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.