Reflection 15

The Holocaust was a very dark time in history. However, it is crucial to remember the past in order for it to never repeat itself. I also believe it is important to never forget the past because if we do it is a form of denial and I believe that is to be ignorant. Some people even say that the holocaust never happened. I find this infuriating. How can people say that the holocaust never happened? I think people say it never happened because they may either not want to think something so terrible happened or they may be embarrassed. Some people may have had family members who were a part of the holocaust; and they do not want their family members to suffer the repercussions of their actions. Some people probably say the holocaust never happened because they have friends who were victims or family members who were victims and just want to erase their past from their memories. Whatever the case may be I find it to be distasteful. I know this may sound harsh but given the circumstances no one should ever pretend that the holocaust never happened. People that think like this go through life with no knowledge of what is right or wrong or ever learn about important historic moments. The holocaust did very well happen. It is very offensive to the victims, the victims’ families, and survivors to say it never happened. Those people need to be told something and have them open their eyes in order to make them stop being so close minded. It is very sad to see how some people react toward certain news or any kind of crisis. I think it undermines us as a society and makes us look as if we are ignorant and could care less about what has happened in our history. We should keep on talking about the past and pass it on to our children in order to educate them and to make sure that ignorance does not become something common in society. For future education purposes, it is important to talk about the holocaust because being in denial can change our way of life. It can cause segregation between the Jewish students. Most children of Jewish heritage attend their own schools because they feel most comfortable there. In Miami beach, there is even a museum pertaining to the holocaust and a memorial to pay respects to those who perished during the holocaust. What do people that say it never happened have to say about that? How can one be so blind to something so obvious? It is important to pay our respects the victims deserve and to continue talking about our history.

Relfection 14

Prejudice is around us every single day though we may no notice it. It is something so common it feels like second nature. Prejudice comes from the upbringing the children have from their parents. A child has the tendency to mirror what the parents do and think thus begins the pattern of beliefs whether positive or negative. As children, we learn many stereotypes and do not even question them until we get older and begin to form our own opinions, values, and beliefs. Upon forming our own beliefs and learning from new stereotypes, we begin to form barriers against people that we do not feel are up to par with our standards. Prejudice is just as bad as racism. We segregate and put down people just because of our beliefs that are close-minded. When one is prejudice they are against certain ethnicities, religions, sexual preference and gender etc. Prejudice is something that has been around for a very long time. The first big form of prejudice can date back as early as the holocaust. The Germans were against the Jews as well as anyone who was not fair skinned with light eyes. Following that came during the civil rights movement. People we prejudice against blacks and then women had to fight for their rights. I am not trying to speak badly against cops but you hear it on the news when a cop does something in the wrong against a person. They may beat a person because of their color or ethnicity. Also, they may be prejudice during an investigation which can taint the evidence or outcome or the investigation. In the work place a boss can be prejudice toward their staff. They may give a raise to the male worker instead of the female worker because of their gender. They may treat the female/male lesser than the others and may look for ways to get them in trouble. A teacher can be prejudice against students. The teacher may give a student a wrongful grade based on their personality, sexual preference etc. We need to break from the stereotypes that are poisonous toward society. m Prejudice is something we as a society must strive to get rid of in order to prevent the horrors that have come along with that. It is important that we be careful with prejudice because we never know how far someone can take it. As individuals we should let go of our pride and stop being close minded about certain things in order to benefit ourselves as well as one another.

