School and Society

We cannot simply assume that a teacher who reads and understands this book will be more effective; we must have a plausible, even persuasive explanation that shows how one thing is likely to cause another. What is this explanation called?

We should be able to conduct some kind of investigation to find out if the theory really works in practice. True or false?

• True

• False

1. Who students are is not simply a matter of ______; it is also a matter of ______. For students as for all of us, culture is our primary context.

• town; school

• town; friends

• genes; culture

• genes; environment

When teachers and schools fail to act on such understanding, decade after decade, schools can become what?

• sorting machines

• disciplined

• monotonous

• effulgent

What are children and teachers capable of in the text? What can teachers commit themselves to?

• graduating; completing paperwork

• completing homework; helping children decide a future career

• academic success; find ways for children to succeed

• Visual learning; showing more images in class

Social foundations study can help teachers understand not just the students in social context but _______ and their work in social context as well.

• others

• themselves

• their family

• friends

Social context understanding can help teachers better understand ___________________________, how to think about the impact they wish to have, and how to achieve that impact in ways that are not reducible to test scores.

Social foundation study can help teachers develop ____________ of impact that are consistent with the social contexts in which they find themselves.

• A relationship with the students parents

• A list of things to accomplish in the classroom

• their lesson plans for the year

• their own theories

Who said, "How many effective schools would you have to see to be persuaded of the educability of poor children? If your answer is more than one, then I suspect that you have reasons of your own for preferring to believe that basic pupil performance derives from family background instead of the school response to family background."

• Ron Edmonds

• John Dewey

• Adam Urbanski

• Peter Murrell

We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more than we need to do that. Whether or not we do it must finally depend on how we feel about the fact that we haven't so far. Now 30 years later, is Edmond's claim surprising?

• Yes

• No