I always feel lucky that I am in a major where I am able to take classes that do not necessarily pertain to my major but I still find interesting. I should have likely just got a second major but if I did that I would not have been able to take this class. I signed up for the class because I find education policy to be incredibly interesting. It most likely has to do with my combined love of politics and interest in becoming a teacher.
During the very first class, we discussed the history of education and our education background and I was already hooked. I was so intrigued and absolutely loved doing the readings. I used to describe it to people who asked as my 'dream class' because it was a debate class about education policy. Before the classes we would be assigned readings and then in class we would discuss and debate them. It was so interesting and the guest speakers were, for the most part, awesome. Sarah, the professor, did an incredible job of letting us hear all sides of the arguments. In class when we would sway too much towards one side, she would raise a question that would cause everyone to rethink our ideas.
I was also lucky because everyone in the class participated and shared different their ideas whether they were with the group or not. There were only two education majors in the class which I always found fascinating. I would always leave the feeling overwhelmed, but in a way that made me excited for what was going to come.
The coolest part of the class had to be the projects though. The very first one was to interview a current teacher and to better understand how they felt first hand. Another girl in the class and I interviewed a high school English teacher at Hughes High School. She shared the positives, negatives and her own ideas for improvement. It made me start to think differently when it came to the relationship between education and politics. She shared how she wished Hughes had more extracurricular activities and that the students were able to have more opportunities to discuss college with current students. We discussed standardized testing, books, and her relationship with the students.
The next project was volunteering with a non-profit and after we volunteered presenting to the class and then awarding money to one of the non-profits. My group and I worked with Leadership Scholars, a non-profit that provides classes on wellness and college to parents and students. They have both a Spanish and English versions of the class. There are 7 weeks of classes and then they have a graduation for the parents! Our group was not awarded the money but it was still rewarding to learn about organizations working with education.
The final project was the 'Education Reform Symposium.' There were 4 groups who each researched a different topic related to education. My group and I chose school funding, which seemed like a pretty good choice at first. For those of you who do not know, education funding in Ohio has been declared unconstitutional 4 separate times. Yep, 4. The first time being 1997, 2000, 2001, and 2002. The entire reasoning being that in the Ohio Constitution the wording is 'thorough and efficient' which are quite possibly the 2 most objective words. What counts as thorough and efficient? After recognizing that as 4 college students with little to no political experience; it was not going to be possible to come up with a new funding equation. So, our presentation was about defining thorough and efficient, and the importance of equity. We got to present to 3 politicians and it was the coolest experience.
This class was one of my favorite classes I have ever taken at UC and I am so incredibly thankful I decided to read the weekly email and see this class!!