voices head through community school boards.
2.5. Nature of teaching - Teachers have to play the role of colleague, friend, nurturer of the learner, facilitator of learning, researcher, program developer, administrator, decision maker, professional leader, and community activist. Teachers have many roles they have to play and at times it can be overwhelming as to which role you should be taking on at a particular time.
2.6. Under-qualified Teachers - This is referring to teachers that teach certain subjects that they are not highly trained in. Such as a teacher that has taught English for x amount of years and then has to switch to teaching Math. The teacher hasn't been properly trained in the Math subject like they had been in the English subject. This leads to teachers being under-qualified.
3. Curriculum and Pedagogy
3.1. Modern Functionalist theory - I think that it is important for us as educators to ensure that our students are ready to take on the world and everything it has to offer. We have to prepare them to be able to handle society once they are on their own.
3.2. Pedagogic Practices- I think it is very important for teachers to be able to teach. I remember one particular Math class that I had in high school. The teacher would have notes done and problems already worked out on the board and we were to copy them on our paper and do the homework. She didn't show how to do any type of problem or explain anything. If we said we didn't understand she would say to look in the book. I will not be a teacher like that once I am in my classroom. Students need to be shown in order to completely grasp the concept.
3.3. StratifIcation of the Curriculum - I think it is good that we allow this within our schools. Although a high school diploma is the same pretty much across the board, it helps students move into more advance classes to put them ahead of the game for college or their careers.
3.4. Transformative tradition - I believe more in this tradition. I believe that we should not only impact our students intellectually, but also emotionally, creatively, and spiritually. Some students don't get any kind of other interaction besides the teacher during their day. We need to ensure we are making a positive impact on our students in every way possible.
3.5. What is learned compared to taught? - Teachers can teach to the best of their ability everyday for the entire school year. With that being said, that doesn't mean that every student learns everything or even anything. Some students don't care to learn anything and just do the bare minimum to get through the class. No matter what a teacher does in a certain age group the student has to choose to learn.
3.6. Multicultural Curriculum - I believe that we should have a multicultural curriculum. I don't believe that an all white school should just learn about white history and I don't believe an all black school should just learn about all black history and the same goes with other cultures. I believe the good and the bad should be brought out in all cultures and presented to the students no matter what their race is. If you sugar coat what white people did in the past and what black people did in the past how are our students suppose to learn what really happened and ensure that it never happens again? We shouldn't hide any part of our history from our students because that is what has made us thus far.
4. Equality of Opportunity
4.1. Class - Education cost money and when lower class families do not have extra money to put towards their child's school, then it is put on the back burner. Also, studies show that the number of books in each families home is related to the academic achievement of the children within the home.
4.2. Race - Society is still highly stratified be race. Among 16-24 year-olds, 5.2% of white students drop out of school, whereas 9.3% of African-American students and 17.6% of Hispanic-American students are likely to drop out of school.
4.3. Gender - In earlier times, Women were not aloud to have an education. It was simply put as Men can have an education and women could not. In the past 20 that has drastically changed. In this day and time, women are normally given an equal opportunity at an education just like men receive.
4.4. Special Needs - Years ago special need students were left behind and were not given much effort in helping them learn. In the late 1960s parents with special needs children begin to push the educational leaders to start serving their children better and giving them an education rather than acting like they are invisible. Since then, special education has thrived. There is so many things that educators do on a daily basis to help ensure that each child is getting what they need whether they have special needs or not. We now have specialized teachers and separate classrooms for students with special needs to help them better their education.
4.5. Coleman Study - The difference between schools and school resources plays a huge part in our students education. This study brought light to this. No, I don't believe you have to have a smartboard and projector screen in order to teach your students, but it does help. As technology continues to grow we are finding more and more things that can help make learning easier and fun for our students. We should always be open to new ideas on teaching and teaching methods.
4.6. Segregated schools - Over the past two decades schools have become increasingly segregated. Although they are no where near as segregated as in the 1940s, they are increasingly rising as the years go by. Studies show that adults that went to desegregated schools live a very desegregated life and encourage their children to do the same.
5. Educational Inequality
5.1. Genetic Differences - In my opinion, I believe we may have genetic differences. With that being said, I do not believe that "African-Americans, genetically, are less intelligent that whites." I do not believe this is true. I don't believe that your skin color affects your intelligence. There are plenty of highly intelligent African Americans just as there are Whites. They're are also very unintelligent African Americans just as there are whites.
5.2. Cultural Deprivation - I believe this plays a huge role in a childs education. When families can not provide books and other educational stimuli to a child, the child is going to learn as much as a child with these things. Thus, this puts children that do not have these extra opportunities behind once they begin school.
5.3. School financing - This is huge within the Educational system. When schools do not receive enough financial support, they are not able to give the students everything they need in order to succeed. The more the school can give to help teachers educate their students the more the students will be able to learn. Without certain resources, it is hard to give each child an equal opportunity.
5.4. Curriculum and Ability Grouping - Students begin to be put into groups defined by their ability very early in their education. Although I do think this is a great way of grouping our students, I also think it is good to put a variety of ability within one group. I feel this helps the students that may be struggling a little bit to see the other students that are getting it and making suggestions. I believe it will help the student want to do better and be able to achieve what the other students are.
5.5. Gender and Schooling - I believe that men and women do see the world in different views. I think that in pretty much any type of board, both men and women should hold places. It is good to have that difference in opinions and the way different people think through certain situations.
