Blog 10

Wollstonecraft, Kozol, and Woodson

1.) The pernicious effects talked about is what was done to women.  Wollstonecraft talks about the fact that women do not have the same rights as men do.  Society was run by men which is why this evil was able to be done.  Women had no way to stand up for themselves so they accepted that they were inferior and that was harmful to a whole group of people because no one should be considered less a person for any reason, especially because of their gender.

2.) At the time of this essay, women were considered to be property.  They were not able to make a much money as men, they were told they needed a man in order to survive, and men told women what to do in every situation.  Because of this, women were seen as inferior.  Wollstonecraft argued against this and said women should have the same rights and opportunities as men.

3.) I believe the way women are treated do affect how they act in society.  For so long they were oppressed and told they were inferior.  For just as long they believed that and were willing to go along with it because they were told that is right.  Eventually after a long time they started questioning it and since then women learned what is right and are willing to fight for it because they now know the truth.  If women were now treated equal they wouldn't be so loud in their fight for equality.

4.) Kozol says diversity in schools is pretty much non-existant.  Teachers teach about the civil rights movement but they don't talk about the fact that most schools still don't have a lot of diversity.  Kozol said that we need to pay attention to the segregation we are still facing.  To me, diversity is a mix of a bunch of different people of race, gender, economical status, beliefs, and sexual orientation, in a certain area.  I don't believe schools have reach full diversity since there are a lot of classes I have been in that are only white people of middle to upper class status.  Until we experience more diversity, we won't learn how to be more excepting of everyone.

5.) Woodson meant that African Americans in this country can become educated but not in the correct way.  They are taught how to conform to white culture because schools do not teach that blacks are considered equal.  They are taught throughout history that they were inferior until they decided to fit into white culture and then they received some freedom.  No schooling teaches that the African American citizens can have their own culture without being looked down upon.  That is why Woodson said African Americans can be educated but they won't learn the truth behind black history.

Blog week 10

     Montessori and Dewey






1.) The basis is freedom for the students.  The students can learn in multiple ways and are respected.  It helps them feel important and in turn encourages them to learn.  Also the students are encouraged to use hands on learning which just helps them learn in ways outside of just sitting in a classroom.

2.)  The classroom must be an environment that is comfortable for the students.  Being comfortable helps encourage the students to stay focused an absorb as much information as they can.  The more fun the classroom the more excited the students will be to come learn.

3.)  The children have to have freedom in order to gain the most out of their education.  Once they learn the information they need to be free to go use it in hands on work or in the real world.  Children will be more willing to use what they learn if they have the freedom to use the knowledge how they want.

4.)  He says thinking in education means that you have to grow and learn through the classroom.  In order to think fully and critically, one has to have experiences that go with the learning and the best way to get that is through hands on learning.

5.)  In order for students to have thinking in education their must be topics that interest them so they stay invested in learning.  They also must have hands on activities that cause them to use problem solving.  Finally, they must be able to apply the new knowledge to the real world in order have a full understanding of what they have learned.

6.)  Dewey supports the idea of an interactive and social learning.  Learning has to come from hands on work in order to have the interactive learning. However, learning also has to come from others and working with others.  One of the best ways to learn is by learning from those around you.

Blog 9 - Smith

Adam Smith

1.) Smith wrote his book in order to say that to fix the wealth of a country you have to start with the country.  Products are made from the supplies in the country so in order to make more products the country needs more supplies.  Smith was also right that wealth comes from the country not the town so in order to make the individual more wealthy, the country has to be wealthier.  Smith does a good job to satisfy my curiosity of how a nation becomes wealthier and he explains it is a good way.

2.) In today's society, we do not see our wealth in the terms of land. We see wealth based on how big your house is, how nice your car is, the brand of clothes you wear, and the investments you have.  The wealthy find a secure capital investments in the things they invest in because that is what will make them more wealthy and rich people like to make themselves richer.

3.) In some ways Smith was right.  We do have a huge dependence on farming in order to grow things and feed the country.  The cities do depend on the country for products and the country depends on the cities for supplies.  However, in today's world the U.S. depends on manufacturing just as much.  Manufacturing supplies a lot for the country and contributes to a lot of the money for the country.  In turn we rely on foreign trade to supply fuel for the country.  While we do rely on farming, we also need manufacturing and foreign trade in order to run the country to the best it can be.

Blog week 7 - Galbraith and Reich

              Reich and Galbraith

1.) I would say that the United States is an affluent society.  The country has more wealth than any other country in the world.  Our military is very strong and we have resources other countries don't have.  We have some of the richest people in the world living in our country.  The U.S. has the power to help other countries since we are one of the most affluent countries in the world.  Our founding fathers would be proud of the wealth this country has acquired and of the power we hold in the world today.  An affluent country is one that has the ability to help other countries because they have more resources and has a better ability to help.  Since we have the power to help, it is our responsibility to help.

2.) I feel it is the government's job to provide jobs for the people of the country.  However, it is up to the citizens to go out and get those jobs.  We need to have enough jobs that everyone can have a job if they so decide to go out and make a living for themselves.  If opportunities dry up for people, the government does need to help by creating new jobs for them.  It is important the government does this because this country can only remain affluent if the middle class is strong and a shortage of jobs will weaken the country, like the recession we experienced recently.