ASSIGNMENT 2

In the surveys given by my professor, it brought many issues to my attention. It made me realize how I actually think about issues such as men, women, sex, culture, education and politics. It showed me that most of my beliefs were based on what I was taught by my parents and the culture I grew up in. This proves that culture and the way you are grown has a lot to do with the way a person is, how he or she thinks and how they affect society. In my home, my parents always instilled that there was to be no bias behavior in a situation at all, no matter what happens. This definitely has made me into the individual I am today which is an open minded, fair, honest person who respects each and everyone. In some of the survey, I really did not understand the relevance of it until I completed all of them it showed me how diverse a classroom is going to be. You are going to find a million different personalities, backgrounds and behaviors in your classroom and the ultimate goal is to accept them and learn about new things. You are never too young or too old to learn. Everybody can learn from somebody. As an aspiring teacher, I hope that everyone is influenced by who I am, where I am from, and where I stand. Some of the questions in the survey I thought were somewhat weird but I then realized that this is the way some people do think and believe. They do so not because they are weird but because that is the way they know how to. I hope that in the near future people will realize that we are all one. They should also realize there is no need to discriminate against each other because they do things differently but they should accept one another and try to learn something new. Diversity is really an interesting topic and is important when it comes on to schools and children. Children should be able to make their own choices and I am sure that this world will be a better place.

Reflection 20:- INTERSEXUALITY

Intersexuality is the combination of features in a human. These features are from both male and female. Transexuality is the changing of an individual into another. For example, a male changing himself into a female for various reasons such as not liking the body in which they were made in. The study of these topics was rather interesting. Some parts of the discussion I hated but others were interesting. This proved to me that anything is possible whenever a woman is expecting. As a teacher in training, I would like it to be implemented in the minds of everyone that no matter what is wrong with you; you should be able to go to a public school. Reason being for that statement is because my professor asked me as if I had an intersexual child if I would send him to public school. Of course, my response was yes I would because I do not think that I should keep a child in home school just because of his/her sexuality. My professors response was no because that child is going to need special care and attention. In my head, I thought no matter what school you went to you would be jeered whether about sexuality, height, color etc. so I thought to myself that I would try to implement a standard to make parents send intersexed kids wherever they want to send them. They should feel as any normal person would and should get no different treatment other than how normal persons are treated. There is a lot of controversy when it comes on to this topic, which makes it somewhat rather confusing. There is no right way or wrong way to this ongoing issue rather than how the person in the situation feels. I am really touched about this topic and I hope that anyone that comes across this situation will treat these individuals with respect, dignity, love and care. Therefore, I leave this reflection by saying treat others just as you would like to be treated.

REFLWCTION 19:- SEXUALITY

I think the cause of homosexuality is somewhat of a choice and sometimes I think that you were born with it. I truly do not know what the cause is. I have grown into the mentality of not caring about a person’s sex life or sexual preferences. With this way of thinking, I am positive that I will be a non-judgmental teacher. My views on homosexuality after the lecture with my professor have not changed. I think it has done so because of my personality. I have a personality of which I stick to what I believe no matter what my culture says. I am Jamaican, and in my culture, they hate homosexuals and homosexuality I do not judge others based on that I think of people as individuals and through their personality. This will definitely influence me later in life as a teacher because I will come across different people of different sexuality. As a teacher, I cannot judge students due to their personal life not only because it is not my business but also because I do not care and I am not like that. I think others in our society should stop being judgmental and allow everyone to have privacy and their own belief in their sexuality. I do not ever think I would have a change of mind because I would not want anyone to judge my sex life. I have experienced once where people were judged and stoned to death because of their sexuality. I thought that was where inhumane and those individuals who did that deed were heartless. I could not come to reality what had happened because I saw it firsthand. To see something like that can really change your way of thinking and how you treat others and in my case teachers others to treat others. In my classroom, the kids will be advised to leave their personal lives at home in order to avoid conflicts, jeering and other hurtful stuff that happen in schools. This would allow kids to live in peace and d harmony without knowing each other’s business.

