BROOKLYN COLLEGE

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Education 16, MY1   The Art, Philosophy and Culture of Teaching , Spring,2006
Class meetings: Mondays/Wednesdays, 1:40-3:20
 
Professor Karel Rose

Office:  2405 James,  718- 951-5218,

Office hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, 12:30-1:30 and by appointment.

Please feel comfortable about scheduling appointments with me to discuss the course content as well as other matters of concern.

 

Education 16   3 hours recitation; 25 hours field experience; 3 credits

Study of teaching, linking theory and practice and connecting the philosophical, historical and cultural foundations of education with curriculum and the art of teaching. Relation of significant educational movements, philosophies and teaching practices to all students’ educational experiences, including students with special needs and English language learners, from birth through adolescence. Opportunities through class discussion, portfolio preparation, and field experiences for reflection on interactions between school and community, teachers’ roles and issues of diversity and social justice.

 

Dear Students,

The course will identify the aesthetic aspects of teaching and learning. “Grand Conversations” is your opportunity to assume the teaching role and explain complex issues to our class. The best way to learn something is to transform it into teaching. This is a studio course which means that we will work as a community of learners honoring, caring and learning from each other. We will consider the following aspects of learning:  1) learning how to learn 2) caring 3) the human dimension, 4) application 5) what knowledge is most important and 6) the integration of  learning.  New York State Learning Standards are reflected in the objectives and assignments. Field experiences will provide further opportunities for reviewing and developing teaching strategies that focus on effective relationships among schools, home and community. This course has an  writing-intensive component which means that you will be asked to reflect in writing about philosophic issues through the lens of your personal and educational experiences. NCATE Standards will be identified and your work will be evaluated d in the following areas: Integration of Course Work with Field Observations, Self-Reflection, Critical Thinking about Social Justice, Diversity and Collaboration, Teacher and Student Perspectives, Form and Presentation of Written Work.

 

The conceptual frameworks identified by the Brooklyn College School of Education are:  Collaboration, Diversity, Critical Self-Reflection and Social Justice. The sampling of course objectives noted below reflect these conceptual frameworks.

 

1.      Candidates will lead discussions that demonstrate their ability to express their understanding of how to teach students from differing backgrounds with varying abilities in diverse school environments where controversial social issues may be in the foreground. (Diversity and Collaboration)

2.      Candidates will be able to demonstrate in writing, through class lessons and expressive work in the arts, their understanding and appreciation of the significant role of aesthetic education as a way of knowing and personal empowerment. (Social Justice and Diversity)

3.      Candidates will be able to translate their understanding of various educational philosophies into a personal and then a collective perspective about  the ways in which social justice may be extended through education in a modern democratic society. This objective may be expressed in writing, through portfolio submissions or through class discussions. (Social Justice and Critical Self-Reflection)

4.      Candidates will be able to express in writing and through discussion their understanding of  the meaning of philosophy and scholarship in their personal lives.(Critical Self-Reflection)

5.      Candidates will demonstrate in college class and in their schools their ability to develop learning environments in which they and the students assume responsibility for themselves and one another. (Collaboration)

 

Required Readings:       

Karel Rose and Joe Kincheloe, Art, Culture and Education: Artful Teaching in a Fractured Landscape, New York, Peter Lang Publishing, 2003.

Ronald Reed, Tony Johnson, Philosophical Documents in Education, New York, Longman, (latest edition)

William Steig, Dominic, New York, Farrar,Straus and Giroux, 1972.

Instructor handouts

 

Selected videos:  “ Blade Runner,” “The Man Who Wasn’t There” “Crimes and Misdemeanors,”“Seeking Solutions to Violence,”“Saving Private Ryan,” “ Mr. Holland’s Opus,”“ Being There,””Dead  Poet’s Society, “Life is Beautiful,” “Roshomon” “Bowling for Columbine” “The Mona Lisa Smile” “ The Great L.A. Wall,” “Coach Carter”

 

Required Field Experiences:(25 hours)

You are required to spend and document 25 hours in field settings as follows:

 

I.  (A minimum of 20 hours in settings approved by the School of Education ) Recognizing that education happens in places other than schools, these settings, in certain circumstances, might be agencies, clinics, arts programs, private tutoring facilities, nursing homes etc. You will be carefully observing students and teachers in a learning mode and keeping field notes on each of the settings where you observe. Field settings will be connected to our course work and are to be selected from an approved School of Education packet available at FAR Better Copy on Hillel Place. You will submit a proposal of your projected hours on March 8th.

 

II.  (A minimum of 5 hours-To be signed off by the instructor)

1.      “Return to Elementary School”-Visit your elementary school or the elementary school in your neighborhood for a morning or afternoon.(Paper due on  April 26th)

2.      “Return to High School”-Visit your high school or the high school in your neighborhood for a morning or afternoon.  (Paper due on May 10th)

3.      Cultural visit: attendance at a live performance and/or visit to a museum

 

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

1.      ALWAYS BRING ASSIGNED READINGS TO CLASS. IT IS EXPECTED THAT YOU WILL HAVE READ THE ASSIGNED READINGS AND WILL BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS OR WRITE ABOUT THEM. YOUR RESPONSE TO THE READINGS AND SUBSEQUENT DISCUSSIONS ARE THE ESSENTIAL CORE OF OUR COURSE SESSIONS.

