Reflection Paper 12

Education after the Sputnik

The Sputnik was the first Earth-orbiting satellite in outer space. It was launched in October 4, 1957. The United States was at frenzy however, because the Soviet Union was the first to launch a satellite in space successfully rather than the United States. America believed that they were the world leader in space technology, hence why there was the Sputnik Crisis. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower called it the “Sputnik Crisis” because he was threatened by the Soviet Union. People all over the United States were in a constant fear because of the Cold War and the constant worry of what would happen to them.

Sputnik affected the United States education drastically because the US felt that they were behind educational wise. They wanted to be just as advanced as the Soviet Union and so came about the National Defense Education Act of 1958. It was signed in September 2, 1958 and it provided funding for all educational levels. The act provided funding for four years and in each year the funding would increase. The Act definitely emphasized the study of math, science, and foreign languages. In the elementary schools, classes post-Sputnik were not much different until the late 60’s and early 70’s. Overall, because of this Act the number of high school graduates attending college had increased significantly. By the 1960’s 3.6 million people were enrolled in colleges and Universities.

Sputnik did get people thinking about the quality of school rather than just the movement for a curriculum reform. School districts updated their courses adding more materials for math and science. Sputnik also gave University professors an opportunity to change some of their teaching methods and updated it by inventing new ways to teach biology, physical science, and mathematics. Also, in the hard sciences they emphasized more hands-on approaches and uses of laboratories. In chemistry, instead of studying facts and definitions the focus was more about fundamental principles. In general, what the Sputnik did to education was to advance the students learning curriculum to a higher standard. Being threatened educationally by another country took as toll on the United States and so they took action by making certain curriculums more extensive.

As can be seen, the launch of the Sputnik had a profound influence on curriculums that took place afterwards and education in general. In a way you could say are education in the United States has improved because of the frightened people back in the 1950’s. I suppose people in the US like to believe in themselves as the best technologically and the Sputnik proved otherwise. However, since then the United States has made their own discoveries and excursions into outer-space.

Reflection Paper 9

Teacher Effectiveness Today Compared to the First Schools and Ancient Egyptian Education

The First Schools was a Sumerian school that taught people how to write. That school was the direct growth of the invention and development of the cuneiform according to Samuel Noah Kramer (1956). They found more than a thousand small pictographic clay tablets. The Sumerian school was also similar to the schools now in the present for the fact they had a “junior” and “high” scribes. The royal and temple scribes were highly specialized in administrative activities, and those scribes would become leading officials in government. In Ancient Egypt most of the children would mimic the adult’s behavior. Children also would be learning their eventual trade or occupation. Young men usually didn’t choose what their trade would be, they would learn their trade from their family and they would become the next generation to occupy that trade. Kings did not personally tutor their children, Senenmut, the vizier, the royal architect Hatshepsut, and a man named Idu at Abusir, were such royal tutors (2005). Moreover, in Ancient Egypt the princes and princesses learned literature, mathematics, writing, and grammar. Just like in the Sumerian schools, they were also taught just about the same things. However, Sumerian schools ended up becoming a center of learning. Within those schools transformed these scholars that were scientist and studied biology, zoology, and continue to study about geography, mathematics. The Sumerians also had great knowledge of grammar and linguistics. Most of the scribes from The First School turned out to be very wealthy and powerful, working in palaces and temples. Also, a lot of them wanted to devote their time in educating. Comparatively, both in Ancient Egypt and in Sumer, a good education was not universal and the poor could not afford the kind of education that the wealthy could.

Present day education is different than the education in Sumer and Ancient Egypt because there are a wide variety of things that are being educated. There is a broader spectrum in the certain subjects being instructed and the way it is being instructed itself. Conversely, Sumerian schools were the center of what we would call now in present-day, creative writing. It was in Sumer where literary creations of the past were created and copied (1956). However, as I had mention before in Sumer they were people who devoted their time in educating and learning. Those people devoted their time in research and writing in their spare time. And similarly as college professors depend on their wages of teaching, so did the Sumerians who were teachers back then. The teacher effectiveness today compared how it was then seems to be that they take somewhat of the same approach. Teachers today learn to become educators from learning how it was in past. The Ancient Egyptians and Sumerians set the foundation of education and now in the present-day we have construed what we have learned from them and made it more effective and modern.

As can be seen, the Sumerians and Ancient Egyptians set the base for education today in modern world we live in today. They made a major contribution to education and in comparison the teacher effectiveness in the present-day has improved in the sense that people have improved the ways of instructing.

