My Foundations of Education
Plan your projects and define important tasks and actions
1. Politics of Education
1.1. Four purposes of education
1.1.1. Intellectual
1.1.1.1. The intellectual purpose of education is to teach basic knowledge skills. Another intellectual purpose of education is to attain specific knowledge in subjects, and be able to translate that knowledge to critical thinking.
1.1.2. Political
1.1.2.1. The political purpose of education is to teach students to be loyal to the political order, the basic laws of the political order, and to prepare students who later may be involved within the political order.
1.1.3. Social
1.1.3.1. The main purpose of the social aspect of education is to solve social problems and maintain stability within society. The social aspect of education is to ensure that students are able to coexist together with various backgrounds, cultures, and values.
1.1.4. Econonic
1.1.4.1. The economic purpose of education is to prepare students to fulfill occupations within the society. The economic view of schooling was designed to train and divide students towards the occupations they will excel in.
1.2. The Liberal Perspective derives from the U.S philosopher John Dewey. The liberal perspective also became popular during the progressive era. However, possibly the most dominant time period in which the liberal perspective arose was during the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
1.2.1. The role of the school
1.2.1.1. The liberal view of education is based on the belief that every student should have the opportunity to succeed. This perspective believes the school should provide the necessary materials for all students to have equal opportunities.
1.2.2. The explanation of unequal educational performance
1.2.2.1. The liberal perspective believes that in some cases there are students who have advantages over other students. This could be economic advantages, social advantages, or cultural advantages. This perspective believes that schools must try to pave the way for equal opportunities for students of all backgrounds.
1.2.3. The definition of educational problems
1.2.3.1. The educational problems from the liberal perspective believe that one of the biggest issues is that students suffering from poverty and minority issues have limited opportunities. This perspective also believes that schooling focuses too much on discipline and authority rather than focusing on developing the students.
2. Curriculum and Pedagogy
2.1. Curriculum Theory
2.1.1. Developmentalist Curriculum
2.1.1.1. Developmentalist Curriculum is related to Progressive views on education. Developmentalist views believe curriculum should be based upon the students' needs rather than what the society wants for the students. This curriculum views the interests of the students as the highest priority. Developmentalist views believe that curriculum should be based upon student centered interests for each developing stage of learning. This approach to curriculum was flexible on when and how the students learned material. John Dewey was a supporter of developmentalist curriculm. Many of our schools today practice this type of curriculum.
2.2. Dominant Traditions of Teaching
2.2.1. Transformative Tradition
2.2.1.1. Transformative tradition means transforming the student. Transformative tradition measures how successful the teaching was based upon how major a transformation the student underwent. Different individuals considered transformations differently. Transformations can mean through characters traits and personalities.
2.2.2. Mimetic Tradition
2.2.2.1. Mimetic tradition means to teach one to 'mimic". This can be thought of as education today, the students mimicking the teacher. This tradition is thought to be a process. The process of practices through mimicking. This can be thought of as second hand knowledge. Knowledge is being passed from the teacher to the students.
3. Sociological Perspectives
3.1. Theoretical Perspectives
3.1.1. Functional Theories
3.1.1.1. The functionalistic view sees the world almost as a puzzle. One piece must fit together with another piece to produce a finished product. Emile Durkheim was the first to develop a functionalistic view of education. Durkheim believed that moral values were the most important aspect within a society. Education was critical in order to have moral values. Functionalists believe education is made to organize students into rational structured environments.
3.1.2. Conflict Theories
3.1.2.1. Conflict sociologists do not see the connection between school and society as trouble-free. Conflict sociologists see education as a social war. Karl Marx is the founder of the conflict view of education. Marx believed that conflict in education is impossible with social class struggles. Other conflict sociologists, such as Max Weber, slightly disagreed with Marx. Weber believed that social classes alone could not control society. Weber questioned whether the goal of education is for training individuals for work or training individuals for thinking purposes.There are many conflict sociologists with different views on education. The most important aspect to remember about conflict theories is realizing the relationship between schools and society.
3.1.3. Interactional Theories
3.1.3.1. Interactional theories derive from criticism pertaining to the previous theories, functional and conflict. Interactional theorists believe that maybe the major issues in schools are actually the smaller overlooked issues. These theorists try to analyze what students and teachers do on a day to day basic. Basil Bernstein believes that social class issues are also linked to issues that can occur with students. Bernstein believes that class and structural issues are linked to educational issues.
