1. Politics of Education
1.1. Purposes of Education
1.1.1. 1. Intellectual Purposes of schooling are to teach basic cognitive skills such as writing, reading, and mathematics. This purpose is also important because it transmits certain knowledge and can help acquire thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.
1.1.2. 2. Political Purposes are in order to teach patriotism, to prepare citizens who will participate in this political order, to help acquire diverse cultural groups, and lastly to teach children the basic laws of the society.
1.1.3. 3. Social Purposes are to simply help solve social problems and to work as as one of many institutions. The process referred to as socialization is a key to the stability of any society.
1.1.4. 4. Economic Purposes of schooling are to prepare students for the future occupational roles and to get them to be trained and readied individuals into the division of labor.
1.2. Perspective
1.2.1. Role of School
1.2.1.1. The Conservative Perspective in this aspect sees the role of the school as providing the fundamental educational training to guarantee the ones that put in the most effort and talent individuals receive necessary tools to maximize economic and social productivity.
1.2.2. Explanations of Unequal Educational Performance
1.2.2.1. The Liberal Perspective argues that individual parties of students begin their school journey with significantly different life chances, therefore giving some students more of an advantage than others.
1.2.3. Definition of Educational Problems
1.2.3.1. The Radical Perspective argues that the educational system has failed many groups such as the poor, minorities, and women. Also, the educational system has promoted inequality of both oppourtunity and results. Schools have significantly halted the understanding of the problems of American Society through a curriculum.
2. History of US Education
2.1. Civil Rights Movement
2.1.1. African-Americans protested against injustice since the earliest slave revolts over 400 years ago. Yet, because of its attempt to dismantle Jim Crow segregation, Brown v. Board of Education can be seen as the spark that ignited the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. This movement led to an emphasis on equity issues. An act that fell during this time focused on the education of disadvantaged children. Colleges and Universities became sites of protests by the anti-Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement.This movement valued that despite the skin color, every child deserves the right to an equal education. This issue of civil rights and education made international headlines with the affair that took place at Little Rock High School in 1957. Education was to remain at the forefront of civil rights even after this event.
2.2. The Democratic-Liberal School
2.2.1. This interpretation believes that the history of the U.S. education involves the progressive evolution, flawed school system committed to providing equality of opportunity for all. They suggest that each period of expansion involved the attempt of liberal reformers. They believed they wanted to reject the conservative view of schools as elite institutions for the privileged. Democratic-Liberals tend to interpret U.S. educational history optimistically. They believe that the U.S. educational system must continue to move closer to each, without sacrificing one or the other too dramatically. Lawrence A. Cremin, in his three-volume history of the U.S. education and in a study of the Progressive Era, shows the evolution of U.S education in terms of two different processes such as popularization and multitudinousness.
3. Sociological Perspectives
3.1. Theoretical Perspectives
3.1.1. Conflict Theory
3.1.1.1. This simply refers to the argument that social order is not based on some collective agreement, but on the ability of dominant groups to impose their will on subordinate groups through force, cooptation, and manipulation. They believe what holds society together is economic, political, cultural, and military power. Karl Marx is the intellectual founder of the conflict school in the sociology of education. Marx believed that the class system made class struggle inevitable. The conflict perspective offers important glances about the relation between school and society.
3.1.2. Interactionalism
3.1.2.1. Interactional theorie about the relation of school and society are primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives. This perspectives comes from the observation that the other two theories are abstract, and emphasize structure and process at a very general level of analysis. This theory does help to understand education in a whole. Basil Bernstein has argued that the structural aspects pf the educational system and the interactional aspects of the system reflect each other. He has examined how speech patterns reflect students in the school setting because schools are usually middle class organizations.
