April 09, 2008
Schedule for remainder of semester
Here's our schedule for the rest of the semester:
4/10: In class work on final projects
4/14: In class work on final projects
4/15: Read pages 228-238 (School Finance)
4/16: Read pages 228-238 (School Finance)
4/17: Continue school finance discussion
4/21: Continue school finance discussion
4/22: Exam review
4/23: Exam review
4/24: Exam 3 (school finance and law); Service learning paper due
4/28: Exam 3 (school finance and law); Service learning paper due
Section 4 final projects will be presented 5/2 at 3:00 PM
Section 1 final projects will be presented 5/5 at 3:00 PM
Section 7 final projects will be presented 5/6 at 8:00 AM
Posted by Nakia at 08:18 AM
March 25, 2008
Exam 2 review powerpoint
Posted by Nakia at 03:25 PM
Turning In Your Paper
Your conceptual framework research paper is due Sunday, March 30th at 5:00 PM. Sunday!? How do I turn my paper in Sunday?! Keep reading. . .
1. You will email your paper to my Winthrop email address (popen@winthrop.edu).
2. Your paper MUST be an attachment to the email. This attachment MUST be some version of Microsoft Word, Rich Text or PDF formats. You CANNOT put the body of your paper in the body of the email. It MUST be an attachment.
3. You should save your paper with YOUR NAME in the name of the document. Example: Nakia_Pope_Paper.doc
4. Your email should have a body, however, in which you at least identify yourself and your section number (I cannot tell who is who just by email addresses). This is essential for me so I can keep track of papers. The body of the email can be something as simple as "Dr. Pope, This is Jane Smith from Section 4. Here is my paper."
5. Your email should arrive in my inbox NO LATER THAN 5:00 PM on SUNDAY THE 30TH. Any paper received after 5:00 will be considered late.
6. You may turn in your paper early -- anytime, really, from now until Sunday at 5:00. This is the option you should use if you have obligations Sunday that will prevent you from turning in your paper that day.
What will I do with all these emailed papers? Well, I will read them in the order I receive them. I will make comments orally, recording them on my computer. I will then email these comments back to you as an mp3 file which can be played on any computer with some form of audio player (and every computer has some form of player -- iTunes, Quicktime, Windows Media Player, etc). Those comments will contain feedback on your paper and your grade.
Given that it is advising and I plan to return your papers in the order they are received, it may take a couple of weeks to get them all back. Don't worry if it seems to be taking awhile; that just means you turned in your paper closer to 5:00 than others.
Posted by Nakia at 10:57 AM
March 24, 2008
Readings for Next Week
Here's our schedule for the next two weeks:
March 24th & 25th -- Exam review
March 26th & 27th -- Exam #2
March 31st & April 1st -- Read Pages 259-272
April 2nd & 3rd -- Read Pages 272-283 (also pay close attention to the "Frame of Reference" on pages 284-285 that discusses the critical Supreme Court Cases)
Don't forget your paper due March 30th.
Posted by Nakia at 11:03 AM
March 10, 2008
Schedule for the rest of March
Spring Break is coming and I know you all are excited about it as I am. Your next exam will be after the break and we are moving things around slightly to accommodate. Here is our schedule for the rest of March -- readings, reviews, and exam.
Tuesday, 3/11 -- We will finish up our ethics discussion from last week.
Wednesday, 3/12 -- Read pages 322-337.
Thursday, 3/13 -- Read pages 322-337.
We should probably have a quiz this week, so look for one Wednesday and/or Thursday. Also remember that the drop date is Wednesday the 12th, so if you are thinking about dropping, make sure you talk to me before then.
Then we have spring break. When we come back:
Monday, 3/24 -- Exam Review
Tuesday, 3/25 -- Exam Review
Wednesday, 3/26 -- Exam 2
Thursday, 3/27 -- Exam 2
Note: I will be out of town for a conference on the 26th and 27th, so my graduate assistant will proctor the exam.
Posted by Nakia at 08:36 AM
March 06, 2008
Service Learning Paper
Here is the service learning paper assignment. The paper is not sue until the end of the semester, but you can turn it in anytime before then as you wrap up your service learning hours.
Posted by Nakia at 11:08 AM
Ethics Powerpoint
Posted by Nakia at 09:20 AM
March 04, 2008
Reading Assignment for Thursday and Monday
Thursday March 6th: Pages 283-293 (The ethics section of chapter 8)
Monday March 10th: Pages 283-293 (The ethics section of chapter 8)
Posted by Nakia at 08:15 PM
February 28, 2008
Philosophy of Education Powerpoint
Here is the Powerpoint for part 2 of our philosophy of education unit:
Philosophy of Education Powerpoint
Posted by Nakia at 08:44 AM
February 27, 2008
Readings for Thursday and Monday
I am at home recuperating today, but should be back tomorrow. All sections should read the rest of the "Philosophy of Education" chapter up until the "Hall of Fame" section for their next class. You don't have to read that "hall of fame" part, just everything up to it. Tuesday/Thursday sections should have that read by tomorrow, while Mon/Wednesday sections should have it read by Monday.
See you tomorrow.
Posted by Nakia at 10:54 AM
February 25, 2008
Important Update
I mentioned to some of you I may be out this week for surgery. I just found out today that that surgery will be tomorrow morning. Thus I will be out tomorrow and Wednesday. Please use the extra time to work on your research paper. I should be back to normal on Thursday and we will resume our normal schedule.
Please email me with any questions.
Dr. Pope
Posted by Nakia at 05:17 PM
February 21, 2008
Philosophy of Education Learning Goals
This document illustrates our goals for the philosophy of education section. It will be useful to guide your reading and studying -- this document expresses my expectations of what you will learn and be able to do at the end of this section. I'll try to make one of these documents available for each section of the course.
Philosophy Unit Learning Goals
Posted by Nakia at 09:06 AM
February 18, 2008
Exam One Review Powerpoint
Here is the Jeopardy game we used for our exam review. Remember that this is just a review and isn't a comprehensive account of what will be on the exam.
