According to Linda McNeil standardization reduces the quality of what is taught and learned in schools. In addition standardized controls reduced the scope and quality of course content, diminished the role of teachers, and distanced students from active learning (McNeil, 2009). The long-term detrimental effects of standardization is that it creates inequities. Subsequently, increasing the gap between the quality for education for the poor and minority youth, then that of white, privileged students.
Standardization of curriculum or the Curriculum Dijour (Stiler, 2009) has a couple different agendas. First it enforced the expectations and desire of the state government. Second, it created a prescriptive reform system to improve student performance (at least this was the desired outcome). So I ask the question why are we in the standardization movement that we are! The policy makers that created and enforced standardization upon us were desiring uniform activities, "sameness", accountability, and expected teacher performance.
The short and long term effects of Standardization of Curriculum are already apparent. Some of the short term effects that we see already are the diminishing roles of teachers. Teachers no longer have the freedom to take the standards and frameworks and use their creativity and expertise to present the curriculum as they choose. Instead, they follow a prescriptive curriculum that says teach page 10 on Monday, page 11 on Tuesday and so forth. As a result it also reduces the quantity and quality taught and learned in school. Teachers teach what they have to in order to appease their administration. The long term negative effect is that it perpetuates inequities, while at the same time increases the achievement gap between privileged and non-privileged students. This parallels the idea that it's my way or the highway!
So the my way students (White Middle Class) appear to be absorbing the curriculum. Many did not find what was taught in school to be credible, due to the numerous resources available to them (Cable TV, Educated parents, Internet, Educated peers, etc) Both students and staff work to appease the bureaucratic requirements of the school/system. There is a huge disconnect between the classroom and the administration.
The contradictions of such control are schools and districts were teachers are not under a legislated curriculum (Juvenile Court Schools). The administration is structured to enforce rules but to support teaching. Teachers feel supported and able to incorporate their deep understanding of the subject matter taught. Students are invited to have their own questions, interpretations, and understandings as part of the learning process. There is a strong understanding between school organization , what is taught and best practices.
As a result a battle exist between those that advocate Standardized Curriculum and those that believe in Contradicting Control and Defensive Teaching. With that being said, there is still hope, that our legislatures will open their eyes and realize that what they are doing, just isn't working like they expected it to.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Feminist Analysis of Gender and Schooling
Misogynist- hate toward women or negative attitude towards women! Misandry- hate toward men or negative attitude towards men!
I wanted to start off this blog with a couple of key terms I learned this past week. They both are a good segway to help us understand the Feminist Analysis of Gender and Schooling. The theories that will be explored are grounded on Socialist Feminism and Critical Educational Theory "Schooling of girls is a complex process that contains contradictions and points of resistance which must be analyzed in each particular historical instance" (Weiler, 2009).
I wanted to start off this blog with a couple of key terms I learned this past week. They both are a good segway to help us understand the Feminist Analysis of Gender and Schooling. The theories that will be explored are grounded on Socialist Feminism and Critical Educational Theory "Schooling of girls is a complex process that contains contradictions and points of resistance which must be analyzed in each particular historical instance" (Weiler, 2009).
Weiler identified three stages dealing with Feminist Reproduction Theory. Stage 1 is that people have the capacity to make meaning of their lives and to resist oppression (McRobbie, 1978). According to Claire Thomas the rejection of school ideology leads them to a definition of their own sexuality that leads back to the oppressive sexism of working-class culture. As a result girls were able to combat the oppressive features of schools by asserting their femaleness. They did so through demonstrating their success and competencies in education.
Stage 2 was the period when people were starting to understand and resist the oppression of women. They understood that such oppression also was specific to class, race and gender positions. Fuller (1983) that black females were able to meet their needs and assert their humanity by focusing on academics. He also described a term known as triple oppression (gender, race, and class). During this period, Anyon (1984) stated that to combat the oppression of women could not be fragmented and isolated from group efforts. It must be public and become a culture of resistance in order to be effective.
