Sunday, January 26, 2020

Development of Australian and Aboriginal Education

Development of Australian and Aboriginal Education Australian education had a drastic change in the 1960s, cultural differences became more integrated into the school curriculum. During this time Aboriginal education moved from assimilation to integration. There was the belief that Aboriginals being exposed to white Australian education, would allow them to integrate into mainstream Australian culture. In the past Indigenous students were looked down on and expectations werent very high. However we are now trying to close the gap between white Australian and Indigenous learning (Price, 2015). After watching the video, Djidi Djidi (SBS On Demand, 2011), the video shows Aboriginal and White Australian children playing and learning together. They are learning Aboriginal dancing and native language as well. Even though their NAPLAN (National Assessment Program for Learning and Numeracy) results are low, their participation results are at 88%, which is outstanding. This shows that Aboriginal children thrive in a learning environment that acknowledges their culture and allows them to have a sense of belonging. Education is a key factor that is known to build resilience and has potential to improve outcomes for Aboriginal children. Improving rates of participation and attainment of Indigenous people in the Education system are key strategies to improve their learning, however closing the gap on Aboriginal learning doesnt come without its barriers. (Educating Aboriginal Children, 2016). Some of the reasons that contribute to Aboriginal children not succeeding at school, compared to non-indigenous children, are their accessibility to schools (particularly in remote areas), inability to afford education, inappropriate teaching resources, overcrowded living circumstances leading to lack of nutrition and sleep which in turn leads to learning difficulties, not enough Indigenous teachers and resources to relate to and also the parents of these children might have bad memories from their own education, which they have imprinted into their childrens minds, creating a natural fear before they may have even started their learning. There has been an ongoing debate as to whether it is better to educate Indigenous children in their own communities or whether it is better to remove Indigenous children to boarding schools where they can access Western-style education and be saturated in the English language. A positive from this, is that Indigenous students learn to integrate into society and develop their language skills, but a negative is that they lose their Indigenous language and culture from within their community. . (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tony Calma Social Justice Report 2008, p. 95). This is why the Djidi Djidi school is so fantastic, as they have incorporated both into their school curriculum. Overall the main emphasis for learning in primary school education is developing basic language literacy and numeracy skills, health and social education, and being creative. Primary schooling focuses on developing these aspects and also provides additional opportunities to study other areas. Although the issues relating to Indigenous education are complex, its important that educators have the ability to think critically about Indigenous education, perspectives and pedagogy. Teachers play a positive role in helping to improve the education outcomes of Indigenous students and children and to do that it is necessary to address factors across the whole community, home, school and the student themselves so that all students are able to engage and learn. Assessing the Stolen Generation families and their history, it sheds light that Aboriginal history is Australias history (Singleton, 2006). The importance of teaching a shared and comprehensive view on Australian history cannot be emphasized more. Teachers that understand Australias past, can help students understand their present, which also helps to shape their future (Wilson-Miller, 2003). The chart below displays 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning, see below- (Share Learn Together, 2016) The chart above, displays an inventive way for Indigenous students to find a common ground through learning in the classroom. Educators can use this framework to teach core curriculum subjects using Aboriginal perspectives and learning techniques. This diagram can also benefit teachers on their pedagogical thinking. It is not only important for teachers to have an understanding of Aboriginal culture but to also have an understanding of the students in the classroom. Schools play a huge role in Aboriginal children finding their own personal identities, finding connections with the other children and also finding a connection with Australian society (Phillips Lampert, 2005). Notions and practices such as the Stolen Generation, have shaped Indigenous lives, but also affected their perceptions through later lives as well. These intuitive understandings are very difficult to change (Leonard, 2002), but in a learning environment where children can feel connected to their culture, heritage and country but also be proud of who they are and where they came from, is a massive push toward a positive outcome.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Proposing a Solution: Bullying Essay