REFLECTION 18:- THE TALE OF TWO ISLANDS

In the article, the tale of the two islands racism was very prominent. It was very appalling to find out that people were discriminated just because of what color they are and where they are from. If this was to happen to me, I do not know what in the world I would do. It is very hard to believe that another human being can do such bad things to another human. The US discriminated against Haitians and Cubans after they left their homeland in trying to seek a better lifestyle. Instead of trying to help, they instead started to stereotype against them. Most Cubans and Haitians here in the USA now can relate to this story because their parents and grandparents experienced this dilemma. I think a case can be developed against the US government for being so hard, harsh, and insensitive to their own kind. Not only that but also stereotyping individuals was very awful. As an inspiring teacher, this has influenced me in so many ways. It has taught me how to look at everyone through the same eye not to stereotype and to educate the young about their past so that the future will be different. I would never want to be looked at differently because of the way I look, talk, walk or even where I am from. I want to be treated as an individual and equal. Each child in my classroom will learn to be looked at as an individual and be treated with respect, dignity, pride and equality. To me this will change everything and how things are looked at in today’s world. This will not only have an impact on the USA but the entire universe. I am very happy I got this opportunity to explore the various aspects of diversity. With this, it will help to mold me into a better person, and an awesome teacher. One who listens talks out and is very fair. This will have a positive impact on the students thus affecting the society.

REFLECTION 17:- RACE AND RACISM

For the past few weeks in my class, we have been discussing race and racism. This topic drew many debates and a lot of important incites to everyone. I personally learnt that everyone was of different color, style and nature. It was also prominently shown that everyone one on this earth believes in something different looks differently and talks differently. The next big debatable topic was racism, which is present everywhere and everyone, has experienced it at least once in their lifetime. Racism comes about in a group of individuals who think they are superior to other groups and they deserve everything. I was pretty amazed by some facts presented and how horrible it was back in the days. One example was that of Emmett Till, a teenager who was crucified for whistling at a white woman. When this documentary was shown, I was moved by it and I definitely started to appreciate more the things that are present in my life and for the time in which I was born. To me it was definitely ridiculous to kill an individual over something so minute. In today’s day and age, it might not be as prominent but it is still in existence. We the generation of today should try to destroy such thing as racism and other ethnocentrisms. I think so because we are all one and everyone should learn to love and live with each other. As an aspiring teacher, I am definitely going to teach my class about such tragedy and it will not be accepted in that room. I will teach them to treat each other as themselves while encouraging them to take that lifestyle on the outside to influence others. Thinking back now to that class period in which that discussion was held my mind is still at a lost in trying to believe that someone with a brain and a heart would hurt another human being like that. My conclusion is that they never knew better so we of today know better and should show it.

REFLECTION 16 :- GENOCIDE AND ETHNIC CLEANSING

From reading about these atrocities, I have gained a lot of insight of what these issues really are. these issues included genocide which is the destruction of a whole group and ethnic cleansing which is the same these activities has been taking place for many years and has caused a lot of pain and heartache in many hearts, souls and countries. Ethnic cleansing took place in Rwanda, Bosnia and Dafur , three places I never knew existed until I read about it to write this reflection. These places aren’t the best of places but to know that genocide happened there it breaks my heart to know that people would just kill each other because of what they believed in or looked like or what group they belonged to. I definitely would not want to be around when this is happening or even know anyone that this happened to because of how tragic it is. I think that this part of history should never be forgotten so the individuals of today’s society will appreciate their elders more. Not only their elders but also the struggles that they encounter will be appreciated. As an aspiring teacher, I will definitely teach my class about what happened in the past. My reason for this is if you do not know your past you do not have a future, and every child that gets in contact with me has a future one to make this world a better place. Therefore, i will be paving the way for them to have that future. I am in so much distress and disbelief because I did not know the details of what happened I just knew it happened. However, after today I definitely will continue to appreciate what I have gained and what is in store to come. I implore everyone to find out about your past because it will definitely help you to help others. During all this helping, the world will be changing into a better one for you, me and the generations to come. Change what is happening today do not wait for tomorrow.

