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.