1. Politics of Education
1.1. Liberal perspective
1.1.1. Liberal is primarly concerned with balancing the economic productivity of capitalism
1.1.2. Believe the richest members of society are given an unfair advantage
1.1.3. Social and economic needs of the majority of people in the US
1.1.4. All members of society deserve the same chance
1.1.5. Social problems stress groups rather than individuals by the structure of society
1.1.6. The need to minimize the differences between groups
1.2. Traditional vision
1.2.1. View schools as necessary to the transmission of traditional values of US society
1.2.2. Hard work, family, unity, individual initiantive
1.2.3. Pass on the best of what was and what is
1.2.4. Teacers are sources of information and authority
1.2.5. Learners are passive absorbers of information and authority
1.2.6. Learning is linear, with factual accumulation and skill mastery
2. History of U.S. Education
2.1. Standards movement
2.1.1. A Nation at Risk
2.1.2. Tightening of the standards, move toward setting academic golas and assessment.
2.1.3. No Child Left Behind
2.1.4. Parents right to choose between private or public school.
2.1.5. Charter schools
2.1.6. Standardized testing for student achievement.
2.2. Conservation Perspective
2.2.1. Diane Ravitch
2.2.2. Social and political objectives have harmed our education goals.
2.2.3. More culture influence needed.
2.2.4. Standardized testing has resulted in the takeover of public schooling.
2.2.5. Equal opportunity to succeed.
2.2.6. We have not met the ability to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.
3. Sociological Perscpectivies
3.1. Conflict Theory
3.1.1. Karl Marx
3.1.2. social order
3.1.3. Students battle teachers, teachers battle administration...etc..
3.1.4. "To their minds, there is a direct correspondence between the organization of schools and the organization of society, and, until society is fundamentality changed, there is little hope of real school reform."
3.1.5. Cultural and social characteristics of individuals and groups are significant indicators of status and class portion.
3.1.6. Schools pass on social identities.
3.2. Effects of schooling on individuals
3.2.1. Knowledge-more education more social norms, more political knowledge and public affairs knowledge.
3.2.2. Employment- schooling leads to better jobs, which leads to a better economy.
3.2.3. Tournment selection- winners are allowed to proceed to next round but losers are dropped from the competition.
3.2.4. Public vs. Private- private schools is a social mobility escalator.
3.2.5. 1/3 of income is a direct relation to the amount of education a person has.
3.2.6. Differences between schools in terms of academic programs and policies do make a difference in student learning.
4. Philosophy of Education
4.1. Genericc Notation
4.1.1. Concerns and behaviors that impact the lives of individuals
4.2. Key Researchers
4.2.1. John Dewey and William James
4.3. Goal of Education
4.3.1. Goal is to impact and nurture the growth of students academically and socially.
4.4. Role of the Teacher
4.4.1. To encourage, help,and question students. To plan instruction to meet the needs of students.
4.5. Method of Instruction
4.5.1. The general practices used to give instruction and management for the classroom as according to social, economic, and subject area.
4.6. Curriculum
4.6.1. Is based off the needs amd imterest of the students as related to the course of study for different subject areas.
5. Schools as Organizations
5.1. Lawrence County, Alabama educational stakeholders
5.1.1. A city is created by any population that has their own system of governing and a semblance of a legal system. Cities lie within a county, within a state. A county is geographically created for political purposes within a state. Read more: Difference Between City and County | Difference Between | City vs County http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-city-and-county/#ixzz43U0zao2L
5.1.2. School Board Members- Jackie Burch, Gary Bradford, Christine Garner, Dr. Beth Vinson, Reta Waldrep
5.1.3. Superintendent- Johnny Yates
5.1.4. State Superintendent- Dr. Bice
5.1.5. House of Representatives-Robert Aderholt
5.1.6. Senators-Richard Shelby, Jeff Sessions
5.2. Comparsion of city school system vs. county school system
5.2.1. From my field experience observations it appears city school systems can give students more options because of their ability to give more freely with money.
