Discussion post 5
Z19
DevelopmentalPsychologydiscussionpost5.docxThe assignment is to choose only two of my classmate's post and reply to their post. One paragraph is enough for each of my classmates. Because it is like a discussion post try to be informal and use words like ( I agree/disagree, I like your points on..., I found your post really interesting, you have a good point..., when I read your post I..., I believe that ....) something like that (using the "I" word)
The question was:
Chapter 14 covered a variety of topics related to schooling. Many of these topics involve some degree of controversy. Choose one or more of the topics of which you had little prior knowledge (e.g., preschool, homeschooling, year-round schools, achievemet of U.S. students compared to other nations, college, gender in the classroom), and discuss your views after reading the chapter. Draw a connection between schooling and culture.
Your answer was:
According to academics, I have learned that schooling is not just the accumulation of information but a concept that comprises a process of theoretical rearrangement. While using experimental learning, teachers observe the outcomes of students from the start of the procedure and experiencing new approaches that are educational as learners before implementing and adapting in their own classrooms (McCarthy, 2016). From the chapters, I have learned that schooling also has a dimension has three features and is usually reliant upon cognitive learning, style, and ability preferences. In addition, the aspect of no schooling includes diverse verbal cues and visual aids to help the individuals in question as per their learning prerequisites. Also, it is important for instructors to understand the differences as well as adjust accordingly to the process.
It is obviously rather satisfying for parents to see their kids pursuing knowledge. It is also healthy and natural for the kids, and in the initial years of lives, this particular pursuit tends to go during each waking hour. However, most children are taken to school after a few short years. No schooling, also known as unschooling is different from diverse forms of home education whereby students’ education gets not directed by a curriculum as well as a teacher (Richmond, 2018). No schooling is an actual world implementation of the methods of “The Open Classroom” that gets promoted in the early 70s and 60s, with no school, grades or classrooms.
Independently, learning can be quite challenging for every one of us. To comprehend better, the processes that are comprised here, there are four crucial stages to independence in learning which is called self-directed learning. These process models are a readiness to learn, setting goals for education, being involved in the process of learning and evaluation of knowledge.
The classmate's answers:
Fiona’s answer:
Homeschooling has always been an interesting topic to me, although I know little about why people choose homeschooling. I never understood why someone would want to be home schooled or why parents would want to home school their child(ren). When my brother had his first daughter, he debated homeschooling her but I think the uproar from my family made him back down on that idea and put my niece through public schools.
I would agree with the text - homeschooling may limit social interaction for a child, decrease the willingness for a child to be diverse, lack of technology for schooling and not teach a child to the full capabilities that teachers with education degrees might. However, I can see why a parent would think they could provide better education to their children, and some might, but I think those that do would be considered outliers.
Ok, I'm 41 years old and I would say I already care deeply about all these topics, discuss with colleagues and read about them regularly. I will select gender, however, because reading the chapter made me think of experiences my daughter has had on this issue. First of all, in 8th grade, my daughter was in an advanced English class. They analyzed about 16 texts. Only TWO of them had female main characters. The rest were male. It was really frustrating for her. She didn't even realize it bothered her until they were planning to read a book and from the name of the main character, she assumed it was a female. When they started reading, she was so disappointed to find it was a male, and that reaction made her think more deeply about all the other texts. This should not have been happening in 2017. She approached the teacher, and he was supportive of her, but said that his hands were tied because all new books need to go through an arduous approval process. She started that with two books, but the rest of the committee dropped the ball on one of them. So, definitely a systemic issue that will take a lot of effort to change. Another issue: in 6th grade math tracts are determined. She was put in advanced math. However, there is another "double" advanced math. She was happy with her placement, assuming the teachers knew best. Throughout 6th and 7th grade she got 99 or 100 as a final grade in all of quarters of advanced math: better scores, consistently, than her teachers had ever seen. At the end of 7th grade her teacher said, "You do so well in math, I'm not sure why you aren't in double advanced. All of your test scores in 5th and 6th grade qualified you to be in double advanced. I don't know why the 6th grade teacher placed you in regular advanced." These placements were determined by an older male teacher (age 65ish) and ALL of the students in the double advanced math class WERE MALE. So, while my daughter was satisfied with her education, she still wonders why, if she had the scores to be placed in a certain class, she was not placed in the class... and why there were no girls in the class. It's suspicious when there are cultural educational issues around gender and females are often not pushed as much as males.
