Reflection 20

It is believed that the acceptance of the public high school in the nineteenth century basically affirmed democracy. It was viewed as such because high school became a bridge between elementary education and a path to public higher education. Before the high school was funded by the collected taxes, there was a tuition charge for each pupil who wanted to attend. In states like Michigan, students were receiving free elementary education and they had already had a state supported university. So why not have the bridge between the gap to be a state funded institution as well? The high school had two main purposes, one of which was to prepare the pupils for a higher education in college and for vocational purposes. European high schools were more rigid then those in the U.S. education system. The students in European schools were given much more homework then students were given in U.S. education. Relating this to modern times, it is a well known fact that people from the islands and many other countries are more knowledgeable and are considered much more smarter than kids from the United States of America. The curriculum in American schools are not as rigorous as other places and for the mere fact that often times, in other countries, education is seen as something very valuable because of the fact that it is paid for where as American students are able to attend elementary, middle, and high school tuition free, even though it is paid for by tax payers. It seems that students who understand that their parents are making sacrifices to send them to school because it is not free have a bigger conscience and are more enthused about school and learning. Otherwise they have a lot of consequences to deal with form their parents and they would want to risk that.












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Philosophies

Recently, I had the opportunity to take a philosophy quiz which would determine my views and categorize my educational philosophy. Upon receiving the results for the test it showed that I am more lenient towards both the constructivism approach as well as the progressivism approach. Understanding the basics of both of these learning theories, I believe that I do have similar beliefs that would classify my philosophies. Those results were followed closely by the reconstruction learning theory.
The constructivist educator believes that people generate knowledge and meaning form their own experiences. Basically taking form that knowledge cannot be handed down from one person to another but is constructed by each person separately. Both Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are the most pivotal influences in constructivism. In a constructivist classroom, the teacher might use scaffolding which consists of questions, clues, and or suggestions that may help like a student’s prior knowledge to the new information that they are being taught. Challenges often found in a constructivist classroom usually entail trying to find a new way to solve a math problem or even reframing their ideas on a certain ethnic group. The constructivism learning approach is primarily focused on critical thinking and authentic learning which often leads to its popularity amongst reform circles. Constructivism is often associated with active learning. The educators who follow the constructivism approach are moreover thought of as facilitators opposed to teachers. This is the idea because they are thought to assist pupils with their own understanding of the content being taught and not imposing their (the facilitators) own understanding of the content being taught. I believe that the results for my philosophies being linked to the constructivism approach does hold some weight to itself. I do believe that you can’t always impose your knowledge on someone else because they may not understand the information the same way that you understand it.
The progressivism approach is based on the assumption that humans and even social animals learn by experiencing real life activities with other people. The educators of this approach believe that their students learn in a way similar to scientist by identifying the problem and then creating an assumption (hypothesis) and then experimenting to see if this is actually true. This learning model is similar to John Dewey’s learning model. John Dewey taught that people learned best through social interaction in the real world. Progressive educators believe that you cannot train a person’s mind by making them read historical novels but you are able to train the person’s mind to analyze and information they have to come up with the best and most likely conclusion. Progressivism is basically pragmatism in education. Pragmatism stresses that the way to see if an idea has merit or truth to it is to test it. That way if the idea works in the real world ten it has truth because it wasn’t only practiced with programmed situations but also with real life experiences. I believe that this is true as well because when any scenarios are played out in a controlled setting there are ninety-nine chances that it will have the desired outcome which will be in favor to the idea that is being put to the test. Students in a progressivism learning environment are often seen in little groups discussing multiple topics opposed to a teacher standing at the head of a room giving a lecture. These students often have field trips that will allow them to utilize their multiple intelligences. But if we can also get the same results in any possible situation whether they re controlled or not, then we can prove that the idea really works in the real world with real life interactions.
Finally, the result that followed both the constructivism and progressivism learning approaches is reconstruction. Many progressive educators believe that the way the schools were organized had a great impact on the way that the students learned and were affected. They also believed that because the schools were isolated from the society they weren’t consistent with real world situations.
Overall, the philosophies that were determined based on the results from the philosophy survey were more accurate than I expected. After taking a brief but in depth look at the three philosophies, I believe that I would be an educator who would incorporate all of these learning theories in my own classroom. The ideas displayed by these learning outcomes are very insightful and hopefully are helpful to my future students. Of course, I also believe that changes take place as well. So though these results may suit me during my introduction to education, I feel that if I were to take this survey at the completion of my education I would have somewhat of a different philosophy on education.



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Interview with Ms. T

Interview
I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite educators of Miami Norland Senior High school. I made it my business to ask all of the questions that I genuinely wanted answers to. These answers gave me an insight on her outlook towards the school, students, and the role that she plays in making a difference in the lives of many.
What inspired you to teach?
“Well, I was needed. I was needed for Creole-English translation. I decided to give it a try for a year and liked it. I went back to school and came back to teaching.
How long have you been teaching at this school? And how long have you been an educator?
“At this school, I’ve been teaching for 10 years, but I’ve been an educator for 20 years and I’m going to retire in nine”.
Have you always worked in a public school? And what do you like most about it?
“I have always taught in a public school setting. I like having my two-month vacation each year. I also like the professional development involved in the workshops and having a job that requires responsibility and shows that I am appreciated.
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
“The ability to teach my favorite subject and show my students my passion for technology and for accounting. Also, the grade books for this school are now online and my boss trusted me enough to place me in control of making sure the online grade books are running smoothly and that all the teachers are up to date with using the software. “
What was the biggest challenge that you had to face in a classroom?
“I would have to say behavioral problems. Children are thinking that they are adults and are eager to disobey and disrespect. And with all of that, we have to realize that we can only look for the best. “
Have you ever wanted to become an administrator?
“Absolutely not. I like the fact I deal with the students and help them. I want to continue to teach. I found my passion, even with an accounting degree and working at an accounting firm didn’t do it for me. Being able to help kids. My kids. That’s what works for me.
If I didn’t know before, this interview with Charlotte Thebaud-Gerdes showed me why she was one of the most loved and respected teachers at Miami Norland Senior High School. She was genuine. She was real and furthermore she was always stretching out her hand to her students.