Posted by Nakia at 04:24 PM
February 13, 2008
It's never too early to get started on your paper!
Your big paper for the course is due March 30th. I suggest you get started soon, however, so here is the description of the assignment.
On your syllabus, it says if you want to turn in your thesis (for some participation grade points and to get feedback) it needs to be turned in by February 14th. That's tomorrow! Since I am just now making the assignment available to you, you can ask me to look at the thesis anytime until February 26th.. If you choose to turn in a thesis, it needs to be typed, with your name and section number on the page. The thesis you turn in need not be perfect, just reflect some idea about the argument you want to explore in your paper. If you choose to turn in your thesis for review, you will earn 5 participation points.
Since I am pushing back the due date for the thesis, I'll push back the date for the outline until March 7th. This gives you some extra time. Your outline needs to be typed, with your thesis placed at the top of the page. You may earn up to ten participation points for an outline.
The real advantage of turning in a thesis and outline is getting feedback on your ideas, so take advantage of the opportunity.
Posted by Nakia at 09:26 AM
February 12, 2008
Keys to Douglass
Here is a screenshot of the 3 keys to Douglass material I wrote on the smartboard.
Posted by Nakia at 03:18 PM
February 04, 2008
Readings, Feb 6th-12th
Wednesday, February 6th -- 135-143; 163-173
Thursday, Feb. 7th, Section 7 -- 135-143; 163-173
Thursday, Feb. 7th, Section 6 -- 135-143; 163-173
Monday, Feb 11th -- "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"
Tuesday, Feb 12th (all sections) -- "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"
Posted by Nakia at 01:25 PM
Education of Free Men Powerpoint
Here's a Powerpoint with some key questions about Horace Mann's "The Education of Free Men". We will be approaching the article with an activity in class, but these questions will help you focus your reading.
Posted by Nakia at 01:22 PM
January 29, 2008
Reading Assignment (Jan 30th-Feb 5th)
We've had really good discussion in class lately, which means we need to change the reading schedule a bit to better reflect where we are at. Here goes:
Wednesday, January 30th -- "Questionable Assumptions About Schooling"; Textbook pages 124-135
Thursday, January 31st, Section 7 (9:30 class) -- "Questionable Assumptions About Schooling"; Textbook pages 124-135
Thursday, January 31st, Section 6 (2:00 class) -- Textbook pages 124-135; 13-16
Monday, February 4th -- Textbook pages 13-16, "The Education of Free Men"
Tuesday, Feb 5tth, Section 7 -- Textbook pages 13-16, "The Education of Free Men"
Tuesday, Feb 5th, Section 6 -- "The Education of Free Men"
Remember that anything in quotes refers to the name of an article that is on the reader CD-ROM that came with your textbook. Please bring those articles to class (feel free to bring your laptop if you have one and don't want to print out the article).
Posted by Nakia at 04:00 PM
A blog about college success
I stumbled across this blog today: Study Hacks. It's written by the author of How to Become A Straight A Student and How to Win at College. It seems like it could be very helpful for folks. I am even thinking about adopting some of the strategies to be more successful and productive in my own work. Check it out!
Posted by Nakia at 09:03 AM
Reading clarification
I've been getting some emails asking what the "13-19" means in the reading schedule for the week. Those are page numbers in your textbook. Those six pages in chapter 1 discuss the history of teaching as a profession and goes well with the chapter four material we will be discussing.
Posted by Nakia at 08:28 AM
January 24, 2008
Readings for January 28-31
Due to the weather delay last week, the Tues/Thus 9:30 class is really on the same schedule as the Mon/Wed class. So all you 9:30 folks should be reading along with the Tuesday/Thursday schedule.
Monday the 28th -- "Teaching Against Idiocy" and "Questionable Assumptions About Schooling"
Tuesday the 29th -- 124-135; 13-19
Wednesday the 30th -- 124--135; 13-19
Thursday the 31st -- "The Education of Free Men"
Posted by Nakia at 08:43 AM
Idiocy Powerpoint
Here's the Powerpoint we will use to guide our discussion of the Parker article.
Posted by Nakia at 08:42 AM
January 22, 2008
Purposes of Education Powerpoint
Here is the Powerpoint that accompanies your reading for chapter 9:
Posted by Nakia at 09:55 AM
January 17, 2008
Rock Hill School District Volunteer Form
I've downloaded a copy of the form and put it up here to make it easier for you all to find. This is the form you must fill out if you want to do your service learning at a RHSD school.
Posted by Nakia at 02:28 PM
January 16, 2008
Reading schedule for next week
The 16th and 17th will be dedicated to service learning.
Monday the 21st is Martin Luther King Day, so the university is closed.
For Tuesday the 22nd and Wednesday the 23rd, you should read pages 307-319.
For Thursday the 24th and Monday the 28th, you should read the articles "Teaching Against Idiocy" and "Questionable Assumptions About Schooling" which are found on the CD-Rom reader.
Posted by Nakia at 10:34 AM
Service Learning Sites
Not everyone was able to take home the service learning newsletter that listed all the service learning sites.
You can find a list and other service learning information here.
Posted by Nakia at 10:31 AM
December 10, 2007
Project Grades
I have project grades completed for section 15. I hope to have section 14's grades by tomorrow afternoon.
Remember, please do not email or call me requesting grade information. If you stop by, I'll be happy to give you your project grade. My office hours are posted below.
Posted by Nakia at 02:14 PM
December 04, 2007
Exam Weeks office hours
My office hours will be different for the next two weeks because of exams. They are as follows:
December 4th Section 15 Exam 6:30 – 9:00 PM
December 5th Office Hours: 1:00 – 3:00 PM
December 6th Office Hours: 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Section 14 Exam 3:00 – 5:30 PM
December 7th Office Hours 10:00 AM –12:00 PM
December 10th Office Hours 1:00 – 3:00 PM
December 11th Section 5 Exam 8:00 – 10:30 AM
Office Hours 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
December 12th Office Hours 1:00 – 3:00 PM
December 13th Office Hours 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
December 14th Office Hours 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Also, please do not email or call asking about grades. I will get all the material graded and your final grades posted as soon as possible. In many cases, I will be able to return your last test and service learning paper at your scheduled exam time.