Oussama’s answer:
Of the topics that caught my interest, the racial and gender disparities in the classroom were the most. As the book says, African and Hispanic Americans are known to consistently have lower grades and be dropouts more so than Caucasians or Asian Americans. When Ogbu states that the reason why African Americans tend to desire to work harder in school due to the fact that they're carrying the pain of their ancestors' slavery was interesting to me, since the reason African Americans don't do well in school is due to living in a poorer area than their counterpart, which is in turn also due to the fact that their ancestors were slaves and Black rights in America is still barely existent. This contradiction made me question how the two correlate and what pushed the child to fall into the category they end up being in.
Being male, I was usually unaware of the differences in how females and males are treated in the classroom or even while picking a career choice, which is why reading the kind of gender disparity in the classroom was interesting to me, since it was something I never really paid attention to. Though, looking back, I do recall hearing talks from friends over how some girls in other universities who go into engineering are usually the butt of jokes referring to incompetence, irrespective of their actual grades, that are made by both classmates and professors. Furthermore, I didn't know there would be universities that are single-sex and are catered for the benefit of women achieving better education, but I completely agree with them, seeing as though they shouldn't have to suffer simply because of age-old societal views on gender.
Sarah’s answer:
Chapter 14 discusses the differences men and women face in higher education. Before reading the chapter, I was aware of the way gender and societies perceptions influence which jobs men and women take. For example, I'm in Marketing - a job that has a higher proportion of women to men.
I was not aware, however, the extent to which men and women are treated differently in classrooms. One part of the text cites, "professors call on men in class more frequently than women, and they make more eye contact with men than with women." This surprised me, because it wasn't my experience in college, or if it was, it went unnoticed. This might have to do with people's perceptions of women as more submissive or shy. Unknowingly or not, professors may be propagating this stereotype by calling more on male students, and making more eye contact with them.
I was not surprised that women are less likely to view themselves above average in areas relevant to academic success. I think women are taught to be overly humble about their abilities, and once again, are taught to be more submissive. By understanding these societal differences than influence gender norms, we can alter classroom settings to be less biased in gender.
Shereef’s answer:
Last fall I was in a class with two much older students enrolled, and admittedly I was initially surprised simply because they didn't fit my traditional framework of a college student. That being said, they had very refreshing and mind-opening perspectives; their experiences meant they had a lot to offer towards substantive conversations. Since then, I'd hoped to see this happening more often, where people of various ages can interact in a classroom setting and share their perspectives.
I believe that traditionally speaking we live in a culture geared towards youth in certain ways. There is a notion that mental competence declines with age, and this largely false assumption could definitely discourage potential older students.
That being said, I was very happy to read that not only are there already far more older students than I had imagined, but that their enrollment is increasing in frequency and even specific opportunities for funding from outside groups. This might tie into the fact that we're living in an age where changing jobs midlife is becoming more common and excepted, this of course is just one of many factors.
Personally, I think the idea of continuing education later in life is very refreshing. At least from my viewpoint now, the thought that after college I'll no longer have access to such a wealth of teachable information and skills is a little depressing. I wonder if I do return to taking college classes midlife, how different the culture, technology, and teaching methods might be.
I do also think that the thought of being the only older person in a class of many younger students could make one feel out of place. And to be fair, I'd imagine that many other students might be like me and be a little surprised when enrolling in a class with an older student for the first time. But, this type of integration is so important in my mind; not only can those with more experience communicate their unique thoughts and beliefs to help their younger peers understand their mindset, but young students can also communicate their thoughts and beliefs to help older students better understand the "new age" culture and behavior that comes with it. Overall, I think this type of experience can be very enriching, and might help combat the negative assumptions people may have of their elders, which the media, intentionally or not, continues to propagate.
