The Goals Of Education Education Essay

The Goals Of Education Education Essay Since a student, I have nurtured the dream of being a teacher partly because of the powerful impact that my teachers had on me as role models. That dream was fulfilled two years ago when I was first given the opportunity to replace a teacher who took her maternity leaves at Imperial College and then I got to continue my journey in teaching in that same school. With only my BSC in Sociology as qualification and without any prior training in teaching, the first time I entered a form 5 class, the only vision that I had in mind was of regimented students following all my instructions and participating in the class. I was completely astounded upon the type of welcome I received from the boys: whistles and shouts. My first reaction was to maintain discipline as it is the main value of the college and thus, I had to adopt an authoritarian stance to maintain order in the class. As time went by, I discovered few changes in myself. I was no longer the screamer who had to yell in classes to get students do their work, the way that I delivered the lessons were different and the questions that I set for class tests and exams were suited to the needs of the learners. I also developed interpersonal skills which I used to deal with different types of students. This made me realize that education is not a destination but a journey where ones philosophy is constantly changing. 2. 0 TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 2. 1 The goals of education Education being a continuous process of learning, understanding and gaining knowledge is important for numerous reasons. Foremost, it teaches us how to fit into our social and cultural environment since it involves transmission of academic knowledge coupled with cultural heritage, traditions, customs and values which serves as a unifying force. In the National Curriculum Framework (2009), it is stated that within sociology, students should be taught about citizenship. Thus, school is the right place to plant the right seeds. Moreover, academics argue that the primary aim of education is to prepare people for work. However, as Rifkin argued in the End of Work, in this rapid technological era, the human workers are becoming obsolete for there are machines that work better and faster than human. As such, the aim of education can no longer be to prepare individuals for work but it should be focused towards developing talents and potentials in students for them to become versatile. I agree with Dewey here when he said that education should develop survival skills and problem solving ability in the students. Freires arguments in Pedagogy of the Oppressed redirected my attention to another goal of education which is to develop the enquiring minds of students and make critically examine our society and its institutions. The concept of liberatory education was appealing to me as a sociology teacher and a Marxist since it argues for an education that will lead to conscientization that is breaking through prevailing mythologies to reach new levels of awareness in the students minds, empowering them with a vision to transform social order. In this process, students should develop critical thinking skills or higher order skills (Blooms taxonomy) so they are able to analyze and interpret the multitude of perspectives and issues that they will come across during their lifetime. 2. 2 Teaching ideals To meet the above aims of education, there is the need for a professional teacher who not only acts with knowledge but also value the knowledge he possesses. Teaching to Transgress (1994) by Bell Hooks shed light on this issue. For Hooks, effective learning can take place when the teacher will see teaching as a sacred vocation aiming in the intellectual and spiritual growth of the students. Besides, teachers should also watch out for pupils assigned to their classes, catering for the poor, the disadvantaged, and the less able students. This is in line with Deweys statement:Every mind has its own form suggesting that individuals vary within stages and that education must as a result be individualized. Building on the work of Banks (1981), in the Mauritian context, the teacher should be able to maintain a multicultural school environment by reviewing his own attitudes, instructional materials, assessment methods, counseling and teaching styles. 2. 3 My Teaching practice My beliefs of what education is and the roles of an ideal teacher have shaped my way of teaching to a certain extent. To begin with, I believe in implementing goal-oriented lessons. Usually, I cater for both academic and social objectives. Empathy in terms of respect and care for the students is embedded in my teaching. In fact, it has certainly been a powerful tool in understanding and connecting with students from diverse backgrounds. I realized that students are very much the product of their times due to globalization. Their identity, self concept, ambitions and expectations from schools are all modeled by the media. Adjusting to the new situation is challenging and demanding. The traditional approach to teaching that is talk and chalk is working for few privileged pupils only and there is an urgent need to shift to a new technique. This is highlighted by Giroux when he said that we must move beyond reproductive approaches by recognizing that reproduction is a complex phenomenon that not only serves the interest of domination but also contains the seeds of conflict and transformation. Thus, I had to find ways to cope to the new situation. This led me to transform my class into a differentiated one in terms of both ability and cultural background to deliver the lessons tailored to the needs of the learners. If a child cant learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn. Ignacio Estrada. There are a number of assumptions underlying this particular quote. It not only suggests that we need to cater for the learning styles of the students but we should also review our teaching strategies to meet their needs. I have adopted the student-centered or constructivist learning where students are given responsibility for their own learning which further becomes meaningful for them. I thus see myself as a facilitator, guiding the students to construct their own understanding of the world around them. Thus, opposing the banking education as argued by Freire where the teacher will deposit information in the minds of pupils, I opt for strategies where the teacher will serve as mediator while students will be active participants such as group work. I have an image of children as strong and capable beings. It is important to stimulate their growth by introducing new ideas and stretching them to progress. As far as possible I try to adapt the curriculum to their current social situations as well as religious and cultural backgrounds. Thus, I often think of students zones of proximal development to push them to the zone of potential development. For this very purpose, I consider the school to be the perfect arena for fostering life-long skills which are transferable to everyday life. Further, evaluation is done with the goal for students to improve. I share to the students what is expected, so that when I evaluate, they will know specifically what they need to improve on. This way, everyone is given a chance to succeed. Evaluation is not only done for the students but for my own sake as a teacher. As Hooks puts it rightly, teachers must be committed to a process of self-actualization that promotes their own well-being if they are to teach in a manner that empowers students. Therefore, I see to it that after each of my lesson, I do a self evaluation exercise so that I can identify my forte and weaknesses as a teacher and work upon them to improve in the next class. However, I come across many difficulties in my role as a teacher at Imperial College. Girouxs claim that the teacher is a mere specialized technician within the school bureaucracy instead of a transformative intellectual has led me to ponder on my own situation. The culture of my school is at odds with what I have learnt at the Mauritius Institute of Education for the former preach discipline and academic result while the latter caters for the all round development of students. As such, reconciling the two is a demanding task and this is reflected in the survey results  [1]  of the Teaching Perspectives Index by Dan Pratt and John Collins, especially where my beliefs score exceeds my actions score. Time is another factor that constraint me for doing additional things for the welfare of the students. 3. 0 CONCLUSION Being a teacher is the most noble job. The satisfaction that I obtain when my students excel in the subject matter is beggaring description. There had even been times when I thought that I was living a nightmare with students misbehaving and not following the class but then I got solace when I came across the following statement: The academy is not paradise. But learning is a place where paradise can be created. The classroom with all its limitations remains a location of possibility. (Hooks, 1994) I realized that I have a powerful tool (teaching) in my hand that I should use as much as I can. Readdressing disciplinary issues is possible and this requires commitment as a teacher and dialogue with students, school management and the wider community. REFERENCE BOOKS AND ARTICLES Dewey, J. (1897) My pedagogic creed, The School Journal, Volume LIV, Number 3 (January 16, 1897), pp. 77-80. Giroux, Henry A. (1988) Teachers as Intellectuals: Toward A Critical Pedagogy of Learning, pp. 122-123. Hooks, B. (1994) Teaching to Transgress. Education as the practice of freedom, London: Routledge. Freire, P. (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Seabury. Ministry of education, Culture Human Resources (2009) The National Curriculum Framework, Phoenix, Mauritius. INTERNET SITE http://www.teachingperspectives.com/ last accessed on 11 August 2012

