Quiz 5

Quiz 6

Reflection 9

I believe that Freud is pretty accurate in his Theory of Personality. Its easy for someone to say, however, that humans are driven by more than sex and aggression but when you think about it, that's all there really is. First you have to look at sex as more than sex. An example from the article was obtaining a college education. Most people like to say they're going to college because they want to further their education and learn more and be better prepared for the job market. But people are really going to school so they can make more money, when you make more money, you'll feel confident in yourself and your accomplishments, therefore making yourself more attractive to a potential mate. After you find your mate, you're most likely going to have sex with them, be it for pleasure or reproductive purposes. Neither of which is bad; we all know that sex releases endorphins that make us happy and sex for reproduction is great because we want to human race to continue. If you do reproduce with your mate and have children, its important that you protect those kids. That's where the aggression comes in. When we say aggression we aren't necessarily talking about raw violence but instead protection from things that can harm us. It may sound very caveman like and while we don't have dinosaurs chasing us, we still have our modern day terrors that can harm us, from drug abuse to getting involved with the wrong people to getting hit by a bus. So while animals have pheromones and fancy feathers to attract their mates, we humans have nice cars and high paying careers with excellent benefits.

I think of Freud as a pretty smart guy. Although I don't agree with every single thing he said I would think that most people can agree with the fact that he was probably very relevant for his time. We have to remember that things were very different when all of Freud's studies were being conducted and his theories were being published. So of course you're going to see some racism, sexism, chauvinism, and countless other ism's; but its important to look past that to find some sort of truth, just like we do with our students.

Reflection 8

In a classroom, there will be various beliefs, ideas, and attitudes. Even if you were to have a classroom with members of the same race, class, religion, sex, etc. you would still have people with opposing beliefs. Its important as a teacher to understand and respect that fact. When people have conventions, they will do anything to defend them, and that includes disrupting your class. People also have different values that are determined by their culture. While many groups of people have the terminal value of getting good grades, their instrumental values many vary extremely; some may feel you should work hard, some that you should simply copy and paste. In a classroom you should set your own values and make sure that the students know that yes good grades are important and the way you go about getting those grades is important as well. When the class is on the same page on what the values of the class are, things should run smoothly.

I think one of the most important things I have learned is that when people have similar values, beliefs and attitudes, things seem to work better. Your students are gonna have many differ cultures that are influenced by and made up of the aforementioned attributes but as a teacher its important that you establish values, attitudes and beliefs for your classroom. When i look back at the most successful classes I've had as a student, those classes are the ones where it felt that we students were in another world. In successful classes you have to create a classroom culture that is conductive to learning. You also have to realize that in ever classroom there is a culture, whether it be good or bad, productive or unproductive. You have to undoubtedly change some of your students beliefs; especially if they had a 'bad teacher'. A student may come to you thinking and believing that learning isn't important or fun but the culture in your classroom should change that. Every student who walks in your class in August should not be the same when they leave in June; if so, you many have to change some of your beliefs because if you have another student like that you want to be able to get through to them so the same thing doesn't happen twice.

Arizona Goddam

“Arizona Goddam!” is about a couple of things that have been going on in the state of Arizona. He starts off describing the landscape and how nice it should be to live there. But then the poem takes a turn and starts discussing the negatives in the state, mainly having to do with their government. He talks about a man who is falsely accused of rape (because he was Hispanic), the outlawing of Martin Luther King Jr. day (because no matter how much he did for the colored, he doesn’t deserve a national holiday), among other things. Arizona seems to being going for an ethnical cleansing; I wouldn’t be surprised if they started having concentration camps.

Reflection 7

Teaching For Inclusion is actually a good read not just for students in a diversity class but this article could also be helpful for those already in the profession who are looking to improve their student relations. The article gives excellent pointers on the subject but I think its important that before someone can teach in this manner they must first be intercultural incompetent. It makes no sense to learn all these new methods of teaching when you can't first relate to all the groups in your class and make everyone feel comfortable. So after we break down all our biases, prejudices, and such then we are ready for inclusive teaching.
The first step of getting to know your students is very important because first impressions are important. Its always easy to work forward than to have to backtrack so one of the first things you should do is explain what you expect the climate of the class to be. When you set the ground rules in place on the first class meeting, not only will you find future discussions to be more productive, but also you're students will respect you for essentially respecting them. I also agree with having a mixture of responses from volunteers and people who are called on. From a student's perspective I seem to enjoy classes that follow that structure in oppose to classes that are either or. Furthermore, you should never put a student on the spot as the representative for a whole group of people. In the movie Freedom Writers, which is based on a true story, the African American student is put on the spot in her honors english class when the professor asks her to explain how the whole race felt in response to The Color Purple. The young lady was highly upset not only because they didn't have diversity in the class but also because the teacher stereotyped her; assuming that because she was black she came from a poor family and asked her to explain what that was like when she actually came from a two parent home where money wasn't an issue. As a result, the honor's class lost its only black student.
Realistically, one doesn't just become multiculturally aware. Just as you're culture was learnt, you must also learn to be intercultural incompetent; this is the only way you'll be effective in reaching all, not just a specific group, of your students.