Good luck with all your finals. I look forward to the projects.
Posted by Nakia at 01:25 PM
November 27, 2007
Exam 3 Review
Here's the Jeopardy Exam review!
Posted by Nakia at 05:57 PM
November 16, 2007
Grading and returning your essays
If you missed class on Thursday, you missed my explanation of how I am going to give you feedback on your papers. I am going to give this feedback via audio -- through mp3 files I will record as I read your paper. After I finish, I will then email the file to you.
Since I am grading and returning papers this way, things will be a little different. I usually grade papers by class, then hand them back in no order whenever I am done with all the papers. That way, everyone gets their papers back at the same time. With this audio method of giving comments, that becomes more difficult organizationally. Thus, I will "return" your paper (i.e. send you the mp3 file) in the order the papers were turned in. Some folks may get their comments today. Other folks may not get them back until after Thanksgiving. Don't worry if it take me awhile to get your paper back, that just means you sent your paper in closer to 8:00 PM than other people. I'll intersperse the hard copies I have gotten in with the electronic copies.
If you have any questions about this, just send me an email.
Posted by Nakia at 09:36 AM
November 15, 2007
The remainder of the semester
Here's what the rest of the semester (all three class periods of it) should look like:
Tuesday the 20th: We'll finish up the equal opportunity chapter and talk about Cornell West and Frederick Douglass. If I were going to give one more quiz, this would be the day.
Tuesday the 27th: We will wrap up anything left over from the 20th and review for the exam. You will also do your evaluations this day.
Thursday the 29th: Exam number 3. Your service learning paper is also due this day.
Posted by Nakia at 03:48 PM
November 10, 2007
Readings for Next Week
For next Tuesday, read pages 163-173 in your textbook. For Thursday, read the "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" and "Race Matters" from the reader.
Posted by Nakia at 10:17 AM
Paper Due Date
Just a reminder, the conceptual framework paper is now due Thursday November 15th. You need to email it to me no later than 8:00 PM. I'll still accept hard copies in class on Thursday, if you would rather turn it in that way.
Posted by Nakia at 10:12 AM
Pulp History Activity
Here's the powerpoint that details the pulp history activity we'll be doing in class on Tuesday. Remember to bring a pulp history title with you to class.
Posted by Nakia at 10:09 AM
November 08, 2007
Horace Mann Powerpoint
Here's the powerpoint with the Horace Mann reading questions:
Mann Powerpoint
Posted by Nakia at 09:17 AM
November 01, 2007
Readings for Tuesday
Just make sure you have read chapter 4 up to page 143 for Tuesday.
Posted by Nakia at 01:45 PM
Moon School and Moon Soceity
I received an email today from a student with a question about the moon school. I thought it was an excellent question and may be pertinent to how everyone sees their project. Thus, I am posting the student's question (with his permission) and my reply below.
Student email:
This space station on the moon -- what sort of station is it? Is it like some sort of futuristic Mayberry, where only a chosen group of specialists engage in the highly-technical hoopla and the rest go about a relatively normal town-life, with shopkeepers and postal workers and et cetera; or is it designed in such a way where everyone will have to share the burden of maintaining the station and thus need advanced training in specialized areas of physics and engineering?
My response:
A very good question, since you seem to be asking about what sort of society the colony is and are thinking about your school accordingly. Let's say that, up until this point, it's been all technical, since there have been no colonists. The school, however, will be an essential part in creating the society that will develop on the moon, so whether or not it's a Mayberry or Terrforming Colony 846 will be up to you and your school design. There is no reason that if you think that all colonists ought to have a role in maintaining the station that your school couldn't reflect that. But if you want to create a Mayberry and leave the maintenance of the colony up to some specialists (perhaps imported from Earth), then that could be reflected in your school as well.
A rambling way of saying "It's really up to you and your school how the colony turns out."
Posted by Nakia at 12:15 PM
October 31, 2007
Apparently, SC schools are bad. But not really.
An important aspect of NCLB is "Adequate Yearly Progress." Schools are supposed to demonstrate that they are improving every year by having gains in test scores, especially among groups that are low performing. This is supposed to culminate with every school in every state becoming 100% proficient by 2014.
Well, no school district met AYP goals for 2006, as this article in the Herald shows.
If you read the article closely, the problems with NCLB that people have been complaining about for years are all apparent. Each state chooses their own set of tests. SC tests are generally recognized to be difficult, so it's no surprise no district met the benchmarks. Other states, with easier tests, do better.
Second, look at what the article says about Fort Mill -- a district that has lots of resources and high achievement. Even it did not meet AYP. Because districts must improve every year (in order to reach that unattainable 100%), one year where things are slightly down means the district fails. It could literally be the case that six kids in one school get the flu, do crappy on the tests because of it, and thus the entire school fails to meet AYP.
So the school fails to meet AYP? Big deal? Yes, because failure to meet AYP for a certain number of years leads to students being able to transfer out of that school. This isn't an option most students take (less than 2% is what I have heard). But we've already talked about what type of parents are most able to actualize choice scenarios like this -- families with more money and flexibility. Another consequence is the state could take over the school or mandate changes.
One of the thing that worries me from the article is Harriet Jaworowski's plans for curriculum mapping in Rock Hill. This is telling teachers what to teach and what days to teach it. Isn't autonomy supposed to be a requirement for a profession?
