1. Chapter 4: Sociological Perspectives
1.1. Theoretical perspectives concerning the relationships between school and society.
1.1.1. Functionalism
1.1.1.1. Functionalists tend to assume that consensus is the normal state in society and that conflict represents a break down of shared values. In a highly integrated functioning society, schools socialize students into the appropriate values, and sort and select students according to their abilities.
1.1.2. Conflict Theory:
1.1.2.1. Conflict sociologist suggest that schools are similar to social battlefields, where students struggle against teachers, teachers against administrators, etc. The conflict perspective offers important insights about the relation between school and society.
1.1.3. Interactionalism:
1.1.3.1. This critique arises from the observation that functional and conflict theories are very abstract, and emphasize structure and process at a very general level of analysis. Interactional theories attempt to make the commonplace strange by turning on their heads everyday taken-for-granted behaviors and interactions between students and students, and students and teachers.
1.2. 5 Effects of Schooling on Individuals
1.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes
1.2.1.1. Sociologist of education disagree strongly about the relative importance of schooling in terms of what knowledge and attitudes young people acquire in school. Generally it is found that the higher social class background of the student, the higher his or her achievement is.
1.2.2. Employment
1.2.2.1. Students believe that graduating from college will lead to a greater employment opportunity.
1.2.3. Teacher Behavior
1.2.3.1. Teachers have a huge impact on students learning and behavior. Teachers are models for students and, as instructional leaders, teachers set standards for students and influence student self-esteem and sense of efficacy.
1.2.4. Student Peer Groups and Alienation
1.2.4.1. Students idealizes athletic ability, looks and detached style that indicates "coolness" and nobody wants to be labeled as a "nerd", this can lead to alienation and even violence. Student cultures play a very important role in shaping students' educational experiences. Schools are far more than collections of individuals; they develop cultures, traditions, and restraints that profoundly influence those who work and study within them. They socialize and sort and select students and, in doing so, reproduce society.
1.2.5. Tracking
1.2.5.1. Tracking refers to the placement of students in curricular programs based on students' abilities and inclinations. However, it has been found in many studies that tracking decisions are often based on other criteria, such as students' class or race. Track placement directly affects cognitive development. Students in lower tracks experience more alienation and authoritarian teachers than high-track students.
2. Chapter 5: Philosophy of Education
2.1. Existentialism
2.1.1. Generic Notions
2.1.1.1. Believed that individuals are placed on this earth alone and must make sense out of the chaos that they encounter. People must create themselves, and they must create their own meaning.
2.1.2. Key Researches
2.1.2.1. Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) Martin Buber (1878-1965) Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) Jean Paul Sarte (1905-1986) Maxine Green
2.1.3. Goal of Education
2.1.3.1. The focus of education should be on the needs of individuals, both cognitively and affectionately. Education should stree individuality, it should include discussion of non-rational as well as the rational world; that the tensions of living in the world. Education is seen as an activity liberating the individual from a chaotic, absurd world.
2.1.4. Role of the Teacher
2.1.4.1. Teachers must take risks; expose themselves to restraint students; and world constantly to enable their students to become "wide awake." The role of the teacher is intensely personal and carries a lot of responsibility.
2.1.5. Method of Instruction
2.1.5.1. They believe that each student has a different learning style and that it is up to the teacher to discover what works for each child.
2.1.6. Curriculum
2.1.6.1. Literature, Art, Drama, Music. Literature would be chosen because it is able to evoke responses in readers that might move them to new levels of awareness. Art, Drama, and Music also has the ability to encourage personal interaction.
3. Chapter 6: Schools as Organizations
3.1. State-members in my District
3.1.1. Federal Alabama Senators & House of Representatives
3.1.1.1. Luther Strange, Richard Shelby
3.1.1.2. Robert Aderholt
3.1.2. State Senator and House of Representative
3.1.2.1. Steve Livingston
3.1.2.2. Nathaniel Ledbetter
3.1.3. State Superintendent
3.1.3.1. Ed Richardson is filling in since Michael Sentance resigned in early September
3.1.4. Representative on State School Board
3.1.4.1. Mary Scott Hunter
3.1.5. DeKalb County Superintendent
3.1.5.1. Dr. Jason Barnett
3.1.6. Members of Dekalb County Board of Education
3.1.6.1. Jeff Williams, Chairman Randy Peppers, Vice Chairman Matt G. Sharp, Member Mark Richards, Member Robert Elliott, Member
4. Chapter 8: Equality of Opportunity
4.1. How does class, race and gender impact educational outcomes?
4.1.1. Education in the formalized setting of classrooms still have the perspective of a human teaching other humans about the world around them. However, it isn't any secret that every aspect of teacher's and student's personality is a factor in the process of education. There are many issues that arises in classrooms due to class, race and even gender.
