Teaching to Change the World

by Oakes; Jeannie

• ISBN13: 9781612052274
• ISBN10: 1612052274
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2012-06-30
• Publisher: Paradigm Publishing

Summary

This is an up-to-the-moment, engaging, multicultural introduction to education and teaching and the challenges and opportunities they present. Together, the four authors bring a rich blend of theory and practical application to this groundbreaking text. Jeannie Oakes is a leading education researcher and former director of the UCLA teacher education program. Martin Lipton is an education writer and consultant and has taught in public schools for 31 years. Lauren Anderson and Jamy Stillman are former public school teachers, now working as teacher educators. This unique, comprehensive foundational text considers the values and politics that pervade the U.S. education system, explains the roots of conventional thinking about schooling and teaching, asks critical questions about how issues of power and privilege have shaped and continue to shape educational opportunity, and presents powerful examples of real teachers working for equity and justice. Taking the position that a hopeful, democratic future depends on ensuring that all students learn, the text pays particular attention to inequalities associated with race, social class, language, gender, and other social categories and explores teachers' role in addressing them. The text provides a research-based and practical treatment of essential topics, and it situates those topics in relation to democratic values; issues of diversity; and cognitive, sociocultural, and constructivist perspectives on learning. The text shows how knowledge of education foundations and history can help teachers understand the organization of today's schools, the content of contemporary curriculum, and the methods of modern teaching. It likewise shows how teachers can use such knowledge when thinking about and responding to headline issues like charter schools, vouchers, standards, testing, and bilingual education, to name just a few. Central to this text is a belief that schools can and must be places of extraordinary educational quality and institutions in the service of social justice. Thus, the authors address head-on tensions between principles of democratic schooling and competition for always-scarce high-quality opportunities. Woven through the text are the voices of a diverse group of teachers, who share their analyses and personal anecdotes concerning what teaching to change the world means and involves. Pedagogical Features: Digging Deeper sections-referenced at the end of each chapter and featured online-include supplementary readings and resources from scholars and practitioners who are addressing issues raised in the text. Instructor's Manual offers insights about how to teach course content in ways that are consistent with cognitive and sociocultural learning theories, culturally diverse pedagogy, and authentic assessment. New to this Edition:

Author Biography

Jeannie Oakes is Director of Educational Opportunity and Scholarship at the Ford Foundation in New York, following a 20-year career at UCLA where she was Presidential Professor in Educational Equity. Martin Lipton is Communications Analyst at UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access. Lauren Anderson is Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education. Jamy Stillman is Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education.

