Meer Kat Group- Alex, Mercedes, Mauricio, Eva, Azran

 

Introduction-

Education is a source of debate in the U.S.

Quality of education-

- Unequal learning opportunities (urban schools said to be worse than schools in suburban affluent areas)

-         Girls are stifled in coeducational class rooms

-         Students in the U.S. are not competitive when it comes to standardized tests, they are not doing as well as it seems students in a developed and wealthy nation should be

-         Children in all school districts see a myopic view of society; they are surrounded by peers with similar economic position, racial background…

Reasons-

-The properties of the educational system were established over 100 years ago, and have not been modified to fit a changing time

History-

-Secondary schools previously existed for a wealthy few (end of 19^th century)… for religious, medical and legal training

-         Request for admission went up, a need for more schools created

-         Debates of 100 years ago are continued today (what to teach, how to teach it, whom should receive the best education)

 

“What High School Can Be”(Theodore R. Sizer)

The author shadowed a student at a suburban high school that serves middle to upper class families, in a largely white community. He observed:

-         The particular student was “rarely told to think hard”—he was encouraged to be passive and do what he was told a theme that might imply he will do the same in a larger society

-         Schools of this nature are a “vacuous theater”… they do not challenge the students, which perhaps inadvertently serves the purpose of indoctrinating them

In a high school at a working class neighborhood he observed:

-         Classes were organized as if they were drills, there was little room for free expression or thinking.

-         “The entire classroom slouched, physically and mentally”…. The children were not expected to be bright, so they were not inclined to act as such

-         The classes were remedial, and only the basics were covered

Theories about how to fix problems in education are flawed:

-         “But it is an error to continue what later times have discovered to be wrong-headed.”

On his Coalition of Essential Schools:

-         School should focus on teaching children to utilize their minds well

-         Students should master a limited number of essential skills and areas of knowledge.

-         Goals apply to all students, and teaching and learning should be personalized to all students and teachers

.-         Students of high school age who are not prepared for high school should stay back until they are prepared.

-         Expectations should be high, without stress created.

-         Teachers should consider themselves in general terms, and not separate specialists. Staff should have many obligations to encourage community.