Talking Points #10

Education Is Politics, by Shor

Quotes:
1) "If I were a primary-grade teacher, I would devote my time to problems of socialization. The most important thing children learn is not the three R's. It's socialization."
-I picked this quote because socialization is an important factor in a child's life. For a child to be able to have social skills is important because without them they may feel left out or get depressed. Being able to be social with other students allows them to feel welcome.

2)"School funding is another political dimension of education, because more money has always been invested in the education of upper-class children and elite collegians than has been spent on students from lower-income homes and in community colleges."
-I picked this quote because the funding for schools is very important. Some schools don't get much funding and others get plus the amount that they already receive. When schools don't receive enough funding, it makes it harder to teach the students what they need to learn for what will end up on the standardized tests. With less funding there is less materials offered to help the teacher with the standards they need to complete.

3)"On the other hand, education is a social experience for tens of millions of students who come to class with their own dreams and agendas, sometimes cooperating with and sometimes resisting the intentions of the school and the teacher."
-I picked this quote because its true. Students come to school with their own agendas and dreams. Most of the time students just can't wait to get out of school, but if teachers could engage their students into lessons that involve some of the interests. This will allow them to be more interested in school and want to be involved at school and not always occupied with the outside world.

Questions/ Comments/ Points:

This was an interesting article. I think it's important that students can question what they learn to understand more, where they go to school, and what's the importance of it. Also, that teachers engage more in what their students are involved in and their lessons. Lastly, students should be looked at with their academic work and their success of working hard.

Talking Point # 9

Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome, Christopher Kliewer

Quotes:

1) "Now we know that people with disabilities can learn and have a full, rich life. The challenge is to erase negative attitudes about people with developmental disabilities, get rid of the stereotypes and break the barriers for people with disabilities."
- I picked this quote because it stuck out to me. Just because a child has a disability, doesn't mean that they should be given less. They learn like everyone else, but just in a different way. When the stereotypes are put against these children it makes it harder for them to learn. They should receive help instead of the stereotypes that they receive.

2) "Such acceptance is the aim when children with Down Syndrome join their non-disabled peers in classrooms, and many schools and individual teachers have entered into this effort, which seeks and finds community value in all children."
- This is a very interesting quote. When a child with Down Syndrome is put into a classroom of non-disabled students, there is that fear that they may not behave or fit in well. On the other hand, the relationship that the child makes with his or her peers is very important. Also, teachers play a big role in this that they help make a smooth transition for the student. All students make a classroom what it is and having an welcoming area is a very important factor.

3) "Along with recognizing an individual's ability to think, Bogdan and Taylor (1989) suggest that respect and citizenship require a realization of the person's individuality. This is true in school relationships as it is in our wider community relationships."
- I think this quote is true. It is important to recognize one's individual ability to think and their individuality as a whole. No one is the same, therefore no one learns the same. This is something that should be recognized in schools and throughout the community.

Questions/ Comments/ Points:

This was a very interesting article. It opened my eyes to see how some children can be treated just because they aren't like everyone else. When everyone can work together, it allows for togetherness. This can help for a better place for students to go to school in and also a better community to live and raise children in. We should all be able to realize that we are all here to learn and we should all be able to get along no matter what one may have.

Talking Point # 8

from Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work, Jean Anyon

Quotes:

1) "Knowledge and skills leading to social power and regard are made available to the advantaged social groups but are withheld from the working classes to whom a more "practical" curriculum is offered."
-This quote stuck out to me because why should one group get something over another. Everyone should be able to have or receive the same knowledge and skills that anyone would receive.

2) "The products of work in this class [in the affluent professional school] are often highly valued by the children and the teacher."
- I picked this quote because it stood out to me. All students should like and accept their work, along with their teacher. If students are given positive reinforcement, it'll make them feel proud about their work and have the urge to do more.

3) "In the middle-class school, work is getting the right answer. If one accumulates enough right answers, one gets a good grade."
-This quote stuck out to me because grades should not be entirely about the right answer but the process that the student took to get the right answer. The grade a student receives should encounter several parts and not just one.

Questions/ Comments/ Points:
This was a good article. It opened my eyes to how some teachers treat their students. Everyone should be able to have an equal education. It was very interesting to see how some schools operate versus ones that are in different towns. Teachers can play an important role in their students life. When the teachers show positive reinforcement to their students' work, the student will begin to feel happy and wanting to come to school and do their work.

1) "Separating schoolboys from schoolgirls has long been a staple of private and parochial education. But the idea is now gaining traction in American Public schools, in response to both the desire of parents to have more choice in their children's public education and separate education crises girls and boys have been widely reported to experience."
-I picked this quote because for me I feel that to separate children in school is unjust. No matter what the sex of a child they should be able to learn in the same classroom as a different sex. This will create a stereotypical look on the real life for the children, and that is not what the real world is going to be like. It'll make it look like one group is better than the other.

2) “Baby boys prefer to stare at mobiles; baby girls at faces. Boys solve maze puzzles using the hippocampus; girls use the cerebral cortex. Boys covet risk; girls shy away. Boys perform better under moderate stress; girls perform worse.”
- This quote shows how children are studied so early in life about their learning abilities. This shows that boys and girls do learn different and as they get older their learning abilities become more different and more intricate. Just because they have different learning abilities doesn't mean they have to learn while being separate from each other.

3) "65 percent of boys complete high school in four years; 72 percent of girls do. Boys make up two-thirds of special-education students. They are 1.5 times more likely to be held back a grade and 2.5 times more likely to be given diagnoses of A.D.H.D."
- This quote shows a lot of statistics. When you look at high school drop-outs, there are a lot of boys that begin to get annoyed with school and just drop-out. On the other hand girls tend to like school more and push through the toughness and do what they can.

Questions/ Comments/ Points:

This was a very interesting article. I never really knew that they looked at how a boy learns vs how a girl learns. In some situations I think the separation will work well and where in other circumstances it doesn't. Foe example, I know of some classrooms that have autism children and they are all boys. Children of a different sex should be able to learn in the same classroom.