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Socratic Method

Article Review
So far this semester, we’ve discussed a lot of different topics that has stimulated different sensations within us. There were topics that we wouldn’t have imagined if we were not informed and there were also topics that we were already briefly aware. Amongst these intriguing topics, we discussed the many Greek philosophers, including the great Socrates and his impact on the way we think today. Socrates was a very intellectual person who did not consider himself as such. He cherished the simplicities in life and didn’t even consider himself a teacher although many would classify him as such. The main focus in this summary of the article written by Servet Celik is the Socratic Method and dialectic.
Celik writes that Socrates was very widely known and there isn’t a person now who can honestly say that they have never heard of Socrates though they may be unable to explain his theory in detail. Socrates believed in the dialectic which is defined by "the art or practice of examining opinions or ideas logically, often by the method of questions and answers, so as to determine their validity. He (Celik) goes on to explain the basis of the dialectic, which is essentially to push students to think for themselves opposed to just providing them with what is believed to be the correct answers to their questions and thus what Socrates was focused on doing. Socrates would hold discussion initiated around a certain attention grabbing subject and then he would proceed with a question answer type conversation throughout the entire discussion. By doing so, he was able to push the involved individuals to think harder than usual and basically determine their own knowledge or lack thereof.
Socrates believed that there was no teaching actually done but remembering. He believed that we learned by remembering what is already stored in our minds.
Even though Socrates didn’t believe that what he was doing was teaching, we believe that his method is exactly what is required to teach and for students to learn. He had clear and concise objectives and rationales to what is done with a fitting routine to accompany them. Socrates denial to actually teaching would not stand as a whole truth in the sense that in his era, the way that people were taught to learn was by rigorous repetition drills and rote learning. So for a man who insisted that he only knew that he knew nothing, to go around inhis village and ask seemingly harmless questions to the ones who declared that they were wise to only prove that they actually knew nothing, was considered a crime for which the punishment was death.
Celik discussed the four main components to the Socratic Method which are: the text, the questions, the leader and the participants. The text would be from any imaginable resource that could strike conversation. The primary or initiating question would be posed by either the teacher (the leader) or the students (the participants). The leader is normally the teacher who not only guides the course of the discussion but also takes part in it. The participants are the ones who determine the success of the entire discussion by participating and being aware of the text in detail and willing to exchange ideas and comments openly.
The article genuinely points out valid ways to implement the Socratic method into today’s classroom and suggests the improvement of students both scholastically and socially. lf the Socratic method were implemented into the schools there is a chance that we would urge the students to learn or rather, remember, the knowledge that they already have stored but have yet to tap into.



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Reflection 19

Our school system has done a lot of changing over the years since it first started in colonial times. The first type of school that was established was called a dame school. This was similar to the present day elementary schools. The school was usually located in the home of the teacher who was normally a woman. The teachers were often uneducated and only taught their pupils the basics of the school. The students were only taught to spell and were not taught math or grammar skills. Then in the nineteenth century, Horace Mann coined the “common school” which would provide all white children the chance to get the basics in education. The pupils went to this school from ages six to fourteen. The students were taught reading arithmetic and writing also geography and history. There weren’t report cards like there are in today’s society, but there were end of the year recitals which was when students had to recite the information that they had learned. After the dame schools, and after long deliberation, the society stressed that higher education was needed rather than just the education received from the dame schools. The Latin grammar schools were created because of this stress. Originally, these Latin grammar schools were designed for those who would become ministers and leaders in the communities. This would typically be a male student from the upper class bracket in the society. The girls were not even accepted into these schools because they were informed that the most important and influential people in the society were always men. The Latin grammar schools were used to prepare boys for higher learning. They are similar to today’s high schools in preparing students for college. Horace Mann’s normal school was the place that people could attend after receiving their elementary education. Normal schools provided a two year training program for teachers. You can say that it was similar to what we have as a college today that trains people in the field of their desire. U.S. schools has undergone many different transformations, most of which were for the best of the students and schools.


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Reflection 18

Education has always been seen as a way to improve society as a whole. This is true primarily because educators can change the way a person thinks in the way that they teach. When the Russian’s went into space before America, the way that information in the schools were taught was ultimately changed in order to spark intelligence and encourage excelling in mathematics and the sciences. The defeat of being beaten into space caused the politicians of the United States to ignite the fire for students to want to learn. They learned because of defeat. This example is a great one to the effect that education is used to improve society because these politicians believed that by producing more intellectuals they wouldn’t be far behind amongst the other countries in making other discoveries and in going into outer space. In reference to the question I believe that education was once viewed as a means for improving society. This may have been the case in previous years of the history of education. Education was an improvement to society when it wasn’t granted freely to all. I also believe that education was used as a vehicle to improve society when Americans were beaten into space. In modern education, I believe that education can be used to improve society but unfortunately it isn’t utilized to the best of its capabilities. Education doesn’t have to be focused only on the renowned subject matter (reading, science, and math) but there are certain life skills that, if taught in modern schools, maybe we could revert to the times when education was seen as the vehicle that is currently needed to improve society. Curriculum in present day schools seem to be solely based on testing rather than what is actually learned from a particular subject. For instance the state tests seem to categorize students into who’s smart and who’s not. Not all students have the same levels of knowledge on certain subjects. I feel that if we weren’t so focused on drilling the students with the “state test” way of learning then maybe we could develop more of those indirect skills that are learned in a school.


