WebLog 5- Crossing Over to Canaan- Chapters 1 and 2
1. Why is there such a high turnover rate among new teachers?
There is a high turnover among new teachers because beginning teachers are given very challenging assignments, and they are given little or no professional support. They are isolated and independent from other teachers. Also, new teachers are many times put in the schools that serve the poorest students and those students who have failed to benefit from schooling. Students who have many educational needs are being taught by teachers who are the least prepared to teach them. New teachers do not have the expertise about the basics of teaching, and their classroom becomes at a disadvantage. So, beginning teachers are often unsuccessful, and they gain a sense of failure and no longer want to be in the classroom. This vicious cycle repeats itself as more new teachers are hired.
2. What was the biggest lesson that Tara, a TFD student, learned while teaching “Terrance,” an African American student? Also, what did Tara learn from working as an aide with physically abused preteens?
Tara learned that it is important to step back and allow children some autonomy. With “Terrance,” she began to give him more opportunities to work without a teaching by his side. She was able to acknowledge his sense of personhood. While Tara worked as an aide, she realized that the school as an institution can create a barrier between people, and it could destroy one’s sense of personhood. She then began to take her students to different settings, such as McDonald’s, where she could talk one-to-one in small groups. She was able to be herself- she told stories about herself and the students were able to get to know her better.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
WebLog 4
1. How did plantation owners deculturalize newly purchased slaves?
The first thing that owners did was to take away the enslaved Africans’ identities by giving them a new name. They would repeat the name until the slave realized that this name was their new identity. They also had the slaves live in barrack-like structures where they experienced linguistic isolation. They were not able to speak to their owner because they couldn’t speak English, and owners didn’t allow instruction in English. Also, they weren’t able to talk to other slaves because they didn’t share a common language. African Americans had to create a language that owners and other slaves would be able to understand. They also had to create new methods of interaction since they came from a variety of different cultures (Spring 50-51).
2. Booker T. Washington attended Hampton, which was established by General Armstrong. What was Hampton’s educational program like?
Armstrong believed that the main purpose of educating African Americans was the development of work habits and moral behavior. The curriculum at Hampton placed an emphasis on hard labor. Male students worked in a sawmill, on the farm, as dishwashers, busboys, waiters, etc. Female students sewed, cooked, scrubbed, and plowed on the farm. Armstrong believed that this occupational training reflected the subordinate roles that African Americans would play in the economic order. Also, by learning the moral values attached to performing these tasks, graduates would teach other African Americans the habits and values that would make these tasks lifelong professions (Spring 58).
The first thing that owners did was to take away the enslaved Africans’ identities by giving them a new name. They would repeat the name until the slave realized that this name was their new identity. They also had the slaves live in barrack-like structures where they experienced linguistic isolation. They were not able to speak to their owner because they couldn’t speak English, and owners didn’t allow instruction in English. Also, they weren’t able to talk to other slaves because they didn’t share a common language. African Americans had to create a language that owners and other slaves would be able to understand. They also had to create new methods of interaction since they came from a variety of different cultures (Spring 50-51).
2. Booker T. Washington attended Hampton, which was established by General Armstrong. What was Hampton’s educational program like?
Armstrong believed that the main purpose of educating African Americans was the development of work habits and moral behavior. The curriculum at Hampton placed an emphasis on hard labor. Male students worked in a sawmill, on the farm, as dishwashers, busboys, waiters, etc. Female students sewed, cooked, scrubbed, and plowed on the farm. Armstrong believed that this occupational training reflected the subordinate roles that African Americans would play in the economic order. Also, by learning the moral values attached to performing these tasks, graduates would teach other African Americans the habits and values that would make these tasks lifelong professions (Spring 58).
Thursday, February 1, 2007
WebLog III
WebLog III
Native American historiography is often written from the perspective of non-natives. It is often told from the viewpoint of governments, conquerors, diplomats, and leaders, as Zinn says in his article, and it’s as if these people represent the whole nation. The Guide for Teachers mentions how the Native American perspective is often ignored in the media, educational materials, and histories of the region, and this is why the Guide is written from the Native American perspective, specifically the Native Americans of the Chesapeake.
Zinn incorporates the idea of sentiment in his article. I believe he is saying that history shouldn’t only disclose the failures of the past, but it should include the times when people came together to resist a negative force. He says that our future should be based on these times of compassion and kindness rather than the times of war. The Guide for Teachers includes an example of people coming together to resist a negative force, and actually winning. That is, in the early 1900’s, Native Americans came together to fight against unjust laws and social practices. Eventually, many people and organizations came together to support social justice for Native Americans. As a result, laws were created that re-established civil rights, such as the 1924 American Indian Citizenship Act and the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The American Indian Citizenship Act made American Indians citizens of the U.S. and they were given the right to vote. The Civil Rights Act ended government authorized racial discrimination in the U.S. This is an example of a caring and considerate part of the past that should inspire our future.
Native American historiography is often written from the perspective of non-natives. It is often told from the viewpoint of governments, conquerors, diplomats, and leaders, as Zinn says in his article, and it’s as if these people represent the whole nation. The Guide for Teachers mentions how the Native American perspective is often ignored in the media, educational materials, and histories of the region, and this is why the Guide is written from the Native American perspective, specifically the Native Americans of the Chesapeake.
Zinn incorporates the idea of sentiment in his article. I believe he is saying that history shouldn’t only disclose the failures of the past, but it should include the times when people came together to resist a negative force. He says that our future should be based on these times of compassion and kindness rather than the times of war. The Guide for Teachers includes an example of people coming together to resist a negative force, and actually winning. That is, in the early 1900’s, Native Americans came together to fight against unjust laws and social practices. Eventually, many people and organizations came together to support social justice for Native Americans. As a result, laws were created that re-established civil rights, such as the 1924 American Indian Citizenship Act and the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The American Indian Citizenship Act made American Indians citizens of the U.S. and they were given the right to vote. The Civil Rights Act ended government authorized racial discrimination in the U.S. This is an example of a caring and considerate part of the past that should inspire our future.
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