Brown vs. Board of Education + Savage Inequalities

Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas is what reversed Plessy vs. Ferguson. The law was that the white and black people could be separate, as long as they had something of their own that would be equal to what the other had. For example, bathrooms, schools, restaurants, etc. In Brown vs. Board of Education, the separate but equal law was found to be inherently unequal. Brown sued the Board of Education because they wouldn't let his daughter go to the white schools, even though they were a lot closer to home than the black schools were. The education for the white people was very private and taught by private groups, where as the education for black people was almost nonexistent, and in some states, even forbidden. Separating young kids because of their race gives them a feeling of inferiority in society and will most likely affect their hearts and minds. Today, education is a right that is made available to everyone on equal terms (or should be anyways)

In the text Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools, the author argues that American schools are even more segregated now than they were back in 1954. The author describes his experiences as a teacher, when he visited countless different schools in different cities/places in America. There were never specific ones, he just went wherever he knew people. Most of his experiences in these schools were bad ones. The kids were not getting proper education, if you could call what they were getting education at all. There were not enough teachers for the amount of kids, barely any learning materials, and not even enough room in a classroom for all the students. I couldn't believe what I was reading throughout this whole text. It amazes me that these poor children have to go through all that pain and uncomfortableness in order to learn what it is they learn. So many kids drop out because they have no motivation and it doesn't matter to them at all whether they are getting an education or not. I found this article to be very sad and I really wish there was something that could be done to improve these school systems and help these poor kids get the education they deserve.

Chapter 5 - American Education: European Heritage and Colonial Experience

After reading Chapter 5, I was completely...speechless. There was so much information that it was hard to retain the most important parts. Personally, I find history really boring and hard to remember all the different aspects. The biggest thing I learned in this chapter was that our education today has evolved a lot and has come a long way since the "Ancient Societies". There are a lot of different, yet important, people who influenced education in many ways and at many different times in history. For example, Socrates (Education in Ancient Societies), Thomas Aquinas (Education in the Middle Ages), John Calvin (Education During the Reformation), Friedrich Frobel (Later European Educational Thought), and many, many more. I found out what a bunch of new terms meant, such as: humanism, naturalism, hornbook, dame schools, and many others as well. Another interesting point is that Christianity (or religion in general) had a huge impact on education and society. The five steps that Johann Herbart followed to plan his classes (preparation, presentation, association, generalization, application) are still very similar to the way we plan our classes now a days. The first education laws were that selectmen from each town had to go around in houses and check up on the children, make sure their parents are teaching them what they are supposed to be taught. Girls could attend dame schools, but most of them received very minimal education. There is a lot more information given in this chapter, it is hard to narrow it down. Overall, after having read this chapter, I feel a lot more educated on the history of our education today.

~Dano~

Chapter 4 - The Impact of Educational Theories on Educational Practice

This chapter talks about the different theories of education. There are six main ones: Perennialism, Progressivism, Behaviourism, Essentialism, Social Reconstructionism and Postmodernism. For each of these six theories we learn about general information, their purpose of schooling, the nature of their learner, their curriculum, their instructional methods, their classroom management, their assessments, the way their teachers are and their leading educational proponents. There is a lot of information about every single one of these theories in the chapters. At the end of the chapter, the authors ask the reader which theory they can most relate too. Just like the philosophies, I still haven't quite decided which theory I can most relate too. I'm hoping the more I learn in this class, the clearer it will be for me. It is not necessary to fit clearly into one theory/philosophy, because most of them somehow overlap each other. Even taking bits and pieces of a few of them and putting them together could possibly create a great teaching method. I also learnt that the theories are constantly changing due to economic, social and political climates. With all this new knowledge, I can't wait to start figuring things out for my own teaching career!