Isolation And The Individual I :: essays research papers fc

Nothing is more apparent in the genre of satire than the ridicule of the vices and immoralities of society. This focussing on the defects of society as a whole doubles as a function of this genre of literature and a framework within the plot or theme of the novel or story. The satirist emphasizes the ugly ramifications of society, but to do so the satirist needs a vehicle for the observation of society’s actions and effects as a whole. This society is often represented as a microcosm or series of microcosms along a journey and the vehicle for the observation of the presented society is an individual located on the outside. To ensure that the individual is fully isolated from society and thus capable of objectively observing the follies of the world, the individual is given characteristics of a distinctive identity. The concept of an individual may be summarized in a statement made by Rick Hoyle: â€Å"The human self is a self-organizing, interactive system of thoughts, feelin gs, and motives that characterizes an individual. The self is reflexive and dynamic in nature: responsive yet stable† (Hoyle 2). Therefore, the outsider must be an individual, fully capable of organizing his or her thoughts and emotions and the consequences of each upon the self and the world. Logically proceeding the definition of the individual outside of society is the definition of society; a term that â€Å"can be used to designate the specifically relational system of interaction among individuals and collectivities† (Sanford 219). By positioning the polarities of individual and society in a conflict of values the satirist has created an effective method for criticizing society. The major trends the satirist may attribute to the individuals separated from society are the inability to integrate themselves into society, a certain degree of naivetà ©, and have definite flaws. These trends are apparent in the protagonists of the satiric novels: Mark Twain’s Hu ckleberry Finn Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 and Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mark Twain’s satirical novel Huckleberry Finn has a main protagonist that is a precocious boy named Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn’s initiation into society and society’s values is at Miss Watson and the widow’s home after his father’s death presents the civilized part of the society that Huck has not been exposed to before. It aggregates Huck’s education both as an individual and as a part of society up to the time when he sets out on a raft to Jackson’s Island; and his acceptance of Jim begins his exclusion from society.

