The Journey to Teaching Essay example -- Essays Papers

The Journey to Teaching My philosophy on education In taking this course there is one overwhelming fact that has become clear to me- Teaching is an ongoing process in which I will be te Student,as much as I am the Educator. My philosophy on education has greatly expanded from doing all that I can to help children learn, to a string of many ideas, and thoughts, which will shape my classroom. These are what i will discuss in this reflection. Lisa Delpit and her book Other People's Children, was influential to helping shape my educational philosophy. In her book, Delpit draws attention to educating minorities, and gives many examples as to why it is so hard. One reason is the language barrier between the teacher, and his/her students. I feel that from reading this book it is necessary for teachers to understand that culture impacts many of the ways our children speak. Delpit gives an example of this when discussing a conversation between a white teacher and her black student. The teacher is correcting the black child on how to say "brother." The student is reading to the teacher and he pronounces the word "bruvver," at which time the teacheer stops him and tries to get him to say the word in proper dialect (Delpit, 1995, p.59). There are a few problems that Delpit raises with doing this. First she says that you do not allow the child to gain confidence in their reading, and second, the child is interrupted continuous ly. Therefore the child will not be able to advance in the same manner as the other students who can read in the proper dialect. Culture plays a tremendous role in educating our youth, not only directly, like the example above, but also in the relationships between parent and teacher. Delpit ca... ...to a classroom, and embracing differences will help to create a multicultural room, full of respect and individualism. Each teacher has indifidual thoughts and beliefs, which they will bring with them to establish their own classroom. Although these values may not be the same for everyone, we need to respect them, because if we do not allow teachers to teach in their own way, then we are in fact telling them we don't trust their capabilities. This course has helped me gain an incredible amount of perspective on teaching, and there is one thing that I learned on the first day of class that will stick with me always. I think it sums up the every day routine that a teacher goes through, and will help me maintain my principles and strength through the most trying times. "BEWARE AND BE BOLD," never give up on a student, and never be scared to stand up for what I believe.

Environmental problems Essay

There are numerous environmental problems facing our planet at the moment. Economic globalisation is causing destruction of rainforests in South America while boring a hole through the ozone layer, global warming occurs because of the increased emissions by transport and industries, melting of polar ice-caps is threatening low-lying coastal areas, damage of marine resources through overfishing is taking place, acid rain and pollution of soil and groundwater resources results from using chemicals and artificial fertilisers to boost crop output, incidence of hurricanes and other natural disasters is increasing. There is little consensus within both academic and lay circles as to whether the nature is able to cope with the environmental problems itself. In my opinion, ecosystems have a great potential of restoring the state of natural balance; however, the devastating influence of the humankind has significantly undermined this ability. At the dawn of the 21st century, environmental problems are looming large, and many processes are already irreversible. For instance, species that became extinct due to man’s activity could have been essential elements of certain food chains and habitants. The frequency of large-scale natural calamities, especially in the places that have been for a long time considered relatively safe, is a telling manifestation of the inability of nature to sustain its balanced state. Yet the film argues that today is exactly the day when the humanity can redeem its attitude to nature and prevent a global catastrophe. Therefore, the need for a different approach to the relations between the mankind and environment is necessary. It is imperative to carry on conservation and purification activities coupled with a persistent effort by both businesses and individuals to reduce (and, under the dream scenario, to stop) their environmentally damaging activities. Both individuals and corporations can make a considerable contribution to stopping (or at least slowing down) the degradation of the environment. In fact, many individuals seldom realize how their consumption patters are contributing to the aggravation of the situation. The culture of consumerism that constitutes the underlying philosophy of the West fuels unnecessary overproduction: reconsidering one’s consumption pattern can be the first step on the long way of saving the Earth. As Hertsgaard (2000) argues, the adoption of Western consumerist lifestyle by developing nations poses great dangers and has to be stopped before it firmly catches on. Such an approach implies not only reduction in consumption of non-essential goods and services but also buying from companies that are known to use environmentally-benign technologies in the process of production. The question as to who will suffer first, the Earth or the humans, is incorrect in its essence. Such thinking about the environment is the root cause of the imminent crisis. It is a fatal mistake to think that man is the king of nature. Indeed, our disconnection from the nature resulted in the great degree of alienation and ignorance. While human species is an inherent part of the Earth’s global ecosystems, men prefer to view themselves as ‘outsiders,’ superior to other species. Such approach brought about the overexploitation of the Earth’s resources, considerable environmental damage, and global warming. As Hertsgaard (2000) argues, in many countries, like in Sudan, environmental problems are inherently and explicitly linked to survival through the supply of food and drinking water. In China, pollution at factories equally harms humans and nature. The future of our planet in 50 years is solely dependent on the measures the humankind implements now to prevent the imminent crisis. Hertsgaard (2000) associates hopes with new environmentally friendly industries such as solar power. Given the changing attitudes towards environmental problems, growing awareness, and public policy commitment to betterment of our natural habitat, the outlook for the Earth is not as grim as some doomsayers think.

