Radical Educational Theories

Educational Studies 608 Radical Educational Theories Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:45-6:00 PM, Spring semester Instructor: David I. Waddington Office: Department of Education, FG 6-319 Office Hours: By appointment E-mail/phone: david.waddington@concordia.ca Course Overview The structure of schooling in North America is remarkably stable. In any Canadian university classroom, the educational experiences of the students are likely to be fairly similar. They will have attended K-12 institutions, public or private, that held to the standard graded pattern of teacher-centered instruction and delivered a curriculum featuring the usual subjects. The theories we will examine in this course, however, will offer some remarkable departures from this standard pattern. Our first step will begin to examine the work of two theorists that were radical within a particular historical context; namely Rousseau. Our second step will involve reading a group of 20th century theorists that have been particularly influential: this group includes such diverse members as Paolo Freire, Ivan Illich, bell hooks, and Jacques Rancière. Finally, we will examine some newer theories which are already altering the shape of American K-12 schooling, perhaps for good. Course Format This course will be primarily discussion based. I will give mini-lectures on occasion, but our time will be largely consumed by class discussions and group activities. Class participation can potentially boost your grade, so there is a considerable incentive to participate. Our readings will often deal with contentious philosophical and educational issues, so you will, hopefully, feel inspired to contribute to the discussion. Evaluation Four 3-4-page reaction papers 75% Two “class expert” sessions 25% Participation bonus Possible one grade increment increase (to a maximum of A) Reaction Papers In a reaction paper, your job is to offer a commentary on some point(s) in one of the course readings with which you agree/disagree. You should offer some arguments for why you think the author is right/wrong. You can use your own educational experiences in your reflection papers, but the paper should not be entirely composed of these. A good reflection paper (a) demonstrates that the writer has a good grasp of the particular point in article on which he/she is commenting, (b) is well written enough that I can easily understand it and (c) offers some interesting, thoughtful commentary on that article. You do not have to follow the traditional essay structure. A trap that writers of reflection papers occasionally fall into is to spend too much time summarizing the reading. Although a significant portion of the reflection paper can be devoted to exposition, the paper needs to “add value” in a meaningful sense. I want to know what you think about what you are reading. Reflection papers can be about any of the readings. The papers must be passed in (via Moodle) on or before the day in which the reading is to be covered in class. Class Expert Sessions Over the course of the semester, you will be called upon twice to be a “class expert.” This will not require you to present to the class, but it will require you to have an especially thorough understanding of the readings. Over the course of the class for which you are an expert, you will be called upon by me to share some of your insights with the class and to reflect on questions about the reading. You will also be expected to take a leading role in any small-group discussions that we have in class and to participate vigorously in seminar discussion. You should note that “class expert” is a relatively informal role. As class expert, I don’t expect you to be prepared to teach the class; I simply expect you to have a thorough understanding of the reading and to be prepared to share some insights and some worthwhile questions. If you have understood the readings well and have made some notes about interesting points to discuss, you are well prepared to be an expert that day. Discussion Participation Seminar participation is the core of any graduate school class, and it has two components: listening and speaking. Listening means coming to class, and as for speaking, I expect every member of the seminar to contribute regularly. We will also have occasional special in-class activities like debates and free reflection sessions. Valid excuses for missing seminar include unavoidable work responsibilities (e.g. parent’s night), illness, and family emergencies. If you are a consistent attender and regular and well-prepared contributor to the class, you can receive a possible final grade increase of one grade increment (e.g. A- to A). Note that grade increment increases from A to A+ will not be given, as A+ is reserved for exceptional performance in all aspects of the class. Moodle This class uses the Moodle course management system. All papers must be handed in electronically through Moodle drop boxes. Attendance This class only meets once a week, and is primarily discussion-based. Therefore, I expect you to attend every class. University and course policies Academic integrity: Concordia’s academic code of conduct is available at the following link: http://provost.concordia.ca/academicintegrity. It explains all policies related to academic misconduct, including plagiarism, which is the most common offense under the Academic Code of Conduct. It is defined as "the presentation of the work of another person as one's own or without proper acknowledgement." This could be material copied word for word from books, journals, internet sites, professor's course notes, etc. It could be material that is paraphrased but closely resembles the original source. It could be the work of a fellow student, for example, an answer on a quiz, data for a lab report, a paper or assignment completed by another student. It might be a paper purchased through one of the many available sources. Plagiarism does not refer to words alone - it can also refer to copying images, graphs, tables, and