quiz 4

Reflection 6

Rites of passage are used to mark the entering into a new life stage. These Rites are important because they are clear indicators that one has entered a certain status. Without them people would be lost quite frankly. Funerals for example mark the fact that someone is dead; people greave at these gatherings. They kind of make things official and give the loved-ones of the deceased structure. Facing Mt. Kenya was about clitoridectomy and honestly it made me kind of sick. The thought of female circumcision is so un-American and was hard for my American eyes to take in. Yet and still I believe if that’s what the Gikuyu people want to do then they should be allowed to do just that. Just because it sounds strange and weird to me doesn’t mean I or anyone else for that matter should stop them and outlaw their practice. I’ve been raised in a society where female circumcision is absurd so I wouldn’t dream of doing it; but for someone who was raised as that being not only normal but a necessary part of growing up I’m sure they’re super excited to partake in the ceremonies that surround it. The Sambia was an equally difficult read for me, an American girl. It’s interesting to see how people have their different rites of passage in various cultures. I think it’s important not to look at what’s being done and instead to look at why it’s being done. The rituals and rites of society mean a lot to the people who partake in them. When you start trying to apply your logic to something that’s out of your box of course it’s going to look strange and possibly disgusting. In Western Culture we’re told that males like females and vice-versa so when something breaks that mold its very tempting to say “that’s wrong.” But to label it as such would be socially and culturally intolerant. The rites of passage are used to teach young boys and girls things and skills that they will need as adults which is very similar to formal education. When people complete the passage they feel a sense of accomplishment, the same way someone would feel after completing high school and participating in a graduation ceremony.

Reflection 5

Honestly I wouldn’t have wanted to be a part of the Little Rock Nine. Although I feel that what they did was super courageous, I, for one, would not have wanted to be a part of that. I’m open to new experience but I don’t think I would’ve made it though the mobs. I probably would have turned around and went home. Being the integrator is a very strong responsibility that should have been decided on with way more than attendance, good grades and such. I feel they should have had psychological test done on the students they chose to make sure that they were mentally stable enough to handle the situation. I would’ve been outside myself thinking that I, a child, needed armed guards to enter school. Just like the white kids I would have been there with a purpose, to learn. While it is important for kids to have social interactions, I would have self-segregated myself; even if the white kids weren’t being rude and disrespectful. I don’t think it’s smart or safe to put yourself in a harmful situation like that. The person I am today would’ve have been lynched if I was plucked out of 2010 and placed in 1957. I would have been quick to side eye those white folk yelling slurs at me, most likely I would have called them everything but a child of God, if I lived to tell the tale. Realistically if I grew up in that time I would have kept my mouth shut and my head down. I think I would have been one of those black folks to say “now why you gotta go messing with them white folks? Why you just can’t get this good second rate education they’re trying to give us? So what if the books and buildings are run down? They still read, don’t they? The school gotta roof, don’t it?” Luckily I was born in 1989. Thankfully I’ve never faced any of the blatant racism that many before me faced. People like me would have seriously slowed the movement down. But everyone can’t be a leader. I would’ve been just fine staying in the background getting my second rate education at the all black, run down schools, waiting for someone to do what the Little Rock Nine did.

