Reflection 7

Rites of passages are important because they are supposed to teach the individuals who is partaking in the ceremonies how to be a proper adult and a good member of the society. Rites of passage ceremonies aren’t the same as formal education but they are similarities. Formal education is meant to teach the individual about their culture and to lead them into the path to become proper members of society. The rites of passage rituals and ceremonies do this collectively. The endurance of these rituals allows for induction or acceptance into the culture or tribe. In the readings of the articles titled The Sambia, Sitting Quietly, and Facing Mt. Kenya are insights to the different rituals from different cultures. In The Sambia, we learn how the Sambian people practice their rites of passage ceremonies. They believe that tingu which is semen, carries the necessities in changing from a boy to a man. The Sambian boys practice fellatio on other boys and are instructed to digest the tingu. They are not considered homosexual amongst their culture since they grow up and lead very heterosexual lives having wives and many children. Our beliefs in western culture would be to first call them homosexuals though they are strongly against be called homosexual. In Facing Mt Kenya, the children participate in many dances and are separated in two huts, boys and girls. In these huts, they learn many of the tribe’s secrets. They then gather in a circle,(the girls) with their legs opened and an older woman comes around with a sharp knife and cuts of their clitoris. The girls must sit and endure the pain without making a sound. This ritual is also followed by the boys who are also circumcised with a sharp knife. Not only is this painful, but it can be medically unsanitary. The kids are sometimes liable to die from infectious diseases. Imagine an old person performing any type of surgery on someone. For one, their hands shake way to much for it to be steady. What if they cut something that isn’t supposed to be cut? Another thing is the excruciating pain theses individuals must suffer. There are circumcisions done in the United States but they are done when at birth when the person is still an infant. These young boys who have already begun to develop biologically have to endure a lot of pain to be accepted as a man and a good standing citizen in the tribe. Honestly, if it was up to me, I would just walk away from the tribe; family and all. The rites of passage ritual in Sitting Quietly aren’t too farfetched. The twins are taken away by a mythical legend into the forest to become men. They are taught the basics to survival in the tribe and those who complete are men. They even get new names. Not bad at all. The author made the story exciting by having the readers believe that the children were actually being eaten. Analogies are wonderful and the author uses them brilliantly. All in all, different cultures have different ideas on what is considered to be norms. These rituals teach loyalty, dignity, respect and teach the individuals about becoming model citizens. These things are done so that the culture can be carried into the next generation. Without tradition there is not culture and these rituals display that.


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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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