1. Curriculum and Pedagogy
1.1. Historical Curriculum Theory: Social Meliorist Curriculum
1.1.1. est 1930's
1.1.2. radical wing of progressive education
1.1.3. response to the growing dominance of social efficiency curriculum
1.1.4. John Dewey, major proponent
1.1.5. George Counts/Harold Rugg radicalized Dewey's theory into schools can change society
1.1.6. Dare the School cCreate A New Social Order
1.1.7. precursor to contemporary critical curriculum theory
1.2. Sociological Curriculum Theory: Social Reproduction Theory
1.2.1. Stress the effects of the formal and hidden curriculum on public consciousness
1.2.2. Proponents: Apple and Bourdeiu
1.2.3. Shape the way people think to produce/change the dominant societal view
1.2.4. Searched to reconcile social differnces
1.2.5. Equalize opportunties
1.2.6. Produce a stratified body of knowledge to students
2. Schools as Organizations
2.1. US Senators
2.1.1. Richard C Shelby (R)
2.1.2. Jeff Sessions (R)
2.2. State Senators
2.2.1. Arthur Orr (R-3)
2.3. House of Reps
2.3.1. Rep Mo Brooks (R-5)
2.4. State Superintendent
2.4.1. Thomas R. Bice
2.5. Rep on State School Board
2.5.1. Terri Collins (R-8)
2.6. Local Superintendent
2.6.1. Bill Hopkins
2.7. Local School Board
2.7.1. Billy Rhodes (D-1 West Morgan)
2.7.2. Adam Glenn (D-2 Danville)
2.7.3. MIke Tarpley (D-3 falkville)
2.7.4. Paul Holmes (D-4 Eva)
2.7.5. Jim Dobbs (D-5 Priceville-Sparkman)
2.7.6. Tom Earwood (D-6 Cotaco))
2.7.7. Jeff McClemore (D-7 Lacey's Spring-Union Hill)
2.8. Difference b/t Japanese SChooling and American Schooling
2.8.1. Emphasis on quality vs quantity
2.8.1.1. Japanese
2.8.2. Math is taught as a language
2.8.2.1. Japanese
2.8.3. 6 years of elementary school
2.8.3.1. Jap/US
2.8.4. 3 years of junior high
2.8.4.1. Jap/US
2.8.5. 3 years of senior high
2.8.5.1. Jap/US
2.8.6. 4 years of college
2.8.6.1. Jap/US
2.8.7. http://blog.novakdjokovicfoundation.org/education/interesting-facts-about-japanese-school-system/
3. Philosophy Of Education: Existentialism
3.1. Generic Notions
3.1.1. Individualistic philosophy
3.1.2. Pose questions as to how their concerns impact the lives of individuals
3.1.3. People are put on earth alone, and have to make sense out of the chaos they encounter
3.1.4. State of constantly becoming, creating good and evil
3.1.5. Choice of the individual is king
3.1.6. Language is a focus
3.2. Key Reearchers
3.2.1. Satre
3.2.1.1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Sartre
3.2.2. Soren Kierkargaard
3.2.2.1. Founder
3.2.3. Maxine Greene
3.2.4. Edmund Husserl (phenomenology)
3.2.5. Martin Buber
3.2.6. Karl Jaspers
3.3. Goal Of Education
3.3.1. Needs of individual
3.3.2. Cognitive/affective
3.3.3. Should include discussion of rational and non rational worlds
3.3.4. tensions of living in the world should be addressed
3.3.5. Emphasize the notion of "possibility"
3.3.6. Education is an activity that liberates the individual from a chaotic, irrational world
3.4. Role of Teacher
3.4.1. Teachers should understand their "lived in worlds"
3.4.2. Help students establish their own personal "lived in" worlds
3.4.3. Teachers must take risks
3.4.4. Expose themselves to resistant students
3.4.5. Work to enable their student to become "wide awake"
3.4.5.1. Maxine Greene
3.4.6. Introspection is paramount
3.4.7. Role of teacher is intensely personal one that carries with it tremendous responsibility
3.5. Method of Instruction
3.5.1. Abhor methods of instruction
3.5.2. Learning is intensely personal
3.5.3. Each child has a different learning style and the teacher must what works for each child
3.5.4. Martin Buber
3.5.4.1. "I-Thou"
3.5.5. Poses questions
3.5.6. Generates activities
3.5.7. Works together with the student to discover knowledge
3.6. Curriculum
3.6.1. Bias towards humanities
3.6.2. Literature evokes self-awareness and discovery
3.6.3. Art, drama, and music also emphasized
3.6.4. Expose students at an early age to problems in society as well as coming up with potential solutions
3.6.5. Exposure to horror as well as accomplishments of humanity
3.6.6. Emphasis on students discovering themselves on an individual level as well as their impact in a global context
4. Politics of Education
4.1. 4 Purposes of schooling
4.1.1. Intellectual
4.1.2. Political
4.1.3. Social
4.1.4. Economical
4.2. Political Perspectives
4.2.1. Liberal
4.2.1.1. John Dewey, originator
4.2.1.2. The role of the school
4.2.1.2.1. Heavy emphasis on issues of equality, gov't should ensure the fair treatment of all citizens
4.2.1.2.2. Stresses school's role in providing the necessary education to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed in society
4.2.1.2.3. School should teach students to respect cultural diversity
4.2.1.2.4. School should provide educated citizenry
4.2.1.2.5. School should enable the individual to develop his/her talents, creativity, and sense of self
4.2.1.3. Definition of educational problems
4.2.1.3.1. Agrees with free market, but if left unchecked, can abuse the less fortunate
4.2.1.3.2. Individual students or groups of students begin school with different life chances and therefore some groups have significantly more advantages than others
4.2.1.3.3. Society must attempt through policies and programs to equalize the playing field so that students from disadvantaged backgrounds have a better chance
4.2.1.4. Educational policy and reform
4.2.1.4.1. Example: Franklin D. Roosevelt, New Deal Era
4.2.1.4.2. Advances must benefit the group, not just the individual
4.2.1.4.3. Schools have too often limited the life chances of poor and minority children and therefore the problem of underachievment by these groups is a critical issue
