Posted: March 18th, 2022
formal education,
discussion 3
Order Description
See the syllabus for required readings. This discussion will be graded using the Homework help – Discussion Participation Paper Writing Service – Topic Examples – Rubric. Everyone has years of experience with formal
education, and everyone has strong opinions on their experience. This week’s discussion is designed to give you a great deal of freedom in choosing a topic that
interests you. Some of these topics were created by previous students who chose option 1. Your comments on this free(er) form of discussion are appreciated.
1. This discussion gives you an opportunity to create a topic you are personally interested in. State an issue that you wish to discuss in the form of an hypothesis,
research question or thesis. For example: (Feel free to use one of these or write your own).
– Does the educational system act to prevent teachers like Jaime Escalante from succeeding
– Social control of deviance in WWII Japan is similar to/different from that in the U.S. in this (these) ways. This implies. . . . ..
– Common Core should/should not be adopted by every state.
– The Federal Government should/should not play a greater role in the provision of education at the state level.
– . The DC Scholarship Opportunities program should/should not be funded.
– . Home schooling should be encouraged/discouraged.
-. Grades (and other social goods such as wealth, status, power) should be equally distributed.
-. Professor Smith�s grading system should be improved by: . . .
Remember that the grading rubric gives credit for citing sources, presenting different points of view, and replying to other students.
Contact me if you have any questions
OR
you may do ONE of the following”
A. EDUCATIONAL CHANGE
The recommended movie for this week is: Stand and Deliver (1988) PG This movie is NOT required.
Fans of inspirational dramas about the life-changing power of education will be touched by this moving, mostly true story of famed East L.A. math teacher Jaime
Escalante (Edward James Olmos), who finds himself in a classroom of rebellious remedial students. Escalante stuns fellow faculty members with his plans to teach the
kids AP calculus. But no one expects the mostly Hispanic teens (including Lou Diamond Phillips) to overcome the odds.
Genre:Latino Dramas, Dramas Based on Real Life, Inspirational Stories
This movie is:Understated, Sentimental, Inspiring
Format: Streaming video from Amazon for $2.99, Itunes $3.99. The streaming video has been removed from Netflix but it is available as a DVD. The price of the movie is
much less than that of the reader which the movies have replaced.
It was a very popular movie and should also be available from your local library
This is one of the few Hollywood movies that I have recommended for class. This movie expresses strong cultural conflicts:Jaime Escalante is Bolivian, and he brings
with him a traditional view of education and the roles of teacher and students which conflicts with both the high school administration and his students. His success
is related to his success in changing the culture of the school and the students. His ultimate failure is also related to the inability of the school culture to change
as easily as did the culture of the students.
There is an important lesson here. People tend to respond to the expectations of those around them. People rarely change unless those expectations also change.
Teachers like Jaime Escalante are rare because the expectations within the school discourage maverick success.
For this week’s discussion you may watch Stand and Deliver and/or then look at the URLs in the Web Links to see what happened to Jaime Escalante after the movie was
made. Homework help – Discuss his career in light of the text and the concept of social change.
OR
B. THE CULTURE OF EDUCATION:
Japanese education during the Second World War is illustrated in the film, Kabei-Our Mother (Amazon $2.99). This movie is NOT required. How did WWII education in Japan
differ from education in Japan today – as well as education in the United States. In your posting refer to what the text states. How does the movie agree with or
conflict with the text What are the sociological implications of these differences Feel free to use issues from previous discussions as you present your comments.
OR
C. EDUCATION AND POLITICS:
The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution (in the Bill of Rights) states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it
to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Historically, Education has been considered a right reserved to the states. Recently home schoolers have suggested that education is a right reserved to the people.
Yet, today we see the Federal Government becoming increasingly involved in education. (George Bush – No Child Left Behind, Barack Obama – Race to the Top). Do a Google
Search to determine the legal (Constitutional) basis for these Federal government activities.
The interaction of the institutions of government/politics/family is of growing importance – and will become an even hotter topic if there are major changes in
Congress as a result of the November elections. Prospective law students may find this topic lays a foundation for their future cases. Feel free to discuss the current
debate over Common Core and/or school lunches.
OR
D. EDUCATION AND FUNDING:
School Choice. In 2009, Congress cut funding for the DC Scholarship Opportunities program. Voucher programs are controversial because they give families power to “opt
out” of the educational bureaucracy. They also eliminate the quality control of plant, staff, and curriculum that the educational bureaucracy provides. Since that
date, Ther have been repeared attempts to close the program. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016 are continuing the debate of charter/voucher schools.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/us/politics/donald-trump-vs-hillary-clinton-where-they-stand-on-education.html_r=0
The web links related to school choice in general and the DC Scholarship Opportunities program specifically frequently change. You may perform your own search to find
URLs which are timely and/or give a history of the controversy you are interested in.
