week 12

June Jordan and Gloria Anzaldua had similar feelings when it came to their “native” language. Anzaldua explained how there are many different dialects to the spanish language,depending on where you came from and who you were talking to. She was supposed to speak “standard english” at school and was encouraged by her parents as well,speaking her native language was almost looked down upon. When she finally saw that poets and writers were able to write in their language and have the material be published and accepted she felt like as a people they finally existed. It was at this time that she realized who she was and decided to fully embrace it,no matter if it was looked at as in-superior by some. Jordan helped students embrace their heritage by teaching them “black english” at school. At first each student seemed slightly resistant to learn this language and actually laughed at some of the first translations,but over time they were absolutely enamored. When teaching them black english standard english was the main language that was accepted. When the students decided to write the letter to  the cops in black english they knew that the letter would not be taken seriously,for the simple fact that it was written in black english. The students felt the only way to honor their friend and stay true to who they were was to write the letter in there language even though the “standard” english language was almost the only language accepted at the time.  Both of these texts show the importance of language and the significance it can have on people with native languages and different cultures. Today we are more accepting of these slight differences in language and culture,which I feel is necessary for people to stay true to who they are and to keep all languages alive.

week 11

Burke and Achebe both realized how fundamental language was to human societys Discovering that without language the human race would cease to exist.Burke got into talking about how language as well as cooperation were vital to humans. There is cooperation, conflict, peace and war, war requires cooperation and language (this makes organized conflict). Burke felt as though war could be prevented by using language/rhetoric but thought that violence was inevitable. Achebe’s idea was that language could be used to prevent violence but also that language makes possible the worst kind of violence. Language can be abused by hidden thoughts or ideas, which can turn language evil. In some cultures being able to speak made you superior to others. The book gave an example about a crying child and its mother, and how without language the mother has to go down a checklist of everything the baby could possibly need,because the baby…being a baby doesn’t yet have the gift of language which gives him the ability to simply ask for what he needs, this is one of the reasons why language is fundamental to humans. Another example was a man inhabiting a cave when an intruder decided to come in (this was back in the day before humans could speak) so the man threw a rock at the intruders head,which was his way of telling him to get out. This goes to show that without language there would definitely be more violence in the world, it shows how necessary language is to human society.

week 10

Reading Quintilian brought up some interesting points when it came to being a good orator. It was thought that if you were a “good” orator you had to be a “good” man, both rational and courageous.A good orator is focused and virtuous because “There is nothing so preoccupied, so distracted, so rent and torn by so many and such varied passions as an evil mind” (Austin 578). A distracted or evil man could never be a good orator, their minds are too  jumbled with lies to be focused enough to become a great orator. Hitler contradicts this view of a “good” orator. His mind ended up being extremely evil and distracted, but this did not seem to be a problem. His speeches were powerful and to his followers they were flawless. He had no problem talking people into making the changes to the world that he saw necessary. Hitler proves that you do not have to be a good person in order to be a good orator as long as you are able to remember all your lies, do not slip up when you speak,and are a powerful speaker then being a good orator wont be a problem. A person does not have to be virtuous in order to detect a virtuous person,a liar will definitely know when he is dealing with a virtuous person or a person that is just as he, a liar who is distracted and evil. Some evil/distracted people know what they are doing is wrong and feel bad about it, which in a sense can make them seem like better people.

week 9

Slam was an extremely inspiring and touching movie, showing how life changing a few people believing in you can be. The main character was able to express himself through poetry without a single person looking down on him or acting as if they were superior. The poetry meetings was a place which enabled each poet to inspire and be inspired, leaving a positive impact in their lives. This type of learning/teaching goes hand in hand with that of Paulo Freire. A group of people interacting together to better themselves, no one person having power or more authority over the rest. Each person listens to what the other has to say, the thoughts of each individual are important and valued. The poetry world acted almost as a second family where people could laugh, cry, love or be mad with absolutely no fear of judgement, instead support, which a family would provide. This movie reminded me a lot about dance. I am a choreographer for kids of all ages, literally everything in the world around me inspires me, including the kids i teach. They never cease to amaze me and teach me new things, this could also play under Freire’s idea of education. Im not just the teacher teaching them as much knowledge as I can, they teach me as well. The dance community as well as the poetry community are both extremely supportive, understanding, and life changing. The arts are extremely important, I feel as though their is never enough emphasis placed on them and it is upsetting. The arts are a way children can express themselves, an escape, that I feel are extremely important.

week 8

Having the ability to persuade people,rhetoric,is extremely important. Aristotle talked about rhetoric being useful because when someone is telling the truth it is usually obvious and easier to prove vs when they are lying. The idea of being able to use our knowledge of persuasion to help us. For example with a debate we are encouraged to collect information about both sides enabling us to clearly understand the facts. There are three ways to make persuasion effective that are talked about: 1.the ability to reason logically 2.understanding human character 3.understand emotion.The ability to master these can enable you to create effective arguments that almost anyone will believe. Take for instance Hitler,his speeches were extremely effective which in the end left him backed by an entire country that was willing to do anything he asked of them. We are under the influence of persuasion everyday,especially right now when it is so close to election day. We are swayed by all the for and against ads on t.v. for numerous propositions,even listening to the presidential debates both sides are trying to persuade us to take their side. I think the majority of the time the candidate that persuades people the best ends up winning because the majoity of people are unsure of their own opinion so they are easily swayed when a candidate has the ability to make everything sound good.

