1. History of U.S. Education
1.1. The Rise of the Common School
1.1.1. Education underwent drastic reform between the years of 1820-1860. As America ushered in the Industrial Revolution, it became evident that schools established in pre-war society were not functioning effectively.
1.1.2. Horace Mann who is associated with the educational reform of the early/mid 19th century, argued for the establishment of the common school, or free publicly funded schools and lobbied for a state board of education
1.1.3. Mann broke new ground when he contended for secular education without religious intent (an idea truly unique for its time), a desegregated classroom, education as a means of social mobility, and professional training for teachers. Due in part to Mann's efforts, the first teacher training school was established in Lexington, Massachusetts in 1839.
1.1.4. By 1820 the movement for education for women in the United States was also making important inroads (68). Schools and colleges specifically designed for women began emerging. In 1837 Mount Holyoke Seminary opened its doors. It was a female college with the same entry requirements and level of instruction as what was required at male counterpart colleges and universities of the same level.
1.2. Historical Interpretation of U.S. Education
1.2.1. Before Horace Mann's contribution to educational reform, education had been interpreted through a variety of different lenses with different definitive goals. These interpretations included religious, utilitarian, and civic, before Mann proposed social mobility as a primary goal of education.
1.2.2. Horace Mann's opinion that education as one means of addressing social problems preceded and added to the progressive movement. Progressive reformers once again looked at schools as a means of promoting and preserving democracy within the new social order. (70)
2. Schools as Organizations
2.1. Major Stakeholders in my district
2.1.1. State Senator
2.1.1.1. Richard Shelby
2.1.2. House of Representatives
2.1.2.1. Mo Brooks
2.1.3. State Superintendent
2.1.3.1. Tommy Bice
2.1.4. Representatives on the State Board
2.1.4.1. Jeffery Newman
2.1.4.2. Mary Scott Hunter
2.1.4.3. Cynthia Sanders McCarty
2.1.5. Limestone County Superintendent
2.1.5.1. Dr. Tom Sisk
2.1.6. Local School Board
2.1.6.1. Charles Shoulders Jr.
2.1.6.2. Bret McGill
2.1.6.3. Marty R. Adams
2.1.6.4. Edward Winter
2.1.6.5. Bradley Young
2.1.6.6. Anthony Hilliard
2.1.6.7. Earl Glaze
2.1.7. Athens City Schools Superintendent
2.1.7.1. Trey Holladay
2.2. Comparison to Japan's Education System
2.2.1. The Japanese system is highly competitive; students are required to pass very competitive entrance exams to be admitted into university.
2.2.2. 95 percent of Japanese students graduate from high school vs only 82 percent in the U.S. (www.ed.gov)
2.2.3. Japanese culture is saturated with a strong work ethic. This cultural emphasis on hard work bleeds into all aspects of Japanese life including education.
2.2.4. Japan's belief in the importance of Education is so strong that it has led to the "double schooling" phenomenon. Japan has formal schooling, but they also have non-formal schools that act as tutoring opportunities for students.
2.2.5. The bottom line: Japan takes pride in Education. Their system excels because students strive to learn without letting grade-level or a textbook constrain them.
3. Equality of Opportunity
3.1. The Coleman Study
3.1.1. The Coleman Study, performed in the 1960's demonstrated that peer group association could be more important to student success than the number of books in the library. In essence, educational outcomes are affected by the individuals belief about the value of education
3.2. Statistics for African American Students
3.2.1. 84% of African American Students graduate from high school, and 19.9% of these receive a bachelor's degree.
3.2.2. African American Students statistically score lower in reading, mathematics, and science than white students of the same age. (NCES, 2008 long-term trend assessment).
3.2.3. Low income, African American students are more likely to have less challenging curricula.
3.2.4. Low income African American students are more likely to have under-qualified and less-experienced teachers with larger class sizes.
3.2.5. Social mobility is significantly influenced by social stratification; education cannot erase the effects of inequality
4. Educational Inequality
4.1. School Centered Explanations of Inequality
4.1.1. Student Centered
4.1.1.1. factors outside the school that affect non-white and working-class students are the same within different schools within the same neighborhood
4.1.2. Characteristics of effective schools
4.1.2.1. high expectations placed on students and administrators
4.1.2.2. strong leadership by principal or school head
4.1.2.3. Accountability process for students and teachers
4.1.2.4. regular monitoring of student learning
4.1.2.5. Instructional time stays on task
4.1.2.6. Flexibility of teachers and administrators to experiment and adapt to new situations and problems
4.2. Sociological explanation of unequal achievement
4.2.1. Interactionalism
4.2.1.1. To understand the factors that are involved in success or failure of students, its is important to understand how people within institutions of family and school interact with each other on a daily basis
4.2.2. Looks at how education is affected by the individual's association to his or her social identity
5. Educational Reform
5.1. School-based reform
5.1.1. Teacher quality and education focal points
5.1.1.1. lack of rigor and intellectual demands in teacher education programs
5.1.1.2. The need to attract and retain competent teachers candidates
5.1.1.3. The need to reorganize the academic and professional components of teacher education programs at both the baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate level
5.1.2. The Carnegie Report
5.1.2.1. Called for the restructuring of schools and the teaching profession
5.1.2.2. The elimination of the undergraduate education major
5.1.2.3. The recruitment of minorities into the teaching profession
5.1.2.4. The increase of standards in teacher education and in teaching
5.2. Societal Reform
5.2.1. Harlem Children's Zone
5.2.1.1. Geoffrey Canada wanted African American students to be better prepared for/have a better chance of success at college
5.2.1.2. Canada's idea was unique, as it wanted to leave children where they were, simultaneously changing them and their community without removing them from it.
