William Butler Yeats
Essay 1
Re-visioning Education:
Exploring Your Educational Philosophy
Puente English 1T: Winter 2014
“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transition of their world.”
– Paolo Freire
Background and Assignment Context: In your initial examination and analysis of the problem of the achievement gap, you read various critical texts that both explore the causes and possible solutions to this problem. In addition, you have done the important work of inviting and exploring the voices and perspectives on this issue from your local community that are often neglected from this larger conversation. In conducting these interviews, you have created a space for stakeholders who can contribute to solving this problem. Looking ahead to next quarter, when you will collaborate with your peers to propose solutions to the achievement gap problem to our campus community in our student-led symposium, we ask you to consider how these past few weeks have shaped your philosophy of education.
Focus Question: What is your educational philosophy? What values and learning strategies matter most to you? Why do you think these values and learning strategies are foundational to how our schools, in particular colleges, function today?
Readings:
- Ontiveros, Skye. Recycling the Gift: The Passion Project 2 (film)
- Dweck, Carol. “Mind-Sets and Equitable Education” (magazine article)
- Interview Transcript- Your Text (primary source)
- Freire, Paolo. “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education” (book excerpt)
Prompt: Write a 1,000-1,250 word essay (4-5 pages) that explores and defines your own educational philosophy. Explain what you believe is the role/function of college in today’s society and come to a conclusion about the values and/or skills that should be foundational to learning in our colleges in order to ensure academic success for all students. To support your conclusion, focus on concepts that you’ve been exploring based upon the readings listed above and provide supporting evidence to develop your main ideas.
Requirements: Structure and Formatting:
- You must have a minimum of 1,000 words
- MLA Formatting: typed, double-spaced, size 12 Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, title
- Optional: A Works Cited page (does not count towards the essay word requirement)
- An introduction that introduces the larger conversation and provides necessary context about the role/function of college in today’s society
- A clearly stated thesis: 2-3 sentences that answer the focus question
- Body paragraphs that state a main idea about a particular concept related to your thesis
- All quotes must be fully integrated (in-text citations optional)
- A conclusion that states the importance of your philosophy in the context of the achievement gap
Due dates:
_____ Mon. 10/20: Concept Analysis/Synthesis
_____ Wed. 10/22: Detailed Outline with Supporting Evidence
_____ Mon. 10/27: Rough Draft (at least 3 typed pages + PRINT 2 COPIES)
_____ Wed. 10/29 Final Draft
Puente English 1T: Winter 2014