Thursday, September 25, 2014

White High School Dropouts Have More Wealth Than Black and Hispanic College Graduates

White High School Dropouts Have More Wealth Than Black and Hispanic College Graduates

May Ex - International Perspectives of Public Education in New Zealand

May Ex - International Perspectives of Public Education in New Zealand

OVERVIEW

Students participating in this program will examine the New Zealand public education system and teacher preparation programs there. With British influence shaping the educational practices of the country, it has grown to become a world leader in many facets of education. The Maori and Pacific Island populations are unique to New Zealand, and we will visit a number of schools with high minority enrollment. Students will spend a week in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, followed by South Island visits to Christchurch, Dunedin, and Queenstown. Schools visited will emphasize the use of technology and inclusion of diverse populations. These visits, along with the assigned readings, will prepare students for assignments in which they compare the education and preparation of teachers in New Zealand and the US.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

What Science Says About Using Physical Force To Punish A Child

What Science Says About Using Physical Force To Punish A Child
However, there is overwhelming evidence that physical punishment is both ineffective and harmful to child development. Former HuffPost Senior Columnist Lisa Belkin has argued that the word "debate" should be left out of the spanking conversation, because the science against it is so clearly one-sided. 
"There aren't two sides. There is a preponderance of fact, and there are people who find it inconvenient to accept those facts," Belkin wrote in a 2012 column.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The Color of Discipline: Sources of Racial and Gender Disproportionality in School Punishment

The Color of Discipline: Sources of Racial and Gender Disproportionality in School Punishment

Abstract

The disproportionate discipline of African-American students has been extensively documented; yet the reasons for those disparities are less well understood. Drawing upon one year of middle-school disciplinary data for an urban school district, we explored three of the most commonly offered hypotheses for disproportionate discipline based on gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Racial and gender disparities in office referrals, suspensions, and expulsions were somewhat more robust than socioeconomic differences. Both racial and gender differences remained when controlling for socioeconomic status. Finally, although evidence emerged that boys engage more frequently in a broad range of disruptive behavior, there were no similar findings for race. Rather, there appeared to be a differential pattern of treatment, originating at the classroom level, wherein African-American students are referred to the office for infractions that are more subjective in interpretation. Implications for teacher training and structural reform are explored.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Adrienne Rich: "Universal public education has two possible—and contradictory—missions"

Rich, A. (2001). Arts of the Possible: Essays and Conversations. New York, NY: W. W. Norton and Company.
Universal public education has two possible—and contradictory—missions. One is the development of a literate, articulate, and well-informed citizenry so that the democratic process can continue to evolve and the promise of radical equality can be brought closer to realization. The other is the perpetuation of a class system dividing an elite, nominally “gifted” few, tracked from an early age, from a very large underclass essentially to be written off as alienated from language and science, from poetry and politics, from history and hope—toward low-wage temporary jobs. The second is the direction our society has taken. The results are devastating in terms of the betrayal of a generation of youth. The loss to the whole of society is incalculable. (p. 162)
See also Universal Public Education—Our (Contradictory) Missions, P. L. Thomas

Thursday, September 4, 2014