SPF 301 CULTURE AND SCHOOLING

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SPF 301 CULTURE AND SCHOOLING

• Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

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Our schools run the way they do because of

• The social and political history of the nation
• The philosophies of childhood and child rearing
  the society embraces
• The peoples beliefs about creativity and
  intelligence
• The social organization of society and its
  distribution of wealth.

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Becoming an Expert Teacher

• It takes 4-5 years of pre-service preparation to
  become a novice teacher

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Becoming an Expert Teacher

• It takes 5 additional years to teach yourself to
  become an expert teacher.

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Becoming an Expert Teacher

• One in three new teachers leave the profession
  before that five year period. They never become
  expert.

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Becoming an Expert Teacher

• Perhaps another third stay in the profession but
  never become expert. They learn to teach good
  enuf. They go through the motions.

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Becoming an Expert Teacher

• The rest become master teachers. Their classes
  are fresh, they keep up with the field, and
  students. They know how to make it work.

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Becoming an Expert Teacher

• They read widely and keep abreast of their
  subjects, always thinking of new ways to present
  the material.

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Becoming an Expert Teacher

• They understand students. They know where they
  are coming from. They dont just look, they see,
  they dont just hear, they listen.

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Becoming an Expert Teacher

• Expert teachers think about individual students
  aptitude, learning styles, interest,
  motivation, discipline, and leadership

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Becoming an Expert Teacher

• They also understand social relations cultural
  beliefs practices, peer and gender relations,
  acculturation, assimilation and resistance.

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MACRO RELATIONSHIPS

• FAMILY
• ETHNIC GROUP
• SOCIETY
• CULTURE
• THE STATE
• SOCIAL CLASS
• EDUCATION SYSTEM

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Two ways to trivialize cultural differences
We are all one under the skin
Cultures are so different we cannot understand
one another
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To any statement like
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Asian American children prefer
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Children from Hispanic families think
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You have to handle African American children by
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We must raise a suspicion. Stereotypes created
by social scientists are still stereotypes and
they are not useful as explanations of the
problems people face
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• The great bulk of work in education continues to
  identify the characteristics of children from
  different groups as if such identifications
  constitute findings. We should stop this
  practice. Any proposed consistency between a
  group identity and particular ways of behaving
  should be the topic of our work and not a
  resource for analyzing some other problem.

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Ethnicity is ... a product of people using U.S.
Culture to organize each other. It is an
accomplishment. (McDermott 1997119)
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Schools have been seen as societys instrument to
release a child from the blinders imposed by
accident of birth into this family or that
family. -- James Coleman
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A second orientation to schooling sees school as
an extension of the family. It is an aid to the
family, by reinforcing its values. The school is
in loco parentis, vested with the authority of
the parent to carry out the parents will.
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MEANINGS OF CULTURE
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MEANINGS OF CULTURE
Anthropological Sociological Humanities Education
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AGE ETHNICITY GENDER RELIGION SOCIAL
CLASS LANGUAGE
IMMIGRANT URBAN RURAL DOMINANT DOMINATED REGIONAL
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Physical plant (Kozol) Parental involvement
(Lareau) Student resistance (Kohl) Social
structure (Larson Ovando) Community (Fine)
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• Core Knowledge
• Ethnocentric education
• Hidden Curricula
• Reproduction/resistance
• Assimilation - Acculturation

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SchoolCultures
Defining Culture
IncomingCultures
Cultural Output
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"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a
fire to be kindled."

• Plutarch

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How Can I Make A Difference?

• What is schooling supposed to accomplish?
• Why are most teachers women and poorly paid?
• Why don't some student's want to learn?
• Why are schools in America segregated?
• Why are sports more important than scholarship?

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Education Policy Assumptions(current)

• Learning is mediated by teaching
• Learning is facilitated by standards testing
• Learning progression can be predicted and
  controlled
• Learners choices are made on an informed rational
  basis

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Better Assumptions

• Students are active agents who choose what to
  learn, when to learn, how to learn .
• Learning is shaped by cultural beliefs, attitudes
  and values .
• Learning is a social process in which knowledge
  is constructed.

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Great Expectations
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Expectations
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A WORK

• pushes well beyond the material insightfully
  critiquing the party line. Absolutely clear.
  Active, thoughtful examination of a broad range
  of topics (i.e. not just staying inside a
  'comfort zone'). Extensive evidence of
  independent thinking--you're not afraid to take a
  stand, or to change your mind!

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B WORK

• solid work, including some good critique of the
  ideas and class material. Requirement met, but
  didn't really push hard enough to take it to the
  next level. Some evidence of independent
  thinking, but too much agreeing or disagreeing
  without exploring the issues too much quoting
  paraphrasing without really adding your own ideas.

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C WORK

• work is erratic, and doesn't really show a
  sustained effort. Little critique of the material
  and discussions little evidence of independent
  thinking or revisiting of ideas. You go through
  the motions, but dont really make a serious
  effort.

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D WORK

• work shows almost no evidence of independent
  thinking. You make a B- or C-level effort when
  you try, but usually you dont.

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• Missed assignments, poor attendance, trivial
  contributions just going through the motions.

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