University of Washington, College of Education, Winter 1996



University of Washington, College of Education, Winter 2004

EDTEP 511

School and Society

B:M/W 9:30-11:20

Miller Hall 104

Dr. Nancy Beadie

Prof.: Nancy Beadie T.A.:

Office: Miller 315D Office:

Phone: 221-3428 Phone:

Hours: M, T by appointment Hours:

E-Mail: nbeadie E-Mail:

I. Aims

The aim of this course is to clarify our thinking about matters of value and value conflict in American schools. In pursuit of this aim we first explore the meanings of social values such as equality, opportunity, pluralism and community. We then practice finding evidence of such values in historical data and in contemporary schools. Finally we examine some of the ways in which values conflict in current issues of educational policy and practice.

II. Rationale

"What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child," said John Dewey, "that must the community want for all of its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy."

With this statement, Dewey asserted an educational ideal. The statement is not only about education, however; it is also about society. Dewey believed that in a democracy, schools should promote certain social values. Among those values were community, equity, and democracy itself.

Social values such as these are at the heart of much talk about education and schooling. Schools are one of the few places where a sense of common membership and identity are forged in our society. They thus are one of the only opportunities we have to cultivate relations of recognition, respect, civility, citizenship and equity with each other. At the same time, schools are one of the primary means by which things of value are distributed in our society: not only education itself, but work, security, welfare, honor, office and power. And yet, for all these matters of social and political import, the essential work of schools involves the most individual, even intimate aspects of our lives: our personal identities and our opportunities for growth and fulfillment.

With all this at stake, it is not surprising that schools are the subject of frequent and passionate debate. Citizens, taxpayers, parents, teachers and administrators debate not only what should be taught, by whom and with what methods; but how schools should be organized and funded; who should be included in classrooms and decision-making; and on what principles and standards schools should be governed. Teachers regularly encounter such controversies both as matters of policy in school board meetings and budget votes, and as matters of practice in the classroom and faculty lounge.

It is the object of this course to improve our ability to cogently analyze and respond to these issues. It is the premise of this course that such issues are not simply matters of competing groups and interests, but matters of fundamental conflict between the values we as a society try to achieve through schools. To clarify our thinking on these matters we thus explore what we mean by concepts such as pluralism and liberty, how we recognize their presence when we see it, and when the maximization of one value can limit or circumscribe the realization of another.

III. Plan of Study

A list of the social values we'll be thinking about in this course appears below. The list is organized into four groups, or families, of values. These groups are not hard and fast categories, but are intended to help us think about how some values relate to each other, and what some sources of tension between different kinds of values might be.

A. Constitutive Values B. Individuated Values

1. Community 5. Recognition

2. Membership 6. Identity

3. Citizenship 7. Opportunity

4. Polity 8. Growth

C. Civic Values D. Distributive Values

9. Liberty 13. Security

10. Equality 14. Welfare

11. Justice 15. Education

12. Pluralism 16. Honor

The values on this list are, in effect, the curriculum of this course. Throughout the course we will sustain a dialogue about their meaning not only in class, but through a computer network. Using "e-mail," we will refine our thinking about social values by sharing examples, quotations and questions. This exchange will be one way in which students can practice the kind of thinking and writing required for the graded essays. It will also serve as a record of how our thinking has developed over time.

To help stimulate our dialogue and improve our thinking about values and value tensions, we will engage in several different kinds of inquiry. First, we will analyze social values as revealed in sets of readings from literature, speeches, and public documents. Second, we will look for illustrations of social values in schools, and in data about schools. Third, we will investigate how values come into conflict in matters of school policy and practice such as standardized testing, school finance, school choice, inclusion, and multicultural curricula.

At each of these three stages of our inquiry, students will have the opportunity to : 1) develop and practice their skills of analysis through credit/non-credit excercises; and 2) demonstrate their skills in a short graded essay. In the first section of the course, we will practice reading between the lines of an article or document to identify the values at issue. Students will then draw on the readings discussed in class to write an essay about the relationship between two social values on our list. In the second section of the course we will practice identifying evidence of values in data and in school observations. Students will then be asked to write an essay analyzing the values revealed in a given set of data. In the third section of the course, we will examine value tensions in matters of educational policy and practice. We will examine such tensions in two ways: by identifying instances of value tension in field experiences, and by investigating value tensions in five educational policy issues. Each student will be assigned to a group to investigate and discuss one of the issues, and to present the issue to the rest of the class. Students will then write individual essays identifying and analyzing the value tensions at the heart of the issue.