Reflection Paper 7

Ancient Egyptian Approach to Education Education in the ancientcivilizations of Egypt varied from homeschooling, apprenticeship, andtemple education. Most people also learned from mimicking their parentsandcopying what they did. Along with the skills they were developing camethemoral attitudes and views of life according to the article Education inEarly Egypt by Marie Parsons (2005). Moreover, depending on what yourstature was depended on what exactly you’d be taught at that timeperiod.People of higher class were taught how to read and write. To be able todoso meant you were very important and people of that society gave highrespect to those. According to the text, “Truth-telling andfair-dealingwere offered as social desirable and more advantageous than lying andinjustice. Justice, wisdom, obedience, humanity and restraint wereofferedas components of the well-ordered life (Marie Pasons, 2005). Overall,nomatter what class you were in, everyone had the same kind of morality.Homeschooling and apprenticeship took on the same role in the sensethat ifyou were being taught how to be a scribe then some taught their youngathome and passed down what they know to their young. The King was theonlyone who personally did not teach their children, and had tutors whowouldpersonally instruct the Kings children. Girls who were not as fortunatelearned more on how to keep a household, like cooking and cleaning.Theywere also taught how to sing, play musical instruments and dance aswell.It was important that a girl were to learn these skills in case theywereto take on temple service. Children of farmers and fishermen took onevenless formal education. They were mainly taught how to sow, clean,harvest,how to catch fish and cook, to name a few. Mesopotamia took on the sameforms of education; however the skills always had a specific purpose.Forinstance, formal education took on the purpose to procreate priest andscribes. They also did not just learn about religion, and how to readandwrite. They also learned about astrology, medicine, and law. Thewealthythat learned how to read and write went on to become copyist,librarians,and teachers. They were also a lot of schools for priest and numeroustemples. Egyptian temples were more like shrines rather than a place ofpublic worship. Only the priests were the ones allowed to be at theactualsanctuaries where scared rites and ceremonies were performed. Templeswerenot like churches, it had a more supernatural meaning to them becausetheybelieved in this One God. This specific God was not human and had theseabilities to help the land the people. Also, all temples were equallyimportant; meaning not one temple had more significance then another.Ascan be seen, education in the ancient civilization of Egypt consistedofhomeschooling, apprenticeship, and temple education. All of them had apurpose as to which made that civilization so successful.

Relfection Paper 6

Establishment of Writing
Writing is so vital in this World; it is a form of communication and the way to speak to others. Writing started out as pictures, according to the article “The Invention of Writing” it states that “pictures began to be used to denote syllables of sound, not meaning alone”. That was the beginning of how writing came about. In Sumeria they are early examples of prewriting in the clay pots they used, they would inscribe these pictures that would symbolize the economic data. By 3500BC more and more signs were used as sounds in the language of Sumeria, and that’s when writing began then. Egypt has famous scripts as well; they used a lot of pictures as well as their writing. Maya glyphs and Chinese symbols are also another good example of symbolic system of writing. As can be seen, the Sumerian’s, Mayan’s, Egyptian’s, and the Chinese set the foundation for English and Spanish.
Speaking, and writing are so crucial to know and do because in the world that we live in today it is the only way a person can benefit their life for themselves and others they care for. Without these tools, society would fall apart, hence how the world’s civilizations became so established. The agrarian society was cultivated by grain and so they used writing to keep track of beer. Without keeping track of the beer, things could have gone amiss, they could have lost track of how much they sold and then that would have been a major loss for them. Therefore, writing contributes a lot keeping things up to date and making sure everything is according to the right standards.
Without keeping things in track it could lead to things getting mixed or even lost. Writing helps to commemorate certain aspects of things that a person might forget. If a person forgets something, for instance, a doctor appointment, because they forgot it could lead to failure of health if getting another appointment is not possible. It could cause serious consequences, so the ancient civilizations did was note things down that were important to memorialize. In doing so, they helped produce a huge cultivation.
The hieroglyphics and pictographs of the ancient civilizations helped establish the successful society we now live in. It did not only help the civility then but it is what everyday people use now in the twenty-first century.

Bio

My name is Jennifer Tejeda and I am twenty years old. I was born and raised in Miami, Florida. I live with my mother, father, older brother, sister, and twin sister. I am Cuban American and I grew up in a bilingual home. I learned how to read and write in both English and Spanish when I was in Elementary school. Since I was about six years old I swore that I would be an artist when I’d grow up. I used to love painting and drawing and it was more than a hobby of mine. My art teacher in the fourth grade noticed that and gave me an opportunity to have one of my painting in a museum in the University of Miami. I won an award for it and received some cash as well. It was one of my best accomplishments at that time and I actually felt like a professional artist. I continued pursuing my dream of being an artist until I got to my freshmen year of high school. Then I realized that painting and drawing wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I started volunteering at Ernest Graham Elementary and I was an aid to the After Care leader. It was a kindergarten class, and I just fully enjoyed the experience because it felt like I was making a difference helping the children learn. I also realized that I worked very well the kids. In my senior year of high school, I took my second year in an early education class. In that class the students were teamed up into groups and we’d design lesson plans for the days we were assigned to teach the three, four and five years old and that were in that day care. I learned a lot from that class, like how to make lesson plans, how to work well with a group, and the experience of how it’ll be to actually be a teacher. It was definitely a lot harder than I thought it would be. I graduated in the spring of 2007 and I started that fall in Miami Dade College. I saw that they provided a BA in Exceptional Student Education and that intrigued me. I’ve worked in the past with kids that had autism and other learning disabilities, and surprisingly I had more patience with those children rather than the pre-k kids. So I decided that I would major in ESE and I’ve been working towards ever since. I hope to accomplish in the future, by not only passing this class but the rest of them that I need to complete my major. My dream is to have my own classroom and teach kids that really would benefit from my skills and knowledge.

