"Empowering Education"-Shor

"People are naturally curious. They are born leaders. Education can either develop or stifle their inclination to ask why and to learn."

Shor argues that the method of just teaching children facts and asking them to memorize things is not an effective method of educating. Instead children should be encouraged to think for themselves and to question everything. In this way, children will be able to reach their full potential.

"A curriculum that does not challenge the standard syllabus and conditions in society informs students that knowledge and the world are fixed and are fine the way they are, with no role for students to play in transforming them, and no need for change."

Students should be taught not to just take everything at face value and believe and accept everything the way it is presented to them. They should be taught to think outside of the box and to explore different options. In order to prepare these students to be our future leaders, they need to learn to form their own thoughts and ideas and to change the things in this world that they do not agree with.

"Participation provides students with active experiences in class, through which they develop knowledge that is reflective understanding, not mere memorization. Further, participation sends a hopeful message to students about their present and future; it encourages their achievement by encouraging their aspirations. They are treated as responsible, capable human beings who should expect to do a lot and do it well..."

Shor believes that students should be taught in an open form, participating in discussions as an effective teaching method. They should be taught to understand and reflect instead of just memorize and spit out information. This will lead to well-rounded and capable individuals, instead of robots.

"Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome"-Kliewer

"To value another is to recognize diversity as the norm. It establishes the equal worth of all schoolchildren, a sense that we all benefit from each other, and the fundamental right of every student to belong."

We need to get over the fact that people are different. Everybody is different. There are no two people anywhere who are exactly the same. But these differences shouldn't define us in a negative way, but should highlight and celebrate diversity in a positive way. Just because someone is different does not make a person any less of a person, therefore nobody should be devalued or mistreated just because somebody thinks they're 'different'. A human being is a human being no matter what.


"According to Shayne, the notion of Down syndrome often obscures our ability to recognize the child as a child. She or he becomes a walking pathological syndrome, a mobile defect on the loose."


When people assign labels to other people, especially because of differences, then it becomes impossible to think of that person as just a person. Instead, stereotypes are often used instead of really getting to know the individual person as the important and valuable person that he or she is.

"Now we know that people with disabilities can learn and have a full, rich life. The challenge is to erase negative attitudes about people with developmental disabilities, get rid of the stereotypes and break the barriers for people with disabilities."

Every time someone says or hears the word 'disabled', it is automatically associated with a negative connotation. You never hear of a 'good disability'. Until people realize that 'disabled' people are capable of leading normal, fulfilling, and productive lives, these negative assumptions will not go away.

"Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work"-Anyon

• "The procedure is usually mechanical, involving rote behavior and very little decision making or choice. The teachers rarely explain why the work is being assigned, how it might connect to other assignments, or what the idea is that lies behind the procedure or gives it coherence and perhaps meaning or significance."

Can this even be considered teaching? It sounds more like giving a group of kids a bunch of orders to follow without them knowing what they're doing or why they're doing it. This is disgusting....I can't believe this is happening in schools. If this is indeed true, it doesn't really serve the purposed of educating students to go out in life and make something better and follow your dreams. It sounds more like a factory spitting out manufactured parts that all do the same thing.

• "Thus doing well is important because there are thought to be other likely rewards: a good job or college."

Wow, this is really sad. Every student in every school should be looking forward to college or a good job and should know their potential to reach such goals. It's not only certain people from certain places who deserve to go to college. All schools are supposed to be preparing every student for the option of going to college and getting a good job later in life.

• "The teachers initiate classroom discussions of current social issues and problems. These discussions occurred on every one of the investigator's visits, and a teacher told me, "these children's opinions are important - it's important that they learn to reason things through.""

Finally someone believes in the students and knows the value of their thoughts and opinions. But all students should be encouraged to use their brains to think things through and offer their opinions on issues. Every child's voice should be heard, not just the 'privileged' ones.

Gender & Equity

I think that this week's assignment was fairly difficult; I searched for awhile trying to find relevant information but there was a very limited amount that I found. On one website, Gender and Education, there is an interview with Linda Hallman, executive director of the American Association of University Women. She mentioned that in 1992 there was definitely a problem with girls' education, but that girls were improving very much and so were boys actually.

Another site that I found pretty informative was idra.org. It stands for Intercultural Development Research Association. There was a really good podcast with Frances Guzman, M.Ed. She references Title IX and adds her own insight. She claims that in elementary school boys and girls act differently towards each other, but still consider themselves equals and are for the most part treated by others as equals as well. But starting in middle school adolescence comes into play, along with all the usual stereotypes about boys and girls. There are expectations from teachers that boys will behave in a certain way, and girls a different way. She claims that this is when girls are shortchanged. Guzman believes that boys and girls experience the same type of education, but they experience it differently.


I'm not really sure if I quite understand the idea of gender and equity in education, because I don't ever remember being consciously aware of any major differences between the ways boys and girls are treated or taught in schools.