Education 417: School and Society
Fall 2009
General Education Course Area D1
Course Description
Schools and education touch everyone's life in one way or another, be it through our own personal experience, as a parent who makes choices, as a citizen, a student, or as a teacher. In addition schools are at the center of the political debates and heated discussions, as can be gathered by the many editorials and news articles dealing with topics such as No Child Left Behind, testing, migrant students, teacher preparation, student drop out, vouchers, bilingual education, diversity, funding, etc.
In this course, you will engage in a critical examination of current issues in today's schools and future directions in education through the perspectives of history, philosophy, sociology, and anthropology, and the politics of education. Content includes: trends, movements, and issues of present-day schools and current educational practice; development of an individual philosophy of education through examination and evaluation of educational philosophies; analysis of culture in educational contexts; and the influence of federal, state and local governing agencies, the knowledge industry, and special-interest groups on education.
This course is a General Education course Area D1 This course may count as an upper division GE course only if taken no sooner than the term in which upper-division standing (completion of 60 semester units) is attained. Please see GE policy on the web at http://www.sonoma.edu/sas/advising/ge/gepattern.shtml
Course Goals
- To develop an understanding of historical, philosophical, sociological, political, legal and economic perspectives on education
- To examine trends, movements, issues and events in the history of U.S. schooling and current educational practices
- To analyze the effects of the American social structure on schooling with particular emphasis on the implications of cultural, linguistic, exceptional, ethnic, social, religious, gender, racial, and socioeconomic diversity
- To develop an understanding of the history of bilingual education in the United States and elsewhere
- To study the way in which cultural assumptions are constructed, reproduced, and transmitted in a variety of education contexts
- To examine a range of critical multicultural perspectives on education including perspectives of diverse social and linguistic groups, with attention to issues of access and equity
- To develop understanding of the influence of federal, state, and local governing agencies, the knowledge industry corporate, and special-interest groups on education (e.g. assessment, high stakes, evaluation, testing, curriculum, bilingual education)
- To understand the professional obligations of teachers, including legal rights and responsibilities, and to explore ethical issues confronting educators
- To develop an individual philosophy of education through examination and evaluation of theories and philosophies and their consequences for education
General Education Objectives Addressed in this Course
Acquire a foundation of intellectual skills and capacities:
develop intellectual curiosity, develop research skills, write and speak
effectively to various audiences,evaluate everyday experiences critically,
work collaboratively to achieve defined goals and objectives, develop skill
in the use of information technology, imagine, design, and execute scholarly
and creative projects, translate problems into common language.
Develop social and global knowledge: understand and appreciate human diversity and multicultural perspectives, prepare for active engagement in the community, understand social justice issues, engage with challenging moral and ethical human dilemmas.
Understand and use multiple methods of inquiry and approaches to
knowledge: understand and appreciate historical and social phenomena,
recognize and use perspectives of diverse disciplines.
Develop capacities for integration and lifelong learning:
evaluate alternative career choices, recognize the importance of lifelong
learning, integrate general education experiences, cultivate ways to empower
the learning of others, engage in responsible citizenship.
Required Readings
- Noll, James (2003). Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Education Issues . Guilford, CT: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill. 14th or 15th Edition
- The Shame of a Nation. Jonathan Kozol
- Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room
56, by
Rafe Esquith OR
Teach With Your Heart, by Erin Gruwell - Course Reader. Can be purchased at College Copy Center
1435 E Cotati Ave # B, Rohnert Park, CA 94928-5441
Journal articles available online on our course web-site.
Course Requirements
1. Class attendance and participation: It is important that you come to class regularly and stay for the whole period. Our class meetings are designed with the expectation that you have read all of the assigned readings prior to coming to class. Be prepared to share your understandings and questions about the reading. In our class discussions, please remember to respect divergent ideas and that our different life experiences have shaped our views.Also be sensitive to allowing your classmates equal access "to the floor", as well as actively listening to their comments.
Please let me know in advance if you will not be able to attend classes. You will loose 15 points for each class missed. If you miss more than three classes you will fail the class. Of course I will take into consideration special cases such as illness, family emergencies or other unforeseen crises. These have to be properly documented. It is your responsibility to find out what you have missed when you are absent, and to make-up any in-class assignments that were given. If you are absent, please request assistance from your classmates. Avoid asking me to fill you in, unless absolutely necessary. Being absent does not excuse you from anything that was discussed or due in class.
Concept Knowledge Survey: To be responded at the beginning and the end of the semester. Its goal is to provide you with a general map of the contents to be covered and to allow you to self-assess your progress in the course.
Web discussions: At different times during the semester you will post an entry about the class readings. You will also respond to a class-mate's reflections. Please check the class schedule to see when you should post a written reflection on the web.
Library browsing of educational journals:The purpose of this assignment is for you to start thinking about your Mini-Research project. Here you will begin to search for articles and learn to cite sources in APA format, both within the text and in the Bibliography. During class we will go to the library and attend a workshop on how to find articles. For your paper you will search for articles related to your research topic. Type in your search term, select only peer reviewed and full text journals. Look at the list of articles that comes up, glance at the titles, and then select 8 articles that catch your interest. Click on these articles, glance at them and see what questions were asked. Your paper will be short. Write about 4 to five lines per article, state what question was asked and add a brief comment about your own thoughts about the question researched. Approximately 800 words (it may be longer), size 12 font . Bring a hard copy to class and post your paper on turnitin. Check the Assignment Guidelines and Rubric for more details.
