Meets with middle and high school students for extensive explorations in writing. Occidental students will collaborate and coach writing activities which will include narrative, expository and analytical prompts. This course is designed to deepen the critical and creative abilities of both groups of students, while connecting written explorations to the California State Language Arts Standards.
Graded on a Credit/No Credit basis only. May be repeated for credit.
2 units

In this course, we will study the historical, philosophical, political, sociological, and psychological foundations of American education. Using an urban sociology lens, we will examine factors that influence power, control and the quality of schooling for underserved school communities. Urban school contexts will be illuminated and brought to life through various required fieldwork experiences. With such experiences, students will analyze the possibilities of teacher leadership through social justice and activism. Requires thirty-six hours participation in tutoring and teaching in public school classroom. Not open to first year students.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES 

How are the American values of equity and opportunity evident in the history and structure of the nation's public school system? This course examines key U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the following areas of policy debate and conflict with particular emphasis on the Constitution: bilingual education, funding/expenditures, immigrant education, desegregation, special education, affirmative action, and equal resources. This course meets the United States Constitution credential requirement.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES 

This course critically examines the history of the education of Africans in America beginning at the Middle Passage, through Reconstruction and the post-bellum South, to contemporary post-industrial urban contexts. Emphasizing the sociohistorical and political-economic dimensions of schooling African Americans, the course explores the role of key factors in shaping the academic 'success' and 'failure' of Black students historically and in current K-16 contexts. Analysis of case law, policy, and practice will inform our understanding of African American experiences in schools nationally and locally. Further, we consider the implications these experiences hold for democratic participation and the overall life chances of African American citizens.
Prerequisites: Education 201
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

This course covers the various uses of technology in the classroom as well as other related issues, e.g., differential student access. Students demonstrate their understanding of computers and software through hands-on activities and class presentations. They illustrate how technology can be integrated across the curriculum in the classroom through written lesson plans and units. Students learn to access electronic databases for student/school-level information and for subject matter support.

Principles and techniques for creating teacher-student-text interactions, vocabulary development, comprehension, and study skills in all school subjects for all students (including English language learners) at the middle school, junior high, and senior high levels. Topics include diagnostic procedures, activating background schemata, English language development, different instructional models and constructivist-based instructional materials, skills development, standards-based and high-stakes assessment, reading for English language learners/speakers, and procedures for improving students' reading habits and interests. Prerequisites: Education 201, 205 & 300 (concurrent or permission of instructor).

In this course, single subject students are provided multiple opportunities to learn and practice how personal, family, school, community, and environmental factors are related to students' academic, physical, emotional, and social well-being. Students acquire knowledge about diverse family structures, community cultures, and child rearing practices in order to develop respectful and productive relationships with families and communities. Students learn about major laws and principles that address student rights and parent rights pertaining to student placements. In addition, they have an opportunity to learn about the effects of student health, safety, and accident prevention on student learning. Prerequisites: Education 201 or permission of instructor.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a historic movement among legal scholars of color in the U.S. that has enjoyed widespread application in a number of disciplines, including Education. This course introduces students to CRT through a close reading of the key writings that formed the movement. We will examine the application of CRT in education research, theory and practice contextualized in a variety of settings including schools, community-based organizations, and other relevant spaces. Specific attention will be paid to the CRT methodology of counter-storytelling and its utility in centering the experiential knowledge of people of color in education. Prerequisite: A 200-level course in Education, or instructor permission
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: UNITED STATES

"How can the oppressed, as divided, unauthentic beings, participate in developing the pedagogy of their liberation?" This course focuses on Freire's theoretical, pedagogical, and practical contributions to contemporary movements in critical pedagogy, critical literacy, and educating for ‘social justice'. Beginning with Franz Fanon's influences on Freirean thinking about revolution and decolonization, we will analyze the construction of the ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed'. We pay particular attention to the role of the Hegelian dialectic as a driving philosophical method, as well as the significance of Freirean themes in understanding contemporary schooling, education, community activism, and vocation in general. Students will analyze, critique, and reflect upon their own framing philosophies for personal engagement with oppressed peoples and communities - towards the broader goal of defining an individual role in the development of a pedagogy of the oppressed that both negotiates and is informed by students' multiple identities. Prerequisite: A 200-level course in Education, or instructor permission.
CORE REQUIREMENT MET: INTERCULTURAL