Reflection #6 EDF 2085

Facing a mob of white parents and students shouting the “N” word, a whole town trying to prevent me from entering school grounds, pushing and screaming at my every step. I don’t think I would have been able to be brave enough to face this kind of adversity and unfairness. I tend to feel bad when my feelings are not taken in consideration so it is unimaginable to put myself in the shoes of these kids. The enormous courage it took to stand in front of the school is a characteristic I lack. This proves how unacceptable people are, even though government had approved the integration of schools, African Americans were still prohibited from attending. It all seemed taunting from part of the council of Arkansas, telling colored people that they were allowed in the school system but not really welcomed. What scares me is that this incident didn’t occur hundreds of years ago, it is considerably recent. The most ridiculous part is that 1000 personnel from the armed forces were needed to assure the entrance to school of the Little Rock Nine. How embarrassing for a powerful nation to have to succumb to such drastic measures to control the raging population that was so powerfully working to avoid children from seeking an education. Even with the guards I would have been scared. After seeing the reaction of the public I would have reconsidered my need for schooling, but perhaps these kids were motivated by the belief that this was another obstacle between them and the fight for equal rights. The most commendable and maybe scariest for mw is the thought that the Little Rock Nine remained in school, I can be sure that the discomfort was not just present the first few days, my admiration grows because they were able to stand up against the great majority.

I don’t understand how this country dared to treat individuals this way after seeing how the disassociation of a certain type has always had bad consequences. What positive light came from the holocaust? Why is it that only when many have died for a cause is when the rest is willing to listen and feel compassionate?

Reflection #5 EDF 2085

Culture is a very diverse topic that varies in its content according to a person’s belief, rituals and values. Its difficult to capture the essence of culture by just reading articles, its more of an experience. Culture is a very important fact when defining an individual’s perception. Human beings are born neutral but we are taught to associate to a specific value according to what our parents or guardians believe. An example is religion, children most likely will follow the religion their parents practice because it’s what they experience daily. One of the things that mainly happen with immigrants is that they are forced to live outside of their countries and as a result have branched out their families overseas. In Miami we often see children who are born in the United States but who’s parents are, for example, Cuban. They would not be categorized as Americans but as Cuban-American. No matter where one lives culture seems to be inculcated by the individual group we reside with. In this article one is left with the notion that in order to accept others, it is necessary to be tolerant regarding the beliefs and values of others. In order to understand a culture outside of our own it is required to have a broadminded outlook because what is true for someone might not be wrong for someone else.

When I was younger I moved from the warm island of Cuba and I was raised in Chile. For many years I had to adopt their customs and celebrate as one of them, I had to watch what I said because it my words could be offensive to those around me. Chileans speak very softly, almost whispering, while in Cuba if its not loud enough not anyone would hear you. Perhaps since I was younger I didn’t realize how I had to modify myself in order to fit in with what was accepted in their society. I enjoy learning about other cultures and compare them to my own; it makes it easy to understand why people act a certain way. This articles teaches one to be more welcoming of people or students with different cultural values, by first making sure we truly understand and embrace our own culture.

reflection #6 EDF 1005

The curiosity of an individual is great since trying to trace back to where writing came from is a challenge. It is hard to think of a time where no one knew how to even write his or her names. The earliest form of writing came as drawing in caves but it was then preceded by the introduction of the cuneiform created by the Sumerians. The Sumer civilization was a pioneer in agriculture also bringing about great opportunities for trade. The Cuneiform style of writing was first used to keep track of the crops, the cattle and the trading that was taking place. Simple drawings were used to represent the items. Later on this method of tracking became widely popular, resulting in the addition of more characters to the simple style they had. From then on the verbal sounds associated with the pictures then started to be used to represent the item. It is interesting to read how such necessity so commonly used has evolved over the centuries. We are taught how to use writing and how it is important for school but from what I read it gave way to other crucial developments. With the capacity to write societies now possessed the ability to record information that was previously passed down from generation to generation through the use of oral traditions. Individual of this time now had the capability to expand their cognitive abilities. It is funny to associate that the competency of writing came about because of money, since crops and cattle where also important essential for trading. The Sumerians were a civilization that contributed much to the history of human kind, they were not only innovators in agricultural techniques but thanks to trading their style of writing diffused among the existing cultures of the time like the Egyptians, Cretans, Elamites and the Indus Valley. Greatly promoting the act of recording information on clay, rocks and tokens. As said in the articles, what resulted from the incorporation of writing was not insights on knowledge since communication was very effective prior to writing, but allowed people accurately to keep records of their belongings and to put sounds in pictures to create words.

Reflection #5 EDF 1005

Rites of passage are phases people in a society go through in order to advance into the next stage of their lives. They can be experienced gradually and without exuding much excitement, but some cultures patiently step this ratification. This experience varies from culture to culture; Hispanics grandly celebrate girl’s turning fifteen, Baptism among Christians, and Bat Mitzvah at the age of 13 in the Jewish community.