5.2.2. Lawrence County AL is able to provide students with a quality education with highly effective teachers, but money is an issue within our system. I love my county but would love for my own children to have some of the opportunities system with more money could give them.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Multicultural education
6.1.1. Beginning in the 1980's critics began crusading for the multicultural student. Key developers- James Banks
6.1.2. 5 dimensions of multicultural education 1. Content integration 2. knowledge construction 3. prejudice reduction 4. equity pedagogy 5. empowering school culture
6.1.3. Multicultural education meets the cultural needs and diversity of students that make up this nation's society.
6.2. Social efficiency curriculum
6.2.1. Pragmatist approach developed in the early 20th century as a democratic response to the development of mass public secondary education.
6.2.2. Rooted in the belief that different groups of students all have different sets of needs, and should receive different schooling.
6.2.3. This became the cornerstone of the new progressivism.
6.2.4. Person to thank-* John Dewey* I have a new respect for his ideas. His ideas most line uo with my teaching philosophy.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Coleman study
7.1.1. Private schools scored public schools in every subject area according to the study.
7.1.2. Study compared public and private schools and found that lower income students tended to do better than in subject areas.
7.1.3. Where an individual goes to school is often related to their race and socioeconomic background, but the racial and socioeconomic composition of a school has a greater effect on student achievement than an individual's race and class.
7.2. Special needs students
7.2.1. In the late 1960's parents of special needs students-both physical and learning disabilities began to pressure the educational system to serve their children more appropriately and effectively as other typical students.
7.2.2. In 1975, Congress passed the Education of All Handicapped Children Law. 6 basic principles of 1. the right of access of public education programs. 2. individualized services. 3. principle of the least restrictive environment. 4. broadened services and procedures. 5. guidelines for identification. 6. state and local responsiblilites.
7.2.3. In society today we are labeling far to many students and placing them in special education classes, and those students stay in those classes were they are limited by that label.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. School financing
8.1.1. Vast differences in funding between affluent and poor districts. Funding is better for suburban areas than that of urban areas.
8.1.2. Public schools are financed through a combination of revenues from local, state, and federal sources. Majority of the funding comes from state and local taxes, with local property taxes a significant source.
8.1.3. School financing does have an effect on academic achivevement. Achievement is higher for those systems with better financing than that of those with lower financial aid.
8.2. Genetic differences
8.2.1. Argument that unequal educational performance by working class and non white students is due to genetic differences in intelligence.
8.2.2. Arthur Jensen wrote an article for the Harvard Educational Review that stated programs that were in place for disadvantaged students was doomed for failure because the problem was biological not social or environmental.
8.2.3. Hurn believed that significant factor affecting intelligence is social. That there were no genetic differences, just that of cultural IQ bias.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. Teacher Education
9.1.1. The Teacher Education Project of 1086 had three major points. 1. The perceived lack of rigor and intellectual demands in the teacher education programs. 2. The need to attract and retain competent teacher candidates. 3. The necessity to reorganize the academic and professional components of teacher education programs at both the baccalaureate and post- baccalaureate levels.
9.1.2. A Nation Prepared- focused on the necessity of educational quality for a competitive US economy and the value of education in a democratic political system. Suggested changes must be made in teacher education to improve education.
9.1.3. Carnegie Report called for restructuring schools and teaching professions, elimination of the undergraduate teacher education, the professional lives of teachers and the structure of schools.
9.2. Charter Schools
9.2.1. Charter schools are public schools that are free from many regulations applied to traditional public schools and in return are held accountable for student performance. Swap all the red tape for school performance.
9.2.2. Charter schools can be started by virtually anyone-teachers, parents, non-profit, community members etc, but are suppose to demonstrate results to the public agencies for review and approval as well as monitor and audit their progress.
9.2.3. Proponents of charter schools have long argued that they provide a more effective and effiecient means for low income children, especially those in urban areas. I am not a fan of charter schools because they do remove the red tape of education. That is not to say all red tape is good but I believe certain restrictions are important for our education systems.