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Reflection 18

Colonial New England education and U.S. education are like two opposite ends of the pole. Education in colonial times was much more centered on the religious aspects of life. In present day U. S. education religion is not tolerated in the classroom. It even goes as far as some families being against their child pledging allegiance to the United States flag. The teaching profession was mostly dominated by males. The majority of teachers were male. Women who ventured into the teaching profession were thought to be masculine. Teaching today is a unisex profession even though it is mostly done by women. Unlike present U.S. education, during colonial times religion played a very big part of education. Children were taught to read the bible at a very young age and it was often used as a textbook. In present day U.S. schools, religion is not tolerated as a subject in school due to much diversity in religions and for the fact that each student doesn’t have the same beliefs. There are too many ways to offend someone and religion is simply one of those aspects that aren’t shared by the whole population at any given time. Therefore for the sake of sanity and for the sake of not having an argument, religion is entirely left out of the education system. Discrimination was also a difference between colonial New England education and modern U.S. education. During those times, race wasn’t an issue as discrimination is concerned because African Americans were schooled and if there were schools who secretly taught black children, they were segregated and not taught the same information that the white kids were taught. The biggest site of discrimination would be based on a person’s wealth and their status in the community. In modern day school system, there isn’t any discrimination as far as education because each child has the right to be educated. No matter if the child’s family is rich or poor. In modern day society, schooling can take up a great part in an individual’s life. There are primary schools and secondary schools, and schools to further one’s education to become better at what they initially wanted to do. Everyone has the ability to go to a college or university now-a-days. In colonial times, not everyone went to college and there was such a large gap between the school systems. Unlike now where you go from one school right into another upon completion you graduate and have the bare minimum. In colonial times, what they considered bare minimum, which was attending primary school, stood for a lot.


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Reflection 16

When one thinks of rhetoric, what is mostly associated with it? Automatically one may answer rhetorical question. At least that’s what popped up in my head. Rhetorical questions are the types of questions asked and not answered by whom it’s addressed. These questions are mostly associated with a parent scolding their child. They often ask rhetorical questions and the child usually knows which questions to answer and which ones are to be answered. Rhetoric was used as a way to persuade others to believe that whatever topic you were arguing was true. The Sophists were the people who often used this way to argue. They would argue the worst and make it seem like the best and argue the best as though it were the worst. Rhetoric was adopted by the Romans and made their own. They even centered their education on rhetoric in the form of declamation, which was a speech class were young men were assigned topics and instructed to give an appropriate speech on the topic that would advocate or lead to a specific course of action taken by the audience or the listeners of the speech. At the time when rhetoric was introduced to the Romans, they had a fascination with the Greeks and basically wanted to mimic them. Rhetoric derived from the Greeks and even at that time, Romans found it fashionable to even learn Greek. Ideas and traditions that arose from the Greeks were often thought suspicious but still highly regarded by the Romans. Declamation, which was taught in the schools, then began to advance into controversia, which was an invented legal case argued before an imaginary jury. This act was done publicly and was considered fashionable entertainment. Students were given the opportunity and have their parents’ as well as the community would come to witness such an event. Come to think about it, this reminds me of a person reading a monologue, expressing emotion and basically talking to the audience without any response. Rhetoric also played a role in the way literature and entertainment changed with the use of the controversia and the declamation. It even made a difference in storytelling. There was a point in time where rhetoric began to lose its weight in society and lost its intellectual edge. If you could speak properly and persuade people you were thought of as someone who was intelligent. Not to say that this isn’t true in modern society because people who have an extensive vocabulary are thought of as immaculate when at least 50 percent of the time the words they are using isn’t being used correctly.


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Athenian Education vs Roman Education

Reflection 15
Education tends to differ in multiple cultures, but overall has the same task which is to teach the way and beliefs and knowledge to the children so that it can be continued into their futures. In modern education, there are general topics that are seen as important and taught in every nation across the board. Here, we will take a brief look into the differences between ancient Athenian education and Roman education. In ancient Rome even though the poor were not able to afford schooling, they were still able to read and write. Children from wealthy families were taught by tutors in their homes. Boys were the only ones allowed to what was considered an actual school. They were even beaten if they did not know the correct information. At that time, children were taught that certain things were right, and they were not to question it at any point. Also since textbooks were merely too expensive, the lectures were often dictated and if the child didn’t know the correct information they were sometimes held down by two slaves and then whipped by their tutor. In Athens, education was affordable so that even the poorest families could send their children to school. The basis of the education was train pupils in the arts and for peace and war. Although boys were the focus as in the ancient Roman education, the curriculum wasn’t as rigorous and the children were still expected to learn the subjects being taught by the lecturing because books too were expensive in Athens. The main goal of education in Athens was to better character as opposed to Roman education where they were merely fascinated with the idea of being like the Greeks in education instead of actually taking on the beliefs of the Greeks. If the Romans focused on the character of their young people opposed to the fact that they were learning and being told what was correct (they weren’t allowed to question anything) they may have been able to realize that the whippings didn’t make better students. In modern education, teachers are not allowed to place their hands or any other threats to their students really. This can have both a good and bad effect because I feel that if a person can hear with their ears they can definitely learn by their bottom. I suppose that is due to the fact that my parenting comes from individuals who believed that very thing since they were forced to endure beatings from their teachers.