For further information about assignments see Sections VII, VIII and IX of this syllabus.

IV. Course schedule

A. Concepts of Value in Education

1. Mon., January Introduction: School and Society

2. Wed., January Practice reading between the lines:

Identifying the social value of schooling

Readings: Gagnon, "What Should Children Learn?;" Dewey, "Education as a Necessity of Life"

Exercise: Letter-to-the-Editor

3. Mon., January Community, Membership, Citizenship, Polity

Readings: Green, "Public Speech;" hooks, "The Chitlin Circuit;" King, "I Have a Dream"

4. Wed., January Recognition, Identity, Opportunity, Growth

Readings: Kingston, excerpts from Woman Warrior; Douglass, excerpts from Narrative of the Life...of an American Slave; Sterling, excerpts from My Name is Sepeetza; Rodriguez, excerpt from Hunger of Memory; Dewey, "Education as Growth"

5. Tues., January 16 Liberty, Equality, Justice, Pluralism

Readings: "The Declaration of Independence;" Lincoln, "Gettysburg Address;" McPherson, "Lincoln and Liberty;" Madison, "Federalist 10;" Havel, "The New Measure of Man"

6. Thurs., January 18 Security, Welfare, Education, Honor

Readings: Llewellyn, excerpt from Fragments from the Fire; Jacobs, "On the uses of sidewalks;" Anyon, "Teacher Development and Reform;" U.S. Constitution; National Commission on Excellence in Education, A Nation at Risk

Essay 1: Families of Values

B. Evidence of Values in Education

********Week of January 23 and 25 in the Field*******

7. Tues., January 30 Reports from the Field

Readings: Lampert, "How do Teachers Manage to Teach?"

Carew and Lightfoot, "Ms. Allen"

Exercise 2: Illustrations of social values in schools

8. Thurs., February 1 Studies in Imagination: The data of ideals

Readings: "Goals 2000: Educate America Act"

Data Sets 1, 2 and 3:

Dropout Rates and Characteristics of At-Risk Students

Student Achievement in Civics Education

Public Opinion and Financial Support of Education

9. Tues., February 6 Data and Documents: The Common School

Readings: Kaestle, "Tables" on common schools; "Documents from

the town of Lima, New York;" "Report of the Joint Committee of the Pennsylvania Legislature," 1834

Essay 2: Analyzing data about schools

10. Thurs., February 8 Evidence of Values in Conflict: Historical Case Study

Organization of groups for third section of the course

Readings: Excerpts from Kaestle, Pillars of the Republic

********Week of February 13 and 15 in the Field*******

C. Value Tensions in Education

11. Tues., February 20 Reports from the Field

Reading: Mirel, "School Reform Unplugged"

Exercise 3: Examples of Value Tensions in Schools

12.Thurs., February 22 Preparation for Presentations: Meet in Groups

Readings: Articles on issue assigned to your group

13. Tues., February 27 Group Presentations:

1. School Finance

2. Multiculturalism

14. Thurs., February 29 Group Presentations:

1. Assessment

2. Inclusion

16. Tues., March 5 Group Presentation: School Choice

Presentation feedback and discussion

17. Thurs., March 7 Value Tensions in Schools: Case Studies

Wrap-up; Evaluation

Readings: Weiss, et. al. "Trouble in Paradise"

Foster, "Culture and Community in School Reform"

Final essay due Monday, March 11: Essay 3: Value Tensions in Education

V. Readings

Readings for this course are available in two different Course Packets sold at cost through the Copy Center in the basement of the Communications Building. Course Packet One includes common readings for the course, and should be available the first day of class. Course Packet Two includes the readings for the group presentations in the third part of the course, and will be available in time for students to prepare for those presentations. For further information on the content of Course Packet One, see Section X of this syllabus.

