Syllabus for FSA 400-607/ 608:

Foundations in Education: Schooling in American Society

Professor Jeremy Jimenez Email: Jeremy.jimenez@cortland.edu

Office Telephone ext: 4781 Office 1230 Cornish Hall

Office Hours: By request (sign up form below)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aksaszpiEHVKfVFUdWL1KPZGYmzDjKtf1alJ7hIGUaE/e
dit

Class: Monday/Wednesday 10:05 – 11:20 (B0229) OR 1:15 -2:30 (Rm B0213)

Note: You will be required to meet with me individually or in groups of 2-3 people at least once
during the semester (for up to 15 minutes, depending on # of attendees).

Catalogue Description
This course is an investigation of foundations of American educational system. Readings and
discussion are designed to enable students to reason, write and speak about the purposes and
practices of American education.

Course Overview and Goals

Course Overview: This course seeks to assess critically the effects that fundamental global economic,
political, and social changes of the past half century have had on education in the United States through the
lens of educational foundations, including the historical, philosophical and cultural foundations. The course
merges theory with practical matters such as how issues such as race, gender, and class affect classroom
practice and the educational experiences of students, encouraging students to reflect critically upon teacher
professionalism, classroom pedagogy, and diversity issues in education.
This course is also a Writing
Intensive Course that meets your FSA Writing program requirements; as such, this course requires a
minimum of 15 pages of cumulative writing.

Required Course Materials

Powers, R. The Overstory. New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2018].

Course objectives:


• Candidate demonstrates a critical understanding of the context, structure and function of

schools in contemporary American society (Council for Social Foundations of Education
(CSFE) Principle 3) 


• Candidate applies elements of philosophical, social and historical analyses to the complex
problems of schools and their potential solutions (CSFE Principles 1 and 6)

• Candidate articulates a perspective that situates their educational practice in a larger

theoretical context (CSFE Principles 4 and 5)



• Candidate synthesizes ecological understanding in their pedagogical practice.

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 Assignments
1. Participation 20%

Participation involves 4 main components:

• Attendance (attend most classes, on-time and engaged), and complete Twitter assignment (see
Blackboard) during any absences.
• Co-leading ONE class discussion on a particular week’s readings/ sources
• Active Listening & responding to others during discussions and others’ presentations.
• Reflections during the non-synchronous class (see assignment)

1. Attendance:

Unless you are leading a discussion session or presenting, you don’t need to let me know you’ll be
missing class. You will complete the Twitter assignment (on Blackboard) in lieu of your attendance.
Upon missing your 5th class, then you should contact me about alternative assignments (though getting
full credit for participation will be unlikely).

2. Discussion Leader:

• You will co-lead a discussion based on the pre-recorded lecture and TWO sources chosen by
the discussion leaders (one chosen by each leader).
• You will add a link (or identify a source from Blackboard) that you want your learning pod to
discuss on THURSDAY by 11pm (the week before you lead a discussion):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15d3YvofXrubzOWuCF9fj6zD-vnAhlUeMFlVIdcsuEm0/edit?usp=sharing

• Each leader will post your 6 questions to the google doc about both your chosen source and
pre-recorded lecture NO LATER THAN 24 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS (7 questions
total). I may suggest revisions to your questions (edits on the Google Doc). For this assignment,
you will be graded on the quality of your original questions and how effectively you can
facilitate class discussion (that is, how you can adapt your questions if your original questions
do not elicit active participation).
Discussion Question link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kxG1DUlaOU5KfeENntXdj-_kQ_fewUfQPZ_WVD0Wd94/edit?usp=sharing

• You should consider choosing a source to discuss that might be a topic you’d like to explore for
your final paper.

3. Active engagement. Overall, are you listening actively and asking questions (+) or are you texting
during class and/or generally disengaged/distracted during class discussions (-)?

2. Children’s Book on Environmental Advocacy (20%)

You will collaborate with a small team of fellow Education students and Graphic Design students in the
School of Arts and Sciences to create a digital book that teaches elementary students about
environmental issues, with a specific focus on composting. You’ll both create a resource for local
teachers as well as for your own future classroom. Our class meets twice a week, but for several weeks
in February and March, you will meet with your team for one of those times to work on your project.
You will share your final project in mid-March both to all your classmates as well as a local
composting expert. More details about this project will be forthcoming early in the semester.

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 3. Midway PIP Draft (10%)

The main assignment for this course is the Practitioner Inquiry Project (PIP), where you conduct
original research (data collection) and synthesize your data with academic literature, both from class
and from outside class. The PIP recognizes that teachers and other education professionals have a great
deal of expertise and knowledge that can be used to improve practice and to support positive change in
both schools and their communities. This is the major project of the course and will be outlined over
the course of the semester.

To make sure you’re on target, however, you’ll be asked to submit a few components by April 5th: your
revised research question, a description of your data sources (type, participants, and/or locations), and
your academic literature review.