Symbols In Dolls House Novel - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 816 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/06/10 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: A Doll's House Essay Did you like this example? In most languages, each object is assigned a gender, typically either masculine or feminine, which determines how sentences are structured. In A Dolls House, certain objects serve as symbols that develop the theme of the play and portrays hidden aspects open to interpretation by the reader, similar to most works in literary drama. These symbols have been assigned masculine or feminine attributes and the gender determines how Nora feels towards her role as a woman in society. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Symbols In Dolls House Novel" essay for you Create order In A Dolls House, the feminine and masculine attributes of the symbols caused Nora, the protagonist, to either conform to her gender standards or sparked the desire to do the opposite and not accept the one she has been given, developing characteristics of her own instead, during her struggle to find herself as an individual. The most evident object in A Dolls House is a dollhouse itself and the gender typically attributed to the object is predominantly feminine as dolls are seen as being toys for girls. Dollhouses tend to be seen as fragile and a very isolated setting that is full of loneliness and conducive to internal monologues digesting what the perceived superior authority is promoting. Dollhouses have a closed back panel and an open front which symbolizes an access to escape yet the backbone of society is so beautifying that one feels compelled to be a prisoner. Throughout the play, Nora is treated like a doll as if she be put on a shelf to be controlled by all the men in her life, continuously referencing the control exerted over her by her husband and her father which could be seen as playing with her, as one would with a doll: Nora: Its true Torvald. When I lived at home with Papa, he used to tell me his opinion about everything, and so I had the same opinion. If I thought differently, I had to hide it from him, or he wouldnt have liked it. He called me his little doll, and he used to play with me just as I played with my dolls. Then I came to live in your house (pg ). Nora finally realizes the importance placed on their appearance in society by her husband is not more important than her own happiness and personal identity. In her feminine dollhouse she fulfilled her role that society assigned to women and this negatively impacted her personal identity as she continuously conformed to societal standards pertaining to women. The dollhouse symbol portrays how unreliable appearances are and how women sacrifice their personal identity and self-discovery to conform to gender standards assigned by society. Nora develops her identity throughout the play which can be seen through the dollhouse symbolism. In the beginning of the play Nora gives her children toys, specifically giving her daughter a doll: and a doll and a dollyrs bedstead for Emmy,they are very plain, but anyway she will soon break them in pieces (pg ). This is interesting as Nora seems to resent the control exerted over her by the men in her life but giving her daughter a doll suggests that she is raising her daughter to conform to the life that Nora is dissatisfied by and her mentioning Emmy breaking the toys foreshadows future events. In Act 3, the male dominant society in which men seek to benefit themselves while neglecting their wives is seen when Torvald says he will change to which Nora replies that he will only change if his doll was taken away. The feminine attributes of the dollhouse show that Nora desires to leave her husband but cant because she feels compelled to conform to her role in society. Another significant object assigned masculine attributes instead is the letterbox which causes Nora to want to break out of her role as a woman and instead discover her own identity and the letterbox clearly defines male and female roles. The letterbox is assigned masculine attributes as in A Dolls House, the letterbox is a source of secrecy and only Torvald having access to the letterbox, as only he holds the key, showcases his societal role as a controlling husband: Torvald: Someone has been at the lock. What can it mean? I should never have thought the maid here is a broken hairpin. Nora, it is one of yours. Nora: Then it must have been the children (pg 60). The masculine attributes of the letterbox causes Nora to begin to develop her own identity and not conform to her role in society. Instead of staying in her dollhouse she attempts to find her freedom, her freedom being locked in the letterbox and Torvald is the only one who has access to the locked letterbox, symbolizing his control over the whole house. Specifically discussing the letters in the letterbox, they symbolize the truths that the characters cannot get away from as once someone sends a letter, it cannot be taken back.