Class Notes from February 5, 2008

Posted by Lane Wallace and Jose Figuero

Final Paper - Information now on Livetext.

2 Elements of Plato's "The Republic"

I. The Cave (most influential paragraph in Western Civilization)

-At the deepest part of the cave, there are people chained who are only able to look at the back of the cave.

-A wall divides these people from another group of people with sticks carrying shadow puppets.

-There is fire behind this second group of people with sticks.

-The sticks and the fire are used to create shadows and a fake reality for those chained at the deepest part of the cave. These chained people represent us and we believe that these shadows are real or (All that is real). We do not know our limits because of this.

-Plato's goal is to get us from the depths fo the cave to the outside of the cave.

- Reason is what eventually gets us out of the cave and into the Sun.

- It takes us a while to realize or reason that we are being manipulated but eventually we do and we begin to get out of the cave. The fire and the sun will blind us at first but our eyes soon adjust and we can see the good.

- The Sun is what gives light to everything and allows us to see the world as it is: What is TRUE, REAL, and GOOD. Plato has a hierarchy of forms with the Sun (The form of the Good) illuminating everything below it and making it intelligible or possible.

- Reason also is what makes us go back in the cave to rescue others who are still chained up. We see this as an obligation, but they will laugh at us because they will not believe that our findings are real. Through reason, we can leave the physical reason behind and focus on the metaphysical, the essence, fundamentals. All physical things eventually cease to be.

-As teachers, we are going back in the cave to free students from the chains and the cave as a whole and bringing them out to the light.

II. 3 parts of the soul

1. Reason - The highest and noblest part of the soul but we do not use it very often.

2. Passion or Spirit - enthusiasm, courage, etc...

3. Appetite - desires and wants, base part of the soul.

- Metaphor of The Chariot - Reason Drives Passion and Appetite.

Bloom and Plato

-Bloom is obviously a philosopher and feeds on Plato (The Republic)

-Bloom believes in nature a great deal, the nature of "things", the proper order of the world. Very largely based in Plato's philosophies. The laws and categories of how things truly operate. Contrasts nature (outside of the cave) to culture (inside of the cave). Emphasizing nature, demonstrates his Platonic ideology.

-Liberation in education mentioned by Bloom represents the cave.

Reading Discussion

-Argument against relativism (Bloom is concerned about openness and the rejection of traditional views without any right or wrong)

-Over openness can create too closed subjects. Ex: Religion (too open and tolerant that we are unable to discuss it.

-Bloom is uncomfortable with our mentality and attitude (We are tolerant of everyone except for the people who think they are right.

-Can't seriously investigate ideas because we can't talk about them.

-Student Comment - Contradiction (Relativity is absolute which means that there is no relativity).

-ethnocentrism- Essential for preservation on one's culture. (Presumption about the way of life that is best). We understand other cultures in terms of our own and ethnocentrism is almost unavoidable in some ways.

-Bloom may not consider different types of ethnocentrism (Good teachers take students out of their ethnocentrism and expose them to other points of views and other cultures).

-Bloom gives reasons to his thoughts - Our society has changed and what was important has changed. There is nothing that all of us have in common now. Bloom's base is "the best". It is important to attempt to have a common cultural base that all of the students should have available to them.

Dr. Pope's Question - Are there things that every American student should know?

Students' answers:

1. American History

2. World History

3. Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

4. Governmental structure

5. Current events

6. Certain set of morals

7. Socially accepted behaviors

8. Civic participation

9. Religion

Bloom's answer: Culture is less important than nature (all student answers were based on culture).

-Every Student should be able to articulate and defend a version of a good life. This requires a certain level of intolerance and ethnocentrism.

- Bloom looks down on those who do not make an opinion and defend it.

Bloom on Books

-Bloom dismisses books that are not "Classic Books".

-Bloom believes that the classic books are better than other books because their content is better.

-Today, we are too engaged in entertainment.

-Relativism is also a part of non classic literature.

-see page 62-63.

