Quiz 11

Quiz 10

Earthquake in Haiti

Twelve days into the new year of 2010, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Port of Prince Haiti. Speculations are that over two hundred thousand people had been reported as dead, over three hundred thousand people injured, and over a million people homeless. This catastrophic event marks a time when so much is going on. It serves as and highlight for many politicians political agenda, for education, and most importantly for humanity to recognize as being present in our society.
Politicians are all over this event. It was the highlight of the day, so many visited the country. The news media took every opportunity to heighten the hype for their ratings. Many countries, organizations, public and private, celebrities, schools, and the common caring people made generous contributions to the cause of helping Haiti. For days no aid would get through as the infrastructure had been destroyed and could not get to the places that needed it. Because of Bureaucracy items for the needy stayed in warehouses and did not reach
The question, how will this earthquake impact education; can be answered two ways. Students who learned about plate tectonics will now have a real life example. Now they will be able to find relevance that is often needed in the classroom. Before, they had to use models, computer simulations and videos that they could not relate to. With this they have the full effects of the ‘here and now’ and how such an event affects society in Haiti and also here in the United States. Our children often have a disconnection with things that happen in other countries or in other states. If it is not happening to them they don’t really get it. Secondly, it will add more ESOL (English for Speakers of Other languages) to the education system. The will be placed in classrooms that are ill-equipped to handle them. The students will also come with various other obstacles, being orphaned, being in a strange place, some living with people they have never seen before. Sadly a number of these children will be adopted into home that will be like jumping out of the pot and into the fire. True enough, many will be great for those children who have lost so much.
On the humanitarian perspective, many Haitian living here illegally were given a temporary stay. This means that they would be able to proper documentation to legally work in the community. This would open up many avenues for the families of Haitians, as they could get better paying Jobs, go to school. Consequently, their chance to improve themselves and their family is increased.

Honoring distinguished women

The month of March marks the “month of the Woman”. In many schools and institutions women were being honored. Professor Joseph McNair found it fitting to go against the grain and nominated five upstanding women who made gigantic contributions to South Florida and in particular the Miami-Dade county community.
The women being honored were Adora Obi Nweze, Delma Jackson-Rodriguez Oshun- Mini, Iya Orite Olasowo Adefunmi, Constance Tallaha Ekon, and Chief Sandrell Rivers. One of the ladies was deceased. A brief biography was read by the professor as they were introduced to the audience. The introduction was done in an African language and then in English.
The Ladies later spoke about themselves, their work, their volunteerism and their family. A couple ladies were proud great grand mothers. They spoke of their journey to get them where they are today. They all took different avenues; the one thing that they all had in common was that they were teachers of some kind. They either work in the education system as teachers; or worked to educate our young people how to carry themselves in life.
The dedication of the women was preceded by chants and songs in an African language from African men who were either born there or inducted. These men wore amazing African drabs indicative of the culture. If the chants were easy on the tongue and was repeated, I too, would try to sing along. This was followed by blessings from African priests who then game the ladies protective beads. That brought some insight, as I have always seen professor McNair wearing these beads. Now I know why! I learned quite a lot about these women and even more so about my cultural heritage from this meeting.

Reflection18: Education as a vehicle to improving society

When Linda Brown went to the Supreme Court to try to stop a school from practicing segregation, she was in fact proclaiming her right to education, as she and her family knew that education was in fact an important vector for improving her society. Through education individuals get an opportunity to broaden their horizon. They would be able to learn about their mathematics, writing, reading, music, history, art, different cultures, finance, business, and about the operations of the government.
When black people and women fought to have the right to education, it would later fashion the way their thought patterns as knowledge would give them the notion that voting was also their societal right. Through education there are women in very influential positions. Hillary Clinton in 2008 was a candidate in the Democratic Presidential race. If women were not given the opportunity to be educated; women would not have fought for the right to vote, and Mrs. Clinton would not have had the right to even think to run as a candidate.
Even more importantly, a black man became president. The avenue to that journey was simple based on education. He was an educated black man; under no circumstance would Mr. Barak Obama have become president if not for education and civil rights act that was fought for in the not so long ago time. Thus, I strongly agree that education has improved society and the way in which we think. Having knowledge through education and life experiences will definitely empower society and its citizens.