Reflection Paper 5

Education and Rite of Passage

Every culture has there own kind of “rite de passage”. For instance, in Hispanic culture, fifteen year olds have a Quince. A Quince is a coming of age celebration for a young woman primarily. It’s when a celebration that a girl is now becoming a women. A debutant ball has the same meaning; it’s when an adolescent is becoming an adult. Graduating from high school is another rite of passage because it’s a completion of elementary and secondary education. Africa has an extreme way of initiating a child into adulthood. In Kenya their rite of passage is the circumcision or trimming of the genital organs of both sexes. They go through months of preparation and a handful of rituals right before the operation. The person to operate had been prepared to do since they were child. The Sambia has an odd rite of passage, that involves the men leading homosexual and heterosexual lives. According to Professor Michael Moffatt, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the “whole point of all their activities, as their culture defines them, is to get ready as strong developed men…” And it is believed that 20 or 30 nearby cultures had the same sexual beliefs. Overall, all these different rites of passage teaches these adolescents an important meaning about their culture.

Rites of passage ceremonies have a lot to with teaching learning because the adults are teaching these young adults the ways of life. They are instructing there pupils how to become a mature adults and preparing them for what’s to become of them in the future. Now child is really left to learn on their own, so it is important that the person instructing is really teaching the child what is vital for them to be successful later on in their adult lives. The Sambia truly believed that semen was very important to human life and must be circulated through both males and females. They even made rituals around that because they think that semen is what keeps men and women healthy and strong, and that would lead them to a successful life. Moreover, according to Arnold van Gennep, who best known for his work regarding to rights of passage, believed in three main components that made up the rites of passage. The first one being segregation, which the common beginning stage, then marginal or luminal rites, and lastly, aggregation which according to van Gennep is the rites of entry and leaving of the intermediate “no-man’s-land”. These steps into a rite of passage is teaches the adolescence that are the ones becoming adults that there’s a lot that goes into being an adult. In western culture, getting your license and a car on your sixteenth birthday is a common ritual. It teaches that teenager the responsibility of owning something important.

There is a lot that goes into a rite of passage, as can be seen. People do learn a lot no matter what culture they come from. The cultural content of each rite of passage varies widely, however in the end each rite of passage has the same kind of meaning behind all the rituals and ceremonies. It’s about learning what there is to know about where you come from and understanding and accepting your background and beliefs. Finally when that adolescent is an adult they would be the one teaching and passing down the rites of passage. The initiations have a lot to with educating because that is what an educator does, they learn from others then pass it down to others who are not as knowledgeable.

Reflection Paper 3

Growing up in a Hispanic/American atmosphere I’ve experienced a very cultural lifestyle at home and at school. Almost every instructor I had was of some Hispanic descent and so that definitely contributed to my learning experiences as well. My multicultural education consisted of a contribution approach and an additive approach. Both my elementary and secondary teachers taught using these approaches.

According to Sadker and Zimmerman (2010) a contribution approach is when teachers use ethnic public figures like Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks and make lesson plans according to their contributions. Teachers contribute certain holidays as well, like Cinco de Mayo for instance. In elementary school I do recall celebrating and being taught these certain curriculums. Every year I would watch a film about Martin Luther King Jr. or would write an essay about him. Also, we would celebrate Jose Marti and each year there would a parade in honor of him. In Spanish class a lesson would be to recite one of his poems. Therefore, in my elementary and secondary schools I did have lessons in which contribution approach was used as part of the curriculum.

Sadker and Zittleman (2010) mentioned that multiculturalism has different meaning to a lot of instructors. Not only did I learn in a contribution approach but as well as in a additive approach. An additive approach is somewhat similar to a contribution approach, however it does not specifically concentrate on a holiday or person per se, it’s broader, more monthly. For instance, Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month are considered an additive approach because instructors concentrate on lessons that have to do with these certain months. Hispanic Heritage Month was always a big deal in my elementary and secondary education because of where I went to school. Almost the entire school was of Hispanic descent, including the teachers so of course this month was something to really celebrate. The lesson plans usually consisted in writing about a famous Hispanic person who’s made an impact or a celebrity. They were events at the school itself like a Hispanic Heritage show which people would perform; they’d sing, dance, recite famous poetry, etc. Black History Month was another important month when teachers took times to specifically make lessons about all the important African Americans who contributed a lot to the country. As can be seen, my teachers in elementary and secondary schools really instilled additive approach.

If I could go back to elementary and secondary school I would not want my teachers to change the approaches they used, however, I would like for them to add transformation approach as well. Transformation approach is one of the best approaches because it gives you the prospective of other ethnic backgrounds. I feel like I’ve been contained in mainly one ethnic background in almost all my life. I do feel fortunate to have been able to be raised in a Hispanic atmosphere; however, it’s mainly the only thing I know. I would have also liked to understand different ethnicities like Native Americans for instance and understand their way of life.

Multicultural education is a wonderful thing because it teaches students about other ethnicities, race, cultural, and religious groups.