Reflection 13

After having read both articles Hamachek and self concept and self esteem, I would say that that they are both correct and give a deeper look to a person’s self being. In Hamachek, the article talks about how as we get older, the way we look at ourselves have more depth. If you ask a child of seven years to describe himself/herself, that child will only give you a response that one can see with their eyes. They may talk about their physical appearance, their friends and family. Now ask an older person the same question. They will go more into depth with their answer talking about their beliefs, values, goals etc. The reason being is because as a person gets older they learn more about themselves and their surroundings. You hear it almost every day when a student in high school is asked what their future plans are. Some reply without a minutes haste but the majority are still indecisive. This is what I gathered from this reading. I am twenty three years old and it was not until recently that I finally stuck with a major and sometimes I still feel that I should continue to search for my “true calling.” This is a normal part of being. As we continue to define ourselves and expand our interests, our personality begins to develop. We begin to perceive ourselves and others based on what have grown to like and dislike. In the section of self concept and self esteem, it explains how we feel about ourselves based on our own insight as well as our interaction with others. Self concept comes from our interactions since birth ranging from both physical and environmental surroundings. An example of self concept would be when a child calls themselves lazy. An experience had to have occurred in order for this child to think that way. The child may also have heard it been said by the people they know. I believe that self concept can change by making new positive experiences. Self esteem is a product of self concept. It is the way a person feels about themselves because of our self concepts. A woman who is being abused in her relationship may at first refuse to admit that she is involved with an abusive man. She may not see herself as a battered woman until she is finally freed of the violence. The outcome of this can be that the woman will have low self esteem and it may take some time for that woman to ever trust a man or even want to get into a relationship. Self concept and self esteem are very similar. In order to have a healthy self esteem level, one should surround themselves around positive experiences and perceive themselves in a positive outlook.

Reflection 12

According to the article pertaining to Freud, everything people go through in life from the beginning of birth to the very end, deals with sex and aggression. It all comes down to our instincts and how we have a drive to find someone of the opposite sex in order to procreate. According to Freud, there are many stages we go through. In the beginning we go through a stage called the id stage. This stage would be considered a selfish stage because during this stage the needs of someone (being the baby) are more important than others and does not care nor has any consideration for anyone else. As the child continues to grow they gain the level of the ego. In the stage the child becomes more aware of their surrounding and of other people and their needs. The child becomes more adaptable and considerate of others needs. The child begins to learn patience and understanding. Following this stage is the superego. When a child develops the superego they begin to learn about morals and the difference between right and wrong. I do not know whether or not I agree with Freud’s theory. I do not think that it all leads to sex but I do believe that people do go through different stages. I think some people although do not agree with Freud still consider his theory important because in way he does make sense of things. Freud also talks about how the majority of what we feel all takes part of our subconscious. We are unaware of the majority of things we feel and do. Freud may have been controversial because of what he connected learning with. He connected sex with a part of life and even though sex is a part of life and it is human nature, many people would disagree and find it to be a little disturbing. I believe that people do grow within certain levels and stages through their life and I do believe that we do things acting upon our subconscious. Sometimes what we feel reflects on certain actions we may do. Sometimes a person may not even know they are feeling a certain way and wonder why they are feeling and acting this way. Because of this, I believe that Freud is correct with his theory on having a subconscious level and this level holds the majority of our actions and what we are feeling. This part of our conscious takes a bigger hold than that of what we are fully aware of.

Reflection 11

I think beliefs, values, and attitudes are all important because they all are connected in a way. When someone holds values it is a belief that they hold dearly to them. Attitudes are the actual actions a person does in dealing with their belief. In the article there is a story of a girl who did not attend high school and therefore feels as if the other college students have an advantage over her. This girls however studies six hours every day including weekends and works extremely hard. Her dedication pays off because she is an excellent student. Although this seems like a good thing I feel this is more an obsessed attitude and belief. This young lady will always feel inadequate and feels as if she will fail if she does not continue to study as hard as she does. Sometimes the beliefs we hold can be negative and can affect others. There are some people who will just not accept certain people because of their color or religion. They hold strong beliefs against these people. It is important how to deal with people like this because what happens if there is a student in the classroom who cannot be in the same classroom as a black kid, or a Hispanic kid? This can be detrimental to the entire class because it will cause a negative surrounding and make the students feel uncomfortable. Some attitudes can be triggered by certain emotions they may feel based on their beliefs. This can lead to ganging up on a certain student name calling and physical abuse. I don’t want to say it is the parents fault but most of the time the parents play a huge role with their children having such values. If a parent teaches their children from an early age certain beliefs and with these beliefs and values come fear, the chances of those children turning out to be just like them are very likely. As a child I was always told if I disrespected my parents I would go straight to hell. I know it sounds funny but even now that I am an adult whenever I raise my voice at my parents I suddenly stop because I remember what I was told as a child. However negative, this can have positive outcome. Some parents teach their children positive values which can sometimes rub off onto other people. If a person is willing to change their attitude for the better, this will result in the beginning of multicultural awareness. As a teacher it is important to try and guide the students down the better road in order to have a successful classroom.

