1. Politics of Education
1.1. Conservative Perspective
1.1.1. 1.Brought the evolutionary theory of Darwinism into Societal views. Which meant survival of the fittest (pg.23)
1.1.2. 2. Competition is needed for survival, and humans can only progress due to their initiative and drive. (pg.23)
1.1.3. 3. Capitalism is the only type of economy that can feed a persons need for competition. Therefore it is the superior economical system. (pg.24)
1.1.4. 4. Ronald Regan was the biggest advocate for the Conservative perspective. This is due in large to his ideals of it is up to an individual whether or not they will rise up on society, or fall behind. (pg.24)
1.2. Progressive vision
1.2.1. 5. Focuses on the steady progress of education to, in time, benefit society. (pg.27)
1.2.2. 6. The ideal of progressing education could also benefit the individual. This is one way that conservative perspective connects to progressive vision.
1.2.3. 7. Schools being a central to solve some social problems, and it increases the upward mobility of the education system. (pg. 26)
2. Philosophy of Education
2.1. Pragmatism is the philosophy of education that pushes students to use critical thinking and to take action in regards to social problems they may face. (pg.186)
2.2. Key Researchers
2.2.1. 1. Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
2.2.2. 2. John Locke (1632-1704)
2.2.3. 3. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
2.2.4. 4. John Dewey (1859-1952)
2.3. Schools were viewed as key units of society. This lead to the ideals of pushing students into socially active rolls, which would give them a voice. (Pg. 188)
2.4. In a pragmatic classroom the teacher isn't the center of attention, and doesn't act in the role of direct authority. Their primary job was to encourage students to follow their own ideals, and facilitate learning. (pg. 189)
2.5. The student centered classroom would also account for a student centered curriculum. This means that the students would have more say in what they are going to be studying.
2.6. Students should not only learn as individuals, but also learn in a group setting. This can help students fit into societal roles. (pg. 189-190)
3. Schools as Organizations
3.1. Governance
3.1.1. Senators
3.1.1.1. Richard Shelby
3.1.1.2. Jeff Sessions
3.1.2. House of Representatives
3.1.2.1. Mo Brooks
3.1.3. State Superintendent
3.1.3.1. Thomas R. Bice
3.1.4. Alabama School Board
3.1.4.1. District 1: Matthew Brown
3.1.4.2. District 2: Betty Peters
3.1.4.3. District 3: Stephanie W. Bell
3.1.4.4. District 4: Yvette Richardson
3.1.4.5. District 5: Ella B. Bell
3.1.4.6. District 6: Dr. Cynthia S. McCarty
3.1.4.7. District 7: Jeff Newman
3.1.4.8. District 8: Mary Scott Hunter
3.1.5. Limestone County Superintendent
3.1.5.1. Dr. Tom Sisk
3.1.6. Local School Board
3.1.6.1. District 1. Charles Shoulders Jr.
3.1.6.2. District 2. Bret McGill
3.1.6.3. District 3. Marty R. Adams
3.1.6.4. District 4. Edward Winter
3.1.6.5. District 5. Bradley Young
3.1.6.6. District 6. Anthony Hilliard
3.1.6.7. District 7. Earl Glaze
3.2. Compared to "The Former Soviet Union" Limestone County has some similarities, but not on such a drastic level. This is due to the class structure of wealthier families in the USSR sending their children to college prep schools, while the children of working class families would attend under funded schools. This private school, vs. underfunded public schools is also an issue that takes place in Limestone County. (pg. 226)
4. History of U.S. Education
4.1. Education for Women and African-Americans
4.1.1. 1. In the early nineteenth century women had limited access to education, African- Americans on the other hand had little to no opportunities for education.
4.1.2. 2. Troy Female Seminary was one of the very first schools where women could seek out an education that rivaled their male counterparts. (pg. 68)
4.1.3. 3. The education offered to freed slaves in the South was minimal, if not non existent. Many southerners at the time didn't want African-Americans to learn how to read and write. (pg. 69)
4.2. Deomocratic-Liberal Interpretations
4.2.1. 4. This shared the ideal of equal opportunity for individuals so that all may have a chance to benefit society. (pg.83)
4.2.2. 5. This interpretation recognizes the flaws of U.S. education, but still looks forward optimistically to equal opportunities.
