Social Foundations of Education
EDUC 207 (#70511 & #70512)
University of California Santa Cruz
Summer 2012
Ron Glass
Associate Professor
“It is fundamental for us to know that without certain
qualities or virtues, such as a generous loving heart, respect
for others, tolerance, humility, a joyful disposition, love of
life, openness to what is new, a disposition to welcome
change, perseverance in the struggle, a refusal of
determinism, a spirit of hope, and an openness to justice,
progressive pedagogical practice is not possible.”
● Paulo Freire
Pedagogy of Freedom, p. 108
Class meetings:
Tuesdays/Thursdays; McHenry 0270
Section #1: 9:00am-12:00 noon
Section #2: 1:00-4:00pm
Office: McHenry 3122
Office Hours: Tuesdays/Thursdays; 8:00am-8:45am; 4:00pm-5:30pm; other times by
arrangement
Phone: 831-459-5188
Email: [email protected]
Course Catalog Description: A sustained inquiry into the social, political, economic, and
historical foundations of schools with an emphasis on community attitudes toward
education. Student narratives of engagement and resistance will provide a basis for
insights and interventions useful to educators.
Course Themes
The social, cultural, historical, economic, and political contexts dynamically and
dialectically shape our self-understanding as well as the structures and social relations of
our life. Similarly, our experiences in school and within the teaching and learning
modalities operating in school influence both who we become and the society in which
we grow up. Situating schooling and identity within these social foundations, this course
examines the development of U.S. public schooling in the 19th century, and it explores
the founding vision and purposes of schooling that aims to form citizens committed to
justice and the construction of a democratic society. The course traces the persistence of
the promise of egalitarian schools despite the race, class, gender, and language inequities
enacted in them, and it investigates the possibilities for teaching for social justice despite
that tattered promise and the inhospitable current context for public schooling. Drawing
on a theory of education as a practice of freedom, the course provides a grounding for
ethical and transformative teaching.
Course Expectations and Requirements
It is critically important to complete the readings in advance and to be thoughtfully
prepared for each class meeting because this is a dialogue-based class. The class
seeks genuine understanding of very complex issues, and since there may be a wide range
of views represented in the class, discussion must be respectful even in the midst of sharp
debate. Open, honest, reflective, focused, sensitive inquiry is expected. This class works
best insofar as it becomes a supportive learning community. Each student’s active
participation is needed, and consistent, punctual, prepared and interested involvement is
expected. The more we put into our weekly encounters, the stronger the course will be.
As students preparing to be teachers, you are expected to take your learning/teaching
commitments as a course member extremely seriously.
Classroom etiquette requires that cell phones be turned off (or in buzzer mode
for emergency calls), that full attention is given to the class, that computers only
be used for class purposes, and that we listen carefully and without interruption to
one another.
READINGS: This course is reading and theory-intensive (100 pages or
more of reading for each class session) and some reading assignments are
challenging, so please plan sufficient time not simply to complete the
readings prior to each class but also to reflect on the issues raised by
them. Your approach to the reading should be to grasp the core arguments,
key themes, and broad points (rather than the particular details). However,
reading preparation is important since the quality of class discussions
depends decisively on it.
You should expect to spend at least 12-15 hours per week on reading,
writing, and study preparations for this course.
The specific readings for each class are noted in the syllabus under the date and
topic for the session. It is recommended that you keep a reading notebook to
keep notes and comments on each reading to prepare you for the course
assignments and class dialogues.
Required Readings and Other Course Materials: Two required books (Paulo
Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed; and Pedagogy of Freedom) have been ordered
through the Bay Tree Bookstore on campus, and they are also widely available
through on-line and other brick-and-mortar outlets. Most required readings and
some supplementary course materials will be available on eCommons
(http://ecommons.ucsc.edu). Films shown in class are also available in McHenry
Library.
eCommons Information: UCSC recommends using the latest version of Firefox or
Internet Explorer to access eCommons. Safari and Google Chrome are not
recommended. Firefox Javascript add-ons can conflict with eCommons and may need to
be disabled. To log into eCommons, you must obtain and use a CruzID Gold password
(http://its.ucsc.edu/services/accounts/change_gold_password.php). Once you have your
CruzID Gold password, log into eCommons at: http://ecommons.ucsc.edu/
Support for Using eCommons: The best way for students to request support for
eCommons is to contact the ITS Help Desk: http://itrequest.ucsc.edu/ ; (831) 459-HELP;
[email protected]
Office hour discussions are a good way to explore the readings,
discussions, and your interests in greater depth. You can reserve time
during regular office hours (sign-up on the professor’s office door) or other
mutual times by contacting the professor (in person, by phone, or via
email).
