Reflection #20

Public high schools in the nineteenth century added democracy to America. It gave Americans the power to choose whether they wanted to attend a public or private academy.. These public high schools gave everyone a chance to gain an education, despite os social or economic class. The classes focused on some basic curriculum with an emphasize of college preparatory. The Kalamazoo case was filed which indicated that public funds were to be collected in order to maintain public high schools. Without the support of the townspeople, the only method of education would be private high schools, which would then disqualify many students into an education. A law was passed ensuring that towns of more than five hundred people were to fund public high schools. Soon, schools were beginning to open placing and giving opportunities to children with disabilities. The “New England Asylum For The Blind” opened giving students with visual impairments and disabilities a chance at education. These movements had never been done before and gave democratic rights to everyone. Horace Mann also went on to create a great movement to ensure that education was free and public to everyone and was very influential in benefiting the school system. This also led to the establishment of the first college for women, “Mount Holyoke Female Seminary,”. Public schools helped set up attendance laws that mandated that students must attend school a certain amount of dates out of the year. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were the founders of african american education. They were often criticized for working too closely with white americans. However they contributed to many changed in the lives of african americans and the education system.  European high schools consist of yet less democracy. Classes are more difficult and the curriculums are strict. They’re high school lasts five years instead of the regular four years for Americans. They also do not have many electives to choose from. They never really had much of the democratic movements we Americans had in the nineteenth century. 

Reflection #19

Dame schools in colonial times have progressed a lot through-ought the years into what we call today the public school system. Early education in dame schools was very different from the public education we have today. To start off, dame schools were actually a form of private elementary school for children. Classes were mainly taught by women and were run in the home of the teacher. The supplies used in the classroom consisted of nothing more than a “Hornbook”. There was no desk, map, or blackboards. The hornbook was carried either on the child’s belt or around their neck. In 1683, a law passed that mandated that children of ages 12 should be able to read and write. It was the parents responsibility to ensure that. There was a charge of five pounds for every child that did not achieve this. Soon, the development of friends public schools started. It was a school system that incorporated both sexes in all classes. It was free of charge for parents that could not afford it. After the 1700’s most schools were religiously based. However, these standards applied only to the middle colonies. How the school system was ran depended on the location of the colonies. When the public school was created, catholics feared for the education of their children. They were afraid of the loss of support coming from the church. Therefore, the Baltimore Council prohibited that catholic children attend public schools. The parochial school system was created in order to ensure religious harmony. There was much conflict in the catholic education. There was great denial of the bible in the education system. However, this parochial school system was hard to fund and led to an accumulation of events. This all led into the private catholic churches we have today. In 1852, the compulsory attendance act was created. This made sure that children of ages eight through fourteen attended school. There was a penalty of $20.00 for parents that failed to do so. This law drew great attention and importance to the school system and education. In 1842, another law was passed that stated that no child under the age of fifteen could receive employment without proof of attendance in the school for more than three months. These laws have been used today and have been expanded. We are still forced to attend school until middle school and we are not allowed to apply for employment until we are fifteen. We are not allowed to enter school until we have receives our proper vaccines and shots and until we have a physical done. There are still many requirements in the education system.

Reflection #18

“In America, education has always been viewed as a vehicle for improving the society at large.” I totally agree with this statement. Education is the pathway into anything you want to achieve in society. The educated are what make up the most important parts of our society. If we did not have educated teachers and lawyers and doctors our society would be a downfall right about now. We have been taught that education is very important and we always try to pass that on to our children. Education is the only way to proper success in my opinion. We receive an education and then we are able to provide for our selves and out families. That is basically how society is built. We would not like a society filled with bums, illeterates, and uneducated people. We need scientists and doctors to improve our society. Thomas Jefferson was one that wanted education to be available to everyone of every social class. Education is universal and should be equal amongst everyone, seeing as society includes every class. If we take a walk through a neighborhood we can tell just by the looks of the houses and cars what type of education has been given. For example, we walk through a nice neighborhood with pretty house with beautiful gardens. We see a new mercedes parked in the front door. Usually these neighborhoods consist of members with better educations, therefore they can afford all of these nice things. On the other hand, we take a walk through the “ghetto” and we see the trashed houses and the gratifies on the wall. We see the homeless hanging by the corner. This shows the uneducated side of the city. Education is very important in the process of improving our society. We can not have a society that consists only of that uneducated side of the city because we would be headed no where. In the reading about the puritans it discusses education and how important the bible was to them. They believed that the bible was the most important part of the education system seeing as it was the only way to “purify” and perfect social living. This shows that even back then education was considered the door to fixing and modifying society in a positive way. So yes, I positively agree with the statement that education is the vehicle for improving society as a whole. Without education we would have nothing valuable in our society. 