Lev Vygotsky

Down through the years psychologists and individuals involved in education have developed and investigated different theories about how children learn. To understand how children receive and use information is of great value to parents, teachers and indeed society in general as the children of today are tomorrow’s adults and our society will not develop if our children cannot learn effectively. In this essay I will discuss the theories of Lev Vygotsky as I believe his work has become the foundation for a lot of our modern day theories and concepts in regard to a child’s cognitive development. Lev Vygotsky was born in Russia in 1896 during the Russian Revolution and his works only came to the attention of the western world when they were published in 1962. Vygotsky died quite young and a lot of his research was unfinished however his work was continued by his students and followers alike. Vygotskys theory of Socio-cultural or Social Development as it is also known was the building block for the concepts and stratagies now used in our pre-schools and schools today. Unlike Piaget who believed that development preceeds learning, Vygotsky believed that to develop, a child must learn first. He rightly believed that the most effective learning comes from a child’s social interaction in society and the cultural they are reared in. Social factors and culture contribute to a child’s cognitive development. Vygotsky believed that society gave a child various cultural tools which enabled learning, language being one of the most important. Language is the primary form of interaction and through language a child can communicate thoughts, emotions, opinions and ideas and develop friendships. A child’s level of language skills can and most likely will effect all other aspects of their development both personally and academically. Through my research I see that Vygotskys concept, the zone of proximal development, which is Vygotsky’s term for the range of tasks too difficult for children to master alone but which can be learned with the guidance and asistance of adults or more skilled chilren, is widely used today in learning institutions worldwide, its concept is used in most subjects and used very effectively with a broad spectrum of students, ranging from disadvantaged, special needs, and â€Å"gifted† students to adults. Within this concept Vygotsky talks about â€Å"Scaffolding† which basically means changing the level of support as the student becomes more capable in a task or subject. Another concept which is interlinked with the above is The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). The MKO refers to anyone who has a better understanding or a greater ability than the student, in respect to a particular task or concept. The MKO is normally thought of as being a teacher, coach, or older adult, but the MKO could also be peers, a younger person, or even computers. As I read and study these concepts I can clearly see their incorporation into our education system today compared to when I was a child starting out in school forty years ago. Although systems where evolving gradually, there were very different opinions and methods in place regarding education. Lev Vygotsky: Lev Vygotsky (November 17, 1896 – June 11, 1394) was a Russian psychologist. Vygotsky was a pioneering psychologist and his major works span six separate volumes, written over roughly 10 years, from Psychology of Art (1925) to Thought and Language [or Thinking and Speech] (1934). Vygotsky's interests in the fields of developmental psychology, child development, and education were extremely diverse. Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition Vygotsky, 1978), as he believed strongly that community plays a central role in the process of â€Å"making meaning. He argued, â€Å"learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human psychological function† (Vygotsky 1978, p. 90). Vygotsky’s theory differs from Piaget in three different ways. 1. Social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development. In contrast to Jean Piag et’s understanding of child development, Vygotsky felt social learning precedes development. 2.The more knowledgeable other refers to anyone who has a better understanding or a higher Ability level than the learner, with respects to a particular task, process, or concept. MKO’s Can be peers, a younger person, teachers, coaches, older adult, or even computers. 3. The zone of proximal development is the distance between a student’s ability to perform a task under adult guidance and/or with peer collaboration. It is also the student’s ability to solve problems independently. â€Å"According to Vygotsky, humans use tools that develop from a culture, such as speech and writing, to mediate their social environments.Initially children develop these tools to serve solely as social functions, ways to communicate needs. Vygotsky believed that the internalization of these tools led to higher thinking skills. †(http://www. learning-theories. com/vygotskys-soci al-learning-theory. html) In modern day terms, Vygotsky would be a facilitator. Teachers and students collaborate in learning and practing four key skills (summarize, question, clarify, and predict). Teaching and learning is a two way street. You have to be able to interact with the student.This simply means you have to know your student. Teachers have to know where their students are educationally to get them to move to the next level. Then we have to cater our teaching to meet the needs of the learners. I believe that a teacher must be able to relate to their student. For example, a teacher that had both parents that is wealthy. That teacher shouldn’t expect his/her students to behave as he/she did as a student at that age. You have to realize that there are differences and make accommodations.A child from a wealthy home and a child from a single parent working class home can’t be taught using the same method. The backgrounds are too different. References Vygotsky, L . S. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. McLeod, S. A. (2007). Vygotsky – Social Development Theory. Retrieved from http://www. simplypsychology. org/vygotsky. html http://www. learning-theories. com/vygotskys-social-learning-theory. html

