Thursday, January 15, 2015

January 20… Labaree’s Competing Purposes of Schools



Are there any major purposes of schooling left out by Labaree? What do you make of his conclusion (Is there any hope to push back against the predominant notion of education as a private good?)?

January 27…Public Schooling in the U.S.: The Beginnings



Comment on Jefferson’s plan for public education, particularly on what his plan says about what TJ saw as the purpose of education.  How do Jefferson’s aims compare to Mann’s aims?  Feel free to also consider the plans’ shortcomings, but do your best to keep things in historical perspective. 

February 3…The Teacher Voice Project



Have you done much thinking about how and whether the professional responsibilities of educators go beyond the classroom and school? React to some of the ideas in the Teacher Voice Project paper (Stringer and Vileisis) and what it suggests for your life as a teacher.

February 10…Schooling and Social Change in an Unjust Society



After reading a bit from Dubois and Washington, where do you come down on their disagreements regarding the best way to educate African-Americans in the post-civil War U.S.?  Does their debate have any relevance today (for African-Americans or other marginalized groups)? 

February 24…Progressive Approaches (note: this date changed from Feb. 17)



From what you can tell (based on your quick read of "My Pedagogic Creed" or "The School and Social Progress," how would Dewey have reacted to the Brooklyn Free School? 

March 17...Relating the Interviews to the Theory

March 17...Relating the Interviews to the Theory

Think about your mini-interviews.  Can you see any ways in which the theory we read illuminates your participant's comments? Are there any ways in which your participant's comments contradict the theory we have read?  Any surprises?