1. History of U.S. Education
1.1. Education for Women and African-Americans
1.1.1. This movement marked the beginning to both diversity and equality in the school systems.
1.1.2. In the middle of the 19th century young girls would go to elementary school and usually end their education career there. In 1820, education for women was a hot topic. By 1821 Emma Hart Willard had opened the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York giving women the opportunity to expand their education. This was the road to the great success of women in history and their equality to men to obtain an education.
1.1.3. African- Americans had it a little more difficult. Their road to education success was slow. Slaves were forbidden opportunities to learn how to read and write. Many lawsuits regarding their education were brought out. Finally, in 1863 Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery. This led to black colleges being opened and an education for the African-American race. Equality was still an issue throughout the next century but the right path was being taken.
1.2. Conservative Perspectives
1.2.1. The curriculum of our history should not be watered down, but rather taught the way it happened.
1.2.2. This perspective gives both the optimistic and pessimistic views of our countries history of education.
1.2.3. Diane Ravitch was a major contributor to this idea. She felt that the history curriculum needed to talk about all aspects of our countries history and not just one side.
2. Sociological Perspectives
2.1. Interactional Theories
2.1.1. Discusses the interactions between students and their teachers. This becomes important when dealing with different learning styles in students.
2.1.2. Basil Bernstein studied the interactions between students and teachers and witnessed the differences based on class, race, knowledge, etc.
2.1.3. This is a very important theory in school because it puts the education of students at risk. Having a disadvantage due to race or class causes strain in the classroom, and therefore hurts the students' learning process.
2.2. Teacher Behavior
2.2.1. Teachers have many roles to play in the classroom as they deal with different students. A teacher's relationship with their students play a big role in the success of that child.
2.2.2. A teacher profession should be one of the least judgmental. They are there to help the students and therefore cannot hold anything against them.
2.2.3. Teachers must learn about their students to better fit their needs. They are the mentors and backbone to children's education therefore, they must act appropriately.
3. Philosophy of Education
3.1. The progressivism philosophy deals with student growth in the classroom. This is done through the instruction, role of the teacher, and the student based curriculum. In order for students to grow they must be treated fairly and equally. This philosophy also promotes the idea that students learn the reasoning behind their actions and the morals that promote their behavior. Society should be bettered through the education of students.
3.2. The goal of education is that of intellectual and economic growth. Since the progressivism philosophy's main purpose is student growth, both of these goals play a big role in this growth of the students. The intellectual goal of education promotes growth in content knowledge. Every student has some background knowledge in subject content, and this is the idea that we, as teachers, are to continue their education in the subject areas. The economic goal deals with student growth in everyday-life. The content that these students are learning in the classroom should help prepare them for their future endeavors in the world. In order for students to grow and for these goals to be met, students must be treated fairly and equally in the classroom.
3.3. John Dewey is probably the most popular and well-known researcher for this particular philosophy. However, William Kilpatrick and Francis Parker were also major contributors to this philosophy.
3.4. In a progressivism based classroom, the instruction is done through experimenting and interaction. Students are allowed to experiment in order to determine the reasons behind the way things happen in the world. Project-based learning is also a major aspect of the progressivism philosophy. Allowing students to participate in the projects promotes growth on an individual level. This style of instruction also promotes independence.
3.5. The curriculum is based on student interest. The students in the class help decide what is to be taught. This allows students to grow in the things they find interesting and beneficial in life. This philosophy also incorporates some of the subject-based lessons into the curriculum. This means that students have choice, but not complete control.
3.6. The teacher acts as a facilitator to the students. This means that the teacher provides encouragement throughout the school day. The teacher is not an authoritarian but rather an aid to the students for their learning.
4. Schools as Organizations
4.1. France is different from the U.S. in that the Central Government is in control of everything. There are two forms of public schools. One school is for the everyday people in society. The other public school is for the academically gifted students. Instead of promoting equality in the classroom, they simply divide the students according to abilities.
4.2. Japan's education system is very distinctive from others around. The Japanese culture has a strong love for education. Their system consists of students learning moral education. Their education has dealt more with their nation as a whole rather than each student individually.
4.3. The Finland education system focuses on each student's individual achievement rather than tracking scores as a whole nation. Teachers are provided small groups of students in which they can monitor the progress and differentiate the instruction according to their needs. Overall, Finland looks at student on an individual basis rather than a group.
4.4. United States Education Leaders
4.4.1. State Senators: Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions
4.4.2. House of Representatives: Mo Brooks
4.4.3. State Superintendent: Thomas Bice
4.4.4. Representative on State School Board: Jeffery Newman
4.4.5. Local Superintendent: Tom Sisk
4.4.6. Local School Board: Brett McGill
5. Curriculum and Pedagogy
5.1. Social Efficiency Curriculum
5.1.1. This curriculum was developed with a progressivism philosophy mindset. It basically allowed for different instruction in order to fit the different learning styles of students.
5.1.2. Dewey was a main contributor to this curriculum. His idea that the lessons taught should be individualized according to the different learning levels of the children was greatly emphasized in this curriculum. Overall, this curriculum did away with the idea that all students learn the same thing, and brought about the idea that students should learn according to their needs.
5.1.3. This ideas was not accepted by many people. It was determined that this curriculum was based strictly off of the prgessivism mindset of John Dewey.
5.2. Modern Functionalist Theory
5.2.1. This theory promotes learning that helps prepare students for the society and real-world. It takes away the idea that students learn strictly through memorization and the common subjects. This theory allows students to explore the world and develop the attributes needed to survive in the real-world.
