Discussion Questions

  1. Read this article--https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2013/0331/School-suspensions-Does-racial-bias-feed-the-school-to-prison-pipeline--and respond to the following questions: (1) in your own words, what is the school-to-prison pipeline; (2) is this trend fueled by racial discrimination--why or why not; (3) what is the relationship between zero tolerance policies and the school-to-prison pipeline; (4) do you believe that schools need police officers to be present on campus to discipline students, or should discipline be handled by schools? Explain.
  2. Read this article--http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/why-are-there-still-so-few-women-in-science.html--and respond to the following questions: (1) after reading this article, why do you believe there are so few women in STEM-related fields; (2) how might a functionalist theorist view this trend, and how might a conflict theorist view this trend; (3) how is this trend in education influenced by other factors such as media; (4) when the authors state that one factor, encouragement from an authority figure to go on, can be responsible for women pursuing a STEM-related career . . . which agent of socialization should be most responsible for this encouragement?
  3. Read this article--https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/10/the-incredible-impact-of-rich-parents-fighting-to-live-by-the-very-best-schools/?utm_term=.d95a14fe09d3--and respond to the following questions: (1) what do the authors suggest has the largest impact on the outcomes of children in America, and why; (2) how would you describe your neighborhood and the way(s) in which it influenced your educational experience; (3) if a student is raised in a poor neighborhood, how might this environment influence their education (https://psmag.com/education/poor-neighborhoods-mean-fewer-high-school-grads-37159#!); (4) is the awareness of this trend justification for legislation such as Affirmative Action, or does this legal practice discriminate against talented individuals by making way for less talented individuals simply because of their race or social class? Explain.
  4. Read this article--http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/students-protected-daca-worried/--and respond to the following questions: (1) what is DACA; (2) how did the rescinding of this legal protection impact the students in this article; (3) how does being a DACA recipient constrain one’s choices for education . . . especially higher education; (4) do you believe measures like DACA are more harmful or helpful to education in America? Explain.