1. Chapter 6: Schools as Organizations
1.1. Major stakeholders in my district
1.1.1. Federal Alabama Senators
1.1.1.1. Richard Shelby
1.1.1.2. Luther Strange
1.1.2. Alabama House of Representatives
1.1.2.1. Bradley Byrne
1.1.2.2. Martha Roby
1.1.2.3. Mike Rogers
1.1.2.4. Robert Aderholt
1.1.2.5. Mo Brooks
1.1.2.6. Gary Palmer
1.1.2.7. Terri Sewell
1.1.3. State Superintendent
1.1.3.1. Ed Richardson
1.1.4. Representative on State School Board
1.1.4.1. Kay Ivey
1.1.4.2. Jackie Ziegler
1.1.4.3. Betty Peters
1.1.4.4. Stephanie W. Bell
1.1.4.5. Yvette Richardson
1.1.4.6. Ella B. Bell
1.1.4.7. Dr. Cynthia S. McCarty
1.1.4.8. Jeffrey Newman
1.1.4.9. Mary Scott Hunter
1.1.5. Local Superintendent
1.1.5.1. Dr. Matt Akin
1.1.6. All Members on Local School Board
1.1.6.1. Elisa Ferrell
1.1.6.2. Walker McGinnis
1.1.6.3. Beth Wilder
1.1.6.4. Michelle Watkins
1.1.6.5. Pam Hill
1.2. Elements of Change
1.2.1. School Processes
1.2.1.1. Truly school processes are a way to identify the cultural elements of a school.
1.2.2. School Cultures
1.2.2.1. Conflict
1.2.2.1.1. This is a crucial part of change. Efforts to make schools a democracy do not create conflict but they allow problems to come to the surface so they can be worked through and resolved.
1.2.2.2. New behavior is learned
1.2.2.2.1. For change to exist new behaviors and relationships must form creating trust, working together, and learning how to resolve conflicts that will arise.
1.2.2.3. Team Building must reach out to the school as a whole.
1.2.2.3.1. You must work together as a group, because as soon as exclusion is felt there will be resistance to change.
1.2.2.4. Process and the content are related and intertwine.
1.2.2.4.1. There must be trust and openness built with in a team, encouraging individuals to make commitments and responsible to the team.
2. Chapter 7: Curriculum & Pedagogy
2.1. The curriculum theory to which I advocate is the developmentalist. It is a curriculum that is student centered. It tries to tailor the curriculum to meet the needs and interests of each student during different developmental stages. It relates school to true life experiences, so education is able to be more meaningful and come to life for the learner.
2.2. The two dominant traditions of teaching
2.2.1. Mimetic Tradition is based on the view of the purpose of education being to give knowledge to students. There are clear and measurable goals.
2.2.2. Transformative Tradition view is to cause meaningful change to occur in the student, which includes by intellect, creativity, spiritual, and emotional.
3. Chapter 8: Equality of Opportunity
3.1. Impact on Educational Outcomes
3.1.1. Class- Class plays a role in what type of experience a student will have with education. Upper and middle class families have higher expectations for their children to do well and go further in their schooling. There is a direct link to a parent's income level and the child's academic performance in school.
3.1.2. Race- Race tends to correlate with the amount of education a student will likely achieve. It is difficult to separate race from class since they are often intertwined and overlapping. Minority students in the U.S. receive fewer and inferior opportunities educationally than white students.
3.1.3. Gender- Women in the past have been less likely to go as far as school as men. However, the last 20 years have reduced educational gender differences. Women typically make better grades and are less likely to drop out.
3.2. Two Responses to the Coleman Study from 1982
3.2.1. 1. The differences between a public school and a Catholic school's learning are slight, although there are statistical differences between the two.
3.2.2. 2. Where a student goes to school is usually related to race and socioeconomic background. The race and socioeconomic background of a school has a larger effect on the student's achievement than their individual race or socioeconomic background.
4. Chapter 9: Educational Inequality
4.1. Two types of cultural differences theory
4.1.1. 1.John Ogbu macrosociological response argued that there is a "job ceiling" for African Americans. He believed there were inferior chances given to African Americans, so they should not be encouraged to internalize values and skills that they will never have an opportunity to participate in.
4.1.2. 2. Bourdien concepts focused on how social and cultural standing affect educational inequality. He concluded that wealthier families provide more cultural and social advantages for their children, which then gives the child more educational advantages.
