FDN 2400 Syllabus: Critical Perspectives on Learning and Teaching

FDN 2400, Critical Perspectives on Learning and Teaching

A. The Educational Process: Theory and History
Holidays for Teachers to Know About and Understand	Class Meeting Dates	Class Topics, Assigned Readings, and Related Links
		Key questions: Why do we have public schools? What kind of power do teachers have in public schools? Where does curriculum come from? What is the difference between the hidden and the overt curriculum?
	Jan. 17	Introduction.
		Download PDF syllabus. Click here. PDF Version. Remember, the online version is the official syllabus. You are required to consult it for readings and other class assignments.
		Quiz study guide: Word doc. PDF.
	Jan. 19	John Taylor Gatto, “Bitter Lessons: What’s Wrong with American Teachers,” PDF
		Philip Jackson, “The Daily Grind,” PDF
		Negative and positive freedom (lecture PDF); Bloom's Taxonomy.
China	Jan. 23	No Class. Chinese New Year. Year 4710 - Year of the Dragon.
	Jan. 24	Jan. 19 Redux.
	Jan. 26	Sarah J. McCarthy, “Why Johnny Can’t Disobey,” PDF
		Video: The Milgram Experiment.
	Jan. 31	Video: Remember Mai Lai.
		"Without Sanctuary: Photographs and Postcards of Lynching in America." Click here. (The "official" site has been removed, but the photos and text from the exhibit are still available. Please browse, and be sure to click on the link that will tell you more about any postcard you view. Glance now, peruse thoroughly later. See below.)
Hindi	Jan. 28	Vashant Panchami. Festival honoring the Goddess of Learning, Wisdom and Fine Arts.
Christian	Feb. 2	Candlemas. Also known as "Presentation of the Lord". Celebrates the first presentation of Jesus in the temple.
	Feb. 2	Video: Remember Mai Lai, continued.
Muslim (Sunni)	Feb. 4	No Class. Mawlid an Nabi. The Prophet Muhammad's Birthday.
	Feb. 7	John Dewey, “My Pedagogic Creed.”
		Herbert M. Kliebard, “Three Currents of American Curriculum Thought.” PDF
		Tyack and Cuban, From Tinkering Toward Utopia: A Century of Public School Reform, Ch.4 "Why the Grammar of Schooling Persists." Click here.
		Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave,” Click here.
		Philosophies of education and learning theories: Click here.
Jewish	Feb. 8	No Class. A birthday for Trees. Appreciation for everything that trees bring to Jews living in the desert.
B. Education, Social Class, and Equality
		Key questions: How does social class impact educational outcomes? Can negative impacts be avoided? How?
	Feb. 9	Dorothy Allison, “A Question of Class.”
		Satire from Comedy Central about Wake County Schools and the issue of social class. Click here.
		Washington Post article on the Wake County Schools. WA Post website. Click here for PDF.
		Quiz Number One becomes available. Please see the course ASULearn website for details on opening, closing and content.
Muslim (Shi'a)	Feb. 9	Mawlid an Nabi. Prophet Muhammad's Birthday
	Feb. 14	Jean Anyon, “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work.”
		JoMills Braddock II, et al, “Ollie Taylor’s Story: How Tracking and Ability Grouping Affects Our Children,” p. 121.
		Adam Gamoran, "Is Ability Grouping Equitable?" Click here.
		"Growing Good Principals" (from The Charlotte Observer), . Click here.
		Wounded by School prelim.
Christian/Secular	Feb. 14	St. Valentine's Day. Originally in honor of more than one early Christian martyr. Deleted in the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints. A day of celebration honoring the spirit of love. Exchanging love messages, poems, flowers, and candy are common.
	Feb. 16	Video: People Like Us: Social Class in America.
Hindi	Feb. 20	No Class. Maha Shivaratri. Day of fasting followed by a night ceremony in honor of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is one aspect of the Divine. (Brahma and Vishnu complete the Trimurti.)
	Feb. 21	Video: People Like Us: Social Class in America, continued.
