Class Notes 1/31

January 24th, 2013 

Dewey: 

Either/or ---- bianaries 

Traditional vs.  Progressive Education 

autocratic                       democratic               

harsh                              freedom of the group (games)

top-down                        free activity 

transmission                  creativity        

discipline                        growth change, dynamic 

routine                             new

static                               experiential (keyed to home life,                                 

old                                   surrounding events)

prescribed                     individualistic 

retrospective preparation  

uniform (passive)                       

Why is this problematic: 

-easy category comes with a value set that closes off or opens up 

-does not work as a lens (hard to completely stay on one side) 

Key Words: 

Preparation 

Organization 

Interactions 

Experience-contuning experience 

control/self control

Preparation:

Experience does not occur in a vacuum it is influenced by many other factors "he does not only learn the things he is studying at that particular time" Experiences whether we know it or not prepare us for other experiences. 

Can preparation help or hinder a student? Controlled or experienced by oneself?

How free can an individual be in assign value to an experience being mindful that we live in a social context?  

Experience: 

who gets to decide what is a negative and positive experience? Can it be negotiated? 

-quality of experience-associated with democracy?

How can an educator gather of students experiences?

Can you learn anything from anything? 

Interaction:

interaction with parents and then interaction with teachers. 

Delpit "Upon entering school the child from such a family may not understand the indirect statement of the teacher as a direct command" 

Direct command vs. Indirect commands 

Organization: 

Scale? We lose possibilities because we don't know how to scale… 

support and control 

tracking? vocational training? 

Control:

control is always present

there are natural mechanisms of control 

How do you get the most desirable type on control? 

legitimate control 

January 31st, 2013

How does schooling interact with a person's identity? 

What did we learn from each other ? 

• Meritocracy: who is the "best" "rankings" 

          -meritocracy= work hard ----> succeed = myth?

          -but everyone is working hard… 

          -people who don't engage 

          -Is there another system? 

          -how being a minority affected white people's judgements of your work ethic? (positive or negative) 

• Race: do we self segregate? How real is what feels like a personal choice? (do we feel comfortable going to a school that is predominantly another race or social group?) 

Questions and ideas after stories that relate to the readings?

• How can we motivated not by grades but can we self motivated students? Karate reading 
• Are dress codes about a sense of control in a space that does not feel controlled? Do dress codes inhibit learning? How does what we wear change the learning space? 
• Schools police our identity? Our gender? Does this harm or help learning? Is school a safe space ? School is much about growing? But are there certain things we can not express in school? 
• How does tracking affect minorities?