101+Agenda+9.18.13


 * Goals for Today:**
 * **To consider complexities around public perception and assessment of schools in the United States**
 * **To identify various purposes for schools that have become a source of conflict and conversation in policy debates**

9:00 - 9:05 - Welcome
 * Watch for autobiography feedback on your GoogleDoc - it's in process now
 * Notetaker: Megan Chucka

9:05 - 9:50 - //Schoolhouse Crock// Discussion
 * Common Themes of Discussion Questions:
 * Finances
 * Testing/Assessment
 * Policy
 * Global
 * Social/Cultural
 * Methods
 * What do these categories tell us about the nature of education?
 * Education affects everything
 * Things that you have to consider when looking at reforming education, it is more complicated that just the children
 * Why are other countries doing better than we are when we spend more money?
 * How can you equally compare schools from different countries?
 * Standardized testing may or may not be a good test of what a student knows
 * What is valued is different in different countries
 * ex.- Japanese students learn through memorization, US students learn through critical thinking
 * Can be measured by the products of the people who come from these schools
 * Our top graduate schools students in the US are international students
 * We should be worried when the US is no longer an innovative nation
 * The US deals with a way more diverse student group than other countries

Is America really doing worse than other countries?? Identify four or five questions that you want to pursue
 * What is our basis for saying that American schools are doing worse than other schools?
 * What is the validity of the standardized test? Are the testing what we really care about?
 * If we assume that American schools are in trouble, what are really effective solutions?
 * What are other countries doing that creates higher success?
 * Are we comparing apples to oranges when we compare our schools to schools of other nations?
 * To Do:**
 * Research a follow-up question from our discussion; come to class prepared to share what you learned