1. History of U.S. Education
1.1. The Emergence of the Public High School
1.1.1. By 1940, 6.5 million students attended public school. This called for a structure in high school.
1.1.2. Diane Ravitch pointed out 4 main themes that were problems high school education.
1.1.2.1. 1. The tension between subjects such as foreign languages, sciences, and English literature.
1.1.2.2. 2. Colleges had different entrance requirements since different colleges required different plans of study.
1.1.2.3. 3. Educators believed students should study subjects to help them prepare for life, as opposed to traditional academic subjects
1.1.2.4. 4. Whether all students should pursue the same course of study or whether the course of study should be determined by the interests and abilities of students
1.1.3. The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education- 1. Health; 2. Command of fundamental processes; 3. Worthy home membership; 4. Vocation; 5. Citizenship; 6. Worthy use of leisure; 7. Ethical Character. These principles are used to help the educate students who are not college bound
2. Politics of Education
2.1. Conservative
2.1.1. Traditionalist
2.1.1.1. believe in self-government, taking care of oneself, one’s family, one’s property.
2.1.2. How far you progress is directly related to how much you want something and how hard you are willing to work.
2.1.3. Belief that free market capitalism is best for maximum economic growth and human needs for ensuring individual liberty. Taken from
2.1.3.1. Taken from the writings of British political economist Adam Smith
2.1.4. Social problems stress individual initiative have the ability to earn or not earn their place in world
2.1.4.1. Stressed during Ronald Reagan's presidency
2.2. Liberal
2.3. Neo-Liberal
2.4. Radical
3. Philosophy of Education
3.1. Realism
3.1.1. Key researchers were Plato Aristotle
3.1.2. Realists believe that matter or material world exists, independent of ideas
3.1.3. The goal of education is to help individuals understand and then apply the principles of science to help solve the problems
3.1.4. The role of the teacher should know the basic academic disciplines in order to teach their students the knowledge necessary for them to continue the human race
3.1.5. Realists support the lecture method of instruction to relay knowledge to students. Realists will also support an assessment for testing.
3.1.6. Realist believe in the basics for the curriculum. Realists see subjects such as, science, math, reading and writing, and the humanities as crucial for the student to master being apart of society.
4. Sociological Perspectives
4.1. Functional Theories
4.1.1. Stresses the idea of interdependence of the social system
4.1.2. Functionalists view society as a machine, where one part works with another to produce energy to make society work
4.2. Conflict Theories
4.2.1. Idea society is held together through dominant groups impose their will on weaker groups through force, manipulation, and co-optation.
4.2.2. See schools as a social battlefield, where students struggle teachers, teachers against administration, and so on.
4.3. Interactional Theories
4.3.1. critiques and extensions of functional and conflict theories and seeing the "big picture"
4.4. Effects of Schooling on Individuals
4.4.1. Knowledge and Attitudes
4.4.2. That graduating will have a greater impact on them having a better chance at employment
5. Schools as Organizations
5.1. Public School Structure of U.S. Education
5.1.1. Have 50 separate state school systems that decide the curriculum, qualifications for teachers, and safety codes.
5.1.2. In 2009-2010, the average numbers of students per school was 450 at elementary schools and 856 at the secondary schools.
5.1.3. All children are entitled to enroll in school at age 5 and are to remain there until they graduate at age 18.
5.1.4. The population is able to influence education by voting, attending school district meetings, and by paying schools through taxes.
5.2. Teachers have the creative ability to turn a lesson into an exciting educating adventure or make students reject learning altogether.
5.3. If teachers are to be professional they must be able to make knowledgeable decisions on curriculum, discipline, and share important ideas within the school.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Major Stakeholders in Marion County, Alabama
6.1.1. State Senators- Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions
6.1.2. House of Representatives- Rep. Robert Aderholt
6.1.3. State Superintendent- Tommy Bice
6.1.4. State Board of Education Representative- Jeffrey Newman
6.1.5. Winfield City Schools Superintendent- Dr. Keith Davis
6.1.6. Winfield City Schools Board of Education Members-Michael Box, Carol Dickinson, James Garner, Brenda Taylor, and Dana Peoples
6.2. My approach to curriculum
6.2.1. The mimetic tradition is based on the viewpoint that the purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students.
6.3. My choice of pedagogic practice
6.3.1. Didactic Method- relies on lecture or presentation as the main form of communication.
6.3.2. Relies on the assumption that the educational process involves the relationship between the teacher and student and that the education process of transferring knowledge from one to the other.
7. Educational Inequality
7.1. Student-Centered Explanations- That groups students have a greater impact on educational performance
7.1.1. Genetic Differences
7.1.1.1. That difference in school performance is based of biological factors in intelligence.
7.1.1.2. Arthur Jensen, a professor at Harvard, argued that African Americans were less intelligent than whites in a highly controversial article in 1969.
7.1.2. Cultural Deprivation Theories
7.1.2.1. Theory that working class and nonwhite families lack the cultural resources such as books, and other educational stimuli. This puts these students at a disadvantage at the beginning of their academic career.
7.1.2.2. Anthropologist Oscar Lewis(1966) argued that the poor have a deprived culture compared to middle class culture. According to his perspective, the middle class valued hard work and initiative. He then argued the poor argued rejecting hard work and initiative as a means to success.
7.1.3. Cultural Difference Theories
7.1.3.1. Associate cultural differences to social issues such as poverty, racism, discrimination, and unequal life chances.
7.1.3.2. Do not blame working class and nonwhite families for educational problems.
8. Educational Reform
9. Equality of Opportunity
9.1. Students with Special Needs
9.1.1. Beginning in the 1960s, parents of special needs children put pressure on the educational system to serve their children
9.1.2. In 1975, Congress passed the Education of All Handicapped Children Law (EHA). The purpose of this law was to guarantee special needs children were properly identified and placed in appropriate classes.
9.1.3. In the late 1980s, the regular education initiative (REI) which called for mainstreaming special need students into regular students. Critics believed this would hurt the "regular" and special need students because they could both not garner the attention needed to succeed.
9.1.4. Disability studies theorists argue today that the majority of handicapped children can be served in mainstream classroom settings.
9.1.5. The fields of neuro and cognitive sciences, argue that special needs students often need separate special education placement.
9.1.6. What is needed is a flexible, inclusion system that provides appropriate placements for students with special needs.