Education In the USA

Tara Affolter is one of the best professors at Midd. This class is a must take. Every class is super engaging and there is little to no coursework. There are assignments every week but she grades mostly on completion. The final paper was long but very doable.

This is a great class for anyone interested in Education, regardless of their major. Professor Hoffman is very passionate about all the topics that are covered. Expect a lot of group work, so be comfortable working with others if you choose to take this class.

This course was perfect for someone interested in American education regardless of whether they wanted to go further with educational studies. The lectures were clear and students were engaged in answering questions and talking in small groups. Professor Hoffman was a great teacher who made the class super interesting. Highly recommend!

I think this class should be a requirement for Middlebury students, as it puts a spotlight on the privilege many of us have had in our educational journey. This class requires lots of reading, which is rather dull of someone without serious interest in the subject, but Hammerle's projects and teaching style make give the class a great atmosphere and make it fun to attend.

This was a good course. A lot of interesting content was covered regarding how education works in the US. Professor Hammerle stresses connecting the ideas learned with your own educational experience. Fun to attend, recommend taking it.

I really enjoyed this course. We read many interesting books and, although there was a good amount of reading in this course, it didn't feel like too much because the books were so captivating. We also had to give one presentation that was mostly used to build our public speaking confidence. Overall, I would definitely take this class again.

I love this class and Prof Hoffman so much! Definitely reaffirmed my desire to minor in ed studies. He is super understanding and always grants extensions (unless it's like a discussion or something that affects peers). When people were out of town or sick, he would record class or let them zoom in. There's one paper and a few minor projects/assignments. There's take home reading quizzes on canvas, but they're pretty easy and prof. usually summarizes in class. He really wants it to be an enjoyable experience and is super engaging. Would love to take another class w him!

I love this class and Prof Hoffman so much! Definitely reaffirmed my desire to minor in ed studies. He is super understanding and always grants extensions (unless it's like a discussion or something that affects peers). When people were out of town or sick, he would record class or let them zoom in. There's one paper and a few minor …Read more

The topics covered in this course are extremely relevant for anyone pursuing higher education in the United States. You will examine the American education system (with a primary focus on public schooling) through historical and contemporary lenses. Main topics include racial and socioeconomic injustices, housing policies and redlining, and the educational experiences of undocumented citizens. You will also briefly explore the world of private education and education for individuals with disabilities. By the end of the semester, you'll have a strong understanding of the historical development of American education, its current shortcomings, and the paths towards reform. Professor Hammerle is not only an amazing teacher, but also an amazing person. She is extremely accommodating, and her first priority is always the health, well-being, and happiness of her students. I could not recommend her highly enough. A great class and an even better professor.

The topics covered in this course are extremely relevant for anyone pursuing higher education in the United States. You will examine the American education system (with a primary focus on public schooling) through historical and contemporary lenses. Main topics include racial and socioeconomic injustices, housing policies and redlini …Read more

JML might be one of the most passionate professors I've ever met. He loves what he does, engages the class with his enthusiasm, and stimulates your critical thinking in the best way possible. He's super accommodating, and grades pretty leniently; however, the content of the class is really interesting and very important so I just found myself engaged all the time. It's easy to just slack off and take this class because it's "chill," but if you take this course, you should engage as much as possible because this is the definition of a liberal arts education. Learn a bunch! Enjoy! 10/10 recommend

JML might be one of the most passionate professors I've ever met. He loves what he does, engages the class with his enthusiasm, and stimulates your critical thinking in the best way possible. He's super accommodating, and grades pretty leniently; however, the content of the class is really interesting and very important so I just fou …Read more

Education in the USA was one of the most impactful classes I've taken here at Midd. I really enjoyed Hammerle's focus on using meditation and other self reflection practices to become better learners. Everybody in the class was always so engaged and present and it was incredibly enjoyable. The presentations on our own educational experiences showed me so many wonderful sides of my classmates I wouldn't have otherwise known and was such a meaningful moment of introspection. I think every Midd student should be required to take this class!!

