Teaching and Critical Pedagogy
SCHOOL
AND SOCIETY
ES 395
____________________________
"Skim, Scan, and Copy" Materials: Chapter 3
Chapter 3 takes a hard look at race, gender, and special needs students and whether there is equality of opportunity in education for these social groups. In particular, this chapter really focuses on the relationship between race, prejudice, racism, sexism, and schooling. The class needs to ask itself whether there is equity among the social classes? Does being white and male have advantages in society and in school? Is segregation really a thing of the past? These are just some of the crucial questions to explore during your presentation.
Consider the following:
- Explore whether segregation is really dead in schools. Consider articles illustrating 'second generation' segregative practices in schools that seem to make the point that segregation might not be just a thing of the past.
- Explore the idea of ' white privilege.' What is it ? Any connection to education ? Take a look at a letter to the editor that deals with the subject.
- Ever thought about where 'white' comes from or its relationship to the legal system ?
- Read and copy Michael Moore's letter to the Guardian from 2002.
- Find information focusing on the economics of racism in this country. What does it mean economically to be a minority in this country?
- Consider Myra and David Sadker's Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat Girls . What is the relationship between schools and females ? Also, check out other information on issues related to gender equity and what others have to say about schools, girls, and gender.
- Find out more about gender, girls, and education as a whole as it relates to intelligence , testing, tracking, etc. What ways is gender bias reflected in today's educative institutions?
- Dig deeper into societal constructions and discourses regarding women, men, boys and girls. What are some theories, either social or scientific, regarding gender that floated around and/or continue to underpin society, schools ?
- Consider the book Sex in Education by Dr. Edward Clarke. The work claims that women attending high school and college were at risk due because the "blood destined for the development" of their ovaries would go to their brains. Take a look what Clarke's argument(s) is/are and try to determine what affect research like this has on the perception of females and learning.
- Take a quiz testing what you know about women and physical activity. What does the quiz tell us about how women have been viewed?
- Do some research on the Internet regarding poverty, gender and race in this country. What you will see is that dropout rates for minorities and for women continue to rise in this country. What does this say about education and schooling? Is there a relationship between gender, race, and being poor ?
- Find out more about boys and the increasing amount of data suggesting that boys are falling behind in today's schools , and that learning differences between the sexes might have something to do with this.
- Consider the debate on ' inclusion '. Who is right?