1. Progressive Vision
1.1. Integral part of democratic society
1.2. Vehicle for upward mobility
1.3. Central to solving social issues
1.4. Role of School balance needs of society; democratic and meritocratic; ensure equality of opportunity exist and inequality be minimized.
2. History of Education
2.1. Culture of Narcissism- Christopher Lasch 1983 Human progress is dependent on hard work.
2.1.1. 1900 based on John Dewey and progression concerned with equality and balance economic productivity.
2.2. Karl Marx 1863 Men make their own history.
2.2.1. Men make their on history, but they do make it just as they please. History provides with a deep understanding of the past. This kind of understanding help people to both the limits and possibilities of the future
2.3. Very critical of traditional way of teaching in school. Unions, tenure, lack of accountability is why we fail as teachers.
3. History of Education Timeline
3.1. 1636 The first college in Amercian colonies. Harvard College is founded in Newtown. (Later renamed Cambridge, MA).
3.1.1. Function was education of civic leaders to prepare a learned clergy.
3.2. 1779 Thomas Jefferson writes his Bill for a More General Diffusion of Knowledge. Outlining his view on the popularization of elementary and grammar school education.
3.3. 1789 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides for public education and delgates authority to the states. Resulted in the absence of the national system of education or nationqal curriculum, as exists in many other liberal-democratic societies.
3.4. 1817 Thomas Jefferson writes the " Rockfish Report " the report of the Commission to establish a public university in Virginia. University of Virginia in Charolttesville. Jefferson's model of natural aristocracy based on talent or Meritocracy.
3.5. 1821 Troy Female Seminary in New York is founded by Emma Willard.
3.6. 1833 Oberlin College in Ohio admits women, becoming the first coeducational college in the United States.
3.7. 1837 Horace Mann becomes Secretary to the Massachusetts BOE, ushering in Common School Era of compulsory primary education.
3.8. 1837 Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts is founded by Mary Lyon.
3.9. 1848 Horace Mann 12th and final Report to the Mass. BOE " Education is the greater of equalizer of the conditions of men...the balance wheel of the social machinery, " which becomes the basis of an American democratic ideology of education.
3.10. 1862 The Morrill Act passed authorizing the use of public money to establish public land grant universities, especially in Midwest.
3.11. 1863 Civil War President Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, announcing slavery to end in all states in rebellion against Union.
3.12. 1865 Congress passed 13th Amendment- Slaves Freed. 4 million.
3.13. 1865 Vassar College first of Seven Sisters women's colleges.
3.14. 1868 14th Amendment ratified giving full citizenship to ex-slaves. Although amendment and Freedman's Bureau attempted to reconstruct the South's economy and include blacks as full citizens, KKK spread racial hatred. Jim Crow Laws and Black Codes in the South continued discrimination against Blacks. Its equal protection clause has been applied to the important legal decisions regarding education.
3.15. 1868 The Freedman's Bureau helps establish Black Colleges. Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Hampton Institute in Virginia.
3.16. 1891 Jane Adams founded Hull House in Chicago, settlement house that provided cultural and educational programs for Chicago's poor and immigrants.
3.17. 1893 The National Education Association's Committee of Ten, Chaired by Harvard University President Charles Eliot, issued its report on seconday education, which reasserts the college-preparatory function of high school. Eliot became one of the leaders of social efficiency strand of progressive education.
3.18. 1895 Alabama Tuskegee Institute's Booker T. Washington gives his " Atlanta Compromise Speech " arguing that blacks should be more thrifty and industrious and should pursue vocational education to prepare them for work in the new southern industrial economy.
3.19. 1896 University of Chicago is founded by John and Alice Chipman Dewey. Ushering the child-centered, development democratic strand of progressive education.
3.20. 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson rules that separate but equal facilities are constitutional. Justice John Marshall Harlan argues the constitution is color blind and that all are equal before the law,
3.21. 1903 W.E.B. DuBois professor at Atlanta University publishes The Souls of Black Folk, which criticizes Booker T. Washington's vocational approach to education as assimilationist. DuBois called for academic education and Civil Rights protest against institutional racism.
3.22. 1918 The NEA Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education argues for broadening of the functions of the high school to include civic, vocational, and social responsibilities ushering in the life adjustment period in U.S. education.
3.23. 1920 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote.
3.24. 1931 Jane Addams first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her work. including founding the Women's Peace Party in 1915, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1919.
3.25. 1945 GI Bill of Rights passed authorizing college tuition assistance for soldiers.
3.26. 1950 Superintendent Willard Goslin fired after 2 years by Pasadena (CA) School Board after conservative forces protest his progressive policies and accuse him of being a Communist. William Joseph McCarthy led a congressional investigation of alleged Communists that resulted in blacklisting.
3.27. 1950 Sweatt v. Painter and McLaurin v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma the US Supreme Court rules that blacks must be admitted to segregated state law schools in Texas and Oklahoma, respectively.
3.28. 1954 Brown v. The Topeka BOE the US Supreme Court rules that seperate but equal schools for black and white children is unconstitutional.
3.29. 1956 Critics for progressive education, historians Arthur Bestor and Mortimer Smith establish the Council for Basic Education. Committed to making intellectual training for the primary focus of public education and the elimination of separating students into different tracks.