Bloom on Music

-Music should harness the passion to reason, rock simply feeds the appetite.

-Music constructs the chariot between reason and passion.

-see pg 75 of book.

Final Class Thoghts

- Student thought-Americans are settling for the light bulb and not pursuing the sun.(Not all light

bulbs are equal).

-Increase in apathy towards learning but not because of relativism

Some reasons:

-Fear of aloneness

-Desire for approval

- Bloom wants for students to think long and hard about who they are and how they relate to others.

Challenge ourselves and others. Good teachers cause us to explore what is essential.

- Bloom is very much a conservative but also differentiates himself in that he is against education serving market interest. School should not be market oriented.

Topics to be discussed next class period

1. Role of Religion

2. Travel and experiencing of other cultures

3. Who is to say what is the good life?

The Cave and The Stable

Our discussion tonight about Plato's description of The Cave reminded me of a scene in C. S. Lewis's The Last Battle, one of the books in The Chronicles of Narnia. There is a great deal of back-story that I will not get into, but I will attempt to set the scene up properly. The Narnians are in the midst of the last battle, fighting the Calormenes and the Dwarfs (who are on neither side). The Calormenes have set up a stable next to a great bonfire, which they originally purported to house the god Tashlan (a composite of the Narnian god Aslan and the Calormene god Tash). During the fight, the Calormenes decide to toss the Dwarfs and the Narnians into the stable, close it up, and burn it as a sacrifice to Tash. Both the Narnians and the Dwarfs fight hard but in the end find themselves in the stable.

At this point I feel it is necessary to point out the difference in the beliefs and attitudes of the Narnians, the Dwarfs, and the few Calormenes who end up in the stable as well. The Narnians are true believers in Right, Good, and Aslan. There is one Calormene who ends up in the stable who is a true believer in Right, Good, and Tash. Several Calormenes give lip service to Tash, but really only serve themselves. The Dwarfs express their attitude in the statement, "The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs". They believe in nothing but themselves and think everyone else is just out to trick them.

Once inside the stable, the Narnians look around blinking their eyes because of the "strong light". One would think that "they were inside a little thatched stable, about twelve feet long and six feet wide. In reality they stood on grass, the deep blue sky was overhead, and the air which blew gently on their faces was that of a day in summer." In other words, they were not in a cave or a stable, but outside with the Sun. After basking in the sun and conversing with old friends in this new place, the Narnians notice that the Dwarfs are still sitting near the door of the stable, unmoving, sitting as though still bound (which they were when they were tossed in). The Dwarfs are convinced they are tied up in a dark, smelly stable. The Narnians beg them to open their eyes, look around, feel the sunshine, and eat the fruit growing from the trees. The Dwarfs ridicule these attempts, and believe that the Narnians are trying to make them believe a lie. When Aslan arrives he says, "They have chosen cunning instead of belief. Their prison is only in their own minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they cannot be taken out."

After discussing Plato this evening I see a definite parallel between The Cave and The Stable. The Dwarfs are the chained people who sit and stare at the back of the cave. With a few exceptions the Calormenes (along with a few others in the story) use their power and the beliefs of others to cast shadows on the walls. The Narnians are those who have escaped from the cave and bask in the Sun, Good, and Reason. They feel a need to help the Dwarfs see and understand that they are not bound after all, but free and surrounded by Sunshine and Good things. The Dwarfs, like the chained ones in the cave, laugh at these attempts to free them.

Bloom and Television's influence

When I was in the fourth grade, my dad announced, somewhat out of the blue, that he was going to, as he put it, “Throw out all the damn TVs.” My brother and sisters and I took this as just another one of his many empty threats, until the Goodwill truck appeared and an evil looking man with big, sausage arms carried the color TVs out of our house and onto his truck and drove away. My mom said we cried more that day than the time they told us they were getting rid of the cat. Maybe my parents had hopes that we would fill our leisure with loftier pursuits, like reading great works of literature and listening to classical music. That was not the case. One might argue, as Bloom suggests, that it was too late; pop culture had already burled its way through our brains causing extensive and irreparable damage.