Education in the USA was one of the most impactful classes I've taken here at Midd. I really enjoyed Hammerle's focus on using meditation and other self reflection practices to become better learners. Everybody in the class was always so engaged and present and it was incredibly enjoyable. The presentations on our own educational exp …Read more

Prof. Hammerle is one of the best professors you could ever take a course with. She is very passionate about her subject area, goes out of her way to connect with her students, and help them in any way, and the content is very interesting! However, she has 3 reading quizzes throughout the semester which are somewhat difficult but you should be just fine if you do the readings! Either way, highly recommend taking EDST 0115 with her!

Prof. Hammerle is one of the best professors you could ever take a course with. She is very passionate about her subject area, goes out of her way to connect with her students, and help them in any way, and the content is very interesting! However, she has 3 reading quizzes throughout the semester which are somewhat difficult but you …Read more

This course is an excellent introduction to the public education system in the US. It synthesizes perspectives from multiple disciplines such as economics and political which makes it more interesting and practical. Professor Hammerle is also a wonderful professor. She is very passionate about the subject matter and makes an effort to provide comprehensive feedback to all of her students. However, I will say that this class had a lot more work than I expected, and some of the assignments were quite tedious. Overall, a good class.

This course is an excellent introduction to the public education system in the US. It synthesizes perspectives from multiple disciplines such as economics and political which makes it more interesting and practical. Professor Hammerle is also a wonderful professor. She is very passionate about the subject matter and makes an effort t …Read more

JML is awesome, brings such an energy to the course, clearly puts his heart and soul into teaching it. Course is a gateway to discussions about larger contentious topics in the US, as the question is really; what should we bet teaching the next generation? Fun if you like participating in discussions, debating, ect

If you decide to take this class 100% take it with Hammerle. She is so engaging, and makes everyone do a presentation on your educational journey which is so engaging and fun to hear everyone's stories. Overall such an interesting class that allows you to really engage and learn from the readings.

Professor Affolter is an amazing professor!! She's very passionate about her work. The class isn't hard, just make sure you do your weekly exit tickets and participate. I truly learned so much about the educational system. I would definitely recommend to take the course!

I honestly wish that EDUSA was required for all students at Midd. Having a strong understanding of systemic inequities in our society is extremely important for work in all areas of life. This class is about so much more than schools, and it expanded my understanding of what schools can be and mean. Professor Affolter is really lovely and wants to help all students succeed.

JML is very passionate. His classes are interactive and engaging. It is not a lot of work aside from nightly readings. The biggest project was a presentation at the end of the semester covering your high school's diversity and sewage system. Highly recommend this class if you have any interest in education or simply navigating society.

Professor Miller-Lane is a fantastic person and professor. The class is primarily made up of in-class lectures (plus individual semester presentations), readings, and weekly mini essays (Quizzys). The course load is manageable and steady but very thoughtful. I learned so much about America's education system through this course, and it also allowed me to think about various aspects of our culture in new ways.

Professor Miller-Lane is a fantastic person and professor. The class is primarily made up of in-class lectures (plus individual semester presentations), readings, and weekly mini essays (Quizzys). The course load is manageable and steady but very thoughtful. I learned so much about America's education system through this course, and …Read more

This course was possibly my favorite I have taken at Midd, and JML is one of my favorite professors. He was so passionate about the material, and extremely knowledgeable. He related the course to our personal lives, and was always kind and helpful.

JML was an excellent professor. He was really enthusiastic about his material. Although there was a fair bit of reading at times and his bi weekly quiz essays required a sizeable amount of work, everything was always interesting. This changed my perspective on education and made me want to minor in education.

I really enjoyed Education in US, JML lectures were really informative and I feel I learned a lot through the readings and class time. He was passionate about the content he was teaching and he incorporated a array of assignments which was helpful. It was a good amount of reading and writing, we had mini essays each week and one larger presentation.

Miller-Jane is very passionate about this class. Every day at the beginning of class, we sit down to breathe in and do some simple stretches. Although the coursework is not a lot, I recommend skimming through the readings to understand the material and attending the lectures because he gives great insight on what to write down for your assignments which are typically one assignment every 2 to 3 weeks. I recommend this class to anyone and everyone in any major.

