Comment on "amour mortelle(5)" in Asili the Journal Blogspot

I believe that between the man and woman in the poem there is no love. It is more like a dangerous relationship where the man abuse and commands, and the woman is so attached to him that she cannot leave. She is like his slave, but only because she decides to be.

Comment on "what is it that u see in him(3)" in Asili the Journal Blogspot

This poem is clearly about a man who's hurt in his heart because the woman he loves belongs to another man. So, the poet ask the woman several questions trying to discover what does the other man has that makes her love him so much even though that other man does not love her as much as the poet does.

Comment on "loving spirit(1)" in Asili the Journal Blogspot

In my opinion, this poem is about identity and love. Only with the beloved person, people can show their vulnerability and true essence of their souls. Only with our soul mate, we could be ourselves.

Education and the Teacher in Me

My personal philosophy in education combines several of the influential and psychological philosophies that exist nowadays. Each of the philosophies has a greater or less magnitude in my character, molded by the influence of great educators throughout history, and also my own experience with professors at school. My personal philosophy of education is mostly existentialist; then, it is progressive, reconstructionist, essentialist, and finally perennialist. Regarding the psychological aspect, my personal philosophy is more constructivist than behaviorist. Understanding these philosophies' development and characteristics will help me to discover who I am as a teacher and a person.

First, I should consider existentialism and constructivism because these are the most influential philosophies in my educational character. Existentialism is one of the classical philosophies in education, and it is student centered, which means that it prioritizes the interests of students. Existentialists believe that it is in the hands of students, no teachers or school, to define what students should learn. Existentialists believe that students should find their purpose in life through education. Professor Emeritus in the American University David Miller Sadker and Doctor Karen R. Zittleman (2010) explained that "[e]xistentialists do not believe that "truth" is objective and applicable to all. Instead, each of us must look within ourselves to discover our own truth, our own purpose in life" (p. 286). According to these authors, because this way to look at education is totally the opposite of essentialism, it is not popular in regular classrooms, and it is one of the most difficult to apply in education. Nietzsche, a German philosopher and existentialist, stated that "[t]here are no facts only interpretations" (cited in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1997). Furthermore, my personal philosophy has a strong influence from constructivism, which "asserts that knowledge cannot be handed from a person to another (from a teacher to a learner) but must be constructed by each learner through interpreting and reinterpreting a constant flow of information" (Sadker and Zittleman, 2010, p. 293). Some of the most relevant contributors to constructivism were psychologists Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. As Piaget said, "Learning is no more than a sector of cognitive development that is facilitated by experience" (as cited in Papert, 1999).

Second, I would like to talk about those philosophies that are less likely to influence in my character and way of thinking. Perennialism, which is closely related to essentialism, is a teacher centered philosophy. According to Sadker and Zittleman (2010), "Both [perennialism and essentialism] tolerate little flexibility in the curriculum. Both implement rigorous standards. Both aim to sharpen students' intellectual powers and enhance their moral qualities" (p. 281). Most of the schools are inclined to these two philosophies. Some of the greatest figures of perennialism are the once president of the University of Chicago Robert M. Hutchins, and American philosopher Mortimer Adler. Perennialists believe that true knowledge is in the "Great Books—works by history's finest thinkers and writers" (Sadker and Zittleman, 2010, p. 281). In the words of Mortimer Adler, "The Great Books of ancient and medieval as well as modern times are a repository of knowledge and wisdom, a tradition of culture which must initiate each generation" (as cited in Sadker and Zittleman, 2010, p. 282). Also, my personal philosophy has little to do with behaviorism, which "is derived from the belief that free will is an illusion and that human beings are shaped entirely by their environment" (Sadker and Zittleman, 2010, p. 294). A primary supporter of behaviorism was Harvard professor B. F. Skinner.

In conclusion, the knowledge about these educational philosophies allows me to know myself as a teacher and at the same time honor all of those educators who, from a way or another, have aimed for a better prepared society.