ASSIGNMENT 1

I am doing my field experience hours at the Miami Dade North Campus Pre-School Lab. It is a very diverse institution. There are teachers and students from every race and culture that is possible to think of. The students are treated with equality and respect and are taught to treat others the same. I love volunteering there because of the attitude and the environment of everyone. The teacher Miss Sherine is a very open-minded individual she is one my many inspirations in becoming a teacher. She definitely recognizes diversity with respect because no child is treated differently and there are whites, blacks and Hispanics in her classroom. She also pays attention to different learning styles because of the way she teaches a few of the children in the classroom. I questioned why and she says it is because they learn differently. I think here she was displaying how people learn and encouraging them to do so. She instructs all her students in the same manner and the environment is the same towards and for everyone. This teacher uses many materials in her classroom and I would consider it diverse. I remember one instance where the children had to make a fruit salad and each child had to bring a fruit from their native culture I think that displays diversity among the children. They then had to work together to make this fruit salad. In doing this activity, Miss Sherine had to provide and accommodate some of the materials that were needed. Since this month is Hispanic month, the children are being taught all about the Hispanics, which include their language, food and dance. For everyday in the month of October, so far they have to say the alphabet in Spanish and count in Spanish. In my opinion, I think that this teacher respects diversity and displays it in every move she makes. I love what she is doing and I hope to be as good as she is.

REFLECTION 15:- THE HOLOCAUST

The holocaust has been a theory before and during World War II. People who say it did not happen really do not have any proof to back their motive or notion. There have been traces of much evidence left in Poland such as concentration camps and survivors just to name two. That proves to show that the holocaust was existent. Art Spiegelman father Vladek Spie one of the main survivors who was drafted in the polish army told his story of his life in Poland in his book “Maus II, A Survivors Tale.” The individuals who claim it did not happen are as heartless and wicked as the people who were doing the damage in the holocaust. It is very impossible to believe that these individuals were mistreated in this manner. Only heartless people would want to hurt people of their kind and then deny that it happened. When thinking about it I get very emotional and distressed over the situation of the fact that thousands of people were killed. I think that every individual should learn about this tragic time in our past so it will not replay in our future. As a teacher in training, I definitely will teach the children in my class about what happened all because of racism. With this, it will encourage them not to be racist and they will try to make this world a better place. If everyone thought like that, I am sure that the holocaust would not have happened. Therefore, it happened already so why deny it when everyone already knows it happened. Why not just try to make it better and influence the younger generation to prevent it from happening again. This ruthless behavior will only make our society a cruel, harsh and a very hard one to live in. I definitely would not like to see this taking place again therefore I am trying my best to live the right way and always be nice to others no matter their age, color, style and/or race. I also believe that it will happen again if we as the people of this earth do not change our style of living.

REFLECTION 14:- PREJUDICE

Prejudice is a popular problem that has been around for centuries. It deals with feelings evoked towards an individual or group. This has to be displayed in a negative manner for it to be considered prejudice. For example, a black family moves into a white neighborhood and all the residents begin to move from that community. That what is displayed is known as prejudice in a racial manner. This problem comes about sometimes because one feels that he or she is superior. Prejudice always brings about conflict and segregation. Sometimes this major issue is seen in the classroom. This is definitely horrific. No individual should be judged by their color, socioeconomic status, friends and/or neighborhood, just to name few, in order to get around to do anything in life especially education. No one should be deprived of education and resources just because of the stated factors. Education is what makes the economy of a country get better and grow. Education is what makes the world what it is today therefore no one should not get one. Reading these articles inspires me to continue being the person I am today, an impartial body that loves and cares for everything on this planet. As a teacher to be, I would never in my years of teaching to come discriminate against any of my students because of any reason at all. Everyone in this world should be treated the same no matter who you are or where you are from. I think I know how prejudice happens now. It starts with a group of individuals believing in one belief. It then continues when this group evokes bad feelings towards others and tries to get other individuals to believe that what they are doing is very correct. During this process a lot of people do get hurt and the persons doing the damage do not care about its effect on others. Therefore, I close by saying “do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.” Never do something to someone that you would not like being done to you.