Christian	Feb. 21	Shrove Tuesday. Practice of confession the day before the start of Lent. Lent
Christian	F.eb 22	No Class. Ash Wednesday. First day of Lent signified by the placing of an ash cross on the forehead. It is a day of fasting and abstinence from meat.
	Feb. 23	Clotfelter, et al., "Segregation and Resegregation in North Carolina’s Public School Classrooms." Resegregation through tracking. Click here.
		North Carolina Middle School Association Research Bulletin on tracking and ability grouping. Click here.
		North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction, "Grouping Practices Research Brief." Click here.
		Video: Inner City Debate Team.
Christian	Feb. 26	No Class. Lent, First Sunday of. Lent is the period of prayer, fasting, and penitence leading up to Easter, the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
	Feb. 28	Bill Bigelow, “The Human Lives Behind the Labels: The Global Sweatshop, Nike, and the Race to the Bottom.” From Rethinking Schools: An Urban Education Resource. Click here.
		An interview with history teacher Bill Bigelow. Click here.
	March 1	Stephan Jay Gould on IQ. Click here.
		Nicholas Lemann, "Behind the SAT."
Christian	March 20	No Class. Lent, Second Sunday of. Lent is the period of prayer, fasting, and penitence leading up to Easter, the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
	March 6	Lisa Delpit, “The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children," Click Here.
		PDF of Lecture slides on Gould, Binet, Lemann, and the Eugenics Movement in NC. Click here.
		Lisa Delpit, Ebonics and Culturally Responsive Instruction. Click Here
	March 8	Finish work on dialect. Delpit revisted.
Jewish	March 8	Purim. Celebrates the story of Esther and how she saved the Jewish people in her kingdom from a massacre planned by Haman.
Hindi	March 8	Holi. Festival of Colors. Celebrates the destruction of evil. Signifies the renewal of life.
Christian	March 11	No Class. Lent, Third Sunday of Lent. Lent is the period of prayer, fasting, and penitence leading up to Easter, the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
	March 13	Spring Break. No class.
	March 15	Spring Break. No class.
D. Education and Race
		Key questions: How does race impact educational outcomes? Can negative impacts be avoided? What connections are there between race and social class?
Christian	March 18	No Class. Lent, Fourth Sunday of Lent. Lent is the period of prayer, fasting, and penitence leading up to Easter, the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
	March 20	Video: Eyes on the Prize. [VC6675]
		Martha Bireda, The Mythical African American Male. Click Here.
		Martin Luther King, “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” Click Here. Additional information from Human Rights Watch.
	March 22	Peggy McIntosh, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,”click here.
		Without Sanctuary: Lynching in America. Click here. (The "official" site has been removed, but the photos and text from the exhibit are still available. Please browse, and be sure to click on the link that will tell you more about any postcard you view.)
		Robert Lake, “An Indian Father’s Plea,” Click Here.
		Indian Boarding Schools: "I felt as if I were dead and traveling to the Spirit Land". A teacher resource from the Library of Congress. Click here. (LOC has changed their pages.) A substitute resource.
		Indian Boarding Schools: "The Challenges and Limitations of Assimilation." Click here.
		Teaching Thanksgiving Links: (From the forum discussion).
Hindi	March 23	No class. Different regions of India celebrate New Years at different times. So while some celebrate the New Year today, other Hindus celebrate the New Year in the Fall during Diwali.
Christian	March 25	No Class. Lent, Fifth Sunday of Lent. Lent is the period of prayer, fasting, and penitence leading up to Easter, the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
	March 27	Cornel West, “Race and Social Justice in America,” Click Here.
		A short excerpt from a new book, Slavery By Another Name: Link to NPR Additional photos from the book: Photos
		An interview with the author of a new book on whiteness: Click Here
		Losen & Skiba, Suspended Education.: Urban Middle Schools in Crisis. Click Here.
		Video: A Class Divided.