3.30. 1957 Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus sends in the state National Guard to prevent the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School. President Eisenhower sends federal troops to implement the court order.
3.31. 1957 Soviet Union launches first space satellite, Sputnik, resulting in US efforts to improve mathematics and science education.
3.32. 1958 The National Defense Educational Act passed. Authorizing millions of dollars to mathematics, science and gifted education.
3.33. 1960 A. S. Neill's Summerhill, about progressive English boarding school, begins the revival of child centered progressive education in the US.
3.34. 1964 Congress passes Civil Rights Act.
3.35. 1964 Students for Democratic Society issue the Port Huron Statement
3.36. 1964 University of California, Berkeley, Free Speech Movement. Led by Mario Savio
3.37. 1965 The Elementary and Secondary School Act passed
3.38. 1967 Criticism of schools, urban in particular, reaches crescendo, publication of Johnathan Kozol's Death at an Early Age and Herbert Kohl's 36 Children.
3.39. 1968 African American students go on strike at San Francisco State University, resulting in the resignation of its president. Strike ended after a few months, with each side declaring victory
3.40. 1968 NYC police are called in to end takeover of the Columbia University library. Students led protest against Vietnam War and plans to build a gym in the Morningside Heights section pf Harlem are removed forcefully.
3.41. 1969 City University of New York adopts its Open Admissions Policy. Critics argue that it represents the downfall of the meritocratic ideal of higher education. Proponents argue it represents higher education for all and the triumph of the democratic ideal of higher education.
3.42. 1969 All male Ivy League Universities begin to admit women.
3.43. 1970 Charles Silberman publishes Crisis in the Classroom, a radical critique of U.S public schools as " grim joyless places. " Preoccupied with order and control.
3.44. 1970 4 students at Kent State protesting the US invasion of Cambodia, are killed by Ohio National Guard, after protestors burned down the Army ROTC building.
3.45. 1970 Vassar College becomes coeducational leading to other colleges for only women admitting men.
3.46. 1974 U.S. Federal Judge W. Arthur Garrity rules Boston School Committee is in violation of Brown v. Board, resulting in Boston School desegregation wars,
3.47. 1975 NYC fiscal crisis initiates tuition not being free.
3.48. 1983 The National Commission for Excellence in Education releases A National at Risk, which argues that US education is mediocre. Results in the education excellence movement and repudiation of progressive education.
3.49. 1986 National Governors Conference issues a report calling for higher state standards in education.
3.50. 1987 Cultural Literacy proposes a Core Curriculum movement.
3.51. 1988 Minnesota becomes first state to pass school choice legislation. As of 1992 37 states have passed choice legislation.
3.52. 1992 California becomes second state ( after Minnesota ) to pass charter school legislation, allowing state funding of schools independent of the public school system. 1998 over 50.000 students in charter schools the most in the nation. Second only to Arizona.
3.53. 1994 Educate America Act becomes law, establishing national goals for content and performance; Opportunity to learn acts; school to work opportunities; school, parent, and community support; teacher professional development; safe and drug-free schools.
3.54. 1995 The Manufactured Crisis argues that the empirical evidence does not support the conservative attack on U.S. public schools.
3.55. 1998 The New Jersey Supreme Court issues the 5th of its historic decisions in Abbott v. Burke (1990) a landmark state finance case.
3.56. 2002 President Bush signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, aimed at eliminating student achievement gaps by 2014.
3.57. 2003 In Gratz v. Bollinger the court rules used race too mechanically and therefore did violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment.
3.58. 2004 Williams v. State of California plaintiffs argue that the state has failed to provide a minimally adequate education to low income children. Case is settled by Governor Schwarzenegger who agrees to provide new state standards to ensure an adequate education for all children.
3.59. 2004 NYC is recommended to provide an additional 5.6 million dollars per year to the NYC public schools.
3.60. 2009 President Obama Race to the Top initiative is included in the American Recovery and Reinvertment Act of 2009. It awards funding to states that demonstrate plans to adopt high academic standards, build data systems to improve assessment, recruit and retain quality school staff, and turn around low-achieving schools.
3.61. 2011 President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan begin to grant NCLB waivers to states that propose acceptable alternatives to specific provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Elementary And Secondary Education Act.
4. Sociological Perspective
4.1. Theoretical Perspectives: 3 major concerning the relation between school and society : functional, conflict, and interactional.
4.1.1. Functional Theories stresses the interdependence of the social system. Functionalists view society as a kind of machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work. In a highly integrated, well functioning society, schools socialize students into the appropriate values, and sort and select students according to their abilities. it is supposed to create structure, programs, curricula that are technically advanced, rational, and encourage social unity. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), believed that education, in virtually all societies was of critical importance in creating the moral unity necessary for social cohesion and harmony.
4.1.2. Conflict Theories is based on the ability of a dominant group to impose their will on the subordinate groups through force, cooptation and manipulation. The glue of society is economic, political, cultural, and military power. Designed to enhance their position by legitimizing inequality and the unequal distribution of material and cultural goods as an inevitable outcome of biology or history. Karl Marx (1818-1883) is the intellectual founder of the conflict school in the sociology of education.
