FDN 5840 Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education 3
SOCIAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION
FDN 5840 Fall 2009 CVCC Elementary Ed. Cohort
Dr. Gayle M. Turner
Office: 316D Edwin Duncan Hall
Telephone: 262-3103 (However, e-mail contact is quickest and best.)
Office Hours: Monday through Thursday, by appointment
Classrooms: EDH 313 TTH 2-3:15 and 3:30-4:45 (ASU) and W 5-9 PM CVCC 1114 (Hickory)
E-mail:
Web Site: http://gayleturner.net
“If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Office of Disability Services, 222 D.D. Dougherty, 262-3053/262-3056 (TTY) as early as possible in the term."
REQUIRED READING
On Competition and the Difficulties of Creating a Just Society
Dewey, John. (Selected text will be available on line.)
Dickens, Charles. Hard Times (Enriched Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)
Leman, Nicholas. The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy.
On Life In School
Card, Orson Scott. Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1), Author's Definitive Edition, by Orson Scott Card
Delpit, Lisa. Other People’s Children. (Excerpts online. See syllabus.)
Gould, Stephan Jay. Ghosts of Bell Curves Past. (Online. See syllabus.)
Kozol, Jonathan. The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America.
On the Nature of Truth and Objectivity
Rorty, Richard. "Solidarity or objectivity," and "Science as solidarity." In Objectivity, Relativism, and Truth, by Richard Rorty. (Online. See class web site).
Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible.
On Changing Social Structures
Quinn, Daniel. Ishmael.
Cuadros, Paul. A Home on the Field: How One Championship Soccer Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of Small Town America.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
We think philosophically whether or not we are aware of it. In our everyday thinking, we make decisions and analyze various situations based on bits and pieces of social and philosophical theory: Are children naturally good or bad? Is truth objective and final, or does what is true depend on time and place and on who is doing the thinking? Our beliefs regarding answers to questions such as these determine to a large extent not only how we will expect teachers to behave in our classrooms, but also what we will find to be acceptable policy and procedure in our schools.
This course aims to prepare you to engage with more rigor and understanding in the dilemmas of your daily lives at school. There are two components to this course. First, it is crucial that you be able to identify the theoretical notions that you inevitably bring with you into every situation as part of your class background, your race, your gender, age, and geographic location. Second, the course is designed to help you add to your theoretical understanding of the social and philosophical issues which are inherent to our everyday decision-making and understanding. Through the processes of critical self-understanding, and the enhancement of theoretical tools which each of us brings to the situations in which we engage, we become better situated to participate with stamina and thoughtfulness in the practical life of schools.
CENTRAL QUESTIONS
1. What is the purpose of schooling in a democratic society?
2. Are children inherently good, bad, or neutral? How about their parents?
3. How do educators decide what is worth knowing?
4. What does it mean to have a vision? Is "vision" inherent to our humanity? Is the work we do in schools guided by a vision? Should it be?
5. Does truth have a subjective and objective component, or is it absolute? What bearing does how we answer this question have on our lives in school?
6. What is “priviledge”?
7. What is your philosophy of education? Is it necessary to have one? How is this related to both having a coherent narrative of your own life, and to understanding the life narratives of parents and children quite different from you?
Class meeting times are Wednesday’s 5-9 PM at CVCC in Hickory. Other course discussion and instruction will occur via the course web site and discussion board. Note: Weather or other matters may necessitate changes in class meeting dates. Please keep all Wednesday's from 5-9 PM available for FDN 5840, just in case.
Aug. 26 Introduction.
Sept. 2 Kozol, The Shame of the Nation, pp. 1-214.
High school graduation rates by state and racial group. See your web site.
Incarceration rates for minority males: See your web site.
Additional information from Human Rights Watch. See your web site.
Video: A Class Divided.
Sept. 9 Finish The Shame of the Nation, pp. 214-338.
Video: People Like Us: Social Class in America, Part I.
Sept. 16 Lemann, The Big Test, Book One: "The Moral Equivalent of Religion,” pp. 3-122 and Book Two: "The Master Plan,” pp. 123-173.
Stephan Jay Gould on IQ. See your web site.
Video: The American Dream at Groton
Sept. 23 Dickens, Hard Times, Books One and Two, to p. 288.
Video: People Like Us: Social Class in America, Part II.
Sept. 30 Dickens, Hard Times, Book Three, pp. 288-389.
Economic Opportunity Institute: An argument for an increased minimum wage. Online.
Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition: The minimum wage debate. Online.
Oct. 7 Mid-term assigned. Download from syllabus online. (Class does not meet).
Oct. 14 Mid-term due, 10 pm, via e-mail attachment to gayle_at_gayleturner.net. MS Word format (or rtf as second best choice.) (Class does not meet).
Oct. 21 Ender’s Game, all.
Oct. 28 Cuadros, A Home on the Field: How One Championship Soccer Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of Small Town America. Read the complete book.
Dewey, from School and Society, and Essays on Contemporary Thought. Online.
Adam Gamoran, "Is Ability Grouping Equitable?" Online.
Clotfelter, et al., "Segregation and Resegregation in North Carolina’s Public School Classrooms." Resegregation through tracking. Online.
North Carolina Middle School Association Research Bulletin on tracking and ability grouping. Online.
North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction, "Grouping Practices Research Brief." Online.
Teachers, Children, and EOG's. Online.
Nov. 4 Quinn, Ishmael. Read the complete novel.
Video: Genesis: A Living Conversation. "The First Murder."
Philosophies of education and learning theories chart. Online.
Nov. 11 Delpit, pp. xi-69. See your web site.
Without Sanctuary: Lynching in America. See your web site.
Nov. 18 Rorty, "Solidarity or objectivity" and "Science as solidarity.” See your web site.
Video: The Sudbury Valley School.
Nov. 25 No class. (ASU Thanksgiving Break.)
Dec. 2 Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible, pp ix-543.
Take-home final assigned.
Dec. 9 Final due at 10 PM via email attachment to
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Reading. Read each assignment before the date it is scheduled for class discussion.
2. Class participation and attendance. Attend each class session and participate in discussions based on the assigned reading. The success of the class depends on each student attending all classes, all the time, and on time. It is also critical that you read each assignment prior to class discussion, that way we can have great discussions.
3. On-line discussion forum. Participate in the class discussion board. “Participation” means that you will begin at least two threads during the semester, and that you will reply to a thread of your choice a minimum of 1 time each week for fourteen weeks. The forum address is http://forums.gayleturner.net. This means you will have a minimum of sixteen posts spread throughout the semester.
4. Exams. Complete the home final and mid-term on time, written in a rigorous and thoughtful manner.
GRADING
1. You begin the course with an “A.” To keep the “A”:
· Attend and participate in each class in a meaningful and intelligent manner that reflects the thoughtfulness of your engagement with the assigned texts, your classmates, and the instructor.
· Write a rigorous and thoughtful mid-term and final, and deliver it to me in the required digital format on time.
2. Each component above carries the following weight:
Mid-term 25%
Final = 25%
Class participation = 25%
Class discussion board participation = 25%
3. Class participation and the online discussion forum are both Pass/Fail portions of the course. This means you get all the credit for each of these parts if you complete the requirement, but none if you do not.