3.1.3. Functionalism
3.1.3.1. This perspective stresses the independence of the social system. They view society simply like a machine. This means one part articulates with another to produce energy required to make society work. Emile Durkheim was the earliest sociologist to embrace a functional point of view about the relation of school and society. He invented the sociology of education. Durkheim;s emphasis on values and cohesion set the tone on how present-day functionalists go about the study of education. Functionalists tend to assume that consensus in the normal state in society.
3.2. Five Effects of Schooling on Individuals
3.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes
3.2.1.1. Schools have a severe impact on student development. Among researchers there are many divisions of how significant school effects are, when taking into considerations social class background. It is found that the higher the social class background of the student, the higher his or her achievement level is. Ron Edmonds is the pioneer of the effective schools movement. He showed the differences in student learning. The effective schools research shows that academically oriented schools do produce higher rates of learning. Research shows that the more education individuals receive, the more likely they are to read newspapers, books, and magazines, and to take part in politics and public affairs.
3.2.2. Employment
3.2.2.1. It is found to be true that graduating from college will lead to greater employments opportunities. In 1986, 54 percent of the 8 million college graduates in the United States entered professional and technical jobs. Credential inflation has led to the expectation among employers that their employees will have an ever-increasing amount of formal education. However, the economic and social worth of an academic credential cannot be measured by examining its effects on job performance. In 2011, high school graduates earned, on average $35,552, while college graduates earned $53,976 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2003a).
3.2.3. Education and Mobility
3.2.3.1. It is crucial that occupational and social mobility begin at the schoolhouse door. Macleod(1995) found that working class boys often reject the prevailing "attainment through education" ethos by emphasizing their relative lack of economic and social mobility through cultural values that glorify physical hardness, manual labor, and a certain sense of fatalism. The complex interplay between merit and privilege has created a war where the rules are not fairly given and not everyone is given the opportunity to set the rules. The relation between education and mobility will continue to be discussed and debated.
3.2.4. Teacher Behavior
3.2.4.1. Teachers will forever have a huge impact on student learning and their behavior. Believe it or not, teachers are constantly busy, and they were many different hats in order to be all they are supposed to be. Teachers are instructors, disciplinarian, bureaucrat, employer, friend, confidant, and educator. Teachers are models for students. They provide students with self esteem and a sense of efficacy. Persil (1977) found that when teachers demanded more from their students and praised them more, students learned more and felt better about themselves. Teachers cannot be held responsible for all the failures to education. It is very crucial to recognize that there are many teachers who are dedicated to their work and who help motivate students to do their absolute best.
3.2.5. Student Peer Groups and Alienation
3.2.5.1. If you reflect on past experiences in high school or junior high you will likely have many memories of fellow students the different group that were created. Stinchcombe(1964) found that students in vocational programs and headed toward low-status jobs were the students most likely to join a rebellious subculture. Student violence has continued to be a problem all around. Student subcultures continue long after high school. There are four major types of college students: careerists, intellectuals, strivers and unconnected. It is obvious that student cultures play an important role in shaping students' educational experiences.
4. Philosophy of Education
4.1. Existentialism
4.1.1. Existentialism is a rather modern philosophy. Its roots can be traced all the way back to the bible, yet it is still relevant to education. Some of the generic notions of this philosophy are used to help understand this philosophy a little more. Since this philosophy is individualistic, many people argue that is not a particular school of philosophy. Existentialists believe that individuals are placed on the earth alone and are required to make any sense out of the chaos they simply encounter along the way. Sartre believe that "existence precedes essence." This is the fact that people must create themselves, and they must create their own meaning. The choice is up to the individual. Most recent philosophers who work in this school include Martin Buber, Karl Jaspers, Jean Paul Sartre, and the contemporary philosopher Maxine Greene. Existentialists believe that education should focus on the needs of the individuals, both cognitively and affectively. Education should promote individuality. They see education as an opportunity to liberate the individual from a chaotic, absurd world. The role of the teacher is to understand their own "lived worlds" as well as the students. This is to achieve the best lived worlds they can. It is a must that teachers take risks. Simply, the role of the teacher is a personal one that carries responsibility. They view learning as intensely personal. Each child has a different learning style and it is the teachers job to discover each child's style and accommodate to it. Martin Buber, wrote about an I-thou approach, where the student and teacher learn cooperatively from each other in a friendship. Simply, the role of the teacher is to help students understand the world through multiple ways. These ways are posing questions, generating activities, and working together. They choose curriculum directed towards humanities. Literature has meaning for them. Art, drama, and music are also encouraged because they produce personal interaction.