E. Education and Gendered Identity
		Key questions: What is "gender identity"? What is "sexual orientation"? How does schooling affect identity in general, and gender identity in particular? Can one's sexual orientation affect school performance? Why and how?
	March 29	Angela Phillips, "In the Beginning There are Babies," p. 203. Click Here. (pp.37-53)
		Michael Kimmel, "What About the Boys?" Click Here.
		Sarah Hoffman, "My Son, The Pink Boy." Click Here.
		It Get's Better Project. (I'll show this in class.)
Christian	April 1	No class. Palm Sunday. Sunday before Easter. Remembers Christ's entry into Jerusalem where Palm branches were laid in his path.
	April 3	Student Panel. Discussion of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender issues. Arrive at class with at least one question you would like to discuss with the panel.
Hindi	April 4	No Class. Rama Navami. Rama's birthday. Rama is the hero of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Rama is revered as an exemplary Hindu for his dedication to fulfilling his dharma, the spiritual obligation of his life.
	April 5	Video: The Transgender Revolution.
Jewish	April 6	No Class. Passover ( Pesach). First Seder. Celebrates Jewish Exodus in 13th century BC from Egypt after generations of slavery. Bread is replaced by Matzoh. The final night of Passover 2012 is April 14. Families may gather for the ritual feast (Seder) on more than one night during Passover.
Christian	April 6	Good Friday. Commemorates the Crucifixion of Jesus. Day of fasting and abstinence from meat.
Christian	April 8	Easter Sunday. Commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
	April 12	Kirsten Olson, Wounded by School. Read the forwards by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot & Parker Palmer, pp. xi-xvi, and the Introduction, pp. 1-8.
		A rubric for developing and evaluating critical thinking skills. Click Here.
		Rebecca Golden, "Fat girl: A history of bullying. Every day I walked a gantlet of humiliation. By the age of 12, I wanted to kill myself." Click Here.
	April 17	Doug Risner "What Mathew Shepard Would Tell Us," Click Here.
Christian	April 15	No class. Orthodox Easter Sunday. Commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
E. The Educational Process: Theory and History, Revisited
	April 19	Kirsten Olson, Wounded by School. Chapters 1 & 2, pp. 11- 57.
		Bring a printed copy of your work so far from the Olson exercise, pp. 112-113, with answers to questions 1-2, and the rubric. We will use them in class.
		Continuing in class exercises: Developing Critical Thinking, Speaking and Writing Skills.
	April 24	Kirsten Olson, Wounded by School. Chapter 8, "Teachers Who Heal," pp. 162- 182.
		Continuing in class exercises: Developing Critical Thinking, Speaking and Writing Skills.
	April 26	Kirsten Olson, Wounded by School. Chapter 9, "Students Healing One Another," pp. 183-203.
		"Put to the Test," No Child Left Behind: Pro and Con, Click Here
		Assignment details: Final inquiry project based on Kirsten Olson's Wounded By School.
		Some school scenarios: What would you do?
		Continuing in class exercises: Developing Critical Thinking, Speaking and Writing Skills.
	May 1	Continuing in class exercises: Developing Critical Thinking, Speaking and Writing Skills.
		Assignment details: Final inquiry project based on Kirsten Olson's Wounded By School.
		Continued: Some school scenarios: What would you do?
		Link to TK20 sign in. Click Here.
	May 3	TBA
Exam Period	May 8	Hope Day Potluck Brunch/Final Exam Period. FDN 2400-101. Tuesday, May 8, 2012 from 9:00 AM - 11:30 PM RCOE 229. (Section which meets at 11 AM.)
Exam Period	May 9	Hope Day Potluck Brunch/Final Exam Period. FDN 2400-104. Wednesday, May 9, 2012 from 9:00 AM -11:30 AM, RCOE 229. (Section which meets at 12:30 PM.)
Exam Period	May 10	Hope Day Potluck Brunch/Final Exam Period. FDN 2400-105. Thursday, May 10, 2012 from 9:00 AM - 11:30 PM RCOE 229. (Section which meets at 2 PM.)