4.1.2.1. Interactional Theories are about the relation of school and society are primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives. It arrives from observation that theses theories are very abstract and emphasize structure and process at a very general (macrosociological) level of analysis. Basil Bernstein (1990), argued that structural aspects of the education system and the interactional aspects of the system reflect each other and must be viewed wholistically.
4.2. 5 effects of schooling on students that have the greatest impact
4.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes in general the higher the social class background of the student the higher their achievement levvel.
4.2.2. Teacher Behavior has a huge impact on the student learner and behavior. Teachers attitude toward their students may have a significant influence on student achievement and perceptions.
4.2.2.1. Inadequate Schools urban schools have failed to educate minority and poor children. suburban school students and private school systems get a better educational experience than other children.
4.2.3. Gender is another way that impacts students. Girls usually start school cognitively and socially ahead of boys but by the end of high school girls have lower self esteem and lower aspirations than boys. Most teachers are women where administrators are men.
4.2.3.1. Tracking refers to the placement of students in curricular programs based on student's abilities and inclinations. Students placed in " high tracking " spend more time on teaching and learning activities and receive better teachers.
5. Philosophy of Education
5.1. Philosophy of education is firmly rooted in practice, whereas philosophy, as a discipline, stands on its own with no specific end in mind.
5.1.1. 3 specific areas of philosophical inquiry
5.1.1.1. 1. Metaphysics- concerns itself with questions about the nature of reality. 2. Epistemology- concerns itself with questions about the nature of knowledge. 3. Axiology- concerns itself with the nature of values.
5.2. The activity of doing philosophy aids teachers in understanding two very important notions 1. Who they are or intend to be 2. Why they do or propose to do what they do.
5.3. Philosophies of Education particular: Idealism generally is thought to be the creation the Greek philosopher, Plato (427-347 B.C.). Plato wrote down Socrates ideas and his method which was dialogue. Plato probably added to this because Socrates was only 28 when he was executed. We refer to his work as Platonic philosophy. Generic Notions- Truth was perfect and because truth is eternal, it was not found in the world of matter. The only constant was the field of mathematics, since 1+1=2 will never change.
5.3.1. Idealism
5.4. Modern Idealist series of philosophers who have argumented his original notions.
5.4.1. St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.) added religion to classic idealism
5.4.2. Rene' Descartes (1596-1650),
5.5. Goal of Education: Teachers encourage their students to search for truth as individuals. Those who discover the truth have a responsibility to enlighten others. Idealist subscribe the notion that education is transformation: Ideas can change lives.
5.6. Role of the Teacher is to discuss and analyze the ideas with students in order for students to move to new levels of awareness so they can ultimately be transformed. In the classroom teacher plays active role discussing, posing questions selecting materials, establishing an environment, all of which ensure the teacher's desired outcome. Supports moral education as a mean to linking ideas to action. Sees themselves as a role module to emulate by students.
5.7. Methods of instruction: lecture from time to time, fill in background material not covered in reading, they use the dialect approach described by Plato. Through questioning, students are encouraged to discuss, analyze, and apply what they have read to contemporary society. Work in groups or individually on research projects, both oral and written.
5.8. Curriculum- Idealism places great importance on the classics ( great literature of past civilizations that illustrate contemporary concerns). All problems have roots in the past and can be understood by examining how previous individuals dealt with it. Back to basics approach to education which emphasizes the 3 R's.
5.9. Realism follows the same historical tradition as idealism. Realism is associated with both Plato and Aristotle. Aristotle leading proponent of realism. (Aristotle 384-322 B.C.) a student of Plato's. He lived in Asia Minor and in Macedonia, where he a tutor to King Phillips son, Alexander. Alexander later became Alexander the Great and lover of all things Greek, thanks to Aristotle's influence. He was forced to leave Athens and settle in Euboea, where he remained until his death. He was important because he was the first philosopher to develope the systematic theory of logic.
5.9.1. Aristotle's Systematic Theory of Logic- rational, systematic method for testing the logic of statements people make. Begin the process with empirical research: he would speculate or use dialectic reasoning, which would culminate in a syllogism.
5.9.1.1. Syllogism is a system of logic that consist of three parts: 1. Major premise 2. A minor premise 3. A conclusion Example of a syllogism used by many philosophers is as follows: All men are mortal Socrates is man therefore, Socrates is mortal. (Ozmon & Craver, 1990. p. 43)
5.9.1.1.1. For syllogism to work, all of the parts must be correct. If one of the premises is incorrect, the conclusion will be fallacious. Aristotle used syllogism to systematize thinking. The problem however with this method is that Aristotle never made it clear where the syllogism was to be placed in his schema or framework. Education therefore for individuals would learn to reason and thus become able to choose the path of moderation in their lives. Since Aristotle, there have been important subsequent developments in the school of philosophy.
5.10. Neo-Thomism- derived from Aquinian thought based on Aristotle. Thought that God could be understand through reasoning but reasoning based on the material world. Aquinas and Aristotle both emphasized matter and ideas in their particular philosophical investigations. Neo-Thomism could argue that there was no conflict between science and religion since scientific inquiry ultimately led to belief in God. Catholic schools that base their educational goals on balancing the world of faith with the world of reason.