Reflection #17

Many of the aspects implemented in early colonial education in New England differ from the things we see in our education system today. First off the role of religion has had a complete different impact in our education. The puritans also sometimes called pilgrims escaped New England for religious freedom. They were a strong group of religious followers that believed god  planned the true way to live. They lived by the bible as their code of life and implemented it in the lives of their children. Bible readings were a strong part of the education system and children were forced to read it daily. God was the only way to righteousness. It was found necessary for the young to become “pure” and educated in these religious subjects so that they could purify the future and correct all social living. Drama, Religious music, and poetry were banned from the curriculum. They believed these led to immorality and distraction from the subject of god. All of the poetry and literatures read and created by students had to reflect god. All of this is very different today. Just stating the fact that it is illegal to discuss religion in public schools today. Nonetheless can teachers state their opinion or religious beliefs to students or try to change their views in any way. Another major difference in todays education system is teacher preparation. In colonial times, most teachers received no formal education. Many teachers had not finished a secondary school and some were just servants paying their way to America with some on the side teaching jobs. Some teachers received some college level education but most teachers did not pass the elementary level. It was a benefit to have some knowledge of the subject being taught but not necessary. Teaching was not viewed as a career, just simply as a job to get by. Many teachers were teenagers that taught for a while or if not they were people with bad records of drinking and stealing. In todays education system we all know none of these are qualifications. Teaching is a career that is taken very seriously. Teachers must have at least a bachelors in education and they must have full blown out knowledge in the subject that is being taught. The attendance in the classes of Colonial schools was much higher that schools today. Classes had about sixty students. Today, a class of sixty students would be absolute chaos. Boys also had priorities when it came to education. They were favored and were considered more important in the education system. Classes were divided based of gender. The education system has definitely transformed a lot from the colonial times to today. 

Reflection #16

Rhetoric was created by Aristotle. It is a form of persuasion through talking. This Rhetoric lead to the creation of declamation classes for students. These speech classes assigned students topics in which they had to discuss and give a speech for in front of their class. There were three types of teachers in the school system. They had the litterator which taught reading writing and arithmetic. There was also the grammaticus which taught secondary level students to memorize and recite words aloud. Teachers made sure that the students pronounced every word correctly. Then there was the rhetor whom taught students to make speeches on a specific subject. They also made students participate in debates, this was called declamatio. These speeches and debates were split amongst two types. There was the quaestiones theme, which was basically just general themes and the causae themes that had to do with specific people or situation. Teachers made students place themselves in different situations as if looking through someone else's perspective and they were to give a speech or debate arguing their side. Rhetoric began to grow, but however it with growing in it’s style and form not the content of how important the matter being recited was. Declamatio became very popular in rome. It began to influence schools greatly and even adults. Everyone fell in love with the art of debate. It influenced literature in schools and oratory. Controversia was also sparked by declamatio. Controversia was the arguing of a topic in front of an imaginary jury. This also was divided in three sections; the sententiae, the divisio, and colores. The sententia was the argument that was being fought. The divisio was the legal statements of what is being fought. The colores are motives or explanations about what is being fought. Students performed debates in front of teachers and parents. Rhetoric became a big part of the education system. It became it’s own individual subject. Controversia exhibitions were given as shows for parents in which the students argued amongst each other an imaginary case. 

Reflection #15

Education in Ancient Rome was very important, especially to rich people. Usually only the rich were formally educated. They had private tutors and went to schools. However, schools were mainly for boys only. Girls were educated differently. Rich girls were allowed to receive an education at home by being taught how to become a good wife and how to run a proper home. Their education consisted of music, running a kitchen, and sewing. Boys on the other hand, like I stated before did attend schools and received a full formal education. However, their education was not the most entertaining one. They barely had any subjects to choose from. Education consisted of weekly routines. Waking up at sunrise, working throughout the whole day with a small lunch break, and being back in bed by sunset. They had no weekend breaks. Their education was molded through the use of beatings. If a child got something wrong in their studies they were beaten. That is why children were so focused and determined in their work. Lessons were simply listened to and memorized, seeing as their were no textbooks. Even though education in Ancient Athena was similar, it was still quite different. Similarly only wealthy families could afford education and teachers. However, boys learned for to write and quote famous literatures. They learned how to play one specific musical instrument and they were trained from young to be in the military. The studied for the goal of becoming an effective citizen to Athena. Girls in Athena actually also learned how to read, write and do some arithmetic. The teaching were divided amongst three groups; arithmetic, music and dancing, and sports. Children had paidagogos, which was basically just a slave that accompanied the child during the day. The early stages of the child's education was basics (reading, writing, arithmetic, music). The second stage consisted of the introduction of sports into the curriculum. Schooling ended when the child turned 18 and they were then placed into military training. However some greeks continued their education after childhood. Some teenagers had mentorships with an older greek. They listened to their mentors and assisted them in any way possible. They spent a lot of time with them. Roman and Athenian education are very similar, however Athenian education seems to have had better and bigger opportunities for children. They seem to have had a more open curriculum and the opportunity for students to learn until an older age.