3.2. Five effects of schooling
3.2.1. Education leads to children feeling confident and positive.
3.2.2. Education leads to students either entering the workforce or higher education.
3.2.3. Education leads to economic and social flexibility.
3.2.4. Education leads to the development of cultures, traditions, and accomplishments.
3.2.5. Education leads to the equality among students from different backgrounds.
4. Schools as Organizations
4.1. Athens, Alabama
4.1.1. State Senators
4.1.1.1. Tim Melson
4.1.2. House of Representatives
4.1.2.1. Micky Hammon
4.1.2.2. Phil Williams
4.1.2.3. Mac McCutcheon
4.1.2.4. Danny Crawford
4.1.3. State Superintendent
4.1.3.1. Michae Sentance
4.1.4. Representative on state school boad
4.1.4.1. Kay Ivey
4.1.4.2. Michael Sentance
4.1.4.3. Mary Scott Hunter
4.1.4.4. Yvette Richardson
4.1.4.5. Jackie Ziegler
4.1.4.6. Betty Peters
4.1.4.7. Stephanie Bell
4.1.4.8. Ella Bell
4.1.4.9. Cynthia Sanders McCarty
4.1.4.10. Jeffrey Newton
4.1.5. Local superintendent
4.1.5.1. Trey Holladay III
4.1.6. Local school board
4.1.6.1. Chris Adams
4.1.6.2. Mike Bevins
4.1.6.3. Melanie Miller
4.1.6.4. Johnny Coffman
4.1.6.5. Beth Jackson
4.1.6.6. Amy Sullins
4.2. Change within schools
5. Philosophy of Education
5.1. Existentialism
5.1.1. Genetic Notions
5.1.1.1. Existentialists believe that every individual was born on one's own and each individual must learn to navigate through the world independently. Jean Paul Sartre plays an important role in the views of existentialism . This view believes in order words "life is what you make it". Every individual has a choice in life. Those choices can either be good or bad. Some existentialists believe highly in the existence of God while others reject that belief.
5.1.2. Key Researchers
5.1.2.1. Soren Kierkegaard, Martin Buber, Karl Jaspers, Jean Paul Sartre, and Maxine Green all were key researchers in existentialism beliefs.
5.1.3. Goal of Education
5.1.3.1. The existentialists believe that education is made to meet the needs of all individuals, both intellectually and emotionally. Existentialism believes that individuals should be able to express themselves through individuality rather than society deciding who they should be. Individuality should be expressed both rationally and non-rationally.
5.1.4. Role of Teacher
5.1.4.1. The role of teaching is an incredible role based on existentialism views. The teacher must know their own "meaning" in life in order to help their students find their own "meaning" in life. It is important for the teacher to be open and encourage students to take their own desired paths.
5.1.5. Method of Instruction
5.1.5.1. The existentialism view sees learning as a personal intimate experience. This view believes all students are different and learn differently. It is the teacher's job to locate how each student thrives. Knowledge thrives when the teacher and student work together to find an understanding of the material.
5.1.6. Curriculm
5.1.6.1. Existentialists believe humanities is the most prominent part of education. Existentialists see literature, art, drama, and music as eye-opening experiences that teach children new levels of critical thinking and awareness.
6. History of U.S. Education
6.1. Reform Movement
6.1.1. The reform movement that I personally believe had the most affect on education was the education reform led by Horace Mann. Horace Mann fought to have free public schooling. Horace Mann wanted the common law school to bring stability and order to the nation. Mann believed stability and order could be brought to our nation by providing free public schooling. If it was not for Horace Mann public education may not be where it is today. He had the greatest impact on education by having a vision to bring education to all children not just the wealthy.
6.2. Historical Interpretation
6.2.1. The Conservative perspective of education critics believed the reason U.S. schools were average was due to the fact that social goals came before academic quality. The major conservative critics were William Bennett, Chester Finn Jr., Dianne Ravitch, E.D. Hirsch Jr., and Allan Bloom. One of the critics, Diane Ravitch, stated that the education that was used to solve social problems did not solve any social problems. She also stated that even though it had not solved any social problems it did lead to educational excellence. Ravitch did express that curriculum should be fair to all students no matter the culture, but she also stated this was inaccurately representing our heritage. The heritage of the U.S. from a conservative view is Western. The conservative critics stated the conservative view has only diluted the educational progress. Ravitch has expressed the conservative way has not improved academic standards or progressed closer to a more equal society.
7. Equality of Oppurtunity
7.1. Class, race, and gender
7.1.1. Class causes many issues. Sometimes education can be expensive. There are many things that go into education such as books, technology, and equipment. The longer a child stays in school the more likely that child is to continue with their education. Upper and middle class students are more likely to have educational help at home than lower class and working class students. The higher the class status the higher likely it is that a student attends college.
7.1.2. Race is proven to have an impact on how well of an education a student gets. Many statistics show that African American and Hispanic students are more likely to drop out of school than Caucasian students. Race and class are issues that go hand in hand in education.
7.1.3. Gender is also an issue within education systems. In previous times we know women have not always had the same educational opportunities as men. Females are considered to be better students and less likely to drop out of school over male students.