Attendance is required at every course meeting. The professor
should be notified in advance of all necessary absences due to illness, religious
holiday, or other legitimate reason. It is the student’s responsibility to consult with
classmates and/or the professor about missed work.
Given the dialogical and participatory nature of the seminar, 2 (or more) absences,
even if excused, are grounds for failure of the course.
Once two absences occur, an appointment with the professor must be made as soon
as possible to explore the possibility of making special arrangements to pass the
course, provide for an incomplete, or secure a medical leave of absence.
Assignments
The written assignments are opportunities to develop deeper
understandings of the course themes and readings as well as yourself, and
they will be the primary basis of your grade in the course. All writing is expected to
be graduate-level quality. Assignments must be each student’s original work
(except work explicitly assigned as collaborative). Submitted assignments should
be word-processed (12-pt font, double-spaced, one-inch margin on all sides of
each page). Spell and grammar check each assignment prior to submitting it
for grading.
Each assignment is described briefly; additional information will be provided in class.
Reflection Essay. ~ 4 pages.
Due Session #3
20% of the course grade ( ≤ 200 points).
In this essay, write about your experiences in and out of schools that shaped you as a
learner, and that oriented you to study and the production of knowledge. How is your
commitment to learning and producing knowledge related to creating a more just world?
How do your formative experiences and your current way of being a learner shape your
intention to teach?
For an essay by the professor in response to a similar prompt, see: Learning about Social
Justice through Everyday Experience, forthcoming in Rattling Chains: Exploring Social
Justice in Education, L. Denti and P. Whang (Eds), Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Reading Reflection Essays. ~ 750 words each.
Due on three Tuesdays: Session #5 (August 6); Session #7 (August 13);
Session #9 (August 20)
Each essay is 15% of the course grade (≤ 150 points each)
Each essay should focus on the analysis of a brief key quotation from one of the assigned
readings from the prior week, explicating its meaning, interpreting its significance, and
connecting it to the course themes. A quotation should be selected for its explanatory
power and ability to illuminate core ideas not only in the focal text but also in related
texts. Stronger essays will make connections among texts and themes, and illuminate the
ways in which social, cultural, historical, economic, and political forces impact teaching
and learning in public schools.
Synthesis Essay. ~ 8 pages.
Due Final Class, Session #12, August 30
35% of the course grade (≤ 350 points)
This essay should be a developed, systematic reflection on the course themes, readings,
and discussions. This is an opportunity to integrate the course materials with your selfunderstanding, and to explore topics at both a feeling and thinking level. You should
pick a topic, or set of related topics, that is of deep and genuine interest to you, and
develop a position that utilizes relevant readings and frameworks from discussions.
In addition, you should append a final page to your essay that examines your own
performance in the course (that is, the degree to which your were fully present and
engaged, well prepared, and a contributor to the learning of others).
You may want to use office hours to discuss your essay ideas with the professor as the
course goes along.
VERY IMPORTANT: Work must be turned in at the
specified date and time or it may be assessed a penalty of
10% of the assignment value per day late.
Grading
High standards of academic integrity are expected of each student, in accord with the
University Code of Student Conduct, Principles of Community, and the Academic
Integrity Policy. Penalties for violating these standards can be severe, including
expulsion from the University. For additional information, consult these websites:
http://www2.ucsc.edu/judicial/handbook05-06/index.html
http://www.ucsc.edu/about/principles_community.asp
http://www.ucsc.edu/academics/academic_integrity/.
