Diversity in Education and Curriculum Concepts - Book Review

Are you interested in a future in teaching, education administration, or becoming a social worker, or school psychologist, then there is a book, which I'd like to recommend that your read, and then I'd like to give you a more than fair assessment of this work.

"Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society," by Donna M. Gollnick and Philip C. Chinn, Pearson Merrill a Prentice Hall Company, Upper Saddle River, NJ, (2006), pp. 404, ISBN: 0-13-119719-3.

This book was quite interesting to me, and its first publishing was in 1983 and it has been upgraded and republished every few years since. I felt as if the book was very hard to use because it has the Preface prior to the table of contents, which makes navigating very tough. The preface is quite good and explains how the book is formatted.

Once into the book it is very easy to follow along, even the most blithering idiot could use this book and understand it, perhaps, that is their target reader; at least this is the impression I got, and speaking of impression, I believe this book is trying to brainwash the "education student" who has an impressionable mind, this is my opinion based on reading it.

Indeed, as a coordinator for a think tank online I was really worried that such books are indeed being used to train and teach new teachers and college professionals, and students who will go into the educational profession as administrators, professors, psychologists, etc. There are chapters on social classes, race, homosexuality, diversity, gender, religion, and age.

Finding the Right Degree Online With Education Search Engines

Choosing which course or degree to take is one of the biggest decisions you'll ever have to make. Which makes it that much stranger that for so many years it was so difficult to research and compare the options available with just a handful of scattered brochures to pull together and compare.

Thankfully, though, these days things are a little different - with the arrival of online course and education search engines...

Find a Variety of Different Degrees and Courses Near You
Online education search engines allow you to explore a selection of courses and degrees - from education administration degrees to fashion courses - by location. Which ultimately allows you to filter out the ones that are either a long way away from where you live or otherwise aren't in your chosen location.

Obviously it's not just in the UK and the US, either: all around the world education search engines are springing up to meet the demands of students and professionals looking to take the next step in their career can browse degree and course options online.

Get the Specifics on any Given Course or Degree
But when weighing up the virtues of certain technical courses - like computer programming degrees, say - you need to be able to make sure that the one you go for is best suited to your chosen career path. And that's one of the most important aspects of what a good education search engine does: it lays everything out very clearly, from course specifics to prices and the dates a course runs.

Take Your Education Career to the Top with a Doctorate in Education

If you're ready to take your degree in education to the highest level by earning your doctorate degree, the options with accredited online colleges and universities are numerous. Professionals in education have busy lives and extremely busy schedules. Making this commitment to educational advancement is no small decision. However, we are talking education, so the example you set when you earn the highest degree available to you expresses your strong belief in the importance of education to your community and the organization you lead.

Earn Your Doctorate in Education or Doctor of Philosophy in Education
Whether you're interested in earning your Doctorate in Education (EdD) or you prefer to pursue your Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD), you can find an online program that will meet your needs. Most individuals seeking these degrees are working professionals in education with master's degrees and teaching credentials.

Earn Your Degree Online and Never Miss a Beat in Your Professional Life
Choosing to pursue your doctorate in education online offers the convenience of studying wherever you are, thus making it easier to attend the program of your choice while continuing to fulfill professional and family obligations.

If you've never experienced online education previously, you can be sure that today's online education programs are designed to help you succeed while maintaining your busy lifestyle.

Online Degrees in Education

Education is a very broad area that gives wide range of opportunities. Teachers can focus on first, middle or junior-grade learners and they can also take on administrative positions. Pros can concentrate in materials that require manipulative thinking, educating adults or continue on developing as an administrative expert such head teacher.

There are objectives of earning education degrees online. Most people consider teaching an easy profession. However, you like to develop more to earn a better salary as a teacher, it is necessary that you should have a many skills and knowledge and these include counseling, strong influence, motivation and training. You will be ready to train students in resolving their problems after earning a slight degree online in education from top online university that is licensed. You have the choice on how to start your career; elementary teacher teaches all subjects of the fist level and secondary teacher teaches the subjects of his area of expertise.

There are various online degrees from the first level to doctorate levels and these are offered by many top licensed online universities. The online degrees obtainable are associate degree or foundation degree in education, B.Ed, M.Ed, PH.D degree, and degree in early childhood development and education administration master's degree.

Online education foundation degree is suitable for a career start. It has benefits with exclusive huge obligation of B.Ed. You will concentrate on a wide range of education classes including research, arts, humanities, scientific discipline. It considered as the first step of online degree in education.

Online B.Ed, gives you the choice to develop into a certified K6 teacher. This includes prevailing on comprehensive expertise of K-6 elementary teacher certification, advanced understanding studies, single refuge development, collective training and cutting edge education.

