Education in Teaching: September 2014

Monday, September 22, 2014

The Modern Era: Schools as Instruments for National Purpose and Social Change

6.1 How did schools become instruments for national purpose during the modern era?

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, and the US, thinking we were losing the technology war, authorized a five-fold increase in the funding of the National Science Foundation, created to support research and improve science education. Congress also passed the National Defense Education Act to improve instruction in math, science, and foreign languages. Education was called the first line of defense against our enemies by Admiral Hyman Rickover.

Searching for Equality: The Education of Cultural Minorities

5.1 What are the similarities and differences in different minority groups' struggles for educational equality?

All minority groups started off in mission schools and/or segregated schools. Most of them struggle with language and cultural barriers in public schools. Some groups struggle with resistance and drop out rates more than others. Native Americans and Hispanics especially struggle in this area, while Asian Americans actually have higher achievement test scores and college attendance rates than other minorities and whites. Asian American have fared better overall than other minority groups, but still have problems in school and run into language and poverty obstacles. Considerable differences also exist between the educational experiences of different Asian American groups.

The Evolution of the American High School

4.1 Describe the historical roots of contemporary secondary (high) schools.

Latin Grammar Schools - First American high schools. Taught Latin and Greek to help prepare boys for the ministry or a career in law. High cost made it available only to the rich.
Academies - Benjamin Franklin founded academies in reaction to the Latin Grammar schools. Free of religious orientation, open to boys and girls, and tuition-charging, they taught math, navigation, astronomy, bookkeeping, logic, and rhetoric. Students selected from these options, setting the precedent for electives and alternative programs that exist at the secondary level today. Three important contributions that remain today:

Practical
Secular - Removed religion from the curriculum.
Public - Partially supported by public funds, which established a trend that flourished during the common school movement.

English Classical Schools (later called English High Schools) - Free secondary schools designed to meet the needs of boys not planning to attend college. Spread slowly due to competition from academies and public opposition to tax-supported schools. Unable to decide between practical or college preparatory, responded by offering both.

The Common School Movement: The Rise of State Support for Public Education (1820 - 1865)

3.1 Explain how the common school movement influenced education in our country today.

During the common school movement...

States and local governments directly taxed citizens to support public schools.
States created state education departments and appointed state superintendents of instruction.
Educators organized schools by grade level and standardized the curriculum.

Separating schools into grade levels resulted in more age appropriate instruction and allowed material to be taught to older students in greater depth.

States improved teacher preparation.

Normal Schools: 2-year institutions developed to prepare prospective elementary teachers. These later became many of our current state colleges and universities.

All of these changes are still seen in schools today.

The Early National Period (1775 - 1820)

2.1 Explain how the early national period influenced education in this country.

The Constitution played the major role in educational history during this time period. The founders concluded that no one religion should be placed over another. This led to the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment, prohibiting the formation of any official religion. From this we get the principle of separation of church and state. This principle has repeatedly been upheld in court.
As discussed below, the national period also saw legislation removing control of education from the federal government and the federal government endowing itself with a role in educational funding. This created an early blurring of the line between state and federal governments. Now, the federal government can pass federal laws that all states must abide by. The federal government also uses schools to achieve national goals.

The Colonial Period (1607 - 1775)

1.1 How did the diversity of the original colonies shape the education system of the United States?

Regional differences in the original colonies effectively divided them into three geographic regions with varying economics and different reasons for coming.
The southern colonies were linked to the land and revolved around agriculture. It was the location of many large plantations with small, poor farmers barely making it by. Education in the south was restricted strictly to the rich who hired private tutors or groups of families who hired a single tutor to teach all their children. Private schools sponsored by the Church of England and boarding schools for the wealthy sprang up in larger cities.
The middle colonies were very diverse, so no one school could meet the demands of everyone. Different cultural groups created parochial schools that taught in their native language and included the study of their respective religions in addition to the three R's.
The New England colonies were culturally and religiously homogeneous and industry and commerce encouraged them to cluster into towns, allowing for the formation of common schools. Education there was viewed as the vehicle for helping people follow God's commandments and resist the devil's temptations. New England have had the most influence on many controversies in schools today.

