Social Reconstructionism

What is Social Reconstructionism and how is it used in the classroom?

     Social Reconstructionism, also sometimes call the Critical Theory, is based on the belief that people are responsible for their social conditions. This theory was founded by Theodore Brameld and George Counts in the early 1900's. They believed that people needed education in order to reconstruct society. Many of these theorists were bothered by the fact that minorities were being deprived of many important criteria in life. The main goal of this theory is to educate people about social injustice and societies problems, and how to work towards immediate changes to ensure an ethical society. Students need to be informed about the world when they are young. Some philosophers believe that schools are isolated from mainstream society. Children are not prepared or knowledgeable about the "real world" and what lies ahead of them in their adult life, because what they experience in school are not problems reflective of problems in society. 

     Teacher's who use this theory try to instill strong moral values in their students to help guide them towards finding a common good. They also teach students to commit to the life they are pursuing. This is very important because student's need to be given options about what they can achieve in life, but they must also believe that they can accomplish anything they put their mind to. I feel that if students are taught about the world around them and how they can influence society, then they will be more likely to be involved in changing society. This theory is based on the idea that people need to work together to solve their problems. If people can manage this, then we will not need third parties to intervene so commonly and wars could possibly be dodged.

 

     There are different types of movements in social reconstructionism. The first was used by Karl Marx and the Soviet Union. They spread the idea to the youth, that man is both the constructor and builder in all aspects of life. By engaging in social interactions, these theorist believed that men could develop fully mentally, morally, and spiritually.  The second movement was in Israel. This is called the kibbutz. This movement involved parents giving up the right to educate their children, and handing them over to education professionals early on in life, even as early as right after birth. 

     I believe that it is a responsibility of the teacher to inform students about social injustice and how to go about changing society. This is the only way we are going to detach ourselves from discrimination of all kinds. I believe that teachers and parents need to work together to instill positive values in children and teach them that they are the ones who are in control of the future and are the only ones who can rid society of these injustices. 

References:

http://www.eric.ed.gov:80/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED450057&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED450057

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v3n2/pdf/zuga.pdf

http://www.byui.edu/perspective/v3n1pdf/v3n1_edu-theory.pdf

Class size: Smaller classrooms = better education?

Are class sizes too large? What can be done to reduce class size and why is it important?

     Class size is an important topic in schools, especially in present time because there are so many students, but not enough teachers to allow the students and teachers to develop a personal bond and work closely together. Large classrooms tend to make students feel obsolete. They may start feeling that since they are just another face in the crowd, they don’t need to do well because it doesn’t matter. This can become a large problem. If students feel that their teacher won’t notice if they don’t show up, attendance rates may start dropping. Students who receive individual one-on-one interactions with their teachers and are a part of a smaller classroom, tend to focus better on learning because they feel more comfortable with both the teacher and other students, and have more resources available to them. The solution can not be to simply hire more teachers. This could pose several problems. The teachers being hired may not have high credentials or training because they are being hired in large amounts, or the school might not have enough money to hire new teachers. 

     Smaller classrooms have a lot of advantages. Students can work closely with one another and small groups can be formed during class time. If the classroom had say 45 students, it would be a lot harder to form small groups with enough room to work together and enough resources to use, other than the internet. Also students in smaller classrooms tend to learn better and pick up more information. This applies especially to children who are at higher risk of failing. According to Finn, J. D., Gerber, S.B., & Boyd-Zaharias, J. , “students who attend smaller classes in the early elementary grades were significantly more likely to graduate high school.” In a STAR study done in Tennessee, research found that 17% of inner city students who had been placed in small classes in the early grades were held back through the ninth grade, compared to 44% of those form similar backgrounds who had been put in regular sized classrooms. This is quite a large gap and shows that smaller classrooms are important especially during the elementary years and especially for children from low income homes who tend to need the extra support. Small class size can increase test scores as well because they allow teachers to focus more on actually teaching the children instead of making sure everyone is listening and behaving. Teacher-parent interaction tends to increase as well. The teacher has less students allowing them more time to talk to parents and set up meetings if needed which can also help the students learning process.

I feel that smaller class sizes are extremely important. They may be more expensive due to the higher amount of teachers needed, but in the long run it is well worth it. Students learn more and tend to do better later in life which is very important because the children are going to be our future. If we give them what they need now, our society will be better off later. I also feel it is important to be able to have that one-on-one with your teacher, especially during the first few years of school. Students learn by asking questions and working with others, and in smaller classrooms this is much more possible. Large classrooms seem to take away from the children’s education, which in my opinion defeats the whole purpose. Children go to school to learn and with smaller classes they can actually enjoy this process, whereas in larger classes it just becomes an everyday chore that doesn’t really matter. 

Resources:

http://www.classsizematters.org/

http://www.classsizematters.org/benefit_of_CSR_11.08.pdf

http://www.edpriorities.org/Info/SmallerClass/Smaller_FS.Benefit.html

http://www.reduceclasssizenow.org/

Blog 4: School Violence

School Violence 

How prevalent is school violence and how does it affect children now and in the long run?