If at any time you do not understand the basis of a grade, you should meet with the
professor as soon as possible to review your work, clarify expectations,
and determine what you need to do to earn the grade you seek.
Assignment values:
Reflective Essay
≤ 200 points
Reading Essays
≤ 450 points
Synthesis Essay
≤ 350 points
TOTAL
≤ 1000 points
GRADES: Only A and B level grades are passing for graduate studies.
A = 940 – 1000; A- = 900 – 939; B+ = 870 – 899; B = 830 – 869; B- = 800 – 829
C = 700 – 799; D = 600 – 699; F ≤ 599
Instructor’s Reserved Right: The instructor reserves the right to make changes to all elements
of the course described in the syllabus, including topics, readings, course requirements, and/or
assignments. In the event that such a change is deemed necessary or desirable, the instructor will
provide sufficient notice to the students for them to make the needed adjustments to complete the
course satisfactorily.
Course Topics and Reading Assignments
========
• Tentative Schedule •
1. TUE – July 24
Review of Syllabus; Introduction to Course
Learning and Producing Knowledge Together
Learning to be Transformative Teachers
Read:
• Paulo Freire. (1998). Pedagogy of Freedom. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers. 21-84.
• Antonia Darder. (2009). Teaching as an Act of Love. Critical Pedagogy Reader.
2nd Edition. Darder, Baltodano & Torres (Eds). New York: Routledge. 567-578.
• Maria Lugones. (1987). Playfulness, “World-Traveling,” and Loving Perception.
Hypatia, 2(2), 3-19.
• Jeannie Oakes & Martin Lipton (Eds). (1999). Teaching to Change the World.
New York: McGraw-Hill College. The Teaching Challenge of the Twenty-First
Century. 4-33.
In-Class:
Building a Learning Community
2. THU – July 26
Identity and Schooling: Anybody, Nobody and Somebody in
School
Read:
• James Baldwin. (1963). A Talk with Teachers. In R. Simonson and S. Walker
(Eds.) Multicultural Literacy: Opening the American Mind. St. Paul, MN:
Greywolf Press. 3-12.
• Ronald David Glass. (2000). Education and the Ethics of Democratic Citizenship.
Studies in Philosophy and Education. 19(3): 275-296.
• Latina Anónima. (2001). Between Perfection and Invisibility. In Latina Feminist
Group, Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios. Durham, NC: Duke
University Press. 207-211.
• Danny Santiago. (1992). The Somebody (1970). In North of the Rio Grande. E.
Simmen (Ed.). New York: Mentor Books. 212-221.
In-Class:
Privilege Walk
Identity Cards
3. TUE – July 31
From Common Schools to One Best System
Americanization and Schooling in the White Man’s Image
Read:
• Ira Katznelson & Margaret Weir. (1985). Schooling for All. Berkeley: University
of California Press. Ch. 2, Creating Public Schools, 28-57.
•
Horace Mann. The Means and Objects of Common School Education (1836). Life
and Works of Horace Mann. M. Mann (Ed.). (1891). Boston: Lee and Shepard.
77-86.
•
Luther Standing Bear. (1994). Luther Standing Bear (Lakota) Recalls his
Experience at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (1879). In Major Problems in
American Indian History: Documents and Essays, A. Hurtado & P. Iverson, Eds.
Lexington, KY: D.C. Heath and Company. 375-377.
Louise Erdrich. (1993). From Love Medicine. Growing up Native American.
Patricia Riley (Ed.). New York: Avon Books. 151-166.
T.S. Lomawaima & T.L. McCarty. (2006). To Remain an Indian. New York:
Teachers College Press. The Strengths of Indigenous Education. 16-42.
•
•
In-Class:
In the White Man’s Image. (1991). Produced by Christine Lesiak &
Mathew Jones. The American Experience with David McCullough.
Alexandria, VA: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
In-Class:
Immigration Timeline
4. THU – Aug 2
Racial Legacies, Struggles for Equal Schooling, and the ReSegregation of Schools
Read:
• James Anderson. (1988). The Education of Blacks in the South 1860-1935. Chapel
Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Ch. 1, Ex-Slaves and the Rise of
Universal Education in the South, 1860-1880. 4-32.
