My Foundations of Education

1. Philosophy of Education

1.1. Existentialism is a modern philosophy adapted by many such as Jean Paul Sarte and Soren Kierkergaard. Strangely enough, Sarte was an atheist while Kierkergaard was a Christian. While they clashed on contemporary ideas, both support the main idea of existentialism which states that individuals must come to a decision of their own by making sense of the chaos they encounter. Individuals should be education according to their needs and how they must take on responsibility to impact the world.

1.2. Being an idea tuned to individual needs, the basis of existentialism is to help individuals in any area and find objectives as to how their problems should be addressed. In education this means that we focus on the cognitive needs of students and stress individuality so they can make rational decisions. It states that individuals are constantly changing and teachers are the liberators of the individual.

1.3. Existentialism states that teachers gain understanding of their own worlds so they can understand the perspective of the student. It states that teachers are enabling students to take risks and look at other perspectives. Teachers must encourage them to be introspective.

1.4. When it comes to instruction, existentialism prefers for teachers to personalize the lessons for all students. It states how teachers should focus on the different learning styles and children should be allowed to discover their own styles. This demands that teachers create a nontraditional environment in which the teacher is developing a "friendship" with the student. Basically the teacher is generating activities with all students.

1.5. Existentialism ideas can be traced back to biblical times but the philosophies dealing with education begin in the nineteenth century with Jean Paul Sarte. Both he and Kierkergaard. Kierkergaard was the founder who was opposed to the contemporary Christian ideas. He rallied against the scientific objective approach to where Sarte was trying to make meaning from a world engaged in inhumane behavior.

1.6. The curriculum of existentialism tends to favor the humanities. Existentialist feel that literature, art, drama, and music encourage personal interaction and move students to new levels of awareness.

2. Schools as Organizations

2.1. A person has their own reasons for becoming a teacher but it is the educational system and those who head it that decide who becomes a teacher. The No Child Left Behind Act, the act that focuses on the accountability of teachers, defines three basic qualifications of a highly qualified teacher. They must have a college degree. They must have full certification and licensure, and demonstrate content knowledge in the subject they are teaching.

2.2. NCLB had good intentions in targeting the unqualified teachers. Before it was inacted, many teachers were taking part in out-of-field teaching, which means they were taking on subjects that were not in their degree of expertise.

2.3. The nature of a teaching job is extremely complex. The teacher is not just teaching content. They are part of a community within the school that includes administration, collaboration with colleagues, community activist, and nurturer. This role switching is thought to be one reason for teacher burnout

2.4. One of the many problems with the nature of teaching exists as control problems. In the system of reform it has been addressed as centralization, bureaucratic efficiency, or teacher roles. The reforms have affected how much control they can have. What it amounts to is a rhythm of teaching or otherwise referred to as the "dailiness of teaching." Teachers learn to adjust schedules by predicting situations in their classroom.

2.5. Sometimes teachers fail to succeed or develop burnout due to a lack of autonomy or motivation. Teachers cannot teach independently and therefore their job seems less professional. They may be trying to fill so many roles that they develop a malaise. John Goodlad discovered a few findings that contribute to detrimental situations. They include a debilitating lack of prestige, separation of theory and practice, and stifling regulated conformity

2.6. Linda McNeil argues for more collaboration of teachers in order to truly nurture potential and create an influential environment. In her article "Contradictions of Reform", she states how reform has a tendency to create rigid rules and is designed only to control a large number of students as if it were centralized. But this standardized education only stifles creativity and teacher roles.

3. Curriculum and Pedagogy

3.1. I prefer a developmentalist curriculum in which the teacher is a facilitator creating instruction based on student skill and characteristics. It follows methods comparable to an existentialist mode of thought. It feels the need to develop a curriculum that will reflect real life experiences a student can relate to in order to understand the material. Unfortunately it has not made a great impact upon the education program save for the private sectors who feel individualized curriculum is most effective.