Reflection #14

	Aristotle created “The great chain of being”, which was basically an organization of all living things from greatest to highest. He believed that every natural thing derived from one another in a linking pattern. This leading to the highest level which would be us humans since we have the greatest thinking and logical abilities. His purpose was to compare all living things to one another. He believed that every link had a meaning and there was no empty links in between the chain. Aristotle also came up with the four causes. The four causes explains that there can be many causes to one thing, and we can categorize something even though it can have many various complete opposite causes. The first and second causes are the classificatory causes. It is the description of what kind of form the species or thing your analyzing is. This can refer to material matters. Causes three and four were the dynamic causes. It is a deeper analyzation of how things function and why they function. The way we treat a specific matter is through knowledge, and the only way of having knowledge is by having a full understanding of something is by knowing why it is the way it is, also known as understanding the cause. That is why these four causes are so crucial to the development of western education. The four causes helps students full understand the subject they are studying by having them analyze situations. Aristotle wanted students to grasp the cause of how and why things are the way they are. This plays a huge role in science for example. When conducting an experiment and mixing several chemicals it is important that one understands what chemicals cause certain reactions. In his theory of the unmoved mover, Aristotle classified humans as a substance. He believed that in order for something to last forever, it was never created nor can it be destroyed. It is something that has always and will always exist. In order for something to be a “substance” it is dependent of anything else and can stand on it’s own. He believed that everything that moves was set into motion by something else. Even though Aristotles theories are somewhat confusing, they do apply a lot to education.

Reflection #13

Plato was a famous philosopher that created many ideas about life. He created idealism along with Aristotle. It stated that ideas were the only true reality. Truth and righteousness, goodness and beauty are the basic standards of life. He believed that the world we live in is nothing but a mere copy of and intellectual and perfect “ideal” world. He believed that there are two worlds. One one that was the spiritual and mental world. It was the eternal, permanent, and regular world. Then, there was the world of appearance. The world that is derived from our senses of hearing, touching, seeing, smelling and tasting. It is a world that is unstable and imperfect. He believed there was too much focus in this sensory world. He wanted this world to be overshadowed with truth. He believed everything had universal truths and it is important for everyone to discover the truth in all things. He wanted people to reject matter and material things and accept truth to move into goodness. He also believed that all humans are born with knowledge, however it is lost when we are placed in our material body. However we have a whole lifetime to gain back all of these truths and knowledge. The place of an educator was to help all of these people regain all of their knowledge, and that is where education plays in. He wanted all of his students to have the kind of education where truth and good were the main points. He believed that everyone should have an equal opportunity in education. Girls and boys should both have the advantage of seeking truths and wisdom. However, if some showed a lack in critical and abstract thinking, there would be other methods and paths to take. He believed they should pursue careers that would focus on the practical realities of life. He also created platonic forms which are abstract entities that exist apart from the sensible world. He believed that all objects are imperfect and imitate a form. Information we gain about an object is unimportant, however genuine knowledge is reliable and valuable. He believed that things that change are unreal. Like in our education system, if 2+2=4, it is always going to equal to four. If one day we walk into class and our teacher tells us 2+2=5, we become confused and therefore it is not real. Overall plato believed that only truths were what lead to knowledge. He believed that everyone was born with a blank mind ready to grow and be filled with truths and goodness.

Reflection #12

The launch of the Sputnik satellite had a great impact on America. It was during the time of the cold war where there was a lot of political conflict and military tension amongst the United States and the USSR. This launch of the Satellite was a definite low blow for Americans. American’s have always been used to being the ones with big technological advances. America began to panic. They were afraid of being attacked and they felt vulnerable to the Soviet Union.  They did not want to be “behind” the Russians. Without anyone to blame, American put the blame on it’s education system. It became educations fault that America was not able to beat the Soviets into space. Universities were called to build intense  and strict curriculums for it’s students. These curriculums mainly focused on math, science, and foreign languages. America wanted to create scientists and leaders that would outdo the Soviets geniuses. They wanted students to focus one-hundred percent on these subjects and to actually obtain and learn the material instead of just memorizing it. The launching of Sputnik opened many doors into education. Curriculums were now forced to become more rigorous. America did not want American’s to be viewed as dumb or slow in it’s education system. Soon after the launch of Sputnik the National Defense Education Act was passed. It was a billion dollar plan intended to increase and better the education system. College students were able to receive up to a thousand dollars a year for their education. Schools that made loans received government funding. Undergraduate schools such as elementary,middle, and high schools were also modified. Teachers were educated in the subjects of math, science, and foreign languages in order to provide a better understanding to their students. These facilities in schools were expanded and so was the curriculum. Government funding for science facilities was  more available than it had ever been. The goal of these curriculums was to encourage creative thinking rather than repetition and memorization. Bright students were hand picked and placed in advanced classes. They were monitored seeing as they could serve for the United States. This launching of the Sputnik definitely started a revolution in the education system of the United States. It made America open it’s eyes to the possibility of being out done by another country. However,  America woke up and made a difference in it’s curriculums and teaching methods in order to enhance their science department. 