• Ruben Donata. (1997). The Other Struggle for Equal Schools: MexicanAmericans during the Civil Rights Era. Albany, NY: State University of New
York Press. Ch. 1, Schooling in the Pre-Brown Era. 11-33.
• Brown v. Board of Education http://www.nationalcenter.org/brown.html
• James Anderson (2007). Race-Conscious Educational Policies Versus a "ColorBlind Constitution": A Historical Perspective. Educational Researcher, 36(5),
249-257.
• Gloria Ladson-Billings (2006). From the Achievement Gap to the Education
Debt: Understanding Achievement in US Schools. Educational Researcher,
35(7), 3-12.
• Gary Orfield (2001). Schools More Separate: Consequences of a Decade of
Resegregation. (Policy Report). Harvard Civil Rights Project, Cambridge, Mass.
In-Class:
Community Maps
5. TUE – Aug 7
Race-Critical Anti-Racism Pedagogy
Read:
• Antonia Darder & Rodolfo D.Torres. (2004). Excerpt from After Race: Racism
after Multiculturalism. New York University Press. 1-24.
•
•
•
Ronald David Glass. (2012). Understanding Race and Racism: Toward a RaceCritical Anti-Racism Education. [Entendendo raça e racismo: por uma educação
racialmente crítica e antiracism, Revista Brasileira de Estudos Pedagógicos. Vol
93. No 233. Summer 2012.]
Sandy Marie Anglás Grande. (2000). American Indian Geographies of Identity
and Power: At the Crossroads of Indigena and Mestizaje. Harvard Educational
Review. 70(4): 467-498.
Gloria Ladson-Billings & William F. Tate. (1995). Toward a Critical Race Theory
of Education. Teachers College Record. 97(1): 47-68.
In-Class:
Racial Formation
6. THU – Aug 9
Gender and Schooling
Read:
• David Tyack & Elizabeth Hansot (1990). Learning Together: A History of
Coeducation in American Schools. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Coeducation in Urban Public Schools; Conclusion. 78-84; 87-103; 110-113; 279292.
• Adrienne Rich. (1985). Taking Women Students Seriously. In Gendered Subjects:
The Dynamics of Feminist Teaching. M. Cully & C. Portuges. Boston: Routledge
& Kegan Paul. 21-28.
• Janice Jipson. (1995). Teacher-Mother: An Imposition of Identity. In
Repositioning Feminism and Education: Perspectives on Educating for Social
Change. J. Jipson, P. Munro, S. Victor, K.F. Jones, G. Freed-Rowland (Eds).
Westport, CN: Bergin & Garvey Publishers. 21-35.
• Kathleen Weiler. (1988). Feminist Analyses of Gender and Schooling; Gender,
Race, and Class in the Feminist Classroom. In Women Teaching for Change.
South Hadley, MA: Bergin & Garvey Publishers. 27-56; 125-145.
In-Class:
Gender Formation
7. TUE – Aug 14
Gender, Sexuality, and Schooling
Read:
• Michelle Fine. (1988). Sexuality, Schooling and Adolescent Females. Harvard
Educational Review. 58(1): 29-53.
• Deborah J. Kinder. (1998). To Follow Your Heart: Coming Out through
Literacy. English Journal. November 1998. 63-69.
• Cris Mayo. (2005). The Tolerance that Dare not Speak its Name. In Democratic
Dialogue and Education: Troubling Speech, Disturbing Silence. M. Boler (Ed).
33-47.
• Caridad Souza. (2001). Esta Risa No Es de Loca. In Latina Feminist Group,
Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios. Durham, NC: Duke University
Press. 114-122.
In-Class:
It’s Elementary: Talking about Gay and Lesbian Issues in Schools. (1996).
D. Chasnoff (Dir.). San Francisco, CA: Women’s Educational Media.
8. THU – Aug 16
Race, Gender, and Class Intersections: The Language of
Schooling
Read:
• Julie Bettie. (2003). Women Without Class: Girls, Race, and Identity. Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press. 57-61; 86-92.