4.2. Four school-centered explanations for educational inequality
4.2.1. 1. School Financing- Is Largely dependent on the resources being given to school but the community. In more wealthy communities they are able to provide more per student and less for the less fortunate is provided.
4.2.2. 2. Effective School Research- Need to compare schools that are in different socioeconomic communities, as well as understand the differences in performance of students from lower and higher socioeconomic communities. There should be high expectations, strong leadership for the school, accountability, flexibility, and instructional time.
4.2.3. 3. Curriculum and Pedagogic Practices-Bernstein's research shows that working class communities are likely to have authoritarian and teacher directed pedagogic practices. School expectations of the students may have a role in guiding the students where they arrive educationally.
4.2.4. 4.Curriculum and Ability Grouping- Show that there can be large differences not only between schools, but even within a school. Students from he same school can be performing differently from one another suggesting that the school may have characteristics causing these outcomes. Depending on the different groups for a curriculum the students can receive a different education within the same school.
5. Chapter 10: Educational Reforms
5.1. Two school based reforms
5.1.1. 1.School Business Partnership- This is when a business adopts a school, provides scholarships to attend college, and helps to raise the student's test scores. The Boston Compact is a notable school business partnership formed in 1982.While these partnerships gain media attention there is little evidence in their success of the goal to greatly improve a school.
5.1.2. 2. Privatization- Privatization is a way to bridge the gap between private and public schools. Companies such as the Sylvan Learning Center, tutor students helping to raise academic achievement levels. The review are mixed on the effectiveness of Privatization reform.
5.2. Two community reforms that impact education
5.2.1. 1. Canada's Harlem Children's Zone- focus on meeting the needs of the student and their families. These needs included educational, physical, psychological, and social needs.
5.2.2. 2. Newark's Broader Bolder Approach
6. Chapter 2: Politics of Education
6.1. Purposes of Education
6.1.1. 1. Intellectual- teach basic cerebral skills to relay specific knowledge
6.1.2. 2. Political- to teach patriotism, to prepare students to be citizens who participate in the political order, to educate children on societal basic laws
6.1.3. 3. Social- to help fix social problems, to create social cohesion, and to help children become socialized in various roles, behaviors and society values. Socialization is a key ingredient to the stability of any society
6.1.4. 4. Economic- prepares students for their future occupations
6.2. Perspectives
6.2.1. 1. The role of the school
6.2.1.1. Conservative Perspective-to provide a place where individual merit is encouraged and rewarded. Believe the most talented and hard working students should be able to advance.
6.2.1.2. Liberal Perspective- believe schools should ensure that opportunity is equal for the rich and the poor. The school should balance the needs of society and the individual.
6.2.1.3. Radical Perspective- argues that schools in the U.S. reproduce economic, social, and political inequality. Schools should reduce inequality and provide social movement
6.2.2. 2. Explanations of unequal performance
6.2.2.1. Conservative- believe that it is up to an individual or group of students to rely on their intelligence, hard work, initiative. They believe achievement is based on sacrifice and hard work. They want to provide individuals an opportunity to succeed..
6.2.2.2. Liberal- Believe that individual students or groups of students begin school with different life chances so some groups have significantly more advantages than other groups have. They believe that we must try to equalize through policies and programs so students from disadvantaged backgrounds have a better chance.
6.2.2.3. Radical- Believe there are unequal opportunities for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. They believe these conditions are caused by the economic system, not the educational system and can only be corrected by the changes in the political-economic structure.
6.2.3. 3. Definition of educational problems
6.2.3.1. Conservative-
6.2.3.1.1. Decline of Standards
6.2.3.1.2. Decline of Cultural Literacy
6.2.3.1.3. Decline of values or civilization
6.2.3.1.4. Decline of authority
6.2.3.2. Liberal-
6.2.3.2.1. Underachievement by poor and minority children
6.2.3.2.2. Too much emphasis placed on discipline and authority,, limiting their role in guiding students to develop as individuals
6.2.3.2.3. Differences in climate and quality between suburban and urban schools , and between low socioeconomic and high socioeconomic backgrounds
6.2.3.3. Radical-
6.2.3.3.1. The educational system has let down the poor, minorities, and women through classist, racist, sexist, and homophobic policies
6.2.3.3.2. Curriculum and teaching practices encourage conformity which limits critical understanding of American society
6.2.3.3.3. The traditional curriculum leaves omits cultures, histories, and voices of the oppressed
6.2.3.3.4. The educational system generally promotes inequality of both opportunity and results
7. Chapter 3: History of U.S. Education
7.1. Progressive views during the post World War II years had a large amount of influence on education. It was child centered education that experimented and tried to respond to the students needs. It emphasized freedom, relevant education, and individualism. Even though education during the 1960s to 1970s was in great turmoil I still believe this time period helps us gain perspective, realize, and try to find solutions for the disadvantaged learners. Also this time of reform opened our minds and broadened our view of a less traditional approach to education.