VI. Expectations

Students are expected to come to each class, to be familiar with the reading assigned for that class, and to have something thoughtful to say about the values and value conflicts illuminated by the readings. Exercises and essays are also considered part of preparation for class disucssion. They are due at the beginning of the class session for which they are assigned. Final grades will be determined as follows: essays, 50%; group presentation, 20%; exercises and e-mail, 20%; and class participation, 10%.

VII. Summary of Assignments

A. Section 1: Concepts of value in education

1. Exercise 1: Letter-to-the-Editor Thurs., January 4

2. Essay 1: Families of Values Thurs., January 18

B. Section 2: Evidence of values in education

1. Exercise 2: Illustrations of social values in schools Tues., January 30

2. Essay 2: Analyzing data about schools Tues., February 6

C. Section 3: Value Tensions in Education

1. Exercise 3: Examples of Value Tensions in Schools Tues., February 20

2. Essay 3: Value Tensions in Education Mon., March 11

D. Other Assigned Work

1. E-Mail: Please note that in addition to completing these written assignments, students are expected to post at least two comments or queries on the e-mail network for this course. The first, about concepts of value, should be posted during the first section of the course (January 2 through January 18). The second, about values and value tensions in education, should be posted during the second or third sections of the course (January 22-March 7).

2. Group Presentation: For the last section of the course, students will participate in a group presentation on an issue of educational policy. Presentations are scheduled for February 22, March 5, and March 7. Students will be assigned to groups by February 8. One full class session will be devoted to meeting in groups to prepare for presentations; any additional preparation should be done through e-mail and/or outside class.

VIII. Descriptions of Written Assignments

Section A: Exercise 1: Letter-to-the-Editor Due: Thurs., Jan. 4

Concepts

1. Assignment: Write a one-page letter-to-the-editor of The Atlantic Monthly in response to Paul Gagnon's article, "What Should Children Learn?"

2. Objectives: The objective of this exercise is to begin getting some practice "reading between the lines" of an article or document to identify assumptions about social values.

3. Discussion: Paul Gagnon argues strongly for the development of a common set of academic standards for schools. He is highly critical of the country's failure to develop such standards so far. Why is he so adamant on this issue? What's at stake from his perspective? What is your perspective on the issues he raises?

4. Guidelines: Your letter to the editor should be just three or four paragraphs long. Following are some suggestions for how to go about writing it: a) Identify an aspect of Gagnon's argument to which you wish to respond; b) Begin your letter by stating the aspect of the argument you wish to address, using a quotation from the article to illustrate Gagnon's point of view. Briefly state your response to Gagnon's position. c) Develop your response to Gagnon's argument more fully in the form of a comment or question. Explain the reasons for your response. d) Illustrate your main point with an example from your own experience or from something you've read.

Essay 1: Families of Values Due: Thurs., January 18

1. Assignment: Write a two-page essay on the relationships between two or more social values illuminated in the readings for the first part of this course.

2. Objective: To show your grasp of the methods of identifying and analyzing social values which we have been practicing in class.

3. Discussion: When does the distribution of honor inhibit the pursuit of civic equality? Is self-identity defined by community membership? How can the two be distinguished? These are the kinds of questions you are asked to pose and explore in this essay.

4. Guidelines: a) Choose a reading from the first part of the course and focus on the value(s) at stake in that reading. b) Begin your essay by showing how the meaning of the value is illuminated by the reading. Be sure to use quotations from the reading to support your interpretation. Remember, however, that you may have to "read between the lines" to identify the values at stake. c) Link your discussion of the first reading to a second reading. Show how the value(s) at stake in the two cases are related. The relationship you examine may be one of several kinds. It may be a close relationship in which it is difficult to tell where one value ends and another begins. In that case your task is to distinguish one value from another. Or the relationship may be one of conflict or tension, where the maximization of one value limits the realization of another. In that case, your task is to identify the sources of tension or conflict. d) Close your essay by suggesting a possible implication of this relationship for matters of school policy and practice. Illustrate this implication with a concrete example.