Posted by Nakia at 11:01 AM
Moon School Assignment (Final Project)
In case you missed it (or loose your copy), here's the moon school assignment:
Posted by Nakia at 10:53 AM
October 30, 2007
Service Learning Paper
Some folks are finishing up their service learning and may want to get started on their paper. Here are the guidelines:Service Learning Paper
Posted by Nakia at 06:11 PM
History PowerPoint
Remember to read both the Horace Mann piece and chapter 4 through page 137 for Thursday.
Here's the History powerpoint: History Powerpoint
Posted by Nakia at 06:06 PM
October 29, 2007
Reading for Tuesday, October 30th
I know all of you are out there wondering "Dr. Pope, what do I read for Tuesday? I want to read, I need to read for EDUC 110!". Well have no fear. For Tuesday, you should read "The Education of Free Men" by Horace Mann from the reader CD. Print out a copy and bring it to class with you.
And I know this is rather last minute, but the essay is only six pages, so don't worry.
Posted by Nakia at 12:16 PM
October 18, 2007
NCLB: Local vs. Federal Control
This article from the McClatchy News Bureau brings up several key points about No Child Left Behind:
All students are required to be "proficient" in reading and math by 2014.
Individual states select both the tests used to measure proficiency and the scores on those tests that count as "proficient." SC, for example, selected some hard reading tests. So when our scores came back very low, we readjusted the scores that count as "proficient."
NCLB represents the largest entanglement of the federal government with public education. The two have traditionally been distant, with localities bearing the fiscal burden and administrative responsibility for public schools. The local control vs. federal involvement tension has been around since the beginning of public schools.
Some see the variation between states as a bad thing and are thus pushing for a national battery of tests. The argument that follows from that is that it does not make sense to have a national battery of tests unless you have a national curriculum.
It seems reasonable that any such curriculum would be essentialist in nature. Then there is the thorny problem of who gets to decide what every American child needs to know.
Posted by Nakia at 01:04 PM
October 17, 2007
Muddy Point: Metaphysics and Epistemology
A number of your muddy point cards indicated some confusion about the difference between metaphysics and epistemology. Well, you are in good company, because philosophers have been trying to figure that out for 3000 years! But for our purposes here, there are some ways to make the distinction clearer.
Metaphysics deals with the nature of reality. It asks questions like: is there one thing that everything (or everything that looks alike) common? Or do human beings(or other things) have something that stays constant despite the fact that we seem to be changing all the time? Is the "me" that teaches your class the same "me" that took philosophy classes 12 years ago or the same "me" that won an award in second grade for reading more books than anyone else? Metaphysics looks for essences -- the stuff that lies at the core of what something is. Many religious questions are metaphysical ones as well -- is there a god, if there is, what is god like, etc.
Epistemology deals with knowledge and truth. The principle question of epistemology is "How do I know something?" We may think that answer is obvious -- 'I know something because I can see it or because some one told it too me. But our senses are very unreliable. Other people are even more unreliable. Then, there are some stuff we say we know that don't depend on any sorts of sense whatsoever. Does seeing tell you that 2+2=4? Knowledge seems to depend on truth -- you can't know something that isn't true (you can believe it, but that's different), so epistemology asks questions about truth. What makes 7-2=5 true? Are there features of the world that make it true, in the same way that there are features of the world that make the sentence "The sky is blue" true? Or is it all just a matter of convention? Are things true just because we think they are?
Epistemology and metaphysics are related. There may be underling features of the world (we find out what they are by metaphysics) that make 7-5=2 true. So answering an epistemological question may require a metaphysical answer. And metaphysics may be impossible without epistemology. If there is an underling structure to the world, then how would we know it?
Both are important to education. We presumably want our students to be able to tell truth from falsity and hold beliefs for good reasons. Those are epistemological goals. And if there is an underlying structure to reality (be it spiritual, mathmatical, or whatever) then shouldn't schools be teaching students about that stuff instead of all the stuff that seems to be real and important?
Remember Plato's cave? He wants us to get out of the cave and into the sun. Education helps us figure out what is true and real. Those are epistemological and metaphysical goals.
Posted by Nakia at 03:41 PM
October 10, 2007
Ethics Powerpoint
Here's a very vanilla (I removed all the design elements so people could read it easier) Powerpoint for Thursday:
Posted by Nakia at 04:41 PM
October 08, 2007
Teachers and the Law Powerpoint
A handy powerpoint for chapter 8 can be found below:
Posted by Nakia at 01:59 PM
Thanks to the students, here's the article
The article on how SC's tests are harder than those of other states can be found here. Thanks to Amanda and Jamie for tracking it down.
Posted by Nakia at 01:56 PM
October 04, 2007
Two relevant No Child Left Behind stories
The first, here, is a NY Times Op-Ed piece by Diane Ravitch in which she pretty severely criticizes NCLB. Ravitich is best known as a conservative historian of education who also served in the U.S. Dept of Ed.
The second one is a bit more local. An AP article that ran in today's Rock Hill Herald reports that the tests SC uses to gage student proficiency are recognized as being more difficult that the tests used by many other states. That may partially account for why SC tends to have lower proficiency scores than many other states.
Edit: Despite the article about SC tests being on the FRONT PAGE of the Herald today, I can't seem to find it on their website, despite looking for 15 minutes. If you can find it, email me and let me know. 5 points in the "participation pool" portion of your grade for the first person that finds it and sends it to me.
Posted by Nakia at 03:02 PM
October 02, 2007
New school zoning in Rock Hill
Due to the addition of two new schools and some overcrowding, school attendance lines are being redrawn here in Rock Hill. Naturally, some parents are upset.
Here's the story from today's Herald.
Note a few of the worries: one parent complains that she will have to buy new clothes for her child because each middle school in the district has its own dress code. Should schools have a dress code? Should the code be unique to each school if so?
Another parent worries that his child won't be going to the same school as his friends and neighbors. A legitimate concern, but do schools have a duty to encourage diversity by bringing students together who don't live near each other and wouldn't otherwise interact?