Cultural Barriers within Healthcare essays

Cultural Barriers within Healthcare essays According to Health Resources Services Administration, sixty-five to seventy-five percent of all patients seen in a non-profit healthcare clinic live below the poverty level. Providing effective health care to low income families requires an understanding of the potential cultural barriers, which may be faced. These barriers include social, language, religion, and technological issues. The majority of our patients from foreign cultures are Hispanic or Asian. Due to this fact, we will discuss the barriers of dealing with those from Hispanic and Asian Cultures, and offer possible solutions to overcome these obstacles effectively. The number of immigrants entering the United States has been rapidly increasing over the last few years. For instance, the number of Asians in the United States has grown to more than 9 million in 1996. In 1996, there were over 28 million Hispanics in the United States, and the numbers are only increasing. The rapid growth of these two cultures in United States has made overcoming cultural barriers crucial in managing a non-profit healthcare clinic. A predominate social barrier in dealing with those from the Asian culture is their reluctance to disclose personal information to anyone outside of their family. Due to this, they may not be honest and forth coming in giving physicians or other medical staff personal or critical information needed for their treatment. When it comes to healthcare for Asian women, they do not seek out medical care for Gynecological exams because they feel it is an invasion of their body and considered improper and very humiliating for the women. Differences between Asian culture and the American culture are the majority of health issues of Asians are not often addressed in the American health care system. However, the Asian culture is not the only culture that is facing social and economic barriers to healthcare. With the numbers of immigrants increasing, what can we...

Modern society Essays

Modern society Essays Modern society Essay Modern society Essay The final but worse thing he does to dent his masculinity is betray his family. He rings up immagration and tells them of his family (Eddie and Rodolpho) and where they are currently staying. This goes against Eddies prior actions of masculinity of caring for his family.  Rodolpho, on the other hand, has different views of masculinity. He has no family to take care of so spends his money on clothes and CDs. Because he has no responsibilities, this leaves Eddie to believe he is not masculine. I do not agree because everybody have different views of masculinity, and I think its down to the individual and their situation in life. Its just because he is different that Eddie doesnt like him. The audience are shown that Rodolpho likes to sing. This point is extruded blaitently so its hard to miss. It is shown by him singing paper doll. Eddie considered this unmasculine, but different people do different things. Singing is a unisex activity so I do not consider it feminine at all.  Rodlopho has bright blonde hair. Eddie shows the audience he doesnt like Rodolphos hair by saying his wacky hair. This is another thing that Eddie considers to be feminine about him because it is not very common for him to see it, so it is weird to him. There are many reasons why Eddie doesnt like Rodolpho, and him being unmasculine in his view is only part of that. He first starts to become negative about Rodlpho when Catherine begins to flirt. This is shown regularly throughout their conversations but is tipped when she asked Rodolpho you like sugar? Rodolpho flirts back and says yes, il like sugar which in Eddies eyes shows utter disrespect as Eddie is letting them live in his house. Another but probably the ultimate reason for Eddies dislike of Rodolpho is he believes he is after his green card. He constantly shows this via arguments with Beatrice and Catherine when he repeats hes after his green card. Because Roldolpho is an illegal immagrant he can be deported at any time but if he marries a citizen he can stay. In this case the citizen would be Catherine. Eddie has no proof for this conviction but he is looking out for his family. I belive that both Eddie and Rodolpho are both masculine but are different because of their backgrounds and upbringing. As the play progresses though I think Eddie loses his masculinity as Rodolpho tries to be reasonable, and tell Eddie he love Catherine. To me this leave Rodolpho s the strongest male at the end of the play beause he is tryiong to reason, which would get you far in a modern society.  At the end of the play I do have sympathy for Eddie because he had only been trying to give his family the best and protect them. But in doing so he made some silly mistakes which led to his stabbing