Bullying among American elementary, middle and high school students is a growing problem. Bullying has been defined many ways, by many people. One definition is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power. (stopbullying.org). Bullying is a very negative act and honestly needs to be stopped. This essay will provide my solution for the growing bullying problem in our schools. Over the years, bullying has become more and more of a problem. More children are becoming victims of this often tragic problem today than ever before. Honestly, anyone can become a victim of bullying but there has been a rise in bullying among LGTB, lesbian-gay-transgendered-bi-sexual, students, as well as children who are considered to be of special needs. (Bullying statistics). There are many causes for bullying, which in order to be able to handle and fix the problem, must be dealt with before a solution can take effect. These causes may include: poverty, problems or abuse within the home, a feeling of power from age or body size, provocative or â€Å"annoying† victims, and a need to feel better about themselves as a person. (Cheever, Jenny). Bullying, especially in schools is a serious problem that occurs almost on a daily basis. Bullying can happen anywhere and at any time. In schools it can happen on the playground, the cafeteria, hallways, buses and even in the classroom. Bullying is serious and can lead to many often tragic problems. Sadly, bullying happens more than people really want to believe. According to studies shown on Bullying Statistics.org, at least 60% of middle school children say they have been bullied, only 16% of their teachers actually believe students are bullied, and 160,000 students who have been or are bullied stay at home each day because of bullying. (Bullying statistics.org). Bullying is becoming more and more extreme. More students are taking drastic measures because they feel they have no one to turn to. According to the center for disease control, suicide is the third leading cause of death among school aged children today. (Bullying statistics.org). In fact, according to several studies, 20% of high school students have seriously considered suicide in the last year as an option alternate to being bullied, almost 7% have actually attempted it, and suicide results in about 4,400 deaths per year among young people. (Burns, Tim). The need for bullying to be stopped is strong, and the only way this can be achieved is if parents, students, and educators as a whole begin working together. Students can help solve the bullying problem by banding together and reporting any incidents of bullying they see, including kids who seem like outcasts into their friendship circles, also using the acronym â€Å"steer clear†: Stick up for one another, Travel in a group, Empathize, Explore your choices, Resist using fists, Calm down, Leave, Enlist the help of others, Assert yourself, and Report incidents could help tremendously. Parents can help by: talking to their children, keeping lines of communication between themselves, their kids and the schools open, developing a personal safety plan and empowering their kids to openly talk about bullying with teachers and administrators. Schools can ultimately eradicate bullying by: promoting tolerance within the school and community, create anti-bullying policies in both the classroom and the school, teach students how to handle bullying the right way, and what I believe to be the most important solution; teaching students and teachers alike the importance of stopping and reporting bullying immediately. (Thinkquest.org). Bullying is extremely negative and honestly needs to be stopped as soon as possible, I think if we all band together and do what we can to implement these solutions we can end this problem immediately.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Aaron Douglas. Bio Essay