5. Note: You can practice this assignment using e-mail.

Section B: Exercise 2: Illustrations of Values in Schools Due: Tues., January 30

Evidence

1. Assignment: Find illustrations in the schools of two social values, and write two paragraphs each about the illustrations you've identified. In the first paragraph, describe the specific illustration you observed in the schools. In the second paragraph, identify the value illustrated, and discuss what the illustration reveals about the value.

2. Objective: To practice recognizing evidence of values in school and society.

3. Discussion: Values such as community and citizenship, equality and pluralism, security and honor, and opportunity and growth, are important not only in society at large, but in the day-to-day life of schools themselves. How do schools teach their own students the meaning of such values? How are social values represented by the practices of teachers and the organization of schools? You can uncover some answers to these questions as you make your first scheduled field visit to schools during the fourth week of the quarter (the week of January 23-27), and as you make Friday school visits on your own during the second and third weeks.

4. Guidelines: Activities which may help you identify illustrations of values include: a) examining what is posted or displayed on the walls in the classrooms, hallways and offices of schools; b) observing daily or weekly rituals of individual classrooms or schools as a whole; c) noting the norms of behavior and the ways those norms are reinforced in lunchrooms, on playgrounds, and at busstops; d) listening to how students, teachers and other school personnel interact with each other.

Essay 2: Analyzing Data about Schools Due: Thurs., February 8

1. Assignment: Analyze the data about schools reported in one of the three reports on education provided in your first course packet. Write a two page essay discussing the social values at stake in the data.

2. Objective: To show your grasp of the methods of analyzing evidence of social values which we've been practicing in class.

3. Discussion: Suppose you and a good group of colleagues had the resources and opportunity to institute an ideal educational program. How would you know whether it had been a success or not? This is a question of evidence. By the same token, existing educational data are evidence of the values and ideals which we as a society believe it's worth pursuing. What are those values and ideals? In this essay you are asked to address such questions with respect to specific data.

4. Guidelines: a) Choose which of the three data sets you want to examine. b) Begin your essay with a paragraph describing the general subject of the data set, what kind of data was reported, and the kinds of issues or questions which the collectors of the data appear to have tried to address. c) After examining the data carefully, identify four or five noteworthy facts revealed by the data. State these findings and explain what you found noteworthy about them. d) Finally, in the second page of your essay, discuss the value or values illuminated by the data. Remember that the very fact that certain data is collected and reported in a certain way reveals something about what society values. Try also to look beneath the stated categories used in the reports. What are the broader concepts of value behind the term "student achievement" and "socio-economic status"? What do the data reveal about how those values relate to each other in our society?

Section C: Exercise 3: Examples of Value Tensions in Schools Due: Tues., February 20

Tensions

1. Assignment: Find an example of a value tension in the schools. Write a two-page account of the example.

2. Objective: To reflect upon the ways in which values conflict in educational practice.

3. Discussion: In her article, "How do Teachers Manage to Teach?" (assigned reading for Tues., January 30), Magdalene Lampert described one example of a value tension in her experience as a fourth grade teacher. Her dilemma was how to respond to the boys in her class, who demanded more attention and discipline, without depriving the girls in the class of equal educational opportunities. As you do your field observations, you too will begin to encounter dilemmas of practice. For this essay you are asked to identify one such dilemma and analyze it as a value tension.

4. Guidelines: a) Identify a dilemma or incident you observed in the field which you would like to reflect upon more fully. It may be an incident which you observed as part of completing a field assignment for another course. It should be an incident which was problematic in some way: a tense interaction between people; a dilemma experienced by you or by a teacher you observed; a frustration experienced and/or expressed by a student. b) Use the first page of the exercise to describe the interaction, dilemma or frustration. To inform your description you may want to ask the people involved to describe their impressions of the incident c) Use the second page of the exercise to analyze the incident as a value tension . To do this you must look beneath the surface. What were the values at stake for each of the people involved, or in the multiple demands on a single person? How did these values conflict?

Essay 3: Value Tensions in Education Due: Mon., March 11

1. Assignment: Write a five-page essay in which you analyze the value tensions in the issue of school policy which you were assigned to study for your group presentation.