Table of Contents

List of Figures, Concept Tables, and Focal Points	p. xiii
Introduction	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Democracy, Diversity, and Inequality
The U.S. Schooling Dilemma: Diversity, Inequality, and Democratic Values	p. 3
Chapter Overview	p. 4
Who Are American Students?	p. 5
Where Do U.S. Students Live and Go to School?	p. 5
How Diverse Are Students in the United States?	p. 5
Recognizing the Complexity of Identity	p. 11
Inequalities Outside of School	p. 12
Economic Inequality	p. 12
Inequality in the Basics of Life	p. 14
Geographic and Economic Isolation	p. 16
Schooling Inequalities	p. 17
Segregated Schools	p. 17
Unequal Spending	p. 18
Unequal Opportunities to Learn	p. 19
Unequal Community and Peer Resources at School	p. 22
Gaps in Achievement, School Completion, and College Attendance	p. 23
The Struggle for Socially Just Teaching	p. 25
Mauro Bautista	p. 26
Kimberly Min	p. 26
Mark Hill	p. 27
Judy Smith	p. 27
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 28
History and Culture: How Expanding Expectations and Powerful Ideologies Shape Schooling in the United States	p. 29
Chapter Overview	p. 30
A History of Increasing Expectations	p. 30
Public Schools Should Secure Democracy	p. 31
Public Schools Should Preserve American Culture	p. 32
Public Schools Should Support the Nations Workforce and Economy	p. 40
Public Schools Should Ensure National Security and International Competitiveness	p. 42
Public Schools Should Solve Social Problems	p. 44
A Culture of Powerful Ideologies	p. 46
The Myth of Merit	p. 46
Deficit Thinking, Racial Superiority, and White Privilege	p. 50
Teaching for Democracy	p. 57
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 59
Politics and Philosophy: The Struggle over the School Curriculum	p. 60
Chapter Overview	p. 61
Basic Philosophies of Education	p. 61
The Roots of Western Educational Philosophy	p. 62
Philosophy in the History of U.S. Schooling	p. 62
Six Philosophies of Education	p. 63
Philosophy and Politics in the Struggle for the School Curriculum	p. 64
Essentialist Mass Education in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries	p. 64
The Emergence of the Common School	p. 67
The Progressive Education Movement	p. 69
Child- and Community-Centered Progressivism	p. 70
Social Reconstructionism	p. 74
Post-World War II Progressivism	p. 74
Back to Basics	p. 76
Multicultural Education	p. 77
Standards and Accountability	p. 84
A Call to Critique and Action for Those Who Are Teaching to Change the World	p. 91
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 91
Policy and Law: Rules That Schools Live By	p. 92
Chapter Overview	p. 93
The Complex Education Policy System	p. 94
Three Levels of Educational Governance	p. 94
How Do Policies Work?	p. 97
Metaphors That Shape Education Policy	p. 97
Schools as Economic Enterprises	p. 99
Effects of Contemporary Policy and Law on Students, Schools, and Teachers	p. 106
Accountability for Results: Large-Scale Tests and High Stakes	p. 106
The Courts and Education Equity	p. 120
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 121
The Practice of Teaching to Change the World	p. 123
The Subject Matters: Constructing Knowledge Across the Content Areas	p. 125
Chapter Overview	p. 126
Mathematics	p. 127
The Math Crisis	p. 127
Traditional Mathematics:
Skills-Based and Sequential	p. 128
Progressive Mathematics: Meaningful Knowledge in Context	p. 129
The Math Standards: The Politics of Mathematics Continues	p. 131
What Teachers Do with Math Standards	p. 133
English Language Arts	p. 134
Traditional Language Arts: Mastering Skills, Rules, and Forms	p. 134
Progressive Approaches to Language Arts: Developing Literacies	p. 136
National Standards in the Language Arts	p. 139
Social Studies	p. 143
Traditional Social Studies: Facts and Figures Framed by the Dominant Culture	p. 145
Progressive Social Studies: Critical and Multicultural Approaches	p. 146
The National History Standards: Seeking a Middle Ground	p. 149
Science	p. 151
Traditional Science: Topics, Subtopics, and Facts in Sequence	p. 153
Progressive Science: Inquiry and Investigation	p. 154
National Standards: Integrated, Socially Relevant Science for All	p. 154
Access to High-Quality Science Instruction	p. 158
The Struggle for the Subject Matter	p. 159
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 159
Instruction: Teaching and Learning Across the Content Areas	p. 160
Chapter Overview	p. 161
How Teachers Taught	p. 161
Theories of Learning and Their Implications for Teaching	p. 163
Learning Is Developmental, Social, and Cultural	p. 163
Intelligence Is Acquired and Multidimensional	p. 165
Knowledge Is Constructed and Becomes Meaningful in Context	p. 165
Contemporary Theories in the Classroom	p. 167
Seeing Diversity as an Asset and Every Child as a Capable Learner	p. 167
Providing Opportunities for Active, Multidimensional, and Social Learning	p. 174
Building on Students' Cultures and Languages	p. 187
No Easy Recipes	p. 193
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 193
Assessment: Measuring What Matters	p. 194
Chapter Overview	p. 195
A Few Definitions	p. 195
The History of Educational Testing	p. 197
Testing in Early China	p. 197
Testing in Nineteenth-Century U.S. Schools	p. 198
The Development of Scientific Testing	p. 200
Contemporary Large-Scale Assessment	p. 205
Standardized Tests	p. 206
Professional Guidelines for Using Large-Scale Standardized Tests	p. 210
Alternatives to Traditional Large-Scale Tests	p. 212
The Quest for "Next Generation" Large-Scale Assessments	p. 212
