Socio-Political Context of Education by Katherine Alligood

Social Context in Schools

ka12782 — 2023-08-17 23:24:27 UTC

Students in the United States come from a variety of family situations, income strata, and cultural backgrounds. As a result, America’s schools are faced with obvious challenges as they strive to provide equal educational opportunities to all students. Factors such as family income, family structure, and parents’ education have been shown to influence a child’s educational opportunities. But who is providing the solution to the challenge? Is it helping or hurting?

What is Social Justice in Relation to Education?

ka12782 — 2023-08-17 23:25:44 UTC

The phrase social justice is used in school mission statements, job announcements, and educational reform proposals, though sometimes widely disparate ones, from creating a vision of culturally responsive schools to leaving no child behind. The vision, which seems enticing to start, becomes obviously overshadowed with hidden agendas that in no way benefit the child intended on not being left behind.

Social Justice from Teacher Perspective

ka12782 — 2023-08-18 02:44:09 UTC

ka12782 — 2023-08-18 02:46:36 UTC

My Definition of Social Justice

ka12782 — 2023-08-18 02:48:34 UTC

In short, social justice is equal rights and opportunities for ALL..no ifs, ands, or buts.
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Social justice in reference to education provides tools to examine the structural features of oppression and our own socialization within unjust systems. It aids in the awareness of injustice in schools, our personal lives, institutions and the society as a whole.

ka12782 — 2023-08-18 02:50:20 UTC

Hass gives detail on how to facilitate meaningful conversations that disrupt the harmful social beliefs and practices we and our students are immersed in every day

ka12782 — 2023-08-18 02:51:57 UTC

The Knowledge Gap focuses on a long-ignored issue lying at the heart of what is known as the achievement gap: the failure of most elementary schools, and especially those serving low-income children, to systematically build knowledge of the world.

ka12782 — 2023-08-18 02:53:11 UTC

At a time when schools and educators are facing a call to move beyond listening and understanding in order to take actionable steps toward living out our missions, Talusan’s novel offers actionable strategies and reflective activities that address real-world challenges and scenarios in our schools.

We Want to Do More Than Survive by Bettina Love

ka12782 — 2023-11-28 14:11:37 UTC

Intersectionality: Love expounds on how race, gender, sexuality, religion and class overlap to create different modes of disadvantage and discrimination

Mattering: The humanization of people of color through the lens of society

Education survival-->students cannot be expected to thrive through the constant testing and labeling

Love suggests to abolish the education survival complex and instead create a new educational system based on thriving, civic engagement, and social justice.

Disastrous Affects of NCLB

ka12782 — 2023-11-28 14:18:17 UTC

"NCLB's requirements for parent notification of school "needs improvement" or "failing" labels and threats of stand dismissal have already been reported as disincentives for qualified staff to stay in high-need schools when they have options to teach in better resourced and better regarded schools with more affluent students" (p. 14).

The social justice aspect of this topic deals with the use of shaming and punishing schools and their faculty. This abuse often leads to negative affects rather than what they are "aiming" for. The only venture resulting from such testing is the notion that all schools are responsible for is preparing students to take tests. As a result of this, teachers are required to "teach the test" which leaves no room for creativity and imaginative exploration.

"The more people see how NCLB actually works, the more it becomes clear that NCLB is not a tool for solving a crisis in public education, but a tool for creating one" (p. 65).

Toward What Justice

ka12782 — 2023-11-28 14:29:43 UTC

This novel is an array of different stories brought together to challenge and offer different perspectives of what justice really is.

Takeaways--> we can learn a low when we step into another's shoes to learn through their lens and life experiences.

Reign of Error

ka12782 — 2023-11-28 14:40:08 UTC

"Public education is not 'broken.' It is not failing or declining. The diagnosis is wrong, and the solutions of the corporate reformers are wrong. Our urban schools are in trouble because of concentrated poverty and racial segregation...Public education is in crisis only so far as society is and only so far as this new narrative of crisis has destabilized it. The solutions proposed by the self-proclaimed reformers have not worked as promised. They have failed even by their own most highly valued measure which is test scores. At the same time, the 'reformers' solutions have had a destructive impact on education as a whole." (Ravitch, p. 23).

Connections made: saving our democracy-->public education, hands on teaching practices-->more prepared certified teachers, NCLB/major test score emphasis--> demise of education

ka12782 — 2023-11-28 14:56:45 UTC

Standardized testing, along with the multitude of other required testing that compounds each year, has become a way to label students rather than aid them. Additionally, it has become a way to negate teachers and their hard work by dwindling their meaningfulness down to a number.

Allowing students to learn in a multitude of different ways--rather that rote memorization of facts that will not serve them any purposes in the long run.

HANDS ON LEARNING

LEARNING THROUGH PLAY

ka12782 — 2023-11-29 03:19:30 UTC

Shows teachers how and why they should bring play into the classroom to make learning meaningful, relevant, and fun. Research studies show that all students―young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural―benefit immensely from classrooms filled with art, creativity, and laughter.

ka12782 — 2023-11-29 03:26:18 UTC

Play-based learning is an education style that emphasizes physical play, movement, exploration, and problem solving. Children are given time to play and work independently, which allows them to learn naturally and develop social and emotional skills.

Play-based learning can be a key element of equitable education policy. With some students lacking safe spaces for play at home, incorporating play-based learning in primary education can improve access and offer all children the cognitive and developmental benefits of play-based learning.