Charting a Professional Course Issues and Controversies in Education

by Kauchak, Don P.; Eggen, Paul D.; Burbank, Mary D.

• ISBN13: 9780131133716
• ISBN10: 0131133713
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-06
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

This text is designed to provide readers with the knowledge and understanding needed to make informed decisions about key educational issues in today's world and knowledge to not only shape their own personal professional growth but also the future of education. Articles... bull; bull;are timely and accessible. bull;reflect different perspectives in order to encourage critical thought and debate. bull;offer the thinking of a wide range of writers reflecting these different perspectives, including David Berliner, Larry Cuban, Elliot Eisner, Martin Haberman, and Sonia Nieto. bull;are organized topically under such headings as Diversity, Schools, Curriculum, Instruction, Technology, Governance and Finance, Teachers and Teacher Education, Foundations, and Educational Reform. Supporting Pedagogy bull; bull;Section Openers introduce each section and provide an overview of the major issues. bull; Article Overviews introduce each article, framing it in terms of its contribution to the field. bull;Think About This questions direct the reader to key points or issues in the article. bull; A Personal Reflection, the last question for each article, asks readers to apply the contents of the article to their own teaching situation. bull;Additional Resources at the end of each section are designed to encourage the reader to explore topics further, either through Additional Readings or Exploring the Internet. bull;A Correlating Table on the inside front and back covers links the articles in this text to topics typically covered in Introduction to Education and Foundations of Education texts. Arranged alphabetically by topic, the table allows students and instructors to cross reference articles in this text to topics discussed in other texts, including the authors' own Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional, Second Edition.

Table of Contents

Part One: Students	1	(30)
``His Name Is Michael'': A Lesson on the Voices We Unknowingly Silence	3	(2)
Donna M. Marriott
Overburdened, Overwhelmed	5	(4)
Lawrence Hardy
Mobility	9	(3)
William R. Capps
Mary Ellen Maxwell
Students as Commodities	12	(2)
Anne C. Lewis
Insights into Meeting Standards from Listening to the Voices of Urban Students	14	(7)
Mark G. Storz
Karen R. Nestor
An Educator's Primer on the Gender War	21	(7)
David Sadker
Give Same-Sex Schooling a Chance	28	(3)
Christina Hoff Sommers
Part Two: Diversity	31	(28)
The New Immigrants and Education: Challenges and Issues	33	(4)
Linda Perkins
A Dialogue Among Teachers That Benefits Second Language Learners	37	(7)
Annela Teemant
Elizabeth Bernhardt
Marisol Rodriguez-Munoz
Michael Aiello
Where the Heart Is	44	(4)
Kathleen Vail
``Our School Doesn't Offer Inclusion'' and Other Legal Blunders	48	(4)
Paula Kluth
Richard A. Villa
Jacqueline S. Thousand
Beautiful Minds	52	(7)
Wesley Clarkson
Part Three: Schools	59	(30)
Why Good Schools Are Countercultural	61	(1)
Patrick F. Bassett
Investing in Preschool	62	(4)
Gerald Bracey
A New Order of Things	66	(3)
Saul Cooperman
Can the Odds Be Changed?	69	(5)
Deborah Meier
It's All About Size	74	(3)
Tom Vander Ark
Schools Shouldn't Be a Jungle	77	(2)
Vincent Schrader
Preventing School Violence	79	(3)
Karen F. Osterman
Dress Codes and Social Chaos	82	(2)
John Northrop
The Civic Perils of Homeschooling	84	(5)
Rob Reich
Part Four: Curriculum	89	(44)
The Core Knowledge Curriculum---What's Behind Its Success?	91	(4)
E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
Can Curriculum Integration Survive in an Era of High-Stakes Testing?	95	(9)
Gordon F. Vars
Mining the Values in the Curriculum	104	(3)
Kevin Ryan
How Not to Teach Values: A Critical Look at Character Education	107	(13)
Alfie Kohn
Teaching About Religion	120	(3)
Susan Black
Where Did We Come From?	123	(4)
Lottie L. Joiner
The Well-Rounded Student	127	(6)
Susan Black
Part Five: Instruction	133	(50)
Joining Theory and Best Practice to Drive Classroom Instruction	135	(7)
Carol Fuhler
Constructivist Cautions	142	(8)
Peter W. Airasian
Mary E. Walsh
What Do We Know About Learners and Learning? The Learner-Centered Framework: Bringing the Educational System into Balance	150	(9)
Barbara McCombs
What Engages Underachieving Middle School Students in Learning?	159	(6)
Mike Muir
Using Classroom Rules to Construct Behavior	165	(8)
David Bicard
Assessment for Learning: A Vision for the Future	173	(3)
Rick Stiggins
Teaching to the Test?	176	(7)
W. James Popham
Part Six: Technology	183	(28)
The Technology Puzzle	185	(2)
Larry Cuban
Our Technology Future	187	(3)
Laurence Goldberg
The Future of Computer Technology in K--12 Education	190	(5)
Frederick Bennett
School Technology Grows Up	195	(5)
Kathleen Vail
Classroom of One	200	(3)
Gene Maeroff
Tapping the Resources of the World Wide Web for Inquiry in Middle School	203	(8)
Mark Windschitl
Janet Irby
Part Seven: Governance and Finance	211	(34)
A View from the Classroom	213	(2)
Sandra L. Harris
Sandra Lowery
The Invisible Role of the Central Office	215	(3)
Kathleen F. Grove
The 500-Pound Gorilla	218	(7)
Alfie Kohn
Unequal School Funding in the United States	225	(12)
Bruce J. Biddle
David C. Berliner
Blowing in the Wind	237	(3)
Stephen Smith
John L. Myers
Julie Underwood
Public-Spirited Choice: How Diverse Schools Can Serve the Common Good	240	(5)
David Ferrero
Part Eight: Teachers and Teacher Education	245	(30)
The Schools That Teachers Choose	247	(4)
Susan Moore Johnson
Sarah E. Birkeland
Selecting ``Star'' Teachers for Children and Youth in Urban Poverty	251	(6)
Martin Haberman
What Keeps Teachers Going?	257	(4)
Sonia M. Nieto
The Teacher Shortage: Myth or Reality?	261	(6)
Richard Ingersoll
No Child Left Behind: The Politics of Teacher Quality	267	(8)
Leslie Kaplan
William Owings
Part Nine: Foundations	275	(36)
Questionable Assumptions About Schooling	277	(8)
Elliot W. Eisner
Dichotomizing Education: Why No One Wins and America Loses	285	(6)
Carl D. Glickman
Good Teachers, Plural	291	(5)
Donald R. Cruickshank
Donald Haefele
From Dewey to Beane: Innovation, Democracy, and Unity Characterize Middle Level Education	296	(4)
Kevin B. Kienholz
Teaching for Wisdom in Our Schools	300	(3)
Robert J. Sternberg
The Ethics of Teaching	303	(3)
Kenneth A. Strike
Reflection Is at the Heart of Practice	306	(5)
Simon Hole
Grace Hall McEntee
Part Ten: Educational Reform	311	(42)
April Foolishness: The 20th Anniversary of A Nation at Risk	313	(6)
Gerald W. Bracey
High Standards for Whom?	319	(8)
Donald B. Gratz
Accountability: What's Worth Measuring?	327	(5)
Mary Anne Raywid
Accountability Shovedown: Resisting the Standards Movement in Early Childhood Education	332	(5)
J. Amos Hatch
Can the Bush School Plan Work? How to Keep ``No Child Left Behind'' from Dissolving into Fine Print	337	(3)
Michael Casserly
No Child Left Behind: Costs and Benefits	340	(9)
William Mathis
The Debasement of Student Proficiency: Why We Must Rethink Testing to Encourage Real Learning	349	(4)
W. James Popham
References	353

