Reflection #20

When it come to understanding what intersexuality is I believe its when either a male or female looks like it’s original origin sex but internally carries other organs that can pertain to another sex. I also have an understanding that this can happen in 1 out of a thousand people and there can be a wide selection of these types of intersexuality’s. After reading the stories on the different intersexual cases, I am pretty shocked to see how many cases there really are around the world. For example, the cases that really catch my attention was the one on Berdache Jordan. Bardache was born with two birth certificates. The parents gave it a female and a male name because they really couldn’t identify the right sex. As Berdache grow older was faced with the decision to choose whether to be male or female? Berdache’s choice was male. Although as a child he was abused and used for scientific matters he actually enjoined being the center of attention. However, all his life wasn’t that bad he in fact he was happily married twice to two good looking women. It’s nice to see how he didn’t let that fact that he was an intersexual affect his life in general. I personality don’t know what I would do if I was faced with this situation of having a child that was an intersexual. I guess I would have to say I would most probably wait until he or she was old enough to make the decision of who they want to be in life cause in reality who am I to choose for another.

On the other hand, my understanding of Tran-sexuality is that, it’s when an individual feels there sexuality is different than the one they really are. In result of this they dress as the other sex and act as the other sex. Some transsexuals actually go as far as surgery to enhance there appearance to the sex they deeply feel inside. In my opinion I believe that these individuals have the right to do whatever they feel, if they feel they want to be a female and not a male go for it. Everyone should have the freedom to do what he or she wants. I actually have met people who are transsexuals. Last year I celebrated my 21st birthday at a restaurant named Lips. Lips is a drag queen restaurant were all transsexuals go to dine. I honestly had a great time with these transsexuals, they made me feel great. I personality done judge these people for what they do, especially if it’s something that makes them feel good inside. Overall, I give props to have the courage to come out and face the world no matter what.

Reflection #19

To begin with, the articles on Homosexuality were very educational. I really liked the way it was broken down to give you a better understanding on varies types of sexual orientations. The different sexual orientations like Homosexuality, Lesbianism and Bisexuality are now starting to be common fashion around the world. Now a days our environment has become open to these different sexual orientations. More and more homosexual, lesbian and bisexuals are coming out of the closet as we say. However, I personality believe these individuals are born this drive of being homosexuals or lesbian, etc.

When I was in high school, my school was infamous for having a lot of Homosexual, lesbian and bisexuals. I remember going down the halls and I’d see girls kissing girls and vise versa. I also remember these kids being discriminated against and called names like Lesbo and fagot. I don’t know how these kids even had the bravery to be public about there different sexual preference. The problem is that even though they are coming out society is still being discriminative towards these Homosexuals. I honestly don’t know how these individuals have the courage to still want to be gay under the circumstances going on in our society. Not only are there a number of prejudices going on but, people not accepting these different sexual preferences. Overall, what this causes is a these homosexuals to be uncomfortable under these circumstances and in result they fall into depression which can lead to suicide. This is why we should not judge anyone.

In conclusion, I personality try not to judge these individuals who have a different sexual favoritism than the one I do. Everyone should be treated equality whether they are homosexual, bisexual, black or white. We are all created to be equal in this world. I believe everyone has the right to choose what they want to be and who they want to be with, it whatever make them happy. What our society needs to do is stop discriminating against these individual that just want to be who they are without getting discriminated. I honestly hope that in the near future this situation gets solves so that everyone gets the chance to be free and pleased with who they really are.

Survey Reflection

The surveys were very attention-grabbing. While filling them out I personality learned a lot of things I never really thought of but it also may my question a few things I did know. The first survey on mind, body and spirit was one that really made me think deeper. This survey ask things base on your opinion of the mind, body and spirit. This was one that really puzzled me with how the body is compared to a piece of matter and how the mind can be an unplanned product of biochemistry like if we were some type of science project. The next survey on the way we were raised and what we have learned from our parents was also interesting. It made me think back to when I was young and how my parents use to tell me right from wrong and what to believe in. For example, my parents raised me to be Catholic yet as an adult I no longer am Catholic I’m a Christian now.

In addition when it comes to the surveys on the beliefs towards men and women I have to say I enjoyed toughs. However, in my opinion the questioned asked all depends on the reader. For instance, if a woman reads the one on men they would most likely agree to everything on the survey as well for a man answering the one towards a woman. The reason for this is because of there perspective towards he or she. By that said I don’t think that these surveys in particular would be answer fairly. On the other hand, the survey on sex and gender was one’s that totally entertained me. They ask the weirdest things on homosexuality and transsexuals but in the same token I find amusing. This survey reminds me of things I see on a daily based. Now a day’s its ok to be gay or lesbian it’s our freedom rights. The survey in which I found the most Controversial was the one on race. Of course it mentions discrimination and racism. It questions us on the different racial groups and different social classes. Lastly, the one on political typology was on where we fit in the political world. I personality am not very into the government but after taking it I fit into the Disaffected, which means I am deeply cynical about government and I take financial pressure personally. We are also concerned with immigration and environmental policies and are not really interested in the news. Overall I guess I can agree to what they say it’s pretty true.