2.      ATTENDANCE IS EXPECTED AT EACH SESSION. COMING LATE TO CLASS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN TWO (2) UNEXCUSED ABSENCES OR LATENESSES, THIS WILL BE REFLECTED IN YOUR FINAL GRADE..

3. ALL ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE COMPUTER GENERATED AND      

    PROOFREAD.

4. LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

 

COURSE SYLLABUS 

 (Syllabus subject to change dependent upon availability of special events, outside speakers and field resources.)

 

Module 1: FOUNDATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY:PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL/

CULTURAL 

 

JANUARY 30            Introductions; Course Overview; What is philosophy? Philosophy

                                    of Education? Big philosophical ideas-Power of language-“Blink”

FEBUARY 1             Submit autobiographical letter; Objects and belief systems

FEBRUARY 6          Bring children’s picture book with philosophical implications (submit (1) page paper

FEBRUARY 8          Rose, Kincheloe, Preface, Chapter 2

FEBRUARY 15        “Dominic” (in class writing)-Grand Conversations meetings

FEBRUARY 21(Tuesday) Submit (3) titled narratives of educational experience

FEBRUARY 22           Grand Conversations: Group 1

 

Module 2:     IDEALISM, PRAGMATISM, EXISTENTIALISM

Idealism, Socrates and Plato

FEBRUARY 27        Reed,  Chapter 1

MARCH 1                  Grand Conversations: Group 2

MARCH 6                  Teaching translations of Idealism-(In class writing: Idealism)

                                     Rose, Kincheloe, Chapter 6—Objects(Idealism,Reality, Illusion)

MARCH 8                 Grand Conversations: Group 3-Submit Field Proposal

Pragmatism and John Dewey

MARCH 13                Reed, Chapter 8 (pp.87-100)

MARCH 15               John Dewey continued (In class writing)

MARCH 20                Grand Conversations: Group 4

Existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus

MARCH 22                Sartre (handouts)

MARCH 27                Life is Beautiful” (view video at home)

                                    “Myth of Sisyphus”(in class writing)

MARCH 29                Grand Conversations: Group 5

APRIL 3                     Existentialism (In class writing)           

APRIL 5                     Educational implications of Idealism, Pragmatism, Existentialism

 
Module 3: Historical and Cultural Foundations of Schooling

APRIL 10                  Grand Conversations: Group 6

APRIL 24                   Submit midterm: Collage and written paper                    

                                    Rose, Kincheloe, chapter 4

APRIL 26                   Reed, Chapter 13 (Freire)

                                    Submit paper: “Return to Elementary School”                                  

MAY 1                        Submit “Philosophy Statement”                              

 

Module 4: Children, Schooling and the Art of Teaching

MAY 3            Rose, Kincheloe, chapter 5

MAY 8            Reed, Chapter 16 (Noddings)

MAY 10          Grand Conversations:  Group 7

                                    Submit paper; “Return to High School”                           

MAY 15,17   Review and summations: Re-thinking teaching:  Who are you

                                     Now?  Field Project due

 

Assessment criteria:  Class citizenship, commitment and participation 20%, Midterm and Final 30%, Grand Conversations 10%,Quizes, response papers, in-class writing 20%, Field observations and documentation, 20%

 

Brooklyn College Policy on Academic Integrity

“Academic dishonesty of any type, including cheating and plagiarism, is unacceptable at Brooklyn College. Cheating is any misrepresentation in academic work. Plagiarism is the representation of another person’s work, words or ideas as your own. ”Brooklyn College Undergraduate Bulletin, p.274

 

Throughout the semester ,extra credit experiences will be identified by the instructor. You may also request to respond to appropriate experiences for this course:  e.g. children’s and adolescent literature, selected Brooklyn College events, Wolfe Institute programs, Theatre Department presentations, NYC events, selected readings.

 

Grand Conversations (Groups)

Group 1, February 22          Children as Philosophers

Group 2, March 1                  The Socratic Method: Consolations for Unpopularity

Group 3, March 8                  Seinfeld and Philosophy

Group 4, March 20                “Nickel and Dimed: The Working Poor”

Group 5, March 29                 Existentialism through Literature

Group 6,  April 10                    American Education: Historical Perspectives

Group 7,May 10                    Nel Noddings and the Aims of Education

 

To meet (5) hours of the Field Requirement:(To be signed off by Prof. Rose)

Return of Elementary School and Return to High School: Response Papers 

 

Submit a separate response paper for the required elementary (April26) and high school (May 10) visits.

            You are being asked to return to the elementary and high school that you attended. If geography makes this an impossibility, visit the school in the district where you live. Call first and make an appointment to spend a morning or afternoon in the school.          

 

Answer the following questions for EACH paper: (One page for each answer-Two pages for question (2))    (Think like a philosopher when you respond.)

 

1.      One thing I would like to say about this experience is:

2.      Identify (2) readings that we  have studied this semester that have helped you in your understanding of this school setting. Identify the reading by title and author and clearly connect the reading and the school experience. (Use different readings for each paper) (a minimum of one page for EACH reading)

3.      What new insights do you have about yourself in the teaching role as a result of this experience?

 

THE LIVES YOU TOUCH FAR OUTWEIGH THOSE WHO ONLY  

SEE THEIR OWN VISION!