19 Oct Read Chapter 2: ‘The Early History of Education in a Changing World’ of the course textbook, the PowerPoint presentation on the Early History of
Read Chapter 2: "The Early History of Education in a Changing World" of the course textbook, the PowerPoint presentation on the Early History of Education, and any articles and books relevant to the topics in Chapter 2. Select a topic of interest to you and reflect (express your own thoughts, views, opinions, feelings, etc.) on the topic you have selected. Your reflections on the topic you select must be a minimum of one full page and must be written in your own words. You must cite the sources of all your information including the course textbook and the sources of any Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated information in your discussion post and at the end of your discussion post.
Sample Discussion post attached along with PowerPoint on chapter 2
Textbook (Red Shelf): Foundations of American Education
[removed],
SS 203: Historical and Cultural Foundations of Education Sample Student Discussion Posts
Sample 1: For this discussion post, I decided to use one of the discussion questions because I thought they were pretty good. Question 4 asked, "In my opinion, how much progress has the United States (US) made in equal educational opportunity?" This is a very good topic because it is something I like to talk about regularly. I feel like the US has moved forward but needs more work in providing equal educational opportunities for schools. I say this because we, as a country, did a great job in moving forward with the times by desegregating, increasing opportunities for girls and women in education, providing necessities for people with disabilities, and expanding early childhood education but we are still struggling with school funding equality, socioeconomic factors playing into school choice, and achievement gaps.
My opinion is there is no point in being able to "move forward" if you are not going to address the actual issue at hand. The United States does a good job of putting a bandage on an issue that needs deeper investments and concern. What was the point of desegregating schools when the main issue was never being with the white students but not having equal opportunities and funding? What was the point of increasing opportunities for girls and women when the issue is the pay wage for teachers is too low for all the issues they endure? What was the point in expanding early childhood education if we struggle with keeping educators, especially educators that care? Of course, there was a point for all of this but MY point is the United States does just enough to shut everyone up and not pay attention to the bigger pictures and issues that need real change.
Even though we have done better in changing the aims of education, receiving more students and expanding bigger schools, making sure teachers are prepared, and trying to keep up to date, we have other fish to fry. Some teachers are still undervalued and paid less than their professional counterparts despite their similar educational levels and experience due to racial, socioeconomic, and ethnic lines. Many students have disadvantages coming from lower-income communities, and the lack of resources and funding to schools based on unequal opportunities and economic racism that creates a gap for opportunities to students. Until these issues are truly addressed, it does not matter how much the United States can "move forward”. In MY opinion, we are not making great progress in creating equal educational opportunities. We must, we need to make progress in creating equal educational opportunities for the good of this country.
Sample 2: It is incredible to think of the sheer growth of the educational enterprise over the past half-century. It's insane to think that schools were once scarce and a luxury that only the wealthiest could afford. Now, education is available to all regardless of their background and that's something we take for granted. With the growth of the educational enterprise, naturally more schools needed to be built to accommodate all these students. Many schools had to resort to mobile classrooms and this reminded me of the time I was taught in a trailer in third grade. This was due to the school expanding and remodeling the entire school grounds to keep up with the times. Almost like a domino effect, with the rapid growth in education came a desperate need for more teachers.
