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Professor Bill Ayers University of Illinois Chicago Distinguished Professor, Senior University Schol

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What was Professor Ayers' view about the purposes of schools? ... SOCIAL EFFICIENCY model Eliot, Cubberly TRAIN FOR WORK, EDUCATE A SELECT FEW ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Professor Bill Ayers University of Illinois Chicago Distinguished Professor, Senior University Schol


1
Professor 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

2
Professor 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.

4
Take 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?

6
IF 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

7
IF 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

8
A 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

9
Why 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.

10
Urban 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.

11
Who 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

12
Practice 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

13
What 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.

14
What 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)
15
What 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
16
TWO 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

17
20TH 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

18
What 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

19
Why 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

20
SOCIAL EFFICIENCY DIFFERENTIATED curriculum
Gary, Indiana (Lathe
Shop)
21
Outcomes 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
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