Stage 3 as stated before, resistance can not be an individual effort. Schools can now be a sphere for change and encouragement to resist oppression of women and could be a catalyst for building a critical counter-hegemony via critical pedagogy. Unfortunately, at this stage, the oppression of others has become much more covert and subliminal. It comes in a deeper form of domination that is embedded in sexist, racist and classis society!. Therefore, the effort to eliminate the oppression of others has become even more complex. However, programs such as the University of Redland's Educational and Social Justice Doctorate program is such a place that has become a safe haven against any type of oppression or injustices. Further, it has become a program and a leader in the community to create systemic change. It will take time, but the one constant is that it has started and nothing will stop our movement now!
Language Diversity and Learning
According to Lisa Delpit, developing language diversity in the classroom allows all students to be connected to the classroom and the learning environment, rather then be disconnected and marginalized from the curriculum. There are a number of items teachers must consider. They need to understand how students acquire English and they need to avoid effective filtering.
Students are able to acquire English through a number of instructional strategies such as role playing, acting, corrective writing and narration. In order for these instructional strategies to work, conditions must be optimal, students need to be motivated, the teacher needs to be able to identify with the student, students need to praised instead of embarrassed. Teachers need to give students time when they try to explain themselves because they often struggle with direct question techniques. Oral expression needs to embrace the students of color by strengthening their proficiencies by sharing their experiences with their classmates. Some of their experiences are connected to the their families, community and personal identities. So having the students build on their experiences is important for English acquistion and growth.
The teacher demands of how the student acquires English can impact the student's ability to learn English in a negative way. Teachers need to be be leary of having low expectations of their English leaners. They also need to avoid overcorrecting their students, focus on code and pronunciation blocks and avoid correcting reading miscues that are dialectic in nature. If students are constantly corrected, they may become resentful towards reading and learning English. Teachers should also be aware of different styles of literacy with students learning literacy. There are cultural differences in the way they organize their ideas, while other languages are very brief, instead of wordy like English.
The question to ask at this point, is how does this fit into being an issue of edcuational justice? It fits because assumptions are made about students learning English. Some see such students as being poor students, not wealthy. This is not always the case. Even then, students are group or stereotyped by race or by the inability to speak or read English. Both examples are cases of "isms." One being classism, the other being racism. When an ism is taking place in the classroom or school setting, injustices are taking place, students are being treated differently and equal access is being denied to all students. When this happens, inequitites are present and so is educational injustices.
Students are able to acquire English through a number of instructional strategies such as role playing, acting, corrective writing and narration. In order for these instructional strategies to work, conditions must be optimal, students need to be motivated, the teacher needs to be able to identify with the student, students need to praised instead of embarrassed. Teachers need to give students time when they try to explain themselves because they often struggle with direct question techniques. Oral expression needs to embrace the students of color by strengthening their proficiencies by sharing their experiences with their classmates. Some of their experiences are connected to the their families, community and personal identities. So having the students build on their experiences is important for English acquistion and growth.
The teacher demands of how the student acquires English can impact the student's ability to learn English in a negative way. Teachers need to be be leary of having low expectations of their English leaners. They also need to avoid overcorrecting their students, focus on code and pronunciation blocks and avoid correcting reading miscues that are dialectic in nature. If students are constantly corrected, they may become resentful towards reading and learning English. Teachers should also be aware of different styles of literacy with students learning literacy. There are cultural differences in the way they organize their ideas, while other languages are very brief, instead of wordy like English.
The question to ask at this point, is how does this fit into being an issue of edcuational justice? It fits because assumptions are made about students learning English. Some see such students as being poor students, not wealthy. This is not always the case. Even then, students are group or stereotyped by race or by the inability to speak or read English. Both examples are cases of "isms." One being classism, the other being racism. When an ism is taking place in the classroom or school setting, injustices are taking place, students are being treated differently and equal access is being denied to all students. When this happens, inequitites are present and so is educational injustices.
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