Best Writer

Introduction:
These prompts are intended to help us evaluate your expertise in the broader field of urban education- it is not to restate your specific dissertation proposal or research agenda (although you will use that as the foundation for question 3). Think broadly about the field, what you know about the field, what the key conversations are in the field, and then how you situate your work and contributions within that. This essay should be written in APA format. Each of the 3 sections should be a minimum of 5-7 pages in length. Draw from your annotated bibliographies in all of your classes in the program, plus additional readings you have done.
The Question:
1) Drawing on literature, provide a defensible definition for “urban education” that clearly conveys how you are conceptualizing that definition. Include key literature that supports your conceptualization. You might consider geographical, historical, cultural, political/policy and economic influences. Address the critiques that others might make of your definition.

2) Identify 3 critical issues in the field of urban education. Synthesize the impact of and the main arguments for each. Include counterarguments (from theory, media, or practice), and discuss the primary conceptual frameworks that you would utilize to address those issues.

Issue #1: Diversification of the teacher workforce (Cite: Milner/Ladson Billings/Tate/Delgado/Yosso) will lead to higher academic achievement among black and brown students. Subtopic: Achievement Gaps or Opportunity Gaps

Issues #2 with Curriculum (Not inclusive)-The Teaching Challenge of the Twenty-First Century (Oakes & Lipton, 2003) “culture wars” An attempt to require teaching mainstream culture and language and none other.
Standardized Testing in P-12 education
3) Building on your understanding of urban education and critical issues in urban education, (a) describe your research agenda, (b)explain some core concepts in your work, and (c) discuss the significance of your research and scholarship. How will your work contribute to both research and practice.

· Theoretical Frameworks guiding my research is Critical Race Theory, and Sociopolitical Development Theory, Critical Pedagogy in particular
· My research agenda, I have done work interrogating dismantle systems of oppression in education affecting systemically excluded students (Black and Brown students. I also look to better prepare white women teachers to meet the needs of culturally, linguistically and racially diverse students (Critical Consciousness/Freire work can be cited/Sociopolitcal Development Theory.

In the letter to Spencer Roane, Jefferson suggests that the 1800 election had carried the principles of 1776 and had been just as revolutionary. What does he mean by this? What evidence does he show in the letter that the two revolutions were fighting for the same principles?

How did the deficit get so big in 2009? The impact of Recessions and Public Policies and What are the consequences of uncontrolled budget deficit growth: The case of Turkey. Provide some insight and opinion on your findings to the degree that you can relate it back to the publics choice and the political process that takes place in government.

The intention of the reflection assignment is to encourage critical thinking and creativity, while simultaneously giving students an opportunity to apply course knowledge to real world, global issues. You must submit a minimum of 3-4 pages (800-1000 word minimum) paper, not including a title page. The student may add a citation section should they want to use outside sources besides the course textbook.

In this unit, you learned some of the reasons for studying religion. You also learned that religion is universally recognizable, yet difficult to define. A narrow definition of religion that ties it to a belief in and worship of a higher, supernatural power, can exclude religions like Buddhism. On the other hand, definitions of religion that eliminate mention of the otherworldly or divine by equating it simply with “faith” or “belief” yield an understanding that is overly-broad.

Due to the challenges of studying religion, various methodologies have arisen including: phenomenology, theology, historical approaches, comparison, philosophy, and sociology. This Touchstone gives you an opportunity to reflect on these major approaches to studying religion.

In a 400-600 word short essay, you will explain the difficulties involved in defining religion. Then you will select one method for studying religion that you believe to be most thought-provoking, and explain its strengths and weaknesses.
A. Assignment Guidelines

DIRECTIONS: Explain, in your own words, two reasons why religion is difficult to define. Review the lessons in Unit 1 as you consider your response. Then, select one method for studying religion that you believe to be most thought-provoking and explain what you believe to be its strengths and weaknesses.

