1. Politics of Education
1.1. Perspective: Liberal
1.1.1. Origins in the 20thc. in the works of philosopher J. Dewey.
1.1.2. Government involvement in the economic, political, & social arenas is necessary to ensure fair treatment of all citizens.
1.1.3. Socializing children into societal roles, respect cultural diversity, ready students to fit into a diverse society.
1.2. Vision: Progressivism
1.2.1. Schools are central to solving social problems, & to be part of the steady progress to make things better.
1.2.2. John Dewey the "father of Progressive education"; each classroom represents a microcosm of the human relationship that constitutes the larger community.
1.2.3. Schools are essential to the development of individual potential.
2. Equality of Opportunity
2.1. Educational Achievement or Attainment of African-Americans.
2.1.1. Per the data from, The Condition of Education, 2012- achievement with black students goes up in relation to parental level of education.
2.1.2. Again, per the data, 13 year old African-American student's reading scale has been going up since a 1995 slump.
2.1.3. The same data shows a slow but still an increase in mathematical scores for 13 year old African-American students.
2.1.4. Gaps have narrowed in 1973-86 in math scores for 13 year old African-American students with Latino's.
2.1.5. Gains in closing the gap is happening but African-American students still significantly lag behind white students, but this is more due to gaps in opportunity. https://edtrust.org/resource/the-state-of-education-for-african-american-students/
2.2. Coleman Study Response
2.2.1. The original 1966 Coleman study was suppose to show that African American students and white students had fundamentally different schooling experiences, but instead it showed that it was more of a class difference than a racial difference. But statistically, African-American students are from lower class families and that brings it back full circle of there being a difference between the races. If the socioeconomic composition of a school has a greater effect on student achievement then it is fair to say that since minorities continue to stay below middle-class then the educational outcome will never be on an even scale.
3. Philosophy of Education
3.1. School of Philosophy: Pragmatism
3.1.1. Pragmatism- generally viewed as an American philosophy that developed in the late 19th century. Pragmatism's roots can be traced to the English philosopher and scientist, Francis Bacon.
3.1.1.1. Francis Bacon sought a way of thinking that people might be persuaded to abandon the traditions of the past for a more experiential approach to the world. Bacon is thought of as the "Pioneer in the pragmatic school of philosophy" because of his thought that experience comes from the world of daily existence.
3.2. Founders of this school of thought are: Sanders Peirce, William James and John Dewey. Dewey's philosophy of education was the most important influence on what has been termed "progressive education."
3.2.1. Based on the new psychology, behaviorism, and philosophy of pragmatism, Dewey's form of pragmatism was instrumentalism and experimentalism.
3.2.1.1. Dewey's ideas were influenced by the theory of evolution, and the 18th century optimistic belief in progress. A better society through education. The school acts as a "embryonic community" where children would gain knowledge which would enable them to work cooperatively in a democratic society.
3.3. Dewey's goal of education: the school is a place where ideas can be implemented, challenged, and restructured, so students would gain the knowledge of how to improve the social order.
3.3.1. The role of the school was to integrate children into not just any type of society, but a democratic one.
3.4. Role of the teacher: in the progressive setting, the teacher is no longer the authoritarian figure but assumes the peripheral position of facilitator.
3.4.1. Methods of Instruction: learn both individually and in groups. Known today as the "problem-solving or inquiry method."
3.4.1.1. Curriculum: progressive schools follow Dewey's notion of a core curriculum or an integrated one.
4. History of U.S. Education
4.1. A reform movement with the most influence: Common School
4.1.1. Free public education. Reform leader was Horace Mann of Massachusetts. http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/horace.html
4.1.2. "Common School" refers to schools that serve students of all social classes and religions. Reflects the concerns for stability and order, along with social mobility. http://reformmovements1800s.weebly.com/education.html
4.1.3. 1862, Congress passed the Morrill Act, authorizing the use of public money to establish public land grant universities.
4.2. A historical interpretation of U.S. Education: Democratic-liberals
4.2.1. Believe the history of U.S. education involves the progressive evolution of a school system committed to providing equality of opportunity for all.
4.2.2. Historians representative of this: Ellwood Cubberly, Merle Curti, and Lawrence A. Cremin. Believe in the egalitarian principles. http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_egalitarianism.html
4.2.3. Optimistic outlook but recognize there is flaws. Must be a compromise between equity and excellence without sacrificing one or the other too dramatically.