3.2. I come from a public school setting located in Franklin County, district 07. Many schools within this district operate within the same regulations that come from a bureaucratic environment. Although humanist and social efficiency characteristics did coexist at my high school. Gary Williams is the superintendent with the local school board members consisting of Shannon Oliver, Ralton Baker, Mike Shewbert, and Terry Welborn. Gerry Wallace is the state representative and Thomas R. Bice is state superintendent. The House of representative representative seat belongs to Ken Johnson and the state senator seat belongs to Jeff Sessions and Richard C. Shelby.

3.3. My approach to curriculum is that it should all be relevant and that all material is relevant. I feel that any material learnt it worthwhile but only if the student sees it as worthwhile and learns it. I feel that when using instructional methods it is a balance between guided and directed teaching as some researchers have said that there is integration of theory and practice. It is the Wraga-Pinar debates that have made educators think on if theory and practice should be integrated. Sometimes they have been integrated to where both theory and practice have been diluted.

3.4. I believe that the process of acquiring knowledge is transformative and helps students gain confidence, wisdom, self-awareness and content knowledge. We are to teach content knowledge but the purpose of school is to transform individuals for later life so I focus on the transformative tradition on pedagoic

3.5. Of course, we may not have total freedom when deciding exactly what content we are teaching. It points to the fact of how stratified school is in society. Ability grouping and tracking are used to determine which students can do well in a particular area. This only furthers achievement gaps and stratifies the school environment as students have no choice and input in what they learn. It is not an aware school. No progress can be made if the school's purpose is only staying in the same pace.

3.6. It is fair to say that there is a difference in what is taught in school and what is actually learnt. It depends on how curriculum is implemented which in turn depends on the individual teacher's instructional methods. But it seems that all the grouping done in school's to track student development is unreliable and biased. School's do not separate the effects of school and other outside variables. They track students but do not track the effect of the curriculum.

4. Equality of Opportunity

4.1. The Hispanic-American population in the classroom has significantly increased and unfortunately so has the gap between them and their white classmates. 17.6 percent of Hispanic-American students are likely to drop out of school. Although the gaps have been narrowed in recent years we must make sure we know the right characteristics that affect achievement and attainment. Hispanic-American Students still lag behind. Reading and Math scale score gaps can average around a twenty point difference.

4.2. The NACES has done various studies that prove race is related to educational outcomes. So what is the specific problem? Sometimes cultural difference is overlooked and so programs such as Head Start are formed to intervene. Head Start can help families in poverty be part of the learning experience and offer children extra resources the family cannot provide. So what do we overlook in the gap for Hispanic-American students? Language transition is often a major problem in determining placement or implementation of curriculum. This can be considered a cultural difference or deprivation.

4.3. Socioeconomic status is something that is being measured by officials when trying to determine what characteristics affect educational outcomes. When students' lives view education as nonessential then they drop out and employment opportunities decrease. Of course, Ivar Berg was the one who discovered that years of schooling and job performance ratings are related. So they may be perfect for the job but it is the credentials that give an application value.

4.4. Is School Segregation a cause of differences in educational attainment? Segregation can happen by de facto segregation but this separation can still hurt the students. Studies show that students in segregated schools have lower achievement. (Orfield & Lee, UCLA Civil Rights Project, Wells, Duran, & White)

4.5. We can look at certain elements of the Hispanic-American culture. The culture plays a role in the individual education but sometimes culture roles are misunderstood by the school. Hispanics immigrating from place to place to seek work may not be active in their child's education. Hispanics may bring their whole family into conferences.

4.6. So how does this all effect mobility? A certain amount of education will produce a certain life chance. But is it the school's characteristics that affect student outcome? Studies show that they can marginally affect a student. It really depends of credentials and how society respects it.

5. Educational Inequality

5.1. I believe that explanations that holds the most ground in describing the certain problems affecting academic achievement is the interactionist theory. It explores how the relationships or interaction of institutions in one's life or environment can affect their schooling. This suggests that it is not necessarily school funding, equitable opportunities, or universal methods of evaluation that influence grades. I feel that the answer may lie in the relationships within each of these areas. If schools center lessons on the student then they should look at students and individual aspects to solve problems.

