The Educational System/Blog#5

Educating Children of Katrina-this article was a great read and I am glad to read that there was someone that the U.S. Government cared about during this horrific time. I'm glad that it was the children that were able to reap some benefit out of this horrible situation. I was truly impressed at how they were able to move the children to other states and educate them, even though there was some concern over how they would be educated. The initiative of compensation for the schools that took in the children was a little perplexing. Up to 135 students and the school could receive $1 million dollars. If there is $1 million dollars laying around, why was that money not invested in schools in inner cities that don't have the supplies they need to educate their children. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the funding that they did for the children of Katrina but c'mon, $1 million is a little exorbetant.

Teacher's Cost of Living Matters-now this article was interesting for sure. I personally think that Teacher's salaries are horrible and that teachers should definitely make 6 figures.  I think this because they educate the future leaders of tomorrow and they are not compensated. They help to educate our future doctors, lawyers, business owners, actors and actresses, NBA players, CEO' s and they are paid like peasants. I found it interesting that in Los Angeles or New York that salaries are somewhat high for teachers but by the time the cost of living for that city is figured in, it's roughly about a $10, 000 decrease, give or take a dollar. I find it interesting that no one is really fighting for a huge pay increase for our nation's teachers. I feel if teachers were compensated adequately, the school systems would also get a major benefit.

Green Schools Don't Make the Grade-this article was different and the thought of a green school is a phenomenal idea. The problem is that green schools sounds like they would be very expensive because of the time, energy, and effort that goes into running a school like this. The renovations alone to make a school green is a high cost. I think that the idea of a green school is a novel idea but an expensive feat. I wonder what it would cost to send a child to a green school?

Hidden Problems of Child Farm Workers-this article was good but disturbing. I did not know that children were still being exploited for cheap labor, at least not in the U.S. The article and videos primarily showed that the children being exploited presently were children of migrant farmers. This article helped to tie into the book, Crossing Over that was read for this course. In the early 1900's and late 1800's, children were exploited for cheap labor but I think the thinking and way of life played a huge role in child workers being exploited during this time period. The U.S. was lucky o have had FDR as a president because he helped to bring about great change in this country and without his influence and enacting laws in reference to child workers, things would have not changed. Unfortunately, migrant workers today do not have a choice. The migrant workers come to this country for a potentially better life and end up having to have everyone in the family work to make ends meet, even the children. So, this effects the child's ability to go to school and get a solid K-12 education, which in turn makes them drop out. The MET program is great for migrant children who are unable to complete a regular K-12 education. I find this program excellent from doing some further research.

Sesame Workshop-interesting article and great read. Sesame street is a great educational tool for young children to start learning at an early age and Sesame Street is a great resource. I, probably like most of my classmates here, have grown up on Sesame Street and have great memories from it. The funding from the PNC is extraodinary.

I don't teach but during my time in K-12 education, I was unaware of a lot of these things because I was caught up in my own world not concerned about any of these things. Of course, there were no green schools, or to my mention any mention of green schools. Sesame Street was a program that I grew up watching because it was educational and it helped to start some type of educational school setting learning before actually going into the educational school system. I have great memories from my Sesame Street learning days and I hope and pray that when I have children, they will be able to have that same opportunity.

Immigration and Multiculturalism/Blog #4

Immigration has always been apart of the American landscape and it always will be. People from all over the world will always come to this country for what they think is a better life. A life without hardship, difficulty, and faults. The problem is, they learn the ugly truth once their here. Race, nationality, and creed are major components of immigration. Culture and diversity are major components of immigration. Immigration is what makes this country of ours great and without, the United States could potentially suffer. In the first article, there is much debate over immigration, immigration laws and who should be allowed to immigrate and who shouldn't. Immigration plays a major role in the educational system because it helps to shape and mold the educational system. Due to a huge surge of immigration from the Hispanice community, ELL has been formed to help those who do not speak English or speak English well enough to propoerly and fully understand it.

The second article was disturbing on so many levels. Maybe this is the reason why it was so short. I was truly appauled by the authors mention of not celebrating cultures and their heritage. Please refer back to Article 1. It's important to understand one's own history and culture before you can understand and embrace another's culture and history. It's important to have a Black History Month to recognize the accomplishments of Blacks. It's important to have a Women's Month or Breast Cance Awareness Month in order to recognize those that have done great things for women and women's health. In my opinion, it's not separate but taking the time to recognize and acknowledge those that have made great strides for those who are like them. I completely disagreed with the author of this article but he is entitled to his opinion and beliefs.

The third article was a better read and spoke of diversity and multiculturalism. There has to be diversity within every aspect of life and an understanding of other cultures and how things are done in their culture can be fun to learn and eye-opening. It gives a different perspective of individuals and also helps to understand the reason why that individual may be the way they are. One of my good friends from high school and college married a man from the country of Liberia which is in Africa. In this particular country, they have a dish that everyone eats called "Gili." From how it was told to me, this dish is comprised of vegetables, meat, fish, chicken, rice, and anything else that you want to put in. This dish came about during the slave trade because some of the captured Africans were able to escape and the way that they were abe to survive was by eating and putting whatever type of food was available into one big pot, cooking and eating. So, basically, there is your meat, vegetable and possibly dairy all rolled into one meal. I found this interesting because these are not the type of things that are taught in school about this culture, it has to be sought out. They also celebrate Independence Day in August, it's when the country became free in the late 1800's. Multiculuralism and Diversity are extremely important and should be embraced.