Miller-Jane is very passionate about this class. Every day at the beginning of class, we sit down to breathe in and do some simple stretches. Although the coursework is not a lot, I recommend skimming through the readings to understand the material and attending the lectures because he gives great insight on what to write down for yo …Read more

ED in the US should be a required course for every Middlebury student. Hammerle is an incredibly kind professor who genuinely encourages different perspectives. There are a lot of readings and they can be dense, but I would encourage every student to genuinely engage with the course content. Every student is expected to present a presentation about their educational experience, which has been tedious but overall, a good experience. I would definitely recommend this class, especially for non-EDST majors.

ED in the US should be a required course for every Middlebury student. Hammerle is an incredibly kind professor who genuinely encourages different perspectives. There are a lot of readings and they can be dense, but I would encourage every student to genuinely engage with the course content. Every student is expected to present a pre …Read more

This class was fairly easy. However, the comments on quizzes from the professor were often unclear or contradicted his original instruction from class. The content was easy to understand and the readings were interesting, but unnecessary to get a good grade. This class is very easy and should be an easy A if you show enthusiasm in/out of class by attending office hours.

Professor Hammerle is a really nice person, and she very clearly cares about the material that she teaches. I wish we had a chance to discuss a bit more in class, as there were no discussion sections, and the class was largely lecture based, but really other than that it was an excellent class that is really worth taking just as something random to check out.

This course was a fairly easy class. It was a broad history of education in the USA, is known to be a solid introductory class for stepping into education. The class content can be a bit less engaging, especially if you already have a comprehension of the prison-industrial complex and how racism has impacted economic status for Black/Brown communities. Wouldn't recommend if you are looking for engagement with complex topics.

This course was a fairly easy class. It was a broad history of education in the USA, is known to be a solid introductory class for stepping into education. The class content can be a bit less engaging, especially if you already have a comprehension of the prison-industrial complex and how racism has impacted economic status for Black …Read more

JML is a great professor!! The class is super chill and I honestly took it because a lot of students said it was an easy A course. We have no exams, only "quizzys", but they do require a lot of work and the readings need to be done in order to actually do the quizzys. It's not a hard class at all and JML is a wonderful person.

This course was pretty easy. As long as you participated in class and put effort into your essays, Hoffman would give you a good grade. I think the material is also super relevant to our society. We talked a lot about critical race theory, how it should be taught, etc.

He was amazing; he really made us think about the quality of the education we were receiving and how much education differed across states. He's very eccentric, you can just skim the readings and he will start the class off with meditation. He doesn't really do attendance and there's always zoom if you can't make it in person. This was a really easy A.

Professor Affolter is the most dedicated and enthusiastic professor at Middlebury. She is real, delving into serious subjects without sugarcoating the true histories of Ed in the US. She is accommodating and considerate! The class has a lot of group work, but she makes it fun. She also expects people to speak up.

I may be a bit bias since I am an EdStudies major, BUT! Education in the USA is a course everybody should take, especially freshman. I took this course with JML, but any professor that teaches this course is amazing!

Prof Hammerle is the absolute best. She is extremely kind and accommodating. I thought this course took much more work than its reputation would have you believe. The grading is very relaxed though. The material is super engaging for the most part.

JML definitely cares about his students, and the workload is definitely manageable. You don’t have to do all of the readings, and the assessments are take home where you go back ito the book to fined the answers.

JML is super cool and knowledgeable, he is clear in his teaching and the class has a really relaxed but active teaching syllabus. Not too much reading and the class really makes you think. I highly recommend!

Education in the U.S.A. with JML is an experience like no other at Middlebury. He begins each class with stretching exercises, meditation, and "mighty shouts" so that students can find their voice before diving into the material. The focus on the course material is on JML's recent interests in postcolonialism -- particularly unlearning the "colonial paradigm" -- which is a surprise in what would appear to be a history of education class. However, it does make you think about the world very differently, and JML is a giant teddy bear so this class is a blast. 10/10 recommend -- I think every Middlebury student should have a class with JML before they graduate.

Education in the U.S.A. with JML is an experience like no other at Middlebury. He begins each class with stretching exercises, meditation, and "mighty shouts" so that students can find their voice before diving into the material. The focus on the course material is on JML's recent interests in postcolonialism -- particularly unlearni …Read more

I have great things about Ed in the USA classes from many people and finally decided to give it a try. She is genuinely a great professor and very accommodating to her students' needs. I would definitely recommend this class for everyone.

