1.1. Generic Notion; Plato believes the brighter students should take a more thoughtful approach to school and take jobs where they would be leaders, and the concrete thinkers should have the laborious jobs. This is almost right on point of how our society works today.
1.2. Some of the key researchers include Aristotle, Plato, John Locke, Francis Bacon, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
1.3. The goal of education is to prepare and better the students for the "real world". I agree with Dewey about the idea that school should function in a preparation of life.
1.4. The role of teachers is to be prepared and educated in all of the general academics. Also should be disciplined and properly trained to pass down their knowledge to the students.
1.5. The methods of instruction include the idea that teachers pass down their knowledge the students and the students should be tested on this information to see how well they grasped it.
1.6. In regards of the curriculum, the main topics such as math, science, and English should be heavily covered but not limited too. Other things such as real life situations and instruction to make it in the "real world" should be addressed.
2. Schools as Organizations
2.1. Teachers are asked to do a lot of things and many of those things are very challenging. Teachers are under paid and over worked, but it takes love for the job and dedication.
2.2. Teachers have to be very professional about their job and certainly meet all the requirements.
2.3. The requirements for a teacher to be "highly qualified" are college degree, all certifications, and the ability and knowledge to teach the students properly.
2.4. Teachers have a lot of weight on their shoulders. They have to take kids that do not know anything about a certain subject and teach it to them.
2.5. Teachers require patience, determination, and passion.
3. Curriculum and Pedagogy
3.1. In my opinion I believe that the core subjects should be taught in an effective way in which they can be translated to real life situations.
3.2. One point I agree with stated in the text book is about the fact that curriculum is not "neutral". The information taught in school is what the culture wants the students to know.
3.3. The truth about the sociology is that the curriculum that is taught is based on the society. Their are several important pieces of information left out of what is being taught just because of the text books and who makes them.
3.4. Their are several "hidden information" taught in schools mainly through certain rules and messages given to the students by school administrators. This is not a bad thing because this teaches students how to act in society outside of school.
3.5. How students are taught is a major key in how much they learn. A teacher must have a well balance between knowing the content and their pedagogy. Lack of either can make it hard for students to gain knowledge.
3.6. Some believe grouping students by ability and knowledge is more successful. I think that this is a good thing because if grouping does not take place then some students can be left behind while others are held back.
4. Equality of Opportunity
4.1. When it coms down to race, social class, and gender; as a country we try to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to make the best out of their education.
4.2. Race plays a major role when it comes to education and the statistics and SAT scores prove this.
4.3. Hispanic-Americans have the highest percentage of drop out students out of any race. Also only 70% of the Hispanic-Americans reach an intermediate reading level by age 17, which is 16 percent lower than white students.
4.4. Many believe that private and catholic schools benefit the minorities better than public schools.
4.5. The catholic schools have built a reputation for benefitting the low income students greatly and some would say these schools are growing stronger over time.
5. Educational Ineqaulity
5.1. Functionalist and conflict theorists both believe that inequality exists in the school system but have different opinions on why it exists and how to fix the problem.
5.2. Functionalists believe that the inequality should be within individuals and not within whole groups.
5.3. Because of the mindset of functionalists, it all comes back to the lack of equal opportunity of the students.
5.4. Cultural deprivation is one major theory that explains many negative results in the school system.
5.5. The theory was argued in the 60s and 70s and some people thought of the theory as being racists and somewhat an excuse for poor education.
5.6. The scientists that argued the theory thought that the theory was just an excuse for lack of effort by the schools, and that it was a way to blame the families and home life of the students rather than the teachers and schools.
6. Politics of Education
6.1. Neo-liberal is the most accurate political perspective in my eyes.
6.2. The school systems relies on tradition, tenure, and seniority too much, rather than quality teachers.
6.3. Neo-liberal believe in giving every kid an equal chance at premium education.
6.4. Include positive reforms which suggest austerity, the market model, individualism, state intervention, and economic prosperity, race, and class.
6.5. Between progressivism and traditional, I believe that the progressive has the advantage because of the same goal of constantly improving the school system rather than sticking with the failing traditional system.
6.6. Progressivism is focused on giving everyone, including the urban students, a chance at the same education that the other students are getting. As seen through past years the traditional systems are not trying to solve this problem in any way.
7. History of U.S. Education
7.1. The education of women and African Americans has been by far the most important reform in the school system.
7.2. This created an equal opportunity for anyone to be able to be something important or follow their dreams.
7.3. Allowing everyone to be educated increases our country's chance for a brighter society.
7.4. Many other events in history have created a way for our country to be educated; such as the common school and modernizing.
8. Sociological Perspectives
8.1. I agree with the functional sociologists for the most part. I agree that it takes everyone to work together to make a strong society.
8.2. Knowledge and attitude are two major aspects that affect a student socially. It is important for a student to receive as much knowledge as possible so that he or she can make educated decisions in the future. Also proper attitudes increases participation in the society.
8.3. Employment is a major factor on a student's future. Those who graduate college have a much greater advantage in receiving a higher end job. Owners want and require educated people to work the more important positions.
8.4. Society has a major role in school systems. When a society has a certain culture or religion it is more than likely going to play a major role in the curriculum that is taught.
8.5. Interactional Theorists focus on the smaller picture sometimes and worry about the little things that need to be fixed or molded. This can be helpful sometimes given the fact that the small issues are often overlooked.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. School-based reforms show that public schools have its certain pros and so do private schools. Studies show that sometimes when student is allowed to pick a certain school then they receive a more productive education.
9.2. School-business partnership reforms were brought about because of the lack of business minded graduates to benefit our country. Over the years certain changes have been made to increase scores and to develop more business minded students.
9.3. Privatization is a new reform and it is probably still too early to see true results, but certain large businesses have been brought into the funding of public schools.
9.4. School-to-Work programs began in the 90s and have been very beneficial. It is designed to help technical students and students whom do not plan to attend college. It has been a successful program thus far and continues to grow.
9.5. The quality of teachers has been a major problem over the years. In recent years the standards and requirements have grown. This has been effective in putting better teachers into our classrooms.