5.6. Schools Inequality - As schools try to separate students into groups to better their learning, I believe that sometimes they are holding certain students back. Just because a student does bad on something doesn't mean that they should be put in a lower group and remain there. I know in some schools students are put into lower or higher classes depending on a certain test score. This may be holding back certain students that could move on so much further, but are held back because of a test grade.
6. Educational Reform
6.1. Effective teachers - Students can feel if a teacher is truly dedicated to their job and want their students to learn. When teachers put off the "I don't care" attitude, that is what they will receive back. When teachers put all their efforts into teaching their students and giving them every opportunity to excel, the students tend to do so.
6.2. Goals 2000 - This was an initiative to help reform education by increasing high school graduation rates, instituting statewide testing programs, offering more Advanced Placement courses, promoting the use of technology in the classroom, and instituting new teacher evaluation programs.
6.3. No child left behind - A piece of legislation that aimed for no child being left behind educationally. It pushed for every child to succeed in K-12. It gave equal opportunity to each child and more indepth opportunity to the students that needed it.
6.4. Race to the top - The primary goal of this initiative was to aid states in meeting the various components of NCLB. The initial legislation provided $4.35 billion for a competitive grant program that awards states for improving student outcomes and closing achievement gaps by developing plans in the reform areas.
6.5. Harlem Children's Zone - Instead of taking the students out of bad neighborhood or school system, this aimed to change the neighborhood or school system into a better place. It worked towards fixing what was broken instead of taking the students out.
6.6. Full service and community schools - This aimed to not only have a school for the children of the community, but also the parents and other members within the community. It helped to meet all the educational, physical, psychological, and social needs of the communities residents.
7. Philosophy of Education
7.1. Pragmatism
7.1.1. key researches - This basically revolves around the students needs and wants. I believe that we should revolve the school systems around the wants and needs of the students, but not solely revolve around that. We still need set curriculum and standards to ensure our students are learning what they need to in order to continue on into higher education.
7.1.2. generic notions- This philosophy looks at the needs of the student as an individual. Although they shouldn't make their own curriculum, when the students have freedom in what they do and learn they are more likely to be interested and more cooperative in the learning experience.
7.1.3. Goals of Education - The goals of education were to prepare the students to live in the real world. It was to give them the necessities they needed to excel in the world they would grow up in.
7.1.4. Curriculum - This philosophy says that the curriculum should be surrounded by what the student wants. I believe that curriculum should be a standard throughout. I do believe we can cater to our students by intertwining our curriculum and standards with things that interest them such as animals or rain. We can make lessons that related to pretty much any standard and still relate it to a subject such as a Giraffe.
7.1.5. Method of Instruction - This philosophy doesn't lean towards one type of instruction. It embraces both small and whole group instruction.
7.1.6. Role of Teacher - I somewhat agree with the role of teacher within this philosophy. In the philosophy it says that teachers are not the authoritarian figure from which all knowledge flows. I don't agree with that because I believe our students need to know we are the authority within the classroom. I do agree with the statement that teachers must write the curriculum and have a command of disciplinary rules.
8. Politics of Education
8.1. Conservative
8.1.1. Individuals and groups must compete in the social environment in order to survive.
8.1.2. Free market or market economy of capitalist is both the most economically productive economic system and the system that is most respectful for humans.
8.1.3. Social problems place its primary emphasis on the individual and suggests they have the capacity to earn or not earn their place.
8.1.4. Traditional
8.1.4.1. Schools are necessary to the transmission of the traditional values of U.S. society. Value hard work, family unity, and individual initiative.
8.2. Liberal
8.3. Radical
8.3.1. Included
8.3.2. Included
8.3.3. Excluded
8.4. Neo- Liberal
9. History of U.S. education
9.1. Progressive Reform
9.1.1. Experimental Education - Teachers should be able to experiment and figure out what works best, in terms of teaching methods, with their individual students.
9.1.2. Education that grew with the times - teach students things that they will need to know in order to survive in the current world.
9.1.3. Needs of students - Each student should handled differently according to their needs. Curriculum shouldn't be taught at a base line with no room to excel or fall back for certain students.
9.1.4. Freedom and Individualism - Students and Teachers should be able to explore themselves individually. If students are able to individualize their school experience it is more likely for them to take something from it and not just go through the motions.
9.1.5. Child-centered education - Our students should be the center of the process of what we think is appropriate for the curriculum. We should teach our students to be individual thinkers.
10. Sociological Perspectives
10.1. Conflict Theroy
10.1.1. Students are separated into groups by abilities, not social class.
10.1.2. Schools and Society go hand in hand in a way. The more wealthy send their children to private schools while the lower class children go to public schools.
10.1.3. Although graduating from a private school may be more elite than graduating from a public school it is not because of what was learned differently in each school, but rather the power of the private school compared to the public school.
10.1.4. Different cultures put people in different social classes. Although each culture does have their own lower, middle, and higher class, the numbers between the three may be significantly different as you move from culture to culture.
10.2. Effects of schooling on students
10.2.1. I believe very student rich and teacher poor schools effect the students learning tremendously. When one teacher has 7 classes of 30 students it makes it difficult for each student to get the amount of teacher-student time they need. It is hard for the teacher to focus on having one on one time with each student. Time just simply doesn't allow for that. Learning comes more by a whole group setting where the subject matter is less detailed.
10.2.2. I believe teachers hold a huge effect on schooling on students. Teachers that do not care about how well their students do or if they learn anything make learning very difficult for students. When a teacher pushes their students and tells the students what is expected of them it gives the students a reason to want to learn and grow. Students want to please the teacher and do so by doing what is asked and trying their best.