     Violence in schools has always been a problem but having younger siblings and cousins I have heard a lot of stories making me worry that it is getting much worse. When I was in elementary and middle school I didn’t really even know violence was much of an issue. I knew children sometimes bullied others, but that was about it. Now it seems that bullying has turned into fighting, brutal beatings, and even stabbings/shootings. I believe this to be mostly societies fault. All the television shows, games, media, etc. portrays violence in a positive light. This is very influential for children because they see the bad guy getting the girl, the superhero killing to do good, etc. According to a study done in 2000 by CBS News, 22% of children admit they know of at least one student who carries a weapon to school daily. This is a major concern. 0% of students should be carrying a weapon in school, and the school should have a way to make sure of this whether it be a metal detector or another way to check and make sure any person entering the building is not concealing a weapon. The majority of deaths in schools has been due to shootings. In 1993 more than 17 years ago, 270 deaths occured in schools throughout the US, and 207 of those were shootings! Why were these children not stopped before this happened? These could have been easily prevented by both the school and parents. Parents should not have guns in the house that can be accessed by their children. They should be locked away. And the school should have a system for checking for items such as guns. I understand not all schools can afford this and not all parents are around for their children. I also understand that children can get guns easily outside the home, but if these two factors were eliminated I feel it would be a lot effective in lowering this statistic. According to a NCES survey 84% of schools have “low” to “none” when it comes to security, and only 2% have high security including metal detectors. Our government is spending billions of dollars on useless things when we could be putting it to better use saving our future generations from violence in their school, where they are supposed to feel safe. Our government spent $92 billion on corporate welfare, $25 billion to maintain UNUSED or vacant federal properties, $2.6 million teaching chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job (http://blog.heritage.org/2009/10/08/50-), and billions of dollars on other useless things. All of this money could have gone towards making schools safer and protecting our children. If we do not protect our future generations, then who are we protecting. They are the ones who are going to take over when our generations die off etc., but we care more about people who really won’t make much of a difference. These aren’t the only problems dealing with violence in schools.
     Other acts of violence such as emotionally or physically bullying a child can cause serious damage to the target. Students who are constantly bullied and teased may end up with a low self-esteem, feelings of hopelessness or powerlessness, depression, anger issues, anxiety, and many other mental health problems. These problems will most likely travel through life with the person and can cause problems for the person even after the bullying stops. I feel that I can make a difference, even if it is just a small difference, by teaching my future students the effects of violence and just making the students more knowledgeable about the topic. Also collecting money to get proper security within the school system could help. I feel that our communities need to come together and work as one to stop school violence. And even though I know it will not go away completely, even if I help decreasing the stats I would be happy.

Resources:


http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=13057
http://712educators.about.com/cs/schoolviolence/a/schoolviolence.htm
http://law.jrank.org/pages/12100/School-Violence-Causes-school-violence.html
http://blog.heritage.org/2009/10/08/50
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/youthdevelopment/DA7414.html

Blog 2 Uniforms

Topic: School Uniforms

Question: Why should school uniforms be used or not?

My opinion: They should not be used

      Appearance has become very important to young people and can pose problems for those who can not afford nice clothing or those who just don’t care. Bullying can arise from looking “different” because children tend to have a shallow view on what they are supposed to look like and have a harder time accepting that people are different. Children are into the latest trends and if they can’t afford these clothes they may face bullying or teasing within the school. They may become the “loner” or an outcast because they are not up to date with the latest trends. For some children this may not affect them, but for most it can dramatically decrease their self esteem causing numerous issues later in life.If uniforms were used there would be no difference in appearance and thus less reasons for bullying. Teacher’s and parents believe that if children spend less time worrying about what they look like, they will do better academically. They also believe that taking away differences among students can reduce violence within the schools, but some believe that just because the students wear the same thing doesn’t mean bullying will disappear. Children can be cruel and will find other things to mock at or laugh at such as hair, makeup, weight, economic status, etc. Wearing uniforms can also pose problems for children. Uniforms take away the child’s right to look the way they want and wear what they want. They take away from the child’s creativity, especially those children who wear different clothes to show their individuality. Some children need to express their individuality to be happy, and taking that away from them is wrong in my opinion. Teacher’s may feel that wearing uniforms reduces a lot of tension and violence in the school, but once the children are out of school it poses a whole other problem. Children can still be bullied and teased just as much out of school as they can in school. I feel that student’s shouldn’t be forced to wear uniforms because they can cause more problems for students. Children need to be able to explore and find out who they are and uniforms don’t allow them to do this. They need to be able to express themselves and find their true identity. Just because they wear uniforms doesn’t mean there wont be other forms of bullying or violence. Children will find any and all other things to tease others about, not just what they wear. 

http://www.articleswave.com/educational/school-uniforms-debate.html
http://www.educationbug.org/a/public-school-uniform-debate.html