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Aristotle's Impact

Aristotle, student of Plato, had many different ideas and theories that continue to impact western education as we know it. The basis of education is to simply develop the mind; to acquire knowledge. Even though Aristotle studied under Plato, his ideas on philosophy was entirely obscured from that of Plato, which is why he wasn’t left to be the head of Plato’s school. Aristotle, on one point, taught that in order to have knowledge of a particular object, you must first have knowledge of the substance in the object. An example would be that of knowing what a chair looks like. In order to properly describe a chair and be able to tell someone who has never seen a chair before you must be able to tell them it has four legs; it has a back; it also has a seat for one to sit. If you were to describe a chair merely as a seat, one can bring a wooden stool to sit on, because it is a seat but not a chair. Furthermore, Aristotle’s causes have impacted our way of thinking and in modern western education because it lead us to what we call cause and effect, but a much simpler version of his causes. The four causes basically prove that there is more than one answer to any one question. With the four causes you can describe or talk about the same thing in four different ways. Another aspect where Aristotle leaves his mark is the way that he sees God. To Aristotle, God is the unmoved mover because He [God] is the first of all substances. According to Aristotle, God basically gives everything and everyone else the push to move, but He himself is not moved by anything. And with the idea of God being first, Aristotle also coined the idea of the Great Chain of Being where God is the first in the ladder and then it links everything in the universe. In modern society the idea that everything in the universe is related, is one that people do believe in. The chain basically arranges things form the least to the highest. This is similar to what we do like in what we call a food chain. You will see a leaf eaten by a worm which is eaten by a bird who then is eaten by a cat or snake, and so forth. So the impact of the great chain of being has lead us to the types of conclusions where everything and everyone is linked in one way or another and this can even be witnessed amongst social networks such as Facebook. You can have a mutual friend with someone that you don’t even know and the chain just goes on and on. Aristotle’s ideas have indeed greatly impacted our way of education, because what we learn and how we learn it, is then translated, or rather transferred to our children who continue our legacy.


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Plato's Ideas (reflection 13)

Plato’s impact on modern western education is evident in many areas. One particular area stems from the saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” Plato established this idea when he believed that children should be raised by the society instead of just their parents. This is a statement that a lot of people would find that they agree with. I remember stories that my mom used to tell me about living in Jamaica. The parish or the county that you lived in, everyone knew everyone. So if you did something wrong, you were not just getting a whipping from your own parents, but everyone else’s too. And vice versa; If a child was caught doing something wrong, your mom would scold him and then he would go home and his own mother scold him as well. Another one of Plato’s impact on modern education comes from the idea that having the right people in charge whether it is a king, president, or principal, will bring out the highest capabilities in human social aspects. I can agree with this because I went to a school (that shall remain unnamed) that had at least four principals while I was there(a high school); and with different principals, the school’s academic levels and overall performance fluctuated often. When the principals were involved the performance level was high and the other way around when the principal was hardly around. Plato’s theory of idealism is considered the basis of public education. Plato taught there is truth in all things and it is up to the pupil to discover that truth. Plato also taught that there are universal truths; what can also be known as general knowledge in modern society. A universal truth that he believed was that 2+2=4 in mathematics and therefore believed that there were universal truths in other subjects such as politics and religion. Plato’s ideas of forms help to provide examples of objects. In his allegory of the cave Plato demonstrated his belief that people are born ignorant and surrounded by shadows and illusions. He also felt that those who did find the truth and who were enlightened had a duty to fulfill by enlightening the others in their society. Plato also impacted the modern education because he believed that both boys and girls should have the opportunity to fully develop their minds to the highest capacity. The belief that boys and girls should have the same opportunity is not shared by everyone in all places. Especially at the time when girls were thought to be caretakers for the home and usually learned how to maintain a home opposed to learning subjects as did male children. Plato’s ideas will definitely continue to impact the modern western education.

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Reflection 12

Sputnik was launched in 1957 by the Soviets. The launching of Sputnik affected the U. S. education because it led to a reform in education. This reform was brought on because of the large ego of the United States. The Soviet Union and the United States were basically racing each other to see who could get into space first. With the launch of Sputnik this proved the failure of the U. S. beating the Soviets into outer space. In this reform, schools were instructed to create a more rigorous curriculum especially in the areas of math and science. They were trying to prepare students to think like both scientists and mathematicians. In doing so, the federal government passed acts like the National Defense Education Act (more commonly known as the NDEA). This act was one to support more training for teachers and among other things, to fund scholarships of college students who were majoring in an area that would benefit national defense. At this point, it is realized that with the launch of Sputnik, the United States felt threatened and was basically placed on guard and was determined to train the young people to become scientists and engineers. The NDEA was one that truly surprised many being that according to the Constitution, the federal government was to have no dealings with education seeing as how it was a state responsibility yet they were able to not only pass this act but in other ways to have their hand in education. It used to be feared by many Americans to not have a central body governing all things, education included. Before the launch of Sputnik, the curriculum wasn’t seen as rigorous as some people would have loved. The launch of Sputnik cause the debate on progressive education to cease and the people who were against this type of education had won the argument after all. With the Soviet’s launch into outer space, the United States turned to a more educational approach for education. This approach wasn’t the best simply because it concentrated on those who were more prone to succeed in the areas of mathematics and science. This approach also left behind those children who were at a disadvantage in those areas. In modern day society with the No Child Left Behind proposal, this reform in the curriculum of schools would not have lasted for too many years as it did not when it was first established.
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Reflection 11

Socrates, a great teacher who didn’t think of himself as a teacher at all, is known for the thought:”All I know is that I know nothing.” His impact on Western education had to be from the Socratic Method where he wouldn’t provide a direct answer but instead would ask a series of questions which ultimately lead the student to their own conclusion. In a way, Prof. McNair teaches similar to what is known as the Socratic Method. I’ve also witnessed different times were he will ask questions that causes his students to have to think. One event where this is noted is when he required the different readings on rites of passages and initiations ceremonies. He understood that his students had not yet stumbled upon this sort of information and led us to become knowledgeable, to a certain extent, of what happens in different cultures that are different from our own. Another major impact in modern western education is with the usage of the elenchus where students are taught to question things of their belief and even the opposing side. This too, is another aspect of Prof. McNair. In modern western education, teachers aid their students in the thinking process by asking a series of questions which will in turn lead to other questions. Socrates felt that he wasn’t a teacher yet his way of teaching was so profound that it leads others to imitate his style. Socrates’ way of teaching was by leading other to think. This, by all means, is the greatest skill of all. I can think back when I was in elementary school and if a child didn’t know something the teacher would respond, “yes you do, you’re just not thinking.” The Socratic Method can be witnessed in other places other than in education. Like with entertainment for example. I’m sure everyone, in some way shape or form is familiar with Blue’s Clues. If not it is a cartoon show that plays on Nickelodeon. One major concept of the show is to help kids think and figure things out. The host asks different questions about clues which lead the audience to the correct answer. Before recently, I was never truly exposed to the elenchus as much in a classroom as I would in other situations; although it is common for police work. It is very interesting that we are unaware of the impact of different philosophers in our education. It’s like they are hidden from us unless we venture for the knowledge of knowing. In a civilization like our own, we really need to give credit where it is honestly due.
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reflection 9

