The more time one spends in learning, the more one is likely to learn.
— Robert Dahl
We must have some concept of the kind of person we wish to produce, before we can have any definite opinion as to the education which we consider best.
— Bertrand Russell
Men have always one of two things: either a complete and conscious philosophy or the unconscious acceptance of the broken bits of some incomplete and shattered and often discredited philosophy.
—G.K. Chesterton
[T]he greatest threat to children in modern liberal societies is not that they will believe in something too deeply, but that they will believe in nothing very deeply at all.
—William Galston
Course Description
Orientation for students considering teaching as a career. Course will survey the scientific, historic, philosophic, political and social foundations of the teaching profession. Field experiences are an integral part of course.Prerequisites: None
Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s): The primary objective of this course is to develop your ability to detect the presuppositions and understand the implications of selected educational practice. To accomplish this, we will take a preponderantly philosophical perspective. Specifically, through careful study of a variety of important writers on education, morality, and political life, we will examine 1) the conceptions of human nature and the good life that are implied by and justify educational practice, and 2) the mutually supportive relationship between education and the moral and political domains. In order to facilitate comparison of the various commentators, and to assist in applying their ideas to contemporary practice, we will give special attention to the question of character education and to their competing conceptions of human flourishing. Of special concern this term is the degree to which these matters are related, i.e., what are the marks of character that signify success in meeting the central challenges of human life?
Specific student learning outcomes (SLO’s) of this course include:
- Enhanced ability to read well and to write and speak effectively (i.e., with clarity, grace and precision)
- Familiarity with some of the seminal thinkers who have shaped educational thought and practice
- Growing understanding of some elements of the perennial philosophical debates and their meaning for contemporary educational institutions
- Ability and propensity to detect and articulate the assumptions regarding human nature, the good life, and the desirable political order that are implicit in educational practice and proposals
- Increased familiarity with pedagogical practice and issues
- Increased ability to analyze, synthesize, organize, and evaluate evidence; reason cogently; and come to sound judgments.
Assignment Descriptions
Field Experience Log (50 total)
Log includes:
a. Classroom (40)
b. Site Based (5)
c. School Board (5)
**See Guidelines for Field Experiences below.
The student will complete eight hours of observation/ participation in a public school setting, observe one local school board meeting, observe one local site-based council meeting, and write a summary log paper describing each observation.Note: Satisfactory completion of this assignment is required in order to pass this course. If a student fails to attend the school board meeting, fails to attend a site-based council meeting, fails to do all eight hours of observation, fails to write a satisfactory log for each observation, or fails to turn in a complete log by the due date (see schedule below) that student will get an "E" in the course no matter what his/her grades are on tests and other assignments. A complete field experience log consists of eight classroom observations, one site based observation and one school board observation. If a student completes the log and submits it after the due date, the student will not automatically fail the course, but will be deducted 10 points for each weekday late after the due date. After five (5) days late, a complete log will receive a zero on the assignment, but the student will pass the class. See the instructor for more specifics regarding field experience logs.
A. Observation of Schools
The student will complete eight hours of observation/participation in a public school setting. Six of the eight hours will be completed in Lexington, KY at a diverse student body setting. We will charter a bus and drive to Lexington where you will observe classes in Lexington schools on a day to be announced early in the semester. If you are unable to attend the observation of Lexington schools, you will be required to make up those six hours on your own. Because the Lexington trip is designed to provide you the opportunity to observe a diverse student body, if you must make up these six hours, they must be in a school that has a diverse student body (at least 20% minority). For example, schools in Lexington, Louisville, Northern Kentucky and parts of Ashland area would provide you with such a student body. See your instructor for more details.
Two of the eight hours may be completed in either of two ways:
Option A: You may fill out a MSU Student Schedule form, turn it in to your instructor and the Educational Services Unit will place you in Rowan County schools for two hours.
Option B: You may schedule yourself for two hours in a Kentucky school. This will require that you download, print and have signed during your observation an Out of County Confirmation form. If you complete an out of county observation, it must NOT be at a school that you attended.