Aaron Douglas ?â€Å"Aaron Douglas was an African American painter and graphic artist who played a leading role in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. His first major commission, to illustrate Alain Leroy Locke’s book, The New Negro, prompted requests for graphic from other Harlem Renaissance writers. By 1939, Douglas started teaching at Fisk University, where he remained for the next 27 years (Biography 1). † He made numerous contributions at Fisk University. ?On May 26, 1899, Aaron Douglas was born in Topeka, Kansas. During his time in the Harlem Renaissance, Douglas helped to guide the artistic and literary movement. He is sometime referred to as the ‘Father of Black American Art. Douglas developed an interest in art early on, finding some of his inspiration from his mother’s love for painting watercolors (Biography 1). † Proceeding graduation in 1917 from Topeka, Kansas, Douglas enrolled in the University of Nebraska, which is also know n as Lincoln. â€Å"There he pursued his passion for creating art, earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1922 (Biography 1). † At the same time, he connected with students of Lincoln High School in Kansas City, Missouri to share his interest of art with them.After two years of bonding with his pupils, Douglas decided to migrate to New York City. New York’s Harlem neighborhood had a thriving art scene; therefore it would not take any time for Douglas to get use to New York.? Reaching New York in 1925, Douglas swiftly became familiar with the Harlem’s cultural life. He began his career in New York as an apprentice for Winold Reiss, a German artist whom he met through Charles S. Johnson. Being an apprentice for Reiss only lasted two years before he continued on to became the editor of Opportunity, the National Urban League’s magazine. Through his covers for Opportunity and The Crisis, Douglas set forth a new vision for the black artists. His strong, ge ometric forms and Egyptian profiles resulted in a style later described by cultural critic and educator Richard Powell as ‘Afro-Cubism (Aiga 1). † In 1926, Douglas finally stepped up to the plate and married Alta Sawyer. Mrs. Alta was a teacher as well. Their home became a social Mecca for the likes of Langton Hughes and W. E. B. Du Bois. â€Å"Around the same time, Douglas loaned his talents to the first and only issue of Wallace Thurman’s magazine FIRE!! nd later designed the cover of Thurman’s short-lived magazine Harlem (Aiga 1). † With Douglas reputation for creating compelling graphics, he became an in-demand illustrator for many writers (Biography 1). † A few of Douglas popular illustrations consist of James Weldon Johnson’s poetic work, God’s Trombone (1927), and Paul Morand’s Black Magic (1929). â€Å"In addition to Douglas illustration work, he explored educational opportunities; after receiving a fellowship from the Barnes Foundation in Pennsylvania, he took time to study African and modern art (Biography 1). This experience led him to creating some of his best-known paintings in the 1930s. Meanwhile, Douglas was hired to produce a mural for the library at Fisk University. Continuing to broaden his horizon, Douglas spent time in Paris, where he studied with Charles Despiau and Othon Friesz. â€Å"Back in New York, in 1933, Douglas had his first solo art show. Soon after, he started one of his most legendary works – a series of murals entitled â€Å"Aspects of Negro Life† that featured four panels, each depicting a different part of the African-American experience.Each mural included a captivating mix of Douglas’s influences, from jazz music to abstract and geometric art (Biography 2). † ? Returning to Fisk University in the late 1930s, Douglas served as an assistant professor, and shortly after he founded the school’s art department. Because Douglas was v alued his educational responsibilities, he attend Columbia University’s Teachers College in 1941, and completed three years earning a master’s degree in art education. â€Å"He also established the Carl Van Vechten Gallery at Fisk and helped secure vital works for it collection, including pieces by Winold Reiss and Alfred Steiglitz (Biography 2). Outside of his works in his classroom, Douglas remained committed to learning and growing as an artist. â€Å"He received a fellowship from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation in 1938, which funded his painting trip Haiti and several other Caribbean islands. He later won other grants to support his artistic endeavors (Biography 2). † Douglas had several solo exhibits over the years from his continuation to produce new works. ?Douglas received countless honors during his later years. â€Å"In 1963, he was invited by President John F.Kennedy to attend a celebration of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, held at the White House. Douglas also earned and honorary doctorate from Fisk University in 1973, seven years after his retirement from the school (Biography 2). † He still remained an active painter and lecturer until the end of his life. On September 2, 1979, Douglas passed away at the age of 79, in a Nashville hospital. According to some reporters, he died of a pulmonary embolism. â€Å"Pulmonary embolism is a sudden blockage in a lung artery. The blockage usually is caused by a blood clot that travels to the lung from a vein in the leg (NIH 1). ? After Douglas death, a special memorial service was held for him at Fisk University, where he taught for nearly 30 years. â€Å"At the service, Walter J. Leonard, the university’s president at the time, remembered Douglas with the following statement: ‘Aaron Douglas was one of the most accomplished of the interpreters of our institutions and cultural values. He captured the strength and quickness of the young; he translate d the memories of the old; and projected the determination of the inspired and courageous (Biography 2). †

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Difference in Metaphysics Between Aristotle and Kant

What is the central difference between metaphysics as Kant conceives it, and metaphysics as Aristotle conceives it? Argue in support of one or the other view. Metaphysics is usually taken to involve both questions of what is existence and what types of things exist; in order to answer either questions, one will find itself using and investigating the concepts of being. Aristotle proposed the first of these investigations which he called ‘first philosophy’, also known as ‘the science of being’ however overtime his writings came to be best known as ‘Metaphysics’ in which he studied being qua being with a central theme of how substance may be defined as a category of being. Kant who is a nominalist criticized both Aristotelian and therefore†¦show more content†¦Although book Epsilon is rather brief, it shows a return to the science of being qua being and also passes some remarks on truth. â€Å"If there any immovable substances, then the science which deals with them must be prior, and it must be primary philosophy† (Loux, 2006, p14). This shows that the immoveable substances are diviniti es. Book Zeta appears to restrict our subject matter in a rather different way: ‘the question which, both now and in the past, is continually posed and continually puzzled over is this: what is being? That is to say, what is substance?’ This question defines the nature of Aristotle’s inquiries, at least for a large part of the Metaphysics, and it thus offers a fourth account of the study or science of metaphysics.â€Å"The science of first principles, the study of being qua being, theology, the investigation into substance – four compatible descriptions of the same discipline? Perhaps there is no one discipline which can be identified as Aristotelian Metaphysics? And perhaps this thought should not disturb us: we need only recall that the metaphysics was composed by Andronicus rather than by Aristotle. But the four descriptions do have at least one thing in common: they are dark and obscure† (Ross, 1996, p174). 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