REFLECTION 13:- SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-CONCEPT

In the articles "Understanding the Self" (Hamachek) and in Transformation: Creating Context, Part 1 it shows that every person in this world thinks of themselves differently. I thought that the sections on self concept and self-esteem were the most important parts. This is how we as individuals see, think and feel about ourselves. It can be either low or high. Obviously low self-concept and/or esteem are bad and high are good to some extent. Many factors influence how we worth ourselves such as culture, socioeconomic status and our perception of what the ideal self-looks like. Feedback whether good or bad has a great amount of impact on a person. These concepts build you into the kind of individual a child grows up to be. For example, if a child is always told you are horrible, you will become nothing in life this child grows up thinking that they are actually horrible and will be a true failure, thus them not making any goals and work towards nothing. During this process, this child is developing self-concept in a bad way and an extremely low self-esteem. This of course is not encouraged. This article was interesting and encourages me as an aspiring teacher to show always children good deeds. It also teaches me to encourage others because you never know what one kind word can do to an individual. Suggestions and feedbacks are extremely powerful this can break or make a person so always be careful what you say to people especially the young, disabled and the extremely old. The wrong impression is very easy to acquire so I encourage all to try to change someone’s life for the better. Let them think of him or herself as worthy, wanted or any other inspiring word and develop high self concept and high self esteem. Pretend it was you who needed that help and needed just one person in this world to encourage you.

REFLECTION 12:- FREUD

Freud’s work is considered important in today’s world because he did his studies long ago and his name is a household name. Freud is known for is hard work and his excellent explanation on Psychoanalysis. Freud was the first individual to do this research. Because this man had so much evidence to back the work he has done, most individuals believe it is true and important. On the other hand, individuals think it is important but they do not agree with this concept because of reasons such as beliefs, values, attitudes and ones culture. They more than likely think it is important because as a baby you have to grow and go through stages. This is of course the most important portion in a person’s life. Looking at all the articles about this individual, I think he is frankly a cool person. He has interesting facts and many experiments to back his assumptions. He is on the other hand frank about what he has to say. For example, he gets to the point as quickly as possible and never tries to dress it up in no way. He makes you believe that everything is normal and every person in this world has to go through these stages. Freud has a great emphasis on sex when he explained the psycho-developmental stage. To me that was somewhat weird how sex is related to feeding and potty training an infant. After reading these articles, it explained how infants get pleasure from activities we consider minute or possibly gross. Freud explains that from the day you were born until you grow into adulthood you have thoughts of sexual activities. Society teaches children that this is somewhat wrong while he proved that it is natural and acceptable. I think Freud’s theory should be taught in schools because it gives you as an individual an open mind about things that you were possibly taught of as wrong and it may change the world into a better place.

REFLECTION 11:- BELIEFS, VALUES AND ATTITUDES

After reading the article Beliefs, Values and Attitudes it made me start to think about the world. It made me realize why everyone is different and there are no two same people in the world. Thinking about it from a teacher’s perspective it shows why every child has a different personality, and how every child learns differently. Beliefs, values and attitudes are in every culture, and in each culture, every person has his or her own belief value and attitude. These factors do change in every situation. It is sometimes changed because of the surroundings you are in or how you feel. This article really explains everything one needs to know about beliefs, values and attitudes. These factors reflect what kind of person you as an individual really are. This explains all the doubted questions or curiosities you will ever have as a young person especially a prospective teacher. This emphasizes that one should accept everyone else’s beliefs, values and attitudes. If everyone in this world should accept each other as they are racism and prejudices will become outdated for us. Teachers should definitely follow by this because it will eliminate fights and quarrels in the classrooms. I think that children fight and call each other names because they do not know the fact that each of them are different and will not agree on everything that is taking place. In conclusion, I think the most important thing that I have learnt is that each person is different. Because of this, they have different views and perspectives on every situation. I believe that every child should be taught this from a tender age and this definitely will make the world an extremely better place. This is an inspiration to the disabled and the able that there can be change for the better and not only for the worst if everyone in this world would accept and believe in the above stated.

