EDU 640: Conflict and Controversy in Social Education , Fall 2005

S UNY Cortland Department of Childhood and Early Childhood Education

Class Time: 4:20-6:50pm Thursdays. Instructor: Dr. Lin Lin

Classroom: Van Hoesen B0103 Home Phone: 607-753-4234

Office: Van Hoesen B224A Office Hours: 3:00-4:00pm

Office phone: 607-753-4234 Tues. & Thurs.

Email: linlin@cortland.edu Or by appointment

Required Text

Apple, M. W. (2001). Educating the “right” way: Marketing, standards, God, and

inequality, New York : RoutledgeFalmer.

McLaren, P. (2003). Life in school : An introduction to critical pedagogy in the

foundation of education (4 th ed.). Boston , MA : Allyn and Bacon.

Sleeter, C. E. & Grant , C. A. (2003). Making choices for multicultural education:

Five approaches to race, class, and gender (4 th ed.). Wiley/Jossey-Bass Education.

Course Description:

This course involves the systematic study of the theories and methods that deal with teaching social issues to diverse populations of elementary school students. The course will consider aspects of the history of social studies and theory and research in social education. The course will stress, among other things, the nature of controversial subject matter, the methods of teaching critical social-inquiry, and ways of constructing a learning community. Attention will also be directed at developing competencies in social studies-related learning strategies, such as problem solving, critical thinking and reading, awareness of current events, and participatory citizenship activities. Prerequisite which

may be taken concurrently: EDU 524. (3 cr. hrs.). 

Course Goals

•  Define and discuss the role of democracy in social education

•  Discuss the purpose of public education in the role of developing interpersonal intelligence.

•  Define and discuss critical pedagogy in the foundation of education.

•  Define multicultural education and discuss the approaches to multicultural education.

•  Define and discuss issue-centered curriculum.

•  Analyze state standards for issues connected with social analysis and critical self-reflection.

•  Construct issue-centered curriculum f or teaching controversial issues, developing age-appropriate self-reflection and social analysis skills , and integrating curricula.

•  Explore class management techniques, classroom activities , and technology that can be applied to the issue-centered curriculum .

Course Requirements

•  Attendance and Participation (10 points)

Attendance, punctuality, and active participation in class are considered indicators of your professionalism and dedication.  Students who demonstrate professionalism by participating in class, arriving on time, and attending class meetings should expect to receive a higher course grade than those who do not.  The following scale will be used to calculate your attendance points:  0 -1 absences = 10 pts; 2 absence = 9 pts; 3 absences = 7 pts; 4 absences = 0 points for attendance and a letter grade deduction from the course grade. More than 4 absences will result in a grade of F for the course. Arriving more than 30 minutes late and/or leaving early will be counted as an absence. Failure to participate in discussions and activities may result in a reduction of the attendance grade.

PLEASE NOTE: I realize that circumstances beyond your control may at times require that you arrive late, leave early, or miss class.  Please write a note to me explaining any such circumstances in case I do not remember verbal explanations. I will take reasonable conflicts into consideration when calculating final course grades.

Your participation in class discussions is crucial. To be able to participate, you will need to complete all of the weekly readings before the scheduled class time. You will also be required to lead discussion s by asking questions based on reading assignments , facilitating peer small or big group interactions, and making presentations. I strongly suggest that you bring any reading notes, questions you would like the class to discuss, or any concept maps you develop after reading the articles. At the beginning of the semester, students can sign up for the chapters of the books and online articles. You are expected to complete all course readings and projects.

•  3 Reading Response Papers (3 x 10 points = 30 points)

Each student is expected to write three reading response papers the whole semester. Each paper has a value of 10 points and varies in length. Students will be instructed to write summaries of readings with their critiques.

Reading Response Paper #1 Due Sept. 15

Based on your presenation on one of the educational thinkers, please write a 1-2 page short essay with two key components : summary and critique. The summary part includes a brief biography of the educational thinker and what major educational theories he/she is famous for. Please also include what this thinker's views on the theory of knowledge, the theory of learning, the theory of transmission, and the theory of assessment. If this thinker is famous for many theories, you may choose to focus on one.

In your critique, please discuss how you think about his/her major theories, how his/her theories inform your own teaching and learning, what limitations the theory(ies) has, and how you would evaluate the theory.

Please send the first paper to the instructor by email. Please be aware that the first reading response papers of all students will be displayed on our course WebCT so that each student could have a complete collection of the theories of the ten selected educational thinkers. Grades and comments are not to be shown on the displayed papers.