Modern day schooling can in some ways be compared to that of an Ancient Egyptian education. Egyptians held schooling in a high regard much as we do in modern society. Children who were privileged enough to attend these schools had to practice their script but were not totally confined to a strict basic curriculum like students now. They were able to practice creative writing and to copy different pieces of literature. Currently, our education system revolves greatly around standardized testing. This testing is designed to basically identify the academically weak and strong. Even though the Egyptians didn’t have this type of testing, there was still the fact that not all children were able to go to school. The teachers at that point were teaching the same things. All teachers had to know all of the information that way they can pass it on to the pupils in their classroom. The teachers today have the ability to master one subject opposed to teaching all of them. Only in elementary do we still follow the main idea of rounded teachers. Teachers today have the ability to choose their own lesson plans while in the ancient Egyptian days of schooling teachers were instructed what to teach and how to teach it. The school system didn’t have many reforms like those in modern society. Even though testing wasn’t at the fore front of schooling in ancient Egypt, the fact that teachers were able to beat their students for punishment isn’t something tolerated in this society. Teachers, then, played a big part in the raising of a child. In many other cultures teachers have this choice even though it is not tolerated it shows the value of the teacher in Egyptian education opposed to modern society. Teachers usher students to their academic success but not before aiding them through the very first trials that the students often find easy to confide in them. The effectiveness of teachers was greatly valued because the Egyptians understood that teachers really were the gatekeepers. If only modern society could agree to a certain extent it would be wonderful. Like the dilemma with teachers not being considered professionals. the importance of teachers in a child’s life can lead to different outcomes. Teachers become confidants, friends, trusted grown-ups who aren’t always finding faults with their students. One of my dreams as I move forward to fulfill my dreams of being a teacher, I want to be one of the teachers whose students believe really affected their lives.



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The teacher is the gatekeeper....reflection 10

When you hear the term “gatekeeper” what is it that you think of? Looking at the words individually you see the word gate that can be transferred to passage, path, etcetera. When you see the word keeper one may think of authority of a thing or guardian. So then looking at these words together you may see guardian of the passage. At least that’s what I see. As a whole I think of a gatekeeper as someone who holds the key to a passage where you are traveling. When Philip Jackson coined the phrase “the teacher is the gatekeeper” not only was he referring to one teacher in one classroom of thirty-five students but the phrase also has a new or alternate, rather, meaning. Teachers as a whole are gatekeepers to students’ education. Whether the student decides to travel down the path to their success is up to them. Teachers are merely there to hand them the key to the front door. The phrase was coined because Jackson, along with many others, understands that gate keeping is one of the tasks that keep the teachers busiest. In this case, teachers are the ones who “determine who will talk, when, and for how long, as well as the basic direction of the communication” (175). Teachers are the ones who initiate the pedagogical cycle more often than the students. Yet they aren’t the ones who start the learning process. A student with a drive to succeed requires only encouragement from the gatekeepers. Every level of the learning institution has a different end to the path which is traveled. In high school the gatekeepers help the students to achieve their diploma as professors assist their students to receive a degree. On the topic of gate keeping, I’m almost positive that you’ve experienced a time where you thought you were having a hard time with a certain class or teacher in particular. Now that I think of it, you can compare teachers as gatekeepers to bouncers for a party. Don’t act shy; you know exactly what I’m talking about. You know the night that you were trying to use your best friend’s ID to get into the party and you were turned down. I’m sure your tried again and again and then finally succeeded; even if you had to wait until you were legal. I think that teachers being gatekeepers to education is very similar to that type of situation. Sometimes there are teachers that we often found difficult and would testify to any judge that the teacher didn’t like us and honestly I can say that I’ve felt that way before. Yet now, being in a course where I learn the values of teaching and of multicultural education, I see that there was never a teacher that provided loads of homework because they didn’t like me. They did this to prepare me for my scholastic career. Of course I’m not saying that I didn’t learn, because I did. I’ve learned that I too, am going to be that teacher where you dread entering the class for the beginning of the school year or semester, but you are going to love by the end of the term. Thanks for listening.


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reflection 8

American education was greatly influenced by reform. There were many reform reports and the majority arrived in three waves that continues to influence the American society today. The third of the wave of reform started in about 1988. At this time advocates for the reform felt that school should be full service schools. At these full service schools, students would be provided with a network of social services, health care, nutrition, counseling, transportation, and even parent education. They felt that the school board would be replaced by a board of children’s advocates. People who were dedicated to the well being of children instead of people who focused on making a school better. Also, there would’ve been a children’s policy which would be focused on responding to the multiple needs of children opposed to the school policy which is focused only on education. In the late 1990s the full service schools that were opened in New York, Florida, and California were all opened long after hours to provide different community services. The second wave of reform began in 1986 and was lead by teachers and professors like John Goodland and Theodore Sizer. These educators believed that the students were covering far too many topics and not getting an in-depth study on the topics. They also believed that teachers should have more control in the classrooms. They also believed principal’s role should be strengthened. The schools had a lot of poor academic performance and teaching was considered bland-like. The most dominant reform of the three major reforms began in 1982 and is still happening today. This reform held onto the idea that educational value and quality could be waived by having a certain set of standardized tests for both teachers and students. Many large corporations were complaining that the society needed better training like basic math and reading skills. At this point, it was said that schools weren’t meeting the nation’s economical and technical needs. Critics had even pointed to how low the scores were from American students in math and science on international tests. This reform is still an avid one in today’s society. The state of Florida has implemented certain general requirements for graduation from high school. In order to receive a valid and accredited diploma, each student must pass the FCAT, which is the state’s standardized test. The reform will continue to be the most dominant of them all primarily because the nation’s needs are constantly changing and they are changing rapidly. The economy is going to always request that certain general knowledge come with the employees of corporations. In turn, we, as a nation, is going to have to change the standard requirements for graduation. I remember my mother’s form of motivation was somewhere along the lines of “If you don’t stay in school sooner or later you won’t even be able to get a job at Burger King without a degree.” What if it does lead to that in the future?



