Discussion Questions: Contemporary ed reform

There is A LOT going in educational reform these days. For this week's discussion questions, prompt thinking on the ballot initiative you read.  If possible, link to relevant articles/citations for other educational reforms affecting teachers, students, and communities.

Discussion Questions for Feb 23

Hello Everyone. We will not be meeting in groups this week, but I'd still like you to pose some thoughts/questions to this thread.

The readings for this week's class are very much a set. Peart's Op-Ed provides a glimpse into the lived realities of youth of color in the section of Harlem where the Brotherhood/Sistersol has carved its mission. Chapter two from Freire's classic, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, provides some of the pedagogical backbone of this and many other programs, and the piece by Wilcox, Taylor and Candelario gives us insight into how Bro/Sis adults and youth do what they do. In anticipation of our class time with Dr. Wilcox, use this space to start thinking about what else/more you'd like to know about this organization. And/or use this space to pose questions that you would like to discuss further in class or receive assistance in understanding.

Justice for other than PC sake

We often the term, 'social justice.' In fact, it is invoked so much that it runs the risk of being too shallow of a concept, rarely even defined. In this TED talk, Richard Wilkinson provides interesting measures of social well being and ills across countries with varying economic divisions.  You'll hear many echoes of our class: meritocracy, the American dream, social stratification, capital.

Annette Lareau's Unequal Childhoods

Please post your discussion questions based on the three Lareau readings for 2/16. Focus on extending the conversation on social class, social stratification, and opportunity/blocks. Keep in mind the two caveats from the start of the 2/9 class about exceptions and patterns and informed questions about what to do.

Happy Friday everyone!

Here are the book options for the reading circle that were introduced last night:

Jay MacLeod: Ain't No Makin' It: Leveled Aspirations in a Low-Income Neighborhood


Paul Willis:  Learning to Labor: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs


Stacey Lee:  Up Against Whiteness: Race, School and Immigrant Youth


Have a nice weekend!

Teacher activists respond to the ban on Mexican American Studies

In our first class, we read an article discussing the ban on Mexican American Studies in Tucson Arizona. This week, the national network of Teacher Activist Groups (of which there is a Boston chapter) launched a teaching response. Slogan: "They say shut it down, we say spread it around."

You can find out more about the efforts here.
This is a current day wrangle that we will devote class time to discussing, so keep your eyes open for media articles and stay informed.

Discussion Questions on Bourdieu

Hello All,

Please post discussion questions for the Bourdieu reading here. Some reminders about these questions: they should reference the text but they don't have to summarize the text. Pose a question that will help people to make connection to the text and build knowledge by talking with each other.

Short, succinct, and thought-provoking. And, remember that this is an online source. Is there an image or video that accompanies your question? put it up here.

Finally, a reminder that these should be up by Tuesday at noon. If your group makes changes in who is posting when, let me know, as I'm also keeping an eye on these.

lps.

An interesting short article/video dealing with social context within school systems in MA.

Makes me wonder if the we're doing all we can?

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/30333319/detail.html