5.2.1.3. His idea provided programs for parents in Harlem before their children were even born that would attempt to infuse all knowledge (in a sensitive way) that middle class parents know they should do for their children.
5.2.1.4. The program proved a success in 2007 when a significant number of middle school students in Harlem improved their state test results to meet grade-level in reading and mathematics and the middle school earned an "A" on the NYC Dept. of Ed. school report card evaluation process
6. Politics of Education
6.1. Radical Perspective
6.1.1. "The education system has failed the poor, minorities, and women through classist, racist, sexist, and homophobic policies"
6.1.2. "In general, the education system promotes inequality of both opportunity and results"
6.1.3. "Schools have stifled critical understanding of the problems of American society through a curriculum and teaching practices that promote conformity"
6.1.4. "The traditional curriculum... leaves out the cultures, histories, and voices of the oppressed."
6.2. Progressivism
6.2.1. "Tends to view schools as central to solving social problems, as a vehicle for upward mobility, as essential to the development of individual potential, and as an integral part of a democratic society"
6.2.2. "Believes schools should be part of the steady progress to make things better"
7. Sociological Perspectives
7.1. Interactional Theories
7.1.1. A beautiful critique and extension of Functional and Conflict theories. States that Functional and Conflict theories observe at a macrosociological level of analysis (the big picture). Seeks to observe the interactional aspects of school life.
7.1.2. "It is exactly what one does not question that is most problematic at a deep level" (120). Interactional Theories pull us closer to school systems and their constructs in order to help us view interaction with microsociological lens.
7.1.3. Interactional theories seek to expose meaningful content by eliminating assumptions and analyzing conflict and interdependence relationships at point blank range.
7.2. Effects of schooling on individuals
7.2.1. Education and Mobility: Education is advertised as a way to move up the social ladder. The idea is that those who obtain education have the ability to change social and economical circumstances, However, for the poor and rich education may have very little to do with mobility. Rosenbaum (1976) Alludes to education as a tournament between merit and privilege. The problem with this tournament being that the criteria for winning and losing include unfair variables of race, social class, and gender characteristics; Many contestants will be eliminated early with little chance of reaching educational actualization.
7.2.2. Teacher Behavior: Teachers standards and expectations conserning students directly influence student self-esteem and achievement. The lables that teachers apply to their students can and will influence actual performance. (124)
7.2.3. De Facto Segregation: Even if by De Facto, social, ethnic, and racial segregation still exists. Although a permanent resolution to segregation is far from clear, most evidence points to racially mixed schools benefiting minorities. Simultaneously, integrated schools do not suppress white achievement. The UCLA Civil Rights Project of 2012 found that African American students who attended integrated schools were more likely to graduate, less likely to be arrested, more likely to live in integrated neighborhoods, and less likely to become a parent before the age of 18. (127)
8. Philosophy of Education
8.1. Pragmatism
8.1.1. Pragmatic teaching philosophy promotes action research and learning in a non-traditional experience based learning environment.
8.1.2. Important names for Pragmatism: John Dewey, William James and Sanders Pierce. John Locke and Francis Bacon, though associated with earlier periods of thought, have ideas that correspond on a foundational level with pragmatic educational philosophy.
8.1.3. Instrumentalism and experimentalism are forms of pragmatism used by John Dewey. The key to his vision was his belief that the role of schooling was to integrate children into a democratic society.
8.1.4. Dewey believes that education's ultimate end is growth. His method of instruction focuses on createing self-actualized human beings who change society for the better due to their own quality meaningful experience.
8.1.5. The pragmatic teacher encourages his or her students to ask questions, and offers suggestions to inspire critical thinking. The pragmatic teacher is influenced by student interest when planning and implement a course of study.
8.1.6. Pragmatic teaching method utilizes individualized study, projects, and problem solving strategies in order to capitalize on each child's learning potential.
8.1.7. Pragmatism proposes a balance between traditional teaching methods and the interest and learning needs of each student.
9. Curriculum and Pedagogy
9.1. Historical Curriculum theories
9.1.1. Developmental Curriculum
9.1.1.1. Related to the needs and interests of the students
9.1.1.2. Emphasis on the process of teaching as well as its content
9.1.1.3. flexibility in what is taught and how it is taught based on needs and interests of students
9.1.1.4. Focus is on relating "schooling" to life experiences in order to make what is learned applicably meaningful
9.1.2. Social Meliorist Curriculum/ Social Effiency Curriculum
9.1.2.1. Concerned with the role of the school in developing society
9.1.2.2. Students should be aware of societal problems and are responsible to be active participants in solving those problems
9.1.2.3. Resulted in the organization of curriculum into distinct tracks
9.2. Sociological Curriculum Theory
9.2.1. Neo-Weberian
9.2.1.1. Functionalist and Neo-Marxist are too rational
9.2.1.2. The link between school curriculum and skills required in the work place is weak
9.2.1.3. Observes that traditional school curriculum reflects the cultural beliefs of those who shape curriculum: middle-class educators and administration
9.2.1.4. What is taught in schools must be understood as part of the larger process of cultural conflict and stratification
9.2.1.5. (The devils-advocate to Functionalist and Neo-Marxist quabbles)