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Reflection 7

The three different types of education in ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia consisted of homeschooling, apprenticeship, and temple education. Each form of education and teaching had its uniqueness. Often more than not, in the days of the ancient civilizations, children were considered privileged if they were able to attend temple education. Temple education was for scribes. One had to be born into this position like inheriting the throne from a king. To become an official scribe, one’s father had to be a scribe, and his father’s father, and so on. The scribes were the only people with a formal education. They were thought to have an insight and be very creative. Scribes held a very important position in the Egyptian culture particularly because they recorded everything that happened. The Egyptians felt that with the invention of writing, ones thoughts and ideas did not have to die with them, with the ability to read and write those thoughts and ideas were passed down from different generations through writing. In these formal temple schools, the students had to copy passages from a text called the “Book of Kemyt.” After doing so, they practiced daily exercises given to them by their teacher,(pupil-master), which consisted of copying and writing different models of letters, satirical compositions, poems, etc. Another form of early education was homeschooling. This, along with apprenticeship, were the most popular. That is because not all citizens were privileged enough to attend the temple schools. Girls from families who were less privileged learned how to sing, dance, play instruments, as well as manage a household. At home teaching was also that an official would take their son as an assistant to learn the trades of the work. This was very similar to apprenticeship. With apprenticeship came responsibility. The pupil had to learn the trade of their instructor. The instructor, in turn, had to treat their pupil as if he was a son. Hammurabi’s code was instilled into them leading them to treat their pupil as an adopted son, and if the pupil did not learn the handicraft they would return to their own father’s home. These students had a very different type of education. Education in a formal school was more directed to general knowledge about several different areas of study; whereas apprenticeship was learning a specific task and mastering it by hands on experiences. In modern times, schools require students to get the general knowledge of the most important subjects during grade schools. Afterwards, those who wish to go further in their education can do so by attending college where they can study the area they choose and become masters or even doctors of that subject area. Modern society doesn’t really have the apprenticeship experience like in ancient civilizations. Students have hands on experience through service learning requirements but only to a certain extent. Though there are vocational and trade schools which allow for students to jump into the career of their choice directly instead of doing a lot of general requirement courses. Having on the job training would be a great deed, like Teach for America, but if it accompanies the normal education it would be the best.



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reflection 5

A young boy performing fellatio on an older boy. A group of children being eaten by the Forest Thing. Girls and boys participating in matuumo dances. All of these symbolize the diversity of culture yet it also displays the rites and passages prior to one becoming an adult; a proper adult who have learned the rituals and beliefs of their culture; these proper adults who are sworn to secrecy by the leaders and elders in their community. Education, be it formal or informal, focuses on pupils being taught by people who have mastered the subject matter in which they teach. Rites of passage play a role in both teaching and learning primarily because it teaches responsibility to the people who take part in the ceremonies. It also teaches these individuals that what they are undergoing is only to make them a ‘better’ person. If all the youth in world regarded education in such a manner as some cultures regards rites of passages, the academic success rate of the youth would be sky high. The people who now hold high positions in the villages are now the ones who lead initiation ceremonies and rites of passages beliefs and rituals which were learned from their ancestors. These initiations provide the adults who have completed them with wisdom and understanding, in most cases, and have also provided these individuals with discipline to go into the adult world. This reminds me of the saying to “put away your childish ways and become anew.” Being able to teach and learn a formal education is not something that is a general requirement of life. Often more than not, children in some countries do not have the privilege to attend school so they must learn what they are taught from their parents and their community. I believe that if everyone had to succumb to the rites and passages in cultures, maybe not as rigorous as the afore mentioned, they would develop an appreciation for the formal education that they have the privilege of getting. At least, of course, that is what my mother has always told me because she was raised in a country where school isn’t free (Jamaica) and she reminds me every chance that she has. I remember days when I would pray that her lecture would go by as quick as possible. One can only hope. All in all, teaching and learning are incorporated in rites of passage and initiation ceremonies such that the individuals who go through them gain an knowledge that they would soon be masters of and teach to future generations.
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Reflection 6

The invention of writing was extremely crucial to the establishment of the world’s great ancient civilizations because it, in turn, invented history and formal education. Before writing came to pass, the earliest humans developed gestures and grunts as a form of communication. Being able to write and share ideas and concepts only moved communication into a different stage. Writing, in its early stages, was merely pictures that held a meaning, like pictographs. The meaning of these pictures depicted by drawings carved into pieces of clay tablets. Without writing, people from generations so long ago wouldn’t have been able to document the things learned and developed. Of course, to develop writing a set of alphabet had to be developed as well. One cannot write sentences without first having words and letters. Similar to the age old saying, “You must crawl before you walk.” History is defined as chronological record of events of the life of or events of a people or institution. If we weren’t able to document such events we would probably have to start each civilization with each new generation that comes along. Or we would have had to pass along history by word of mouth. Yet, with that technique, things tend to get trickled down and information paraphrased and then ultimately changed. So the history they would’ve started with would have changed to another history after a while. While writing this reflection I began to think by what medium I would be able to express my own thoughts and feelings if it weren’t for the people who came up with the concept of writing. I would really have had to become a person who worked with pottery. Either these people were really cocky and wanted to be remembered long after they left the earth (which they are) or they wanted to let the people who were to come know of the things that transpired in the early days (which they did). Not being able to record events in the world would leave everything a crazy predicament. What if we weren’t able to record the cures for any diseases that we may have developed? Would scientists hire people to remember the formulas? What a world we would have! Gladly, we were blessed with the folks who conceived writing and over time, like a child, the structure of writing remained the same, but it has developed and evolved into a more effective form of communication.


