The traditions paper is the central space in this course for you to begin developing and defending a coherent vision of public education in our society. In this paper, you’ll grapple with a single fundamental question: what ought to be the role of public education in our democratic society? Consider, for example, the positions advocated by each tradition: critical pedagogues argue that schools ought to work toward social justice by disrupting social reproduction, while (some) conservatives claim that education should help us to compete in the newly global economy both individually and as a nation.
Do not use this paper merely to summarize each of the traditions – rather draw on the traditions and weave them into your argument as needed to support your position. Your ultimate aim here is coming to some initial conclusion about the complex and controversial issues that we’ve discussed in the course.
Broadly, this paper should help you to reflect deeply on the social meaning of education in our society.
My hope is that this paper will help (or even force!) you to develop a stance that will in turn inform your thinking about education, democracy, capitalism, equality and inequality, and so on. Especially given that we’re so often called upon as citizens in our democratic society to make important decisions about education that ultimately impact the lives of children, teachers, and our communities in general, we must be aware, informed, and critical. I hope, then, that you approach this paper not as some dry and useless exercise in proving to me that you have internalized the facts that I’ve presented in the course. Rather, I hope that you use this paper productively to work through some of the real and profound questions that confront us as citizens.
Papers should be approximately six pages.
It might help you to return to some of our “driving questions” as you construct your vision for education:
What is the relationship between school and society?
What is – and what ought to be – the role of public education in our democratic society?
Does public education promote equality (“the great equalizer” in a meritocratic society), or does it work to increase class, gender, race, etc. disparity?
Should education be a force for social justice, or should it focus solely on transferring content into the minds of students?
What sort of education helps to create and maintain a healthy democratic society filled with critical citizens?
Does inequality in schools relate directly to inequality in society more generally?
Do parents have unlimited control over the education of their children, or does some authority rest with the state and the school?
And here are some more specific questions that might help to guide you:
What kinds of things should we teach?
Who should control the curriculum?
How should schools handle “controversial” topics (religion, sexuality, etc.)?
How should schools and classrooms be organized?
What should the relationship between teachers and students look like?
What is the relationship between schools, teachers, and families?
How does power impact the way that public education is structured and the kinds of knowledge we teach?
