Use this space to extend the dialogue regarding what we are doing in class or to start a conversation about anything you deem relevant to the course. There is no required posting here, it’s just another way for you to be in touch with our class community…use it if it’s helpful otherwise, no worries.
The questions I plan on asking are as follow:
ReplyDeleteIf you were made the Secretary of Education what would you want to accomplish? (purposes of school)
Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan, two progressive educators, believe "It is what teachers think, what teachers, and what teachers are at the level of the classroom that ultimately shapes the kind of learning that young people get." If you were a teacher for a day, how would you run your classroom? (the "ideal" teacher)
"I believe that the brain has evolved over millions of years to be responsive to different kinds of content in the world. Language content, musical content, spatial content, numerical content, etc."-Howard Gardner
Should schools offer a variety of subjects for students to discover which "content" s/he is strongest in? (curriculum, self-actualization)
Two of the three are questions we developed in class and simply could not let go of. I am unsure if the quotes work well with the questions I want to ask and whether they would prime the person I am interviewing to think, then answer, a certain way. Looking forward to what others have came up with.
The first question that I think should be asked, is the first question that Jacob has. I just think it gets at so much and is a good way of testing th waters.
ReplyDeleteSo, something along the lines of "If given the power to control education in America, what would you do? What would you change?"
The second was another brought up in class that would be a great follow up to the first question.
"What steps are you taking in your classroom to execute these things on a smaller level?"
Wording may not be great, but the general idea.
The third is unrelated and very broad, but one I think most will be able to answer, regardless of how "in the know" they are.
"What do you think is the main goal of the education system in America." Or "What should the main goal of education be?"
I feel like there are so many questions that could be asked in so many combinations, but my fear is that other questions may be too pointed. Im interested in what y'all have come up with. . .
I definitely agree that the question we developed in class about if you were the Secretary of education what would you do. I also think it would be interesting if everyone had like one question that everyone asks.
ReplyDeleteAnother question I've been considering is "if you were given the funds to implement a new program in your school/county/state what kind of program would you start?" This one is similar to the national level question, but I think it might be helpful to have it on a level that teachers can directly relate to. I'd also want to follow that question up with a "what would you hope for your program to accomplish?"
One more question I'm considering is to describe the Brooklyn Free School and ask "what role do you think democracy should fill in schools?"
Our research question:
ReplyDeleteHow do education stakeholders view the school-society relationship?
Questions we could ask to determine their view on that relationship:
1. If you were the director of education, what would be your first move?
2. If you had/have children, what would you hope they would gain through schooling?
3. Imagine you were a teacher for a day, what methods would you use to teach your children?
There were a few other questions that I thought were reasonable but not important or direct enough to ask. I think that these three questions would give us the person's perspective on the school-society relationship from the hypothetical standpoint of an administrator, educator and parent.
I really like Amy's questions, I think they all get at the same thing but from different angles. I won't repeat them, I do think they should be asked. Some others that we could ask:
ReplyDeleteDescribe the ideal school for you children. What do you think your child is gaining from school? What do you hope they will gain?
What worked/what was lacking in your own educational experience? How do you feel your education helped you get to where you are today?
How do you feel about gifted education programs? (tracking)
Did you have a favorite teacher? Why were they your favorite?
There has to be a better way to word these questions, but this is what I have thought of:
ReplyDelete1.) When elementary and middle school students do not pass the necessary subjects to move on to the next grade level, they are held back. What do you think about this process? Do you think that it works? If so, explain. If not, how would you change that process?
2.) What kind of role do you believe teachers play in whether a student great education, a decent education, and a bad education? What kind of role do teachers play/should play in the decision-making of school systems? A majority of teachers quit within 5 years of starting work. How can the system retain good teachers?
3.) What kind of role do the students play in the decision-making of schools? What kind of role should they play? Could also ask this question for parents. What kind of role do parents play/should play?
All about the hypotheticals, baby...the best way I can think of to get a truthful, direct response that we can analyze and compare to our pre-described purposes of schooling...
