In order to understand the theory of marketization in education and how choice and competition impact public education, we must first conceptualize public education as a market. Continue reading
Education is valuable to society—“access to knowledge affords the opportunity to develop capabilities, fulfill human potential and break the heredity of disadvantage” (Burd-Sharps et al, 2008). According to the American Human Development Report 2008-2009, education is linked to better health, a longer life, higher civic and political participation, greater ability to adjust to change, a more robust self-identity, stronger and more extensive social bonds, more stable relationships, and greater personal happiness. Education allows us to develop cures to diseases, advance technology, decrease poverty, etc.—it is not an “end” but rather a “means”, and it is the key to understanding the world around us. That being said, education per say is not what allows us to learn. “Learning and memory are at the dead center of cognition;” they are part of what define us as humans (NP 150). The brain makes education possible. Continue reading
I essentially disappeared from the blogging world lately, but I’ve been hard at work on a GIS mapping project. The final product isn’t quite done, but I thought I’d give you all a little preview….
With 341 public schools serving approximately 154,482 students K-12, the Philadelphia Public School District is, in terms of enrollment, the eighth largest school system in the country (Philadelphia Public School District, 2010). Having spent the past two semesters volunteering in two chronically low-performing public schools—Alexander Wilson Elementary School and West Philadelphia High School—I’ve been able to observe first-hand, not only the havoc wrecked on public schools by poor district management, but also the blatant segregation of Philadelphia’s public schools. Continue reading
I grew up in a suburb of Chicago where I attended a diverse, high-achieving, upper-middle class public school. It was common practice for students from areas where there weren’t good public schools to fake addresses to attend. I didn’t mind, in fact I admired their families for seeking out a way to give them a better education.
I was disappointed to read in the Washington Post today about Kelley Williams-Bolar, a mother who was imprisoned for nine days
…on a felony conviction for tampering with records…[she lied] about her address so her two daughters, zoned to the lousy Akron city schools, could attend better schools in the neighboring Copley-Fairlawn district.
It doesn’t seem just that a mother be put in jail for trying to give her children the best education possible. Yes, she broke a law, but isn’t that what any good parent in this situation would do? Continue reading
Large-scale, performance-based assessments are a favorable alternative to current dominant testing strategies in any subject because they have the potential to
…yield a more complete picture of students’ abilities and weaknesses…support higher quality teaching… increase intellectual challenge in the classroom…[and] can overcome some of the validity challenges of assessing English Language Learners and students with disabilities. (Adamson & Darling-Hammond, 2010) Continue reading
John Rawls was big on justice. In A Theory of Justice, he explored and defended the idea of “justice as fairness” (Rawls 3). He believed justice to be “the first virtue of social institutions” and that “each person possess an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override” (Rawls 3). He defined a well-ordered society as one that is designed to advance the good of its citizens and furthermore one in which:
(1) everyone accepts and knows that the others accept the same principles of justice, and (2) the basic social institutions generally satisfy and are generally known to satisfy these principles. (Rawls 5) Continue reading
Before Dewey wrote my two favorite pieces of work, The Child and the Curriculum (1902) and Experience and Education (1938), he “worked out the main lines of his philosophy of education while conducting his school”—The Laboratory School at the University of Chicago (Tanner 101). In The meaning of curriculum in Dewey’s Laboratory School (1896-1904), Laurel N. Tanner argues, “Dewey’s educational philosophy cannot be fully understood without a sense of how he tried to test his ideas in practice” (Tanner 101). I’m not sure I completely agree with that statement; however, I do see merit in further exploring his Laboratory School and the lessons that can be learned from it. Continue reading
Education is valuable to society—“access to knowledge affords the opportunity to develop capabilities, fulfill human potential and break the heredity of disadvantage” (Burd-Sharps, 2008, 82). According to the American Human Development Report 2008-2009, education is linked to better health, a longer life, higher civic and political participation, greater ability to adjust to change, a more robust self-identity, stronger and more extensive social bonds, more stable relationships, and greater personal happiness. Continue reading
In 1762, another prominent philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau, published his thoughts on education. In Emile, Rousseau, like Locke, also highlights the importance of experience in learning, explaining that all education comes “from nature or from men or from things” (Rousseau, 1979, p. 38). Rousseau believes:
“Early education consists largely in allowing the young child the freedom of its natural activity. Instead of becoming passive by being taught, or resentful by being punished, the child must learn from experience, from seeing the natural consequences of his actions” (Rorty, 1998, pgs. 8-9). Continue reading
Did you know that the philosophical writings of John Locke played a large role in shaping the first education systems in the American colonies? It’s true.
In An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke aimed to “inquire into the original, certainty, and extent of human knowledge” (Locke, 1996, p. 4). He investigated the traditional belief that all ideas are innate, and went on to prove that ideas are in fact not innate, but rather come from either sensation or reflection. Continue reading
