1. Ch.2 Politics of Education
1.1. Identify/Describe four Purposes of Education
1.1.1. 1st purpose: Intellectual- the most common thought about school and education. It teaches a child to learn basic learning skills like writing, reading, mathematics, critical thinking, etc.
1.1.2. 2nd purpose: Political- teaches basic laws, teaches to support different cultures.
1.1.3. 3rd purpose: Social- teaches appropriate behaviors, how to work with others in many different environments.
1.1.4. 4th purpose: Economic- teaches how to be successful in the world, work ethic, and what their role may be in society.
1.2. Perspective of the role of the school
1.2.1. My view is more liberal on this subject. The conservative view is suggesting that only productive students should be taught more skills and tools to be sure they become more productive adults in society. They believe that school is important to produce citizens that will be socially stable and economically productive. Although I agree some with that last part, I agree more with the liberal perspective that school should teach all students to be more productive in society, not just certain students. Every student should have the opportunity to experience success in society, learn and respect different cultures, and I believe school is where students first learn and gain that ability.
1.3. Perspective of definition of educational problems
1.3.1. I agree more with the liberal perspective on this subject. I think that some school systems have limited the opportunity to learn life skills and basic knowledge for some students.
1.4. Perspective of explanations of unequal education performance
1.4.1. I agree with all three perspectives, the conservative, liberal and the radicals. I believe that people from a lower socioeconomic background has a disadvantage to learn because of the economy and/or the school system at that time. I also believe that no matter what economic class you are in, you can do well and become more successful in society of you work hard.
2. Ch. 3 History of U.S. Education
2.1. Choose and describe a reform movement that you think has had the most influence on education
2.1.1. Movement between pedagogical progressivism and pedagogical traditionalism: The movement believes that focusing on the type of education and also reaching goals is the only way of doing education. Although I believe in both views of education, I think the progressive movement has had the most impact on education in today's society, but in the beginning I think the traditionalist movement started education's foundation. The progressive's curriculum is based on the needs of the students, it encourages individualism, it is child-centered education instead of teacher centered, and believes in an equal education system. (pg. 74)
2.2. Choose and describe one historical interpretation of U.S. Education
2.2.1. The radical historians in the radical-revisionist school agree that the school system has expanded, but they believe that with the expansion, only the wealthy or privileged students were able to get a good education. They think the system lost the ability to make education equal for everyone, that because it focused on the privileged, the working-class suffered because of it.
3. Ch. 6 Schools as Organizations
3.1. Identify major stakeholders in YOUR district by name (Federal Alabama senators and House of Representative, state senator and house of representative, state superintendent, representative on state school board, local superintendent, and all members on local school board)
3.1.1. Federal Alabama senators: Richard Shelby
3.1.2. Federal House of Representative: Mo Brooks
3.1.3. State House of Representative: Mac McCutcheon
3.1.4. State Senator: Richard Shelby and Luther Strange
3.1.5. State Superintendent: Ed Richardson
3.1.6. Representative on state school board: Betty Peters
3.1.7. Local superintendent: Dr. Tom Sisk
3.1.8. All members on local school board: Mr. Earl Glaze, Mr. Bret McGill, Mr. Edward Winter, Mr. Anthony Hilliard, Mr. Charles Shoulders, Mr. Ronald Christ, and Mr. Bradley Young
3.2. Identify and describe the elements of change within school processes and school cultures
3.2.1. Change in the school system is extremely hard to get because of politics. Rules and policies set by bureaucrats are there to enforce fairness within the system; but those rules and policies, although suggesting fairness, can prohibit individuality. To change the culture of a school you must have every teacher, administrator and students on the same page as far as what needs to be changed. To change a culture of a school, you have to address everything that happens in that school, the good, the bad and the ugly, it also takes negotiation and a change of mindset on what they want for the school.
4. Ch. 4 Sociological Perspectives
4.1. Define each of the theoretical perspectives concerning the relationship between school and society: functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionalism
4.1.1. Functionalists believes that every piece of society works together to make it functional. If it doesn't work together then that results in the destruction of the society. Whereas, when everything is working well, they believe that it is the schools responsibility to socialize the students on values and be responsible for social and economic problems. Functionalists on education reform: schools are supposed to create programs and curriculum that encourage higher and more advanced learning and social unity. (Pg. 117-118)
4.1.2. Conflict Theory: socialists think opposite of functionalists. They think is struggle and no cohesion that explains social order. They view it as a school being a "battlefield" because students fight or argue with their teachers and then teachers don't agree with administrators and so on. (Pg. 118).
4.1.3. Interactionalism: looks at the critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives on the school system (pg.120). The critique of the functional perspectives are at a very general and broad level, which means when they critique at this level it critiques the "big picture" of the education system, not just a specific school.