7.2. One historical interpretation of U.S. Education is found in the 1980s. In 1983 a report had the negative view of our educational system in A Nation at Risk. The committee thought U.S. education was falling to mediocrity and was concerned for our future as a nation. They saw a decline in literacy, and low test scores when compared internationally. They came up with an agenda to restore the standards and the traditional curriculum.
8. Chapter 4: Sociological Perspectives
8.1. Theoretical perspectives concerning the relationship between school and society
8.1.1. Functionalism-stresses the interdependence of the social system. Belief that education creates moral unity and a harmonious society. Emile Durkheim believed that moral values were the foundations of our society.
8.1.2. Conflict Theory-- belief that social order is created because some groups in society are dominant while others are subordinate. This is achieved by force and manipulation. This theory views political, economic, cultural, and military power as what holds the society together.
8.1.3. Interactionalism- Consists mostly of criticisms and additions to the functional and conflict perspectives. It is very abstract and has an emphasis on the structure and process. It analysis on a general level. They present and allow questions to arise in order to solve problems on a deeper level.
8.2. Effects of schooling on individuals that you think have the greatest impact on students
8.2.1. 1.Knowledge and Attitudes- According to researcher Ron Edmonds, differences in schools are directly related to differences in student outcomes. Also, the amount of time a student spends in school is directly related to how much they learn. The more education someone receives the more they want to read, learn, and participate in politics and public affairs.
8.2.2. 2. Employment- Graduating from college leads to greater employment opportunities. There is a relation between educational levels and income levels. The more education you have the higher income you will likely have. Although education is not only factor in explaining different income levels.
8.2.3. 3.Education and Mobility- Is the belief that occupational and social mobility is dependent of education. Rosenbaum discusses the complex nature of privilege versus merit. Americans overall believe that education opens the doors to many opportunities.
8.2.4. 4. Teacher Behavior- Teachers have an impact on their students. They help to develop student's self esteem and efficacy. Teachers can have judgments and even place self fulfilling prophecies on their students. It is very important for teachers to not have low expectations about any of their students. When teachers demand more and praise their students more the students end up learning more and feeling better about themselves.
8.2.5. 5. Inadequate Schools- Inadequate schools do not help to prepare students to be productive or have fulfilling lives in the future. Differences between schools and school systems reinforce existing inequalities.
9. Chapter 5: Philosophy of Education
9.1. The world view of existentialism
9.1.1. Generic notions- Many argue that existentialism is an individualistic philosophy and not a particular school of philosophy. Existentialists question how their concerns will impact individual lives. This is a belief that people must create themselves and create their own meaning.
9.1.2. Key researchers- Soren Kierkergaard, Sartre, Greene, and Martin Buber.
9.1.3. Goal of education- Believed that education should focus on the needs of an individual in both a cognitive way and an affective way. They believe that education should stress individuality, included non-rational as well as rational world discussions, and should talk about the anxiety in the world that is created by all of the conflict in the world.
9.1.4. Role of teacher- Teachers should understand their own "lived worlds" as well as their students so that they are able to help their students achieve the best "lived worlds" they can. Teachers must take risks, and find ways to open themselves up to resistant students. Teachers must try to help their students become what Greene called "wide awake". Introspection is a helpful tool that will help students become in touch with their world. The teacher's role is very personal and the teacher has a great deal of responsibility in this world view.
9.1.5. Method instruction- Stayed away from methods of instruction and focused on making learning personal instead. Students learn about the world through the teacher encouraging questions, working together, and activities.
9.1.6. Curriculum- Curriculum is very biased toward the humanities. Literature has great deal of meaning to this curriculum because creates more levels of awareness or as Greene said, "wide awareness". At an early age students are exposed to both problems and possibilities.