2. Objective: To identify ways in which values conflict in matters of educational policy.

3. Discussion: Debates over issues of educational policy are not merely matters of competing groups and interests. They also involve fundamental tensions and conflicts between the multiple values we as a society try to pursue through schools. In this essay you are asked to examine the value tensions in one such policy issue.

4. Guidelines: a) Select one of the readings from Course Packet Two about the policy issue you were assigned. Begin your essay by stating the issue as presented in that reading, and identify the values at stake from that perspective. Be sure to cite quotations from the reading to support your account. b) Select a second reading about the policy issue you were assigned. State the values at stake from the perspective of the second reading, and indicate the differences between the two perspectives. c) Discuss how the values you identified in (a) and (b) relate to each other. What are some of the sources of tension, the points of conflict? d) Illustrate the value tensions with examples. e) Make a closing comment or query about the policy issue. Are there crucial points of similarity or difference between perspectives which you would emphasize? Are there other perspectives on the issue which might lead to a different analysis?

5. Note: You can practice this assignment using e-mail.

IX. Other Assigned Work

Group Presentation

1. Assigned work: As one member of a group of six students you will make a 30-minute group presentation to the rest of the class about the value tensions involved in an issue of school policy.

2. Objective: a) To develop your thinking about matters of value and value tension in issues of school policy; b) to prepare you for writing your final essay for the course; and c) to educate your fellow class members about the issue your group studied.

3. Discussion: Five issues of school policy which involve fundamental value tensions have been selected for study by the five groups. Readings on each of the topics will be supplied in Course Packet Two: Value Tensions in Education. Your assignment is to work with other members of your group to identify and understand the value tensions involved in the issue, and to present your findings to the rest of the class so that they may also understand the issue better. See instructions for Essay 3, p. 3 of syllabus.

4. Instructions: Prepare a presentation of no more than 30 minutes. This should include a summary of the issue from different perspectives, and a discussion of how you as a group understand the fundamental values at stake in the issue. Remember that you will need to take some time to lay out the issue so your fellow class members understand it, but that you will not have time to recount everything you've read point by point. Also remember that this is a presentation. Part of your task is to figure out how to present the issue in a way which is clear, engaging and effective in getting across your main ideas.

X. Contents of Course Packet One: Concepts and Evidence of Values (in order of class use)

Section A: The Social Value of Schooling Thurs., January 4

Concepts

1. Paul Gagnon, "What Should Children Learn?" The Atlantic Monthly 276:6 (December, 1995): 65-78.

2. John Dewey, "Education as a Necessity of Life," Democracy and Education (New York: Macmillan, 1916):1-9.

Community, Membership, Citizenship, Polity Tues., January 6

3. bell hooks, "The Chitlin Circuit: on black community," Yearning: Race, Gender and Cultural Politics (Boston: South End Press, 1990):33-40.

4. Martin Luther King, jr., "I Have a Dream," reprinted in The Negro in American History: Black Americans, 1928-1971 (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1972):224-228.

5. Thomas F. Green, "Public Speech," 18th Annual DeGarmo Lecture, The Society of Professors of Education (San Francisco: Caddo Gap Press, 1993).

Recognition, Identity, Opportunity, Growth Thurs., January 11

6. Maxine Hong Kingston, excerpts from The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, reprinted in Conway, Jill Ker, ed. Written by Herself: Autobiographies of American Women: An Anthology (New York: Vintage Books, 1992):454-470.

7. Frederick Douglass, excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. (New York: Signet, 1968):48-58.

8. Shirley Sterling, excerpts from My Name is Seepeetza (Toronto: Groundwood Books/Douglas & McIntyre Ltd.): 11-19; 28-30; 61-2; 73-7; 87-89.

9. Richard Rodriguez, excerpt from Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez (New York: Bantam Books, 1982): 11-40).

10. John Dewey, "Education as Growth," Democracy and Education (New York: Macmillan, 1916): 41-53.

Liberty, Equality, Justice, Pluralism Tues., January 16

11. "The Declaration of Independence," reprinted in American History: A Survey Vol. I (NY: McGraw Hill, 1983): A9-11.

