Schooling in the United States

 

     Schooling in the United States is a class meant to explore the social, political, historical, and economic forces that shape the U.S. system of public education. Some of the main questions we explored during this class were:

   "What is the purpose of schooling and what is your role as a teacher in fulfilling that purpose? 

   How does schooling continue the existing order? 

   How can schooling transform the existing order? 

     The range of topics studied in the class were as diverse as the students I will be teaching, and made the class an invaluable epereince. We studied the "history, philosophy, and cultural foundations of schooling in the U.S.; public purposes of schooling, including development of civic and democratic virtues and of preparation for the nation’s workforce; multicultural, diversity, and peace education; and current issues critical to today’s schools, federal and state education policy,  the standards and assessment movement, school and teacher accountability, and home and school relationships; and hot topics related to becoming a teacher in the state of Colorado, the United States, and in a global world" (Class Syllabus).

 

     This class provided an important foundation for my teaching philosophy because it opened my eyes to the exceptional amount of diversity within our schools, and how much of a difference I can make helping my students.

 

     Below is a paper written based on my learnings from this class, it descirbes what I believe to be the purpose of schooling, as well as the beginings of my teaching philosophy.