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.