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Thoughts unwound

9/10/09

Things are becoming more stressful each day, mom is breaking down. What I once saw as her inner strength is now turning into external fear. I am beginning to think that the very being of me is diminishing. When did this all begin? Was it that faint sign of pain that gleamed from her eye? Or the sheer agony of knowing that her years on this earth were coming to a close? I no longer know where my beliefs lie in this game of tug and war with life. What is to become of us?

 

 

reflection 4

One can be affected by the beliefs of others and become highly upset if and when another individual disagrees with his or her beliefs. Sometimes those of us who have certain beliefs only have those beliefs simply due to the fact that’s what we were taught to believe and understand. At the same time, I’ve come to understand that there is always a scientific explanation for all things magical, even the not so magical. By reading and learning about the evolution of man many people may become affected by what the sciences are proposing as creation of man. It was reported that at one time Christians were fighting the ideas of hominids; denouncing the theories because it goes against their beliefs. The readings were quite educational. The evolution of hominids has been one that has progressed enormously over the years. It was actually enticing to learn that the moderns human started on the journey through evolution as ape-men. It also leads me to wonder how communication is so effective in every day lives. Many years ago the common hominid didn’t develop the proper organs to produce speech. As a race, we have truly come a long way. It was also nice to know that during the evolution, classifications such as white or black wasn’t an issue of importance. It was also a good thing to learn that even though the inventions that were made by the Homo Habilis people were not as advanced as the ones made these days, there were still people stumbling upon inventions used to lighten the tasks of everyday lives as there is now. Learning that something as simple as controlling fire, (something that can be done these days by simply purchasing a lighter) gave humans the ability to move out of Africa and into cooler climates like Asia and Europe. Another piece of knowledge gained was the fact that our brains grew dramatically over time to enable certain things, like speech and memory; and to think all of the jokes I used to make about people when they would tell me that my head was bigger than theirs. My rebuttal was always because my brain was bigger and that I was smarter my head had to be bigger. All in all, learning new things always make my heart grow fonder. I’ve always been one to enjoy learning different things. Learning it and believing it, though, are two entirely different things. People refuse and disagree with things that they don’t understand. My beliefs are that Christians fail to understand that everyone won’t believe in the same things that they do, but it doesn’t mean they are wrong and must be condemned to hell. It just means that they have a different frame of reference to look through. Has your own frame of reference ever been challenged? If so, how did you deal with the challenge?
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Reflection 3

Different strokes for different folks; Or in this case, different approaches for different folks. Everyone has memories of their elementary school education. Memories that consist of early childhood games like playing doctor and cashier at the grocery store using rocks as the form of currency. Those childhood memories are also inclusive of the fun ways you learned important things. As an adult, you can now look back onto those days and remember how you were taught those things and whether or not you actually learned from it. Then, when you finally decide that your true calling is to become a teacher and you are a student enrolled in your first of many education classes and you’re instructed by your professor to reflect on you elementary education with newfound insight, you proceed to analyze your early childhood education with the bits and pieces that you truly remember. Ms. Carroll, though a first name isn’t remembered, the last name definitely holds a place in my mind. Her unique way of teaching and including each of her very diverse students into her lesson plans was something like a walk to remember. She incorporated the beliefs and traditions of different cultures into the classroom environment and never shunned these beings. In her class, students learned to respect the beliefs of others, no matter how much they seemed out of the ordinary for us. Also students learned the meaning behind different cultural holidays like, Kwanzaa in the African American community, Hanukkah in the Jewish community; and also the importance of heroes in other cultures like what Marcus Garvey meant to Jamaica, or what Nelson Mandela meant to South Africa, and even what Gandhi meant to India. It is now clear that her way of teaching would be considered the contributions approach and looking back on those days I wouldn’t change it for the world. If I could go back to elementary school, I wouldn’t ask that she change her method of teaching in the least. Secondary school education was impacted by classes that became less diversified in culture and began to be repetitive. At that point, I began experiencing teachers who taught from the transformation approach as well as the contributions approach and even the additive approach. Overall, the different approaches that my different instructors used combined lead to me really deciding that I want to become a teacher; to be able to impact the lives of people and in doing so maybe they’ll in turn, decide to become teachers.

Reflection 2

Different shifts in one’s own paradigm will lead to a different way of thinking, learning and so forth. Humans seem to rely on different tools and inventions to accomplish certain tasks, and once those inventions have been perfected (or as close to perfected as it will be), they no longer feel the need to learn theses once tedious tasks any longer.

As humans evolved, so have them brains and thoughts processes. With that, humans have invented numerous tools to aid them in their everyday lives. Take, for instance, Homo Habilis. They crafted stone tools and weapons. Its certain that these tools and were not designed but more stumbled upon by accident. These Homo habilis hunted and used these mediocre weapons to hunt small animals as game for food. I was indeed more tedious than the work of modern day hunters who have access to modernized tools and weapons like rifles to assist them in their hunt for game. They no longer have to run from animals that may be too frightening or too large to approach. The diet of the H.Habilis was based on plants from the soil of th Earth. The diets could have had more of a protein intake and clothing could’ve been made form the animal hide after the kill if only the tools they were using were more sophisticated.