4.2.1.4.4. Schools place too much emphasis on discipline and authority, thus limiting their role in helping students develop as individuals
4.2.1.4.5. The diff. in quality and climate b/t urban and suburban schools and, most specifically, b/t schools with students of low socioeconomic backgrounds is a central problem related to inequalities of results
4.2.1.5. Explanations of unequal educational performance
4.2.1.5.1. Individual effort alone is sometimes not enough and the gov't should step in on behalf of those in need
4.2.1.5.2. Students/groups of students begin school with dif. life chances and therefore some have significantly more advantages than others
4.2.1.5.3. Society must attempt through policies and programs to equalize the playing field so that students from disadvantaged backgrounds have a better chance
4.2.1.6. The American Dream
4.2.1.6.1. Concerned primarily with balancing the economic productivity of capitalism with the social and economic needs of the majority of the US
4.2.1.6.2. Believe schools have been successful in extending public ed. to the masses and providing more opps. for mobility than any other system in the world
4.2.1.6.3. Essential in achieving a more democratic and meritocratic society
4.2.1.6.4. Individual achievement is not based on family background, socioeconomic situation
4.2.1.6.5. Tolerance of differences
4.2.1.6.6. Always room for improvement in the ed. system (haven't arrived at a good place yet)
5. Equality of Opportunity
5.1. School Segregation Reform
5.1.1. HArvard Civil Right Project
5.1.1.1. racial and ethnic composition of school districts in US
5.1.1.2. Indicates that the rate of school segregation is increasing, despite efforts to desegregate school systems
5.1.1.3. Schools that are segregated ahve lower acheivement scores
5.2. Coleman Study
5.2.1. Organizational differences between schools were not particularly important in determining the student outcomes when compared to the differences in student-body compositions between schools
5.2.2. Peer group assocaiiotn hugely important
5.2.3. McDill conclusion (1978)
5.2.3.1. Where a person goes to school has little effect on his/her cognitive growth or educational mobility
5.2.3.2. Road to social equality does not go through the school house door
6. History of US Education
6.1. Most Influential Reform Mov't: Rise of the Common School (1820-1860)
6.1.1. Industrial Revolution changed the social dynamic of schooling
6.1.2. Sought to make American schools a secular paradise
6.1.3. 1820-vast majority of US was illiterate
6.1.4. Free public education, Herman Mann in Mass. 1837
6.1.5. Mann created the idea of the common school, which is the foundation of future schools
6.1.6. Catholics rebelled against the ideas of secularizing schools and created their own. However, by 1860, need for elementary schools soon outshined the needs of the religious
6.2. Historical Interpretation of US Ed.: Radical Revisionist School
6.2.1. Do not deny that the ed system has expaned
6.2.2. They believe it expanded to meet the needs of the elites in society for control of the working class and immigrants, and for economic efficiency and productivity
6.2.3. Believe that economic interest of 19th century capitalists explain the expansion of schooling and that ed reformers stressed the ability of schools to train factory workers (Michael Katz, 1968)
6.2.4. Expansion in 19th-20th centuries was more of an effort to gain control of the masses than in the interests of equity (Spring, 1972 and Karier, 1976)
6.2.5. Pesimistic outlook on ed history
6.2.6. View the debates about equity and excellence as chimera, with the who bemoan the decline of standards seeking to reimpose excellence with little regard for equality
7. Sociological Perspectives
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Sociological explanation of unequal achievement
8.1.1. Genetic Differences
8.1.1.1. Arthur jensen
8.1.1.2. Compensary programs were doomed to failure because they were aimed at changing social and environmental factors, when the actual root of the issue is biological
8.1.1.3. Argued Af. Americans were less intelligent genetically than whites and would therefore not do well academically
8.1.1.3.1. (What???) :(
8.1.1.4. Familial structure HUGE contributing factor to educational success
8.2. School-Centered explanation
8.2.1. Effective School Research
8.2.1.1. A climate of high expectations for teachers and students
8.2.1.2. Strong/effective leadership by administration
8.2.1.3. Accountability processes for student learning
8.2.1.4. High degree of instructional time ontask
8.2.1.5. Flexibility for teachers and admin. to experiment and adapt to new situations and problems
9. Educational Reform
9.1. In America, the idea of "educational reform" is based partly on reality and partly on blind faith
9.2. Political Reform
9.2.1. First wave of reform, 1980's to 1990's addressed
9.2.1.1. Need to attain twin goals of excellence and equality
9.2.1.2. Need to clarify ed goals
9.2.1.3. Develop a common core curriculum
9.2.1.4. Eliminate tracking programs
9.2.1.5. Increase duration and intensity of academic learning
9.2.1.6. Redefine principal's role
9.2.1.7. Forge new partnerships between organizations and schools
9.3. School-Based reform
9.3.1. Charter Schools
9.3.1.1. Passage of first state legilasted charter school: 1991 in Minnesota
9.3.1.2. Public schools free from many from the regulations applied to traditional public schools, and are in turn held accountable for student performance
9.3.1.3. Paid for with tax dollars
9.3.1.4. Provide a more effective and effecient alternative for low-income children, especially in urban areas