Parents, Schools, and Community

This course offers us a place to blast open a critical space toward a better understanding of how our globalizing, ever-diversifying, and ever-pluralizing society informs our communities and schools in the US. We will excavate far below the surface in this course to interrogate notions of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. Not only will we treat these notions, thickly, in theory, we will also wrestle with them, concretely, through a critical service learning experience.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Post 1a: Masucci and Renner

Discuss any experience you have had with service learning (either as a teacher or as a student). What did you take away from the experience? What could have made it better? What stood out to you related to the framework that Matt and I constructed or the problematics we discussed? How could some of these problematics be overcome in our K-12 classrooms? (If at all?)

Post 1b: Nieto, Chapter 5

What is the central thesis or main argument(s) in Chapter 5? How does Nieto back up her assertions? Do you agree or disagree, generally, with these assertions and argument? If you agree, why? How do you connect with her argument, either experientially or intuitively? If you disagree, why? How would you counter her argument? Also, provide any questions you have about the reading.

Post 1c: Experience at VOA

If responding to this post, please provide some reflective comments on your first visit to VOA. What stood out to you? What surprised you? What material that we have read so far and/or discussed resonated with you in thinking about your experience? What are you hoping to learn as a result of this experience?

Monday, June 11, 2007

Welcome

Welcome to our blog! I'm very much looking forward to the conversation over the next few weeks.