ReplyDelete1) If you were appointed as the Secretary of Education in the United States, what would want to be the single overriding thing you did during your term? What would be the first thing you did? How would you want history to remember you, and how would you ensure that you were remembered that way?
2) Suppose there is a student named Jimmy who is in the 6th grade, is black, and attends class in an urban school district. He reads well now, but the high school he will be attending in a few years is notorious for it’s drop-out rate. What do you think he should expect from his education? If you had to guess, what do you think he would get out of his education after he was eighteen? (This may be a bit of a loaded question. Some of the specifics can be dropped to obtain a more neutral answer)
3) If every school, at every level, private, public, charter, ect in America suddenly disappeared, and you were tasked with building the system from the ground up, what would you do to implement an education system that you think would benefit our society the most?
Alexis Said
ReplyDeleteThese are a few question I came up with steming from our basic research question:
How do education stakeholders view the school-society relationship?
1.) (If you have children) Do/Did you have a choice in which school your children attend(ed)?
If yes, What were your criteria in choosing a good school?
If no, What would be your criteria if you had a choice?
2.) If you were able to develop your own cirriculum and pedagogy, what would it focus on and how would you conduct the classroom?
3.)What do you believe are the good/bad differences between public and private schools?
I tried to come up with some questions we haven't really asked but could also show people's point of view about the society-school relationship.
I really liked some of the questions above so some of my own are based upon those!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think students are prepared for when they graduate high school?---ability to put knowledge into practice, individual opportunity, schooling for social stability, social mobility, broadening horizons, tool to help climb economic ladder
If you could create a curriculum based on the current needs of society and future generations, what would be your number one priority?---- emergence of globally conscious society, fostering self-education, to create more knowledgeable citizens
About how many students do you keep in touch with after graduation and why do you feel that some students keep in touch while others don’t? --- creating social networks
Do you think students are more concerned with passing class or learning for future education? --- individual flourishing, life-long learning, conservation of accumulated knowledge
Is there anything in the current educational system that reflects democracy? Create more knowledgeable citizens, schooling for economic growth, enabling democratic participation of the masses
How many specialized programs such as dual enrollment, gifted and talented, AP and IB classes, or trade classes are offered?---- sorting mechanism, identifying best leaders, cultivating social networks, individual opportunity, be a master of some endeavor
What are the test scores for standardized learning used for? Do you see these test scores as helping or hurting children?--- sorting mechanism, broadening horizons, ability to put knowledge into practice, reemphasis of current structure of society
When you walk into a classroom, what do you expect to see?--- fostering patriotism, create a more just and caring society, moral growth, fostering self-education
Do students in your county learn how to prepare resumes, college applications, or find services within their community while in school?---- create more knowledgeable citizens, tool to help climb economics ladder
Is school a reflection of our social world or does it teach new understandings of our social world? Caring for the environment, emergence of a globally conscious society, create more knowledgeable citizens
What is the dropout rate in your local community (high or low) and do you see any patterns with the type of children that end up dropping out? What types of programs or policies could be implemented to help these children. --- cultivating social networks, social stability, tool to help climb economic ladder
While you are working during the day and reflecting on things you wish you could change in society, what do you think children should be learning in school to create those changes?----fostering emergence of globally conscious society, create more knowledgeable citizens, schooling for economic growth, create more just and caring society
One question we could ask to see how the interviewee felt about testing is: How important are the SATs? Do you think that the SATs predict success? Do you think it corresponds to innate ability "aptitude" (like it is supposed to test), "achievement" (like concrete skills) or effort (which I personally think highly correlates with college success). We could also throw out the graph that we saw in class that corresponded to income and score.
ReplyDeleteTo find out about sorting: A child, John, is entering high school. His grandfather and father are plumbers. His mom is an office manager at their business. John plans to follow in their footsteps and join the family business after high school. Should John follow a "4-year" plan that covers science, math, reading, writing, and social studies every year or should he become part of a program that offers him the technical skills that will allow him to become a plumber straight out of high school?