Reflection 4

I think that growing up most people believe that culture is just something innate in you; as if it was a part of our DNA structure. Most would probably defend their assumption in the faces of those who say culture is learnt. But culture is just that, a learned behavior that dictates how we think, our beliefs, our actions, etc. You could have a child born into poverty but if that child is removed and placed in suburbia, that child will adapt that culture. A term from the readings that’s new to me was culture transmission; defined as the process of sharing a culture. Things as simple as sharing music or food can be seen as culture transmission. I honestly think watching television is a part of the sharing process; people observe what’s being done on television and it gives them knowledge in a sense. I totally agree with Marimba Ani’s characteristic of culture. Humans want to belong and crave interactions and culture gives us a common ground for that. Intercultural competence is the ability to seamlessly interact with cultures and subcultures outside our own. The keys to being intercultural competent are the willingness to allow your attitudes to be changed and being non-judgmental. Some people will have a problem with letting their attitudes be changed because they hold on really tightly to their ideas. It’s important to remember that your ideas are just that, ideas. They don’t make or break you as a person and it’s more than okay for them to be challenged and changed. Also, for one reason or another, people like to judge others. That practice can really hold people back in life. I personally like to say you shouldn’t judge people unless you want to be judged. In order to be successful in this world it’s important to understand culture and intercultural competence. Staying in one culture, while it may be the comfortable thing to do, is highly limiting. I don’t believe it’s possible to live a fulfilling life like that because once you step outside of your box you’ll be stressed for no one. One of the most satisfying things think a person can do is travel, especially outside of your country. If you’re closed to new experiences then not only will you be hungry but you’ll also have wasted a valuable learning experience.

Quiz 3

Stormy Weather

Stormy Weather is about a twelve year boy’s infatuation with Lena Horne. The poem makes reference to two of her films, Stormy Weather and Cabin in the Sky. Although Lena Horne was undoubtedly beautiful, I do not share the same sentiments at the poet but I can definitely see where he’s coming from reflecting on his younger years and their first encounter through television. The poem shows a love and appreciation that the poet has endured for Ms. Horne throughout his life; it’s actually quite cute. I, for one, can think of childhood crushes in my short life time that have indeed remained constant.

Awaiting an Appropriate Provocation

Awaiting an Appropriate Provocation is obviously mocking the fact that Arizona officials somehow think that they can train the law enforcement to ‘sniff out’ the bad guys, the ones who came into this country simply to destroy American society and all that it allegedly stands for. The second stanza states that it must be a god or god-like figure composing these laws to think that one man can look at another and determine if he is undocumented; even through all his positive attributes, the law enforcement will indefinitely be able to spot the illegal immigrants flaw. Somehow police will be able to sniff out the trouble makers and send them back to their countries, regardless of how established they are in America. So what if your whole family is in America and has become a citizen, if you aren’t they’ll smell you and deport you. The last stanza makes reference to the Nazi crystal night and how Arizona is going down a similar path.

Quiz 2

Reflection 3

A paradigm is basically one's view point. Paradigms shape how people view the world and react to different situations. I think that when we're born we have no paradigms; this is mainly because everything is new to us. But as we grow up and grow older, we begin to develop many paradigms. Anything can be a paradigm.
A paradigm shift occurs when something we once believed to be true no longer holds any substance with us or no longer makes any sense. Let's take an Amish girl for example. When the Amish reach a certain age, they're allowed to leave the community to 'see the world' and decide if they want to stay with the religion or not. An Amish girl seeing a female doctor or a female working period is going to feel awkward because women in the Amish community don't work. Once this Amish girl gets a hold of technology her world will truly be rocked because they don't have all those things like computers, cell phone, etc. in their community. This girl is either going to look through her original lens of being Amish and say "all these things are wrong and I can definitely live without them" or she's going to have a paradigm shift and possible leave the Amish community so she can pursue a life in the modern world.
I, personally, have had a paradigm shift in the gender area. Growing up, I used to watch Leave it to Beaver and Bewitched. The mothers on these shows were all housewives and stayed at home to take care of their children and husbands. Now my mother has been working all my life and I don't know any stay at home moms but for some reason I thought that all women should stay at home and behave as Mrs. Cleaver and Samantha. The fact that I didn't know anyone with that luxury really caused me to question that belief. By middle school I knew I had to change that paradigm in my life. I had to understand that in modern do society, women had careers; and not just secretarial jobs to keep them busy. I shifted my paradigm into believing that it was nothing wrong with women who had jobs and careers.
As a teacher, you're going to have many different students. Majority of your students won't have any of the same paradigms as you; they're going to come from many different backgrounds and have totally different experiences than you. If you're stuck seeing every child that acts out as a problem child who just needs to be beat than you're not going to have a very long career. You have to look at each student with fresh eyes and be able to understand the differences you'll see in your classroom so that you're able to teach everyone to the best of your ability.