~Dano~

Chapter 3 - The Major Philosophies

This chapter really got me thinking about certain things. The definition of philosophy is as follows: "the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct" To understand your own philosophies, you must ask yourself three questions: 1. What is the nature of reality? 2. What is the nature of knowledge? 3. What is the nature of values? Answering these questions will help you figure out which philosophy you might relate to the most. I also learnt that there are three branches of philosophy (metaphysics, epistemology and axiology) and two types of logic (deductive and inductive). The traditional philosophies are idealism, realism and Neo-Thomism, which is "the belief in certain preestablished metaphysical truths." The modern philosophies are pragmatism, existentialism and analytic philosophy, which is "the belief that there are no preestablished truths." After reading this chapter, I tried to see which philosophy I could relate to the most, but I haven't quite figured it out yet. One last quote that really got me thinking... "I think, therefore I am" :)

Teacher Education Handbook

The Teacher Education Handbook had a lot of very interesting details in it. Being a student from Canada, I had no idea how the certification and degree-seeking worked. After having read this handbook, I knew basically everything I had to know. I learnt about the history of our university and that the Education program mission is as follows: "Preparing leaders of vision in a learning community dedicated to academic excellence, spiritual growth and service." I also enjoyed the lists of what these three aspects were. I find that the outcomes of the program are very realistic and I can see myself reaching every single one of them, and improving the skills I already do have. Having everything written in front of you in detail makes decisions a lot easier. I also really enjoy how we are going to be getting so much field experience in our stay at Finlandia, and I think with that experience will come the confidence needed to become an excellent teacher. I also really liked the list about what we will achieve on page 40 and 41 of the handbook. Again, being a student from Canada, I thought it was pretty interesting to read about the Michigan standards, and compare them to the Canadian ones. I saw that the GPA you need to maintain is 2.70 overall, so I guess that means I will have to study hard and do well in all my classes!

Chapter 2 - Development of the Profession

The first thing that caught my attention reading this chapter was the following quote: "Teaching is a work of the most demanding sort, for teachers must make dozens of decisions daily, command a wide body of knowledge and skill, learn to react instantly, and be disposed to act wisely in difficult situations." Teachers are very tough people; mentally, physically and emotionally. They can handle a lot and must know how to work well with kids. In this chapter, I learnt the requirements of a profession, the factors working to improve the professionalization of teaching, the professional development for teachers, the evaluation of teacher performance and the professional organizations for teachers. I learnt about the Code of Ethics and also found out that teachers have a high degree of autonomy. One statistic that I found quite interesting was that 80% of teachers believe they could make a difference in their students life. Personally, from experience, I believe that as a role model, you can make a difference in their life. The National Board Certification is a great way to be recognized as a teacher. Two ways to really help out teachers (new and old!) is by having mentoring programs as well as self-renewal programs. Every teacher needs a break sometimes!! This chapter contained a lot of important information and this is only the beginning of our great adventure on becoming a teacher!!

Chapter 1 - Status of the Profession

The first thing I agreed with while reading this chapter is that a lot of people who became teachers were positively influenced by a former teacher. This is exactly my scenario. My elementary school physical education teacher and my high school guidance counselor is the one person who influenced me the most. Since the day I met her, I have wanted to be a teacher. I learnt in this chapter that a big benefit to being a teacher is having the long summer vacations. One of my teachers in high school told me that those vacations are much needed because by the time the school year is over, some of those kids are to the point where it gets really hard to handle them. There are three main reasons people want to become teachers, and I think the best one to have is the desire to work with kids. I have been working with kids for a very long time. I went from babysitting, to coaching elementary basketball teams, to working at a youth drop-in center, to substitute teaching. If you don't have a desire to work with kids and want to see them accomplish things in their lives and make it to the next level, teaching would probably be a very hard thing to do. Other things I learnt while reading this chapter were the ten standards that teachers need to follow and the different types of salaries for teachers. Most teachers salaries are based on the single schedule salary, which pays the same salary for the amount of preperation and experience. Last, but not least, I learnt that the status of the teaching profession is slowly improving. This chapter was a very good introduction to the profession of teaching and I can't wait to learn more about it!!