5.2. One of the explanations to race, class, and gender-based inequalities coincides with this student centered theory. This explanation states that we should focus on the factors outside of school such as community, the family, the culture of the group, peers, and the student. This is a student centered theory. Many interactionists feel that educational inequalities are formed outside of school.

5.3. However individual characteristics can be affected by groups. Some professionals look for a multidimensional approach. We look to Persell for arguements. He outlines such an approach that states educational equality is the product of societal, interactional, intrapsychic, and institutional relations. This can be considered further proof that inequality is a result of differences among otuside and inside factors.

5.4. Mostly research has focused on the cognitive outcomes of achievement gaps. But we must look at the manner in which schooling is carried out. In the Coleman Report of 1966 it is stated that school differences truly do not account for lower educational achievement. Rather it is the differences among student groups.

5.5. One difference that supports the Coleman Report are called within school differences. These differences refer to the problems associated with curriculum tracking and ability grouping which are highly stratified and allow little room for achievement gaps to be closed due to the biased way they are used.

5.6. Perhaps we can consider both cognitive and noncognitive outcomes when looking for solutions. Research indicates that a variety of independent factors play a part in the achievement gaps. We should look as these factors as a whole. These student centered theories began in the sixties and seventies and remain a controversial topic today.

6. Educational Reform

6.1. School has been changing ever since its beginning but the major eras most remembered and still being seen today exist in two waves that occurred in the 1980's and 1990's. The first waved was more focused on changing student achievement and accountability. The report called A Nation at Risk outlined several problems within schools that were avoided. The second wave focused more on decentralizing control of the school in order to let individual school structure help itself. It focused on the structure and processes within schools. However both had common focuses: achievement, assessment, and accountability.

6.2. In order to reach educational excellence, we need to find the true problems. Problems in the reform process occur because analysis is focused on the wrong thing. Politicians like to take sides and say it is either within school differences or outside differences. But what kinds of reforms have existed? In the 1990's, it became essential for school improvement to be seen. First came the America 2000 which set goals for schools to obtain. Then Clinton's Goals 2000 was implemented to set up a systematic framework. Bush's No CHild Left Behind was a landmark in setting standards and enforcing accountability. Then Obama's Race to the Top was created to improve the still failing standards.

6.3. Outside of Political Reform, we look at school reform through different types of schooling. Which school is more effective? The public, private, charter, or magnet. This all relates to school choice. Statistics show that private schools outperform public schools due to the freedom of school bureaucracy and an individually oriented environment. However vouchers are becoming more popular, especially since it desegregates many schools now.

6.4. When we look at school programs, we think of programs like T.R.A.C.K.S. and funded preschool programs to aide in equal and equitable opportunities. But now we have work programs formed from school-business partnerships. Businesses see that employees come to work unqualified and unprepared. So now school curriculum leans toward occupational education. However I feel this is somewhat like ability tracking and stratifies society even more.

6.5. Some of the problems faced by our school's structure comes from poor teacher education. We tend to focus on credentials as proof of qualification but it seems candidates do not receive rigorous training that benefits them. Some reports reveal that it is the relationship of university-based teacher education, lack or organized professional components of teacher education, poor standards of entry, and more.

6.6. So what makes an effective school environment? Many politicians have many different perspectives but many do share common ground. School effectiveness research points out five major characteristics that make a school successful: high expectations of students, staff responsibility for student learning, instructional leadership from the principal, a safe and orderly environment, a clear and focused mission, and frequent monitoring of student progress.

7. Politics of Education

7.1. Conservative perspective is the emphasis on individual drive and initiative when it comes to survival and adaptation. Individuals together can help solve social and economic problems, although groups of individuals can be more detrimental than just one person.

7.2. Traditional values encompass areas such as family unity, hard work, initiative, privatization of schools, and freedom from government interference in schools. I feel that some of these values are considered "old school" and not given credit for working in the past. It is good to try new things but I feel the best way is to balance new and old

7.3. Individual capacity and social programs both have their purpose. Ronald Reagan was a believer in initiative and that is why he set in motion his supply-side economics. He believed that welfare politics only served to weaken individuals.

