American+Schools

Welcome The name of this course is The School in American Society. This course is offered by City College of New York and the Rockland Teachers Center Institute. My name is Professor Michael Gill. We will explore "the price and promise of citizenship" (Obama, 2009) as it relates to the state of education in America. My contact information is: Email - mgill@nrcsd.org and Phone - (845) 942-3306.

Course Outline

Course Materials starting with the soul

** Course Work for week of June 3-17 ** 1. Read two to three recent news articles from a mainstream news source on the topics of school funding, teacher salaries, tax caps, collective bargaining agreements, teacher evaluations, etc. You can focus on recent news events happening in places like Wisconsin, Indiana or right here in New York. Write a one page analysis of the recent happenings on the topics above and the state of public education in America. 2. Select your topic on American schools. Research the topic. Be prepared to share your findings with classmates. 3. Read Chapters 1-7 in the Pact and participate on the discussion board a minimum of three posts.

** Course Work for weeks of June 17- July 1 ** 1. Read Chapters 8-10 in The Pact. Participate on the discussion board with a minimum of three posts. 2. Read the article "Starting with the Soul" (posted above) and answer the following questions: How do the authors suggest we meet the deeper needs of teachers? What are some ideas in the article you woulk like to see implemented in your school and or your classroom? 3. Visit the website "All Things PLC" (linked below as PLC - Inspriational Stories). Read one of the inspirational stories on Professional Learning Communities (PLC's). Compose a short response (no more than one page) about how the schools are "Making It Happen." Submit to professor via email. 4. Write an inspirational story (no more than one page) about your organization - it can be district/school/classroom. If you do not have a current inspirational story, create one about what the future would be like in your organization. Submit to professor via email.

** Course Work for week of July 1-15 ** 1. Read chapters 11-16 in The Pact. Participate on the discussion board with a minimum of three posts. 2. Read the three NY Times articles below. In a one page analysis, identify some of the key problems. Then, search possible solutions to the problems via two different sources on best practices for educating students who are immigrants. Do a one page description of the research on your solutions. 3. Read the article ** " ** Cocksure" above and participate on the discussion board a minimum of two posts 4. Complete the Last Lecture assignment.

**Course Work for week of July 15-29** 1. Read Chapters 17-19 in The Pact. Participate on the discussion board with a minimum of three posts. 2. Complete research assignment on your assigned topic.

Texts Kohn, Aflie (2006). //Beyond Discipline.// Davis, Jenkins, & Hunt (2002). //The Pact.//

Websites [] [] [] [|PLC - Inspirational Stories] [|AFT - article] [|Cities in Crisis] [|What Matters for Staying On-Track] [|American Educator - Reform] [|American Educator] [|Atlantic - Great Teacher] [|Atlantic - America Rising] [|NY Times - Change] [|NY Times - Struggling in Suburbs] [|NY Times - Immigrants] [] [|http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/20/obama.politics/#cnnSTCVideo]