In Conclusion, these surveys really opened my eyes in certain things I had in question myself. I also learned things I never even knew about. I find these surveys helpful and believe that everyone should take them, you might learn something you never knew.

Reflection #18

The article on the tale of two islands was very interesting. Although this article was controversial, I learned about the Haitian and Cuban rights. In the article you discover how Cuba and Haiti were once a free country. I personality feel that the immigration policies in the United States are totally incorrect. The policy states that Haitian citizens aren’t allowed the same rights as Cuban citizens. That is being discriminative toward the Haitian people. The two islands are catch up in a geographical issue. For example, if a Cuban citizen and come to America you are allowed to stay here which is known as the “Dry foot, Wet foot” yet if you are Haitian you would be transported back to Haiti. To my understanding the United States has an agreement with Cuba, but it’s not fair to have an agreement with Cuba and not Haiti. I feel that we should be equally fair with the Haitian citizens as well. After all they all come here for the same reasons, to be free. The sad part is that many Cuban as well as Haitian die on there voyage towards freedom. Honestly how can the United States be so callous towards Haitians?An event that took place during this whole Cuban release was the Mariel boat lift. I remember some my family coming on these boats and they told me that is was dangerous. The whole issue was that Fidel was giving the freedom to Cubans who no longer want to stay in Cuba and let them leave at there on risk. However, the Mariel boat lift was composed of prisoners, criminals and people again the Revolution. Therefore, he really wasn’t making a fair deal; what he really was doing was sending all the bad criminals to the United States. I wish that one day in the future all these immigration issue change for the better. Maybe in the near future we can all be equivalent to one another.
In conclusion, there shouldn’t be any type of preference towards a particular nationality. Everyone should be treated equally and fair. In general what it boils down to is that there will always be some type of discrimination and racism happening. At the end of the day what we don’t want is to have these events happen again in time.

Extra Credit Emmett til

To start off the story on Emmett Til, has to be the cruelest case I have ever read. This is a story that really has impacted my life, especially because of the violence done to such a young harmless child. Despite the fact that Mississippi was such a segregated state, I feel that the Supreme Court could of handle this case differently. Emmett was just a young boy who wasn’t aware of the rules of Mississippi. Even though, it was rude for a black person to make any type of gesture towards a white women or man I believe what was done to him was uncalled for and inhumane. The murders known as Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam should have just warned Emmett due to the fact of him being a child. However, since they were so racist they couldn’t hold back and decided to brutally murder him. They felt that this would serve as a message to all black folks.

The way Emmett was killed was totally vindictive. How can these men have the nerve to harm a child the way they did. By that said I strongly disagree in the way the murders were trialed in this case. The court let them out as not guilty, in which I feel they failed to seek real justice for Emmett Till’s Murder. But then again the court was made up of white Caucasian so they were on the killers side what else can you expect.

In addition, I have total respect for Emmett’s mother. She had the will power to have an open casket so that the whole world would be able to see what had been done to her son. This takes a lot of courage for a mother to see her son like this. Yet her purpose was to let people know how brutally they murdered her child and so that it wouldn’t occur to anyone else. By her doing this now the world was able to really see how bad racism really was.

In conclusion, this case on Emmett Til was one that will be remembered forever. In which made a difference in the world. Emmett wasn’t the first of his kind to be murdered but was the first to be announced publically. I think and feel as he died a hero!

Reflection # 17

After reading these articles on Race & Racism I am very impacted with the way this country acted and still act towards blacks. I still don’t understand why this country was so segregated due to racial issues, aren’t we all created equal. Does it really make a difference the color of a person skin? The word race is a self-identification in which represents your ethnicity whether you are Hispanic, American or of other origin. Race plays a big part in racial discrimination and leads to prejudice. Looking back to events and indents that took place due to racism you can see how it affected our society. The event that really has impacted me the most has to be the case of Emmet Til. Emmet was just a young black boy that just for whistling at a white woman was brutally tortured and killing. After seeing the way these white men persecuted this young black boy I was shocked not only by the way they murdered him but by the way the court didn’t prosecute these men as guilty. How can a person be capable of murdering someone in this cruel way, and not be sentenced to death, was it necessarily?