Posted by Nakia at 08:57 AM
Readings for Thursday and Beyond
We should just about wrap up the philosophy of education section today, so we will move into the section on education law and ethics next (although why ethics isn't part of the philosophy chapter, I am not sure. I didn't write the book!).
The law and ethics section is highly interactive and I am sure we will have a lot to talk about. Here's my advice about how to tackle chapter 8:
Thursday: Skim pages 260-283. Pay special attention to the "Frame of Reference" sidebars -- they have good info. Try to figure out what YOU would do in each of those 18 situations and make a note of that.
Tuesday (9 October): Go back over pages 260-283, this time paying close attention to what the law says about those situations. Compare how your intuitions fared with the law. Give yourself a Rights Quotient (page 283). Also take a hard look at the criticial cases listed on pages 284-285. Those are very important.
Thursday (11 October): Read the rest of chapter 8 (286-293). We'll talk about whether or not schools should work to instill morals and/or values in students.
Posted by Nakia at 08:46 AM
October 01, 2007
Local newspaper article on poverty and education
Sunday's Herald had a decent article on poverty and it's effects on educational attainment, with a focus on the local, of course.
Socio-Economic Status is the single biggest predictor of educational success. The less money your family has, the less likely you are to do well in school.
Posted by Nakia at 11:31 AM
September 26, 2007
Readings for the next few days
Thursday, September 27th: "Teaching Themes of Care" & "A Tale of Two Schools" from the reader CD-ROM.
Tuesday, October 2nd: "Experience and Education"
Wow, October already!
Posted by Nakia at 11:39 AM
It's never too early to get started on your paper
Your big paper for the course is due November 13th. I suggest you get started soon, however, so here is the description of the assignment.
On your syllabus, it says if you want to turn in your thesis (for some participation grade points and to get feedback) it needs to be turned in by October 4th. That's next week! Since I am just now making the assignment available to you, you can ask me to look at the thesis anytime until October 11th..
Since I am pushing back the due date for the thesis, I'll push back the date for the outline until October 30th. This gives you an extra week and a half.
Remember you don't have to turn in a thesis or outline, but your paper will be better for it if you do.
Posted by Nakia at 11:32 AM
September 20, 2007
Resegregation in Alabama?
We've talked about school choice and we will discuss segregation and it's effect on educational inequality.
This article in the NY Times shows that these issues are front and center in Tuscaloosa.
Posted by Nakia at 12:56 PM
September 19, 2007
Philosophy powerpoint
Here is the philosophy of education powerpoint for Thursday
Posted by Nakia at 10:42 AM
September 18, 2007
Reading for Thursday, September 20th
We will be beginning the Philosophy of Education section of the course Thursday (my favorite!), which is found in chapter six of your textbook. We're going to start at the end of the chapter, then come back to the beginning, so there is only a short assignment for Thursday:
Pages 217-224
For next Tuesday, read the rest of the chapter:
196-217.
I'll have a powerpoint up soon.
Posted by Nakia at 09:06 AM
September 14, 2007
Idiocy Powerpoint
Note I had to remove the pictures to make the file small enough to upload.
Posted by Nakia at 01:26 PM
On essay questions
Thanks to everyone for turning in your sample essay questions. There is some good stuff there; it demonstrates you are thinking about the material. In this post I will discuss what makes a good essay question, what those questions require from students, and give some suggestions for how to answer essay questions.
1. Good essay questions:
Good essay questions are designed to test "higher order thinking skills". These skills go beyond memorization of material. They are the skills you use when you evaluate alternatives, state preferences and reasons for those preferences, and give examples of concepts.
Since good essay questions ask for more than just a restatement of material covered in class, these are NOT particularly good essay questions (all of these are taken from student cards):
-- List and describe the four goals of schooling.
-- List and describe the versions of school choice. What are the issues/problems with these versions?
-- What are the similarities and differences between the conservative and reconstructive purposes of education?
All of the above simply ask you to remember stuff we talked about in class. Multiple choice questions do that just fine.
These are examples of good essay questions:
-- Is teaching a profession? Why or why not?
-- Given the four purposes of schooling, which one do you see as taking precedence in schools today? What evidence is there for this emphasis? Do you agree with this emphasis? Why or why not?
-- Parker contrasts the concepts of "idiot" and "citizen". Do schools do a good job of producing citizens instead of idiots? How could schools change to better meet Parker's goals?
2. Good essay questions require the student to use what they have read and/or discussed in class as evidence to support a position. Notice how all of the above good questions do require you to remember some of what we have talked about in class. But you don't just spit it back out; you use it to construct an argument or position about the material. In that construction, you go above and beyond what was discussed in class, applying the material in a new way. The third question, for example, would require you to know what Parker means by "idiot" and "citizen". It also asks you to consider his ideas about how schools can produce citizens. From those things, which come straight from Parker, you construct your argument about whether or not schools do a good job of producing citizens and how they could improve to meet that goal.
3. The key in answering an essay question is the same as writing a good essay -- have a strong thesis that gives the essay direction, then use your knowledge to provide evidence that supports your thesis. Before you plunge into answering the essay, take a minute to make some notes in the margins that will help you write it. Go ahead and write out your thesis as well, even before you actually begin answering the essay question (although in an essay question it's generally fine to begin the answer with your thesis. With the question about Parker above, you would make some notes about what idiot and citizen mean for Parker, some notes about how Parker thinks schools can produce citizens, then some notes about how you think schools should change to better fit Parker's goals. You could then come up with a thesis like "Given Parker's definition of "idiot" and "citizen", current schools do not do a good job of promoting the deliberation required to be a citizen. Having smaller classes and fewer standardized tests would help schools to meet Parker's goals." Then, in the essay, you will briefly define those two key terms, discuss why deliberation is important for a citizen, talk about how schools don't promote deliberation, then present your two ways in which schools could change and how they would promote deliberation. It sounds like a lot, but you could do it in 15-20 sentences. Remember that your time is limited, so get to the point. Also remember that I know your time is limited, so I am not expecting tons of exposition. Figure out they key things you need to talk about to express your argument, then concentrate on those.
