Title: Professor Bill Ayers University of Illinois Chicago Distinguished Professor, Senior University Schol
1Professor Bill AyersUniversity of Illinois
ChicagoDistinguished Professor, Senior
University Scholar
- What was Professor Ayers view about the purposes
of schools? - What were his views about teaching and learning?
- Some overlap with the ideas of John Dewey and
some with the upcoming reading by Paulo Freire --
week 13
2Professor Bill Ayers
- Learn from rather than about
- Focus on making and doing
- Question everything
3- Rejects the controlling metaphor of a factory
model of schoolingchild as product (developed by
the social efficiency movement in the Progressive
Era). - Believes that we do not enact the democratic
ideals of the worth of each person and promotion
of equality in schools. - Concerned about school inequities rather than
test scores, concerns should be dropout rates,
availability of resources, helping parents to be
involved, supportive environments for teachers,
and more pay for teachers.
4Take 1 minutes, make 2 columns and rank order the
top 5 ways that you learn the best for1) life --
and then for your 2) career.
- Where do you learn information most relevant to
your life? - Most relevant to your 1) Life 2) Career?
- College classrooms, small classes through
dialogue - College classrooms, large lectures where
information is explained - Student teaching, volunteering in schools
- Reading books
- Writing papers
- Talking directly to friends
- Information gained from your computer
- Communicating with friends on the computer
- Reading Facebook
- Working
- TV
- Writing emails
- Through music, art, poetry
- Through extra curricular activities
- Other (name it please)
Rank order your Top 5 Ways that you learn the
most
5- In what ways did your educational experiences
teach you about conformity and obedience?
6IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK, WHAT WOULD THEY SAY?
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vdGCJ46vyR9o
- How do these students view their education?
- Video made by a Cultural Anthropology class at
Kansas State University Spring 2007
7IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK, WHAT WOULD THEY
SAY?The information is up here. Follow along.
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vdGCJ46vyR9o
- Does the world that you live in matter to the way
you learn, what you value, and what you view as
real knowledge? - Do the political and economic circumstances in
the world matter? - Video made by a Cultural Anthropology class at
Kansas State University Spring 2007
8A School Inspired by John DeweyUrban Academy,
New York CityCentral Park East Secondary, New
York City Episode 3-Only a Teacher
- http//www.urbanacademy.org/
- Urban Academy Website
- http//www.essentialschools.org/cs/schools/view/ce
s_sp/296 - Essential Schools Website
- http//www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/about3.html
- SEE ONLY A TEACHER PBS, Episode 3
- Features Alex White, English Teacher
9Why is Urban Academy so successful? Why do 95 of
our graduates enter 4-year universities? Why do
we have virtually no teacher turnover? Why do we
rarely have any incidents of violence or theft?
Why are our school indicators, like attendance
and drop-out rate, always significantly better
than those seen throughout New York City?
- It's not just our small size.Although we have
only 120 students, that can't be the only reason.
There are small schools out there that seem to be
miniature big schools. So even though our small
size does give us more time with our students, it
isn't the only reason the Urban Academy is such a
success. - It's not just our students. Sure they are a
truly multicultural group who come from all over
New York City. Some have been unhappy with their
previous schools some are seeking the personal
attention of a small school community others
have been out of school for a period of time.
They work really hard, take their commitment to
Urban seriously, but even they aren't the one
reason that Urban works so well. - It's not just our teachers. Although our staff,
many of whom have been with the school for an
average of 10 years, is deeply involved in
planning our curriculum, administration, and
policy, they are still not the only reason that
we do so well with our students. - It's not just our curriculum. Although our
courses are focused on critical-thinking and
problem-solving and students are allowed to ask,
research and answer their own questions, even
that is not what makes us as effective as we are.
- It's not just the comfortable atmosphere.
Couches, fish tanks and a student microwave
cannot, on their own, make a school a success.
10Urban AcademyIt is all about respect.
- A Diverse Community
- It's all about respect!Urban Academy students
and staff are committed to respecting each other.