week 7

Paulo Freire’s idea of education was The Banking Concept of Education. Which when you think about it now seems rather illogical, students become “receptacles” that teachers fill to the brim with knowledge. It is felt that the more knowledge a teacher fills their student with represents how good of a teacher they are,so they fill their students with pointless knowledge to make themselves feel better. In this method of teaching students submit full authority to their teachers and are taught to record, memorize and repeat the information given to them. Memorizing material only allows you to hold onto it for short periods of time, by the time these students are out of school they will not remember anything they were taught. This idea of depositing and receiving information lacks communication and interaction, which is a more effective way of teaching. Allowing the students to interact with both teachers and students to exchange knowledge they have obtained will enable them to better remember what it is they are learning. Learning has to grab students attention and be interesting in order to get them to grasp and hold onto the subject at hand. Hands-on methods of teaching are always intriguing, they teach you how things work in an interesting way. Being able to learn in groups and having the ability to help each other out is an important aspect in the learning process, doing this allows both teacher and student to grow. The students are learning from their teacher while the teacher is also learning knew knowledge from their students, it is a situation in which both parties benefit.

week 6

Children of Men was definitely a movie that made you stop and think.It demonstrated a world of complete chaos,due to several different setbacks,that when you think about it could all at some point affect the real world.Human beings were on the verge of becoming extinct because all women were infertile.This movie showed what kind of place the world would be if every person was terrified of the world coming to an end and the government did nothing to help.The government did nothing to take away or even ease the fear of war.Mayhem ruled this world,people were killed no matter where you looked and the government played their part in this,instead of trying to create order they allowed their world to be run by nothing but chaos.There were so many emotions that people were dealing with at one time such as fear,hatred and confusion,that they did not know what to do,some just wanted to give up.I feel that Mencius, who felt that people were naturally born good but were influenced by the environment around them to change from good to evil, relates to this movie.Everyone in this world started off “good” then due to the quickly changing environment around them that was plummeting into abyss, each person slowly changed and became evil.Hobbes felt as though there needed to be some sort of guidance from a government in order to maintain a society.Children of men proves his idea to be right,there was corruption within the government which lead to chaos within the society.A strong government that provides guidance and help for its people will continue to flourish and be chaos free.

week 5

Through determination and motivation Frederick Douglass,although a slave,taught himself how to read and write. He was first exposed to education from his mistress,who taught him the alphabet. She at first felt a slave should be treated as any other human being,which was basically a crime,but as time passed she felt pressured by her husband to abandon her teaching of Douglass,feeling as though slavery and education were “incompatible” with each other. The white boys whom Douglass met in the street helped him succeed in his journey or finally being able to read. During this time it was unthinkable for a white person to help a slave, so for Douglass to give the names of those who helped him succeed would embarass them. At this time he realized unlike all the white boys who would at some point in their life would become a man and have the opportunity of being free he would be a slave for life. The ability to be free meant taking a chance,it meant escaping. Two irish men whom he had helped suggested that he run away,but at this time in history a slave could not trust a white man. White men would encourage slaves to esape in order to get the reward when they brought the slave back to their master. Although to the two irish men he led on to be uninterested in escaping he continued to remember their advice. He eventually learned to read at a ship yard,also with the help from one of his master’s books. Frederick Douglass proves that education is craved by every human being and can be acheived if your determined. Knowledge is important it gives us the ability to live and thrive.

week 4

 The schools a person attends,the way they were raised,the friends they hang out with all have an influence on how that person will turn out later in life. Family being the one that influences a persons life the most,especially a young person being that they depend most on their parents for guidance and approval. Based on their upbringing and different things that have occurred in a child’s life a child can become one of two things:good or evil. The school system in which a “good” child attends should be no different than that of an “evil” child. They both learn the same. Eventually they will both have opinions about the world around them whether they are positive or negative views. They will both face problems,feel pain and at some point in life feel encouraged to stand up for what is right and sometimes discouraged to fight for what they believe in. I feel school should not be like a dictatorship, where the children feel the need to submit full authority to their teacher in order to learn more or to get the best education possible. They will be able to learn just as much in an atmosphere that is less stressful and more easy going,even if this means giving a child the ability to learn from his mistakes instead of never making mistakes because he is doing nothing but what he is told. A person decides how good of an education they are going to get,depending on how motivated and determined they are,Rousseau talked about how education begins with ourselves. Harsh school rules are not needed in order to get one to learn,instead exploration,curiosity,observation and desire. All men are created equal,how you obtained your education and what you have been educated in does not make you any more or any less of a man.

week 3

Allegory of the cave describes an important life lesson that everyone learns at one point or another. People tend to lie to others in order to get them to believe their side of something.If you were to look at a lemon you know that it is yellow,but,had you not known this and someone were to lie to you and tell you it were purple you would most likely believe them. Everyone seems to listen to everything they hear until they find out the truth for themselves. This is what Plato is talking about,you can’t find truth until your able to think on your own and create your own opinions,which would be the idea of leaving the cave that you have been trapped in. Allegory of the cave reminds me of drama. There is one person who lies to another to get them on their side,they say anything to get that person to feel they were wronged in whatever the situation was. Its lies upon lies that people believe in until with any luck they realize they are stuck inside the cave. Which means they have lost the ability to think on their own,to realize they have there own thoughts and feelings on things. The strong people find the light at the end of the tunnel in these situations leading them out of the cave. They are able to decide now and to think for themselves,looking at both sides of the situation to figure out who is wrong and right. This just goes to show that you cant listen to everything you hear and your not always able to trust the people around you.