REFLECTION 10:- TEACHING FOR INCLUSION

This article really had me. It is so interesting it makes me realize how much I really want to be a teacher. It included strategies that should be used for teaching such as teaching to the individual, getting to know your students from day 1 until, how to have classroom discussions, how to set ground rules, establishing your classroom as a safe zone. Nextly, it included teaching resources such as anecdotes, humor, role-plays and visual aids. It then encouraged group work and debates because it is proven that it opens the minds if children. It then went on to talk about the syllabus, the assignment formats, and the evaluation of students (testing, participation, flexible grading scales and grading criteria). It encourages aspiring teachers to have office hours and that they should not take their personal lives in the classroom. To me it was basically a rule book for teachers and that all activities are centered around the students. It has all the to dos and what not to dos. It opens the eyes of the individuals reading it and makes them know that being a teacher is not an easy task and one should enter the field only because they want to make a difference and no other reason. It teaches us how to establish comfortable environments in the classroom no matter the color, race, language or any other physical aspect of an individual. In conclusion, I think that any individual who has read this article has a changed heart because it gets right to the point and expresses what is needed to be expressed. At this moment, I would not mind waking tomorrow and being a teacher because of how excited and interested I am at present. I would encourage every aspiring teacher to read this and parents too. This would show them how much work is involved with being a teacher and I think society would accept us more for what we do for the leaders of tomorrow rather than finding faults.

REFLECTION 9:- AWARENESS AND CONSCIOUSNESS

Awareness and consciousness has a link in some part. To me, to be aware of a situation you have to conscious about the details of what it entails. Being an aspiring teacher, these two concepts are extremely important because you as the head of the classroom have to be aware of everything that is happening and wants to absorb the situation in order to make it better. As a teacher, you always want to know what is happening in the classroom so your students can be receiving the proper treatment according to their needs. For example, if you are conscious and aware you know when you have to repeat something you have said or when you would have to move a child because of him/her disturbing the class and putting others in jeopardy. Not only in the classroom is this necessary but also in the outside. This is where it is needed, because if you are not careful you will get hurt. For example, if you are not aware and conscious of your surroundings a person can be robbed and/or injured if they are not careful. In the article to me, it implies that awareness and consciousness work hand in hand and once you become that way it is hard for you not to think and work with awareness and consciousness. This skill deals with a lot of mental ability. It requires a lot of brainpower at first but once you get into it, it is extremely easy to manipulate. In conclusion, I think that this article was extremely interesting and a revelation to me. This is so because it showed me that thinking this way gives you a better look at life and most times it is the safest way to go. Therefore, as an aspiring teacher I surely am going to use awareness and consciousness in my classroom to enable the success of the children I will be catering to. I will also implore them to think, talk and teach others to look in that perspective. By doing that, eventually the world will be a better place because everyone is thinking with consciousness and awareness.

REFLECTION 8: PARENTS vs MEDIA!!

My parents raised me into being the young, wonderful person I am today. They have taught me to learn how say please, thank you, good morning, night and afternoon. It was their priority to make me know as a child that nothing came by easily it was always well earned. It was made known to me that we were neither rich nor poor we were blessed because we are alive and we are not suffering. Judging people by what they have was never been in my household and that is how I think that the media portrays social class through the newspaper, music, and/or internet. The media shows young minds today that if they are not living in the “glamorous” life they are poor and have no life at all. I strongly believe that the children who are not showered in money have a good outlook at life and work extremely hard to earn something. Looking at gender and thinking very hard about what I was taught it pretty much looks the same as what the media displays. I was taught that the girls are supposed to be inside while the boys are outside. I was always told to do my chores for example cleaning, doing laundry and every possible thing you could think of doing in the house. As I grew older I was taught that females are the caretakers of the household they are suppose to bear and rare the children, cook, clean and make sure everything is fine. With the media the same idea is portrayed but in a more vulgar way in some cases. Finally sexual relations, is the biggest one that is portrayed very different from how the parents wants their child to know about it. For me sex education was taught in school and by my parents. YES, I GOT THE BIRDS AND THE BEES TALK. It was the same that was repeated ABSTAIN, ABSTAIN and ABTAIN SOME MORE. My family believes in no sex before marriage and if not it should be done with the one you are extremely passionate about and not just anybody while the media to some extent portrays it to be ok. They make it seem as if it is a dirty deed at times with the language that is used and whom it is done with. I am extremely happy with the way I was brought up because the result is shown in everything I do.