For the second and third r eading response papers, the first component is to write about the topics from the reading that you find important. Of course, there is much information from the reading that is critically important for you to know and understand. However, for this assignment, it is not realistic or necessary for you to comment on every important detail from the reading. Do your best to determine what you deem most important for you to know as a teacher and focus on that information to include in your reading responses.

Some of the statements listed below might help you think about this assignment. Be specific about what you believe is the most important information from your assigned reading. Write to explain this information in your own words. Please do not in any way copy any information directly from the text without citing it. 

The second component of this assignment is to weave your own understandings of the topics throughout your response by providing specific examples.

Grading rubrics will be provided on course WebCT.

•  Social Education Inquiry Mini-Project (20 points) DUE November 10

Each student is going to complete a social education inquiry mini-project on his or her own or with a partner. You can take the following four steps to complete the project. In the first step, your group identifies a topic or an issue in social education you would like to teach in your classroom or you think is worth investigating. Create a list of resources for the issue. Rank order them in importance to you. The list doesn't have to be long, but please include at least four resources. In the second step, take your list of resources and begin to abstract any information you feel is important for the investigation of the issue or the future instruction in an elementary classroom. Write a brief summary of each resource explaining any limitations each resource presents. In the third step, using the resources you have located, you construct a 2-3 page narrative describing the major findings of your research. Use your resources to provide support for your assertions (Use APA style for references when necessary). In the last step, you adapt the narrative you constructed in the above sequence for a classroom of elementary students.

A detailed description with examples for each step will be provided on course WebCT. Grading rubric will be provided as well before the assignment.

•  Controversial Issues Mini-Unit/ Lesson Plans – Final Exam

(30 points + 10 points presentation)

Written Unit Plan and Presentation DUE Dec. 8

Each student is exp ected to plan and develop an elementary grade level (4 th, 5 th , and 6 th grade level strongly recommended) controversial issue unit of at least five connected lessons . You make your own choice of a controversial issue(s) and create an implementation plan that considers how you can teach the issue ( s ) to your students in an age appropriate manner. The unit will be judged on such factors as rationale, the quality of its content, its use of appropriate and engaging instructional strategies, and clarity of procedures. The written mini-unit plan with a poster and the PowerPoint presentation is due on Dec.8 as the final exam. Additional criteria for designing and evaluating unit plans will be provided on course WebCT.

Grading

Attendance/Participation 10 points

Social Education Inquiry Project 20 points

3 Reading Response Papers (3x10) 30 points

Mini-Unit/Lesson Plans (final exam) 40 points

Total 100 points

Grading will be based on participation and assignments. Numerical grade equivalents are as follows:
99-100 points = A+ 95 to 9 8 points = A 90 to 94 points =A-

80 to 83 points = B- 84 to 8 7 points = B 88 to 89 points = B+

78 to 79 points = C+ 74 to 77 points = C 70 to 73 points =C-

68 to 69 points = D + 64 to 67 points =D 60 to 63 points =D-

0 to 59 points = F

Course Schedule with Weekly Reading Assignments

Week 1, September 1, Course Overview and Community Building

Readings for Week 2

•  Historical timeline of public education in the US . The Race and Public Policy Program. Applied Research Center . 5 November 2003 at http://www.arc.org/erase/timeline.html

•  Public schools in the United States : some history. The Race and Public Policy Program . Applied Research Center . 5 November 2003. http://www.arc.org/erase/history.html

•  Rozycki, Edward G. Gallery of educational theorists. (7 November 2003) http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Gallery.html

•  ALFIE KOHN . CARING KIDS: The Role of the Schools at http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/cktrots.htm

•  Start reading Apple's Educating the “Right” Way: Chapter 1, pp.1-34.

Week 2 , September 8, Overview of history of U.S. Public Education

Overview of Educational Philosophies

Current Education Reform Trends

Issue-centered Curriculum: Definition and Rationale

Readings for Week 3

•  Fenwick, Ben. Muslim girl suspended from Oklahoma school over scarf. (6 November 2003). http://in.news.yahoo.com/031010/137/28e5n.html

•  French schools ban headscarf girls. (6 November 2003). BBC News online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/3183962.stm .