5.11. Modern Realism dates from Renaissance, particularly with the work of Francis Bacon (1561-1626), who developed the inductive or scientific method of learning. Bacon was able to develop a method starting with observation, that might culminate in generalization, which then might be tested in specific instances for the purpose of verification. John Locke (1632-1704) attempted to explain how people know things from the empirical point view. Chafed at the ideas, stating that the mind was a blank page, or Tabula Rasa and what humans know is based on information gathered through the senses and through experience. Locke thought that the human mind ordered sense data and experience and then reflect on it.
5.12. Contemporary Realists- Realists in modern times, have tended to focus on science and philosophy in particular, on scientific issues that have philosophical dimensions. Alfred North /whitehead came to philosophy through the discipline of mathematics and was concerned with the search for universal patterns. Co-authored book Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell. Confined his interest to writing about education- in particular advocating (like Plato) the primacy of ideas. He recognized the necessity of grounding ideas within the context of the living world.
5.12.1. Bertrand Russell studied both mathematics and philosophy as a student at Trinity College and Cambridge University co-authored with Whitehead the important book Principia Mathematica. Founded a school called Beacon Hill, in which he sought to put into practice some of the notions of education, particularly the idea of employing knowledge to social problems in order to create a better world.
5.12.2. Goal of Education through the study of ideas, using dialectical method. It is to help individuals understood and then apply the principles of science to help solve the problems plaguing the modern world. The leading notion of realist is that basic disciplines and in particular, science individuals will be able to fathom what philosophers have been debating since the beginning of their discipline: existence of the good life.
5.12.3. Role of the Teacher should be steeped in the basic academic disciplines in order to transmit to their students the knowledge necessary for the continuance of the human race. Should have a solid grounding in science, mathematics, and the humanities. They must present ideas in a clear and consistent manner, and demonstrate that there are definitive ways to judge works of art, music, poetry, and literature. From this point of view, it is the role of the teacher to enable students to learn objective methods of evaluating such works.
5.12.4. Methods of Instruction are lecture, and question and answer. Realist have a objective criteria for judging the value of artistic and literary works, they would support the lecture as a method of instruction in order to give students the knowledge necessary to make these evaluations. Realist support competency based assessment as a way of ensuring that students learn what they are being taught. Material world hold the key to the ideal world: therefore they encourage questions that would help students in the classroom grasp the ideal through specific characteristics of particular manifestation.
5.12.5. Curriculum consist of the basics: Science, math, reading, writing and humanities. Realist believe that a body of knowledge that is essential for the student to master in order to be part of society and essential for survival of society. Supports knowledge that the notion of specific knowledge helps students better understand their culture.
5.13. Pragmatism
5.13.1. American philosophy developed latter part of 19 century. Comes from the Greek word meaning pragma, meaning work. Pragmatism philosophy that encourages people to find processes that work in order to achieve their desired ends. Even though the study the past they are generally more interested in contemporary issues and in discovering solutions to problems in present day terms. Action orientated experientially grounded and will generally pose questions such as "What will work to achieve my desired goal". Then as "Do the results achieves solve the problem?" If answered then the solution may be judged valid.
5.13.2. Founders of the school of thought are:
5.13.2.1. George Sanders Peirce (1839-1914)
5.13.2.2. William James (1842-1910)
5.13.2.3. John Dewey (1859-1952)
5.13.3. John Locke (1632-1704) supported the notion innate ideas. Tabula rasa, blank tablet is what he believed the mind was. People can obtain these ideas through their senses but that they never verify them through the material or natural world. His emphasis on the world experience is particularly important for later developments in the philosophy of education.
5.13.4. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) French philosopher believed individuals in their primitive state were naturally good and that society corrupted them. Emphasized on environment and experience which makes him important subsequent pragmatic thinkers. Known for his book to educators called Emile.
5.13.4.1. 2 points of interest are: Emile does not read books until he is 12
5.13.4.2. There is little regard for the education of women in Rousseaus's scheme other than two chapters on Sophie, who eats sweets and cakes and plays with dolls and whose raison d'etre is to be Emile's companion. Paved the way for thinkers such as John Dewey.
5.13.5. John Dewey (1859-1952) was a heir to Charles Darwin whose theory of natural selection emphasized the constant interaction between the organism and the environment, thus challenging the Platonic and Aritotelian notion of fixed essences.
5.13.5.1. Instrumentalism refers to the pragmatic relationship between school and society.
5.13.5.2. Experimentalism refers to the application of ideals to educational practice in a experimental basis.
5.13.5.3. Progressive Education most important influence. Based on pragmatism and concentrates on Dewey's work.
5.13.6. Generic Notions
5.13.6.1. Dewey's form of pragmatism- instrumentalism and experimentalism- was founded on the new psychology, behaviorism, and the philosophy of pragmatism.
5.13.6.1.1. Progressive proposed that educators start with the needs and interest of the child in the classroom, allow the child to participate with the planning of their course of study, employ project method or group learning, and depend heavily on experiential learning.
