A Review of: “Learning to Labor in New Times”

This article explores the limits of introductory social justice education and the ways in which a social foundations course could expand and deepen the social justice lens of current and future educators. The authors, members of an introductory graduate-level Social Foundations course, discuss the limitations they realized in their previous social justice education courses, and the importance of courses that further student's understandings of the ever-evolving ways people enact and experience identity, power, and privilege. The authors identify three main pedagogical and theoretical elements that advanced their social justice knowledge: examining theories for their potential to uncover or obscure lived experience; unpacking binary constructions of identity; and exploring the limits and possibilities of intersectional thinking. This article offers implications and suggestions for educators who seek to challenge and expand the social justice knowledge of future educators and administrators.     

“Illegitimate” Bodies in Legitimate Times: Life,Liberty, and the Pursuit of Movement

Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concepts of state racism and biopower, the author of the 26th Delphine Hanna Lecture presents several claims: (a) that the idea of the illegitimate outsider in Western world governments like the United States has largely been influenced by ancient Greek ideals, (b) that a host of policies and intentional actions by power brokers create derision and hierarchies between “old” and “new” immigrant groups, and (c) neoliberal ideology couched in actions that aim “to protect the state” is nothing more than a recoding of traditional racist rhetoric that expands systemic racism. The author identifies the capabilities approach, asset based community development, and framing movement and physical activity as issues of justice as critical strategies to ensure equal rights for all.     

Oh No,Not the “A” word! Proposing an “Anarchism” for Education

Anarchist theory has a long-standing history in political theory, sociology, and philosophy. As a radical discourse, anarchist theory pushes educators and researchers towards new conceptualizations of community, theory, and praxis. Early writers, like Joseph Proudhoun and Emma Goldman, to more contemporary anarchists, such as Noam Chomsky, have established anarchist theory as an important school of thought that sits outside the Marxist discourses that have dominated the radical academic scene. Today, anarchists have been responsible for staging effective protests (specifically, Seattle, 1999) and have influenced autonomous groups like the Animal Liberation Front in their organizational and guiding philosophies. Interestingly, anarchism is glaringly absent from the literature in educational theory and research. In this article, I highlight aspects of anarchist theory that are particularly applicable to education, and also establishes specific ways that anarchist theory can inform one's own educational praxis. Specifically, I employ the anarchist framework of direct action and micro-level strategies, such as sabotage, that challenge people to resist the oppressive practices found in institutions today.     

“No Excuses” Charter Schools: A Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence on Student Achievement

Many most well-known charter schools in the United States use a “No Excuses” approach. We conduct the first meta-analysis of the achievement impacts of No Excuses charter schools, focusing on experimental, lottery-based studies. We estimate that No Excuses charter schools increase student math and literacy achievement by 0.25 and 0.17, respectively, for approximately each year of attendance. These are large and meaningful gains. Moreover, these effects are substantially larger than those of attending other kinds of charter schools. We discuss policy implications and offer necessary caveats.     

Let Lakatos Be! A Commentary on “Would the Real Lakatos Please Stand Up”

In this commentary, some remarks are offered on David Pimm, Mary Beisiegel, and Irene Meglis’ article “Would the Real Lakatos Please Stand up.” The commentary focuses on relatively recent developments in the philosophy of mathematics based on the work of Lakatos; on theory development in mathematics education; and offers critique on whether Lakatos’ Proofs and Refutations (1976) can be directly implicated in mathematics education.

“Nature and nature’s laws lay hid in night; God said, Let Newton be! and all was light.” (Pope, 1688-1744¹)

     

“A是A”和“A是A,B是B”

"A是A"格式是汉语里一种很有特色、表义丰富的格式,而"A是A,B是B"由于形式上与其类似,人们经常把二者混为一谈,本文梳理了二者的选词、表义和变换格式的不同,认为应该把它们处理为两种不同的格式,便于汉语学习者理解和使用。     

央视实习最大收获:学会说“No”

我本科学的是新闻,就要大四毕业了。大学这几年,传媒行业的几种部门我都待过,原本已经计划好不再去电视台实习了。为什么?因为电视媒体太熬人了,电视工作者基本都是电视民工,不像平面媒体写个稿子就完事那么简单,让人实在有点吃不消。但没想到就在我做出这个决定没多久,阴差阳错地得到一个老师推荐我去央视实     

Cooperative Learning: A Motivational Tool to Enhance Student Persistence,Self‐Regulation,and Efforts to Please Teachers and Parents

ABSTRACT

The effects of cooperative group learning on students’ persistence, self‐regulation, and efforts to please teachers and parents were examined. Eighty‐one high school geometry students were randomly assigned to either a cooperative learning or traditional lecture group. Twenty‐seven students received cooperative group instruction for nine weeks and then received traditional classroom instruction for nine weeks. Twenty‐five students received traditional instruction for nine weeks and then received cooperative group instruction for nine weeks. Twenty nine students received traditional classroom instruction for 18 weeks. Participants completed pre, post, and post‐posttest motivation questionnaires at each phase of the project. Students in the cooperative group classrooms exhibited significantly greater gains in persistence, self‐regulation, and efforts to please their parents and teacher. The implications of these findings for motivation theory and cooperative group structures are discussed.     

“If There is No Struggle, There is No Progress”: Transformative Youth Activism and the School of Ethnic Studies

In the wake of the Tucson Unified School District dismantling its highly successful Mexican American Studies (MAS) program, students staged walkouts across the district to demonstrate their opposition. Student-led walkouts were portrayed as merely “ditching,” and students were described as not really understanding why they were protesting. After these events, a group of student activists called UNIDOS organized and led the School of Ethnic Studies. This was a community school dedicated to teaching the forbidden MAS curriculum. In this article we present counternarratives from organizers, presenters, and participants in the School of Ethnic Studies. These narratives demonstrate the transformative resistance of students who created their own form of liberatory education. Our analysis highlights how student organizers led the creation of an autonomous, community-based educational space to allowed young people to engage in political analysis, self-reflection, and strategic organizing. We conclude with the implications for Ethnic Studies, urban education, and counternarrative.     

“No,We Should Do It”: Youth Training Youth in Activist Research Methods

The Urban Review - This article explores a 9-month process of youth research capacity-building, beginning with the training of high school and college aged researchers in qualitative methodologies...