Welcome to FSA 400: School in American Society

Your Instructor: Dr. Joseph Rayle. At SUNY Cortland for 13 years. Doctorate in Social Foundations of Education Office: 1225 Cornish Hall Come by anytime Knock loudly

Research Interests School Reform System Theory Existentialism in Education (We’ve got a big ‘Why?’ problem in education/schooling) Futurism and Education

Why a Foundations Class? State of education Nobody understands the complexity. State of the profession People are lying about us. Biggest Idea in this course: School and Education aren’t the same thing. How to understand the education landscape: System Theory

Interlude Look over the syllabus. Get in groups. Discuss. Class Discussion Questions? Concerns? Ideas?

Specifications Grading Clear Requirements Student Choice More Realistic You can spend more time on ideas.

Syllabus/This course I saved you a bit of money. My Website. My Website Let’s work together. Let me know if something doesn’t work ASAP. Writing Intensive Course. Written communication is really important.

Dr. Rayle's Writing Commandments Thou Shalt Not: Try to sound like a textbook. Write in passive voice (Example: "The students were found to be quite interested." Just say, "The students were quite interested."). Use apostrophes in plurals (Except when denoting plural possessive). Use rhetorical questions. (Example: "Why do I teach? Well, let me provide several reasons....” Just say, "I teach for the following reasons: ").

Nor shalt thou: Hand in first drafts of papers. Writing is a process. It is rare indeed for someone to sit down and crank out a finished product in one go. Good writers re- read and edit their work multiple times. Please read and comment on each other’s work.

Thou shalt also not: Use weird-sounding words. I know we do this a lot in academia, but that doesn't make it a good idea. (Examples: Educationalist, Conversated, Reductionistic). English can be pretty awful as it is. Don't make it any worse.... Cite Wikipedia. Use it to find other sources, maybe, but don’t give me a Wikipedia citation. You’re in a real college. Use real sources.

Thou Shalt: Read Strunk and White's Elements of Style, if you haven't already. They've got copies in the bookstoreCheck out: Grammar GirlGrammar Girl Read something other than schoolbooks every once in a while. (H.L. Mencken is one of my personal favorites, but naturally, your mileage may vary...). While you’re at it, read 1984 by George Orwell. Write a little everyday! Ask me for help. Sooner is better than later.

And Finally…. Find out the difference between a descriptive and prescriptive dictionary, and get one that suits your purposes. Here’s one I use: You also have access to the OED Online through the library. Be aware of the College’s statement on Academic Integrity, Chapter of the College Handbook.

Leading Class Discussions Why? Research on student learning. My own experience Start thinking about which class you’d like to lead.