5.13.6.2. Dewey's progressive methodology rested on the notion that children were active, organic beings growing and changing, thus required a course of study that would reflect their particular stages of development. School should reflect the community in order to enable graduating students to assume societal roles and to maintain the democratic way of life. Democracy was particularly important for Dewey.
5.13.7. Goal of Education
5.13.7.1. Dewey's vision of schools was rooted in the social order, he did not see ideas as separate from social conditions. Ideas required lab testing, hence he stressed the importance of school as a place where ideas can be implemented, challenged, and restructured with goal of providing students with the knowledge of how to improve social order. That is should function as a preparation for life in a democratic society.
5.13.7.2. Maxine Greene (1988) termed the "dialectic of freedom" is the central for Dewey's work.
5.13.7.3. Dewey's Vision was to integrate children into not just any type of society but a democratic one. Cooperation and community are the desire ends. He did not adequately provide a solution to the problem of integrating diverse groups into a community without sacrificing their unique characteristics. Primary role of education was growth. Democracy and Education Dewey stated that education had no other goals than growth-leading to more growth.
5.13.8. Role of the Teacher
5.13.8.1. Progressive setting the teacher is the authoritarian figure from which all the knowledge flows, they assume the peripheral position of facilitator. Encourages and offer suggestions, questions, and helps implement course study. Writes the curriculum and must have command several disciplines in order to create and implement curriculum.
5.13.9. Methods of Instruction
5.13.9.1. Dewey proposed that children learn both individually and in groups. He believed that children should start their mode of inquiry by posing questions about what they want to know. We refer to this today as problem-solving or inquiry method. Field trips and projects that were reconstructed some aspect of the child's course of study were also an integral part of learning in Dewey's laboratory school.
5.13.10. Curriculum
5.13.10.1. Progressive schools generally follow Dewey's notion of a core curriculum or an integrated curriculum. Particular subject matter under investigation by students, such as whales would yield problems to be solved using math, science, history, reading, writing, music, art,wood or metal working, cooking and sewing. All academic and vocational disciplines in an integrated interconnected way.
5.14. Existentialism and Phenomenology
5.14.1. Existentialism like pragmatism is a rather modern philosophy. Roots can be traced back to the Bible. It has relevance to education, One may date existentialism as beginning with the 19th century European philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
5.14.1.1. Martin Buber (1878-1965)
5.14.1.2. Karl Jaspers (1883-1969)
5.14.1.3. Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1986)
5.14.1.4. Maxine Greene contemporary philosopher
5.14.2. Phenomenology primarily developed by Edmund Husserl (1859-1935)
5.14.2.1. Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)
5.14.2.2. Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961
5.14.3. Generic Notions
5.14.3.1. Phenomenology focuses on the phenomena of consciousness, perception, and meaning as they arise in particular individuals's experiences. They are concerned with the way in which objects present themselves to people in their consciousness, and how people order those objects. Language is important here, since language is used to describe the various phenomena in life.
5.14.3.2. Existentialist believe that individuals are placed on the earth alone must make some sense out of the chaos and order, creating both good and evil. The choice is up to the individual.
5.14.4. Goal of Education
5.14.4.1. Existentialist believe that education should focus on the needs of individuals, both cognitively and affectively. Also believe that education should stress individuality: that it should include discussion of the non-rational world: and the tensions of living in the world-in particular, anxiety generated through conflict - should be addressed.
5.14.4.2. Phenomenologists go further: they emphasize the notion of possibility, since the individual changes in a constant state of becoming. They see education as an activity liberating the individual from a chaotic, absurd world.
5.14.5. Role of the Teacher
5.14.5.1. Teachers should understand their own lived worlds as well as the worlds of their students. Teachers must take ris: expose themselves to resistant students: and work constantly to enable their studentss to become wide awake. Greene's words, 1978.
5.15. Methods of Instruction:
5.15.1. They believe that each child has a different learning style, and its up to the teacher to discover what works for each child.
5.15.2. Existentialits t
6. Schools as Organizations
6.1. 4 Elements of change within a school processes:
6.1.1. Conflict is necessary part of change Efforts to democratize schools do not create conflicts, but they allow ( and to be successful, require ) previously hidden problems, issues, and disagreements to surface. Staff involvement in school restructuring must be prepared to elicit, manage, and resolve conflicts.
6.1.2. New behaviors must be learned. Because change requires new relationships and behaviors, the change process must include building communication and trust, enabling leadership and initiative to emerge, and learning techniques of communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution.
6.1.3. Team building must extend to the entire school. Shared decision making must consciously work out and give on-going attention to relationships within the rest of the school's staff. Otherwise, issues of exclusiveness and imagined elitism may surface, and perceived " resistance to change" will persist.
6.1.4. Process and content are interrelated. The process a team uses in going about its work is as important as the content of educational changes its attempts. The substance of project often depends upon the degree of trust and openness built up within the team and between the team and the school. At the same, the usefulness and the visibility of the project will influence future commitments from and the relationships among the staff and other involved.
6.2. Elements of change in school cultures :
6.2.1. School Culture is exactly that which one takes most for granted.
6.2.2. Culture of any one particular school is the product of the political compromises that have been created in order for the school to be viable.