Reflection 2

While I understand the concept, this is the first time that I've heard the term multicultural awareness/ consciousness. I think that pretty much everyone would label themselves as multiculturally aware even if they really aren't mainly because they don't fully understand the concept. Being quick to label yourself as though you are could really hinder you actually becoming so. Its important to admit that you do have some work to go so that you can make the necessary transformations. I would say those who need a renovation are those who have been 'burned' so to speak by a member of a culture. If a member of a specific group cuts you off in traffic you can't get mad at everyone of that group and label them all as bad driver. You have to restore yourself to a point where you had no hard feelings towards anyone. Someone may need an alteration if they don't understand a culture; you can take the bad ideas they once had about a culture and create newer, more positive views. A makeover can also be used in the same situation where there are deeper issues. A revolution occurs when there's a abrupt change in something. If all your life you thought all people on welfare are lazy but something happens and you're forced to receive government assistance you're going to have a revolution and realize that your previous thought was extremely wrong. Conversion/ recovery can occur in someone who was raised as a racist but then discovers all that they've been taught is just plain ignorance. They will most likely have to work to recover from the years of damage that have been done to their psyche. In order to reinvent yourself, you first have to change your self-concepts and raise y your self-esteem. Your self-concept is how your see yourself in relation to everything else in the world. Self-concept can be changed y certain experience and even by other people who have an influence on you. Self-esteem is how you respect and value yourself. Its also important to accept and embrace human differences. In order to do that we must me tolerant, accepting, and compassionate. To be tolerant we must resist the urge to judge others and be self-serving. Acceptance involves being at peace with your surroundings; you have to understand that there are somethings in life that we cannot change. Compassion is acting to alleviate the pain we see others feel. When we act to help others we actually are helping our self in more ways than we know.

Reflection 1

After reading the articles The Use of Fire, The Invention of the Wheel, and The History of Writing, I have gained a fair amount of insight. Sometimes I get so caught up in the now and I forget that the earth has been around for so long. If the skeptic can agree that the earliest use of controlled fire occurred at least 230,000 years ago and there's sparse evidence that there were controlled fires 1.4 million years ago I'm flabbergasted at old the earth may really be. Also I was unaware that predators would go after wounded animals after wildfires. This concept is similar to someone who doesn't have any money seeing someone drop money goes to pick it up and not tell the person who originally dropped it. I guess in the animal kingdom one animal lost life is another animal's gain. It also makes sense that humans would also go after the now disabled animals to possibly eat them and discover the warmth of fire. The Invention of the Wheel reminds me that everything is a process. It’s easy to think that the wheel was invented and everyone benefited from it and then the car was made, especially in our technologically advanced society. But I would think it safe to say that the invention of the wheel evolved out of a real need to make life simpler; not like today where people feel the need to have the most up to date gadget that in all actuality does the same thing their other entire gadgets do. The History of Writing is pretty epic. It’s interesting to see especially how the Phoenician, Early Greek, and Roman alphabets evolved into something recognizable by me. I also think it’s interesting how humans, thousands of years later, are still communicating through grunts and gestures (i.e. "huh" and pointing at things).
After the first time I read the articles, I was puzzled. "Why am I reading this?" I wondered. But after having a while and meditate on it, I have the answer. These articles are on the basis of civilization. Fire, wheels, and writing show some of our basic human needs; the need for food, the need for movement or transportation, and the need for communication with one another. As an education intern it’s important to understand the basis for society, the basis for the modern education system.

Quiz 1

introduction

Okay so my name is Alyssa Nicole Rucker and I was born on a rainy Saturday, September 16, 1989. I am the oldest of three. I have a brother, Anthony, and sister, Aubrie. Currently I'm a student at Miami Dade College majoring in elementary education. Previously I considered becoming a doctor, or fashion editor and even a housewife [unfortunately no one supports the latter]! But I was always told by my mom, whose in the profession, that I would make an excellent teacher. I was actually scared to teach. I questioned if I could controll a class room, if I could make up lesson plans and do all the other stuff that teachers do. All my questions were put to the side when my brother was born; see Anthony has autism. For some reason or another, his disability turned my life around.142 I started to realize that it wasn't about me, that it was a greater cause in life. I wanted to help more people in the same manner that I help my brother. That's when i started to take the profession of teaching seriously. I saw the good works that my mother did with her students, not only in the class room but also outside of the class room; like how she would gather up clothes for some of her students who were homeless. I started to see that being a teacher was more than standing up infront of a class. It was about the interacts with the students above and beyond the class room.