Jonathan Loomis

September 21, 1998

Schools and Society

Professor Laughlin

I would say that the concept that was new to me from this chapter was that the interests of students rarely come first in the order of whose interests influence schools the most. I am aware of this to some extent, having been active in my school's student government and therefore aware of the interaction between students and faculty, but when the students' interests are placed next to the interests of the teacher, parents, administrators, and community leaders, it is easy to see why the beneficiaries of education are not the ones really pulling the strings.

I agree fully with the authors' portrayal of the community meeting. I believe that the characters displayed in this model are truly representative of factions of the American public, and the method in which they were used was ingenious in showing the conflicts of interest in regards to education.

I disagreed with the authors' portrayal of the Goals 2000 project. I felt that they placed too much importance on just this one example of politically inspired educational goal setting. I think it would have been a better representation of the truth to show how political goal setting has evolved and changed over the years. I also believe the authors' did not make enough out of the extra demands placed on schools over the past twenty years.

I would like to know more about the new schools that function within a larger organization that encompasses social workers, doctors, childcare units, etc.

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