My Language Inquiry Project

Last time I blogged I was thinking about doing an inquiry project about the impact of voucher programs on education, but then I realize that it is too broad, and that I would not be able to use my observations to answer it. So, started thinking about one of the requirements for the inquiry question: to choose something meaningful to me. My teaching major is Spanish, so I am interested in the impact of learning languages for students. I would like to find out if learning a new language makes students open up to new ideas and perspectives. Are foreign language students less likely to discriminate, to be judgmental, or to be racists?

Also, I would like to know how students are motivated to learn a foreign language. Do they understand the benefits of speaking and writing in different languages? Do they think it will help them in their future careers? Or do they think it is fun? These are some of the questions I would like to inquire about. I hope I have the opportunity to be in a Spanish or another language course, so that I can see the interaction between teachers and students, and especially how students react to studying a foreign language.

I know the observations will be interesting and very helpful because I will get a lot of information. I know that I have to be careful of not making assumptions, so I am just going to try to record what I see, smell, and hear. I did not attend high school in the United States, so I guess that is good because I do not have any ideas yet of what language courses are like in public school, so I can observe everything as if I were from another planet… just like a Martian coming to an American public school! This is my first field experience too, so I am really excited about it.

Inquiry Project Question

I am not sure of what queation about education I want to address but I have been thinking about the voucher programs. There is a debate about them because it is beneficial to the student who can attend a private school, but it hurts the public school system because those funds are being taken from a public school's budget and put into another school that has more money to improve student's education. The main argument against voucher programs is that it is an excuse for government and state officials to not take care of the real problem: public education needs help! Public schools need more attention, and more funds so that all students have access to technology, experienced teachers, safety, and so on. On the othe hand, some people say that if public schools realize students are switching schools to get a better education, they will try to compete and improve. The problem is that with the students that transfer away from public schools, the hope of improving them goes away too...

There are some states that passed a law to allow students' parents to receive vouchers to choose the private school they prefer for their children to attend, and other states are trying to adopt this program. But the question is: who does the voucher program help? What are consequences of using these programs?

Parker: Teaching democracy in schools

Parker argues that it is extremely important to teach democracy in public schools, and that this eliminates idiocy, a very dangerous attitude that occurs when citizens only care about their own needs, and are not interested in the wellbeing of their society. American public schools are the perfect place to teach democracy because they have a multicultural environment, and because young minds are still being formed. It is the job of education to make sure that America’s youth become democratic people, and active participants in their communities and their country’s future.
In Teaching Against Idiocy, Parker says “The wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented; it is at hand and only needs to be rolled more intentionally, explicitly, and directly toward citizenship.” (2005, p. 3) Schools have been teaching democracy to American children and young adults, but this aspect of education has to be clear and directly targeted. He thinks that teachers and administrators need specific goals, and he suggests three keys: to increase the interaction among students; to encourage public talk; and to teach and use deliberation in their classrooms. Schools’ administrators and teachers must create activities where students can meet and talk to others from different races, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and so on. By being in contact with people who do no share the same values and ideas conflicts usually arise; so it is essential that students are encouraged to open up, and talk about it. Furthermore, teachers have to teach students how to deliberate; students have to listen to others’ ideas and arguments, weight the evidence provided, and decide what the best solution to the issue is. Educators need to teach democracy, and develop a sense of cooperation in their students; students need to think about what is best for society, and not just what they need or want.
In conclusion, Parker argues that education has been an important part of forming American society by teaching democracy to the new generations. It still needs to be improved, and there are specific things teachers and administrators can do. If they promote integration, encourage discussion about important issues, and teach techniques of deliberation to their students, Americans will be active participants in their communities and countries’ future. This is essential to fight idiocy which harms society because individuals will only look after their personal interest, and forget that we all depend on one another.