Reflection 10

I believe that to become a teacher who leaves an impact on students, once must have talent. I do not think it is just knowing the facts and having lesson plans. You need to keep the interest of students and the younger they are the harder that is. A student must also feel safe in the classroom. The classroom is where they spend a lot of time and many students can feel vulnerable and it is our job as teachers to make them feel comfortable. I agree with the article in all aspects. A teacher should create a safe zone for the students to feel welcome. Also, the way a teacher arranges the student’s desks and her/his desk can have positive results. In choosing a student to speak vs. letting a student volunteer, I think I would ask any students if they had any opinion or wanted to speak out and if I saw that no one was responding I would then call out a student and try to go back and forth during the discussion. Class discussions are always a good way to have the students feel more involved and I believe more students actually understand better and pay more attention because it is an active way of being informed rather than just going to class and having the teacher tell them to open their books to a page and for the entire class do work. A teacher should welcome diversity and not be intimidated by not knowing what to say because he/she does not want to offend anyone. Some teachers may point out a student with a question pertaining to their ethnicity just because they are of that race and it is important not to do so because that will make the student feel uncomfortable and feel offended. Such a question should be left for anyone to answer and give their opinion. Assigning students to do group work is a good way to have students break the ice between on another and it gives them a sense of taking charge and learning how to deal with different ideas and opinions. In my writing class the majority of the work is always done in a group. This group was chosen by the teacher. At first I did not want to be part of the group because I felt like I was being forced into working with people I didn’t know and felt that if someone started to slack I would have to pick up the extra weight. However this did not happen and one of the other students has helped me out tremendously in my work. Sometimes things do not work out so easily but it is important to at least try so that the students can get a sense of working with people just like how it is in the job market. I agreed with this article and I found it to be very helpful and informative for when I have a classroom of my own.

Reflection 9

To have multicultural awareness is not something one can acquire over night. In order to have multicultural awareness, one must be in tune with themselves such as their senses and also in tune with the surroundings around them. Meditation can take affect with multicultural awareness. When a person meditates it is a form of concentration as well as relaxation. In doing so a person focuses all the energy on a positive force and they find inner peace. This can have something to do with multicultural awareness because when a person is aware, it is not just something they say they know because they consider themselves a good person. What I mean by this is a person can say they are no racist or prejudice and they can say they welcome diversity. However, in order for this to be completely true a person should put themselves in another’s shoes. I don’t mean they have to completely change but more like educate themselves in other cultures and have an open mind about the diversity that surrounds them every day. To be conscious does not mean to be awake and see the obvious. It is a form of being aware in depth. According to the passage there are eight levels of consciousness. I find this to be very interesting. The levels vary from different states. The levels vary from right before you go to sleep, to being dull, to being fully aware of your surroundings. I found this article to be very informative. It dipped into the scientific views dealing with the brain and the atoms and physics. Everyone is born with ideals values and beliefs. Every day we are subjected to different experiences meeting new people and learning from one another. We do not necessarily have to agree on everything but as we continue to grow we become more aware of new things and expand our mind. This can benefit people because this can help to become a well rounded human being which is something everyone should strive to become. Some people believe in astronomy. By this I mean some people believe things happen to them when certain stars line up or when there is a change in something dealing with our galaxy. I would not say I agree with this to the extreme but I do believe there are certain energies and auras that surround us making us feel different things. I believe in negative and positive energy and whatever you surround yourself with will be the outcome of what you exude.