Microsoft Zune Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Microsoft Zune - Essay Example On the other hand, through Apple iPod music can be played and the user can as well store videos, songs as well as their digital pictures so that they can listen and view them as an when required by the user. The videos can as well be watched on iPod and on the television by means of optional iPod AV cable (Apple, n.d.). Strategy Followed By Microsoft Zune In light of severe competition among the digital media brands, it becomes necessary for the firms to keep themselves updated with the new strategies to beat the competition. It has been noticed that Microsoft Zune has been trying to enlarge the features of Zune players with other hardware devices such as mobile phones, PCs as well as Televisions. It is worthy of mentioning that the strategy followed by Zune has been aimed at beating the competition that Apple presents. Microsoft has added Wi-Fi into the Zune in order to improve the features of the Microsoft Zune. The company aims at delivering its customers with new software, device s as well as services (Ganapati, 2009). Issues Related To Microsoft Zune It has been noted that the Microsoft Zune has faced certain problems. ... The other issue as identified is that although Microsoft claims to be quite compatible, the issue is that the users want their music service to be quite compatible not with the operating systems but with iPods as well (Adkins, 2006). It has also been noted that since the Zune is loaded with too much features it becomes difficult for the users to operate the device (Adkins, 2006). The product seems to have a neutered network. It can be mentioned that adding up of the wireless service in the device has been valueless since the feature did not work with more than half of the music users purchasing from Microsoft. The battery life was also too low. Despite Microsoft Zune’s efforts to provide wireless sync, it has been noticed that the device is quite slow (Slideshare, 2010). Adding up of the radio can also be considered as an issue with the system. The users may not purchase such an expensive device for listening to radio. The user’s needs to make use of the external antenn a in order to listen to the radio else the response of the radio is too poor (Dilger, 2007). Competitors of Microsoft Zune The primary competitor of Microsoft Zune is Apple iPod Nano. The secondary competitors of Microsoft Zune are Sony NWZ-A818 as well as Creative Zen. It has been found that the battery life of Sony NWZ-A818 is quite superior and even the sound quality is good. There are many features in Creative Zen and it has quite a big screen (CBS Interactive, 2011). It has been noted that the revenues of Zune reduced by around 54% and there was decline in the revenues of the company’s earnings in the entertainment as well as device divisions in the year 2008 (Slideshare, 2010). The sales of the mobile device were about 27 million in the year 2008. The figure

Cultural Competence in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cultural Competence in Nursing - Essay Example Such perceptions are very common in the United States because a bigger percent of the citizens are Christians who believe in God or a higher power. This concept applies to the chronically ill and the families who at most times may strongly belief that their chronic illness could e a sort of test and that through God’s intervention the illness will eventually be treatable. This means that this chronically ill patient focuses on inner strength and health care givers should fully apply their cultural competence by supporting the patient and its family’s cultural beliefs. More so, nurses and health care givers can obtain focused information about client’s presenting illness and his perception of causes of illness and beliefs about cultural treatment modalities (Jeffreys, 2010). This concept usually applies to patients or families of the chronically ill patients who believe in non-biomedical healing tradition. These individuals strongly believe that traditional medici ne could be more effective to biomedical medication. A competent health giver or nurse should understand this cultural concept by understanding the chronically ill patient or his family’s wish. Ideally, culturally competence approach would put up ways to communicate with chronically ill patients about their perception of their conditions, concerns and fears about a particular medication. Hence, physicians and caregivers could play a crucial timely role in addressing social cultural barriers to care by following culturally competent approaches to decision support (Jeffreys, 2010). Cultural competence can also assist patients to manage their own illnesses by providing educational information... This essay stresses that effective communication and interaction between health care givers and their chronically ill patients is essential because it delivers high-quality care. Statistics from the National Adult Literacy Survey claims that approximately ninety million U.S. adults have trouble in reading written text. More statistics claim that patients with chronic illness and limited health literacy have less knowledge of managing diseases, compared to those with higher literacy level. Such situations are commonly evident in the current society. For instance, a patient suffering from chronic illness like diabetes may tend to think that since diabetes is hereditary, there is no means of controlling it since other family members suffered from the disease and eventually died and so is his fate. In this respect, proper education through effective communication from the caregivers will be of crucial help to inform the chronically patient that insulin injection will greatly assist in co ntrolling diabetes. This paper makes a conclusion that chronic illnesses are terminal illnesses that needs accurate acceptance by the patients and their families. This means that the health care givers have a hard task of building a strong relationship with the patients in order to understand their likes and innermost views and likes. The outcome from the chronically ill patients lays the platform for the caregivers to deliver the best and efficient services as well as help in eradicating health disparities starting from individual levels.