Reflection #11

Many of Socrates ideas have had a great impact in our modern education system. He was a great Greek philosopher that believed that once one realizes they know nothing, they start to gain knowledge. He created the idea of elenchus and the dialectic method, which was basically the use of asking questions in order to gain knowledge. According to Socrates, teachers bring out questions in the mind of a student into the world. He wanted his students to analyze situations and to use critical and logical thinking to make questions to better understand. He believed in discussion rather than lecturing. He wanted students to bring ideas forth and teachers just simply assisted in the process. Socrates also talked a lot about happiness. Unlike our modern view of happiness, Socrates believed that sometimes our happiness can be mistaken. Even though we may think we are happy, we might actually may not be happy. In our modern society that does not make much sense. We usually believe that if we feel happy, we are happy. He believed that knowledge was the gateway and foundation of happiness. This is very true if we look at it in modern day. The more knowledge and experience we have, the more opportunities we are faced with. The more opportunities usually means happiness. For example, if we graduate from a university with a degree, we are now able to get a better job. A better job implies more income for  daily necessities, relieving a lot of stress. Socrates had a huge devotion to morals and ethics. He created a system that was made up of simple human reasoning. Like I stated before, Socrates was a great believer in the use of reasoning and questioning. Socrates teaching methods are used in modern western education today. His discussions were all problem centered. He would make up a question or situation and students had to analyze it based on their experience. He listened to students responses but however, did not give them the answer. The student is to use their critical thinking to reason the question and come up with an answer. The teacher simply leads the way into a proper response by analyzing the students responses. Socrates divided knowledge by two types; ordinary knowledge and definitional knowledge. He was a great devoter of belief through the use of logic. 

Reflection #10

Philip Jackson created the term “Gatekeeper” to identify teachers. He used this term to describe how teacher interact in their classrooms. Teachers are usually the ones that control the class and decide who talks and when. Teacher are usually the ones that do all of the talking in a classroom. When you think of a classroom and a typical day, you think of a teacher lecturing, asking questions, and giving directions. Rarely through-ought this day, it engages students asking questions or students talking. Teachers ask on an average, 348 questions a day. It is rare for a student to ask a question. Why is this so? Students are so used to having to be silent through ought class periods. Some are afraid of looking “dumb” amongst their peers, or afraid of the teacher making them feel bad. Teachers usually ask questions and give students a couple of seconds to answer. If they do not answer within that time limit, the teacher moves on. The whole purpose of an education system is to get students intellectually involved in the lessons. However, this is a struggle when teachers have such a great power over the classroom. Even though the teacher having control over the classroom is a very important thing, it can affect the learning of the students if it is not done correctly. Sometimes teachers are caught up in their lectures and their talking and forget to engage students. In the usual “Pedagogical Cycle” which includes structure, questioning, responses to these questions from students, and reaction from the teachers, teachers create 85 percent of the verbal interactions. These daily classroom patterns do not encourage students to get involved in the lessons nor ask questions. Im sure we have all had instances where we are sitting in a classroom just listening to the teacher lecture. There are many times when we are confused about something that is being said or just simply we have a disagreement with the teacher. However, we do not raise our hands to ask a question or state our opinion. Why does this happen? Because we are so used to listening to our teachers and having them do all of the talking, that we are sometimes afraid to just simply ask a question. When Philip Jackson created the term “gatekeeper” for teachers, it was not with the intention to make teachers look bad. It just simply shows that teachers are usually the ones in control of their classrooms. They create their curriculums, lecture and ask questions. However, it is encouraged that teachers sometimes let students do a little bit more talking in classroom settings. Giving children the opportunity to talk, ask questions and participate in discussions definitely has a lot to do with their academic achievement. It gives them confidence and motivation in their education. 