Your short essay should include four parts:

Explain, in your own words, two reasons why religion is difficult to define.
Select one method for studying religion that you believe to be most thought-provoking and summarize the approach in your own words.
Explain a strength of this approach to studying religion.
Explain a weakness of this approach to studying religion.
The methods for studying religion discussed in Unit 1 include:

Phenomenology
Theology
Historical Approaches
Comparative Religion
Philosophy of Religion
Sociology of Religion
As you develop your reflection, be sure to engage with the course material from Unit 1. You will use information from the Sophia tutorials to support your response. When citing material from a tutorial, please include the name of the lesson and use the following format:

In-text citation: (Primal Religions, n.d.)
Reference: (n.d.). Primal Religions [MOOC]. In Approaches to Studying Religions. Sophia Learning. https://app.sophia.org/spcc/approaches-to-studying-religions–2/unit1/study-guide/7845/primal-religions-2

1. Are all significant historical claims in the body of the text supported by appropriate source evidence?
(This would not necessarily apply when the author is introducing a new topic or argument; summarizing a
topic or argument just presented; or transitioning to the next topic, argument, section, or chapter.)
2. Is the range of source material sufficient and appropriate to the claims being made in the text?
3. Does the author rely too heavily on a single source or a limited number of sources?
4. Where it seems most appropriate, does the author make use of published and archival sources?
5. Does the author integrate various types of evidence in a convincing manner?
6. What additional types of sources do you think the author might have included to further support the
claims being made in the book? (Do keep in mind the limitations of what sources are likely to be
available, but, at the same time, do not hesitate to point out places in the text where the author could have
sought out more supporting evidence.)
7. Does the author rely too heavily on secondary sources, or are most claims supported with primary
sources? (In an original historical research study, often the author will use secondary sources in a limited
fashion to fill in gaps in argumentation and to provide more general background or comparative
perspective, but the majority of the sources for the key sections will typically be primary sources.)
Depth Questions (i.e. for particular primary sources examined more closely)
1. Are all quotations, paraphrases, or summaries from the primary source accurate? Does the immediate
surrounding material before and after the cited or quoted passage change the meaning in a way that you
think the author should have taken into account?
2. If you were analyzing the primary source yourself (think of all the ways you might do this: e.g.,
Author, Content, Context, Language, Intent, Meaning, Audience, Time, Evaluation) what would be some
key points you might make? Would any of these points add to or further support the claims and
arguments made by the author? Would anything you found in the source complicate, challenge, or refute
any claims made by the author?
3. What did you find in the primary source that the author doesn’t mention? Even if what you found
would neither directly support nor challenge the author’s claims, what additional insights might the author
have provided based on the other things you found by looking at the source?
4. If applicable, look at the title page, first few pages of preface or introduction, opening of the section or
chapter where the cited portion of the primary source appears, and the few pages before and after the cited
page(s). Do you see anything in these places that changes how you would interpret the source? Do any of
these things you found provide further support or challenges to how the author uses this primary source?
Did you find anything new or interesting that the author does not mention, but which might be worth
incorporating into the book? How might these new insights have changed the author’s conclusions?
5. Are there any alternative interpretations of this primary source, based on your own reading of it? Does
the author’s interpretation seem more plausible? Why or why not?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1veBZPSsMaO-KVPtWgD2dgFPhhht8uE0T/edit

Much can be learned about a historical period through examining the artifacts that people created during it. What can human-made objects (works of art, vessels, tools, books, weapons, instruments, etc.) tell us about the civilizations in which they were made?
For your final semester assessment, you will choose an artifact from one of the civilizations we have learned about in the current unit and research it. In your research, you will familiarize yourself with the object itself (its material, size, function, etc.) as well as its broader significance (symbolism of its design, context for its creation, audience it was intended for, etc.). The goal is for you to understand both what the object is and the story it tells about the society that produced it.
The outcome of this project will be a 2-3 paragraph interpretive panel about your artifact, which will be displayed alongside a picture of the artifact in the library. You will have class time during the week of 1/17 for research and writing.
Your panel will need:
To describe what the artifact is, including its function, what it’s made of, its size, how it is designed, who made it, whom it was made for, and/or what it depicts (depending on the information available about the object).
To place the artifact in a broader historical context, showing how it reflects something about the social, political, cultural, and/or economic circumstances of the time and place in which it was produced – in other words, to tell a larger story through the object.
To include an MLA-formatted list of 2-3 credible sources that you used in your research below the interpretive text. Sources may be in print or online.
Sample below

Write a paper on the Athletic Administration segment of the Sport Industry.

What does the term “Direct Rate” mean? What does the term “Burden Rate” mean? Can you give an example?

Discuss the top 3 criminal convictions that make up the United States prison population.

.

Discuss the different types of prison levels and which type of prisoner is held at each level. Use your own state’s prison system as a reference. (I live in Missouri)

The paper must be 1-2 pages.

Use proper APA formatting and citations, including ‘in-text’ citations.

Reference at least 1 outside credible resource.