Contemporary Classroom-Based Assessment	p. 213
Moving Beyond Traditional Classroom Assessments	p. 213
Principles to Guide Authentic Assessment	p. 214
A Culture of Authenticity	p. 223
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 223
Classrooms as Communities: Developing Caring and Democratic Relationships	p. 224
Chapter Overview	p. 225
Caring and Democratic Classrooms	p. 225
Management, Socialization, Discipline, and Control: Lasting Legacies	p. 227
Classrooms as Well-Managed Factories	p. 227
Classrooms as Places to Socialize Youth	p. 228
Using Behavioral Psychology to Discipline and Control Students	p. 230
Prevent Disruption with Consistency and Attentiveness	p. 233
Child-Centeredness, Caring, and Democracy: A Second Set of Legacies	p. 236
Child-Centered Schooling	p. 236
An Ethic of Care	p. 238
Socially Just Classrooms: Doing Democracy	p. 245
Creating School and Classroom Communities Is an Ongoing, Emancipatory Struggle	p. 254
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 256
The Context of Teaching to Change the World	p. 257
The School Culture: Where Good Teaching Makes Sense	p. 259
Chapter Overview	p. 260
Schools as Cultures	p. 260
School Cultures Shape Sense-Making	p. 261
School Cultures Where It Makes Sense to Teach All Students Well	p. 262
A Press for Learning and Social Justice	p. 262
School Cultures Where Learning Is the Top Priority	p. 263
School Cultures Where Everyone Succeeding Is the Norm	p. 265
School Cultures That Foster Multicultural, College-Going Identities	p. 267
Access to Learning Opportunities and Resources	p. 268
Access to Adequate Resources	p. 268
Access to High-Quality Teaching	p. 269
Access to a Rich, Balanced Curriculum	p. 269
Access to Extra Help When It's Needed	p. 270
Access to Equitable Learning Time	p. 271
Access to Caring Relationships and Practices	p. 271
Schools as Places Where Every Student Is Known	p. 273
Schools as Safe Zones: It's OK to Be Different	p. 275
Schools in the Post-Columbine Era: Care in a Violent Culture	p. 279
Schools in a Post-9/11 World: Care in a Fearful Culture	p. 280
Schools in the Post-Katrina Context: Care in the Face of a Broken Social Contract	p. 282
Professionalism, Collaboration, Inquiry, and Activism	p. 283
Teachers as Participants and Professionals	p. 283
Teachers as Partners in Teaching and Learning	p. 286
Faculties as Inquiring Communities	p. 287
Creating a Culture of Critical Inquiry	p. 289
Creating Cultures Where Good Teaching Makes Sense	p. 292
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 292
School Structure: Sorting Students and Opportunities to Learn	p. 293
Chapter Overview	p. 294
Labeling, Sorting, and Grouping in Today's Schools	p. 294
Sorting by Academic Ability and Achievement	p. 295
Sorting by Postsecondary Prospects	p. 296
Sorting by "Giftedness"	p. 297
Sorting by Disabilities	p. 297
Sorting by English Language Proficiency	p. 299
Why Do Schools Label and Sort Students?	p. 299
The Social Construction of Difference	p. 300
The History of Biased Sorting	p. 301
Grouping Dilemmas	p. 303
The Arbitrariness of Labels and Sorting	p. 303
The Illusion of Homogeneity	p. 304
Race and Social Class Bias	p. 306
Ties to Behavioral Learning Theory and Transmission Teaching	p. 308
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies and Processes	p. 308
Disappointing and Enduring Outcomes	p. 311
Controversy Surrounds Homogeneous Grouping	p. 312
To Change or to Fix	p. 312
Accommodating Diversity Without Sorting	p. 313
Implementing Heterogeneous Grouping	p. 314
Technical Skills, Norms and Beliefs, Politics and Power	p. 319
The Struggle for Heterogeneous Grouping	p. 322
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 322
The Community: Engaging with Families and Neighborhoods	p. 323
Chapter Overview	p. 324
Removing Barriers to Constructive Parent Engagement	p. 324
Common Complaints About Parent Involvement	p. 325
Relationships Between Families and Schools: Four Traditions	p. 328
Parents Supporting the School's Agenda	p. 328
Schools Meeting Families' Needs	p. 331
A Legacy of Services in Low-Income Communities	p. 331
Comprehensive Services in Today's Schools	p. 332
Service, Power, and Deficits	p. 334
Bridging the Cultures of Schools and Families	p. 335
Learning with and from Communities	p. 336
Bridging Students' Multiple Worlds	p. 337
Bridging Through Community Liaisons	p. 341
Partnering with Families and Communities in Educational Activism	p. 341
A Tradition of Parent Activism	p. 341
Contemporary Organizing for School Reform	p. 343
Whose Agenda Is It?	p. 350
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 350
Teaching to Change the World: A Profession and a Hopeful Struggle	p. 351
Chapter Overview	p. 353
Teaching: A Powerful and Vulnerable Profession	p. 353
The Challenge of Learning to Teach	p. 353
Professionalism in the Face of Limited Professional Support	p. 354
Teaching in a Changing America	p. 355
Teacher Shortages and Budget Shortfalls	p. 355
Teacher Retention and Attrition	p. 356
Teachers' Salaries and Working Conditions	p. 356
What Is a Good Teacher? A Professional and Political Question	p. 358
Teachers' Unions	p. 359
Strategies for a Career to Change the World	p. 363
Becoming Part of a Learning Community	p. 365
Becoming a Social Justice Activist	p. 371
Expanding Your Professional Influence	p. 377
Committing to Critique and Hope	p. 379
Finding Satisfaction in the Everyday	p. 382
Welcome to the Hopeful Struggle	p. 384
Digging Deeper and Tools for Critique	p. 386
Notes	p. 387
Bibliography	p. 415
Photo Credits	p. 439
Index	p. 441
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