1. Schools as Organizations
1.1. Etowah County School Representative: Ernie Payne.
1.2. State Senator: Phil Williams
1.3. State Superintendent: Michael Sentance
1.4. Etowah County Superintendent: Alan Cosby
1.5. School Board Members: Tim Womack, Scarlett Farley, Todd Hindsman, Ernie Payne, Doug Sherrod, Danny Golden, Tim Langdale
2. Curriculum & Pedagogy
3. Educational Inequality
4. Educational Reform
5. Sociological Perspectives
5.1. 1.Knowledge and attitudes- sociologists have found that the higher the social class background of the student the higher the achievement.
5.1.1. 2. Employment- Higher education lead to higher paying jobs.
5.2. 5 effects of schooling on individuals:
5.2.1. 3. Education and mobility- belief that occupational and social mobility being at the school house door is a critical component of American ethos.
5.2.2. 4. Teacher behavior- teachers have a huge impact on student learning and behavior.
5.2.3. 5. Student peer groups and alienation- students in the vocational programs and headed toward low-status jobs were the students most likely to join the rebellious subculture.
5.3. Theoretical Perspectives:
5.3.1. 1. Functional theory- functionalists view society as a kind of machine, where on part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work.
5.3.1.1. 2. Conflict theories- some sociologist argue that the social order is not based on some collective argument, but the ability of dominant groups to impose their will on subordinate groups through force, cooptation, and manipulation.
5.3.2. 3. Interactional theories- about the relation of school and society and primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives.
6. Politics of Education
6.1. The intellectual purpose: is to teach basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics; to transmit specific knowledge and to help students acquire higher orderthinkinh skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthsesis.
6.1.1. The political purpose: to inculcate allegiance to the existing political order to prepare citizens who will participate in this political order; to help assimilate diverse cultural groups into a common political order; and to teach children the basic laws of the society.
6.1.2. The social purpose: to help solve social problems; to work as one of many institutions, such as the family and the church to ensure social cohesion; and to socialize children into the various roles, behavior, and values of society.
6.2. The economic process: to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor.
7. History of U.S. Education
7.1. Educational reaction and reform and the standard era: 1980´s-2012: this movement offered five recommendations: 1. That all students graduating from high school complete was was term the new basics, four English, three years of mathematics, three years of science, three years social studies, and a half year of computer science. 2. That schools at all levels except higher achievement from their students and that four year colleges and universities raise their admissions requirements. 3. More time devoted to new basics. 4. Preparation of teachers be strengthen. 5.citizens require their elected representatives to support and fund these reforms.
7.2. The democratic-liberal school: believed that the history of U.S. education involves the progression evolution. Educational history in the United States involved both the expansion of opportunity and purpose.
8. Philosophy of Education
8.1. Pragmatism: viewed as an American philosophy that developed in the latter part of the 19th century.
8.1.1. Genetic Notions: Dewey's form of Pragmatism- instrumentalism and experimentalism- was founded on the new psychology, behaviorism, and the philosophy of pragmatism. For Dewey this meant the attainment of a better society through education.
8.1.1.1. Key Reseachers: John Dewey, George Sanders Pierce, William James. James said that "pragmatism is a philosophy that encourages people to find processes that work in order to achieve their desired ends.
8.1.1.1.1. Methods of instruction: Dewey proposed that children learn both individually and in groups. He believed that children should start their mode of inquiry by posing questions about what they want to know. Formal instruction was abandoned. Traditional blocks if time for specific discipline instruction were eliminated.
8.1.1.2. Goal of Education: Dewey's vision of schools was rooted in the social order; he did not see ideas as separate from social conditions. He stressed the importance of the school as a place where ideas can be implemented, challenged, and restructured, with the goal of providing students with the knowledge of how to improve the social order.
8.1.1.2.1. Curriculum: The schools generally followed the core curriculum, or an integrated curriculum. There is some controversy over Dewey's ideas about traditional discipline-centered curriculum. Some favor the child-centered curriculum based on imagination and intuition.
8.1.1.3. Teacher Roles: In a progressive setting, the teacher is no longer the authoritarian figure from which all knowledge flows; rather, the teacher assumes the peripheral position of facilitator. The teacher encourages, offers suggestions, questions, and helps plan and implement course of study.