Scope of Education Jobs

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment opportunities related to education jobs from teacher to administrator positions are expected to grow about as fast as the average rate for all occupations. This means that jobs in the education sector will increase at a rate of 7 to 13 percent from 2008 to 2018. The factors attributed to such an increase include the larger number of retirees, fewer applicants for certain positions and growth in enrollment for school-age children. So there is no better time than now to look for jobs in the education sector.

Pre-school, elementary, middle and high school teachers and their teacher assistants are employed in both public and private schools. Depending on the school set-up, a teacher in these levels may instruct one class on several subjects or one subject for several classes although the increasing norm nowadays is to provide instruction to multilevel classrooms. Education jobs in these schools are aplenty.

Teachers will perform a variety of duties, responsibilities and functions depending on the grade level being handled. Generally speaking, however, teachers must motivate students to learn, inspire trust and confidence, and cater to the student's educational needs. College professors as well vocational-technical instructors also function in the same manner as the above mentioned teachers. The main difference is that college-level teachers are expected to provide education that will pave the way for students to start on their chosen career path.

Education Issues and Standardized Testing

Not long ago, I got into a serious discussion with an acquaintance that wants to make sure our schools in the US are in order. Indeed, everyone realizes this is a sticky point in American politics today, and has been for several decades. We got onto the sub-topic of standardized testing, another heavy topic which has had school boards in an uproar with angry parents, upset teachers, and administrators explaining that these are mandates, non-negotiable, and not much they can do about it.

Okay so, on the Education Front - let me explain where I am coming from. First, understand that I am not opposed to standardized testing in theory and felt the intent was certainly there with regards to No Child Left Behind, which was just taking the standardized testing to a higher level and asking for legitimate proof kids were learning to read and write, which they were not, as we know. You see, I don't have an issue with the standardized testing per se, and I think Laura Bush is going to be speaking in our Valley soon on the issue.

My only real concern is how standardized tests are being used in practice as we have teachers and school districts teaching to the tests. I wonder are we testing the kids or are we testing the teachers to prove our school system works, when it clearly is not working all that well? At some point we have to agree that we need a measuring stick, proper assessment, accountability, and kids that can actually read, write, and use simple math. Minimum they need to be able to figure interest, balance a check book, and know enough about economics to be good voters and citizens.

We all know that without good education, our civilization is doomed in 20+ years, as who on earth is going to be running all this stuff in our society? It's not going to run itself, and we are only as strong, any nation is only as strong as its education system was 20-years the prior. If we fail at our schools, we won't have much of a country in the future. So, what's the answer you ask? Well, perhaps as my acquaintance suggests we are asking too much of the school system, when education starts at home.

Major Issue in Education

The major public-education issue today is money. How much money do we spend on education? Do we need to spend more? What do we need to spend it on? There have been studies that have proven that the number of dollars that we have spent on public education has not had a positive impact on student achievement. So what is the problem? The problem is that we continue to spend the money on programs that are directed toward the wrong philosophy. The latest initiative was President Bush's "No student left behind." In theory that sounds great. Obviously we do not want to leave any child behind. Politically speaking it is a great slogan and did a great deal to get President Bush elected. That within itself is one of the major issues. (problems) Education is a major issue in every political campaign. Politicians continue to come up with programs every four years that promise to solve pubic educations problems. While they may sound good they are designed more to get a politician elected than they are to actually helping public education.

The "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" initiative for example, sounded real good. Not only did it take care of all students but it put accountability on schools that were not successful. Citizens today want to put the blame for the lack of success in American schools directly on the schools. The accountability sounded great to the American people. The problem is, what to do when you find out that you still do not have success. You can not close down every school that was not successful according to the No school left behind guidelines. While the program called for greater expectations of students, it does not give students any alternatives in case they are not successful. It also puts other school systems in a compromising and overcrowded state if you close down schools that are not successful on the standardized test.

So what do I resolve? I believe that we need to have alternatives for the individual students. I do not believe that we can continue to use the cookie cutter approach to public education. We can not continue to attempt to teach all students in the same manner in hopes that we will get the same results. We have great examples in Europe, China, and Japan. We compare our brightest to their brightest and come up short in math and science. We need to concentrate on individual students who have exhibited ability in math and science, and continue with their efforts, while providing other meaningful careers and professions to others.

Preparing Assistant Administrators for Inner-City School Leadership

Effective Leadership is the result of a healthy balance between management and instruction. While current research seems to minimize the need for management, the reality is administrators cannot be truly effective if they do not have an equal pairing between instruction and efficient systems, or management. Educational Leadership programs are making earnest attempts to infuse leadership techniques that would be preparatory for all environments; however, experience shows us that the skill set needed for suburban and many urban settings may require an additional layer when providing such leadership in inner city settings.