4.1.1.1. "Social Class" is a persistent reality that defines the way any one of us approaches life. Let's just suggest that a teacher assigns a worksheet in a math class that will cause the students to learn the study skills. However, if this classroom is in a poor neighborhood and the worksheets are referring to problems with people spending huge amounts on outrageous luxury goods, its easy to see that the students inside the class is going to be distracted from the lesson.
4.1.1.2. Race is in more senses a more overt marker and in the sense in probably more likely to be registered in the way that influences education. Teachers have to make every effort to teach historical facts with impartiality, it is not always easy to play the role of objective observer and personal prejudices are hard to avoid.
4.1.1.3. On average, girls have more motivation that boys to perform well in school. For the most part, teachers usually interact equally to both genders, but sometimes they may respond differently to boys than they do girls.
4.2. The two responses to the Coleman Study from 1892.
4.2.1. 1. Coleman and his colleagues argued that private schools were more effective learning environments than public schools because they place more emphasis on academic activities and because private schools enforce discipline in a way that is consistent with student achievement (p.368)
4.2.2. 2. Coleman and his associates found that the average test scores of sophomores in both private and public schools, there wasn't a single subject that public school students scored higher than private school students.
5. Chapter 9: Educational Inequality
5.1. Two types of cultural differences.
5.1.1. African Americans don't do as well in school as Whites because they adapt to their oppressed position.
5.1.1.1. African American families and schools socialize their children/students to deal with their inferior life choices.
5.1.2. Working class and nonwhite students are seen as resisting the dominant culture of schools.
5.1.2.1. Working class males in England reject the middle class values and instead they embrace working class culture.
5.2. 4 school-centered explanations for educational ineqaulity.
5.2.1. 1. School Financing: Public schools are financed through a combination of revenues for local, state and federal sources. The majority of the funds come from local and state taxes, with local property taxes a significant source. Property values are significantly higher in more affluent communities because these communities are able to raise more money for schools through this form of taxation than poorer communities with lower property values. (p.428)
5.2.2. 2. Effective School Research: Coleman and Jencks that found that differences in school resources and quality do not adequately explain between-school differences in academic achievement was viewed by teachers as a mixed blessing. The concern with unequal educational performance of nonwhite and working-class students is at the heart of such inquiry. The finding that within-school differences are as of more significant than between-school differences raised questions about the common-sense argument that student from lower socioeconomic backgrounds do poorly simply because they attend inferior schools. (p.431)
5.2.3. 3. Between-School Differences- Curriculum and Pedagogic Practices: This effective school research points to how differences in what is often termed "school climates" affect academic performance. This research looked at differences between schools in inner-city, lower socioeconomic neighborhoods in order to demonstrate that schools can make a difference in these communities. (p.433)
5.2.4. 4. Gender and Schooling: Feminist agree that schooling often limits the educational opportunities and life chances of women in a number of ways. For example, boys and girls are socialized differently through a variety of school processes. One of these processes being that the curriculum materials portray men's and women's roles often in stereotypical and traditional ways. A second way is that the traditional curriculum "silences women" by omitting significant aspects of women's history and women's lives from discussion. The third is that the hidden curriculum reinforces traditional gender roles and expectations through classroom organization, instructional practices and classroom interactions. (p. 437-438). The best example given from the book is that boys tend to dominate classroom discussion, and when it comes to helping students, teachers often assist the male students but actually ends up doing it for the female students.
6. Chapter 3: History of U.S. Education
6.1. Education for Women and African-Americans
6.1.1. Through the first half of the nineteenth century, education opportunities for women were very limited because it was thought to be too stressful for them. Very few women received more education than just common literacy and numeracy. But by 1820, education for women was making it way into history. In 1821 a female seminary in Troy, New York was used to deliver education to women that was similar to the education offered for a man. Though women was starting to get education at this time, African Americans still were not, but it wasn't long until they was offered education as well. I feel like this reform made a huge impact on education, because it simply opened doors for people other than men. Opening education up for women and African Americans really makes things seem like a more "equal" opportunity for each of us.