Step 1: Identify a topic of interest from this course (See PIP assignment for options)

Step 2: Locate four articles that address this issue. One of the readings should be an in-class source
(could be a recorded lecture, article, video, or podcast). If you are uncertain if the source is reputable or
not, then you should run it by your professor first.

Step 3: Come up with either a clear research question or a clear thesis statement for this essay. Here are
some examples:
Research question: How does extrinsic rewards policy in Mr. B’s class
affect his students?
Thesis statement: This essay examines how the extrinsic rewards policy
in Mr. B’s class affects his students.

Step 4: Write an essay that examines what these four texts have to say about your research
question/thesis statement. It should be clear how each of the four texts are answering the research
question. You may either examine each text in turn (around 150 words for each text), or you may put
the four texts into conversation with one another and structure the essay around key sub-topics relating
to the overall topic of your essay.

o Format: Be sure to list in-text citations and final reference list in APA formatting
(see above for resources).
o You should always feel free to contact me with any questions or problems as you
prepare the essay, though I will only offer commentary on draft work that I receive
is received by 17:00 PM on April 12th.

Presentation of PIP findings (10%)

• Each student will present their research question, why they were motivated to choose it,
overview of lit. review and data sources, their key findings, and at least 2 policy prescriptions.

• Presentations should last between 2 (minimum) and 3 (maximum) minutes.

Final Practitioner Inquiry Project (40%)

Practitioner Inquiry recognizes that teachers and other education professionals have a great deal of
expertise and knowledge that can be used to improve practice and to support positive change in both
schools and their communities. This is the major project of the course and will be outlined over the
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 course of the semester. See details of this assignment on Blackboard; you will have the opportunity to
revise your paper after receiving faculty and peer feedback through the semester. The final paper
should be at least 15 pages in length.

Schedule and Activities

Date Readings (or podcasts) due by Monday

Theme start of class unless otherwise stated
Mon/Wed
*(Assignments Due:)

Watch (before class starts)

The role of fossil fuels in modern society

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K9W
3XTIOCs
Feb 1/ 3 Teaching to Two worlds
Read

The Overstory (Roots until Olivia

Vandergriff, p.1-152)

Mon: Guest Presentation (over Teams) Read:

Feb 8/
Wed: Climate Change presentation Fi The Overstory (Trunk, p. 153 – 353)
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607A 10:00–10:40 607B 10:45 – 11:25

609A 2:40-3:20 609B 3:25 -4:05

From this point forward:

Group A meets in class Monday (& Read:
virtually with team on Wed) Singapore & Environmental Justice
Feb 15/
17 Group B meets in class Wednesday (& https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/10/26/
virtually with team on Mon) eco-crises-doom-gloom-truth-
consequences/
Jimenez led discussion on:

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 3 broad goals of education & Types of
capital
Feb 22/ https://sunycortland.webex.com/webapp
Student discussions
24 ng/sites/sunycortland/recording/play/45
0b3eb206db46ba9c22cc61fb9039fe

Mar 1/ 3 Student discussions

DUE: Final Children’s book (March 3rd)

Watch:

Mon: Children’s book Presentations History of universities:

Mar 8/
10 https://sunycortland.webex.com/webapp
Wed: Closing Discussion (over Webex)
ng/sites/sunycortland/recording/play/fd2
009b4f2e84062a9d2f9a06c47ee43

Watch
The 7 major education reforms:
Mar 15/
17 https://sunycortland.webex.com/webapp
ng/sites/sunycortland/recording/play/cef
Student Discussions 4f501340d4cedb7d25e9c3d6c0543

Education reforms (and why they fail):

Mar 22/ Student Discussions https://sunycortland.webex.com/webapp
24 ng/sites/sunycortland/recording/play/ff9
0db6143cc43ac96a86794601a3ff6

Indigenous
https://sunycortland.webex.com/record
ingservice/sites/sunycortland/recording
Mar 29/ /play/9999e8fb6890426197dcecb05996
Student Discussions 1976
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Collect Field research

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April 5/
TBD
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April 12/
Individual Meetings & Feedback
14

April 19/
Individual Meetings & Feedback
21

Apr 26/
Presentations

Presentations and Closing

**Class Presentations (up to 10 minutes each)

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Apr 28
Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

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 Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

May 3 Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

Name ______________________________ Topic ______________________________

**May 5 Concluding Discussion – The Final Frontier of the Circle of Compassion

Note: Note: This is a tentative course schedule. Readings may be added/removed as semester
progresses, and scheduled topics may be rearranged as well. Podcasts and videos will be added
closer to the start of the class in order to be immersed in current events.