12. Abraham Lincoln, "The Gettysburg Address," reprinted in Don E. Fehrenbacher, ed. Abraham Lincoln: A Documentary Portrait Through His Speeches and Writings. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1964):244-5.

13. James McPhereson, "Lincoln and Liberty," Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991):43-64.

14. "Report of the Joint Committee of the Pennsylvania Legislature," 1834.

15. James Madison, "Federalist X, reprinted from The Federalist, 1787-88 (NY: Heritage Press, 1945):54-62.

16. Vaclav Havel, "The New Measure of Man," New York Times, July 8, 1994.

Security, Welfare, Education, Honor Thurs., January 18

16. Chris Llewellyn, excerpt from Fragments from the Fire: The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire of March 25, 1911. (New York: Viking, 1985):4-9.

17. Jane Jacobs, "The uses of sidewalks: safety," The Death and Life of Great American Cities. (New York: Vintage, 1961):29-54.

18. Jean Anyon, "Teacher Development and Reform in an Inner-city School," Teachers College Record 96:1 (Fall, 1994):14-31.

19. The Constitution of the United States of America, reprinted in American History: A Survey Vol. I (NY: McGraw Hill, 1983): A12-23.

20. National Commission on Excellence in Education, A Nation at Risk (Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1983):1-19.

Section B: Reports from the Field Tues., January 30

Evidence

1. Magdalene Lampert, "How do Teachers Manage to Teach? Perspectives on Problems in Practice," Harvard Educational Review 55:2 (May, 1985):178-194.

2. Jean V. Carew and Sara Lawrence Lightfoot, "Ms. Allen," Beyond Bias:Perspectives on Classrooms. (Cambridge, MA.:Harvard University Press, 1979):108-134.

Studies in Imagination: Data of Ideals Thurs., February 1

3. One Hundred Third Congress of the United States, "Goals 2000: Educate America

Act," H. R. 1804, January 25, 1994.

4. Data Set 1: Dropout Rates and Characteristics of At-Risk Students

National Center for Education Statistics, Dropout Rates in the United States, 1989

(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989):23-8; and Characteristics of At-Risk Students in NELS:88 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992): ix-x; 5-9; and 43-9.

5. Data Set 2: Student Achievement in Civics Education

National Assessment of Educational Progress for the National Center for Education Statistics, The Civics Report Card, 1976-88 (Washington, D.C: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990): 29; 42; 56-66.

6. Data Set 3: Public Opinion and Financial Support of Education

National Center of Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, 1992 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992):28-31;34-39; 48-50.

Data and Documents: The Common School Ideal Tues., February 6

7. Carl Kaestle, "Tables" on common schools from "Common Schools Before the 'Common School Revival,'" History of Education Quarterly 12 (Winter, 1972):487-494.

8. Documents from the Town of Lima, New York, 1800-1825.

9. "Report of the Joint Committee of the Pennsylvania Legislature," 1834.

Historical Case Study: Common School Reform Thurs., February 8

10. Carl Kaestle, "Ins and Outs: Acquiescence, Ambivalence, and Resistance to Common-School Reform," Pillars of the Republic: Common Schools and American Society, 1780-1860 (NY: Hill and Wang, 1983):104-181.

Section C: Reports from the Field Tues., February 20

Tensions

1. Jeffrey Mirel, "School Reform Unplugged: The Bensenville New American School

Project, 1991-93," American Educational Research Journal 31:3 (Fall, 1994): 481-518.

Value Tensions in Schools: Case Studies Thurs., March 7

2. Carol H. Weiss, Joseph Cambone and Alexander Wyeth, "Trouble in Paradise: Teacher Conflicts in Shared Decision Making," Educational Administration Quarterly 28:3 (August 1992):350-67.

3. Michele Foster, "The Role of Community and Culture in School Reform Efforts: Examining the Views of African-American Teachers," Educational Foundations 8:2 (spring, 1994):5-25.

Readings on Policy Issues for Group Presentations, February 22 through March 5, will be supplied in a second course packet, available during the second part of the course.

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