6.2. The Democratic-Liberal School
6.2.1. Democratic-liberals believed that history of U.S. education involved the progressive evolution that a school system was committed to providing equality of opportunity for all. Historians of this party suggest that each period in the expansion of education involved attempts of liberal reformers to expand the opportunities of education to larger segments off the population and to reject the conservatives view of schools. The Democratic-liberals believe that the U.S. educational system must continue to move closer in equity and excellence, without sacrificing one or the other too dramatically.
7. Chapter 7: Curriculum and Pedagogy
7.1. Developmentalist Curriculum
7.1.1. Related to the needs and interest of students.
7.1.2. It isn't very influential in U.S. public schools but extremely influential in TEP's. It is also an important model in independent and alternative schools.
7.1.3. Student centered and that the curriculum to the needs and interest of each child at particular developmental stages.
7.1.4. It stresses the importance of relating schooling to life experiences of each child in a way that would make education come alive in a more meaningful manner.
7.1.5. Teachers are more of a facilitator of student growth instead of a transmitter of knowledge while using this curriculum.
7.2. Mimetic
7.2.1. Is based on the viewpoint that the purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge of students. It also stresses the importance of rational sequencing in the teaching process and assessment of the learning process.
7.3. Transformative
7.3.1. This is based off of the idea that the purpose of an instructor is a lot greater than just delievering information. Transformative teaching is more focused on helping students become more engaged in the learning process, rather than being focused on the content.
8. Chapter 10: Educational Reform
8.1. 2 school-based reforms
8.1.1. School-Business Partnerships
8.1.1.1. In the 1980's, business leaders became increasingly interested that the nation's schools were not producing the kinds of graduates necessary for revitalization of the U.S. economy. Some school-business partnerships include scholarships for poor students to attend college and programs where businesses "adopt" a school.
8.1.2. School-to-Work Programs
8.1.2.1. The intent for school-to-work programs was to extend what had been a vocational emphasis to non-college-bound students regarding skills necessary for successful employment and to stress the importance of work-based learning.
8.2. 2 Reforms that Impact Education
8.2.1. No Child Left Behind tossed aside the critique of US education. NCLB mandates the uniform standards for all students in order to reduce and eventually eliminate the social class and race achievement gap.
8.2.2. Race to the Top - the primary goal for this reform was to aid states in meeting various components of NCLB.
9. Chapter 2: Politics of Education
9.1. Four Purposes of Schools
9.1.1. The intellectual purpose of the school is to assure that each students receives basic skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics. It is also to help students to acquire the ability to analyze, evaluate and synthesize.
9.1.2. The political purpose of schools is to prepare the students for the world in which they are living in. By teaching them patriotism, basic laws of society, prepare them to partake in political democracies and the help them fully understand diverse cultural groups.
9.1.3. The social purpose of schools are to prepare the students for the various roles that they could encounter in the society. It is also to teach them proper behavior and values of the society surrounding them.
9.1.4. The economic purpose of the school is strengthen the knowledge of the students to help them become successful in the jobs that they will preform in the society.
9.2. Perspective
9.2.1. The Role of the School
9.2.1.1. The conservative perspective of schools are to prepare the students with the proper knowledge and to ensure that they are capable of achieving their full potential in their future economic and social productivity. They also believe that schools prepare children for the roles in which they will have to encounter as they grow into adults. Conservatives also believe that through their curriculum that the schools are addressing cultural traditions.
9.2.2. Explanations of Unequal Performance
9.2.2.1. Liberals believe that students enter schools with different life chances. They think that some students have more advantages than others because of the background that they come from. Liberals believe that students that come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are the ones who begin school with the most unequal opportunities.
9.2.3. Definition of Educational Problems
9.2.3.1. Radicals analyze educational problems a lot like the liberals do, but the tone in which they present their viewpoints with is quiet different. Radicals believe that through racism, sexism and homophobic polices that the school systems have failed the poor, minorities and even women. The think that through a curriculum and teaching practices they have prevented students from fully understanding the problems that are happening in American society today. They think that the curriculum leaves out cultures, history and voices of the oppressed. Basically, they are saying that the educational system is promoting inequality of not only opportunity but results as well.