Critical+Thinking+Chapter+3,+6

Chapter 3

1. The United States is not along in being a country where varied cultures make up a significant percentage of the population. European countries over the last decade have seen large numbers of immigrants from mostly Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Schools often become a battle ground for political issues related to views on diversity. Research examples of social conflict in European schools caused by large scale immigration. What approaches have various countries taken? Do you agree or disagree with their laws and approach. France has been especially criticized for its response to Arab immigration. As people of a pluralistic nation are we more or less tolerant on these issues?

2. Research at least two local public school districts to see what approach they take towards students who do not speak English as their native tongue. Which approach do you believe is the most humane in treating people with dignity and respect? What went into the local decisions of these various school districts? (Dana, Hannah, Allie) https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/presentation/d/1FSeKYGj9beIYnkTDH4Zvu80vth0mmVd1po-AQRbchKQ/edit#slide=id.p

3. Conduct an anonymous survey into the attitudes of area teachers regarding their beliefs about why in general a racial gap exists in terms of standardized testing. Take these open ended responses and fit them into the three theories outlined in the book. Where do most teachers fall? What trends do you see? For districts which have large racial gaps in achievement what advice would you give?

4. Assess Peoria Notre Dame using the framework for teaching multiculturalism? Which of the four levels would you place us and why? What examples do you have? In your opinion is this a disadvantage or is it not? Does the mission and philosophy of the school have anything to do with the school's approach on this end?

5. Seeing events from different points of view can often be an enlightening experience. Take two events in U.S. history and discuss different points of view regarding them (the Civil war and the Revolutionary War). Living where and when we do we often say the victors write the textbooks. What value comes from being able to see an event from two different perspectives? (Brianna, Maggie, Jessica)

https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/document/d/1LsLSa2OotWvHfNci6ctcf2r5QXCrbP4hdgArqsHRbk8/edit https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/presentation/d/1l-j1OH_f_5_lf4Lpig8LZ8Dqzjo0lOhmtOThvSjcVRM/edit#slide=id.p

6. Being culturally literate is an important requirement for being an effective teacher. Often times even companies and businesses make giant blunders in this area by not understanding cultures and languages. Research some examples and share the various errors you can find. What can companies, schools, and individuals do to avoid these types of mistakes? (Michael, Matt).

https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/document/d/1TYNetqeFH9MfPhxd3bPXLuZR5qZrMJKz8e2OQUYClq0/edit https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/presentation/d/1l7_5TdeO193nP-aM-DV3BtJFOqOulin9nsY-56LGC6U/edit#slide=id.p

Chapter 4 1. Educating homeless children requires tremendous efforts. Pretend for a moment that you are in charge of eradicating homelessness. What would be the core strategies of your plan and why would you choose these strategies? How specifically would you address the learning needs of homeless children?

2. Tracking has been around for over 50 years and takes different forms and styles. List the pros and cons of tracking. If you were in charge of designing and building a school from the ground up what would you do about academic tracking? Include it exclude it? why?

https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/presentation/d/1zqhH1FuaOGZiJJaw3mtm_zCEfhsWKNrR7q1iDJ7ebvE/edit#slide=id.p https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/document/d/1jdPdDFsJpz9WoZsTizKTnLbU_xZLCbsDnCOMlqrjhP8/edit

3. Affective school reforms are efforts that focus on student engagement and inclusion in the school community. Schools vary greatly in terms of the amount of participation expected by students. Imagine you've been charged with turning around an urban high school that suffers from low student engagement and pride. What changes would you recommend and implement. Why would you recommend these changes? What evidence do you have for their success?

4. Explain the effects of drug and alcohol use on student learning. The DARE program was once implemented to help curb this trend. Explore the history and success or failure of the DARE program. Why do you believe these results happened? What in your opinion leads to teen drug and alcohol use. What can schools do to successfully limit the impact of drug and alcohol use on their students? https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/presentation/d/1ib-r0xJbRekcr1NZENO_axiU0yODixCLAa5cJSh-4iA/edit#slide=id.p https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoU6Mbkwon8RdHU1ZHlkU1pkOVFYUlhUMjRUYkVUcXc&usp=sharing#gid=0

5. Education often equals economic opportunity. Research the earning curve represented by increasing educational achievement. . Does this same effect hold true in other countries around the world? Does it make a difference what type of college one attends?

6. Bullying and now cyber bullying continue to be an issue that impacts the quality of school life. Research cyber bullying. What do we know about those who are cyber bullies and those who are victims. What steps can be taken to counter the damage of cyberbullies. What type of laws are now springing up around the country in response to this?

https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/presentation/d/1myX-wPeHt1kzccEmbRfmV4CMj7jzDWgpwAmjmcL2tLs/edit#slide=id.g2abc7f0f1_039 https://docs.google.com/a/pndhs.org/document/d/16ouw2EQ4ujiaKsP4KykLwlvTqxYAdwA_3MgcM_sSegc/edit