BASED ON PROFESSOR MCNAIR'S BLOG POSTS!!

This is a heartfelt piece (RAINDROPS). This has to deal with how men grief whether you look at it from back in the early days or now in modern era. This explains further to my understanding that because society views men as being 'tough' they usually find a reason to hide pain or come up with an excuse to avoid showing their real true feelings. This article (A CASUAL LOOK) shows how young love or love on a whole behaves. Whenever it gets a hold of you your mind does not think, it is only your heart that tells you what to do. It is a great experience for each person in this world to fall in love .In this piece (TRUE LOVE) of writing which talks about true love, it shows how the body, mind and heart works together and as a whole. Sometimes in life an individual sees another person and feels as if that this person is the one and only. In some cases, this situation works out but in most cases, it does not and causes the heart to be in pain, become angry and in most cases scared to love again. (JAMESETTA ON MY MIND) Music is the soul of the world. It expresses sorrow, happiness, love and all other emotions. It is sometimes the best way to bring memories back to life. This allows the person to therefore express their true feelings rather than to hide it. In this post (THE BLUES HAD A BABY), it expands my knowledge on how music has transformed rock and roll 'n particular. Rock 'n roll came from a genre of music known as the BLUES!!! This kind of music is known to express emotions such as darkness, sorrow, hate and the most popular disobedience. This obviously changed the music world and had more people listening to this genre.

REFLECTION 7: Rites of Passage

Rites of passage in each culture are performed differently. I think it is a traditional experience that sometimes includes giving and\or sacrificing. This ritual is sometimes used to mark the coming of age of an adult into adulthood, fertility, death and marriage just to name a few. It is important in every culture because it shows the individuals on the outside that a significant stage in that person’s life has just occurred. After reading the articles Mt Kenya, Sitting Quietly and the Sambia I gained a more diverse knowledge on other cultures traditional experience. In the article about the Sambia, it was told how the boys coming of age was done. To me this was extremely shocking because I am not of that culture but after reading I have come to appreciate whatsoever it deals with. Male and female strength and sexual fertility is developed in this culture. In the next article, Mt Kenya, the procedure carried out were mind blogging not just, because they sounded painful but because it was inhumane. During this ritual the females’ clitoris is cut. Finally yet importantly Sitting Quietly. In this article, the individuals were rewarded for their bravery. I actually found it quite interesting and unique. The relationship between rites of passage and formal education is extremely clear. I think that the link between the mentioned is that it shows the development of a child while he/she progresses in school. For example, the child goes from kindergarten to elementary to middle school on to high school. It is like a baby growing into an adult. Each phase is a big milestone for both parents and children. Therefore, I think that rites of passage influence the formal education in some way or another. In conclusion, it is safe to say that the world is widely influenced by culture and rituals, which gives the people a different outlook at life causing them to be well rounded.

REFLECTION 6:- 'Little Rock Nine"