Identify the participants in the debate in terms of institutional membership and social groups.
a. What are the reasons that the participants give for their stand
b. How do these reasons reflect the institutional membership and social group status of the participants
c. What are the results for students
OR
E. EDUCATION AND SOCIAL INEQUALITY
Home Schooling: Education as a social institution interacts with other institutions such as the family, religion, economics, and government. Home schooling is also
related to questions of social stratification and status, gender, race, ethnicity, and professional/vocational opportunities. The role of home schooling is fiercely
debated. Your assignment, should you choose to accept, is to look at the home schooling debate, not as a participant, but as sociologist.
Identify the participants in the debate in terms of institutional membership and social groups.
a. What are the reasons that the participants give for their stand
b. How do these reasons reflect the institutional membership and social group status of the participants
c. What are the results for students
The web links related to school choice in general and the home schooling specifically frequently change. You may perform your own search to find URLs which are timely
and/or give a history of the controversy you are interested in.
OR
F. EDUCATION AND SOCIAL EQUALITY
Grade Inflation:
https://www.gradeinflation.com/
Ashley Herzog reports on a petition to change the distribution of grades. Note: This is advocacy at its most defiant. It may anger many who might feel it is unfair. As
always, you may earn bonus points for a reasoned and sources disagreement with Professor Herzog. On the other hand, you will receive credit on the rubric for merely
citing and/or agreeing with it.
https://townhall.com/columnists/ashleyherzog/2009/05/11/socialism%2c_college_style_part_ii
Grades are used for three purposes:
To show that someone has completed a course of instruction,
to show that someone has acquired appropriate knowledges, skills, and attitudes associated with the course of instruction, and
to rank that proficiency compared to others.
There is a sizable literature which states that since certain test scores and grades are biased against protected groups, these test scores and grades should be
eliminated. One way to avoid bias is to give everyone high grades.Questions debated include:
1. Should grades be equally distributed
2. If grades were equally distributed, how would this affect educational achievement, the distribution of power and authority, the economic returns to education,
social mobility
3. Socialism requires that wealth be redistributed.
4. How are wealth and grades similar – and different Professor Herzog compares grades to other forms of social goods such as status, wealth, power, etc. Why or why
not are such comparisons justified.
5. What criteria should be used to distribute social goods
6. If there should be different criteria for different goods explain which criteria should be applied to which kinds of goods
7. How is grade inflation different from giving the same grades to everyone Cite sources to support your answer
OR
G. GRADE INFLATION
As a professor I teach students from various majors – including Sociology – at various educational levels ranging from freshmen to seniors, who are taking this course
for many different reasons. I need to design a grading system that is fair for all of them, without lowering standards.
In the grading system I have arrived at, students are graded with equal weight given to discussions and tests.
In the tests, quizzes and final examination are also weighted equally.
The discussion participation rubric is designed to ensure that students
– complete the readings, and- can apply them to real world situations, and
-can apply the various frameworks that sociologist have developed to describe the social world in which we live, while
– understanding and respecting other points of view.
Students are not graded on their points of view but rather on how well, as prospective sociologists, they develop and express their points of view.
Finally, students are given the opportunity to make up missing or failed work so that every student can have at least an 85 average going in to the final – which
guarantees that they will pass the course.
On the other hand, the use of bonus points challenging discussion topics, and a difficult final are intended to stretch and reward even the most advanced students.
In theory every student could get an A for the course. In practice, the A is intended to be given only to those who truly demonstrate that they have earned it.
Finally, the objective way in which grades are given, quizzes, final and rubric; minimize my personal feeling about each student and allow each student, in effect, to
choose his or her own grade.
But
have I accomplished my goals
Are these the goals the correct ones that I should strive for
Homework help – Discuss the grading system used in this class and make suggestions for its improvement. In almost every semester I teach the course I have made changes based on
student comments. Be sure that your answer covers the items in the discussion participation rubric.
==========
This week’s questions require a lot of thought and the less you think the more you will be tempted to write and write. Please do not fall into the temptation of
answering with a stream of consciousness (smile). Keep your replies short, relevant and well sourced.
This week’s posting will be no more than three double-spaced pages with one-inch margins using a size 11 or 12 font, before cutting and pasting to the discussion.
Contact me if you have any questions.
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