Discussion and summary

Essay exam

You will be taking an essay exam. Do not confuse an essay exam with a short answer exam; they are not the same. You will be given 4 essay questions from chapter readings completed so far. It is highly recommended that you spend approximately 30 minutes to respond to each question. Hence, work on this throughout the week.

You will need to respond to each question in a substantive and meaningful way. You are only allowed to use your own words to address each question. If you are found to copy directly from the book, you will not receive credit for the question. This is about what YOU have learned; thus, you need to explain and discuss and even define (based on your own understanding). That does not mean you cannot paraphrase. You can. But….you need to be very careful to limit your paraphrasing and make sure you clearly (using in-text citations) identify what sentences have been paraphrased and which sentences are yours.

If you are still a little shaky on how to paraphrase and avoid plagiarism, we have a host of tutorial videos under the APA Tutorials menu bar in our class. I would highly recommend that ALL students go back and review these videos prior to taking this. Again, copying word for word out of your book or via other resources OR incorrectly paraphrasing or summarizing will cause you to receive NO CREDIT for the response, so you need to know what you are doing, prior to taking this assignment.

1. Though the U.S. school population is increasingly diverse, the teaching force has not kept pace. African American, Asian American, and Hispanic American students make up almost 40 percent of the public-school population, but only 15 percent or less of elementary and secondary teachers are from these minority groups. This disparity will continue and grow. How will this disparity shape teaching and learning? What specific impact will this have on education? What can school districts, colleges and universities do in response.

2. Define and discuss (1) teacher certification, (2) reciprocity and (3) alternative certification. What are these three tracks and how do they differ? Do you feel that these certifications are needed? Lastly, do they help the teaching professional maintain their status as a profession?

3. This question relates back to your Chapter 4 readings.  Discuss who you believe is the most influential educational pioneer and highlight the following.

1.  What was his or her philosophy or philosophies about education and/or learning.  Discuss this in detail.

2.  Discuss how their philosohy or philosophies have impacted education as whole.  In other words, describe their influence on education

3.  And, lastly, discuss how their philosophy /philsophies intertwine with your educational philosphy.

3. Discuss the plight (challenges) of African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and Asian Americans in their sought to be educated in the United States. Begin with the reconstruction until present day. What obstacles have these groups faced, and what critical legal rulings have impacted their ability to gain access to education.