We understand instructional leadership to be the depth at which a leader understands with academic integrity. An effective leader should have a solid understanding of reading, specifically, and a working knowledge of quality math instruction. In this era of classroom instructional coaches, the effective leader knows how to improve their personal skills by working in tandem with a content area expert, or classroom coach. In most suburban, and many urban environments, children who are below educational standards are in the minority. Therefore the numbers needing intensive remediation are much more manageable in nature. The effective leader skillfully matches the students' needs with those of an accomplished teacher, while ensuring they have the additional resources necessary to achieve proficiency through this partnership. Many children in an inner city environment enter school with a major deficit between the intended levels and actual levels of proficiency. To provide support to the mission of academic achievement, and due to the sheer numbers of students in need, an assistant administrator must be equipped to leverage quality instruction with essential interventions. To this end, they must also understand at a deep level, how remediation is to be paralleled with enrichment to act as the catalyst to learning success. In making the determination for necessary strategies and skills, the assistant administrator must effectively analyze deficits, determine a plan of action and execute the plan in a succinct format.

In the age of technology there are programs that are both diagnostic and prescriptive in nature. Through a battery of online assessments these programs can determine student deficits and create a learning path to remediate those deficiencies. While it is agreed that technology is a major contributor to preparation, remediation and enrichment, it is not to negate the positive impact of a student's time on task with a qualified instructor. To this end, it is important for assistant administrators to be clearly versed in indicators of teacher effectiveness. While teachers that provide authentic instruction could do so in any environment, many teachers in inner city environments reference the need to make more connections with students on a personal level to gain social-emotional access to them prior to educating them. The effective have realized the importance of this skill in every classroom setting, yet the teacher in an inner city setting may accomplish very little without it. Educators that have a proven track record of success in other environments admit that inner city work, in this era of high stakes accountability, is unlike any other experience. In probing for the cause, a portion of it proves to be the need to address students of such varying functioning levels, all at one time and often in the same classroom environment. Recognizing attempts are made to organize students who need overall enrichment in a different environment from those who need constant remediation, again a realization, students don't learn everything at the same level, therefore making this systematic organizational style often impossible, and at the other end of the spectrum, undesirable. To meet the steep demands of inner city environments including the focus on accountability, teachers must exhibit a willingness to analyze student data and engage in problem solving around the results. While effective data analysis may allow teachers to isolate problems, true analysis entails observing contributing factors and determining a plan of action for each, in their inter-related capacities. While teachers must be equipped with the skills necessary for this degree of analysis, assistant administrators must have foundational skills that allow them to both teach and coach teachers on these most critical techniques. Recognizing that teachers may be more versed in their particular content area, assistant administrators must have a working understanding of the problem solving process as to facilitate true analysis for all content areas.

Education Jobs - How to Know If You Should Be a Teacher

Education jobs and teaching jobs are among the most noble career decisions. You will be playing a major role in developing the future of the country. You will be molding bright eyed young kids and, in your own small way, will be contributing to their career decisions by inspiring them. Yep, that's right, being a teacher is probably the most rewarding of all jobs, but the question is, do you have what it takes to be one?

Teaching Tricks
It's all very well to want to teach young kids, but you must consider the simple fact that parents will be trusting you with the responsibility of their kids for close to eight hours in a day. Do you have what it takes to live up to their expectations? No, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to scare you; I'm just trying to say that not everyone is meant for teaching jobs, it requires special skills. So what do you need to become a teacher?

Patience is a virtue and one which every teacher needs an abundant supply of. Yes, that's right, if you want to be a teacher, you must learn to be patient! If you don't, then you will feel like tearing your hair out when you have to explain the same concept over and over again to your pupils! Or worse, if you have been offered physical education jobs, then you're going to want to give detention every day to the students who don't share the same enthusiasm as you do for the great outdoors!

Flexibility - You should always have an open mind. Having preconceived notions will put you right in there with the old school of teachers who don't get along with their students. Be flexible and open to ideas from your students. Be available and approachable.

Advancing To The Administrative Level In Education With A Master's Degree

Teachers who are looking to get involved in administration may be interested in getting an advanced degree. A Master's degree in education administration can provide these aspiring administrators with the ability to advance within their careers and become leaders in their field. This is an exciting opportunity that teachers and graduate students should seriously consider.

There are many unique programs in education administration, with very common and important goals. These goals usually underline the same significant features. Mainly, they design effective curriculum to create successful administrators of schools at all levels. They also work tirelessly to teach students how to best pass on knowledge and encourage its ultimate growth. These goals, if effective, can provide a new culture of knowledge worldwide.

There are always requirements upon entering any college program, and Master's programs tend to have many. The usual paperwork should be provided, including an application, a copy of your GRE scores, and transcripts. References from professors and/or supervisors will probably be asked for. A resume and an essay also may be called for, which will need to highlight your interest in the program, and your desires upon completion.

Plan on your Master's degree to take two years as you will need to take possibly over 30 credits. The majority of these classes may be in professional education, and others will be electives and required courses. Examples of required courses could include school law and politics, student development and management, and foundations of higher education. Other important courses may be in introduction to research methods, community relations, and strategic planning and evaluation.