5. Sociological Perspectives
5.1. 3 Major Theories About the Relation b/w School & Society
5.1.1. Functional Theory: stresses the interdependence of the social system; examines how well the parts are integrated with each other.
5.1.1.1. Emile Durkheim-earliest sociologist to embrace the functional point of view. http://www.iep.utm.edu/durkheim/
5.1.2. Conflict Theory: social order is based on the ability of dominant groups to impose their will on subordinate groups through force, cooptation, and manipulation.
5.1.2.1. Karl Marx- intellectual founder of the conflict school in the sociology of education. http://infed.org/mobi/karl-marx-and-education/
5.1.3. Interactional Theory: relation of school and society are critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspective. Functional and conflict theories are very abstract, and these theories hardly provide an interpretable snapshot of what schools are like on an everyday level.
5.1.3.1. Basil Bernstein- sociologist known for his work in the sociology of education. Argued that the structural aspects of the educational system and the interactional aspects of the system reflect each other and must be viewed wholistically. http://www.doceo.co.uk/background/language_codes.htm
5.2. 3 Effects of Schooling w/ the Greatest Impact on Students
5.2.1. Knowledge & Attitudes- schools have an impact on student development but there are sharp divisions among researchers about how significant school effects are, when taking into account students' social class background.
5.2.1.1. I strongly agree with the books statement that, "more years of schooling leads to greater knowledge and social participation"[pg121]. The University of Western Ontario shows that education, and related education-based initiatives, can reduce crime rates, improve health, lower mortality rates, and increase political participation. In my opinion you are making a better and more productive individual and citizen. http://eml.berkeley.edu/~moretti/lm46.pdf
5.2.2. Employment- graduating from college will lead to greater employment opportunities. Credential inflation has led to the expectations among employers that their employees will have an ever-increasing amount of formal education. Yet there is major discrepancy in pay amongst college educated employees in regards to gender and race. Therefore, a better education alone does not necessarily lead to equal income.
5.2.2.1. An interesting part of this section to me is how, "most research has shown that the amount of education is only weakly related to job performance"[pg122]. I agree that schools do not provide significant job skills. There needs to be more emphasis put in our school's vocational education programs. http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/Vocational_Education_final.pdf
5.2.3. Education & Mobility- the popular belief that education opens the doors of opportunity, and that education is the great equalizer in the "great status race."
5.2.3.1. It's hard to argue against the idea that more education will provide better opportunities in your life. But the argument is that it's not necessarily "more" education as much as it is the "quality" of education. It's also worth noting that where one goes to school affects their mobility as well. There tends to be more prestige with private school diplomas. Also, a better education may increase ones geographic mobility but not necessarily their labor mobility. As the book points out, "...for the poor and rich, education may have little to do with mobility" and that "an educational degree alone cannot lift many people out of poverty."
6. Schools as Organizations
6.1. Government: State Level & District 8 Level
6.1.1. Governor: Robert Bentley http://governor.alabama.gov/
6.1.2. U.S. Senators: Richard Shelby http://www.shelby.senate.gov/public/ and Jeff Sessions http://www.sessions.senate.gov/public/
6.1.3. State Senator for District 8: Steve Livingston http://capwiz.com/state-al/webreturn/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.legislature.state.al.us%2Faliswww%2FISD%2FALSenator.aspx%3FNAME%3DLivingston%26OID_SPONSOR%3D85884%26OID_PERSON%3D7689%26SESSNAME%3DRegular%2520Session%25202016
6.1.4. U.S. Representative: Robert Aderholt https://aderholt.house.gov/
6.1.5. State Representative: Nathaniel Ledbetter http://capwiz.com/state-al/webreturn/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.legislature.state.al.us%2Faliswww%2FISD%2FALRepresentative.aspx%3FNAME%3DLedbetter%26OID_SPONSOR%3D85938%26OID_PERSON%3D7698%26SESSNAME%3DRegular%2520Session%25202016
6.2. School Government: Sate & County Level
6.2.1. State Superintendent: Yvette Richardson, Ed.D. President Pro Tem http://www.alsde.edu/sites/boe/Pages/boardmembers-item.aspx?ID=10
6.2.2. DeKalb County Superintendent: Hugh Taylor http://www.dekalbk12.org/superintendent.html
6.2.2.1. School Board Rep: Terry Wootten
6.2.2.1.1. BOE Members: Mark Richards, Randy Peppers, Jeff Williams, and Matt Sharp. http://www.dekalbk12.org/board.html
6.3. Comparison to Japan
6.3.1. 1st national system of education established in the 1880s under the central authority of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture.
