Deck 14: School and Society: Teaching and Teacher Leadership in the 21st Century

Question 1

As you reflect on your new understanding of the social foundations of education, revisit the link between education and democracy. What role do you think democracy plays in schooling? Explain how your thoughts have evolved during your study and briefly evaluate the current state of American schools in this context.

Answer 1

No answer

Question 2

Is a course in social foundations of education relevant in the current climate of standardized testing and professional standards? Why or why not? What are the three major things that you will take away from your study?

Answer 2

No answer

Question 3

What motivates you to teach? Reflect on your personal, political, and professional motivations. Describe how you see yourself as a teacher.

Answer 3

No answer

Question 4

Develop your own initial theory of impact. What do you want to accomplish as a teacher? What outcomes will you strive for? How will you avoid those outcomes that you don't desire? What impact do you seek to have on your students' thinking, valuing, understanding, skills, and life chances?

Question 5

In the final chapter, the authors state: "From the early national period to the common-school era; from the progressive era through the cold war to the post-cold war period of contemporary school reform; from agrarianism to industrialism and urbanization; from urbanization to suburbanization and the postindustrial computer age; form classical liberalism to modern liberalism to neoliberalism-the story of public schools in the United States has been marked by a tension between the ideals of democratic equality versus the practices of unequal schooling . . ." Explain the terms used by the authors, the relationships among the time periods, and how the tension the author speaks about manifests itself during each of these times.

Question 6

A theory of impact explains

A) how a teacher's goal should be the same regardless of the social context.
B) the connection between the way one teaches and the outcomes of such teaching.
C) the connection between a lack of cultural understanding and poor learning results.
D) how a teacher's goals are reducible to his or her students' test scores.

Question 7

An important way teachers can increase the impact that they have on their students, school, and society is through

A) collective action.
B) collaboration.
C) leadership.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 8

Study in the social foundations of education can

A) eliminate racism and gender bias.
B) put teachers in a better position to improve student learning.
C) have a powerful effect on ending economic discrimination.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 9

A theory of impact for the study of the social foundations of education will help teachers to

A) teach more effectively.
B) understand that culture is our primary context.
C) bridge the cultural gap between the student and the school.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 10

An important way to enable low-income and ethnically diverse children to succeed with challenging academic material is

A) to find ways to bridge the cultural gap between the school and the child.
B) to place those children on a separate track until they are comfortable with the new material.
C) to use the results of IQ tests to determine the type of challenge each individual student is capable of.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 11

Which of the following will help teachers to teach more effectively?

A) Development of a theory of impact
B) An understanding of the relevant context
C) Collaboration with other teachers
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 12

Which of the following statements about the authors' beliefs about teachers' roles in social change is most accurate?

A) Teachers must transform society by ending racism, gender bias, and economic discrimination.
B) The primary purpose of teaching is to change the inequitable social structure.
C) Social change can happen by helping students reach their full potential as learners and persons.
D) The most noble theory of impact for teaching is "teaching to save the world."

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of the division in the United States over the entitlement of all children to receive equal resources for their education?

A) The fact that public education was made a national and not a state responsibility
B) The decision of states to make school funding a local matter
C) The easy access of all to their choice of either public or private education
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 14

According to Adam Urbanski, in the absence of good instruction, which of the following is the best predictor of student achievement in school?

A) Socioeconomic status
B) Standardized test scores
C) IQ scores
D) Luck

Question 15

Why don't all schools produce high-level learning results for low-income youth?

A) Because we don't know how to replicate successful learning environments
B) Because all schools are appropriately organized and some are bound to fail
C) Because of the political economy and ideological context in which schools operate
D) All schools do produce appropriate learning environments

Question 16

The authors believe that if teachers want to see schools that serve the learning needs of all children, then

A) they must work for change at a national level.
B) they must work collectively and strategically with others.
C) they must think bigger than things they can solely do at their own school.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 17

The authors categorize peoples' motivations to teach into three major categories: It's mostly about

A) career, politics, and psychology.
B) money, summers off, and kids.
C) me, the kids, or social change.
D) social change, democracy, or social justice.

Question 18

In relation to peoples' motives to enter the teaching profession, the authors believe

A) that rarely will someone be motivated by only one consideration.
B) that some motivations are more noble than others.
C) that those with selfish motivations should be dissuaded from the teaching profession.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 19

The authors believe that

A) it is dependent on a teacher's motivation to teach as to whether a theory of impact is necessary.
B) all teachers, regardless of motivation, develop clear goals for themselves.
C) hopes and dreams are an acceptable substitute for a theory of impact.
D) regardless of a teacher's motivation, it is necessary to have a theory of impact to develop clear goals.

Question 20

For teachers whose motivation is "mostly about the kids,"

A) social foundations of education are less important because they are already motivated by kids.
B) they measure their own success by their impact on children and the need to know how learning is influenced by cultural contexts.
C) they soon begin to understand that sometimes in education "it is too late."
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 21

A theory of impact for a teacher whose motivation is "all about the kids" would include which of the following goals?

A) Having ambitious learning goals for students
B) Learning what must be done in the classroom and in the school to help students achieve the goals that have been set
C) Becoming clear about how to assess whether the goals have been reached
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 22

Which of the following statements about teaching to "save the world" is accurate?

A) Those who teach to save the world will experience the most career fulfillment.
B) There is no good theory or evidence to support the belief that teachers can bring about substantial changes in the social order.
C) Those who control the schools naturally support a change in the power structure, providing the environment necessary for teachers to make true social change.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 23

Teacher leadership is defined as

A) the willingness and ability of teachers to take responsibility for school outcomes outside their own classrooms.
B) the willingness of teachers to respect the hierarchical structure of the schools and to learn how to operate within that structure.
C) the ability of teachers to understand that they need only to lead their class into academic achievement to be true leaders.
D) the understanding that teachers must work independently to help solve problems that they perceive.

Question 24

Which of the following will result from effective teacher leadership?

A) Evaluation of the effectiveness of teacher collaboration
B) Decisions about how teachers can better work together
C) Implementation of new approaches to student learning
D) All of these answers are correct.