Pogue's Playground

What is worth learning?  I think that this question is such a prevalent one right now in the world of education. There is such a divide when it comes to a lot of things in the education field, but one that comes to mind during this time is the one that has been created due to differing opinions on the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT), in K-12. Critical Race Theory is an academic concept that basically says that racism goes beyond prejudice thoughts and is something that is embedded in the law. I have thought a lot about the argument surrounding the teaching of CRT and I think that there is already so much censorship in our school system, so banning CRT in K-12 schools would be adding more fuel to the fire.  There are many flaws associated with each type of curriculum, but this leads me to the problem with null curriculum, the curriculum where the experiences and stories of many are ignored, a lot of times, deliberately. This can be very damaging to the identities of many...

     When I think of integration happening in schools, the first thing that I'm inclined to think about is the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, decision of 1954. Although we are over sixty years removed from the decision that ended the race-based segregation of schools, we still see forms of segregation happening in schools today. The thought of schools still being segregated in 2021 seemed bizarre to me, until I began to think about my own experience in public school. I grew up going to school in a city that had a school district with nearly 50 schools in total. The school district has exactly 49 schools and they serve over 30,000 students of all different race, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. I witnessed the school district get away with segregation through the use of zoning to ensure that students of certain backgrounds went to certain schools. I watched friends of mine that lived in predominately white neighborhoods be zoned ...

             Educational philosophies can influence schooling because the philosophy that an educator uses in their classroom will dictate the way lessons go and the way students will react to them. The traditional educational philosophy that has been used for many years, is very teacher-centered. Students are taught to be obedient and listen to lectures that are oftentimes boring to them. This affects the way that a student learns because if they do not find the content interesting, they will most likely only use memorization techniques for assignments or tests instead of actually gaining knowledge.        I believe that the educational philosophy that a teacher uses can determine the way that a student feels about learning. If a teacher takes an approach that is more focused on constructivism, then a student that prefers a more lecture-based lesson may not find it as helpful as a student that enjoys problem-solving and critical th...