As a Teacher one must stand in a classroom made up of a diverse group of students from different cultures, beliefs and values. The ability to embrace their different views will come in handy so that the teaching environment won’t be affected greatly. It is important to know how to approach the unfamiliar customs of a student because it might affect the acceptance of other kids in the class. Children tend to be judging, I can tell from personal experience that they normally won’t approach a fellow student who doesn’t look or talk the same way they do. Imagine being in a class and receiving a new student who is wearing all white and colorful necklaces. This is part of a religion called Santeria, where the devotee must dress in all white during a period of time; it’s mostly practiced in West Africa and the Caribbean. With no previous knowledge of why the kid is dressed like that, a teacher must overlook the physical appearance and welcome the beliefs of another culture. If the teacher is accepting and shows the class how to embrace the values of other people it will influence students to learn and practice the same principles. Learning about rites of passage provides great understanding for teachers and gives them knowledge about the values of other cultures. No matter how awkward or weird someone’s customs might be embracing all that is different helps someone become tolerant. Children are not born with the notion of discrimination but it is later inculcate by the adults around because they don’t understand that everyone is different. I consider myself to be very understanding of the beliefs and values of other but I couldn’t help to find it weird the kinds of passages some cultures go through, as expressed in the reading of the Sambia. Reading about the ritual of those individuals teaches one to expect the unexpected, we might never encounter someone from their tribes but it is essential to have an open mind and to know that the things described in the article do occur. Just because their practices seem weird to me it doesn’t mean that they are wrong.

Reflection #4 EDF 2085

It is important to understand that diversity not only means to belong to a different culture but it covers more terrain, like human knowledge and behavior. A diversity course is necessary to be able to accept and welcome the inevitable changes we will experience in our profession. It seems it was long ago when teachers taught using a black chalkboard and students had to turn in their homework on paper. As a global society we find people from different ethnicities living together and the same occurs in a classroom. In a small space we find children from all over the world with their distinctive personalities, learning capabilities, and physical/mental setbacks that classifies them as individuals. An open mind is required to assimilate their differences and not be judgmental of their abilities.

I think that even if one is well prepared to deal with diversity, we will always find new situations that will provide more experience and help us become more tolerant. Growing up in different countries provides one with a more culture-based knowledge on how to be more accepting of others. I was born in Cuba, where diversity is not as distinctive, and raised in Chile. The hardest part about moving was that my family and I had to somewhat put aside our style of living and accommodate to the one in Chile. I accepted their lifestyle like celebrating the country’s independence, incorporating part of the Chilean language into mine, and eating their foods. While I attended high school here in the United States, I shared a piano class with two blind students and I became friends with one of them after the teacher asked me to help him go to another class. That day I met Omar, a fun and sometimes-stubborn person, he played the piano very well and received private lessons from a professor of the University of Miami. I alone would have never approached him in class because I felt pity for him but knowing him was truly a refreshing and inspiring experience. To be able to become more diverse I need to know how to approach children with certain disabilities, I believe this is the missing link that I need to become skilled at to fully incorporate diversity into my life.

Reflection #3 EDF 2085

A paradigm is an individual’s informed point of view on a specific event, their perception on a certain thing based on their knowledge. The way we carry ourselves is directly connected to paradigms, which vary from person because it is specific to a person depending on their religion, gender and occupation. It represents who we are and where we come from since it is also influenced by one’s culture. We use it to know what’s wrong or right in our realities. Paradigm shifts are also a change in perspective that occurs when our beliefs are shaken or when we have gathered new information that satisfies our concerns. I think everyone has gone through a few paradigm shifts in the course of their life. In my case the use of the computers has played an important role in my personal life. I remember when I was young I had seen a computer in my father’s office and thought it was an advanced machine only used for work environments, I was not even allowed to touch it. In today’s society the use of computers is a requirement, and there’s one in almost every household. Along with the computer, the Internet has made it easy for people to communicate and share information of any kind. It’s been a long time since emails have taken over letters. If I had to do research for a project I no longer go to the library but instead use my computer to find what I need. From the comfort of my home just by pressing a button I can purchase a plane ticket, rent a hotel, a car and even buy a pizza. When I was 12, I would call all my friends from my house phone and I remember having to memorize their number but now that I own a cell phone it’s hard to even remember my own number. I depend on my personal phone more than anything because I use it like an agenda, organizer, and most importantly a watch.

Teachers must experience paradigm shifts in order to accept their environment. As part of their jobs, educators must learn to perceive thing with a more globalized perspective to be able to interact with children of diverse ethnicities and with different learning levels as well as disabilities. They must also learn to quickly adapt to these changes since they will present throughout their careers.

Reflection #4 EDF 1005

Prior to reading and learning about the origin of men, I had just wrongly assumed humanity had evolved from the stereotypical cavemen who drew pictures in caves and stones. Little did I know that our ancestors have been on the face of the earth for millions of years and through a long and arduous process evolved to become the men known today. The task of tracing humanity seems like a very intricate puzzle, with missing pieces and new ones emerging every now and then. The discoveries of fossil remains related to humans have given scientist and other professionals the knowledge to place these findings into 18 or 19 classification groups, the earliest being Sahelanthropus tchadensis. I remember reading in an article about Lucy when I was younger, I didn’t pay much attention to the reading, perhaps because it was a reading assignment for a class or maybe at the time I didn’t understand the magnitude of her discovery. Her remains were significant because she shared characteristics both of apes and humans alike. Lucy’s hands were long almost reaching her knees and the size of her cranium was small, clearly indicating a relationship to apes. More interesting yet, was that she walked upright like us. This makes the theory of evolution hard to ignore and those who oppose it, blindfolded by their beliefs. It is unbelievable that all humans came from Africa and studies, using chromosomal and mitochondrial cells, have been made to try to prove this theory. With the new and upcoming advances in technology, we will eventually uncover the truth of where we all came from. I had always assumed the theory of evolution was correct because to me it does make sense that we have evolved from apes. Especially after seeing the drawing showing the transitions from apes to humans. These reading have opened a window of questions, I can’t help but to be intrigued since I am left with more questions than answers after reading the articles.