1. Politics of Education
1.1. Conservative
1.1.1. Ronald Reagan was president during this time. He put a lot of emphasis on individual initiative and portrayed the individual as the only one capable of solving his or her own problems. Some individuals felt that Reagan restored economic growth in the U.S. He placed a lot of emphasis on the individual and felt that they had the opportunity to earn or not to earn their place within the market.
1.1.2. Another feature was the free market feature. This was where the prices for goods and services are set freely between vendors and consumers. Adam Smith argues that the free market capitalism allows for the maximum of economic growth. This is where individuals make decisions on cost benefit scale.
1.1.3. William Graham Sumner looked at social evolution as a place where the strongest individuals would survive. He also believed that human and social evolution adapted to change in the environment. This point of view, showed that individuals and groups must compete in the social environment in order to survive. It also showed that humans became depended on individual initiative and drive.
1.2. Traditional
1.2.1. Values
1.2.1.1. Hardwork, family, unity
1.2.2. Educational Training
1.2.3. Back to Basics
2. Philosophy of Education
2.1. Generic Notions
2.1.1. The choices the students make effect their life. It also impacts the lives of individuals. People must figure out who we are, and create a meaning ourselves.
2.2. Key Researchers
2.2.1. Soren Kierkegaard, Martin Buber, Karl Jaspers, Jean Paul Sartre, Maxine Green
2.3. Goal of Education
2.3.1. The primary goal of education is growth. I find the importance of each and every student growing at their own pace. They each deserve equal opportunities to grow and to learn. You also want to teach them how to understand and apply the material they have been taught. This will allow the students the opportunity to solve real world problems.
2.4. Role of Teacher
2.4.1. The role of the teacher is to analyze the student and make them more toward new levels of understanding. You can also dig deeper into the student by asking questions, and selecting materials that will bring them to a different environment. As an educator, you also want to encourage your students, give suggestions, feedback, and help them grow.
2.5. Method of Instruction
2.5.1. Take an active role in the students learning. I feel that students learn both individually and in groups. You can incorporate problem solving, individualized study, and project methods. Discover what works for your students and remember that every child learns differently. Ask questions, generate activities and work together with your students.
2.6. Curriculum
2.6.1. Science, Math, Reading, Humanities, and Writing. These are examples of the areas we need to study in order to survive as a society.
3. Schools as Organization
3.1. State Senators
3.1.1. Arthur Orr
3.2. House of Representatives
3.2.1. Terri Collins, Kerry Rich, Oliver Robinson, Mack Butler, Barbara Drummand, Bob Fincher, Ed Henry, Barry Moore, Jim Patterson, Chris Pringle, Rod Scott, Patricia Todd, Phil Williams
3.3. State Superintendent
3.3.1. Tommy Bice
3.4. Representatives on State School Board
3.4.1. Robert Bentley, Thomas Bice, Jeffery Newman, Yvette Richardson, Matthew Brown, Betty Peters, Stephanie Bell, Ella Bell, Cynthia Sanders, Mary Hunter
3.5. Local Superintendent
3.5.1. Bill Hopkins
3.6. Local School Board
3.6.1. Jimmy Dobbs, Adam Glenn, Jeff McLemore, Mike Tarpley, Tom Earwood, Paul Holmes, Billy Rhodes
3.7. Comparison between Alabama vs. Mexico's Educational System
3.7.1. Mexico has constantly been in a battle of education between the Mexican State and the Roman Catholic Church.
4. History of U.S Education
4.1. Reform Movement
4.1.1. Industrial Revelotion
4.1.1.1. Took place in England, crossed the Atlantic Oceans and started in the northern urban areas. They were bringing their new machinery in order to begin factories. They had people fleeing from everywhere to find work. The Roman Catholics were trying to escape starvation.
4.1.1.2. Andrew Jackson was elected president during this time. The men had been given the right to vote. The Reform Movement addressed things such as slavery, mental illnesses, intemperance, and pacifism.
4.1.1.3. People still believed that education was the way to success. There schools were not functioning they way they had hoped at this time. In some towns, they only allowed the disadvantaged children the right to an education. Horace Mann was fighting for the people to receive a free education. He served in office for 11 years. The first school was established in Lexington, Massachusetts because of Mr. Mann.
4.1.1.3.1. Mr. Mann is viewed as one of the "America's greatest educational reformers. He believed that schooling would prepare citizens for the workforce.
4.2. Historical Interpretation
4.2.1. The Democratic-Liberal School
4.2.1.1. They believe that education is an equal opportunity for everyone. This is something that they are in a constantly working toward increasing opportunities.
