In 4 pages, your task is to write a persuasive
essay in which you:
1)
Make sense of tracking (ability-grouping)
from the perspective of functionalist and conflict theories, and
2)
Argue in favor of one of the perspectives
as a fairer (more accurate) representation of tracking in practice.
Guidelines:
·
Avoid approaching your argument by
contrasting what you believe to be the purpose of education according to
functionalist and conflict theorists. Instead, focus on why tracking exists,
according to functionalist and conflict theorists, and which explanation offers
a more accurate portrayal.
Consider
using the following organizational structure:
·
Introduction
o
Describe the topic (task
at hand) of the essay.
o
Convey your argument/thesis
(respond to part “2)” of the essay task)
·
Account
for tracking from the perspective of functionalist and conflict theories
o
In this section,
describe how functionalist theorists and conflict theorists would make sense of
the existence of tracking.
·
Provide
a counterargument to your thesis
o
In this section, you
should contradict the thesis that you present in the introduction, while
referencing ideas from course texts and class to support the counterargument.