National Agenda Paper presentation for espy 640 Get into groups- you are part of a special interest group presenting to a prominent politician to influence him to push for your agenda Read the arguments provided from the article for your group and pick the strongest 2. One group will present an argument, the other side will have time look for a rebuttal from the sheets That side will rebut then present their argument. Each side will caucus before the third round, to create your own argument. Arguments for national curriculum- cut out strips, shuffle and give those in parenthesizes to the group with progressive/liberal strips, with out to the neoconservative group. 1-We must follow nations such as Great Britain and Japan or we shall be left behind. The combination of national curriculum, testing and privatization have been a great success in Great Britain and Japan. 1-( National curriculum, testing and privatization have led to a legitimizing gloss for the perpetuation of long standing forms of structured inequity. Great Britain has not shown better educational achievements since its adoption of such policies.) 2-National curriculum will increase learning test scores. It holds schools accountable to a specific unified standard.
2-(We already have a national Curriculum in the form of state, CA TX, textbook adoption policies, which has been shown to be detrimental, expanding a national curriculum efforts will benefit the top 20% at the expense of the majority 80%) 3 -Even some liberals have made a case for a national curriculum, stating it is a chance for invention of new examinations, requiring teachers to engage in more rigorous and exciting work, ensuring national standards are raised. 3 -( To date most standardizing has resulted in less creative inquiry based learning, while necessitating more fragmented rote learning and teaching to the test) 4 -By aligning educational policies with business interests, the US will be more competitive in the global economy.
4 -(Aligning educational policies with business and a national agenda, merges neoliberal( let the free market determine everything, no government, marketization, privatization) with neoconservatives( the government should control social issues such family values, race relations, a woman’s body, enforcement of morality) and is dangerous because it results in empowering those already in power and ignores part of the purpose of education which is to increase the life opportunities for all, including women, minorities and the economically disadvantaged) 5 -What is really needed is school vouchers and tax credits so that Americans can have choice, which will force schools to improve or close. Achievement and teacher credentialing standards must be raised to ensure quality education. The school’s curriculum is increasingly anti - family, anti- free enterprise and rejecting of traditional western values, causing the traditional family to fall apart, and the US to slip behind the rest of the world economically. 5 -(Conservatives use arguments against culturally relevant education, teaching socialization and tolerance to promote
their separatist, fearful and closed agenda. They use the schools and other public institutions as a scape goat, blaming them for problems, such as family disintegration and US economic decline. The real causes for these problems are the excesses and inequities of capitalism and failed political policies.) 6 -Public servants are lazy and inefficient, while private sector workers are necessarily hard working and effective. Therefore we should privatize the education system under a national standard to make it more efficient. 6 -(Privatizing the educational system, will transform the major ethic values of the society to competition, self- interest, and buying and selling. It will ignore humanistic teachings which make students better people, thinkers, and improves society as a whole. The private sector has many instances of waste,
corruption, inequity, and failure. It is based on self- interest as the major motivator which is directly at odds with what should be taught to youth) 7 -A national curriculum will give people a way to rank schools against a common standard and determine which ones they should choose for their children. This, combined with privatization, offers freedom of choice to all Americans. 7 -(A national curriculum will be a mechanism for differentiating children more rigidly against a set of fixed norms, eroding cohesion and enhancing an us and them scenario, which will have negative social implications that can-not be predicted. Privatization will be a benefit only to those wealthy enough to afford to be able to send their children to alternates, depriving resources to public institutions which will lead to their further disintegration)
8 -In the US we are all equal and have equal opportunity to succeed based on merit. A national curriculum could be based on a consensus of a common culture. 8 -( There is such a great diversity in the US culture that there is no common culture that a national curriculum can be developed to. Students from outside the mainstream culture would be at a severe disadvantage, exacerbating gender, race and class differences.) 9 -Students and parents are really consumers of education as a product. In a capitalist society, there should be consumer choice. National curriculum, testing and privatization can ensure that minimum standards of correct knowledge are provided. It can create an education system with free choice and even profitability.
9 - (We should be not be pursuing something to which we all can conform to. We should not be consumers of education as a product that some special interest in power made for us. We should pursue a free, contributive and common process of participation in the creation of meanings and values. Only by democratically creating education can the interests of all people, not just the well off, be served). Your Own Argument Your own Argument
Group determination- Cut out strips and randomly pass out to people, call groups together. Neoconservative/ neoliberal Neoconservative/ neoliberal Neoconservative/ neoliberal Neoconservative/ neoliberal Neoconservative/ neoliberal Neoconservative/ neoliberal Neoconservative/ neoliberal Progressive / liberal Progressive / liberal
Progressive / liberal Progressive / liberal Progressive / liberal Progressive / liberal Progressive / liberal Progressive / liberal
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