• Linda Christensen. (1994). Whose Standard? Teaching Standard English. In
Rethinking our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice. B. Bigelow, L.
Christensen, S. Karp, B. Miner, and B. Peterson (Eds). Milwaukee: Rethinking
Schooling Inc. 142-145.
• Ursula LeGuin. (1989). Bryn Mawr Commencement Address (1986). Dancing at
the Edge of the World. New York: Harper & Row. 147-160.
• Donaldo Macedo. (1993). Literacy for Stupidification: The Pedagogy of Big Lies.
Harvard Educational Review. 183-207.
• Reginald McKnight. (1993). Confessions of a Wannabe Negro. Lure and
Loathing: Essays on Race, Identity and the Ambivalence of Assimilation. G. Early
(Ed). New York: Allen Lane, The Penguin Press. 95-112.
• Simon Ortiz. (1993). The Language We Know. In Growing Up Native American.
P. Riley (Ed.). New York: Avon Books. 29-38.
• Richard Rodriquez. (1982). Hunger of Memory. New York: Bantam. Part One,
Aria. 11-40.
9. TUE – Aug 21
Education as a Practice of Freedom: Reading and Writing the
World and Words
Read:
• Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Preface, Chapters 1, 3, 4
• Ronald David Glass. (2001). Paulo Freire’s Philosophy of Praxis and the
Foundations of Liberation Education. Educational Researcher. 30(2):15-25.
• R.D. Glass, T. Ball, & R. Crain. (2008). Freire and Vygotsky. (manuscript).
• www.ProjectWatsonville.net
In-Class:
Codifications
10. THU – Aug 23 Dialogical Education for Social Justice
Read:
• Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Ch 2
• Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of Freedom. Ch. 4
• Marilyn Cochran-Smith. (2004). Teaching for Social Justice. In Walking the
Road: Race, Diversity and Social Justice in Teacher Education. New York, NY:
Teachers College Press. 64-82.
•
Ronald David Glass and Pia Lindquist Wong. (2003). Engaged pedagogy:
Meeting the demand for justice in urban professional development schools.
Teacher Education Quarterly, 30(2), 69-89.
In-Class:
Rethinking Classrooms
11. TUE – Aug 28
Community and Education for Social Justice
Read:
• C.A. Lum, E.M. Aguirre, R. Martinez, M. Campa-Rodriquez, & R. Ultreras.
(2009). Science for Social Responsibility. In Prioritizing Urban Children,
Teachers and Schools through Professional Development Schools. P.L. Wong &
R.D. Glass (Eds.). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. 69-85.
• S. Baker, E. de Leon, P. Phelps, M. Martin, & C. Suarez. (2009). Education of the
Community, by the Community, and for the Community: The Language Academy
of Sacramento. In Prioritizing Urban Children, Teachers and Schools through
Professional Development Schools. P.L. Wong & R.D. Glass (Eds.). Albany,
NY: State University of New York Press. 87-103.
• Jeannie Oakes & John Rogers. (2006). Teaching to Change Los Angeles. In
Learning Power: Organizing for Education and Social Justice. New York:
Teachers College Press. 71-92.
• N. Gonzalez, L.C. Moll, C. Amanti (Eds). (2005). Funds of Knowledge:
Theorizing Practices in Households, Communities, and Classrooms. New York,
NY: Routledge. 71-111.
• M.P. O’Cadiz, P.L. Wong, & C.A. Torres. (1998).Reorienting the Curriculum:
The Interdisciplinary Project. Education and Democracy: Paulo Freire, Social
Movements, and Educational Reform in Sao Paulo. Boulder, CO: Westview
Press. 107-134.
In-Class:
Teaching for Communities and not only Classrooms
12. THU – Aug 30
Ethical Issues and Teaching for Social Justice
Course Evaluation Discussion
Read:
• Ronald David Glass. (2011). Critical Pedagogy and Moral Education. In Devitis
& Yu (Eds.). Character and Moral Education: A Reader. New York: Peter Lang
Publishers. 227-239.