Four years after the TVs were banished from our home, my brother, Marty, was born. Marty was never exposed to T.V. in the home. I remember the day he came home from my grandparents’ house and with big, round toddler eyes filled with innocence and wonder asked my parents if they could buy one of those boxes with the moving pictures inside. Poor kid. As Bloom would expect, without the distraction of television, Marty turned out to be a voracious reader. He was crazy about books. He coveted them and collected them and carried them everywhere. But his book collection didn’t include Plato, Shakespeare, and Balzac. He read Tom Clancy, and Raymond Chandler, and Ken Follett, that is, after my mother had ripped out the two or three pages in the middle of the book – the requisite steamy sex scene – that she claimed had nothing to do with the book and everything to do with book sales. Perhaps Marty preferred these modern writers because these were the authors my parents were reading. Maybe he would have chosen the “great” writers if he had been more exposed to them. From my own experience, after having been forced to read Beowulf, anything touted as a “great work of literature” made me highly suspicious; that is, until I took a Russian History class in high school. We were told to select a book by one of the Russian authors. It was our choice. I researched several books before choosing Anna Karenina. I can truthfully say that I really enjoyed most of the book.

Maybe it’s the way great works of literature and classical music is typically presented to us that makes most of us recoil. Maybe it’s the way guys like Bloom make us feel vulgar and stupid for not having an immediate appreciation for classical literature and music that turns us off. I agree that children should be exposed to literature and classical music, but it should be presented in a positive manner. Children should feel free to express their opinions about the works, both positive and negative. A more open approach to the classics might encourage children to pursue reading, classical, and other types of music for both enlightenment and pleasure. After all, it ultimately is the reader or listener who determines what is or what is not to be a classic.

Athletics and Economy

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/06/23/stoneham_cuts_all_sports_at_high_school/
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2007/09/02/more_high_school_athletes_have_to_pay_to_play/
This is an interesting article that I found regarding a public school in Massachusetts that decided to cut all sports from their program due to financial reasons. Will North and South Carolina eventually implement a similar idea to rid our financial problems?

It is shocking to me that the athletic program is the first thing to go when financial problems arise. I understand that having various athletic teams in the school system does put a financial burden on the school board as well as the community. However, the impact of taking sports out of schools could cause a controversy that may outweigh the benefits of cutting sports. In a community of 23,000 people, Stoneham’s residents have problems paying the taxes to keep their public high school operating as well as pay for sport programs to stay up and running. The sports program alone at Stoneham requires $600,000 of the school’s total budget. If schools start to get rid of athletics, then how many students will actually stay? Will this decision increase the amount of drop outs each year and put a damper on the amount of athletes that pursue a college education? The increasing popularity of athletics in the public school system has kept many students in school as well as pushed other students to strive hard to make necessary grades in order to stay on their team. Athletics promote students to socialize and forces them to attend classes. If they do not attend classes, they cannot play in the games. Some students that cannot afford to attend college have the chance of receiving a full ride for athletics. If the athletic programs are taken out of the school system then how will these individuals showcase their talent in order to receive a scholarship? Could this keep athletes from attending college and bettering themselves as well as their future? Athletics are a huge part of today’s public school system and the idea to dismiss them from the school system will not be taken lightly.

This article is continued in a more recent one published in September. Stoneham as well as other public schools in the area of Boston decided on raising taxes by implementing a trash fee to all residents of the community. This tax increase on top of a participation fee, to be paid by the athletes, has helped to reinstate athletics back into local schools. The only problem that has been seen so far is that those who are less fortunate do not have the money to participate and this may cause these particular students to leave the school or to drop out all together. Will this controversy continue to the point of excluding sports from public education all together and if it does will the number of students attending college decrease? Will college and professional sports go downhill as well?

Kill All the School Boards

The Atlantic has an interesting article that argues for increased nationalization of our educational system here.

And here is a brief assessment/counterargument from Sherman Dorn (a historian of education).