6.2.3. Changing the cultures of school requires patience, skill, and good will.
6.3. State Senators:
6.3.1. State Rep. James T. Hanes (R-23)
6.3.2. Richard C. Shelby (R)
6.4. House Representatives
6.4.1. U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-5)
6.5. State Representatives
6.6. Representatives on State School Board
6.6.1. President Governor -Robert J. Bentley
6.6.2. Secretary and Executive Officer-Michael Sentance
6.6.3. District 07-Jeffrey Newman
6.6.4. Vice President- Yvette Richardson, Ed.D
6.6.5. District 01- Matthew S. Brown, J.D.
6.6.6. District 02- Betty Peters
6.6.7. District 03- Stephanie Bell
6.6.8. District 05 Ella B. Bell
6.6.9. District 06- Cynthia Sanders McCarty, Ph. D.
6.6.10. President Pro Tem- Mary Scott Hughes
6.7. Local Superintendent and Local School Board
6.7.1. Local Superintendent- Dr. Bart Reeves
6.7.2. Local School Board Representatives
6.7.2.1. Chairman- John Lyda
6.7.2.2. Board Member- Cecil Gant
6.7.2.3. Board Member- Chad Anthony Gorham
6.7.2.4. Board Member- Kenneth Storey
6.7.2.5. Board Member- Charles A. West
6.8. State Superintendent- Thomas R. Bice, Ed.D.
7. Equality of Opportunity & Educational Outcomes
7.1. Equality of Opportunity-is a stipulation that all people should be treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. Each state must provide the same opportunities for everyone who attends school regardless of gender, race, color or nationality. It also means that school districts must take action to overcome barriers to students' equal participation.
7.2. Meritocracy-Meritocratic Equality of Opportunity has well-known limitations, especially with respect to children. For instance, judging by merit may be misplaced in the case of education since education is supposed to cultivate merit, in the form of skills and qualifications.
7.3. Distrubution of Income One of the most important determinants of the distribution of income and life opportunities is education. Increasing levels of formal schooling have contributed to raise standards of living and eradicate extreme poverty worldwide in recent decades. However, inequality in the distribution of income –which is the single most important indicator of relative access to material well-being.
7.4. Educational Outcomes- The amount of education an individual receives is directly related to his or her chances in life. Life chances are directly related to where an individual is located in the class structure. Educational credentials are valuable assets when employers make decisions based on the individuals knowledge.
7.5. "Achievement Gap"-refers to any significant and persistent disparity in academic performance or educational attainment between different groups of students, such as white students and minorities, for example, or students from higher-income and lower-income .
7.6. The Coleman Study-argues that school differences were not the most significant explanatory variable for the lower educational achievement of working class and nonwhite students. Reports suggested that it was the differences among the groups of students that had a greater impact on educational performances.
7.6.1. Two Responses to the coleman study
7.6.1.1. Cultural Deprivation Theories Cultural deprivation is certain values, skills and attitudes within society that aren't there. This can effect a child's ability when it comes to communicating appropriately. Sociologists say that it's to do with working class in society and their theories state working class children are less likely to succeed due to the education that wasn't provided to them when they were younger. Cultural deprivation say that we must have basic values, attitudes and skills needed for success through socialisation within the family. This includes cultural equipment such as language and reasoning skills. Working class families fail to socialise their children to fit with the norm. These are the children that grow up culturally deprived. They don't have the right equipment needed to become successful in their academic years, there are three main aspects involved with cultural deprivation such as intellectual development, the language and attitudes and values.
7.6.1.1.1. 2 types of Cultural Deprivation Theories are: deprivation of culture Head Start Project based on the assumption that because of the cultural abd familial deprivation faced by poor students, the schools must provide as environment that makes up for lost time. If students are not prepared for school at home then the role of preschool will provide the necessary foundation for learning. Children also come to school lacking the resources such as books and other educational stimuli.
7.6.1.2. Cultural Difference Theories- Agree that there are cultural and family differences between working class and nonwhite students, and white middle class students. Working-class and nonwhite students may indeed arrive at school with different cultural dispositions and without the skills and attitudes required by the schools. This is not due to deficiencies in their home life but rather to being part of an oppressed minority.
7.7. Abbott v. Burke school districts in New Jersey that are provided remedies to ensure that their students receive public education in accordance with the state constitution. series of decisions made over the past 30 years, Abbott remains the centerpiece of how the state funds its urban and suburban schools. Abbott's core principle is to ensure that schools in 31 of the New Jersey's poorest communities receive the "thorough and efficient" system of education guaranteed by the state constitution.
7.8. Social Reproduction is a concept originally proposed by Karl Marx in Das Kapital, and is a variety of his broader idea of reproduction. According to sociologist Christopher B. Doob, it "refers to the emphasis on the structures and activities that transmit social inequality from one generation to the next".
7.9. 4 school centered explinations for educational inequality-
7.9.1. School Financing- Public schools are financed through a combination of revenues from local, state, and federal sources. Property taxes are a significant source. Families in more affluent communitites have higher incomes and are able to provide more per-pupil spending than poor districts, often at a proportionately less brdensome rate than in poorer communities. Poorer communities with lower property values are not able to raise as much funding.