4.2.1.2. The first step to opening the education for everyone was during the Common School Era. This is also what gave students from different backgrounds the opportunity to go to school for longer periods of time.
5. Sociological Perspectives
5.1. Theoretical Perspective
5.1.1. Due to this being such a broad topic, socialist usually have to look at the bigger picture. They take it back to the very basics of society. Socialists also see the world a lot like a machine, there is a certain order of events that happens at certain times. Without honesty, people cannot create a productive society.
5.1.2. Schools tend to focus on learning. When educators have to select students for different criteria, they select them according to their abilities; not by society. A conflict that may occur is when students feel they are against the teachers, the teachers feel they are against the administrators.
5.2. The Effects
5.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes
5.2.1.1. In this section, it talks about the differences in academic programs at schools. Does this type of environment make a difference on children's education? It has been proven that a child's background and home life play a role in their educational success. It also shows that how students who have more opportunities for success in their academic schooling, will have higher students achievements.
5.2.2. Employment
5.2.2.1. Does graduating college give you more opportunities for employment? The answer is yes, because there are many companies or professionals that require their workers to have higher education. Getting a college degree is important if you want the opportunity to earn more money, or promotions in your careers.
5.2.3. Three effects
5.2.3.1. There are three effects that I believe to have the greatest impact on students lives. Those are: a students background, a students academic opportunities, and the difference that educators make on their success stories.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Historical Theory
6.1.1. Developmentalist Theory
6.1.1.1. They focus on the needs and interests of the student instead of the needs of the society.
6.2. Sociological Theory
6.2.1. What is taught, and why it is taught.
6.2.1.1. What is taught is broken down into subjects or topics. Why it is taught is the relevance it has on our society today.
6.2.2. Viewed as a reflection of interests within the society.
6.2.2.1. Basically this means that the theories of school and society are different. It means that the school is required to meet the needs of the society. I believe that apart of our job as educators, we should teacher our students how to be positive citizens in our community. This will reflect in the future.
6.3. I feel that there should be an equal balance between my historical and sociological theories. The students need to understand how to be citizens in our society, but their education should also reflect their interests and needs.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Educational Achievement
7.1.1. The White Population
7.1.1.1. National Center for Education Statistics give yearly reports on the different statistics that would help someone understand where they get their information.
7.1.1.2. Achievement goes up depending on parental level.
7.1.1.3. Whites have increased knowledge in reading and mathematics at age 9 vs a lower level math at that age.
7.1.1.4. 92% of whites graduate high school and 33% of those graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree.
7.2. Coleman Study
7.2.1. I found that it was extremely important to take notice that the Coleman Study stated that private schools demand more from their students vs. public schools.
7.2.1.1. They were able to show where the private school students outperformed public schools by a wide margin. I want to keep this in mind. This will help motivate me to make sure that I set higher expectations for all of my students. I think it important as educators to make sure that we set out students up for success. We want them to learn the importance of working hard and achieving goals.
8. Education Inequality
8.1. Unequal Achievement
8.1.1. Functionalists
8.1.1.1. They believe the school should provide a fair and meritocratic selection process. They are to pick out the best and brightest individuals.
8.1.1.2. Individual differences between students
8.1.1.3. This is a liberal education policy.
8.1.2. Conflict Theories
8.1.2.1. Family backgrounds
8.1.2.2. Equal in opportunity and results.
8.1.3. Interactionist Theory
8.1.3.1. They need to understand how people, schools and families interact on a daily basis.
8.1.3.2. They look into the lives and worlds of individuals to understand why things happen.
8.2. School Centered
8.2.1. Jencks and colleagues - They discussed the differences between schools through advantages and disadvantages.
8.2.2. Coleman and Jencks explained the performance gap among students from different socioeconomic or racial backgrounds.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. School-Based Reforms
9.1.1. Public Schools
9.1.1.1. Some believe that public schools who operate independently are happier, healthier, and more academically productive.
9.1.2. Private Schools
9.1.2.1. Accountable, Efficient, and Safe
9.1.2.1.1. People believe if they have a choice in where they go to school then they will automatically be more superior than other schools.
9.1.2.1.2. Reagan and Bush supported the choice in schools/education.
9.2. Community Reform
9.2.1. Educate the child and the community.
9.2.1.1. Meeting students' and families educational, physical, psychological, and social needs
9.2.2. Three models of community based reforms
9.2.2.1. Harlem Children's Zone
9.2.2.1.1. Leave children where they are. Change them and their neighborhood instead of removing the children.
9.2.2.2. Model of Full Service Schools
9.2.2.3. Broader Bolder Approact