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Quiz 1

Believe What I Say (Reflection 16)

Rhetoric is one of the oldest disciplines in human education. Its origin took place in ancient Greece. Rhetoric, which is also called oratory, is the art of the living spoken word. Rhetoric is a discipline dedicated to teach the students with the necessary abilities to make a speech in public, and it promotes the use of correct language. The main goal of rhetoric is to persuade others through the speech. Plato believed that rhetoric lead people far from the truth because they were persuade to believe in what the speaker said even though Plato believed that good communication was important. On the other hand, Gorgias did not give rhetoric great importance because for this philosopher nothing was real and in case that there was something real, it could not be comprehend by men, and even if it was understood, it could not be transmitted to others. I think that Gorgias himself was a man hard to comprehend. There was a sophist whose perception of rhetoric was similar to the one is maintained today. The sophist's name was Isocrates, who was a Gorgias'student. Isocrates believed that rhetoric was a great tool that allow men to behave in a more civilized and democratic way. Aristotle made also great contributions to rhetoric because he distinguished between formal and informal reasoning, and he also divided in three different categories the way that speakers can persuade others which include logos (logic), pathos (emotions), and ethos (credibility of the speaker). When the Romans conquer Greece, they assumed several of the Greek practices in different areas including education, and Rhetoric was not an exception. In Roman education, Rhetoric was taught by a rhetor on higher school levels usually after secondary school. The persuading speech that Roman students had to practice was called declamation. The speech had two possible themes: abstract (quaestionae) and those related to people and real situations (causae). A most elaborated variant of declamation was controversia, which was performed in public to entertain the audience including parents, Roman literate society, and sometimes the Roman emperor himself. In Rome, Rhetoricians were more worried about the style and form of the speech rather than its content, which gave this discipline a hypocrite character. Marcus Tullius Cicero is considered by many as the greatest Roman rhetorician because he made some noticeable contributions. Another respected Roman rhetorician was Quintilian, who blended the best of Greek and Roman practices in the discipline.

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Roman and Athenian Education (Reflection 15)

Since the foundation of Rome to the middle of the third century B.C., Roman education was mostly informal because children had their education at home where their parents taught them to be morally and civically responsible, and also children achieved agricultural, domestic, or military experience depending on their parents' interests and social status. However, with the Roman conquest of some Greek cities, Romans adopted some of the Greek practices in education as their own. Despite the fact that Roman education followed Greek education as a model, there were differences between both systems especially at higher levels of study. Athenian education for example had the main purpose to have a state with excellent citizens who had a general knowledge about arts and war. This type of general education was called rounded education because the students had a wide knowledge in different areas. It was responsibility of the parents to decide how to teach their children, and the only requirement by the state was a military training at the age of 18 in the case of the boys. Until the age of 7, Athenian boys were thought at home by their parents. Boys, no matter their families' wealth, attended elementary school since they were 7 until they turned 14. Athenian boys generally learned gymnastic, music, grammar, and literacy being literacy the most important. After they turned 14, only those with prosperous families could continue studies at most expensive costs. Affluent boys had their culminating studies with philosophers dedicated to teach like Plato, Aristotle, Isocrates and others. The education that students received at this upper level depended on the students' interests. For example, those who wanted to be a public figure had to learn how to speak properly and persuade others, so these students studied rhetoric and oratory while other students were interested in subjects like arithmetic, astronomy, and geometry. Girls did not attended school like boys. Instead, girls had their education at home where they learned about domestic labors, and in some cases they learned to read and write. Sometimes girls became a hetaerae who had a broader education than a regular woman, but hetaerae were prostitutes in a certain way. On the other hand, Roman children went to elementary school since they were 7 until they were 12. In the roman elementary school, children learned to read, write, and calculate. Unlike Greeks, Romans were not that interested in literacy; however, this does not mean that they did not review great literary works at all. After elementary school, only children with rich parents could continue to secondary school where they stayed for three years and learned Latin, Greek, and in some cases Geography and History. Then, at the age of 16, wealthy parents sent their children to the oratory or rhetoric school where students could learn how to speak in public in order to perform successful careers in juridical or political areas. Rhetoric was considered by Romans as the most valuable learning experience that a student could have being the only exception a student who opted for a career in the military field. Some Roman students traveled far from home to universities located in Athens and Alexandria. In these cities, Roman students could receive a classical education. In Roman cities, there were different opinions concerning girls' education; some families educated their women, and others thought that an educated woman lacked of feminine characteristics. In conclusion, Athenian education had an academic character, and knowledge was the main goal through the study of philosophy, while Roman education was more practical being its main goal to prepare students to occupy a high social position by persuading others through rhetoric or studying law.