B. Observation of School Board and Site Based Council
The student will observe one local school board meeting and observe one local site-based council meeting. At the beginning of the semester, your EDF 207 instructor will assign your section a day to attend the local school board meeting. If you are unable to attend that day, you will be required to attend another meeting on your own. As for the site-based council meeting, you will be required to attend this meeting on your own.
A list of tentative meeting dates and times for the local school board and site based council will be available from your instructor or the Educational Services Unit located in Ginger Hall 801. Note: Times and dates of meetings do change. Call ahead to make sure the meeting is still scheduled. You may also call Rowan County School Board for a list of times and dates of the School Board and Site Based council meetings in Rowan County:
Rowan County School Board
121 E. Second St
Morehead, KY 40351
606-784-9828
**All forms needed for EDF 207 Field Experience can be found at the MSU College of Education’s Educational Services Unit webpage: http://www.moreheadstate.edu/esu/index.aspx?id=3009
Five Reading Quizzes (10 points each, 50 points total)
There will be unannounced quizzes and these quizzes may occur anytime. They will focus on the readings since the previous quiz and include the readings due on the quiz day itself. The quizzes will be “objective” in nature (i.e., multiple-choice, matching, fill-in) and exacting. The good news is you may take personal notes on your reading and use these notes on the quizzes; the bad news is that you will be expected to spell things correctly. (50 points)
Three Exams (300 total)
There will be three in-class exams. These tests will consist of a variety of types of questions and will call upon your knowledge of lecture and reading materials. The first exam will count for 50 points, the second exam will count for 100 points and the final will count for 150 points towards your final grade.
Philosophy of Education Statement (50)
Each candidate will write a statement of his/her own tentative philosophy of education, one that reflects major concepts and theories learned in class as well as insights gained from field experiences. The statement should incorporate a minimum of four theories/theorists from the course readings of EDF 207. This is a formal writing assignment which should reflect not only the student’s best thinking skills, but his/her best writing and editing skills as well. Suggested length: 1000 - 1500 words. A rubric will be provided.
Grading Scale
90% - 100% A
80% - 89% B
70% - 79% C
60% - 69% D
0% - 59% E
Format for Completing Assignements
- Put name, course # and Section #, date and assignment title in upper right hand corner.
- Use Times New Roman, 12 – font only
- Double – space all assignments
- Use 1" margins all the way around.
Resources
a. Plato. The Republic. Translation and commentary by Allan Bloom. (1968) 1991. New York: Basic Books.(Required)
b.DEWEY, JOHN. 1938. Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan.(Required)
c. William Kilpatrick, Why Johnny Can’t Tell right From Wrong, Touchstone, 1992(Required)
d. EDF 207 Copy Pack readings: These will include a variety of primary sources to supplement the other resources. Available at MSU Bookstore. (Required)
Tentative Schedule of Classes:
What follows is the tentative plan. Because the plan is designed to serve our purposes (which are not entirely predictable), the date for a topic (i.e. the pace of the course) may change as we move ahead. Be prepared to adapt.
NOTE: We are unable to cover every facet of each reading assignment in class, and may not touch on some material at all. You are, nevertheless, responsible for each assignment in its entirety. If you have a question on something not covered in class, be sure to ask!
It is essential that you read the assignment prior to the class period during which it is discussed. Lack of preparation constitutes a failing grade for that day’s session.
Be sure to bring the relevant books and handouts to class: We will be reading from them daily.
Class 1: Introduction to Course
CP#2. Adler, M. (1941). Invitation to the pain of learning. Retrieved from http://cambridgestudycenter.com/artilces/Adler1P.htm
Class 2: Student Introduction
Field Experience Orientation
Class 3:
CP#16. Mitchell, Richard. (2004). The Gift of Fire. Introduction and Chapter One, Kessigner Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.sourcetext.com/grammarian/gift-of-fire/index.html
Class 4:
CP#16. Mitchell, Richard. (2004). The Gift of Fire. Chapter Three, Kessigner Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.sourcetext.com/grammarian/gift-of-fire/index.html
Class 5
CP#16. Mitchell, Richard. (2004). The Gift of Fire. Chapter Five Kessigner Publishing. Retrieved
Class 6
CP#16. Mitchell, Richard. (2004). The Gift of Fire. Chapter Nine. Kessigner Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.sourcetext.com/grammarian/gift-of-fire/index.html
Class 7: Philosophy of Education Workshop #1
Class 8
CP#13. Kandel, I.L. (1961). Character Formation: A Historical Perspective. The Educational Forum, 25, 307-316.