I hope this is helpful! Good luck studying.
Posted by Nakia at 11:58 AM
September 13, 2007
Tuesday's Exam
The format of next Tuesday's exam will be:
25 multiple choice questions @ two points each
Six "three sentence answer" questions that vary from five to eight points each
One essay worth 15 points
How would I study for the exam? Well, the exam tests both your knowledge of the content and concepts we've examined as well as your ability to compare, contrast, analyze, and evaluate them. To prepare for the content knowledge aspect, go over the powerpoints and the readings. The list of key terms and questions at the end of each chapter will be helpful as well. Then, building on that content knowledge, begin to see how the things we've discussed relate to each other. Ask yourself what the positive and negative aspects of some of the issues (the purposes of schooling, school choice, teacher's professional status) we've discussed are. Figure out where you stand on those things and then figure out how you can articulate and defend your position given what we've discussed. Studying in groups is particularly helpful, I think, because you're forced to restate what you've learned so your classmates can understand you. You also have to think about how these things that seem far apart are actually related, and you have to figure out how you relate to those things.
Good luck on the exam!
Posted by Nakia at 02:56 PM
September 11, 2007
RHSD volunteer form
Ms. Sanders has asked me to communicate to everyone that the Volunteer forms from Rock Hill School District be sent directly back to the district rather than returned to her. You can email it back using the email address provided at the bottom of the form.
Posted by Nakia at 08:39 AM
September 10, 2007
School Choice Powerpoint
Here's the Powerpoint for tomorrow's class:
Posted by Nakia at 01:00 PM
September 07, 2007
A couple of reasons NOT to go home this weekend
For all of you who are considering going home because there is nothing to do here on the weekends, there are TWO musical acts coming to Winthrop this weekend. Both sound pretty cool -- acts that I would check out if we didn't have to find a babysitter.
On Friday night, Mellogroove is playing in Dinkins. A current Winthrop student plays with four alumni in an R&B/soul band.
Saturday night, Tillman will feature Black Violin. I had never heard of these guys before, but classical music + hip hop sounds interesting enough to check out.
So stick around and check out one or both of these acts!
Posted by Nakia at 10:24 AM
September 06, 2007
Schooling vs. Education
It's easy to confuse the two, but one way to think about it is schooling is a subset of education. Education is an activity undertaken by a group to make sure the group survives past the lifetime of it's present members. Each group has it's own methods of educating. If you join a fraternity or sorority, for example, you are taught about the group's history, goals, traditions, etc so that after all the current members have graduated you can continue the life of the group. Some of this education takes place explicitly, while other aspects of it are more hidden.
You can think of "society" as being one big mega-group. It tries to educate its members in a variety of ways -- the family educates, the church educates, the media educates, and schools educate.
Schools are the explicit educational arm of society -- the social institution charged with educating the young so that society can continue. Those other members of society that educate do so as part of their other functions, but education is the explicit function of school.
The four goals of schooling apply, well, to schooling. Schools have an academic goal, a personal goal, etc. All of these are subsets of the larger educational goal of schooling. When we talk about the conservative and reconstructive goals of education, however, they can be seen as broadly applying to any social group that educates. They apply particularly well to schools because schools are the social institution that has education as its primary and explicit goal.
Posted by Nakia at 03:14 PM
Readings for next week
For Tuesday the 11th, make sure you have read pages 322-337 AND the article in your reader "Teaching Against Idiocy".
We'll cover all the school choice material and begin to discuss the article.
Posted by Nakia at 03:12 PM
September 05, 2007
Reading for September 6th
Tomorrow, we will still be talking about the purposes of schooling, so if you have read through page 321, you are good to go!
Posted by Nakia at 03:42 PM
September 04, 2007
Office Hours for Wednesday, September 5th
Again due to some child care issues, I won't be in the office tomorrow morning. I'll be in by 1:00 and there until 3:30. I'll be checking my email in the morning, however, if you need anything.
Posted by Nakia at 11:50 PM
August 30, 2007
Readings for next week
Today (August 30th) we'll be finishing up our discussion of teachers as professionals and chapter one. Next week, we'll start our discussion of the purposes of schooling.
For Tuesday the 4th, please read pages 306-321. After that, we will move on to school choice, which is covered by pages 322-337.
Here is the powerpoint for the purposes of schooling:
Posted by Nakia at 12:10 PM
August 29, 2007
Some service learning reminders
A few notes about service learning:
Today is the deadline for turning in independent service learning contracts. Those go to Ms. Sanders.
If you have signed up for a Rock Hill school as your service learning site, you need to complete the volunteer form so the district can conduct a background check. That form can be found here.
And if you haven't signed up yet, you need to do so immediately. Contact Ms. Sanders (sandersad@winthrop.edu)
Posted by Nakia at 01:18 PM
August 28, 2007
Office hours for Wednesday, August 29th
I have to watch my daughter for a bit tomorrow morning, so I will not be in the office for my 10-12 office hours. I will be in the office from 1-4, however. Please email me with any questions or to make an appointment.
Posted by Nakia at 08:40 AM
Teaching as a Career Powerpoint
Here's the Powerpoint we will be using for our discussion of teaching as a career. It overlaps with the chapter one readings.
Posted by Nakia at 08:34 AM
August 21, 2007
Emailing the Professor
Emailing the Professor
As a professor in a college of education, my job has aspects that are directly vocational -- help to prepare teachers who will be successful. As someone who teaches philosophy (among other things), that aspect often gets pushed to the background, as I strive to give my students conceptual frameworks and other information that does not seem to be immediately applicable to classroom use. I'm fine with that and I try to be as honest as possible with my students about the content of my course and its perceived practicality.
Here's something, however, that has immediate use and will help students be successful in the world of teaching or any other professional situation:
How to Email Your Professor
I welcome emails and enjoy communication with students. Constructing emails that are professional and quickly and accurately get to the point is a skill that students need to develop. I'm trying to help my students develop it. So send me emails, but treat them appropriately.