Thankfully, evolution didn’t stop there. The next evolved form of man, Homo Erectus, had life a little easier for they had received the knowledge o basic tools and weapons. These tools and weapons were those they sought to advance. They had only to sophisticate and re-invent the tools and make them much easier to be used. They’re paradigms differed from H.Habilis because they had already received some help from the tools already crafted by their ancestors. The change in tools used to hunt food allowed for a more protein based diet. Red meat was said to have helped in the both the size increase and capacity of humans. The more developed weapons caused them to have more rations of food and didn’t have to go for days without eating because they were also able to control fire and cook their foods.

The bigger the brain the more capacity it can hold which then enhanced the development of emotions and feelings not to mention communications skills. Mothers also had more time to nurture and bond with their children for longer periods of time. The males in the camp were apart of hunting parties and bonded in that way. These paradigm shifts still occur in the world toda. One phenomenon is that of the cell phone. Before avid cell phone use, people used to have to remember doing simple things like memorizing telephone numbers or even simple addition and subtraction, made easier by inputting the information into the phones and getting an answer. I have also been affected by the cell phone mania because it is too hard for me to even try to remember anyone’s number. The cell phone allows for easy access on the go. They went from being really large to those the size of a credit card.

All in all, paradigm shifts happen throughout the world, from using old herbs to cure the common cold to having medicine that can cure the cold before it hits. The question shouldn’t be why paradigm shifts occur anymore, but more so how will we adapt to them.

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Reflection 1A

Could you imagine receiving your education from someone who is only teaching you because they are a servant with many debts? Is it easy for you to swallow being taught by a teacher who has received the bare minimum themselves? In colonial times children were being taught by teachers who never even attended a secondary school. Some people who taught watched, or became apprentices of other people who were thought to be “masters” in teaching. Even indentured servants were teachers simply paying their way to America. Not too many teachers had attended a secondary school and the limited amount of people that did were normally teaching as tutors (privately), working in academies or grammar schools. It was mostly the privileged people who were still located in Europe who had such exquisite education.
There was a time where if I had a teacher/professor who looked younger than early to mid forties, there was a problem. I had always thought of teachers as people who were wise and much older than someone who looked as if they had recently finished college. If I had that idea for a teacher and we are in modern times, I’m not sure what I would’ve done in colonial times. Many teachers who started teaching at elementary levels were merely teenagers. Teenagers! These teenagers had only received the bare minimum of education and were already teaching? That is something that couldn’t have lasted too long, and it normally didn’t. These teenage teachers only taught for a year or two.
Thankfully, Reverend Samuel Hall established a start in America as far as teaching preparation was concerned. He had established the “normal school” that was a program of two years, used to teach elementary graduates academic subjects. Then, the teachers were all women who were treated less than professionally, aside from their below mediocre wages, they were to have no personal lives including to never get married. I suppose these teachers were to become nuns. As the years piled up these normal schools began evolving into state teachers’ colleges and eventually moved on to become some of today’s leading universities. These schools provided the traditional approach to teacher education wherein students studied the coursework and then did clinical. In the 1980s began a quest to remodel education. At the time, teachers weren’t considered professionals and a group of education deans, Holmes Group, and the Carnegie Forum had decided to take a stand by producing reports which called for higher standards and to increase the professionalism.
Different approaches to preparing teachers came about, including Teach For America (or TFA). TFA had recruits who learned skills of teaching by basically working as an apprentice to teachers. People who support this approach have claimed that the volunteers become excellent teacher. Yet there are those who argue that the values and the standards of teaching have been placed on a back-burner in alternative programs like TFA. These volunteers-become- teachers were assigned to schools were finding teachers was a challenge. These school appreciated and welcomed the on the job training recruits.
More or less the teacher preparation system has changed for the good. It evolved from being elementary school graduates to those who are masters at teaching. I intend to pursue my teaching degree the traditional way but if the opportunity comes along where I too can have on the job training, I wouldn’t pass it up for the world.

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A coming of age student aspiring to be an English teacher, maybe even a professor. (I never really did learn the difference between the two classifications of educators.) An individual who is in love with poetry, excited by reading, stimulated by music and still anxious to meet the rest of life. Living outside the box of conformity and loving all things ‘bad’(This of course depends on who’s perception) but most of all an individual ready to take on life by the horns and strive for the best. Early childhood memories consists of playing doctor with nieces and nephews and reading everything she could get her hands on form magazines to newspapers even to the back of the cereal boxes when she could hardy pronounce the ingredients in the bowl from which she was eating. Reminiscing on all of the times that she always dreamed of being a ‘grown-up’ yet not knowing what it truly entailed. Born to immigrants of this country who are of Jamaican-Haitian and Dominican descent Patricia Joseph arrived to this world somewhere in February (she is a Pisces) close to the end of the wonder years (the 1980’s of course!). Patricia found her love for poetry and English with the help of wonderful guidance from her teacher whom she had from grades six to eight, Kathleen Serio. A teacher who was tough but one she would come to love dearly. With her help, Patricia learned the basic fundamentals of writing and undoubtedly it became one of her favorite past times. Another past time of hers was dabbling in the underworld of spoken word poetry and someday wishes to complete a volume of poetry of her own. Somewhere between writing personal journals to completing two semesters as a biology major, Patricia realized that she wanted to teach English and show others the reasons that she has come to love it as well. Currently attending Miami Dade College, Patricia is working to earn her degree in English education. While she is still young, she is an individual who has finally planted her feet into life’s moist soil.

-over and out-
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Introducing...TRISHA.J

Hey world!!
Finally decided ² blog and be faithful. Hopefully I can do just that.
First and foremost...
This blog is for my thoughts opinion,etc
If you don't like don't read it!!
I'm more than just legal so I can say and do whatever I please.
Hopefully you aren't offended but if so..oh well..
I'm more than likely only going ² be blogging via email..
I hate regular pcs since my  can do it all..and besides pcs make my
eyes hurt. Lolz.
Well.
I'm off..ttyl!
~standing alone~