HW 45

The two different ideas that Hirsch and Sizer have do contradict each other in many ways but due to the fact they have the same goal in mind they both are similar in ways and/or can be mixed to possibly create a more successful teaching method. Intellectually they are different because Sizer's ideal education would be one in which a student learns to think deeply about many ideas and everything they encounter in life. Hirsch wants a more traditional education where students learn hard facts and memorize things rather than truly analyze. Emotionally they are different as well. Emotion is a very big flaw in Hirsch's teaching style, because it has none. There is no way of relating what the student is learning to their own lives in that teaching style. Although much of the information could be very useful a lack of emotion has proven to cause a lack of interest and therefore a lack of knowledge. A teaching method that would incorporate aspects of both teaching styles would be ideal. With out facts and cultural literacy your a put at a disadvantage to students who have this knowledge. However if someone was able to learn facts while being somewhat interested in them one would be able to have knowledge that does not only cover a wide variety of things but goes deep in to them.

I do think that SOF has taught me to think more critically and go in to depth more on the things that I am learning. The education given is very personal and therefore a bit more interesting and since true understanding is emphasized I truly understand most of the things I learn. However, many times i feel as if I'm at a bit of a disadvantage in terms of facts in comparison to kids at other schools. Over all I do think the way SOF teaches is better. Some teachers do teach in more traditional ways especially in math and science because it is pretty hard to turn those classes in to something that the students can relate to.

HW 44

In the speech that Obama gives he pushes the idea that school is the foundation of our society and we need to do well in school to properly fit in to our society and have it function properly. At one point Obama says "if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country." He clearly believes in the idea that school is primarily to have people fit into our society and efficiently contribute to our society. The benefits of their contribution may not necessarily help them or those in similar position to the one they are in. However, Obama believe this is what "the people" should do with their lives. His main point throughout the speech is that although he and others in power are working hard to fix schools it is up to the individual to make what they can out of school and that if they fail it is their fault. I believe this is the same ideology that keeps many poor, minority student from seeing the true position that they are in and keeps them from understanding their lives. Which I believe is one of the essential reasons that students of color do much worse than white students in general.

In the article about having two different public school systems the author argues just that. He believes that a seperate school system should be created to train entrepreneurs. His idea is basically to have a schools for bosses and a school for workers. This is an idea that would not change the school system at all. It would still keep white students at the top and the rest at the bottom. The problem with the school system is the systematic structure of our society and the idea of having these two schools would simply reinforce that. Therefore limiting students who were in the school for workers in the same way poor minority students are limited at the zone schools they attend.

HW 42

PART A:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/pt7788535p450213/

This is the link to an essay which focuses on the racial inequalities of schools and why these racial inequalities have remained in our society. This essay focuses in on what the author believes are the real causes of these long lasting racial inequalities and why they are so significant still today.

I think this essay does a good job on focusing in on the fact that racial inequalities are still very strong and the racism as a whole is something that still plays a very significant factor in our society. He also shows that this is not something that is going to go away easily. However, he fails to notice the real solutions to the raical inequalities of our education system.

http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2003/JF/Feat/Renn.htm

This article focuses on the failure of affirmative action and the does a very good job on showing the gap between minorities and whites in the education system. He proposes many small solutions to try to level the amount of college educated whites and the amount of college educated blacks/Latinos etc.

Much like all the other articles I have read he notices the problem yet fail to come to any real solution. This article is racist in itself in the same way the movie "freedom writers" was racist. His main idea is that white people have to help poor little minority students and save them. He fails to provide any true solutions.

PART B: What is the cause of the major racial inequalities in our education system? How do we fix it?

This is a question that plays a role in almost everyones life regardless of race. If someone is in the public schooling system then most likely this is a topic that affects them in one way or another. For Latinos and blacks they are shown to perform worse on standardized tests, get lower grades, have a lower graduation rate, and a much lower college acceptance rate. This is a question that affects the future of myself and millions of other students in the country. More so this topic questions our society as a whole and it's true functions and the reasons for the major inequalities that exist.

This question matters functionally. People believe that school is the most important institution and if you can fix school everything will be better. Although school plays a major role in our society school depends on other institutions just as much as they depend upon it. The idea of fixing the school is much more complicated then people seem to think. To truly "fix" schools you have to fix everything else around them which is the case with almost every institution.