6.3.2. To be admitted to a prestigious university, students are required to pass examinations that are extremely competitive.
6.3.3. The Japanese work ethic benefits the educational system, making it successful.
6.3.4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Japan
7. Curriculum and Pedagogy
7.1. 1 historical curriculum theory I would advocate: Social Efficiency Curriculum
7.1.1. Philosophically pragmatist approach developed in the early 20th century
7.1.2. Instead of a common curriculum for all students, different groups of students with different sets of need and aspirations should receive different types of schooling.
7.1.3. Theory emerged from the progressive visions of Dewey about the need for individualized and flexible curriculum.
7.2. 1 sociological curriculum theory I would advocate: Modern Functionalist Theory
7.2.1. Developed in the U.S. via the works of Talcott Parsons and Robert Dreeben
7.2.2. Stresses the role of the schools in preparing students for the increasingly complex roles required in a modern society. http://revisesociology.com/2015/01/26/the-functionalist-perspective-on-education/
7.2.3. Schools teach students to respect others, to respect differences, and to base their opinions on knowledge rather than tradition.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Sociological Explanation of Unequal Achievement: Cultural Deprivation Theories.
8.1.1. Some researches argue that nonwhite students came to school without the requisite intellectual and social skills necessary for school success.
8.1.2. Drawing from the thesis of anthropologist Oscar Lewis, theorists assert that the poor have a deprived culture, one that lacks the value system of middle-class culture. (Being that middle-class culture values the importance of schooling as a means to future success.) http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Culture_of_Poverty.aspx
8.1.3. Cultural Deprivation Theory was attacked by social scientists in the 1960s and 1970s. Critics argue that it removes the responsibility for school success and failure from schools and teachers, and places it on families. Therefore it blames the victims of poverty for the effects of poverty.
8.2. School-Centered Explanation of Unequal Achievement: School Financing.
8.2.1. Author Jonathan Kozol's book, "Savage Inequalities", compared public schools in affluent suburbs with public schools in poor inner cities. He documented the vast difference in funding between affluent and poor districts, and called for equalization in school financing. http://www.jonathankozol.com/books/savage-inequalities/
8.2.2. Since the majority of funds come from state and local taxes, with local property taxes a significant source; schools in areas with poorer communities have lower property values and those schools don't receive as much money.
8.2.3. Since school funding is increasingly lower in poorer communities, the students are at a much more disadvantage because the educational opportunity is no where near equal for them.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. Describe Some Examples of School-Based Reforms.
9.1.1. School-Business Partnerships: In the 1980s, business leaders became concerned over the low business qualities of high school graduates. Major businesses pledged to provide support through management assistance and training. This support systems has fallen in the past decade but foundations and entrepreneurs have picked up the slack. Despite the media attention, there is little convincing evidence that this type of reform has significantly improved schools.
9.1.2. School-to-Work Programs: In the 1990s, school-business partnerships became incorporated into school-to-work programs. The intent was to extend what had been a vocational emphasis to non-college-bound students. President Clinton signed the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 to provide seed money to states. Again, researchers suggest that these programs often fail to fulfill their promise.
9.1.3. Teacher Quality: one of the most important problems in our educational system is how to recruit and retain high quality teachers. The NCLB's requirements of every classroom having a highly qualified teacher showed the lack of quality teachers in urban schools. Ingersoll asserts that the problems in staffing urban schools with quality teachers has less to do with teacher shortages and more with organizational issues inside schools.
9.2. Describe Some Examples of Societal, Community, Economic, and Political Reforms.
9.2.1. Full Service and Community Schools: A way to attack education inequity is to examine and plan to educate not only the whole child, but also the whole community. Dryfoo's model of full service schools, Canada's Harlem Children's Zone and Newark's Broader Bolder Approach are 3 models of community-based reforms. Schools service as community centers within neighborhoods, and offer a multitude of services. http://edglossary.org/community-based-learning/
9.2.2. Research conducted over a 20-year period by the Consortium for Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago demonstrates that a combination of school, community, and societal level reforms are necessary to reduce the achievement gap.
9.2.3. Author Linda Darling-Hammond notes that our society must provide for the asic needs of all children so that they are able to focus their attention on their academic work instead of on survival. The education system will continue to fail many of its students at great cost to society as a whole if it does not equalize access to educational opportunity and support meaningful learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-luPazaB0bc