Sociology of Education has been one of the most insightful classes that I have taken while at Longwood. It has armed with me important knowledge pertaining to how schools are funded, what the purpose of education in relation to society is, and unearthed some of the major problems within education in today’s society. Ultimately, it was an opportunity to learn, discuss, and ask questions about the relationship between the education system and society. I really appreciated the way this class was structured because there was no textbook. Not all textbooks are bad, and they can be a useful tool for students when learning content. The content we discussed was gathered from various readings, journals, articles, etc. I think that having a variety of resources from which we compiled knowledge allowed me to be more invested in the class because I knew the readings and assignments had purpose. Additionally, I think that reading articles, books, and journals on topics related to your field of interest are important for continuing education. Therefore, the opportunity to familiarize myself with varying journals became a valuable skill for my continuing education.
Not only were we learning about various policies and problems within the education system, but we were tasked with identifying a policy in a public school, analyze it, and then suggest revisions. This assignment moved what we were learning concretely in the classroom from a place of understanding to creation and development. I appreciated this assignment because I was pushed to alter and develop the policy into something that fit current goals of today’s education system. Reflecting on my work, I appreciate how the ability to look at a policy, overlay it with current goals of education, and develop appropriate changes, if necessary, matured through this class. Moving forward, I hope to continue to familiarize myself with various policies and always have a mindset of growth and development.