Relatively Egocentric Revised

    Bloom writes of relativism and ethnocentrism in the reading for this week.  I was especially struck by his discussion on pages 34-37 about why he feels, "relativism has extinguished the real motive of education." (p.34), and why ethnocentrism is not the evil beast we as students are at times led to believe it is.  I have an ongoing argument with my boss who is a young 76 years of age, and can not understand why people, such as terrorist, want to destroy us.  She also can not believe that the cells of terrorists who have lived in this country for years before raising their little heads, would not embrace our ideals as their own after seeing how "wonderful" our way of life is.  I try to tell her that one cannot impart their way of thinking on another culture.  When people are raised to hate, it takes a great deal to change their minds.  We saw that in our own country during the Civil Rights Movement.  Israel and Palestine are prime examples that we really cannot seem to just get along with each other.  Our ethnocentrism always seems to get the best of us.  It does seem to make sense that ethnocentrism is almost a survival mechanism as Bloom somewhat refers to it. He states, "Men must be loyal to their families and their peoples in order to preserve them." (p.37)  We have laws, a government, a judicial system, and a military force to ensure that our way of life is preserved both locally and globally.

    I do not feel that Bloom views ethnocentrism as a bad thing.  I think from the quote in the first paragraph, he might view it as innate and necessary to our very being.  Perhaps his problem with people and the educational system is our willingness to settle for what we get, and not seek our own worldly education.  When he says that the American mind is closed, I feel that his anger is that we seem to have chosen to close our minds to outside experiences because we already believe that what we have is good enough.  Thus we have "The Cave!"     

    "There are no absolutes, freedom is absolute," is one of the many jewels of this book. (p.28)  A contradiction in and of itself, yet it still has meaning.  The limitlessness of our freedom being limited by our own doing perhaps.  Freedom by definition is without limits, but I am not sure that there is such a thing.  Therefore how can it be absolute?  I really do not feel that Bloom sees us as a civilized people as he seems to see the Europeans, because he raves about their intellectualism.  I feel that Bloom views us as being in what might be similar to the Dark Ages in Europe, and he is trying to push us toward Enlightenment.  

      

Class notes 1/30/08

Class notes EDUC 600

Kyle and Jimmy

1/30/08

Recap:

• Reviewed political perspectives
• Conservative
• Liberal
• Radical
• Discussion of Tinkering with Utopia
• Public education and democracy
• Myth of America
• Grammar of Schooling
• Myth of Progress and the Myth of Merit

Modern Organization of Schools

• The organization of the schooling process is referred to as the Grammar of Schooling
• Over the history of this country, this organization has been attempted to be reformed to meet the needs of contemporary society. Some events which have spurred reform are:
• The great depression, economic downturn in the 1980’s, possibly today if trends continue
• Sputnik and the red scare
• A historical survey of these reforms has revealed that the major changes to the organization of the school system are cyclical in their nature.
• Changes that have been proposed in the past are being recycled and reused in the present.
• The authors of the book said that the primary reason for this is that there is a lack of knowledge that such reforms had ever been tried before.
• Policy talk cycles but changes are evolutionary, which creates a situation of great expectations.
• Reforms can only go so far… the more radical they are in their nature (i.e. to the extent they challenge the grammar of schooling) the less likely they are to be successful in the changes they are attempting to implement.

What should schools be there for?