ideas. "Presentation" is not limited to written work. It also includes oral presentations, computer assignments and artistic works. Finally, if you translate the work of another person into French or English and do not cite the source, this is also plagiarism. Guidelines and suggestions for avoiding plagiarism are available at the following website: http://www.concordia.ca/students/academic-integrity/plagiarism.html Please note that any instructor who has reasonable grounds to believe that an assignment or part of an assignment does not represent the student's own work is obliged to file an Incident Report. For details please consult Concordia's Academic Code of Conduct (available at website address above). Rights and responsibilities. There is a need to preserve an atmosphere conducive to a safe and positive learning environment. In this course, it is expected that students will maintain an environment in which the behavior of any individual is not disruptive, which includes talking over and interrupting others, distracting others (including cell phone use, computer use, texting, etc), and verbally or physically threatening others. It is also expected that students will arrive to class on time and prepared (having finished readings & assignments). You may access Concordia University’s code of rights and responsibilities, which describes the types of behavior that are considered violations of the code, at http://rights.concordia.ca. Access to instructor: My preferred means of contact is email, which I attend to during business hours Monday to Friday, and I will also respond to Moodle messages, although these are a less reliable way of contacting me. For in person appointments, I am available most weekday afternoons as well as after class. The list below provides the name and website for student services that are available through the university. Concordia Counseling and Development http://cdev.concordia.ca/ Advocacy and Support Services http://supportservices.concordia.ca/ Student Transition Centre http://stc.concordia.ca/ New Student Program http://newstudent.concordia.ca/ Access Centre for Students with Disabilities http://supportservices.concordia.ca/disabilities/ Student Success Centre http://studentsuccess.concordia.ca/ Health Services http://www-health.concordia.ca/ Required Texts Most required texts will be distributed on Moodle. The Blacker text must be ordered online. Seminar Schedule May 11th—Introduction May 13th—Radical Beginnings Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, trans. Allan Bloom (New York: Basic Books, 1979), 37-48; 62-69; 77-105; 178-187; 357-359; 371. May 18th—Bold New Social Orders George Counts, Dare the School Build a New Social Order? (New York: The John Day Company, 1932), 1-56. Anton Makarenko, The Road to Life, vol. 1 (Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1955), 9-100; 371-384; vol. 2 (Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1955), 260-285. May 20th—Pedagogy of the Oppressed Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (London: Continuum, 2000), Preface, Chs. 1-3. May 25th—Teaching to Transgress bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress (London: Routledge, 1994), 1-44; 59-75; 167-207. May 27th—Anarchism Judith Suissa, Anarchism in Education: A Philosophical Perspective (London: Routledge, 2006), 7-15; 62-101. Ammon Hennacy, “The One-Man Revolution,” in Patterns of Anarchy, ed. Leonard I. Krimerman and Lewis Perry (New York: Anchor Books, 1966), 364-371. Dorothy Day, “The Green Revolution,” in Patterns of Anarchy, ed. Leonard I. Krimerman and Lewis Perry (New York: Anchor Books, 1966), 372-378. June 1st— Free Schools and Deschooling A.S. Neill, Summerhill School: A New View of Childhood, ed. Albert Lamb (New York: St. Martins Griffin, 1996), 3-55. Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society (London: Marion Boyers, 1970), 1-33. June 3rd—The Audacious M. Jacotot Jacques Ranciere, The Ignorant Schoolmaster (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991), 1-73. June 8th— Market Forces John Chubb and Terry Moe, Politics, Markets and Schools (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1990), 1-68 (mandatory), 185-229 (optional but highly recommended). Thomas S. Poetter and Kathleen Knight-Abowitz, “Possibilities and Problems of School Choice, ” Kappa Delta Pi Record, 37:2: 58-62. June 10th—Conservative Perspectives and No Excuses Schools Hannah Arendt, Between Past and Future: Six Exercises in Political Thought (New York: Viking Press, 1961), 173-196. Ayn Rand, “The Comprachicos,” in The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution (New York: New American Library, 1971), 1-27. Paul Tough, “What it Takes to Make a Student,” in The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 26, 2006. Sigal Ben-Porath, “Deferring Virtue: The New Management of Students and the Civic Role of Schools,” in Theory and Research in Education 11: 2 (2013): 111-128. June 15th—Indigenous Knowledge, Cross-Cultural Dialogue, and Education Willie Ermine, “Aboriginal Epistemology,” in First Nations Education in Canada: The Circle Unfolds, ed. Marie Ann Battiste and Jean Barman (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1995), 101-112. Allison Jones, “The Limits of Cross-Cultural Dialogue: Pedagogy, Desire, and Absolution in the Classroom,” in Educational Theory 49:3 (1999): 299-316. Leanne Betassamosake Simpson, “Land as pedagogy: Nishnaabeg intelligence and rebellious transformation,” in Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education, and Society 3:3 (2014), 1-25. June 17th—Questioning Reconciliation Truth and Reconciliation Commission Canada (2015). Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future (Winnipeg: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada), 1-24. Glen Coulthard, Red Skin, White Masks (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2014), Chs. 1, 4, and Conclusion. June 22nd—Prognosis Negative David J. Blacker, The Falling Rate of Learning and the Neoliberal Endgame (London: Zero Books, 2013), 3-52; 188-260.