4.2.3. 6. Looks on the history of U.S. education and sees a trend of progressive evolution. (pg.83)
5. Sociological Perspectives
5.1. Relationship Between School and Society
5.1.1. 1. Schools, along with other group oriented places, mold a child's views on the process of socialization. (pg. 116)
5.1.2. 2. Schools introduce children to small events that could lead to bigger roles such as patriotism, acceptance of other cultures, and so on.
5.1.3. 3. Schools are the primary sorters of students. This can affect a child through educational mobility. (pg. 117)
5.2. Three Affects of Schooling on Individuals
5.2.1. 1. Knowledge and attitudes- The primary focus of schools is to increase the knowledge of it's students, but that is not it's only goal. Schools can help children with their attitude issues as well. (pg. 121)
5.2.2. 2. Employment- Without a high school degree it is near impossible to get a good job in today's society. While on the flip side, a student with a Bachelors Degree has many more opportunities for employment. (pg. 121-122)
5.2.3. 3. Education and Mobility- The general consensus among Americans is that Education leads to more possibilities in life. (pg. 122)
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Social Efficiency Curriculum
6.1.1. 1. Philosophically Pragmatist approach. (pg. 282)
6.1.2. 2. Was described with the term pedagogical progressivism. This "stressed the relationship between schooling and activities of adults in society." (pg. 283)
6.1.3. 3. Was brought forth from the ideals that were laid out by John Dewey. (pg. 283)
6.2. Conflict Theory
6.2.1. 1. Stated that schools focused primarily on preparing of students for workplace, instead of the ideals of tolerance. (pg. 292)
6.2.2. 2. Considered extreme because it believes that education primarily "represents the dominant cultural interests in society." (pg. 292)
6.2.3. 3. Students of different social classes were being tempered in schools for the work place behavior that they will most likely need in the future. (pg 292) Which could lead students into the role of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Educational Achievement and Attainment of African American Students
7.1.1. 1. At Age 9 African American students scored lowest on NAEP Average reading scale. falling three scale points under Hispanic students, and a full 24 points under white students. (pg. 345)
7.1.2. 2. At age 17 African American Students were still scoring the lowest on NAEP Average Reading Scale. Being once again just three points under Hispanic Students, and now 29 points under white students. (pg. 346)
7.1.2.1. The African American Students seemed to be at their most competitive during their middle school years. They Surpassed the Hispanic students on the NAEP Average Reading Scale by five points, but still held a large gap under the white students. (pg. 345)
7.1.3. 3. At age 9 African American Students once again fell to last on the NAEP Average Mathematics Scale. falling this time 10 points below the Hispanic Students, and 26 points below the white students. (pg. 346)
7.1.4. 4. At age 17 African American Students continued the path just behind the Hispanic students by six points and 27 points behind white students on the NAEP Average Mathematics Scale. (pg. 347)
7.2. Response to the Coleman Study
7.2.1. In the responses to the "Coleman Study" the second round seemed to stick out the most. It pointed out the fact that private schools "seemed to do it better" talking about how education positively affected those of a minority in particular. (pg. 368-369)
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Sociological Explanations of Unequal Achievement
8.1.1. 1. This explanation states that, while race and gender play roles in unequal achievement, socioeconomic class plays the largest role. (pg. 420)
8.1.2. 2. The primary focus when looking at this is how lower class students have more disadvantages than those of middle or upper class when it comes to attaining a good education. (pg. 420)
8.1.3. 3. One of the reasons it doesn't focus as much on the gender role is because it focuses on the non-cognitive outcomes of schooling. (pg. 421)
8.2. School Centered Explanation: Financing
8.2.1. 1. Financing for public schools in affluent suburbs was much higher than that of public schools in poor inner cities. (pg. 428)
8.2.2. 2. The financial differences are primarily due the use of property taxes for schools. (pg. 428)
9. Educational Reform
9.1. School Based Reforms
9.1.1. 1. No Child Left Behind Act put focus on annual testing of students to see how well they were learning. (pg. 517)
9.1.2. 2. States were in charge of Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) of their students, and must reach the goal that the AYP set. (pg. 517)
9.1.3. 3. "Schools mus have "highly qualified" teachers for the "core academic subjects". (pg. 517)
9.2. Societal, Community, Economic, or Political Reforms
9.2.1. 1. State takeovers are a social reform that can be both beneficial, as well as hinder how well a state's education system may be. (pg. 536)