•  After ACLU Intervention on Behalf of Christian Valedictorian, Michigan High School Agrees to Stop Censoring Religious Yearbook Entries May 11, 2004 http://www.aclu.org/StudentsRights/StudentsRights.cfm?ID=15680&c=159

•  ACLU Defends Utah High School Students Censored for Wearing Gay-Themed Anti-Smoking T-Shirts May 11,2004

http://www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=15675&c=106

•  Educating the “Right” Way: Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 pp. 35-100

Week 3 , September 15, Issue-Centered Curriculum: Reflective Teaching Strategies First Amendment Issues

First Reading Response Paper DUE

Starts Community Diversity Analysis Paper Assignments

Readings for Week 4

•  Educating the “Right” Way: Chapter 4 pp.101-128

•  Life in school: Four Forewords and part I. pp.xi-54

Week 4 , September 22, English Only Unit Plan and Educating the Right Way

Readings for Week 5

Character Education Online Resources at

http://www.cortland.edu/c44n5rs/center1a/websites.html

•  Kohn, A. How Not to Teach Values: A Critical Look at Character Education http://tigger.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/articles/kohn.html

•  Lickona, T. (1998). A More Complex Analysis Is Needed, PHI DELTA KAPPAN , February 1998, pp. 449-454.

•  Educating the “Right” way: Chapter 5, pp.129-170

•  Life in School: starting from p. 55 - Chapter 1, pp.55-98

Week 5, September 29, Religion and Character Education

Guest Speaker: Dr. Thomas Lickona

Start thinking of your Unit/Lesson plan of teaching controversial issues

Readings for Week 6

•  Eppinger, Russell E. School uniforms: Does What Students Wear Really Make A Difference? (10 November 2003).

http://muse.widener.edu/~egr0001/EDControversy/Eppinger.html

•  Million, June. Do the clothes make the student? School uniforms may be coming your way. (10 November 2003). Communicator, PR Primer . April 1996 page(s) 5-6 http://www.naesp.org/ContentLoad.do?contentId=266

•  Educating the “Right” Way: Chapter 6 & 7, pp.171-230.

•  Life in School: Chapter 2, pp.99-136.

Week 6 , October 6 , Unit Plan Demonstration on the Issue of School Uniform

Readings for Week 7

•  We will be using Lewis Hine primary source documents from Child Labor in America 1908-1912.

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/empty.jpg

•  Fighting slavery today. (12 November 2003). Various articles on child labor. The anti-slavery society. http://www.anti-slaverysociety.addr.com/tocclab.htm

•  Life in School: Chapter 3, pp.137-182.

Week 7 , October13 , Current Issues, Public Issues, Social Issues

Start the Social Education Inquiry Project assignment.

Readings for Week 8

•  Holmes, Casey. Students decry Columbus day. (11 November 2003). The Cornell Daily Sun. 10 October 2003 edition.

http://www.btfindustries.com/images/in_article/inclusion/columbus_day.htm

•  United Native America initiates a nation wide push to remove Columbus day as a tax paid federal holiday. (11 November 2003). Press release from United Native America.

http://www.unitednativeamerica.com/press/remove.html

•  Weatherford, Jack. Examining the reputation of Christopher Columbus. (11 November 2003). Baltimore Evening Sun

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/Taino/docs/columbus.html

•  NCSS Position on Columbian Quincentenary : An Educational Opportunity at

http://www.socialstudies.org/discuss/msgReader$161

•  Life in School, pp.183-223. Chapters 4 and 5, pp.185-223.

Week 8 , October 20 Controversial Historical Issues

What is Critical Pedagogy?

Readings for Week 9

•  Life in Schools Chapters 6,7,8, pp.225-253.

Week 9 , October 27 Race, Class, and Gender

New and Old Myth in Education

Readings for Week 10

•  Life in School, Chapter 10, pp. 255-296.

•  Making Choices for Multicultural Education pp. 1-38

Week 10 , November 3 Toward a Revolutionary Multicultural Education

Readings for Week 11

•  Making Choices for Multicultural Education pp. 39-78

Week 11 , November 10 , Approaches to Multicultural Education: Teaching the Exceptional and the Culturally Different

Social Education Inquiry Project DUE

Readings for Week 12

•  Making Choices for Multicultural Education pp. 79-113

Week 12 , November 17 , Approaches to Multicultural Education: Human Relations

No Class – NCSS. Please use this week for your group project.

Readings for Week 13

•  Making Choices for Multicultural Education pp. 114-155

Week 13 , November 24 , Approaches to Multicultural Education: Single-Group Studies

No Class – Happy Thanksgiving!

Readings for Week 14

•  Making Choices for Multicultural Education pp. 156-194

W eek 14 , December 1 , Approaches to Multicultural Education: Multicultural Education

Readings for Week 15

•  Making Choices for Multicultural Education pp. 195-224

Unit/Lesson Plans Due

Week 15 , December 8 , Approaches to Multicultural Education: Education that is Multicultural and Social Reconstructionist

Week 16, December 16 , Final Exam

Unit/lesson Plans Presentations