07.750 Graduate Summative Seminar
Brandon University
June 2018
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OVERVIEW OF EDUCATIONAL ISSUES
07.752
SUMMARY
This course will engage students in critical discussion of the main issues facing the educational system, including public, private, and band-operated schools. The course is designed to broaden students’ knowledge and understanding bringing multiple perspectives to bear upon complex educational issues as viewed through the perspective of critical theory and critical pedagogy, leading to ideas for transformative professional practice.
WHAT TO EXPECT
From the first assigned reading, students will be pushed to think of schools in a much more critical manner. Prepare to define your idea of a good school and then have that idea challenged by being exposed to different perspectives and ideals of what constitutes a good school. You will also explore the complex history of education and educational trends.
REFLECTION
It was through this first course that I began to appreciate the structure and complexity of the educational system. This helped me recognize why we teach what we teach and why we teach it the way we do. This course also provided me with a greater appreciation of some of the beneficial trends in education and some of the trends that have fortunately passed.  Learning about big names like Friere and Giroux helped me understand some of the previous schools of thought on how teachers once viewed students. A phrase that has stuck with me for years is regarding children’s heads being empty receptacles in need of filling; as if children were just blank and dark before they arrived at school waiting for the omnipotent teacher to fill them with education to bring them to life.
SIGNIFICANT READINGS
Cowley, P. (2004). The good school: A quality checklist. Education Canada. 44 (3), 10-12.
Darder, A., Baltodano, M. P., & Torres, R. D. (Eds.). (2009). The critical pedagogy reader (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group.
Gossen, D. C. (2001). Restitution: Restructuring school discipline. Chapel Hill, NC: New View
Shaker, E. (2004). The good school: More than the sum of its parts. Education Canada. 44 (3),
13-15.
Ungerleider, C. (2004). Changing expectations: Changing schools. Education Canada. 44 (3),
18-21.
ARTIFACTS
I chose to include two papers I wrote on the topic of good schools. This was a two-part assignment. At the beginning of the course, we were asked to write about what we felt a good school would encompass, and then that same assignment was given at the end of the course after having completed many readings and other assignments. Although some of my ideas remained consistent, my perspective did change from the beginning to the end of the course. I think the biggest change came from having been exposed to different perspectives and philosophies on education through a critical lens.
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The third paper is based on the topic of race and social class. Prior to this course I was not aware of the impact race and social class have in education. Teachers can unwittingly be guided by their own bias, and students can feel inferior due to their race or social class. This paper addresses those issues and how they impact student success and development.
