Brennan Dillard

Chapter 3: A History of Schooling in America

Observing teachers in action is an important part of understanding what it means to be a teacher. Watch all of the videos
listed for this module. Consider all of them when completing this reflection sheet. Use this form to respond to the prompts
as they relate to the video selections. Connect our chapter reading to your observation reflection when applicable.

Chapter 3 Focus: A History of Schooling in America

This chapter focuses on the dominant philosophies that influence education. It also discusses the impact of the federal
government legislation and increased accountability in the 21st century. One of the video selections focuses on legislation,
and the other two focus on supporting EL students, or emerging bilinguals.

Elementary & Secondary Education Act

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzUzlQHfekM&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdrCsN00qbQ

Reflection Questions Your Response

Create a thoughtful response with complete sentences. Provide specific examples
from the video and written commentary to fully answer each reflection question.

What surprised you from the
videos this week?
The thing from this week’s videos was the “Global California 2030” initiative that was
put in place. This focuses on ensuring the equal opportunity for success amongst
bilingual students in the state, and I believe that this is a wonderful project to have
operating within our schooling system. Up until these videos, I had never even heard
of it.

When considering how best to One major negative impact that can be seen placed upon ESL students is their lack of
support EL learners, what might
be challenging for the teacher
and/or students?
From the lesson clips you viewed,
describe aspects that appeared
exciting or rewarding for the
teacher and/or the students.
What was happening that led you
to feel this way?
From the lesson clips you viewed,
what did you notice about what
the students were doing to learn
language in addition to content?
What were some strategies you
noticed the teacher using?
Our book shares key elements of several educational philosophies (pg.43 ). Share evidence of each philosophy that you
noticed from the video clips.
Essentialism
interaction with a lot of children who attend their school. If one cannot understand the
language that is most popular for that specific area, then one faces many obstacles
when it comes to learning the nuances of the language. On top of that, ESL students
are prone to feel a sense of segregation since they are unable to thoroughly relate
to the other students in a healthy way.
It appears that both the bilingual students and teachers feel a great sense of pride in
their ability to speak multiple languages. In one of the videos, a girl mentions that she
feels her competency in these languages will open many opportunities for her down
the line. Surely, they must feel a sense of accomplishment for being able to achieve
their capabilities, and this also makes them more versatile when it comes to simple
human relations. The teachers also seem to feel that they are being a great help to
these students who are still learning English, and they can live vicariously through the
students’ progressive understanding.
One thing from the videos that stood out to me as a consistent trend amongst the
students was the practice of writing everything down in both English and their native
language. This is a wonderful tool that allows the students to bridge any translation
gaps that still may be living in their brain. One of the teachers from the videos even
mentioned that without maintaining a strong connection to their native language, a
student will find themselves struggling more when it comes to English comprehension.
I also noticed that many of the teachers shown were properly demonstrating how
positive reinforcement can positively benefit a class. When it comes to a difficult
subject such as learning a new language, students are prone to feel down. As we see
here, it is important for teachers to constantly urge their students forward and
remind them that their struggles are valid.
You can find essentialism present in these lessons due to the nature of the topic that
we are discussing. The concept of essentialism is one that focuses of the education
standards that are deemed “essential” for one to make their way throughout society.
Since we are talking about language, which is the most essential aspect to any society,

Perennialism
Progressivism
Social Reconstructionism/ Critical
Theory
Existentialism
Standards-Based Reform, NCLB, ESSA, and Common Core State Standards are headings in Chapter 3.
What do you notice about
standards and standardized
assessments in the video clips?
Teachers are always learning from each other. Classroom observations are an important part of developing a rich,
essentialism is present throughout.
I believe that perennialism can be seen in the first video depicting the elementary and
secondary education act. This was an act put into place by President Lyndon Johnson,
and its main objective was to ensure equal opportunity for all schoolchildren
throughout the country. I believe that this decision was based in the old American
ideal that every man should have an equal opportunity at a fulfilling life.
Progressivism is a philosophy that centralizes around students applying their
understanding to real-life scenarios. I feel that this can be seen in the bilingual video
when the students are studying the anatomy of a drawn bug with labels written in
their native language and in the English translation. This is a strong example of the
students implementing their subject matter into real life.
The philosophy of social reconstructionism/critical theory is one that focuses on the
promotion of social and political reform that are needed in a society. This can also be
seen in the elementary and secondary education act put in place by Lyndon Johnson.
The American people saw a strong need for change regarding our public education,
and he took it upon himself to endure that it happened.
This is a philosophy that is based upon each individual student having the modality to
choose the life that they want to live for themselves. I would argue that this can be
felt in the students who are going out of their way to learn a language that is
different than their native tongue. I believe that this shows the students expressing
their right to expand their understanding of multiple cultures and choosing what
aspects of those cultures they want to implement into their personal lives.
I noticed that the people in the video seemed to feel very confident in these tests’
ability to gauge the understanding possessed by the students. They also seemed to
be designed in a way that keeps up with the current expectations of the education
system.
reflective, and effective practice.

Share one question that you Do teachers have any involvement with the decisions as to what is to be considered
have about teaching as it relates standardized information?
to this reflection.

Share three things you have 1. Once a student can overcome all the obstacles that come with being ESL, they often
learned from this week’s videos. find themselves better equipped for success as compared to their single-language
speaking counterparts.

2. Massive educational reform is possible if the reformative message has enough

support behind it. (Elementary and Secondary Education Act)

3. It is important to be cognizant of teaching philosophies throughout one’s teaching

career.