OK?THX.BYE!
Note that this is a repost from August 29, 2006
Posted by Nakia at 09:18 AM
ADEPT
ADEPT is the system that South Carolina uses to evaluate teachers. You will get more information on it as you progress through the college, but it's good to at least know what it is even now. Here's a handy powerpoint that explains the basics:
Posted by Nakia at 09:11 AM
August 20, 2007
Welcome to EDUC 110
Welcome to professorpope.com, which will be used as the blog for EDUC 110 and related courses.
What will we be using the blog for? It will have three primary functions:
1. This will be where I will post handouts, Powerpoint presentations, articles, and other items for you to download. Many of these I will handout in class, so if you miss something, check the blog. Powerpoints I won't hand out in class, so this will be where you can go to download the Powerpoints I use in our class discussions. I'll try to have those up the day before we use them in class.
As an example, here is the syllabus for the course:EDUC 110 Syllabus Fall 2007
Just click on the link to download it.
2. This is also where I will post detailed instructions regarding the reading for the course. In your syllabus, you will find a general outline of the course readings. Here on the blog, you'll find detailed instructions about what to read and what we're going to talk about for a given class period. For example:
Thursday, August 23rd, you will be signing up for service learning. No reading
Tuesday, August 28th, we will be talking about what makes a good teacher and the professional status of teachers, so read pages 2-30 of your textbook.
3. I will also post supplementary material that is related to our class discussions. This material may include links to news stories and links to other websites. It may also include material that I prepare that helps further explain points made in class. I may also even post mp3 files that act as supplements to my class lectures.
So bookmark this blog and check in regularly to stay in the know.
(note: if you're looking for my personal blog, it's now running at Professor Pope In Exile)
Posted by Nakia at 01:06 PM
April 09, 2007
Teachers and the Law Powerpoint
Posted by Nakia at 01:35 PM
March 28, 2007
School Finance Powerpoint
Here is the Powerpoint that we'll use in our discussion of school finance:
Please don't sue me, Tom Cruise.
Posted by Nakia at 11:07 AM
March 23, 2007
Eric Brown's Handout and Next Week
I understand that many of you were able to attend Eric Brown's talk last Wednesday; I heard it was very good and am glad folks were able to make it. I also understand he ran out of handouts. You can download that handout here:
My Soul Looks Back In Wonder
Next week, we will be finishing up Savage Inequalities on Monday and Tuesday (and we haven't had a quiz yet. Hmmmm. . .), then moving on to our discussion of school finance (358-367 in the textbook) later in the week.
Also remember that your framework papers are due soon!
Posted by Nakia at 02:45 PM
March 19, 2007
New Calendar for EDUC 110
Use this button to get to the new, revised EDUC 110 calendar (constructed using Google calendar)
Posted by Nakia at 09:36 AM
March 06, 2007
Jeopardy Exam Review
Here's the Jeopardy powerpoint. I hope it's useful for exam review.
Posted by Nakia at 03:31 PM | Comments (3)
March 01, 2007
Philosophy Jigsaw Powerpoint
This may be useful in preparing for the exam next week.
Posted by Nakia at 03:34 PM
February 23, 2007
Research Paper Prompt for EDUC 110
Some folks may have missed this last week, so here are the guidelines for your research paper. It's due March 27th for Section 001, and March 28th for sections 004 and 006.
Posted by Nakia at 09:51 AM | Comments (2)
February 21, 2007
Schedule Error for Section 001 (Tuesday/Thursday)
Although we have moved away from the syllabus in terms of reading schedule, the assignment schedule still holds. There is, however, an error on the schedule that effects a scheduled exam. Spring Break is listed as 3/8 and 3/13, with Exam #2 scheduled for 3/6. As everyone is no doubt aware, Spring Break is really 3/13 and 3/15. So, Exam #2 will be on 3/8.
I'll repeat that and put it in bold: For Section 001 (Tuesday/Thursday, 2:00) Exam #2 will be on March 8th.
We wil still begin Savage Inequalities right after Spring Break, on 3/20.
All other assignment due dates are, for now, unchanged.
Posted by Nakia at 10:44 AM
Philosophy of Education Powerpoint
Here is the powerpoint for the philosophy of education chapter:
Philosophy of Education
We'll discuss this today and on into next week, then we'll talk about John Dewey and the excerpt from Experience and Education next week.
Next week's reading looks like:
Monday/Tuesday: Dewey from the reader
Wednesday/Thursday: Hopefully, we'll get to School Law, so read pages 391-416. This is the part of the School Law chapter up to "Teaching and Ethics".
Posted by Nakia at 10:29 AM
February 16, 2007
History Powerpoint and Next Weeks Schedule
Here is the Powerpoint that we'll use to guide our discussion of US educational history:
Next week should look something like this:
2/19 & 2/20: History discussion (pages 284-303)
2/21 & 2/22: Philosophy of education. (Please read pages 324-357)
If anyone has any questions, just send me an email. Have a great weekend!
Posted by Nakia at 09:17 AM
February 12, 2007
EDUC 110 weekly schedule
I hope everyone had a good weekend and is prepared for the exam. Here's a reminder of our scheudle this week:
Monday and Tuesday: Exam 1
Wednesday and Thursday: History of Education. Read pages 284-303.
Coming soon: Information about the Framework paper. Think about how comfortable you are using the library's databases to find journal articles for research.
Have a great week, everyone!
Posted by Nakia at 10:51 AM
February 07, 2007
Exam Powerpoint
Here is a Powerpoint that gives the exam format and some questions to think about as you prepare.
Posted by Nakia at 01:37 PM
February 06, 2007
Taba Powerpoint
Here is the Powerpoint for the Taba article. One of the most important things about Taba is how she frames the conservative vs the reconstructive purposes of education.