Reflection #9

The articles, “The first schools” and “Ancient Egyptian Education” are an overview of exactly how schools were in ancient civilizations. They talk about cuneiform which was one of the first systems of writing. They used this writing system to former their education. Students had to write and copy textbooks. There were different kinds of scribes,  There was junior and high scribes, which are like our junior and high school students. There was also scribes that specialized in specific activities. In the first half of the second millennium BC, there were many tablets found with exercises and activities created by the actual students. The whole purpose of the Sumerian schools was to train students to scribe for the economic needs of the land. However, that expanded and soon studies were created in plants, animals, geography, math, writing, and so on. Many of the Sumerian professors depended on their salary for their daily living. Teachers were paid out of the students tuition fees.   Unlike education today, only the wealthy could afford it. Most students came from rich families. Most of the Sumerian students were males. Like our school system today, these schools had “principles” an “teachers”. The head of the school, which we would call the principle, they called the “School Father”. The students were called the “school son”. The assistant professors created the curriculum. They created tablets for the students to copy and made sure that they did so correctly. They also listened to the students recite their tablets. The curriculum in sumerian schools consisted of two sections; the first was semi-scientific and scholarly and the second was literary and creative. The first section was a basic overview and understanding of the Sumerian language. Making sure that the language was understood and mastered correctly. In the textbooks found there was a lot of writing about animals, cities, plants, minerals, and things of that sort, indicating zoological, botanical, and geographical studies. The second part of this curriculum consisted of copying and studying several literary works. Students copied tablets and the professors examined them to make sure they were correct. Teachers played a very big role in the students lives. They gave lectures and created most of the tablets students had to copy. They corrected students mistakes and faults and made sure that students understood the matter. I believe that teachers in Ancient Civilizations were a little bit more dedicated than teachers today. They probably enjoyed their jobs more that teachers today simply by the fact that students appreciated their education and worked hard for it. Students now a days are usually forced to attend school and do not care much for it. In Ancient Civilizations only the wealthy and fortunate had a chance for education. Their determination probably gave teachers more of a motivation and love for teaching. These articles make teachers look very important in the lives of their students.

Reflection #8

The three waves of educational reform are very important in Americas education system today. Together these three waves build up a successful school system that ensures results from the teachers and students. The first wave, is based more on economics. It began in 1982. It began after the report “a Nation at risk” which stated that Americas education system was falling behind. There were too many illiterate adults and unsatisfactory test scores from students. They wanted higher expectations from the students in the five basic topics; English, Math, Science, Social science, and Computer science. Many companies complained about uneducated employees and the hassle of having to teach employees basics. This wave was mainly about raising standards. The nation wanted to raise test scores and the effectiveness of teachers and students. They wanted the quality of education to increase. The second wave focused more on the quality of the education. This wave was led by Theodore Sizer, John Goodlad, and Ernest Boyer. They stressed that teachers focused more on the depth of the curriculum rather than trying to cover more topics at once. They wanted to make sure that students had a full understanding of the topics in the curriculum. These educators noticed the lack of interest coming from teachers and the low academic results coming from students. They wanted to make sure that teachers grasped a more professional and higher position in their job. They wanted teachers to feel powerful and enthusiastic about their job. The greater the enthusiasm, the greater the academic results from the students. They focused making sure teachers played a big role in the decisions being made. The third wave, which happens to be my favorite, focused on seeing schools as more than just “educational facilities”. This wave was all about making students and parents feel comfortable around the school system. It created “Full Service Schools” which is basically a program that provides social services, nutrition,transportation, health care and parent education. It makes sure that students and parents are on top of the priority list. It wants schools to be a place where children and parents can visit at other times other than the time classes are being held. It conducts extracurricular activities and clubs in order to keep students busy and out of trouble. It is responsible for the needs of students. It provides health care and counseling. This wave, in my opinion was the one that stood out the most for me. It seems like a very important wave. Growing up I was always at school and so were my parents. They had great communication with all my teachers and my mom attended all of the activities at the school. I participated in clubs and took advantage of all the things my school had to offer. I believe that having all of these great benefits were essential growing up. They helped me stay focused in my education and always kept me out of trouble. For example, in order to participate in clubs, you had to have certain grades. This was definitely a motivation booster to always keep my grades up throughout school. The third wave benefits many students and parents that are struggling and are not financially stable. I think that is very important seeing as many parents get caught up in their financial situations and sometimes loose focus on their child's education. 

Reflection #7

Just how we learn from our parents today, children in Ancient Egypt learned from their elders. Even though today we learn a great deal of our information and knowledge from school systems, we still acquire a great load from our parents. However, children in Ancient Egypt learned pretty much everything by the simple process of imitating what they grew up around. Parents made sure to engrave their thoughts, opinions, and beliefs about what was wrong and right in their children. Books of instruction were create to insure that children understood the moral code of conduct and the norms for an everyday life. The only education girls would mostly receive was what they would pick up at home from their parents. Boys would receive a more formal education and training. On the job training was also very important back then. There were many tasks that did not require any formal education in order to complete. Parents or group members trained others directly face to face how to complete several tasks. On the job training did not require anyone to know how to read or write. Most of these tasks were “hands on” kind of tasks, such as farming or making crafts. The code of Hammurabi covered Apprenticeship which was also a crucial approach to education. It was the learning of something from a skilled employer. In the Hammurabi book, an apprentice was considered an adopted son. The great pyramids and temples created back in the ancient days show signs of successful apprenticeship. Those creations took a lot of training and determination. An apprentice lived at the house of the the one that taught the skill. He received food and clothe but almost never did he receive money. He was educated in the skill he was trying to obtain and at the end of the journey he received a suit of clothe and money. They were also tested in order to make sure they had understood the skill completely. They were now considered “journeymen”. Children also attended Temple schools. In these schools they were taught Cuneiform. Children used a clap tablet as a textbook and followed the instructions their teachers gave them. After mastering cuneiform, children were given a textbook to copy. They also learned arithmetic. Sumerians used the number 10 as a divisible of everything. They also used the division of a circle to master a clock using hours, minutes and seconds. Children also learned about the standard measurements of weight. Cuneiform was the most important skill that had to be acquired by the students. It was used for everything just like we use writing for everything today. Overall, the education system in ancient civilizations of egypt were pretty similar to the one we have today. They learned through the imitation of parental figures, through “on the job” training and apprenticeship, and through temple schools which are very similar to the schools we have today. 

