Can Schools Close the Acievement Gap Between Students from Different Ethnic and Racial Backgrounds

Burris, C., Weiner, K.G., and Mathis, W. J. Issue 5: Can Schools close the achievement gap between students from different ethnic backgrounds? Taking sides. p. 108-114.

Question 1: Read the side you're supporting. Of the points made by the author, which one do you feel can be argued the most strongly? Explain your reasons. Which point do you feel is the weakest?

The point that I believe can be argued most strongly is that is all students are given the enriched curriculum that high-achieving students receive, achievement will rise. I agree with this statement because I believe that if you give students challenging work that they will want challenge themselves to accomplish the task in front of them. Even if the student is in a lower class because they do not try hard, this work will get them to work to their fullest potential. By having all students take challenging courses it gives all students the same equal opportunity to succeed and there will be no questions because every student is learning the same material.

The point that I feel is the weakest is having students that have learning disabilities take the same classes, but have a different grading system. This could make school not enjoyable for students with disabilities. Also, you could never know if the students are actually learning the material or not because they are being graded differently.

Explain.Question 2: Read the side you're arguing against. Of the points made by the author, which one do you feel can be argued against the most strongly? Explain your reasons. Which of the opposing points do you feel is the strongest? Explain.

The point that I can argue against the strongest is that to bridge the gap we need to deal with the underlying problems of society first. This argument can be argued because school are supposed to give students equal opportunities. So if the school is offering to have all the students take the same challenging course then the problems in society will not have anything to do with it.

The point that I feel is the strongest is how more affluent schools have more money to be able to provide for their students whereas lower income school will have difficulty providing for their students. This is very true in all cases. Schools get money according to how many students and where the school is located. In a more wealthy area the schools are going to get more money then school in lower income areas.

Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Gardner, H. (1993). Frames of Mind. Tenth Anniversary edition. Introduction.

Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Wikipedia entry.


The first reading by Gardner discusses how some people believe that intelligence is inborn and each person has to a certain degree. They believe that this intelligence can be measure through linguistic short answer, pencil and paper test. Other believe that intelligence is not just one thing but a variety of different things and cannot be measure through pen and paper test. These different intelligences include spacial intelligence, musical intelligence, kinesthetic intelligence, mathematical and linguistic intelligence, spiritual intelligence and intelligence of other people and intelligence of ones' self. Gardner continues to discuss how is MI theory believes that there are different domains in which the culture of the environment and the artifacts present effect the type of intelligence individuals develop. This theory also supports the opinion that just because one student does better in math than other students it does not make the low achieving student any less intelligent than the high achieving student. It may just mean that the low achieving math student is intelligent in another area and domain. The second reading from wikipedia give a general definition of multiple intelligence.

In my opinion intelligence can not be categorized into one subject. I believe in multiple intelligence. I believe in the different areas of intelligence and I don't think anyone has the right to say which of these areas is more significant than the others. I also support the idea that the type of living environment and culture has an affect on what we learn and how we learn. To say that there is no such thing as musical intelligence would deny respect and recognition of great artist. To say there is no kinesthetic intelligence would ignore the achievements of great athletes. To say there is no spiritual intelligence would degrade the work of powerful religious leaders. There may not be anyway to test the theory of multiple intelligence but I don't think the theory calls for testing. Perhaps we should accept the theory and work towards creating curriculum and learning environments that allow students to experiment and all areas of intelligence.

Piagetian Structures and Psychological Constructivism

Soltis, J.F. & Philips, D.C. (2009). Perspectives on Learning. Piagetian structures and psychological constructivism. Chapter 5, p. 41-51.

This reading discusses Piaget idea of learning through the function of thinking and learning in terms of structure. He did not study chimpanzees but humans, his children. He believed that the growing child was always busy creating cognitive structures. The child passes through different stages and creates a schema for each of the complex activities until finally its mental structure is close to that of an adult. Despite the criticism, Piaget's theory provided a new approach to understanding learners in the classroom.

According to Piaget structures are real and unobservable schemas of collected and organized information. Functions are carried out through different structures like the heart and lungs, so learning is carried out in the same way, through cognitive structures. Piaget's theory is related to learning because he describes three stages that children go through and it is important as educators to know what stage students are at to make expectations that will best fit their capabilities. His theory made educators aware of stages of development, importance of experience, important role of principles and the significance of organization.

Behaviorism

Soltis, J. F., & Philips, D. C. (2009). Perspectives on Learning. Chapter 3, Behaviorism, p. 21-32.

Ullucci, K. (2005). Picking battles, finding joy: Creating community in the "uncontrolled" classroom. Multicultural Education, 12(3), 41-44.

When reading Skinner's behaviorist teaching practices I realized that this is the method most teachers live by. Praising a student for good work, or giving a gold star or some such reward, is very effective. Teachers are well aware of this and I saw it going on all the time when I was working in my classroom for service learning. I think it is an okay thing to do but then again I think sometimes that is the only thing the students are working for is that reward and not the information they are actually learning. If I was a teacher right now I would probably have some kind of reward system because this is how I always have known a classroom to be. Also all of my teachers had reward systems and they told me it is the only way to get the students to do the work. Form a behaviorist perspective I would treat the students like with respect and treat them like I wold treat my own child. If I was a parent I would not want to be sending my child off to a school where the teacher does not even care about them. As a teacher I will care for my students like they are my own and hopefully gain their trust and respect by doing so, which in the long run will help everyone in the class out because we will get along and be able to take care of problems without causing battles.

Perspectives on Learning and Educational Psychology

Soltis, J.F., & Philips, D.C. (2009). Perspectives on leaning. Chapter 1 Introducion. New York: Teachers College Press. p. 1-8.

Santrock, J.W. (2009). educational Psychology. Chapter 1, Educational Psychology: A tool for effective teaching, p. 1-27.


These readings were introduction into different perspectives of learning and educational psychology. The frist reading by Soltis and Philips discussed how there are mant different ideas on how students learn and researcher, educators and psychologist differ greatly in their views on learning. Some feel that learning happens when a person takes all of the information and reviews it until it all comes together in their head, this theory is sometimes called the "Aha!" theory. Another theory suggest that the brain is like a computer views learning in more technilogical terms. What seems to be evident among all of these different theories is they all seem to focus on individuals and do not take into account the effects that parents, siblings, teachers, friends, movie characters and the enviornment have on how students learn and what they learn. The second reading provided interesting background information about educational psychology. It discussed the people who had large impacts on the development of the educational psychology field and how each of thier ideas and beliefs shaped the course of action of the field throughout the twenty first society and the contributions their work has made for educators and students. This introduction breifly describes insturctional strategies, teaching practices, and the importance for teachers to remain committed and motivated.