Posted by Nakia at 03:45 PM
February 05, 2007
Mann Article
I know some folks are having CD-ROM issues (with the disc that comes with the textbook). I will stress that you need to get the CD or find some way to get the articles, as they are a vital element of your reading and our class discussion. I am posting the Mann article; it's free use so there are no copyright issues. There may be issues with posting the other articles, so I don't know if I'll be able to continue to do this. Thus, it's important that you have access to the CD-ROM Reader
Mann -- The Education of Free Men
Posted by Nakia at 11:09 AM
February 02, 2007
Show Day Schedule Changes
Because of yesterday's snow day, we will need to change a few things around for the Tuesday/Thursday class. Actually, the only thing that needs changing right now is the exam. I'm going to move it from the 8th to the 13th of February. NOTE THAT THE MONDAY/WEDNESDAY CLASSES WILL STILL HAVE THEIR EXAM ON THE 12TH. So next week will look something like this:
Monday & Tuesday: Finish Eisner; talk about Taba a bit; Mann intro
Wednesday & Thursday: Mann (with hopefully a bit of time for exam review)
Monday the 12th: Exam
Tuesday the 13th: Exam
Hope everyone has a good weekend. Go Colts.
Posted by Nakia at 10:13 AM
January 30, 2007
Eisner Powerpoint and Reading Update
For the Eisner article, we'll be using the following powerpoint to help focus our discussion:
After Eisner and Taba, we will read and discuss the Horace Mann except on the reader CD. For you Monday/Wednesday folks, try to have the Mann read by Wedneday the 7th. Tuesday/Thursday people should have it read by the 6th.
We will wait on the history chaper (pages 284-303) until after the first exam.
Posted by Nakia at 03:35 PM
January 27, 2007
School Choice Powerpoint
I hope everyone is having a good weekend! I am about to head to the basketball game, but wanted to make sure this powerpoint was available:
I also want to apologize for what I know was a sub-par week on my part. Feeling crappy makes it hard to teach, much less teach enthusiastically. I am feeling better and will hopefully be 100% by Monday. I appreciate everyone's patience. It seems like between the holiday, the weather, and my cold, we haven't really gotten rolling yet. I am probably going to tweak the reading schedule a bit, since we are not exactly where I would like us to be in terms of our discussions, but I'll give everyone plenty of notice and a new hard copy of major changes are made.
I hope to see some of you at the basketball game and all of you next week.
Posted by Nakia at 03:04 PM | Comments (1)
January 26, 2007
Against Open Enrollment
We've been discussing open enrollment in our larger discussions about school choice. Open enrollment is also being advanced by our governor as a solution to consistently failing schools. This editorial in The State, written by a Furman professor, takes issue with open enrollment; note that he says many of the same things we talk about in class.
Posted by Nakia at 11:19 AM
Service Learning Annoucement
I know a number of people have yet to be contacted about their service learning. Don't panic, especially if you signed up to work in a public school. Due to the bad weather last week, the public schools are behind in getting their programs running. Just be patient and you will be contacted soon.
Posted by Nakia at 09:32 AM
January 23, 2007
Powerpoint 1 for Chapter 4
There are really two big issues we will be discussing in Chapter 4: The Purpose of Schooling and School Choice.
Here's the Purpose of Schooling powerpoint:
The Purpose of Schooling
The School Choice powerpoint is coming soon.
Be alert for a slight schedule change with the reading, as it make take a couple of days to get through chapter 4. I'll let everyone know about any change as soon as possible.
Posted by Nakia at 10:36 AM
January 18, 2007
Teach for America and Value Added Assessment
A student in the 2:00 class yesterday asked about Teach for America and their success at recruiting and retaining persons of color. I didn't have a good answer to her question, so I did some quick checking. The 2006 Corps has 28% of its members as persons of color. That may be due to an agressive recruting effort and a visible emphasis on diversity within the Corps.
I found these details at Teach for America's website. Clearly, there is a higher percentage of people of color in the Corps than would be suggested by the % of college graduates that are people of color (9% of the Corps is African-American, while only 6% of college gradautes are African-American).
Beginning today, we are going to talk about Robert Holland's article "How to Build a Better Teacher." In that article, he talks a lot about value-added assessment. Some quick google searching revealed additional resources about VAA (since I didn't think Holland did a very good job of explaining it). Pennsylvania is using VAA, so here is a very comprehensive page about the methodology by the Center for Greater Philadelphia. There is also a good basic explanation of it in this article by John Holloway.. The later article is particualrly interesting, as it is housed on the NEA website. Holland is very cirtical of the NEA in his article, intimating that they are opposed to value-added assessment. That doesn't seem to be the case.
Posted by Nakia at 09:42 AM
January 14, 2007
PowerPoint for Chapter One
Here's the Powerpoint for this Tuesday& Wednesday's reading
Note that this is typical of how class will go. I can't cover everything in the reading in my powerpoints and lecture, so I highlight some important stuff and try to weave a common thread through it all. If there is something you really want to talk about in class that we don't get to, bring it up! If you have a question about something we don't focus on, ask it anyway! But please note you are responsible for all the material, not just what we talk about in class. My job is to help you synthesize and understand what you have read, not just explain the reading over again.
Posted by Nakia at 05:54 PM
January 08, 2007
Welcome to the semester!
Greetings EDUC 110 students! Welcome to a new semester here at Winthrop and at Professorpope.com! Professorpope.com is my blog, where I post comments, writings, and links to items that are relevant to the courses I teach (along with personal thoughts, photos, etc in other categories). I'll also post things such and schedule updates, study tips, and important material for class, so remember to check back often. Please feel free to leave comments as well. The blog is just an extention of our class community. I'll also be posting material on the blog for EDUC 600. Links, commentary, etc will likely be relevant to both classes, but there will be category tags ("EDUC 110 or EDUC 600") attached to the posts if they contain course specific info (like this post, for example).
Here's our syllabus for the semester:
EDUC110 Syllabus, Spring 2007
Posted by Nakia at 12:42 PM