Class 9: Introduction to the Republic
Class 10: The Pursuit of Justice
Republic, ALL of Book I; and Book II 357a-367e
Class 11: Specialization and Training
Republic, 368c-369b; 374a-383c [Book II]; 386a-392d; 392e-412 recommended [Book III]
Class 12: EXAM #1
Class 13: The Noble Lie
Republic, Book III, 412-417b
Class 14: Education of the Philosopher King
Republic, Book V, 471c-474c
Class 15: Allegory of the Cave
Republic, Book VII, 514a-521d
Class 16: Plato’s Dilemma
Republic, 423e-427c [Book IV]; 535a-541b [Book VII]
Class 17
CP#6. Dewey, J. (1990). The school and social progress. The school and society and the child and the curriculum(pp. 6-29). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.http://www.brocku.ca/MeadProject/Dewey/Dewey_1907/Dewey_1907a.html
Class 18
DEWEY, JOHN. 1938. Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan.,Chapter 1
Class 19
DEWEY, JOHN. 1938. Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan., Chapter 2
Class 20
DEWEY, JOHN. 1938. Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan., Chapter 3
Class 21
DEWEY, JOHN. 1938. Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan., Chapter 4/5
Class 22
DEWEY, JOHN. 1938. Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan., Chapter 6/9
Class 23
CP#8. Dewey, J. (1937). President Hutchins' proposals to remake higher education. Retrieved from http://ditext.com/dewey/dewey2.html
Class 24- EXAM #2
Class 25
CP#9. Hutchins, R.M. (1937). Grammer, rhetoric, and Mr. Dewey. Retrieved from http://ditext.com/hutchins/hut-r1.html
Class 26
CP#10. Hutchins, R.M. (1952). The great conversation: the substance of a liberal education. Great Books of the Western World, Volume I (pp. 51-53). Chicago: Encycloedia Britanica, Inc.
http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/hutchins-robert_modern-times.html
http://www.britannica.com/blogs/wp-content/pdf/The_Great_Conversation.pdf
Class 27
CP#12. Kandel, I.L. (1939). Prejudice the garden toward roses?. The American Scholar, 8, 72-82.
Class 28
CP#5. Delpit, L. (1995). Skills and other dilemmas of a progressive black educator. Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom (pp. 11-20). New York: The New Press.
Class 29
CP#3. Bagley, W.C. (1921). Dangers and difficulties of the project method and how to overcome them-a symposium. Teachers College Record, 22(4), 288-296.
Class 30
CP#4. Bagley, W.C. (1933). Modern educational theories and practical considerations. School and Society, 37(953), 409-414.
Class 31: Philosophy of Education Workshop #2; Field Experience Log Due
Class 32
William Kilpatrick, Why Johnny Can’t Tell right From Wrong, Touchstone, 1992, Chapters 1 and 4.
Class 33
William Kilpatrick, Why Johnny Can’t Tell right From Wrong, Touchstone, 1992, Chapter 5
Class 34
William Kilpatrick, Why Johnny Can’t Tell right From Wrong, Touchstone, 1992, Chapter 7
Class 35
William Kilpatrick, Why Johnny Can’t Tell right From Wrong, Touchstone, 1992, Chapter 9/10
Class 36
William Kilpatrick, Why Johnny Can’t Tell right From Wrong, Touchstone, 1992, Chapter 11
Class 37
William Kilpatrick, Why Johnny Can’t Tell right From Wrong, Touchstone, 1992, Chapter 12
Philosophy of Education Statement Due in Class
Class 38
William Kilpatrick, Why Johnny Can’t Tell right From Wrong, Touchstone, 1992, Chapters 13
Finals Week: Final Exam TBA