Reflection #6

Writing had definitely been the door opener to history and to the establishment of some of the worlds greatest ancient civilizations. Writing first began with the drawing of pictures about 40,000 years ago. It is believed that writing was invented in various places separately from one another, in Sumeria, in ancient Mexico, and possibly in North China. Pictures were soon drawn with the intention of sounding out syllables rather than just meaning. Writing first began to establish civilizations in Southwest Asia because of economic reasons. Humans marked tokens with pictures to label different farm products. The pictures became more complex with the growing of the cities and centers and now they labeled manufactured goods also. The first use of pictures for the use of making sounds was found in about 3100BC. For instance, the picture symbol for arrow was used to symbolize the word “life”. If you read both words, (til,ti) in the Sumerian language they both have similar sounds “t” sounds in the beginning. Pictures soon began to be used as sound symbols. Eventually when the shift of picture symbol to sound symbol was finished and it was possible to symbolize every sound of the Sumerian language, it was said that writing was born. In Egypt, they had pictographs to stand for the first sound of the word they were trying to communicate. This was called acrophony and it made a huge leap to the creation of the alphabet. Thanks to writing the people of the civilizations were able to communicate their needs in other ways other than speech. They were also able to create history and memory. Without writing it was assumed that everyone remembered things, and if they were forgotten there was no way to bring them back. Writing also expanded story telling and myths. Now there were stories written down and available to be passed down throughout generations. Writing helped farmers and hunters to count their livestock and property. It became necessary in the use of economic transfers. Overall writing had created most of the societies we have today. If we think about it, how hard would it be to communicate with one another is writing was never established? How would we read signs while driving or make any type of important contract or business? 

Reflection #5

What do I think of when I hear the words Initiation and rites of passage? I think of the step into belonging somewhere or growing into a bigger and better person, a leap into another stage of life. Initiation rites are common everywhere. Whether is be in cultures, societies, or even in school, they are a part of the human life. Even though in Sambia cultures their initiation rites are quite different to any of those we have in American societies today, they have one thing in common; they are the passage to maturation. In Sambia, boys are forced to go away to a mens house in the village for several years. In that house they learn the process of becoming men through different initiations and activities. They even engage in homosexual activity as a passage to become “men”, pretty ironic huh? The younger boys are forced to conduct Regular fellatio, where they must swallow the semen of an older boy. That house that these men enter is like a school system now a days. We attend it for several years of our lives for the purpose of gaining knowledge towards life and getting a basic understanding of what society accepts and expects of us. We enter school as a five year old with no knowledge of the world around us. About 12 years later we walk out of high school as a new and mature person. We come out with a different personality and mind set of society. We learn from the experiences we face throughout those years. Education is the key to that passage of childhood to adulthood. Our graduation ceremonies would be our initiations as the Matuumo ceremony is to the girls from Gikuyu. These girls have a huge ceremony with dancing and several initiation procedures to introduce them into womanhood. We have huge celebrations and festivities to celebrate our graduation. We are taught through these 12 years of school everything that is going to prepare us for that “real world” we hear so much about. After graduating high school we are portrayed as different people and others have a new expectation of us and what we can and cannot do. We learn what society decides is necessary to be valued. That is why education is so fundamental. To some families, a member not graduating high school is an extreme let down and disappointment. I have met parents that have kicked their children out for dropping out of high school. Some parents take it as offensive as having a gay or lesbian child. It is all based on culture and belief systems. Just like the circumcision is so crucial to the people of Gikuyu, graduation and education is a very important rite of passage to the american society.