5. Schools as Organizations
5.1. State Senator
5.1.1. Richard Shelby
5.2. Alabama House of Representatives
5.2.1. Bradley Byrne
5.2.2. Martha Roby
5.2.3. Mike Rogers
5.2.4. Robert Aderholt
5.2.5. Mo Brooks
5.2.6. Gary Palmer
5.2.7. Terri Sewell
5.3. Alabama Superintedent
5.3.1. Michael Sentance
5.4. Representatives on State School Board
5.4.1. Jackie Zeigler
5.4.2. Betty Peters
5.4.3. Stephanie Bell
5.4.4. Ella Bell
5.4.5. Cynthia Sanders
5.4.6. Jeffrey Newman
5.4.7. Mary Hunter
5.4.8. Yvette Richardson
5.4.9. Robert Bentley
5.4.10. Michael Sentance
5.5. Local Superintendent
5.5.1. Michael Douglas
5.6. Local School Board
5.6.1. Patrick Adams
5.6.2. Stephen Anderton
5.6.3. Ricky Hicks
5.6.4. Donald Maples
5.6.5. Tracy Shea
5.7. Elements of Change
5.7.1. Conflict
5.7.1.1. This is a necessary part of change. When you try to democratize schools any hidden problems or issues will surface at this time period. The staff during this time period should be prepared to resolve any conflict.
5.7.2. New Behaviors
5.7.2.1. These must be learned. Since change requires new relationships and behaviors, there is a change process. This process requires building communication and trust. This will spring new leadership resulting in a change of communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution.
5.7.3. Team Building
5.7.3.1. This is a change that has to extend to the entire school body. Team building requires shared decision making. This means that if this doesn't happen, the resistance to change will permit.
5.7.4. Process & Content
5.7.4.1. These two are intertwined. The process the team goes through about its work is just as important as the content of educational changes.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Developmentalist Curriculum
6.1.1. I would advocate for this curriculum because I believe in educating the students based off of students needs and interests verses the needs of society. This curriculum came from the aspects of Dewey's writings in relation to the child and curriculum.I advocate for a child centered curriculum. All curriculum should first relate to the needs and interests of the children.
6.2. Traditions of Teaching
6.2.1. Mimetic
6.2.1.1. The mimetic tradition of teacher simply follows the conservative model. The purpose of this tradition is to transmit certain knowledge to the students. The didactic method is coined to be the best method to achieve this with. Lecture and/or presentation are the best methods of communication to use during this method.
6.2.2. Transformative
6.2.2.1. The transformative tradition coincides with the progressive model of education. A meaningful change in the students best describes the purpose of this teaching tradition. The change should include an intellectual, creative, spiritual, and emotional change. Supporters of this do not believe transmission of knowledge is the only component of education.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Educational Outcomes
7.1.1. Class
7.1.1.1. The longer a student is in education, the more expensive things tend to get. This would definitely favor in wealthy families Families from the middle and upper class would obtain a higher expectation of their children to finish school. Culturally viewing, schools represent the values of the middle and upper classes. Sadovnik states that, "Studies show that the number of books in a family's home is related to the academic achievement of its children (p. 342, 2013).
