This course explores the potential impact of modern technologies on the school reforms debate. The first part of the course provides an overview of the current state of the school reform debate and reviews the ideas in the progressive school reform movement, as well as examining the new public charter school in Cambridge as a case study. The second part of the course requires critical study of research projects that hold promise as inspirations and guidelines for concrete multidisciplinary activities and curriculum for progressive charter schools. The course concludes with a discussion of the challenges in scaling the successful innovations in school reform to new contexts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Discuss the Bush administration’s economic theories and tax policies, and their effects on the American economy
Explain how the federal government attempted to improve the American public education system
Describe the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina
Identify the causes of the Great Recession of 2008 and its effect on the average citizen