Reflection #4

I would have to say honestly, that before reading any of these articles, evolution seemed like something absurd. The idea that us humans come from monkeys sounded like something out of a comic book or some kind of joke. After reading these articles they somewhat expanded my thoughts and made me a little bit more open minded to new ideas and theories of just how we came upon this planet. Even though the theory of evolution does in some senses go against my religious beliefs, it makes sense. There is a lot of scientific-al data and research to back up the idea that humans evolved from monkeys. Reading these articles such as “Lucy” and “African Eve” and looking through the large database of pictures, I found out many things. Lucy, the Australopithicus afarensis, was found in 1874. Even though Lucy was only about 3 feet and 8 inches tall, and she was classified as an “ape”, Lucy had human characteristics. Lucy walked upright just like us humans. Her bi-pedalism lead to what we would consider human beings and human intelligence. The first humans which were Homo Habillis were small in height and had longer arms than legs, more like an ape. Afterwards, there was the Homo Erectus, which had a much bigger brain than Homo Habillis. This species had long, straight legs and walked. Just by looking at the skull of this species, scientist estimated it had a brain of about 1000 cubic centimeters. Homo Erectus was also much taller than Homo Habillis. It is also known that this species knew how to talk. An example of the Homo Erectus is the “Turkana Boy” which is an almost complete skeleton of a young boy. The boy was only 11 or 12 and he was already 5’2. He also had a large brain like us humans today. Finally, we are introduced into the Homo Sapiens which first existed 600,000 years ago. This species was short, thick and strong. They’re skulls were thick and they actually had brains larger than those of humans today. Studies conducted in 1987, show that mitochondrial DNA from humans in places all over the world indicate that we all originated from a Homo Sapien ancestor in Africa. I find it pretty amazing how over the years the structure and mental capacities of these species have transformed. Evolution transformed this species from short monkeys to the humans we are today. Over the years, the species gained skills such as talking, walking upright, and having larger brains. Even though I still do not fully agree 100% with the idea of evolution, I think it is quite interesting.

Reflection #3

I guess I can say growing up in a mostly populated African American neighborhood made me pretty open minded and comfortable with my surroundings, seeing as I am Hispanic. I never really had a problem getting along with children of other races. Even though I was a minority at my school, my Elementary definitely made the efforts to share a multicultural curriculum with the students. All of the African American, White, and Hispanic children got along, for the most part. I believe that had a lot to do with not only the wonderful, diverse teachers that we had, but also with the great curriculum. I remember Hispanic Heritage week. That week we would all dress up in our native outfits. I remember wearing a long white dress with a red flower in my hair , and my lips painted in red. I looked adorable. The funniest thing was seeing everyone else who wasn’t hispanic dressed up. They looked so proud and excited to experience thas day even though they were from other cultures. We also brought in one of our favorite foods from our countries and had a huge class party where everyone got to try each others food. My Elementary school definitely implemented the Contributions and Additive approach to their curriculum. I recall doing projects during African American month. I did a project on Rosa Parks and one on Harriet Tumbman. I still remember a whole lot of information from those projects actually. In third grade we also had a week where we studied Italy. We read several stories from their culture, some fiction and some non-fiction, and then at the end of the week the teacher brought in one of their typical breads, Panettone, for the class to try. Learning about all of these famous heroes and cultural holidays in Elementary was part of the Contributions Approach. Our African American and Hispanic Heritage months were part of the Additive Approach. Even though my school did a great effort to make their curriculum multicultural, they did not reach the Transformation or Social Action approaches. It would have been nice to go a little bit further into culture throughout my school years. Maybe while learning about Columbus and his discovery of America , we could have learned a little bit more about the indigenous peoples perspective. My elementary and secondary education never really emphasized the students to make decisions to try to change anything either. They never used the social action approach to enforce students to try and make a difference in the understanding of multicultural groups. I would have liked to experience the social action approach throughout my school years. This approach is one that I will definitely implement in my curriculum as a future teacher.

Reflection #2

In this section, it discusses paradigms and the way society views life based on their ideal model and the way they are brought up. It states that religion and cultural values shape very much what our paradigms are. Our paradigms decide our attitudes and the way we act and respond to the situations we are faced with in our daily lives. Soon, it moves on to talk about Paradigm Shifts. It discusses the early mankind Homo Habilis and Homo Erectus. In the early stages, Homo Habilis were very uneducated and ignorant animals. They barely had tools and knew nothing of hunting and defending themselves. They had no way of standing up and defending against prey. They ate from the soil and the earth. Later on, the text begins to discuss the Homo Erectus and all of their new discoveries. They begin to create new weapons and discover hunting. They learned the art of killing prey and turning in into food. They stepped up in the creation of tools and now made different tools for different purposes based on survival. All of this lead up to the paradigm of gender roles and parenting. Mothers now had to spend more time with their children and therefore less time in the hunting. Males went out hunting while the female stayed and cooked. According to the author of this text, all of these inventions lead up to major changes in the Homo Erectus species. Small changes such as the creation of better tools and hunting lead up to emotions and feelings coming from these animals. Before, the sexual acts from these species were involuntary and unchosen. Now, these species began to experience pleasure, thought and the ability of choice. They decided whom they wanted to have sexual intercourse with. All of this happening based on the expansions of their brains and intelligence. This species also now began to feel jealousy and feelings of love and lust. The Homo Erectus were also introduced to fire. Something as small as the invention of fire also lead to a new paradigm and way of viewing the world. Fires created more social activities for these animals, seeing as now they could spend more time at night thanks to the vivid lighting. They began to learn communication through the enunciation of different sounds and noises. These fires definitely increased their communication skills and their family bonding time. I believe this time during the early Homo Erectus has really had an impact on mankind. It is incredible how small inventions such as tools, fire, and hunting have impacted society today. These inventions expanded our intellectual capacities. They helped mankind stand up for themselves and survive during harsh conditions. Thanks to these inventions we now eat red meat and have protein in our systems. It has changed all of societies paradigms of how we view the world and live our everyday lives. Communication being one of our most important features was expanded through something so simple as the start of a fire. Imagining life without these changes would be somewhat crazy.