4.2. Identify and describe 5 effects of schooling on individuals that you think have the greatest impact on students as explained in the book
4.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes. Research does suggest that different schools affect academic progress and how students learn. The more academic and disciplined schools give students opportunities to expand their knowledge through outside resources and achieve higher levels of education and the more they think for themselves.
4.2.2. Teacher Behavior. Teachers can have a big impact on how students learn based on a teachers behavior and attitude to the class. Teachers are the ones around the students, more so than their parents/guardians, and students will learn from them how to behave and treat other people. Research supports up the theory that how a teacher behaves toward a student, through encouragement or discouragement, that student's personal growth and achievement can be affected.
4.2.3. Student Peer Groups and Alienation. Just like teachers, students have a major affect on other students. Depending on what you like to do, how you look, and what you believe can determine what label is put on you. Labels are also what separates the student body and creates small groups that can be judgmental towards other groups; but those same groups you are involved with can also shape you as a student and person. As it says in the book, "schools are more than a collection of individuals; schools develop cultures, traditions, and restraints that influence people who work and study within them" (pg. 125).
4.2.4. Inadequate Schools. Social class differences are shown by different situations like in the school system, gender, race, family dynamic, occupations, religions, health, behavior, and politics and can drive a wedge between people that are different. With there being a difference in social classes, kids don't always go to the same academic level of school. In some schools, they don't prepare you for further education and by default they just teach you education for lower-level jobs. Some schools do a better job at preparing you for higher education but I don't believe that they prepare you for life outside of school.
4.2.5. Tracking. Most of the time the schools that don't prepare you for higher education are schools that constrict a student's placement within the school based on their abilities, called tracking. Just like most other things, tracking is based on social class or race, or both. Tracks include "high-ability" which is where academics are more important, and then there are lower tracks that don't support cognitive development as much as the "higher ability" tracks (pg. 127).
5. Ch. 5 Philosophy of Education
5.1. Describe the particular world view of one of student- centered philosophy of education (pragmatism or existentialism). Include the following information: generic notions key researchers goal of education role of teacher method of instruction curriculum
5.1.1. Existentialism Generic Notions. Existentialists believe that it is an individuals responsibility to become understand of the chaos they face, must create themselves from the chaos they create, from the good and evil they create and choices they make, and believe they must also create their own value or worth.
5.1.2. Existentialism Key Researchers. Soren Kierkegaard, Martin Buber, Karl Jaspers, Jean Paul Sartre, Maxine Greene
5.1.3. Existentialism Goal of Education. They believe that an individuals needs should come first and be the main reason of education. Education should also challenge individuals on how they view the world and how they handle or address stresses.
5.1.4. Existentialism Role of Teacher. They should be knowledgeable in the world they live in, teach their students what type of world they live in and the conflicts they face. They also believe that teachers are responsible for teaching the students that they are responsible for their own actions and choices, that they should be able to question their environment and find answers through critical thinking and research, that it is important to work together as a society but also in the classroom by learning together.
5.1.5. Existentialism Method of Instruction. Because existentialism believe that it is a teachers responsibility to teach students what their environment/world is like and that they are responsible for their own choices and actions; they believe that learning is personal. They see that each child has a different learning style and as a teacher, they should get to know their students well so that they are able to teach their students in an appropriate way that the student learns best. Buber created the "I-thou approach" and describes it as a teacher and student working together and learning new things or relearning things to help further each others knowledge and understanding of "past, present, and future" (pg. 191).
5.1.6. Existentialism Curriculum. The curriculum they think bests furthers someones knowledge in life is the humanities. They consider that the humanities allow students to see problems that people can create but for them to learn from not to scare them of people. It assures them that they will see and become aware of all things about society and can make choices to help better the world they live in.
6. Ch. 7 Curriculum & Pedagogy
6.1. Explain a curriculum theory, which you advocate (humanist, social efficiency, developmentalist, or social meliorist)
6.1.1. I like both the developmentalist curriculum and the contemporary critical curriculum theory. The developmentatlist curriculum believes in having education based on the student (student centered) and not society, making the teaching curriculum and process interesting to the students, making sure it develops the students and relates to them on a personal level to simulate real life experiences. I agree that those things are important but I also agree that the curriculum should make students aware of societal issues and teach them how they can make changes, which is what contemporary critical curriculum theory stresses.
6.2. Identify and describe the two dominant traditions of teaching
6.2.1. Mimetic tradition: purpose is to convey specific information to the students, through lectures and presentations.
6.2.2. Transformative tradition: purpose is to affect the student in a meaningful way, including intellectually, creatively, spiritually, and emotionally. Students can be taught in more ways than just through lectures and presentations.
7. Ch. 8 Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Describe how class, race, and gender each impact educational outcomes.
7.1.1. Class will affect what type of education you get based on where you live, the school system you are zoned for, and the type of education you can afford. With lower class systems, the schools education tends to be poorer than then education in middle to high-end class. Parents are also less likely to be involved in helping with the children's homework in lower class society because they are usually working more jobs and odd hours; or as the book states on page 342, "there is a direct correlation between parental income and children's performance on achievement tests".
