The Foundations for Education
by Mackenzie Mathews
1. Sociological Perspectives
1.1. Interactional Theory-Basil Bernstein interpretation: educational system is affected by the clashing of the different social classes
1.2. Teacher behavior- can make a massive impact on students academic performance. Students' abilities can be affected by the amount of encouragement as well as discouragement
1.3. Student peer groups & alienation- educational experiences are greatly controlled by students' friends or lack of. Students can be distracted by their friends as well as create a divide between the school as a whole.
1.4. Knowledge & Attitudes- social class is linked with the amount of knowledge students have. The amount of discipline incorporated in a school is also linked with the success of the students
1.5. Students who attend college and graduate have a greater opportunity of being hired in the working force. College graduates are more desirable to employers because going to college shows dedication to learning and effects how much income they will receive.
1.6. Social Theory of education Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTs05JrpWTM
1.7. Max Weber: believed power relations between dominant and subordinate groups of hierarchy are inevitable http://a3.files.biography.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,g_face,h_300,q_80,w_300/MTE5NDg0MDU1MTYzOTMwMTI3.jpg
2. Philosophy of Education
2.1. Pragmatism- an "American" philosophy that is centered around finding processes that work and using them to achieve greater things
2.2. Pragmatism developed by John Dewey, William James, and George Sanders Pierce in the late 19th century
2.3. Goal of education= social order. Creating students to become successful and contributing members of society
2.4. The teacher serves more as a guide than a facilitator. The students take learning into their own hands
2.5. Progressive education= project-based, inquiry-based, and problem-based curriculum
2.6. Curriculum changes to social order as opposed to fixed curriculum that is not student-centered
2.7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sT1gbC5ITg
3. Schools as Organizations
3.1. Alabama state senators are: Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby
3.2. State superintendent: Tommy Bice
3.3. Madison County superintendent is: Matt Massey
3.4. Madison County Board Members: District 1 Mr. Dan Nash, District 2 Mrs. Angie Bates, District 3 Mrs. Mary Louise Stowe, District 4 Mr. David Vess, & District 5 Mr. Jeff Anderson
3.5. Japan's school system is based on a national curriculum and tests must be passed to be accepted in universities
3.6. "highly qualified" teacher= college degree, certification or licensure , and ability to demonstrate knowledge in subject they are teaching
4. Curriculum and Pedagogy
4.1. Humanist curriculum- based on Western heritage with basis for intellectual basis
4.2. Liberal arts should not be focused on Western heritage alone
4.3. all students should be aware of liberal arts, foreign language, English, Math, History, and Science
4.4. functionalist theory- school is a society in miniature
4.5. Core values: Creating social solidarity, Teaching skills necessary for work, Teaching us core values, Role Allocation and meritocracy
4.6. Founder of functionalist: Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.
5. Equality of Opportunity
5.1. Horace Mann - "Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men-the balance wheel of social machinery."
5.2. The Coleman study" Coleman believed that schools make a difference in the student's education. The quality of teacher, building, and funding for materials weighs greatly on student potential.
5.3. The mathematics skills between White and Black students vary greatly shown in the graphs from 2002. Immediately the Black students are behind in skill level by nearly half the skill level of White students.
5.4. The reading skills at the start of kindergarten depicts that the Black students are behind the White students ability. The students are not as lacking in reading skills as they are in mathematics.
5.5. Article: "Equality of Educational Opportunity: Race and Finance in Public Education" by Cynthia McDaniels. http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1992/1/92.01.07.x.html
5.6. Video: "Racial Segregation of Public Schools Declared Unconstitutional" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw1WegncKVc
6. Educational Inequality
6.1. School financing plays a major role in the vast differences in schools around the country. Local and state taxes weigh greatly on how much funding a school has, wealthier area have higher taxes so the schools receive more funding.
6.2. Functionalist believe that the school's duty is to distinguish the brightest and most outstanding students through a fair process of selecting students.
6.3. Society defines the distinguished by their work ethic and natural talent but not by their ethnic background.
6.4. Minority students' home lives are not the reason for their lack of skills required by school, but the students grow up in oppression which causes deficiency in school-ready skills and attitudes.
6.5. School climates, mentally and physically, directly correlate with performance in the classroom. If students do not feel safe at school, learning academic content is not going to be important to them.
6.6. The Racial wealth gap video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5BvZllI9-U
7. Politics of Education
7.1. Conservative Perspective is a view that humans are competing for power in the social order and are propelled by self-initiative
7.2. Free market economy is most successful when humans have a conservative perspective
7.3. Each individual has the power to be successful but one chooses to be or not
7.4. President Ronald Reagan supported conservatism by creating a free market economy and willing people to fix their own problems
7.5. The traditional approach towards education that strives for national traditions, family unity, and self determination.
7.6. The traditional approach holds the idea that school is very structured and teachers hold all of the knowledge which does not allow students to self-discover
7.7. Traditional vs progressive education from a teacher's perspective: http://brianaspinall.com/an-educational-debate-10-progressive-vs-traditional-teaching-ideas-by-mraspinall/
8. History of U.S. Education
8.1. Progressive Reform Movement- child-centered education that would evolve with the changes of society as well as focusing on individualism.
8.2. Historical Interpretation: Educational for All- was created to get more students in secondary public schools. The goals of the secondary education included: health, fundamental process, home-membership, vocation, citizenship, worthy use of leisure, and ethical character (Ravitch, 1983, p. 146)
8.3. Ray Rist's article on labeling students states that the labels can be stemmed from the students' social classes, grades, and cultural background. These labels affect the way students are perceived and can impact the education they receive. Students are first labeled by their teachers which alters the teacher's judgment, both negatively and positively.
8.4. The opportunity for female education rapidly spread from East to the Midwest.
8.5. Poberts vs. City of Boston case ignited the opportunity for the establishment of separate schools for blacks and whites.
8.6. U.S. schooling was heavily influenced by the early European settlers while trying to adapt to the new lifestyle in North America.
8.7. History of American Education Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMeVx17lKbc
9. Educational Reform
9.1. School-business Partnerships: business leaders were not satisfied with the quality of high school graduates being produces. The partnership involved schools requiring higher test scores for businesses providing scholarships to low-income students.
9.2. School-to-work programs: School-to-work Opportunities Act of 1994 provided money for states to create partnerships with the community to provide work-based learning for students who were not planning to go to college.
9.3. Full service and community schools: Communities not only educate the students minds but also educate their families as well as provided for their physical, psychological, and social needs.
9.4. Successful school reform is based on: leadership, parent-community ties, professional capacities, student-centered learning, and instructional guidance.
9.5. Story of KIPP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVi07IxmVkg
9.6. What is a charter school? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJp71WQEqaI