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High Schools as a Proof of Change (Reflection 20)

Even though the common school movement was successful and served to create thousands of elementary schools where education was free, there was a big empty space between the elementary school and university. The need to fill that empty space brought as a consequence the foundation in 1921 of the first free secondary school in a city that was a pioneer concerning educational reforms in several occasions, Massachusetts. The name of this school was the English Classical School at the beginning, but then its name changed to English High School, and finally to Boys' High School. However, as more similar schools were created, the secondary schools took a private-tuition character, and they were not seen as an extension of elementary schools by the general public. The programs in these schools were dedicated to prepare for college or provide students who would not continue studies with a general curriculum. But the view of secondary schools as private schools was not the only obstacle to the creation of free high schools. The public rejected the idea to pay additional school taxes just like it happened when Horace Mann came out with the idea of the free elementary school. However, thanks to several court cases, such as the Kalamazoo, Michigan, case in 1874, the courts determined that public taxes could be used to benefit secondary or high schools. So, this is how the idea of the free high school became a reality. The country and society had become more industrialized, so education of masses had to be higher to the one that elementary school offered, and everybody had to have access to high school. Parents started to see high school as an opportunity to obtain better jobs for their children. High schools represented what elementary schools had represented about a century before, which was the growing of American dreams and economy. High schools differed from the precedent secondary schools in that they were governed not by private boards but by the public. The creation of free high schools affirmed democracy because these schools allowed thousands of children who finished elementary school to continue their studies, and they were free, so all children no matter their social status were able to attend school and improve themselves. The American high school differs from European high school at that time in that in America, students did not have to decide right away what they wanted to study; in Europe, the tracking system was stricter. However, high school did not meet the needs of all students. For example, the junior high school, first established in 1909 in Columbus, Ohio, was designed to meet the unique needs of preadolescents. So, it lacked democratic principles because it did not meet the needs of every student. In general, even though it was not perfect at the beginning, the high school became a strong symbol of democracy and progress in the education in the United States of America.

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American Education’s Growth (Reflection 19)

American education has varied greatly since the Pilgrims arrived to this country until today. The first classrooms were mostly religious. In New England and other early colonies, children's education began at home. Some women transformed their houses in schools which were called dame schools. There were also apprenticeship programs for both boys and girls. Boys were taught by masters while majority of girls learned at home. The Puritans living in Massachusetts passed several laws with the purpose to improve the educational system and ensured that children learned properly. Puritans founded the first Latin grammar school in Boston in 1635 and Harvard College in 1636. Black and Native American did not have access to education, and even white poor people had limited education. The northern colonies, which were composed by Puritans, were the most advanced respecting education. Thomas Jefferson advocated for equal educational opportunities for every white child, and Benjamin Franklin founded an academy after his name that offered a practical program composed by elective courses free of any religious influence. Another important aspect about American education was the common school movement during the early decades of the nineteenth century that was composed by poor white people who wanted access to education. Horace Mann became the movement's leader. The common school movement had as a result the creation of the elementary school. Horace Mann made several contributions to education because he advocated for better build schools and the foundation of several normal schools in Massachusetts for a higher preparation of teachers. Also, a great part of American education's history is about the efforts of Native Americans and African American for the chance to learn and achieve equality. When I looked at the history of American education, I learned that it is extremely linked to sexism. First, girls were segregated from schools, and like Native American and African American, women had to struggle for their place in schools. Also, concerning education and sexism is the fact that teaching was considered a male career in colonial times, and women who taught in regular classrooms were considered masculine. Women who taught were unappreciated even though the years passed and more women dedicated to teach. In the first years of the twentieth century, people started to think about teaching as a female career because 90% of the teachers were women. Then, male teachers became suspect of being gays. Another historic aspect of American education is the creation in the 1880's of secondary schools and high schools to fill out the big gap between elementary education and university. American education's history would not be the same without John Dewey and his Progressive Education movement, which became widely known in the 1920s and 1930s. Progressivists gave education a new perspective because their program emphasized in the health subject, family and community relation, psychology, and social sciences. Also, this new educational way covered the interests of a growing number of diverse students. The responsibility for educating American is not mentioned in the Constitution of the United States because during colonial times education was a state responsibility, and it had nothing to do with the federal government. However, federal government found the way to influence in education with time, and education management came to be what it is today. Education has faced a growing diversity on the students' body while immigrants from all over the world have become part of the population like Hispanics, Asians, and Arab Americans. It is obvious to me that American education has come a long way from its foundations constantly changing and improving, and its history is filled with tenacity and the love of hundreds of people trying to live the American dream.

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