Our school is built around the belief that
students have ideas and points of view that can
and should contribute to their learning
experience. Students are encouraged to ask their
own questions, do their own research and come to
their own conclusions. - Respect...between students and staff removes the
"us versus them" barrier that can hinder learning
in traditional schools. Urban is a true learning
community where students are pushed to do the
best that they can do and are supported in that
goal. - Respect...is the adhesive that holds the rest
together.
11Who attends UrbanAcademy?3530-5000
- 120 students
- 39 African American,
- 28 Hispanic,
- 30 White, 3 Asian,
- 60 eligible for free or reduced lunch,
- SAT above national average of 1071 composite,
- 96 of graduates attend 4 year colleges
12Practice Democracy in all aspects of
life.Schools as democratic communities
- For education to be most successful, it is
necessary that people participate in democratic
forms of life. - DEVELOPMENTAL VIEW
- DEMOCRATIC EMPOWERMENT
- DEMOCRATIC EQUALITY MODEL
13What are some weaknesses in Deweys philosophy
of education?
- Does not articulate clearly or anticipate
- How OCCUPATIONS will be misused as
- vocational education.
- How broader educational aims get lost and
activity becomes an end in itself. (projects for
what end?) - How to make study of subject matter
interdisciplinary, so much more demanding and
challenging to organize. - How to create a highly trained teacher
- How to challenge the powerful social efficiency
movement.
14What school models did Dewey react against?1.
OLD 1840-1900 Traditional Classrooms Toe the
line.2. NEW 1900 Social Efficiency Progressives
(fit into existing society, trust experts, social
stability, employability, sort and classify
students, limited view of capacities)
15What about reforming public schools?
- TWO VERY DIFFERENT VIEWS OF
- PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION
- SCHOOL REFORM
- Based on the forces in the Political Economy,
- what should be done in reforming schools?
- 2 Views emerged which differed on
- Ideology and Social Goals
Elliot
Dewey
16TWO VERY DIFFERENT VIEWS OF PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION
SCHOOL REFORMDiffered on Ideology and Social
GoalsWhich group was more influential?
- DEVELOPMENTAL DEMOCRACY PROVIDE SAME BASIC
EDUCATION TO ALL STUDENTS, OCCUPATIONS NOT
VOCATIONS (Experimental schools) Addams, Dewey,
Young - Sought social justice by casting off
restrictions - Social--Jane Addams Hull House immigrants
background as bridge, rather than as inferior - Political--Suffrage movement, vote for women in
1920 - Schools--Dewey, Ella Flagg Young
- Schools--Kilpatrick (Project method)
- SOCIAL EFFICIENCY model Eliot, Cubberly TRAIN
FOR WORK, EDUCATE A SELECT FEW - Sought social order through rational management
by trained experts - From city managers to university trained
superintendents - Factory schools-input/output
- Centralize control of schools, School Boards made
up of professionals not parents (202) - Scientific management of the schools, IQ testing
of students - Fit students for their place in society -- Social
efficiency
1720TH Century TWO LASTING LEGACIES of
Administrative Progressive DominanceORGANIZATIONA
L STRUCTURES THAT ENDURE TODAY
- 1. Centralization of School Governance
- Superintendents, Districts, School Boards, loss
of neighborhood control in large cities (Urban
and Wagoner, 202-206) - 2. Curriculum Differentiation within a school
rather than separate schools
18What did Social Efficiency push for?Experts in
control.
- Greater centralization of control in the district
as well as greater state control, and created
larger bureaucracies - Teachers were at the bottom of the hierarchy
- Decreasing authority for local communities
19Why differentiate the curriculum? Because who
attended schools beganto change.
- 1880 4 of 14-17 years olds
- graduated from public high schools
- 1922 32 graduated BIG Rise
- in school attendance
- 1940 50 graduated
20SOCIAL EFFICIENCY DIFFERENTIATED curriculum
Gary, Indiana (Lathe
Shop)
21Outcomes of Progressive Education Era Dewey
inspired mainly experimental schools.Social
Efficiency view became dominant.
- Creation of the Modern School System, K-12
structure, junior high schools, and high schools - Divided Curriculum and Efficiency of proper
placement through testing - College Prep, General, Vocational
- Growing Bureaucracy