Week #8 Assignment (due Nov 24)

Your blog posts are due by 8am on Thursday.


1. Title: Real Thanksgiving: Who gets to decide what gets taught in school? (15 points)
We've talked about this some...and it seems only right at this time of year we talk about a bit more about Thanksgiving...and what is taught, and not. Check out this site by Education World. Pay close attention to the sections on the Native American Perspective and Teaching Strategies. Follow some of the links within this site (including the links that disagree with the contentions that history was not accurately told) and report what you find out in your blog post. Also check out this video. Find another that attracts your attention and report what you learn in your post.

We talked last week about what is appropriate to teach children, and one of the more poignant statements in this site mentions the inaccurate media portrayals of people and events. Can you find other examples of historical events or the ways in which people are portrayed inaccurately through the media? (think Disney movies, for starters). Find other examples. Please comment on the thoughts these sites raise for you...and, more importantly, how would YOU better portray people/events if you were a teacher.

Lastly, check out this site regarding stereotypes and test scores. Please read carefully. This will also be a good starting place for our discussions about your experience taking the IQ test. Comment on the article please.

2. Title: Banned Books (10 points)
One of the ways we decide who gets what information is to ban books. Take the information away from the people! (Paulo Friere would be very angry!)  Check out this site from the Worcester library. Thoughts? Also visit the American Library Association's site on banned books. What do you think of this initiative? What are your thoughts about banning books. Have you read some/many of the books listed as banned. Are there books which should be banned in schools? Who should decide? Your thoughts about this issue please.


3. Title: Who pays for schools? (25 points)

The majority of you didn't complete this last week. However, it's so important in this class that you know this information that I'm including it again for this week's blog assignment.

I want you to consider what systems are in place that impact why schools "look" different in the United States. Just because children are owed an education doesn't mean they'll get the same education as everyone else..I want you to answer the WHYof this issue. This will require you to do some research. You might start by finding the answers to the following questions (and include more information than just the answers to these questions): Who pays for schools? What is the funding based on? How does it differ state to state? What are schools supposed to provide for the money they get? (i.e. what strings are attached?). Why do some schools have art, music, phy ed and others don't? Why do some schools have foundations? Where does parent involvement come into play? Or doesn't it? Share in your blog what else you find out about school funding that you didn't know before...and last, where would YOU want to send YOUR (future!) children to go to school, and why? This response should be a hearty post explaining (as if I don't know anything about it) who pays for schools.