I would definitely take this class for an easy A, and it is honestly very interesting. We did not have exams, but we had things called "quizzys". Basically they are short essays. They took a good amount of work, but they are every other week, so it was not a lot to deal with. You also do not necessarily have to do the reading until you know what you need to read for the quizzy.

This class was recommended high by multiple upperclassmen I talked to. JML is an incredible professor and his enthusiasm for this class is contagious. The readings can be dense but if you spend time with them and allow yourself to become engaged with them they will be incredibly interesting and you'll have a good time. there is a decent amount of group work which is fun because the class is fairly big and you get to meet new people. There are quizzies every week which are basically mini essays that you'll have time to prepare for. it can sometimes be difficult to keep track of what work you have to do for the class but staying caught up isn't too difficult. Overall an incredible class that will allow you to learn about something you likely haven't thought of very in-depth.

This class was recommended high by multiple upperclassmen I talked to. JML is an incredible professor and his enthusiasm for this class is contagious. The readings can be dense but if you spend time with them and allow yourself to become engaged with them they will be incredibly interesting and you'll have a good time. there is a dec …Read more

Tara is amazing and totally one of those profs that everyone should take a course with before they graduate. However, I feel like this course was a little overhyped and I didn't feel like it was "life-changing" like everyone said it was. I think students who went to private school or white suburban public schools would get a lot out of this but for those who experienced or witnessed marginalization/racism in their educational institutions or who have read critical race theory before, this course is pretty elementary. That being said, most students at Midd would get a lot out of this course.

Tara is amazing and totally one of those profs that everyone should take a course with before they graduate. However, I feel like this course was a little overhyped and I didn't feel like it was "life-changing" like everyone said it was. I think students who went to private school or white suburban public schools would get a lot out …Read more

Overall pretty good class. Great teacher who is enthusiastic and passionate about what he is teaching. There is lots of reading and a writing intensive quiz every other week on it. Relatively light on work but not the easiest material to understand.

This course is a Midd staple! It was a super low stakes course but the material was incredibly interesting to learn about. If you can't get all the reading done for a class you'll be fine, but definitely try to at least skim! We had 3 little response papers and one actual essay... all of them were chill and honestly the essay was fun to write.

Professor Hammerle is one of my favorite professors at Middlebury. I took Ed in the US my first semester at Midd and learned so many interesting things about the education system. She really cares about her students and gives thoughtful feedback on your work.

I took Education in the USA as a freshman in the Fall. It was a great class to get introduced to college-level learning. Hoffman was extremely flexible with due dates. We mainly had projects and a few take home exams. I would take a class with him again if I had the chance.

This course came highly recommended when I arrived at Middlebury. JML's teaching style is inclusive & quirky and this is a perfect course if you want to broadly discuss inequities within the US education system. I really enjoyed the selected readings and overall the course material was not challenging. However, the presentations began to get a bit repetitive though are often engaging.

This course came highly recommended when I arrived at Middlebury. JML's teaching style is inclusive & quirky and this is a perfect course if you want to broadly discuss inequities within the US education system. I really enjoyed the selected readings and overall the course material was not challenging. However, the presentations bega …Read more

Stephen Hoffman is an interesting character. I greatly loved the course material and the readings were deeply engaging to me, I wish I was in a place to further engage with the material. Hoffman's lectures were interesting, but I was not as engaged with his lectures as I was with the reading. This class definitely confirmed my passion for Education Studies, but Hoffman made some off-handed comments that I was not a fan of during several lectures.

Stephen Hoffman is an interesting character. I greatly loved the course material and the readings were deeply engaging to me, I wish I was in a place to further engage with the material. Hoffman's lectures were interesting, but I was not as engaged with his lectures as I was with the reading. This class definitely confirmed my passio …Read more

I liked this class because it was easy without having to do anything. There's a lot of assigned reading but to be completely honest you could totally get by without doing most of it. Hoffman is very enthusiastic but can be very scattered with his requirements for his papers. Meaning, he won't always say what he wants in the paper unless you ask him. He doesn't give a rubric for his essay assignments so you have to constantly ask him what he wants in the paper. But he's a fair grader and if you argue for your point on your assignment he'll more than likely give you points back

I liked this class because it was easy without having to do anything. There's a lot of assigned reading but to be completely honest you could totally get by without doing most of it. Hoffman is very enthusiastic but can be very scattered with his requirements for his papers. Meaning, he won't always say what he wants in the paper unl …Read more

JML was one of the best professors I've had here at Midd. He knows how to make the class fun and interesting and I looked forward to learning the material every week. He allows you to be creative and expressive in your writing. The workload was manageable.