7.1.2. Race
7.1.2.1. Society can still be describe as being allowed to let race be a determine factor. A person's skin color still can decide the amount of education he or she is likely to obtain. Sadovnik states,"Among 16-24 year-olds, for instance, 5.2 percent of white students drop out of school, whereas 9.3 percent of Africa-American students and 17.6 Hispanic-American students are likely to drop out of school (p343, 2013). It is undenibale that race is related to educational outcomes. It is very hard to separate race from class.
7.1.3. Gender
7.1.3.1. In history, gender was significantly related to his or her educational outcome. Although, over the past twenty years, the gender differences between men and women, in terms of educational outcomes has been reduced. Women are often viewed as being better students than men, but in the past they were less likely to obtain the same level of education.
7.2. Coleman Study
7.2.1. 1st response
7.2.1.1. The first response found that differences among schools are not powerful predictors of differences in student outcomes. This simply means that where an students goes to school has little effect on his or her cognitive growth or educational mobility.
7.2.2. 2nd response
7.2.2.1. Sadovnik states that, "In other words, where an individual goes to school is often related to her race and socioeconomic background, but the racial and socioeconomic composition of a school has a greater effect on student achievement than an individual's race and class.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Cultural Deprivation Theory
8.1.1. First Type
8.1.1.1. Findings reported that differences in schools and resources did not explain the unequal performance by working-class and nonwhite students. Researchers have argued that these students came without the skills needed, such as social and intellectual, that are necessary in order to succeed in school.
8.1.2. Second Type
8.1.2.1. In the 1960's this theory popularized and suggested that working-class and nonwhite families often lack the cultural resources. These resources refer to books and other education stimuli.. This then forces these students to be at a significant disadvantage.
8.2. Four School-Centered Explanations
8.2.1. School Financing
8.2.1.1. This topic is one that varies from place to place. Schools are financed through different revenues from local, state, ad federal sources. The majority although come from state and local taxes, with local property taxes as a significant source. These although fluctuate because property taxes are based on the value of property taxes in local communities therefore is a proportional tax. Certain communities are able to raise more money than others.
8.2.2. Effective School Research
8.2.2.1. Research brought about if student differences are more important than school differences , teachers cannot be blamed for the lower academic performance of nonwhite and working class students. Also, if school's effects are not significant, then schools and teachers can do little to make a positive difference.
8.2.3. Gender and Schooling
8.2.3.1. Gilligan argued that women are more likely to adopt a caring orientation because they are socialized to do so and that Kohlberg's hierarchical categories judge women unfairly. Women reason in a different voice. Gilligan's work is very controversial among feminists. A lot of the scholars took in her concept of women being more caring and that schools devalue connectedness and caring in favor of male behaviors such as competition.
8.2.4. Curriculum and Ability Grouping
8.2.4.1. There is a major importance with what happens within a school. Research indicates that differences in tracks helps to explain the variation in academic achievement of students in different tracks. Researches also argue that discrepancies in the amount of instruction are responsible for these differences.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. School Based Reforms
9.1.1. School Based
9.1.1.1. These include school choice, charter schools, and tuition vouchers. Many researches believed that most public schools were failing in terms of student achievement, discipline, and morality. Schools of choice reflect the desires and needs of there constituents and were sensitive to change.
9.1.2. School-Business Partnerships
9.1.2.1. Business leaders believed that the nation's schools were not producing the kinds of graduates necessary for revitalization of the U.S. economy. Because of this, several business partnerships were formed. The most notable one was the Boston Compact
9.2. Economic Reforms
9.2.1. School Finance Reforms
9.2.1.1. More funding was needed to serve the children in the poorer school districts. Funding was equalized between urban and suburban school districts. Extra funding is to be distributed to provide additional programs in order to eliminate disadvantages within poorer school districts.
9.3. Societal Reforms
9.3.1. Connecting School, Community, and Societal Reforms
9.3.1.1. School, community, and societal level reforms are needed to reduce the achievement gap. Supports are needed to be implemented in the highest poverty schools. Our society must meet the basic needs of our children so their sole purpose is to focus on their education.