Having read the article in the textbook according to CUSHNER etal, I am having mixed feelings towards the situation of ‘LITTLE ROCK NINE.’ I would have loved to be one of the nine to break segregation back in history but on the other hand I definitely would have hated to be treated as if I were nothing just because of my skin color, my hair, my eyes and/or my nose. As a child, you do not want to feel uncomfortable no matter what the circumstances are. Each child of this world is equal in the eyes of humans as they are in the eyes of God. They all deserve the same education because equality is power. On reflecting, I think I would have felt protected, safe and secure if I had to have armed guards for me to enter the institution for learning. I would not have wanted to be deprived of such value. Therefore, I would have done everything possible in my power to get a good education. Although it is known that these children were ridiculed and abused verbally, they still pressed on no matter what their surroundings were. The shouts at these children were preposterous. The higher-class people of the town made it obvious and renowned that colored folks were not wanted in the town nevertheless in the schools. This was so because these individuals had the mindset that blacks were slaves therefore they needed no education and if any, it should be little and whites are slave masters thus them having all the education. For me to be one of those children being shouted at I know that emotionally destroyed I would be. Reason for that is that these children at such a tender age thinking that the world hates them are not an easy task for them to cope with. As today, a teacher to be, I definitely am happy that I got the chance to read and reflect on such a historical event. This implores me to be a neutral individual in life and in the working field when I get there because LIFE IS SHORT, therefore LIVE IT TO THE FULLEST and DO NOT DEPRIVE OTHERS OF WHAT IS IMPORTANT. Actually, do not deprive anyone of anything in the world LIVE, LOVE and LAUGH together.

REFLECTION 5: CULTURE

Culture is the way of life of a people. Their personality, the way they behave, the food that they eat, the clothes that they wear and the people they socialize with. This is all considered the culture of a person. For example, Indians eat special kind of food that have been blessed by their god Allah and is considered righteous to eat; the term they use is halal. The women also have to cover up their entire body because their belief is that the woman’s' body is only to be showed or exposed to her spouse. They also have to marry within their caste. When I was a child, I was taught to be open-minded but I still think it is an unknown fact how some people grow up and become adults who want nothing to do with anyone that is not like them. When growing up in a certain environment for so long, it is hard to adapt to anything else but what we have been brought up with. Culture is what makes a person, it is everything around us. Although there are different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, I have always been told never to criticize or judge a person because of where he or she is from or how they act. Everybody is different in his or her own way no matter the different cultures. They are going to have their own beliefs about a certain something. I have always believed that there is only one God but Hindu’s think differently and I believe that every race should come together and mix and reproduce to become one but Indians think differently. I have a Jamaican culture and I think our background is unique from others. Our music, dances, food, language- "patois" is what makes who I am today. Nevertheless, we Jamaican are connected to many other cultural backgrounds. Jamaica has a very diverse culture and is one of the multi-cultural countries in the world. Each person in the world should remember that culture is learnt, shared, based on symbols and is adapted and integrated. Cultural diffusion is the main way in which culture is learnt whether it may be directly or indirectly. This dictation influences and creates individuals in the world today.

REFLECTION 4: MY TAKE ON DIVERSITY

Being in a diverse course, I have come to understand that not every child learns in the same pattern. Each person is different in personality, looks, and the mere way they carry themselves. I think I am prepared for diversity because of experiences that I have incurred. I have had the opportunity to work with children with disabilities, different cultures, different races and different ways of life. Each child had their own way of thinking and doing things whether their reason was because it is how they knew how to do it or that was how they wanted to do it. I am extremely happy I got a chance to do so because that experience opened my eyes and made me feel well prepared and safe when it comes on to how children think, act and believe. This assures me that in the future I am destined to continue believing in being non-prejudice. No child or individual should be judged or treated based on their color, race, culture, learning abilities and/or age. Every person deserves equal treatment therefore in education every child deserves the same teaching. I am open to hear and reach out to everybody in whatsoever ways I can.

REFLECTION 3 :FRAMEWORKS, PARADIGMS and PARADIGM SHIFTS

To know different solutions to different problems, teachers must have a mind set to explore options and ideas, not to just think that there is only one solution to a problem. For example mathematics, there are different ways to find out a single solution. My idea of paradigm tells us there is always something more than what is expected. According to the dictionary on answers.com, a paradigm is a set of assumptions, concepts, principles and practices that constitutes a way of viewing a reality for the group of people that shares them. Therefore, a paradigm shift is simply a change in practice. The change in how you think and analyze situations that changes certain solutions to certain problems giving a different answer or the way you think about a certain thing looking in depth. For example a woman’s face, if she considers it ugly. If you have experienced a paradigm shift, you would see more than UGLY. You would see the wrinkles, the acne, the light spots different from the dark spots, a mere scar, an error made in an eyebrow waxing. This is what paradigms are. Looking beyond what is actually there.