Assignment stages, points, and due dates: (send as an email attachment, NOT to Blackboard)

Assignment stage Turn in via: Due dates

Research question Email Mar. 15
Revised research question Email Mar. 22
4 Data sources identified Email Mar. 29
Academic literature review Email Apr. 5
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 4 Data sources shared Email Apr. 12
Brief Presentation Webex Apr 28 or May 3
Final paper (data synthesis) Printed AND Emailed May 5 at 10am

Attendance (and other class policies)

Attendance: This involves coming to class on time and staying for the entire class. More than
two absences, unless all are officially excused by the Dean’s Office or College policy, is
considered excessive and your grade will be lowered by 1/3 of a letter (i.e., B+ to B or A to A -)
for each additional class hour of absence. This means that you can miss class twice without
penalty to your grade, and for every additional class you miss, your final grade will be lowered
by one full letter grade. My expectation is that you will not miss class unless there is a serious
problem. If you find that you must miss class, it is your responsibility to notify me of your
absence and to find out what you missed. A pattern of tardiness will also result in a lowered
grade. Being late to class three times will equal one absence.

Preparation: It is my expectation that each of us will be actively engaged in this course

through effective class preparation and regular class participation. To that end, you should be
prepared with all readings and class assignments prior to each class.

Cell phones/ Laptops: Please turn off your cell phone in class. Do not check your cell phone or
have your cell phone out in class. If for any reason (e.g. a family emergency) you need to keep
your phone turned on during a class meeting, please mention this to me before class. You are
welcome to use a laptop to take notes, but this privilege can be revoked if you use your laptop
for inappropriate purposes (such as by using social media and/or other websites unrelated to our
class lesson).

Due dates: Assignments are due at the beginning of the class meeting. If you are absent, make
arrangements to have someone turn in your assignments for you or email it to me so that I
receive it before our designated class period. If you believe that an assignment will be late and
have a good reason for that lateness, please contact me ahead of time so that we can make
arrangements about an extension. Failure to turn in an assignment at the beginning of the class
meeting in which it is due results in a reduction of half credit for the assignment. Failure to turn
it in before the next class period results in a grade of zero for the assignment.

Citing references: You must cite all paraphrasing (taking what an author says and putting it in
your own words) and direct quotes. For paraphrasing cite by showing author and year of
publication in parentheses, for example – (Michie, 1999). For direct quotes you must put the
quoted material in quotation marks and cite with author, year and page number where quote is
found, for example, (Michie, 1999, p. 56). Bibliographies are not required for reaction papers,
except to list any text you use that is not required reading for this course. When you do need to
cite outside sources, use APA style as you see in this syllabus.

Academic Integrity Statement

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Students in this course are expected to abide by the guidelines on academic dishonesty that are
found in chapter 340 of the SUNY Cortland College Handbook
(http://www.cortland.edu/president/handbook.pdf). As stated in these guidelines, any instance of
plagiarism, cheating on examinations or other forms of academic dishonesty will be punished,
most likely by the receipt of a failing grade for this course and possible dismissal from the
College.
Examples of plagiarism include:

• Failure to use quotation marks: All work, which is quoted directly from a source, should
be enclosed in quotation marks and followed by a proper reference... Failure to use
quotations is plagiarism.

• Failure to document ideas: When a student uses one or more ideas from and/or paraphrase a
source... s/he must give the proper reference. Failure to properly reference others' ideas is
plagiarism.

• False documentation: Falsifying or inventing sources or page references is plagiarism

(SUNY Cortland College Handbook, p. 47).

Disability Statement

SUNY Cortland is committed to upholding and maintaining all aspects of the federal Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If you
are a student with a disability and wish to request accommodations, please contact the Student
Disability Services Office located in B-1, Van Hoesen Hall or call 753-2066 for an appointment.
Because many accommodations require early planning, requests for accommodations should be
made as soon as possible.

Even if the above does not apply to you, please let me know if you have problems hearing,
seeing, or otherwise participating in the class.

PASS: Promoting Academic Student Success

Your success is largely dependent on the time and effort you invest in the course content,
material and assignments. As your instructor, if I have a concern about your academic
performance, I may reach out to you via email or before or after class. It is expected that you
will respond and communicate with me. If I feel an additional level of intervention would be
helpful, I may submit a PASS form. PASS is intended to provide increased outreach and support
to you. It is expected that you will respond to a PASS outreach email as well, as these
communication tools are in place to assist you.

Notice regarding disciplinary violations

In order to maintain the high standards of professionalism required by SUNY Cortland, the NYS
Education Department (NYSED), and our teacher education accreditation agency (CAEP), all
Teacher Education Candidates must report any off-campus tickets, violations of the student code
of conduct, violations of state/federal law, or academic integrity decisions to the associate dean
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within 5 business days. Likewise, students must report within 5 business days charges of any of
the following: driving while intoxicated (DWI), drug possession, a crime against a child, or
physical assault. You can contact your associate dean by calling 607-753- 5431. Our Teacher
Education Candidate Review Committee (TECRC) will review these violations and contact you.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact the associate dean.

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