History, Race, and America

The literature for this third entry into our blogs was a little disturbing. The first article spoke of History and what is being taught in the classroom. The main subject of this first article is to address the history of the United States and those that helped to found it or make it what it is today. The problem is that the United States of today is not that mch different from the United States of yesterday; we just have technology. The language of the article was in reference to minorities and wanting to have their history taught more explicitly. I don't personally see a problem with this because it is important to know one's history in order to embrace another's history. The author spoke as if this was a bad thing and that there should not be mention of history of non-whites, very disturbing. The second article spoke of a world where a book had been written and that it spoke of a world where whites were the minority and no longer had any power or authority. I don't think this is the direction that our nation is heading in. The article was grim and spoke of the Aryan Nation that wanted to eradicate non-whites in the Pacific Northwest, not the entire nation. A majority of Americans know about the Aryan Nation and how they operate and also aware that there bark is worse than their bite. The third article spoke on Multiculutarism and how it is wrong. I found that title to be something else within itself because to speak and say that Multiculturalism is wrong, is stupid. Like it or not, everyone in this country has ancestors that came from somewhere else, whether it is the continent of Africa, Mexico, Ireland, Scotland, etc., etc., etc. The United States is a multicultural center with differing types of people and to make a conceptulization between White, Black, Hispanic, Native American is just simply absurd; just my opinion.
I found all three articles to be interesting and informative but with a grim perspective and viewpoint.

The Debate Heats Up/Library of Congress Artifact

I just read two different articles with the same theme. The themes were prayer in schools and the pledge of allegiance. In the first article, prayer in school is the focus. The discussion was based around, should there be prayer in school. There should be prayer in school because this will help to instill some type of stability back into the classroom and the school environment. Now, let me make one thing clear, if a child does not want to pray, they should not be forced to do so but prayer in school should not be an option. There should always be prayer in school. As an adult, I start and end my days with prayer because it makes me feel closer to God and it also helps to give me great perspective on my day. When I was in elementary school, there was prayer and we did not have violence in school as far as shootings, cursing out teachers, and threatening to blow up the school if we did not get what we wanted. There was also paddling when I was in school. None of these things no longer exist and in my personal opinion, it has made the school system lose something. When I taught briefly, I was appauled at the fact that children were allowed to say what they wanted to say without any repreccussions at all. Prayer is essential and should be in schools. The second article was in reference to a little boy by the name of Billy Gobetis in 1935 who refused to say the pledge of allegiance based upon his religion of being a Jehovah's Witness. He was 10 years old at the time. I'm not really sure how to address this because you do not want to force anyone to go against their religious beliefs. The prayer in school should be there but if a student does not pray the same prayers based upon their own personal religious beliefs, then they should not be forced to do so. The pledge of allegiance is important because you are ultimately pledging your allegiance to this country but it does say, "Under one nation, under one God." The decisions that were brought down by the courts were contradictory because in the first ruling with this case, they upheld that the child had to say the pledge of allegiance while in a case in 1943, they reversed the decision and stated that the child did not have to say the pledge of allegiance. Prayer in school and stating the pledge of allegiance are two totally different things that happen to have religious compliments. Prayer in school would hold much more of a liability than stating the pledge of allegiance because forcing a child to say a prayer would ultimately violate their first amendment right whereas most kids do not usually say the pledge of allegiance anyway, they mostly just stand there and look at the flag. These were two great articles both with strong, debatable content that cannot be summed up in a blog.

Innovators and "Makers"

I just read two different articles with once central theme, the theme of education. The approach was different on both with diferent results and outcomes. The article on the innovators was insightful and had much more of a paolished appeal. The article entitled "Makers" seemed to be harsh, cruel, and less polished. The Innovators told of some of the top people who helped to form the educational system today. The one Innovator that I selected was Booker T. Washington because of his rise from being the son of a slave to an educated African-American. He helped to form the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama so that African-Americans could receive an educational training in order to better themselves and lead much more productive and filling lives. I chose Andrew Carnegie as my Maker because the idea of steel and steel structures has always fascinated me. The men of that era seemed to take more risks in their careers. Some of them were lucky and became very wealthy while others did not but it was a creative time and several of the inventions that we have today is because of some of the men during this time period. Washington helped to shape the educational system by giving African-Americans a chance at a solid education and a better life. This helped to open the door for several universities across the country that have provided solid educational foundations for African-Americans. Carnegie's steel empire helped to shape education in the sense that it provided people with the opportunity to have a good paying job so that they may send their children to good, solid educational institutions thus shaping the educational system and helping to further the image of big business. I feel the innovators had more of a direct role in the shaping of the educational system while the makers had an indirect role. The innovators helped to found or establish certain aspects of the educational system while the makers had an influence from behind the scenes. They employed the men that took care of the families and were able to send their children to some of the colleges, universities and grammar schools established by the innovators.