• There are to major competing thoughts on the idea of what the primary duty of high school should be. The ideals at play in this discussion are of freedom and equality in the school systems and the two organizations behind them. The Committee of Ten and the CPOSE saw the purpose of schooling in very different terms, and thus devised very different strategies for schools. These plans covered everything from what and how classes were taught to how the schools were organized.
• In the late 19th Century (1893), the Committee of Ten was formed to answer this very question. The Committee was headed by Charles W. Elliott and consisted of like minded “Ivy League College Folks.”
• As a result of their occupations, the Committee had a conservative view of the purpose of schooling, which was the school system’s job was to ensure that all students received an academic education (i.e. the focus of education should be on the core subjects of science, math, english, and social studies.)
• Believed everyone would benefit from high academic standards regardless of intentions after school (vocational, higher education, etc.)
• `The Committee was formed in response to the growing number of people at the turn of the century entering the school system, and as a result the realm of higher education.
• They wanted to ensure that students were prepared for college upon arrival. The Committee was their vehicle to separate the “wheat from the chaff,” so that they were able to allow the best and brightest into the college ranks. They proposed a standardization of high schools across the country so that colleges would be able to predict the likelihood a student would succeed in college
• This was also the vehicle they utilized to keep the affluent status quo (who were already proficient students) attending college and the poor immigrants (who may struggle through this new system) out.
• Ideologies and reform can be seen in present day schools with the division of classes from general to advanced in the same subject field.
• The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education was organized in 1917 to offer an alternative to the perspective proposed by the Committee of Ten.
• They believed that high schools should be for all people and not just those who are bound for college, and as a result, they made proposals that made schools for everyone.
• In their opinion, schools had to be places that were for everyone so that they would stay in school and be a viable member of society.
• The CPOSE desired a vocational element be added to the school system so that those students who were not going to college could learn a skill and be a viable member of the workforce upon their completion of high school.
• They also proposed a system of “tracking” in which students’ academic progress would be monitored and would then be used to place them on an education path that would be more attune to their individual needs. For example, if a student is not performing very well in his or her academic classes and have no desire to go to college they would be placed on a track that would enable them to take a variety of vocational classes.
• Standardize Testing was created in this time period to serve as the Cardinal principles’ vehicle for track placement.
• 1957 is an incredibly important date in the history of the public education system in the country. It is the year that the Soviet Union put the very first satellite into orbit around the earth.
• This was all but the death nail in the coffin of the CPOSE, because the policy-makers saw this defeat as the fault of a school system that had gone away from focusing on the important academic subjects, which had been the central theme of the conservative Committee of Ten.
• In the aftermath of this event, policy-makers chose to revert to the older philosophy of schooling and began pouring funding into science and math in hopes of trying to make up the ground they felt they lost to the soviets.

The Learning Factory

• One of the leading metaphors in education and schooling is the school is a factory, because of many characteristics the two share in common. Most people did not at one time go to college, so school was the environment that readied this new population for the workforce. Factories were also seen as institutions that effectively managed large amounts of people and therefore a good model to apply to school settings.
• Hierarchy: The organization of public schools and factories both center around a stratified structure
• Principle = plant manager
• Teachers = worker
• Students = product

• The Day: In both the school and the factory all the goings-on is controlled by the bell. A bell rings to start the day, start and stop activities, and to end the day.
• Repetitive tasks: Both environments seek to make the workers as efficient as possible by creating an environment that seeks them to repeat tasks over and over until mastery is achieved.

Tinkering Towards Utopia Chapter Review, very brief outline of our class discussion

Chapter three

• What is meant by the success or failure of school reform?
• Fidelity, Effectiveness and Longevity.
• Don't take in effect in unintended reform.
• Kindergarten - child saving, transition into wider social world.
• Junior High - taking children at risk and keeping them in school, catered to age.
• Created smaller community of learners

• Governing New York school
• Nation at risk - St. testing, fixing problems, forms blueprint for no child left behind.

Chapter 4

• Why does the grammar of school persist?
• The grammar of school has been widely excepted for years, as a result it is seen as legitimate
• Created the grammar of school institution
• The Graded School
• The Carnegie Unit

• Challenged the grammar of schooling standards
• The Dalton Plan
• Eight Year Study
• High Schools of Tomorrow

Chapter 5

• How and why schools have been reinvented?
• The business of schooling
• Managing education
• Contracting for performance
• Teaching by machine
• The business of teaching

Epilogue

• Where is education today and how did it get there? What is the purpose of reform?
• Reform is a slow evolutionary process
• Reform has been cyclic in nature
• Reform must have teacher input

• Its purpose should be to improve learning, not just test scores
• Learning can take place at
• Intellectual level
• Civic
• And social development