Colonial New England Education Versus Present U.S education

Education in the time of Colonial New England and present today are quite different. Religion played a major role in colonial New England education system. This was evident in the New England Primer were the majority of the book dealt with religion there were prayers for the infants and the young child recitation from bible verses; there were poems that highlighted various characters from the bible. Where as in today’s educational system the classical reading writing and mathematics are studied along with numerous chosen subject areas. The Public education in present day United States of America boasts a separation of church and state. This means that there shall be no teaching or reference to religion in the classroom. Where as, in colonial New England education was geared at the saving of the spiritual souls. Often The Bible was used as a teaching tool. It serves as away to get to heaven. Early education was done at home, the boys were taught a trade and girls taught skills from mothers.
In colonial New England the very wealthy would send their children off to England to get their education; Young boys would be sent away to live and learn from tutors. The girls would learn from an upstanding respected woman in the community: computation, writing and reading. Mothers would teach their daughters good homemaking tasks which encompasses values, social graces and manners. This was not reserved for only girls as the first education came in the form of homeschooling for the children. Today’s education system offers education to all. They may have different avenues by which to accomplish said goal but the government instituted the no child left behind act that allows every child a chance of education. In colonial New England the teachers had little to no training but with the current system teachers have to be trained and there are standards that must be met in order to remain or become a teacher.
School time of the colonials began at seven in the morning and ended at five in the evening with recess from eleven in the morning to one o’clock mid afternoon. Currently students spent seven hours in school unless there are special schools with extended hours. A lot has changed with education then and education now. The Caucasians males were the only people allowed to get a ‘formal’ education in the colonial times mainly at the Latin grammar school. Now there are laws against discrimination where women and other races have the right to education. Yes! There have been many positive strides since the colonial New England education to present.

Impact of Plato on western education

Plato was a Greek Philosopher who popularized Socrates teachings and Philosophy. He believed in idealism, he was against the idea of materialism, which he emphasized in the Republic. He used the elenchus and the dialectic as a means of helping people to be less materialistic. Plato believed that
He believed that once people were able to help each other that they should as this was their duty. As a Greek philosopher Plato’s job was to help society gain knowledge and become aware of ones self. He believed that people were born with knowledge and life involved human regaining that knowledge.
His impact on today’s western education is similar in many instances. He wanted the state to play a major part in education of its citizens as it is done today. He felt that males and females should have the same opportunities in education, military and in careers choices. This is the thought and the practice of today’s educational system.
Plato’s school, the Academy was opened after his teacher Socrates death. The school allowed his to foster and improve his idea of idealism. This was based on that notion of searching in all things for the truth. Plato used principles to define his ideologies. Under first principle, he would define and explore the absolute truth concept. His second principle covered the ideas and matter in different worlds. The third principle was that the creating of knowledge through birth and through discovery.
Today education uses many of Plato’s philosophy, in critiquing various points of view. It is can be seen in many English , ethics and law classes

Reflection Paper#11: Socrates impact on Western education

Socrates was a Greek philosopher who was very controversial in his thoughts and ideas. He believed that ethics and moral values were foremost in an individual’s life. Socrates believed that happiness was dependent on the virtues of that individual; nothing else matters if ‘that’ was present for ones happiness to be accomplished. Socrates educated the people of Athens in particular his noted student Plato.
Socrates believed in reincarnation; he believed that knowledge would be passed from the ones prior life to the new one. He believed that the former live could be uncover by looking into oneself to come to the truth. Socrates also believed in ones moral turpitude would be shown in their action. He believes that an evil act comes from an evil person even if others did no know of the evil done by that person.
Socrates aim in life was help people come to realize their truth in life; he would do this by asking questions of individuals this he termed the elenchus. This he used to help them to examine their lives. He would use leading questions aimed at the people examining themselves to find the truth.
The questioning format is used by teachers today to find the answers of many problems. The aim of this questioning method is to have the students come up with answer without the teacher giving it. This leads back to what the student already knows. The teacher’s goal is to bring it to the surface. It is just as Socrates did when the questioned the people of Athens in finding their truths.

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Reflection Paper#12: What kind of revolution in curriculum took place after Sputnik? Why and how did the launching of Sputnik affect U.S. education?

Sputnik was the name given to the Russian artificial satellite, the first of its kind. It was launched in 1957. With its launching, competition jealousy the anything you can do I can do better syndrome arose as the powers that be in The United States of America started to evaluate why such a feat was not done by the united States. The evaluation found that the educational system of the United stated was not up to par with other countries especially in the areas of science and mathematics. It was through this that the education of the United Stated went through an overhaul.
America realized that the students were not learning to become critical thinkers they were in fact regurgitating what was being fed to them. This brought about a change in the curricula; that is giving Mathematics and Science their place in schools. The idea was that if these areas were developed then further space advancement would occur. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) came into being as a result of the Sputnik launch. The launch might have brought to light other careers in science and mathematics, instead of the traditional doctor nurse option.
Sputnik though an embarrassment to the United States turned out to be a blessing; as it helped to put some focus on the educational system so that changes could be made so that strengths could be enhanced and weakness in the sciences fixed with an appropriate game plan. It also gave students more career options to choose from in college or high schools.