WebLog V: Canaan Ch. 1-2

Why is there such a high drop out rate among first year teachers? Is there anything that can be done about it?

The new teachers are faced with teaching students coming from the poorest communities. The new teachers are overwhelmed with the workload. They are new to the building and feel uncomfortable asking for help from veteran teachers. The new teachers become stressed and change their profession. I think a lot can be done about the situation. One thing I think would help is if all teachers in upper class districts and poor districts received the same salary. However, because upper class districts pay more money they hire more experienced teachers and the beginning teachers are stuck working in poor districts. Another way to help the drop rate is if student teachers had to get hired in the same district they student taught at would help beginning teachers feel more comfortable in their building.

In chapter 2, Vanessa, a teacher in the TFD program was very discouraged by amount of minority teachers in the program. Do you think the history of her education made her feel discouraged?

I think her history of education made her feel discouraged. She grew up Atlanta, which has a dominant African American culture. She also attended a historically African American college. The TFD program did not have a racially diverse set of teachers. However, I think the problem was her in-exposure to diversity. She always grew up in African American communities and attended an African American college. I am not sure how her teacher education program was handled but it seems that she had little experience working with Caucasians. I think because she was never exposed to Caucasians I could not consider her to have a diverse understanding of all children. She only knew how work with her own race.

WebLog IV: Spring Ch. 3

What is the difference between and an enslaved Creole and an indentured servant?

Indentured servants were usually white males. They were instructed to live with a master for about seven years to learn a trade, skill or occupation. The servant worked for his master for the designated time period and once the time period was fulfilled

A Creole is considered to be a person of mixed European and African descent. Creoles were the first slaves to be brought to Jamestown in 1618. Creoles were brought to America and socially they already fit in with the general public. Creoles mostly spoke European languages and understood European culture. Socially the Creoles were considered equal to an indentured servant and worked side by side with indentured servants. However, a Creole could not just work for a master for an extended period of time. A Creole had to buy his or her freedom from their master.

Think of a person who fought for education for the African American people. Describe the philosophy and strategies this person used to help fight for educating African Americans in America.

Booker T. Washington was an African American who fought for educational rights for African Americans in America. Washington was supporter of segregated schooling. He opened the Tuskegee Institute where African Americans could gain an education. Washington believed to gain in freedom for his people, African Americans must gain acceptance from the “white” or European people in America. He believed white people viewed African Americans as uncivilized. At Tuskegee African Americans were taught how to read and write. However, B.T. Washington put an emphasis on hygiene, morals, work habits, and taught African Americans how to perform menial labor jobs. He thought if African Americans learned how to be clean and learn how to do good quality labor work then the white community would accept them as valuable.

WebLog III: Zinn

Zinn’s approach to history is to “emphasize new possibilities by disclosing the hidden episodes of the past when, even if in brief flashes, people showed their ability to resist, to join together, occasionally to win.” Zinn uses historiography when he adds the excerpts from the journal of Columbus and Cortez. Through these writings it reveals the sentiment feelings the Europeans had towards the Indians. Europeans of this time period believed the Indians to be savages, uncivilized, with no religion, and no hierarchy of power. However, Zinn does describe how the Natives were quite advanced, they grew corn, made rubber, had priests, elected leaders, women and men were equal, and children did not get beat for punishment like Europeans. Zinn approaches history to uncover both sides of the story to reveal how the Natives were persecuted and how their rich culture were unnoticed by the first Europeans.
The curriculumn guide developed by the National Museum of the Native American approaches their history in a watered down conservative manner. The curriculum focuses on mostly treaties and does discuss some war, bloodshed, and diseases brought over by the Europeans. However, I think the guide still filters to much of the truth because it is less graphic and never describes the genocides Europeans put the Native Americans through which eventually destroyed their culture.
What would America look like if the Native Americans and Europeans lived together, peacefully? And how would the complete history of America be changed?