7.9.2. Effective School Research- School centered processes tht exhibit the following a climate of high expectations for students and admimistrators, Strong and effective leadership by the principal. Accountibility processes for students and teachers, Monitioring students, A high degree of instructional time on task. ( Teachers teach and students learn the majority of the time) Flexibility for teachers and adminstrators to experiment and adapt to new situations.
7.9.3. Curriculum & Pedagogic practices-Differences in schools dtermine the climates for learning, effects educational outcomes. Discrepancies in tracks are partly responsible for the amount of instruction and quality of instruction. Practices have a significant effect on lower academic achievement. The degree of such placement is unfair, but not sure to what extent. Lowere tracts of learning are likely yo have didactic, teacher directed practices. Higher tracks are more likely yo have more dialectical, student-centered practices, discussion and thinking based evaluation.
7.9.4. Gender and schooling- their are significant differences in how women and men see the world. Schools are part of the process which groups maintain their advantages. Females have a higher level of college attendance and graduation, boys are signifacantly over represented in special education classes.
7.10. Describe how class, race, and gender each impact educational outcomes.
7.10.1. Caste Stratification occurs in agrarian societies where social level is defined in terms of some strict ascriptive criteria such as race and/or religious worth. In the United Sates individual experience this because of their occupation and lack of property. Difference is ade also between women and men.
7.10.2. Estate stratification occurs due to economic family worth. Distinction between men and women. When social value is on family worth.
7.10.3. Class Stratification occurs in industrial society. Defines social level in terms of differential achievement.
8. Educational Reform
8.1. John Dewey- Don't lecture all the time. Use the scientific method to formulate and divide and solve.
8.1.1. Horace Mann prepare for the job market. The industrial revolution had begun. He wanted people to be schooled in technology for the industry world.
8.2. School-to-Work Programs
8.2.1. School Business partnerships became incorporated into the school-to-work programs. Their intent was to extend what had been a vocational emphasis to college-bound students regarding necessary skills for successful employmeny and to stress the importance of work-based learning.
8.2.1.1. Relevant education- allowed students to explore different careers and see whta skills are required in their working environment. Skills, obtained from structure training and work-based learning experiences. Skills, obtained from structured training and work based learning experiences, including necessary skills of a particular career as demonstrated in a working environment. Values Credentials, establishing industry-standard benchmarks and developing education and training standards that ensure that proper education is received for each career.
8.2.1.2. Each state contained 3 core elments-
8.2.1.2.1. Classroom instruction
8.2.1.2.2. Work based learning
8.2.1.2.3. Connecting Activities
8.3. School-Business Partnership were concerned that the nation was not producing enough graduates necessary for the revitalization of the U.S, economy. The foundations fund charter schools and voucher initiatives. Bill and Melinda Gates cntributes hundreds of million to small schools and more recently to teacher effectiveness. When the partnerships were formed the cities promised to have test score raised. These partnerships have attracted considerable media attention, but there is little convincing evidence that it has worked.
8.3.1. There are scholarships given to the poor to help them go to college. But support has fallen and they are in need of being reformed. But the effects are still to be seen.
8.4. Privatization the traditional distinction between public and private education became blurred, with private eductaion comanies increasingly becoming involved in public education in a variety of ways.
8.5. School Improvement aimed at all 3 aspects of school:
8.5.1. Integrated realm imporve on effectiveness in teaching basic skills nd knowledge.
8.5.2. Developmental realm schools need to become more humane institutaions where students develope as complete human beings.
8.5.3. Egalitarian realm - education crisis have stressed the need to balance equity and excellence, the role of schooling in providing equality of opportunity abd possibility for social mobility have ogten taken a back seat.
8.5.4. Although these conflicts point to the sharp divisions and perhaps ambivalence Americans feel about equity issues, they also point iu the difficukty of ameliorating problems of educational inequality. The facts seem clear that in the 21st century, the divisions between rich and poor and in the schooling received it is becoming more glaring than ever. Equity issues must be the central agenda.
9. Educational inequality
9.1. Educational authority must be shared by parents, citizens, and professional educators even though such sharing does not guarantee that power will be wedded to knowledge, parents can successfully unformed decisions.
10. Politics of Education
10.1. 4 purposes of Education
10.1.1. Intellectual is to teach the basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing and mathematics. To transmit specific knowledge to help students acquire higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.
10.1.1.1. The role of the school is teach higher-order thinking skills. such as critical thinking and evaluation.
10.1.2. Political is to inculcate allegiance to the existing political order (patriotism); to prepare citizens who will participate in this political order (democracies); to help assimilate diverse culture groups into a political order; to teach children the basic laws of society.
10.1.2.1. The role of the school is to teach higher level thinking skills such as critical thinking and evaluation to engender patriotism and conformity to society rules.
10.1.3. Social is to help solve social problems. To work as one of many institutions such as with family and church to ensure social cohesion to socialize children into the various roles, behaviors, and values of the society,
10.1.3.1. The Role of the school is to believe that society is in need of improvement or change stress its role either improving or transforming it.
10.1.4. Economic purpose is to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor. The degree to which schools directly prepare students to work varies from society to society, but schools have a indirect role in the process.
