Seymour Sarason, Essay Example

Why did Seymour Sarason state that “…in the foreseeable future, schools will not improve in accomplishing their stated purposes, and they will continue to be a source of social instability and divisiveness, especially in the urban areas?” Do you agree with his assessment?

Sarason stated that schools will continue to fail in their stated purposes because data trends indicate that schools have been unable to restore the efficacy that they had achieved prior to 1970 (Mandler et al., 1949). Schools will continue to be a source of social instability and divisiveness in urban areas due to negative social influences in these populations. I do not agree with this assessment because I believe that since students spend a majority of their day in school, teachers are able to create a community that counters this negativity in a manner that encourages all students to learn.

How did this same author describe the development of Charter Schools and why he believed they will fail? Do you agree?

The author believes that Charter Schools were developed in response to these public education failures, and although these schools were intended to be a solution for students in urban communities, these student populations are exposed to the same social problems as students who attend public school. I agree with the author, but for a different purpose. The reason that Charter Schools will fail is that they are not subject to the same regulations as public schools, which means that they risk a failure of utilizing their resources in an advantageous manner.

Compare the findings of Goodlad’s Back to a place called school with David Gardner’s commission A nation at risk as described by Ted Sizer in Chapter 8.

The findings of Goodland’s study are significantly more optimistic than Sizer’s study. In addition, Goodland proposes reasonable solutions to the education problem. In addition, both studies have contrasting data, so it is difficult to be certain which statistical evaluation of student performance is more realistic (Davidson et al., 1960). However, it is important to consider that both studies indicate that improvement needs to be made for the United States to remain competitive with other nations

Why did the author state “Goodlad needed Gardner, and as the time ripens Gardner will need Goodlad?”

Both individuals needed one another in order to gain a greater understanding of the state of education across the country. Each study could be used to build upon one another, and it is important to consider that future education researchers use a combination of these sources in their studies.

References

Davidson SK, Lighthall FF, Waite RR. (1960). Anxiety in Elementary Schoolchildren.

Mandler, G., &Sarason, S. B. (1952). Psychological Problems in Mental Deficiency. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 47: 166–173.

Sirotnik, Kenneth A., Ed.; Soder, Roger, Ed. (1999). The Beat of a Different Drummer: Essays on Educational Renewal in Honor of John I. Goodlad. NY, NY: Peter Lang USA.