The purpose of the final paper is to provide an opportunity to reflect critically on the significant issues facing urban schools, their communities, and their students. This course has focused on various topics that seek to explore the more pressing concerns for urban teachers. As a task, this paper allows you to

choose
one area in which to delve deeper and find opportunities for impacting the culture of the urban school as a teacher.

The format for the paper is as follows:

1. An introductory section that explains the specific problem that will be explored in the paper which: 1) clearly describes the issue(s)/problem(s); 2) explains why these are significant issues for urban schools; and 3) a specific thesis indicating why these should be addressed.
2. A review of the literature discussing the issue(s)/problem(s) described in the introduction, in terms of their impact on urban schools and their communities both in the context of teaching/learning and outcomes for students. This literature can include articles used in the course readings, articles and other media reports used for education in the media work, as well as new sources that may be specific to the issue(s)/problem(s). A minimum of 10 sources is required for the paper.
3. A discussion section that presents a discussion of how these issues might be addressed, and how classroom teachers can play a role in creating a more equitable and just educational process/system for all students. This should clearly connect to the sources and argument presented in the literature review – as well as addressing a means to “solve” the issue(s)/problem(s) as presented in the thesis.

The overall length of the paper should be 10-12 double-spaced pages (not including title page, references, or appendices) using Times New Roman 12pt font (APA 6^th Edition). All sources cited in the paper should be listed in a Reference section at the end of the paper using APA 6^th Edition format. A rough guide for each section would be: Introductory Section, 2 pages; Review of the Literature, 4 pages; and, Discussion, 3 pages.