Midterm Take Home - Analytical Educational Autobiography: Write a brief autobiography of your own educational experiences and analyze the meaning of different events in the light of the course readings and discussions. The purpose is for you to apply concepts and theories from the readings and to establish connections between theory and real life. Detailed guidelines are presented on the course web site. Approximately 1200 words, size 12 font. Post you paper on Turnitin and hand in hard copy to me.
Mini-research project: Choose a topic of your interest, related to the objectives of the course (see course syllabus). Specific guidelines for this assignment are presented on the course web site. You will make a 15 minute presentation of your study to the class. Use Powerpoint to prepare visual aids. Post your study on webct and on turnitin. Hand in a hard copy to me. There will be two or three presentations per class session, starting Week 6 and the topics will coincide with the contents discussed at that particular session. The presentation calendar will be arranged during our second and third class session. Guidelines for this assignment are availalbae on the course web site (Approximately 1800 words, it may be longer)
Final Take Home - Educational Philosophy (approximately 1200 words; it may be longer). Based on the readings and your life experience prepare your own Philosophy of Education. The paper should reflect your understanding of the course readings . Guidelines for this assignment are available on the course web site.
GRADING CRITERIA
Your grade in this course will be based on your completion of all course requirements. Your written work will be graded according to how fully and completely you demonstrate understanding of the course content and how well you integrate your knowledge with practical examples. All of your writing should include your own analysis and synthesis. Attention will also be given to the clarity and organization of your writing. Please check the Criteria for Good Writing. Make sure that your papers follow professional standards of presentation. The format and presentation should be equal in quality as the work you are expected to submit as a professional. Proof read your papers for spelling errors, grammatical usage, sentence structure, and clarity. You can also go to the Writing Center at SSU where you will receive excellent assistance in editing your papers (and it's free). Useful resources for your writing process are available on the Writing Center Web site.
No late papers are accepted. Your final grade will be calculated on the basis of your performance on the course requirements and will be weighted as follows:
Assignments Concept Knowledge Survey (beginning and end of semester, 10 points each) Course attendance and participation (15 points will be deducted for each class missed) Reading discussions on Web CT (10 points each) Midterm Library Browsing Reading Reflection for Kozol and for Esquith (20 points each) Mini-research project Class presentation of mini-research project Educational Philosophy TOTAL
* Extra credit work- 15 points500
The basis for letter grades is as follows:
A
Outstanding performance (you went the extra mile)
A-= 90-93 %
A= 94-96
A+= 97-100
B
Good performance (good work)
B-= 80-83 %
B= 84-86
B+= 87-89
C
Satisfactory performance (ok)
C-= 70-73 %
C= 74-76
C+= 77-79
D
Poor Performance
D-= 60-63 %
D= 64-66
D+= 67-69
F
Failing
Less than 60%
Note:
Percentages are calculated on the basis of a maximum of 500 points.
A brief reflection on grades: Please remember that grades are not a measure of the value of the students as a human being. They are a measure of demonstrated performance on specified criteria in a particular class. Please keep this in mind, because sometimes we tend to take grades very personally and our feelings get hurt unnecessarily.
Some important issues to keep in mind
1. Special Accommodations:. If you are a student with a disability and you think you may require accommodations, please register with the campus office of Disability Services for Students (DSS), located in Salazar Hall - Room 1049, Phone: (707) 664-2677, TTY/TDD: (707) 664-2958. DSS will provide you with written confirmation of your verified disability and authorize recommended accommodations. This authorization must be presented to the instructor before any accommodations can be made. Also, if you think you may require assistance evacuating a building in the event of a disaster, you should inform me about the type of assistance you may require. We will discuss your specific needs and the type of precautions that should be made in advance of such an event (i.e. assigning a buddy to guide you down the stairway). I encourage you to take advantage of these preventative measures as soon as possible and contact the Disability Services for Students office if other classroom accommodations are needed.
2. Use of Sources: In your writing for this class, you will be referring to ideas from the textbooks and other sources. Make sure that you cite the references; please follow APA standards for citation format (click on this link to obtain information about this citation style). If you are taking language directly from other sources, use quotation marks. If you are paraphrasing ideas, you must present the idea in your own words and list the reference following the sentence.
3. Hand in your assignments on time: Late papers are not accepted. Keep a hard copy of the assignments you hand in. I will write comments on your papers to give you feed back. Also, in the unlikely event that an assignment is lost, the burden of proof that you completed the assignment rests with you. You will hand in several assignments in hard copy and will also post them on the course web site. Please check the details for each assignment.
4. Academic Honesty: My relationship with you is based on honor and mutual trust. Your work should reflect your own learning, thinking and elaboration. Also, all work handed in needs to be prepared specifically for this course. If you give me any reason to doubt that you have completed the work yourself or that the paper has been handed in for another course as well, I will have to proceed according to the SSU Policy on Cheating and Plagiarism. Make sure you cite sources appropriately; not crediting a source used can be construed as plagiarism. This includes sources from books, movies, the Internet, etc. If you have any questions about this issue, please come and talk to me before you hand in your work. Papers must be submitted to Turnitin (on webct), a website that checks for plagiarism. Papers not submitted to Turnitin will not be graded and will not be considered for calculation of the final grade.
5. University Policies: There are important University policies that you should be aware of, such as the add/drop policy; cheating and plagiarism policy, grade appeal procedures; accommodations for students with disabilities and the diversity vision statement.Go to this URL to find them. http://www.sonoma.edu/uaffairs/policies/studentinfo.shtml
6. Sorry, no laptops, cell phones, blackberries, iphones, etc ...
photo credits Wernher Krutein photovalet.com