JML is one of the best teachers I've ever had. He's enthusiastic, caring, and makes the course very engaging. This class is very lecture/presentation heavy, but it's still very interesting. The readings are somewhat long, but you are encouraged to skim them.

Prof JML is an amazing professor and is very passionate about education in the US. The books we read throughout the course are very interesting and allow for deeper thinking. If you are interested in learning more about the history of education I would definitely take this class with JML. We also stretch, breath, and meditate before class!

JML is unlike any teacher /professor I've had. He is very enthusiastic about what he is teaching. You can always go to his office hours for him to help on the essays. He is very accommodating and flexible. Although the class content is far from what I thought it would be, I definitely recommend this course.

Professor JML is a very accommodating man. If you are having a hard time he will understand. Most of the course content included readings and weekly quizzes which were graded on your understanding of those readings. He can kind of tell when you don't do the readings. I think we had one big presentation to do and 2 essays but that was pretty much it.

Miller-Lane is definitely a unique teacher. He's very into mind-body exercises. The readers are long but you don't need to do all of them. If you just skim them or spark notes them your fine. Take notes on what he says in class for the writings because he will give you the answers.

I found this course to be engaging and easy to follow. The course didn't have a fair amount of reading however most of it was relatively engaging. There were a lot of semi tests that were basically just short essays but these were usually low stakes and pretty easy.

The course material was interesting but I did not appreciate how it was taught and felt that I only learned from the readings and not from the class itself. It was a poorly taught class but had a lot of potential. I was under the impression that the course would be taught by Affolter which I was excited about but there were last minute changes.

I was really excited for this course but it wasn't for me. I love education and I loved our readings, but I felt like I learned very little from the lecture and had a very hard time with the non academic writing style of the course. this course really should be a seminar not a lecture and I never felt like I really got to ask questions or share out in class. Our main course readings were great. The professor clearly cares about the course content, but it just wasn't a good fit for my learning style and the content differed a lot from my expectations.

I was really excited for this course but it wasn't for me. I love education and I loved our readings, but I felt like I learned very little from the lecture and had a very hard time with the non academic writing style of the course. this course really should be a seminar not a lecture and I never felt like I really got to ask questio …Read more

I thought the structure of the class didn't really support a lot of engagement or interest that it could have, and the class was very mundane a lot of the time. Professor Hammerle is clearly very knowledgeable and assigned very interesting readings however in class I found myself disengaged a lot of the time.

Best class and prof at Midd. He's just very good at teaching, and clearly super passionate to the point that you also become interested in the subject even if you had no interest in education studies when coming into college.

I loved this class. The readings were incredibly fascinating and Prof. Hammerle is very accommodating. I think that the content which I learned will guide the rest of my education experience. As well, I liked the discussions.

JML is very passionate about the material and the discussions are always interesting. There is a lot of reading, but it is manageable and if you pay attention you can just skim it. The weekly quizzes are not too hard. Definitely recommend this class

I enjoyed taking this class because I found the lectures interesting. I did not enjoy all of the readings and did not end up doing many of them. There were usually quizzes each week that you could do mostly by paying attention in class. I have been told, however, that the class is now harder than it was when I took it.

this class was very chill. Proff JML is a very nice professor. The quizzes were not difficult but required a lot of reading and analysis. He is very understanding and explains everything you need to know for the quizzies

JML covered some very interesting topics in class, and allowed a lot of open discussion. He was very open about difficult topics involving race, inequality, marginalized communities, etc. through education.

JML was a great professor, but the class wasn't a good fit for me. However, if you're interested in humanities, this is the class for you. It's a lot of reading, but grading was really easy. As long as you try, it's pretty easy to get an A.

This course was a chill class and gave me a good understanding of the education system in the US (as the title suggests). The readings combined with the lectures were helpful and there wasn’t a lot of work involved outside of reasonable readings.