Reflection #1

Teacher preparation programs have changed drastically over the years. The preparation for teachers in the colonial times was nothing of how it is today. In the colonial times teachers needed no preparation in order to work in a classroom. Most elementary teachers were actually teenagers. Teachers needed no formal education, they received a lot of their information by serving as apprentices for master teachers. Most teachers came straight out of elementary and some had some secondary education. Teaching was not viewed as a career. It was actually seen as a temporary job, kind of like working in Burger King or Mcdonalds now a days. Most teenage teachers held bad records for crimes and drinking. Finally, in 1823 Samuel Hall came up with the idea of creating a Normal School. This school was an advance to provide elementary school graduates with training in teaching skills. Normal schools were usually a two year training program. Teachers were now forced to sign a strict contract upon entering the field. At the advantage of gaining a disappointing 75$ dollars every month, teachers were not allowed to marry, drink, smoke, wear makeup, short dresses, dye their hair and many other things. These restrictions being something absurd today. Stepping into the 1900s, teachers were being demanded more and more. Normal schools expanded their training programs to three to four years. They soon began to give courses in other fields other than teaching. In the 1980s controversy began to stir about professionalism in teaching. There was several reports such as “Tomorrows Teachers” and “A nation prepared” demanding that teachers increase their professionalism. They asked for an end to the undergraduate major and that teachers were to have a Masters level degree. Some universities followed the advice and extended their programs. However, some did not listen. Teaching was still not viewed as a profession. Afterwards the Carnegie Forum created the “National Board for professional teaching standards”. The NBTS targeted in finding excellent teachers with skill and knowledge in their field. They created a Board Certification. Board certified teachers had higher salaries and better recognition. Teachers created portfolios and took tests in order to become certified. We have also been introduced to the Teach for America program. TFA gathers talented and motivated recruits with a desire to teach. Even though TFA seems to be a good program, there are many critics. Some view TFA as irresponsible and lacking professionalism. They say that classrooms require more career preparation. Overall, teaching preparation has gone through a lot over the years, but it has definitely improved. It has gone from having teenagers teaching an elementary class to having the great education system we have today in America.

My name is Yariana Triay. I am nineteen years old and currently majoring in Elementary education. Ever since I could remember I dreamt of becoming a teacher. I remember as a child placing my stuffed animals all over my room with a paper and pen in front of each. I had my very own chalk and marker board. I played teacher all day in my room until dinner time. My mom always knew I wanted to become a teacher. Throughout high school I took four years of early education and did lots of volunteer hours in different preschools and elementary schools. After graduation I worked in two different schools as an after school teacher and as a kindergarten summer camp counselor. I have loved every single ounce of experience I have gained while working with children. In my opinion, children are the best people to work with. They will never put a frown on your face. I have gone to work in the worst of moods, and children always manage to put a smile on my face. They are young and full of energy and they have the desire to learn. Teaching is the basic foundation of society. Thanks to teachers we have doctors, lawyers, cops, dentists and every other career. Teachers shape and mold the lives of children and they are very crucial in the first 15 years of a child’s life. Becoming a teacher has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl and it is a dream I hope to accomplish. After finishing my first two years here at Miami Dade and receiving an associates, I plan to transfer to Florida International University where I hope to major in Elementary Education. I would like to find a job in an Elementary school working as a kindergarten or first grade teacher, being that is my favorite age group. Even though becoming an Elementary teacher is my dream, my biggest goal and strive in life is to open up my own preschool. I would love to run my own school and handle everything that goes on. I enjoy setting up activities and brainstorming creative and fun ways in which children can learn. After working in a preschool, I realized that was definitely what I wanted to do. I worked not only hands on with the children, but I also helped around in the office and got the inside scoop of what exactly it is to run your own school. Well I hope my dream of becoming a teacher and my dream of opening my own preschool do work out. I am going to strive and work my hardest to reach them. I am looking forward to this class and I know it will help me advance and expand my knowledge towards my career.