This I Believe: History of Education and Me

On a scale of 1-4, 1 strongly disagreeing and 4 strongly agreeing, rate the following:

The Constitution of our country requires that religion and public schooling be kept separate from each other. 2
A free public education for students like me has always been a cornerstone of education in the United States. 2
The American high school has historically attempted to meet the needs of all students. 1
When slavery ended in our country, cultural and ethnic minorities were welcomed into our public schools. 1
In recent times, the federal government has used our nation's schools as instruments to achieve national goals. 3

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Learners with Exceptionalities

4.1 Define the concept of intelligence, and explain how the idea of multiple intelligences changes this definition.

Intelligence: The ability to acquire and use knowledge, solve problems, and reason in the abstract, and adapt to new situations in our environments.
Multiple intelligences suggests that overall intelligence is composed of eight relatively independent dimensions. This theory supports the idea that students can be intelligent in some areas, but may not excel in others. In addition to Gardner's dimensions of intelligence (linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist), there is also the idea of emotional intelligence.
So, the definition of general intelligence is kind of an all-encompassing view of the multiple intelligences. Having any one intelligence may make it easy to acquire and use information related to that dimension, while acquiring and using it in another may be really challenging. The same can be applied to solving problems and reasoning in the abstract. Adapting to new situations is often a skill of emotional intelligence because that's often the part of us that is challenged by changes in our environments.

Gender

3.1 Explain how society influences gender differences in our students.

From the day we're born, girls and boys are treated differently. Girls are picked up more, talked to more often, and treated more delicately than boys on average. They're given pink blankets, called cute and pretty, and offered toys such as dolls and stuffed animals. Boys are dressed in blue, regarded as handsome, and are seen as tougher, more coordinated, and hardier. Play with them is usually rougher and more physically stimulating. Naturally, each gender grows up acting much differently as a result of how they're treated very early on.
As boys and girls get older, there begins to be emphasis on what they should and should not do. Mathematics, computers, and science occupations are deemed as male occupations, where nursing and teaching is more often seen as careers for women.
Even schools are thought to perhaps be more compatible with girls genetically. In girls, components of the brain that focus on words and fine-motor skills are a year ahead of boys, and emotional centers are also more advanced. This gives them a head start in school and also allows them to sit still for the long periods of time that schools demand in order to teach them.

Language Diversity

2.1 What has been the government's response to language diversity in our nation's schools?

1968 - Congress passed the Bilingual Education Act, which provided funds for educating non-native English learners through bilingual approaches intending to maintain the first language while learning English.
1998 - California passed Proposition 227 to replace bilingual education programs with one year immersion programs. Students were then transferred into mainstream English-only classrooms.
29 states have also passed legislation making English the official state language.
Under public pressure, the government has changed gears, advocating for schools to teach English with little emphasis on preserving minority languages. The federal Office of Bilingual Education has become the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA). The government's goal is to teach ELs English as fast as possible.

Cultural Diversity

1.1 Explain how cultural diversity influences learning.

Different cultures have different attitudes and values about learning - some are beneficial to learning and others are not.

Language can be a huge barrier. Many students are hesitant to drop their use of non-standard English or to primarily use English at all out of fear of alienation from their peers and parents.
Members of some minorities view succeeding in school as rejecting their native culture. Students who choose to succeed academically may risk losing the friendship of peers. Students who hold to this view may form "resistance cultures" where learning is not supported or is even opposed.
Some cultures, such as the Vietnamese and other Asian cultures, strongly emphasize hard work, perseverance, and pride in their homes which can be seen in their academic studies.
Indian cultures also have a high work ethic and determination.

Cultural Discontinuities

1. This section discussed two potentially conflicting ideas: accepting and valuing cultural differences and accommodation without assimilation. How do these ideas relate to this dilemma?

In the story, the character is invited to an awards ceremony at a local church of Pacific Islanders to honor students from their school. Many things happened throughout the ceremony that were normal for the Pacific Islanders, but totally foreign to the guest. It made the guest really uncomfortable, but s/he struggle to remain quiet as to show respect and acceptance of their cultural norms. By doing so, s/he is trying to accommodate their differences, but it's putting a great amount of strain on her/him because s/he doesn't know what to do in the situation.

This I Believe: Student Diversity and Me