7.1.2. Race: there is a correlation between achievement test scores and ethnicity and it’s said that it is extremely difficult to separate race from class (pg. 343), because minorities are usually at a disadvantage on the type of education provided for them and so they are more likely to drop out of school.
7.1.3. Gender plays an important role in how males are taught over females and what they are taught. It’s usually expected that males are better in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), than females are so females aren’t taught those subjects the same level males are. Society also affects how women are taught because society favors males in jobs, which I believe, affects how males and females are taught in the school.
7.2. What were the two responses to the Coleman Study from 1982?
7.2.1. Private schools tend to be more academically oriented and have better test scores versus public schools. The school attended also highly affects the education given to the students, “specifically, both the racial/ethnic and social class composition of a student’s school are 1 ¾ times more important than a student’s individual race/ethnicity or social class for understand educational outcomes”. So basically the studies were saying that what your race is and where you live determines the type of school you will go to and the type of education you will receive.
8. Ch. 9 Educational Inequality
8.1. Explain at least two types of cultural differences theory
8.1.1. Ogbu's suggests that school success requires that Blacks' should deny their own cultural identities and accept the dominant culture identities in the schools, basically saying that Blacks' should be acting White.
8.1.2. Bernstein says that culture and class differences are because of students not have equal economic statuses and the schools reward and favor the middle-class versus the working class.
8.1.3. Theory that working-class and nonwhite students resist the dominant culture of the school. The students refuse to accept the middle-class culture of the school and form a more antisocial culture.
8.2. Describe at least four school-centered (not student-centered) explanations for educational inequality
8.2.1. School financing. Funding between poor districts and middle-class districts can affect the type of education the students receive, the type of materials they receive, etc. The tax amount in the surrounding area can also affect how much money a school will get.
8.2.2. Effective School Research. Not having the same type of administration, teachers, education program, technology, etc. for at different schools. Research may not be able to be done at certain schools that don't have the supporting budget or supplies, etc.
8.2.3. Between-School Differences: Curriculum and Pedagogic Practices. School climates is what is considered to be affecting the academic performance. Lower economic status schools tend to suffer academically compared to middle and upper class schools. It suggests that middle class schools have less a more student centered, liberal arts practice and even a college prep practice. Upper class is considered to have an authoritarian pedagogic practice in the school. These differences in the schools show the inequalities in the types of education you receive based on who you are, where you are raised, economic status, etc.
8.2.4. Gender and Schooling. Some suggest that the gender and schooling differences are due some because of how male and females view and their perception of the world and cultures. Many also believe that the type of education males and females receive and take away from the same education the receive are due to how they perceive it. It's suggested that females are more likely to take a caring orientation to the academics versus the males. Gilligan's pointed out that the differences and their relation to gender socialization and how society rewards men for "male" behavior and negatively affects women for "female" behavior. There is a lot of controversy to this subject.
9. Ch. 10 Educational Reform and School Improvement
9.1. Describe two school-based reforms (school-based, school-business partnerships, privatization, school-to-work programs, teacher education or teacher quality)
9.1.1. School-Business Partnerships. They are formed to provide assistance to the schools in ways that the businesses can provide scholarships for students, receive better equipment and supplies, etc. The example the book gave on page 526 was in 1991 in Philadelphia. The Committee to Support Philadelphia Public Schools said that they would supply management assistance and training to the Philadelphia School District for restructuring and implementing a site-based management plan. The city then said that in four years, 1995, they would have their test scores of its graduates raised and improved and improve the grade promotion rates.
9.1.2. School-to-Work Programs were introduced to schools in the 1990s. The allowed for schools to have education curriculums for students who did not want to or plan to go to college and go straight to work after high school, to gain experiences and knowledge in particular areas. The had to have 3 core elements: 1. school based learning; 2. work based learning; 3. connecting activities.
9.2. Describe at least two societal, economic, community, or political reforms that impact education
9.2.1. Full Service and Community Schools. It says on page 539 that full service schools are to focus on meeting students' and their families educational, physical, psychological, and social needs in a coordinated and collaborative fashion between school and community service. That especially helps support the child's ability in school and success rate; especially when they are healthy and have the time to do homework because of the community services having extended hours and providing adult education, health clinics, after school program, mental health services, and more.
9.2.2. Harlem Children's Zone. A service that was created by Geoffrey Canada who grew up in the South Bronx, an all-black community, in Long Island. He wants to and is providing children with the idea that they can and will go to college. With that new mindset, he is also trying to change the environment and atmosphere they live in, instead of removing them from it, so they are more likely to receive better education because of that new mindset. Geoffrey is also providing programs for the parents as well because he knows from research that middle-class African-American children are more likely to get behind because their parents are more likely not to help them with their homework. So Geoffrey is trying to provide the parents with programs to hopefully change that mindset and pattern to help the parents get more involved.