7.4. William Graham Sumner was a firm believer in laissez faire. He did not believe in equality sadly enough. He rather preferred society to be in constant competition so the more fit individual would rise. However I prefer the neo liberal perspectives on an occasional helping hand from the government. They see people as equal but certain situations deprive them of opportunity.

7.5. Charles Darwin and Sumner are both essential to the birth of the conservative perspective. The theories of the perspective were originated by Sumner and combined with Darwin's evolutionary theories.

7.6. Free market is to me, a fair way to ensure economic development and individual liberty. Work ethic is an important factor in labor issues nationwide.

8. History of U.S. Education

8.1. What initiates a trend or movement should be given credit. True, how it evolves and develops is important but its background is the catalyst for all the various cycles. The first movement which happened in a period of revolutions during the 1800's, was not specifically named. Though I considered monumental in the wave of reforms our educational system has undergone. It initiated thoughts about what education should be like and how we go about instructing.

8.2. Social mobility is defined as the movement of groups through a social hierarchy. In relation to education, downward mobility and upward mobility are most frequently referred to.

8.3. The Industrial Revolution is a major component in altering and controlling society and therefore greatly affecting the educational system. The First Industrial Revolution ushered in urbanization and diversified the population while bringing in more jobs. The Second Industrial Revolution ushered in technology. Having a purpose of preparing an individual for life in society, school revolutionized as well. But the new lifestyles faced by children in this time tended to presented new challenges to how instruction was to be implemented. Some needed hygiene accommodations and others needed cultural background knowledge.

8.4. Horace Mann's controversial ideas about common school were the first at developing an educational system for a mobile and diverse population. Perhaps Mann and his fellow reformers of the age were realizing that little equity among children in schools were hurting society more than hurting it.

8.5. The Morrill Act of 1862 was a landmark law that paved the way for public schools by authorizing the use of the public's money to establish university. Not only was primary education evolving but so was the idea of higher education.

8.6. Though the idea of equality of education was just beginning to take root, some traditional beliefs kept some out of the full range of opportunities. Women were mostly kept to "home ec" studies. African Americans were even more disadvantaged. Fearing revolt, most southerners forbade the learning of literacy.

9. Sociological Perspectives

9.1. I believe in the idea that society and school are interrelated. I do believe that social and school systems are interdependent upon each other, but I also believe that unequal opportunities still exist that create a social struggle. Therefore I believe in the theory of interaction. The more subtle conflicts that are seen that have been left unsolved result from a stagnate viewpoint from functionalist and conflict theorist.

9.2. Teachers can influence student consciousness, sometimes without being aware of it. Through socialization, students gain knowledge of what is expected in society. If teachers group students to according to status then they group them according to what society expects of them. The bad side effects that can come from this are segregation, gender stereotyping, or even social struggle. If ingrained in student subconscious for too long, it may carry on into their adult lives.

9.3. I feel an appropriate use of schooling to inspire individuals is contest mobility. Students do compete but on a fair playing field. They learn that success is gained by merit rather than social status. Then they have built self-esteem and become self-aware. By perpetuating this attitude for them to carry on we help shape society into a more independent and earnest society.

9.4. I feel that sponsored mobility is an inappropriate schooling tool to engage students. The motivation for them to work is focused on their rank, not their academic effort. We group students according to finance and status. This has been proven to result in low academic progress and workers with less qualifications. Those in unfortunate economic situations have curriculum choices decided for them. They are not assessed authentically.This is detrimental to a lot of values educators hold. In order to change society from a socially struggling one to a democratic and equitable one we must create a desirable educational environment.

9.5. An important term to remember when grouping students and determining their mobility is tracking. Tracking is the determining of student placement by inclination and ability. Unfortunately the criteria used is at times biased and inequitable. De facto segregation reinforces racial inequalities and certain stereotypes of genders and economic status reinforce unequal educational opportunities.

9.6. Sometimes unequal opportunities or unsatisfactory grades are results of inadequate schools. Some schools remain at an economic disadvantage and cannot accommodate every student with the necessities. Sometimes schools have already social stratified situations in which minority groups become ignored, such as the urban school environment.