Excerpts

At no time in the history of our country has controversy over educational issues been more intense. While discourse and debate are essential in any democracy, the intense differences of opinion about controversial issues has energized the profession and engaged the public. Vouchers, charter schools, accountability, high-stakes testing, bilingual education, and the proper role of technology in teaching are just a few of these controversial topics. A second trend is also developing. The movement toward professionalism requires that teachers have a deep understanding of all aspects of their profession, including the issues that exist in education today. With this understanding, teachers can make informed decisions that can result in positive change at the local, state, and even national levels. Change is inevitable; the abilities of professional educators to influence that change will depend on their ability to understand the issues and articulate their personal views. Charting a Professional Course: Issues and Controversies in Educationis designed to provide teachers with the knowledge and understanding needed to make informed decisions about major educational issues in today''s world. This book is designed to provide teachers with knowledge to shape not only their own personal professional growth but also the future of education. It is intended to accompany any introduction to teaching or foundations of education textbook or to be used as a stand-alone textbook. Criteria for Selection of Readings Three criteria were used in selecting the readings for this book. The first was centrality.We selected articles that capture and analyze issues that currently have an important influence on today''s education. The second was accessibility.Teachers must be able to read and understand the articles if they are to apply the information in their professional lives. All the articles are readable, and many are relatively short. The third is perspective.To make informed decisions about important educational issues, professionals need to understand all sides, so we selected articles that reflect different perspectives. The book''s wide range of writers, including David Berliner, Larry Cuban, Elliot Eisner, Martin Haberman, and Sonia Nieto, helps to ensure these perspectives reflect current thinking on important educational issues. Organization of the Text This text is organized into 10 parts. Part One, Students,examines the central role that students play in the educational process. Part Two, Diversity,analyzes the opportunities and challenges provided by our increasingly diverse student populations. In Part Three, Schools,articles describe the different ways that schools are organized to promote student growth and achievement. Part Four, Curriculum,examines different perspectives on the selection and organization of learning experiences for students. Instructionis analyzed in Part Five, which provides differing views on the most effective ways to involve students in learning. Technologyis changing the way we live, but the most effective ways to integrate technology into our classrooms remains unclear. Part Six examines different perspectives on technology use in the classroom. Governance and Financeare the focal points of Part Seven; many of the deepest controversies in education today focus on financing and governing education in the United States. Part Eight, Teachers and Teacher Education,attempts to help teachers better understand the factors influencing the teaching profession today, and how these factors shape who they are as educators. Foundations,the topic of Part Nine, reminds us that many contemporary controversies have roots in centuries-old historical and philosophical debates. Finally, Part Ten, Educational Reform,examines current efforts to improve education. Features of the Text We want this book to make a difference in teachers'' professional lives. In addition to selecting articles that are timely and accessible, we have also written the book to maximize learning and encourage personal reflection. To supplement the readings, we have provided the following pedagogical aids: Part openersintroduce each part and provide an overview of the major issues. Article overviewsintroduce each article, framing it in terms of its contribution to the field. Think About Thisquestions direct the reader to key points or issues in the article. The last question in this section is a personal reflection, which asks readers to apply the contents of the article to their own teaching situation. Additional resourcesat the end of each part are designed to encourage the reader to explore topics further, either through Additional Readingsor Exploring the Internet. The Correlating Table,printed on the inside front and back covers, links the articles in this text to topics typically covered in introduction to education and foundations of education textbooks. Arranged alphabetically by topic, the table allows students and instructors to cross-reference articles in this book to topics discussed in others, including our own Introduction to Teaching: Becoming a Professional,2nd Edition.