Teachers should experience paradigm changes in the classrooms because of the advancement in science and technology within society, which has dominated the world. They are the stepping-stones for new generations; therefore, they should be well equipped with new changes in the world. Good teachers practice ways such as paradigm shifts. They do so because they want the best for their students. They should not just teach the basics in the curriculum but they should try their very best to teach beyond that such as teaching the students how to deal with problems that will arise in life. This theory is guaranteed to have a positive impact on the individuals that it is shown to because they will not just know what is in the books but they will become well developed and well rounded individuals.

Reflection 2: transformation the beginning and creating context

In the article transformation a beginning, a series of essays are used to describe the definition of transformation along with context clues. Transformation, in my opinion, is another word for evolution or change. It is an object becoming a newer version. One can transform itself into many things or transform one thing into many versions. Many terms are used to describe Transformation. They include Renovation, which is the act of transforming something into a better quality; Alteration, which helps fix an object to fit better in a life style. Makeover, this helps an object gain a different look, Revolution, which explains how life changed to the universal system that we are in now and Conversion, which is the act of converting something. The second article, Transformation: Creating Context Part One talks about self-transforming one’s self. It describes the different steps one has to take in truly complete the process. Reinventing one’s self image and/or self-esteem is the first step in the transformation process. The development of self-confidence, finding your inner strength to improve your abilities and behavior, is key to this step. The article also describes accepting one’s self image and self-personality, which is step two of self- transformation. If a person feels that they are doing wrong, they should learn from their mistakes and change into a better person. Learning to accept other people for who they are and for what they look like is step three. One should not judge others due to their image or their character because you would not like to be judged by others based on the same issues. One should reinvent him/herself if they want a change in their life, whether it is a change in social status, or a change in personality and behavior. The change however should be for a positive outcome. In conclusion, both articles talk about how life has transformed and how self-transformation is linked to transformation of the world, as it is known today.

Reflection1 : the use of fire , invention of the wheel and history of writing

In the article about the invention of fire, several changes took place due to this discovery. The nutritional effect of being able to find food and prepare it was a major accomplishment for humans. Their brains became mature and developed. Fire became a source of protection for man against their enemies. This probably allowed man to socialize with each other more often. The invention of the wheel brought many changes to humankind. It allowed the use of trade and transportation. This development in transportation would bring an evolution of trade and growth to the cities and governments. Increasing social development and taking the strain out of having to carry supplies from one place to another.Furthermore, the invention of writing took place in an agrarian culture. It showed recordings of their production of grains and cattle produced as the first examples of written symbols engraved on clay. This transferred over to Egypt where the symbols called pictographs were represented by not only words but also eventually they each represented individual sounds and they created the first alphabet.
After reading these three articles, I have learnt that humans develop mentally, physically, socially and emotionally. Evolutionary changes have occurred with the development of the use of fire, the invention of the wheel and writing. Man now knew how to protect themselves better, how to trade and socialize and how to communicate and record changes. The significance of the readings to me was that helpful resources that we as human beings use everyday developed from little as nothing to something so great and of such big importance. To me these readings were given to us as pre-intern teachers for us to realize that we have come a long way and as educators, we should know that knowledge develops just as humans develop; it happen in stages.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME

My name is Kayon Kaliesha Bernard; I am 17 years of age. I was born on the beautiful Caribbean island of Jamaica. My hobbies include dancing, singing, reading, watching the television, socializing with friends and watching people learn and grow. I do not know if anyone else in the world considers laughing a hobby but I certainly do. Reason being is I do it so frequently I might as well consider it a hobby.
I am such a huge fan of children. All my thoughts about having a career were always directed in the field of education. I have had the opportunity to view a wide variety of careers from engineering to teaching to owning a business and even being pharmacist through the help of my family. Nevertheless, I still thought that the field of education was what I wanted because teachers are the most important people in the world. If there were no teachers, there would be no other career.
I strongly believe that with hard work, perseverance and my philosophy, which states “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME” I will make it.