5.2.2. Talcott Parsons and Robert Dreeben were major influences in developing this theory. They believed that schools should focus more on preparing students for life in society rather than teaching them basic content knowledge.
5.2.3. This theory also focuses on teaching students how to deal with other individuals in the world. Students need to learn social skills such as respect for others and their opinions. This theory is an advocate for teaching students what is necessary in life and getting rid of any extra skills that are not found necessary.
6. Politics of Education
6.1. Liberal
6.1.1. Focuses on equality in the classroom.
6.1.2. A twentieth century idea that was invented by philosopher John Dewey and Politician Franklin D. Roosevelt .
6.1.3. Wealth and power does not mean greater privileges in the classroom. Sometimes we must go to a greater authority (the government) to get help in solving these issues. This website explains in greater detail this idea of the liberal perspective. https://www.aacu.org/leap/what-is-a-liberal-education
6.2. Progressive
6.2.1. This is the idea that schools should continue to make things better, as compared to the traditionalist idea of standing still in education.
6.2.2. This idea coincides with the liberal perspective because it also focuses on equality in the classroom. Rather the equality be in cultural diversity, racial diversity, or socioeconomic diversity. No matter the differences in the students we continue to move forward and make things better not only in the schools, but also in the community.
6.2.3. John Dewey was a major reformer in the progressive vision. He believed that with a little order in the classroom, the overall experience of education would be better. This website provides information on Dewey's belief and the overall idea of the Progressive vision. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2336/Progressive-Education.html
6.3. Liberal
6.3.1. Heavily deal with the issues of equality in the classroom.
6.3.2. Twentieth century idea that was the idea of philosopher John Dewey, and politician Franklin D. Roosevelt.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Women
7.1.1. Gender has always played a big role in the educational attainment of an individual. Females have always performed better in school than males in all subjects except for math. The out performance of females in math comes from the lack of teacher cooperation in teaching females equally due to the stereotype that women will automatically be worse in the subject.
7.1.2. Even though people believe the roles have switched, there undoubtedly are inequalities for females in the classroom. Perhaps what people do not realize is that gender in of itself has been a major source of unequal learning in the classroom for many years. In the article "Gender Inequalities in Education" the authors discuss the inequalities that exist and how these affect the level of education each gender attains. The article looks at both sides of the spectrum and takes both gender roles into consideration.
7.1.3. In the past, males would attain higher education than females giving unequal opportunity. In the past 20 years, the number of males and females to attain the same education has evened out. In fact in some cases, it may seem the roles have shifted and there is now a problem on the male side of things. Liberals say this is because teachers have made the mistake of focusing their attention on the females in the classroom.
7.2. Coleman Response: Round Three
7.2.1. Borman and Dowling believed that the socioeconomic and racial status of the school makes a difference in children learning rather than individual race or class.
7.2.2. The achievment gap present in the lower class and racially segregates students is present due to the schools interactions that is dominated by middle-class whites.
7.2.3. In order to prevent this achievement gap schools must stop favoring the middle- class white children and rather favor all children at the school.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Cultural Deprivation Theories
8.1.1. This inequality theory suggests that the unequal performance between students stems from the lack of resources provided in their culture. For example, books and other educational supplies may not be provided in certain cultures and therefore when the student enters school they re farther behind than the others.
8.1.2. This theory led to the creation of programs such as Project Head Start which requires schools to create an environment that helps those students who are behind catch up. This program also helps involve parents in the education of their child by teaching them the literacy skills and parenting skills needed to help their child.
8.1.3. This theory got criticized due to the negative assumptions it made about why the lower class students were at a disadvantage to the upper ad middle-class. It also was said to put the failure on the parents rather than the teachers if the students were behind when they entered school. Some called this theory racist because it calls out certain groups of people.
8.2. School Financing
8.2.1. Johnathan Kozol compared the funding of public schools in poor areas and affluent areas. He noticed a big difference in the funding provided for the schools and requested that the funding be equalized.
8.2.2. The unequal amount of funding to schools is a hot topic in the education world today. The unequal distribution of money gives schools unfair opportunities for resources to better educate their students. Some school districts use local property tax to help fund their schools. There are those that find this an unequal educational opportunity and in violation to the 14th amendment. The California Supreme Court ruled the unequal funding to schools unconstitutional in the 1971 court case Serrano v. Priest. However, this case did not rule the use of property tax for school funding illegal.
8.2.3. Student achievement is the most important issue and there is no doubt that the school funding, or lack thereof, has something to do with the success in these things.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. Teacher Quality
9.1.1. In American Education teacher quality is one of the biggest issues that is faced today. The NCLB act required that teachers be highly qualified and these requirements proved to be lacking.
9.1.2. It is surprising how many core classes are taught by unqualified teachers. This is a result of laziness by administration on the school systems. The principals find it easier to hire unqualified teachers rather than those who are qualified. This results in a high dropout rate and the replacement of teachers constantly. Time is needed to become a qualified teacher. If a teacher is placed in a position they are not qualified for and then fired for lack of student success, they will never have the opportunity to become that qualified teacher they long to be.
9.1.3. School improvement reformers have stated that teacher tenure and similar layoff provisions are the cause of this lack in teacher quality.
9.2. Full Service and Community Schools
9.2.1. This is a form of a community-based reform that has an aim to help not only the students, but the whole community. The point of these schools are to meet the parents and child's needs other then just in education. For example their physical, social, and psychological needs might be helped.
9.2.2. These schools serve as community centers and provide after school after school care that meets the specific needs of the comminity around them. This would usually be beneficial in lower-income neighborhoods.
9.2.3. This model aims to improve education by improving the society around the students. However, there is no evidence that these programs have had any effect on student achievement as of yet.