A diverse education: Cindy is entering high school. She loves math and plans to become a mathematician. Should Cindy enter a high school that offers the traditional math, science, English, social studies, art, PE, and music or one that would devote an extra hour to math, but would not offer art, PE, or music?
I think that the hypothetical question type are a very good idea! We should discuss though things like assigning gender and names. For example had I said a boys name (more stereotypical) for the mathematician it might change the answer. Also the name Cindy reminds me of the Brady Bunch, a very "idealized" white family. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something to consider.
For me, I guess I am more-so leaning towards Noddling types questions, all though I love the questions that everyone has presented before me. My questions would be more so...
ReplyDelete1. Do you feel as though you were ever taught to care about your education? If so when and how?
2. Do you think schools are producing students that care about education?
3. If you were a teacher , how would you teach students to care about education?
4. Do you think a student must care about their education in order to succeed?
5. What does "caring about education" mean to you?
1. Compare your own educational experience to education today. What do you think schools were doing better in your generation? What's better now?
ReplyDelete2. What essential life skills do you think schools lack in teaching? (personal finance, empathy, etc. )
3. What will schools look like 20 years from now?
I'm writing these in mind of contacting several specific people who work in different areas of the government as a point of reference. If anyone else has suggestions to ask maybe someone from a State Delegate's office or Congressional office, I'd love to hear them!
ReplyDelete1. Do you believe that your schooling (k-12) fulfilled its purpose, and if so what purpose?
2. As you most likely already know, the expectation of schools has evolved over time. Do you believe that today schools are successfully upholding the modern day expectation?
3. As someone who has had a direct role in the way we run our education system, how have you attempted to make our system reflect your image of the ideal system?
4. How do you balance your ideals and the practicality of implementing changes in the Education system?
1) How important do you think that it is for students to be interested in what they are learning in school?
ReplyDelete2) To what degree is the curriculum taught applicable to the outside world? To what degree should it be?
3) Sometime in the future, the institution of school is on the verge of being shut down entirely. How would you react? Why?
1) Some people believe that the forefront of education should be math and science in order to build a generation of innovators. Should science and math be the primary focus of education and why should that be?
ReplyDelete2) Do you think public education is an important part of American society or is it expendable? Why?
3)What do you think it means to care about your education? Whose job is it to make children care?
1) More and more charter schools are popping up around the country. If there were enough charter schools for all kids to go to, do you think it would be better for the kids to go to them?
ReplyDelete-If yes, what would be the best type of charter school for kids to go to?
2) If funding for education were equal to what the US spends on defense, how do you think the funding should be dispersed? What other funding would have to be involved in order to enhance the quality education?
3) Are schools supposed to prepare students for college? If so, in what ways do they prepare a student for college? (the interviewee will hopefully emphasize one of the following: socially, emotionally, educationally, etc.)
As I've stated in class, I'm very interested in Noddings' perspective so I was very happy to see Niya's questions. That said, I think Mumford and Dewey are integral in the vision I have.
ReplyDelete1. Should school be the main institution responsible for priming a child to be a "good citizen?"
2. What kind of qualities do we hope an education will help shape in a child?
3. If there are qualities, such as caring and appreciating the world around her that a child should learn in school, is it enough to teach with those general principles in mind or should there be more guided curriculum in these areas?
Wow those are some good questions!
ReplyDelete1. What are some important values and bits of knowledge that you believe are necessary to be taught in schools? Do you believe such themes are in current curriculum? (yes/no) Would you change that about schooling and how?
2. Do you believe our educational system is meeting the interpersonal and intrapersonal needs of society? Why? How would you change it to meet those goals?
I agree with the "if you were the secretary of edu theme" as well.
3. If you were director/secretary of education of the US, what would you change about public schooling? How would your curriculum look like? Include shool days, extracurriculars, etc.