My Foundation of Education

1. Philosophy of Education

1.1. The philosophy of education that I align myself with is Pragmatism. The main founder of this school of thought is John Dewey.

1.2. Dewey's form of pragmatism included instrumentalism and experimentalism. One important aspect is to attain a better society through education. School essentially became a sort of community. In this type of thought, the education is based on the needs and interest of the child. Dewey advocated freedom and responsibility for students.

1.3. Some key researchers include George Sanders Pierce, William James, and John Dewey.

1.4. The goal of education from a pragmatist stand point is rooted in social order. School is considered a place to provide students with the knowledge of how to improve social order. School should balance the needs of the social and community on one hand and the needs of the individual student on the other. All of this considered, the primary goal of education was growth.

1.5. The role of the pragmatic teacher is not that of an authoritarian figure, but a ficilitator. The teachers job is to encourage, offer suggestions, question students, and help plan and implement the course of study. The teacher must also take care of the curriculum.

1.6. The methods of instruction for the pragmatist consists of several different things. Children should learn individually and in groups. Also, the should use the problem solving/ inquiry method to approach problems. Implementing field trips and projects are also an integral part of pragmatic philosophy. Tables in chairs are used that can be easily moved into groups are used. Individual study or group work is pursed.

1.7. Pragmatist usually support a core curriculum or integral curriculum. This means that all subjects relate to each other. There must be a balance in the curriculum of traditional disciplines on one hand and the interest and needs of the students on the other.

2. Schools as Organizations

2.1. The nature of teaching involves a lot of different things. Teaching is one of the most demanding professions out there.

2.2. Teachers play many roles including: colleague, friend, nurturer of the learner, facilitator of learning, researcher, program developer, administrator, decision maker, professional leader, and community activist. This is one major reason for teacher burnout.

2.3. Often times, the only feedback a teacher gets is from the students. Teachers have limited opportunity to have professional interactions with their peers.

2.4. Good teachers are creators. They take everyday teaching and make everyday a special event.

2.5. Some argue that teaching is only partially professionalized. They receive their income from one source. There is not much opportunity to deviate from what the school is teaching.

2.6. One aspect of professionalism is school based management. If it is to succeed, it must empower teachers by letting them make decisions on what curriculum to teach, how to discipline, and other academic areas of importance.

3. Curriculum and Pedagogy

3.1. I identify most with the social effiency curriculum. I agree with this mostly because it includes differentiated instruction which is very important in a classroom.

3.2. STATE SENATOR: Clay Scofield; STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Will Ainsworth; STATE SUPERINTENDENT: Tommy Bice; STAE SCHOOL BOARD REP: Cynthia Sanders McCarty; LOCAL SUPERINTENDENT: John Mullins; LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD: Judy Eldrod, BC Maze, Wayne Trimble, Susan LeSuer, Chuck Reynolds

3.3. I think the curricula should meet the state education standards. I also think that the curricula should include other things to help prepare students for real world experiences. We should make connections in what we are teaching to how the students will use the skills in the real world.

3.4. My choice of pedagogic practice is transformative tradion.

3.5. Transformative tradion believes in transforming the student in some meaningful way such as intellectually, creatively, spiritually, and emotionally.

3.6. Transformative teachers provide a more multidimesional theory of teaching.

4. Equality of Opportunity

4.1. Beginning in the late 1960s, parents of children with special needs began to put pressure on the educational system to serve their children more appropriately and effictively.

4.2. In 1975, Congress passed the Education of All Handicapped Children Law. The purpose of the law was to guarentee that children with special needs were properly identified and placed in appropriate classes, defined as the "least restrictive environment."

4.3. In the late 1980s, critics of special education pushed the regular education initiative(REI), which called for mainstreaming children with disabilities into regular classes.

4.4. The REI called for inclusion of almost all children into the mainstream, which many critics argued would result in chaos and inability to educate mainstream children effectively.

4.5. Today the field of special education remains in conflict. There are still controversies over REI and EHA today.

4.6. Too many students have been labeled and placed into special education classes, which causes lifetime limits on their educational opportunities.

5. Educational Inequality

5.1. Cultural Deprivation Theory is the theory that makes the most sense and seems the most realistic to me.

5.2. Theory was advanced by anthropologist Oscar Lewis.

5.3. Cultural deprivation results in educationally disadvantaged students who achieve poorly because they have not been raised to acquire skills and dispositions required for satisfactory academic achievement.

5.4. Cultural deprivation theory suggests that working class and nonwhite families often lack the cultural resources, such as books and other educational stimuli, and thus arrive at school at a significant disadvantage.

5.5. Critics of this theory argue that it removes responsibility of for school success and failure from schools and teachers and places it on families.

5.6. I think that schools and teachers are responsible for student learning, but students will not reach their full potential without a support system at home.

