1. Sociological Perspectives
1.1. Theoretical Perspectives Concerning the Relationship between School and Society
1.1.1. 1. Functional Theories
1.1.1.1. Functionalists view society as a kind of machine, where each part helps another to make society work. They argue that education is important in creating moral unity necessary for societies.
1.1.1.1.1. 2. Conflict Theories
1.2. Effects of Schooling on Individuals
1.2.1. 1. Student Peers
1.2.1.1. Not many things in this life are, or should be, more important than the friendships individuals make. Many people make lifelong friends through the connections they make with fellow classmates, teammates, etc.
1.2.1.1.1. 2. Knowledge
2. Philosophy of Education
2.1. The Pragmatism Philosophy of Education
2.1.1. 1. Generic Notions
2.1.1.1. People that believe in and study pragmatism, such as John Dewey (1859-1952) did, will believe that a better society can be attained through education. Schools should teach skills both experientially as well as from books.
2.1.1.1.1. 2. Goal of Education
3. Schools as Organizations
3.1. Major Stakeholders
3.1.1. 1. Alabama in the Federal Senate
3.1.1.1. Luther Strange (R), Richard Shelby (R)
3.1.2. 2. Alabama in the U.S. House
3.1.2.1. Bradley Byrne (R), Martha Roby (R), Mike Rogers (R), Robert Aderholt (R), Mo Brooks (R), Gary Palmer (R), Terri Sewell (D)
3.1.3. 3. Alabama District 4 Senator
3.1.3.1. Paul Bussman (R)
3.1.4. 4. Alabama District 7 Representative
3.1.4.1. Ken Johnson (R)
3.1.5. 5. Alabama State Superintendent
3.1.5.1. Ed Richardson (Interim)
3.1.6. 6. Alabama District 7 BOE Representative
3.1.6.1. Jeffery Newman
3.1.7. 7. Lawrence County Superintendent
3.1.7.1. John Smith
3.1.8. 8. Lawrence County BOE Members
3.1.8.1. Christine Garner (District 1), Gary Bradford (2), Beth Vinson (3), Shanon Terry (4), Reta Waldrep (5)
3.2. Elements of Change
3.2.1. Elements of change within school cultures and processes include conflict, new behaviors, team building, and content. When creating change, conflict initiates the change and new relationships and behaviors enable leadership to emerge,.
4. Equality of Opportunity
4.1. Impacts on Educational Outcomes
4.1.1. Class
4.1.1.1. Education can be expensive. The longer a student stays in school, the more financial support that student will need.
4.1.2. Race
4.1.2.1. Closely linked to class, race can sometimes be correlated to diverse opportunities in education.
4.1.3. Gender
4.1.3.1. Society tends to discriminate against women occupationally. However, women are more likely to recieve higher education and less likely to drop out of lower level educational institutions.
4.2. 1982 Responses to Coleman Study
4.2.1. 1. Differences in schools were determined to make a difference in individual student achievement.
4.2.2. 2. Private schools were determined to be a more successful place of learning for low-income students.
5. Educational Reform
5.1. Federal Based Reforms
5.1.1. 1. Schools 2000
5.1.1.1. Schools 2000 was a direct outgrowth of the state-led education reform agenda of the 1980's, which included increasing high school graduation requirements, instituting statewide testing programs, offering more AP courses, promoting technology in the classroom, and instituting new teacher evaluation systems.
5.1.2. 2. No Child Left Behind
5.1.2.1. No Child Left Behind is a landmark piece of legislation that had far-reaching consequences for education in the U.S. Its purpose was to better serve the low-income and minority students of the nation.
5.2. School Based Reforms
5.2.1. 1. Charter Schools
5.2.1.1. Charter schools are free from many of the regulations that are applied to other public schools, and in return are held accountable for student performance. Schools are given the freedom to produce results their own way, but are also responsible for all of their failures.
5.2.2. 2. School Choice
5.2.2.1. A push has been made for more school choice for students. Choice can be controversial due to its heavy political nature, and can be confusing with its policies and regulations.
6. Politics of Education
6.1. There are four purposes of education:
6.1.1. 1. Intellectual Purposes
6.1.1.1. The intellectual purposes of education are to teach basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics;to transmit specific knowledge (e.g., in literature, history, the sciences, etc.); and to help students acquire higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.
6.1.1.1.1. 2. Political Purposes
6.2. From the conservative perspective:
6.2.1. The Role of the School
6.2.1.1. The role of the school, from the conservative perspective, is to provide students with the necessary training to ensure success economically and socially. Schools should help maintain social order by helping to grow children socially.
6.2.1.1.1. Explanations of Unequal Performance
7. Curriculum and Pedagogy
7.1. Humanist Theory
7.1.1. I advocate for the humanist theory because I believe that the liberal arts are the cornerstone of every field of study and should be the focus of elementary and secondary curriculum.
7.2. Traditions of Teaching
7.2.1. 1. Mimetic Teaching
7.2.1.1. The purpose of teaching is to transmit knowledge from one generation to the next.
7.2.2. 2. Transformative Teaching
7.2.2.1. The purpose of education is to change the student in some meaningful way, including intellectually, creatively, spiritually, and emotionally.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Cultural Difference Theories
8.1.1. 1. Researchers argue that African-American children do less well in school because they adapt to their oppressed position in the class and caste structure.
8.1.2. 2. Other researchers may see working class and nonwhite students as resisting the dominant culture of the schools.
8.2. School-Centered Explanations for Inequality
8.2.1. 1. School Financing
8.2.1.1. Differences in funding often lead to disadvantaged students in the classroom.
8.2.2. 2. School Quality
8.2.2.1. Many times, the schools with better resources also attract and retain the better teachers.
8.2.3. 3. School Leadership
8.2.3.1. Schools must have strong and effective leaders that work to counter against any educational inequalities.
8.2.4. 4. Gender, Race, Class,
8.2.4.1. Some may be at a disadvantage due to numerous stereotypes working against them.
9. History of U.S. Education
9.1. The Emergence of the Public High School
9.1.1. I believe that the emergence of public high schools in the United States have had the most influence on education. When the United States decided that public school would be made mandatory and free, it opened the door for countless citizens to receive educations that would not have otherwise.
9.1.1.1. The Liberal Interpretation of the History of U.S. Education
9.1.1.1.1. Liberals belief our nation's history of education involves the progressive evolution of schools to provide equality of opportunity for all. With more students from different backgrounds going to school, the goals of education have become more diverse.