Teaching Philosophy Statement :: Teachers Progressivism Education Essays

Teaching Philosophy Statement Ever since I was born and could comprehend, my parents hammered into my brain the need to excel. Not just to excel in general but to excel over everyone else. My parents are very competitive and believe the world is the same way. In their mind, it is them vs. everyone else in any and everything they do. I was encouraged to compete against my two older brothers to be the best in everything we did. This included sports such as soccer when we were younger, baseball, and most importantly, football. It also included academic areas such as grades and extracurricular activities such as student council. Whoever was doing the best at the time would be held up on a pedestal figuratively as a person for us to emulate. This upbringing instilled in me a need to get great grades, lift zealously to do better in those sports and be bigger than everyone else, and to also do excellent in sports. I got great grades all through grade school and high school and also was an all valley tackle in high school in football. I was one of the â€Å"smart† football players. After looking at the different characteristics of each philosophy, I realize that I have been raised as and become an essentialist. I believe essentialism to be the best teaching method to force the students to learn. Essentialism puts an emphasis on academics. What is the purpose of school? Basically, the purpose for the teacher is to teach students information while the purpose for the students is to learn the information. That means the point of going to school is to learn academics. Score one for the essentialists. Essentialism also goes by the theory of promotion based on the mastery of the material gone over in class. How else could someone be promoted on to something harder or higher? By not mastering previous material? No. Academic subjects usually build on content in each field until the top is reached. Here, to excel, one must know and know well all the previous material to deal with the subject.

Review on Mississippi Masala

Response Paper on Mississippi Masala (1991): the impact of racism and race in the identities of the characters The themes of racial identities & interracial racism are ones that surface multiple times in the movie Mississippi Masala (1991) by Mila Nair. In the beginning of the film, we notice Jay’s resentment of having to leave his country Uganda. Jay argues with his childhood friend Okelo that he has â€Å"been called a boot licker and a traitor to Indians†¦ Uganda is my first home and India my second†. It saddens Jay that after 34 years of his life it all came down to the â€Å"color of [his] skin†.His childhood friend reminds him that â€Å"Africa is for Africans†¦ black Africans†. The exile of South Asians, which is enforced by military leader Idi Amin, tarnishes the view of the African culture for Jay. He, along with the other South Asians that are forced to leave, turns his back to the African culture he grew up and welcomes the Indian cult ure in American land. Jay even goes as far as not saying goodbye to his brother-like friend Okelo treating him with a cold shoulder. Jay fails to realize that his friend’s close mindedness is not one to blame for the ignorance that was going around in Uganda.Another instance where race and the color of the skin create bias is at the wedding of Mina’s cousin, where two ladies are gossiping. The ladies comment on Mina’s dark complexion, noting that one cannot be â€Å"dark and without money and expect to get with Harry†. Notice the appraisal for a fair or light skin color. This racism, coming from within the culture, is an example of the struggle that Mina and the family face. Because she is a ‘darkie’ and poor, she cannot expect to woo the heart of the rich Indian bachelor Harry.Racisms is used as a double-edged sword; best seen when Uncle Jammubhai says that â€Å"people of color stick together†¦united we stand, divided we fall† y et regards blacks as ‘foreigners’ and troublesome if they tarnish the family’s honor. Mina’s relationship with an African American is a parent’s â€Å"ultimate fear† since it involves the South Asian daughter marrying someone who is neither Indian nor White. There are also cases of racial identities that become affected by the events that transpire. Mina regards herself as ‘masala’ which is symbolic in regards to the title of the movie.Masala is a mixture of spices, which we can take to represent her South Asian heritage. However, Mina was born and raised for part of her childhood in Uganda, so she also has African roots. ‘Mississippi Masala’ represents a mixture of American and South Asian roots. While in exile from her first home Uganda, and being raised through Indian culture, which she is geographically disconnected from, Mina learns to simultaneously welcome the American culture and its ideals as well. In other words, Mina is embracing the hybridity of cultures.This case is seen best when we see her fit just right at her cousins wedding and the African American dance club. Mina welcomes diversity and constructs her identity based on ideals from her present. Mina cares not to make the same mistake as her father and pursues and interracial relationship with African-American rug cleaner Demetrius. However both communities don’t take their union as light matter. The Indian community regards their love as a â€Å"dishonor and shame† to the family, with some mothers going as far calling it a ‘rebellion’ and sending their daughters to their countries to get married.Demetrius, who worked hard to create his cleaning company, gets a cold shoulder from his clients. The white lady, who gave a good recommendation of him to the bank, withdraws her good comments about him, and gets the bank to threaten to remove his loan. His aunt Rose says that ‘the days of slavery are o ver†¦[but]the world is not so quick to change†. She is referring to the racism and the pointing of the fingers that occurs when one goes outside the norm of what is expected.

Basic Factors of High School Students’ Academic Success

Basic Factors of High School Students’ Academic Success Good education has already become one of the biggest life advantages. No matter what school you are studying at, there are several basic factors, which influence your academic success. They are: family background, willingness to learn, ability to learn, learning environment and some others. The main factor among the rest, to my mind, is the capability of people who are longing for learning process. Once some man said: â€Å"You can take the horse to the water, but you won’t be able to make it drink†. Those students who have strong desire to learn will always be able to overcome all difficulties of the high-school leaning process. Perseverance is a good quality, which is the guarantee of future competence necessary to achieve all aims. On the other hand, family plays a significant role in high school education. As the matter of fact, the students who come from the families, where learning was of a great value, have better encourage to work, than the rest. Happy families do their best in order to make children concentrate on the learning process, which will eventually lead to the highest results. It is advisable for the parents to lend a helping hand for their kids with their homework. Students’ achievements are usually influenced greatly by the learning environment they are surrounded with. If you have friends with bad manners, you will never be encouraged to become better, while progressive friends will always be able to facilitate improvement of your results more and more. Teachers play an important role in the academic progress of students. With their dedicated teaching they have an opportunity to change pupils for the better. That is why many people think that education is any country’s foundation. All in all, everything is in the students’ hands. Of course, they are not