6. Education Reform

6.1. One important step in Educational reform is effective teachers

6.2. A Nation at Risk report is what got educational reform on the move in the 1980s

6.3. There were two waves of reform

6.4. By the early 1990s federal government got involved in the educational reform and created national goals for education

6.5. Government is still today trying to reform education to get it where it needs to be

6.6. I think that education and what we teach and how we teach it should always be changing because we are always learning new things

7. Politics of Education

7.1. The conservative perspective is what I identify most with and is the positive view of U.S. society. This point of view is that individuals and groups must compete in the social environment in order to survive, and human progress is dependent on individual initiative and drive.

7.2. The origin of the conservative perspective is rooted in the nineteenth century with social-Darwinist thought. It stems from the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin. "Survival of the fittest" is what comes to mind when Charles Darwin is mentioned, but we can't forget that who the fittest are depends on who can adapt to the environment.

7.3. Another important feature of the conservative viewpoint is the beliefs about free market or market economy of capitalism. Based on writings by Adam Smith and Milton Friedman, conservatism argues that free market capitalism allows for the maximization of economic growth and individual liberty wit competition ensuring that political abuses can be minimized.

7.4. Ronald Reagan was a conservative. During his presidency he supported a free market philosophy and argued that the welfare state policies were at the heart of American malaise. His philosophy stressed individual initiative and portrayed the individual as the only one capable of solving his or her own problems.

7.5. As far as my vision for education, traditional or progressive, I am a little of both. Traditional views the schools as neccessary to the transmission of the tradional values of U.S. society, such as hard work, family unity, individual initiatives, and so on. I think this is an important role of the schools in our country. We should teach students how thing s use to be and how things are now, but we should also teach them how to make things better in the future.

7.6. Progressive views the schools as central to solving social problems, as a vehicle for upward mobility, as essential to the development of individual potential, and as an integral part of a democratic society. I think this is important because we should be using our schools to teach our students how to make the world a better place. We need to give them the tools to this by giving them a quality education and letting them know change in the world always starts with just one person.

8. History of U.S. Education

8.1. I think that one of the most important reform movements was the movement for the education of women. Women were traditionally viewed as just the homemaker and helpmate to their husband, but the reality was that women had a lot to offer. Our world would not be the same today with all of the educated women.

8.2. Education for women was viewed as harmful and too stressful. Because of this viewpoint, education for women was severely limited for the first half of the 19th century. There were few females that achieved and education beyond basic literacy and numeracy. However, by the middle of the 19th century, a significant number of girls were in elementary school and being admitted to private school which functioned as secondary education. By 1820 the movement for education of women in the United States was making progress.

8.3. In 1821, Emma Hart Willard opened the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York. Curriculum included math, science, history, and geography. The Female Seminary sought to deliver an education that was similar to that of their male counterparts. In following years, other female reformers dedicated to education for women, such as Catharine Esther Beecher and Mary Lyon, also opened schools for females.

8.4. The movement for female education spread quickly through the Midwest. In 1833 Oberlin College allowed women as well as African Americans to enroll. In 1856, the University of Iowa became the first state university to admit women. Educational opportunities for women continued to expand from this point on.

8.5. As a side note, Athens State University was founded in 1822 as Athens Female Academy. It was an institution of higher education to serve the women in the community.

8.6. One historic view of education is that of the Puritans. They passed Old Deluder Laws, to keep the devil away. These laws chastised parents for not attending to their child's ability to read and understand the principles of religion and capital laws of the country. This lead to the theme that literacy was a means of teaching a Christian life.

9. Sociological Perspectives

9.1. The theories that I identify most with are functional and interactional theories. The functional theory starts with stressing the interdependence of the social system. Interactional theories are critiques and extensions of the functional and critical theories.

9.2. Functionalist often view society as a machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work. Educational reform from a functionalist point of view is supposed to create structures, programs, and curricula that are technically advanced, rational, and encourage social unity.

9.3. One of the earliest sociologist to have a functionalist point of view about the relationship between school and society was Emile Durkheim. He virtually invented sociology in education. his emphasis on values and cohesion set the tone for how present day functionalist approach the study of education.

9.4. Interactional theories feel that it is important to analyze things such as why gifted or special needs students are labeled as such. Also, it is important how communication takes place.

9.5. On effect of schooling on individuals is the effect on knowledge and attitude. The more schooling a person has, the more knowledge they will gain. Also, research show that individuals with more schooling tend to read newspapers, books, and magazines and take part in politics and public affairs. Thus, their knowledge continues to grow.

9.6. Another affect that schooling has on individuals is the opportunity for employment. Graduating from college leads to more and better employment opportunities. Academic credentials help students obtain higher status jobs earlier in their careers. Schooling definitely has a huge impact on education.