Chapter Summary

	Teachers, Schools, and Society by Sadker & Sadker
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Chapter 6: Life in Schools

Chapter Summary

Typically, teachers keep busy in class, while students spend their time sitting still and waiting. Most children respond by daydreaming or by training themselves to deny their desire to be active.
Teacher talk dominates classroom life. Flanders, Bellack, Goodlad, and others have found that teachers lecture a great deal and ask questions, while students are reduced to passive listening, active only when responding to the teacher. While we may envision a curious, inquiring, self-reliant learner, that is not the role our students are taught to play.
John Goodlad and others have documented startlingly inefficient use of time in schools. When teachers spend more time teaching, students learn more.
Being tracked into slower classes has a negative impact on students' self-esteem and achievement. Also, tracking discriminates against poor children and students of color, who are more likely to be labeled as slow learners.
Beginning in elementary school, peer pressure wields great power in children's lives. Young children's peer groups are rigidly segregated by sex, with boys tending to form hierarchic societies and girls usually forming pairs of best friends. Those left out may develop adjustment problems and emotional difficulties.
Educational reform efforts have focused on adolescents' social and personal needs. Many schools take on an increasing number of roles traditionally filled by parents, from sex education to drug and pregnancy counseling. Reports warn of the fragile condition of troubled adolescents, exhorting schools to do more to help the nation's youth.
Researchers have set forth a "five-factor theory" of effective schools. These factors can be summed up as (1) strong administrative leadership, (2) clear school goals shared by faculty and administration, (3) a safe and orderly school climate, (4) frequent monitoring and assessment of student progress, and (5) high expectations for student performance.
Some limitations on research findings on effective schools include the following: (1) definitions of an effective school vary; (2) research has focused on elementary schools; (3) findings are not specific enough to provide a blueprint for developing effective schools.
Beyond the five factors, research connects effective schools with early intervention programs, an emphasis on reading and math, smaller schools, smaller classes, increased learning time, assessment of student progress, and expanded teacher training. To date, there is little evidence connecting technology with school effectiveness.

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