10.1.4.1. The role of the school is to prepare the students for work. This varies from society to society.
10.2. Explanations of unequal Educational Performance for Radicals, Conservatives, Liberal
10.2.1. Radical - like liberals believe that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds begin school with unequal opportunities. Radicals believe that the conditions that result in educational failure are caused by the economic system, not the educational system, and can only be ameliorated by changes in the political-economic structure.
10.2.2. Liberal perspective argues that individual students or groups of students begin school with different life chances and therefore some groups have significantly more advantages than others. Therefore, society must attempt through policies and programs to equalize the playing field so that students from disadvantage backgrounds have a better chance.
10.2.3. Conservatives argue that individuals or groups of students rise and fall on their own intelligence, hard work, and initiative, and the achievement is based on hard work and sacrifice. The school from the vantage point is designed to allow individuals the opportunity to succeed. If they do not it may be because they are as individuals deficient in ome manner or because they are members of a group that is deficient.
10.3. Definition of Educational Problems
10.3.1. Liberal perspective argues the following points:
10.3.1.1. Schools have too often limited the chances of poor and minority children and therefore the problem of underachievement by these groups is a critical issue.
10.3.1.2. Schools place too much emphasis on discipline and authority,thus limiting their role in helping students develop as individuals.
10.3.1.3. Central problem related to inequalities of low socioeconomic backgrounds and difference in climate between urban and suburban schools.
10.3.1.4. Traditional curriculum leaves out the diverse cultures of the groups that comprise the pluralistic society.
10.3.2. Radical perspective argues the following points:
10.3.2.1. Educational system has failed the poor, minorities, and women through classist, racist, sexist, and homophobic policies
10.3.2.2. The schools have stifled critical understanding of the problems of America society through a curriculum and teaching practices that promote conformity.
10.3.2.3. The traditional curriculum is classist, racist, sexist, and homophobic and leaves out the cultures, histories, and voices of the oppressed.
10.3.2.4. In general, the educational system promotes inequality of both opportunity and results.
10.3.3. Conservative perspective argues the following points:
10.3.3.1. Schools systems have lowered academic standards and reduces educational quality. Referred to as Decline of Standards
10.3.3.2. Schools have watered down the traditional curriculum and thus weakened the school's ability to pass on the heritage of American and Western civilizations to children. Conservatives often define this problem as the decline of cultural literacy.
10.3.3.3. School lost ability traditional role of teaching moral standards and values. Conservatives often refer to this problem as the decline of values or of civilizations.
10.3.3.4. Schools have lost their traditional disciplinary function and often became chaotic. Conservatives often refer to this problem as the decline of authority.
10.3.3.5. Schools are stifled by bureaucracy and inefficiency. Liberals have significantly different viewpoints on the major educational problems of our times.
11. Curriculum , Pedagogy, Transmission of Knowledge
11.1. 4 Different types of curriculum
11.1.1. Humanist reflects the idealist philosophy that knowledge of the traditional liberal arts is the cornerstone of an educated citizenry and that the purpose of education is to present to students the best of what has been thought and written.
11.1.2. Social Efficiency reflects the philosophy pragmatist approach developed in the early twentieth century as a putatively democratic response to the development of the mass public secondary education.
11.1.3. Developmentalist relates to the needs and interest of the student rather than the needs of society. Emanated from the aspects of Dewey's writings related to the relationship between the child and the curriculum ( Dewey, 1902), as well as developmental psychologist such as Piaget, and uts emphasized the process of teaching as well as its content. Stresses the importance of relating schooling to the life experiences of the child in a way that would make education come alive in a meaningful manner.
11.1.4. Social Meliorist philosophically social reconstructionist concerned with the role of the schools reforming society, as well as a response to the growing dominance of the social efficiency curriculum..
11.2. 2 dominant traditions of teaching
11.2.1. Dialactic Method commonly relies on the lecture as the main form of communication. At the heart of traditions is the assumption that the educational process involves the relationship between the knower and the learner, and that education is a process of transferring information from one to the other. Based on that the student does not possess what the teacher has, the mimetic model stresses the importance of rational sequencing in the teacher process and assessment of the learning process. ( i.e. a clear statement of learning goals and a clear means to assess whether students have acquired them).
11.2.2. Mimetic Tradition is based on the viewpoint that the purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students. Method of doing this through what is termed the Dialactic method.
11.2.3. Transformative Tradition is learning information that makes the student different than he or she was before, this model defines the function of education more broadly and, according to some, more ambiguously. Proponents of this tradition believe that the purpose of education is to change the student in some meaningful way, including intellectually, creatively, spiritually. and emotionally.
11.2.3.1. The teaching process involves not just the didactic transfer of information but the conversation between teacher and student in such a way that the student becomes an integral part of the learning process. Lecture may be used in this tradition, the dialectical method, which involves the use of questioning, is at the core of its methodology. Educators believe that all teaching begins with the active participation of the student and results in some form of growth. What kind of growth is desired varies with the specific goals of the classroom, but broader spectrum of goals is outlined. It tends to reject the scientific model of teaching and instead views teaching as an artistic endeavor.