In addition, he was not the only one who was exterminated by white prejudice folks. Mack Parker was a victim who was lynching. He was accused of raping a white woman. On the other hand, because of these events rights were passed and segregation was somewhat stopped. I honestly look up to the black people to gave there lives to make a difference in this society. For example, the famous black leader Martin Luther King who was shot to death for trying to make a difference through the American civil rights movement. Rosa Parks also played a part in this civil rights movement by not wanting to sit in the back of the bus. She was tried of not standing up for what was right and decided to sit in the front and make a difference.

In conclusion, the events that occurred in this point in time have to be the most inhumane things that happened but due to them society has change in a way. Even though this society might seem to be united we still have people who still discriminate our and who are racist against blacks. In my opinion everyone needs to stop being so racist and learn on how to be united and not segregated. But we first need to start by understanding that there are different cultural groups out there.

Reflection # 16

I honestly didn't enjoy reading about the articles on Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide. I felt like the article's really didn't catch my attention. Eventhough the articles deal with extermination of people occuring around the world. I feel that the events taking place are extremely inhuman and brutal. Do you really think us humans should have to be put through such torture? What I gained from reading these articles is the pattern of Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in these places like Rwanda, Bosnia, and darfur are unnecessary practices. If you think abot\ut it why do they do these things to humans how can people be so cruel in this world. It's like poeple rather fight for money than stoping all these killings going on in the world. It's funny what people can do for money as it is. The love for money can really influence a person.
In addition, as a read I feel that Rwanda and Dalfar are countries in which didn't recieve help due to the fact that the country was made up of colored people. It was the segregation and discrimination going on at the time. The government was the first to not care of all the murders happening to these African American. All the white folks guilty for these acts would not even be charged. However, this started changing once African American put there foot down and started standing up for there rights. For instance, they began protesting against bus services not letting them sit in the front of the bus, also boycotting against the school system for the segragation. Once the government saw what was happening they decided to pass laws so that everyone is equal, which changed society. By that said white American weren't to happy yet they had no choose rather than to have to become united.
In conclusion, all these article show us the discrimination and segregation as well as racism happening all over the world. It exist everywhere not just in the America's and the most popular places are were they African American's are located. I'm glad that eventhough there is still racism and dricrimination going on in this world African American are as equal as white folks and that is one thing they need to understand so that we can form a united nation.

Reflection # 14

Well I would like to start off by saying how so far I have never read articles so strong and deep regarding prejudice. All these articles have beyond a doubt influenced me on how there is so much negative behavior towards colored people. Discrimination has to be the most malicious form of treating someone however, prejudice people don’t care about the harm they cause because they go by what they believe in. In my opinion all the killings due to race, color of there skin or just because there are not accepted in a community is inhumane. For example, after watching the movie of Emmet Til, I gain knowledge of how segregated we were back then. The fact that blacks were not allowed to do certain things as well as go certain places white forks could. I honesty feel the prejudice that was done to the young boy Emmet was the most brutal act anyone can receive. How can people even do such a thing to a young boy just being a kid? The whole problem here was that he was black therefore; they had to do what they were though to do which was to kill any black person who didn’t follow certain rules.

I remember when I went on vacation to North Carolina and there were white American forks looking at me like if I was not from here as if I didn’t belong. I felt a little wired around them and I asked my step mom which was from there why were they looking at me in such a way. She told me that to them I was considered an outsider and they don’t like the fact they you are not like them. I respond to her and said but how? I was born in America doesn’t that make me American just like them and she said yes but the color of your skin is not as fair as theirs is and they consider you to be of Hispanic descent. I was in shock to see how still after everything and all the rights that have passed and still these people are discriminating instead of trying to be a united nation.

As we know prejudice is learned through our parents and the education we receive. Our parents play an important part in what they teach us to believe and go by. For that reason, we need to make sure that all parents are aware of all the cultural differences. Now a day’s kids are more aware of the types of cultures due to a diverse classroom. Overall I have to agree with Jim Cole and what he has to say. He believes that we need a change in society and in our education to help reduce this prejudice behavior going on in the world. As a result, in order to stop the discrimination happening, we need to reorganize the way our society thinks towards different cultural backgrounds.

Reflection # 15

Well to begin with the topic of the Holocaust makes me very emotional. All my life I have read about this horrible massacre that took place in Germany known as the Holocaust. I honestly feel that this cruel event changed the world completely.I remember when I was in midle school my teacher brought in a Holocaust guess speaker to tell us how he survived this terrible incident that happened in German. I can also remember me crying because of all the cruel things he had to go through. It all started with a man named Adolf Hitler. Hitler was a German politician and leader of the Nazi’s, who murdered over 6 million Jews. Hitler had a vision of the perfect race, which meant that those Jews who did not have blue eyes and blonde hair were to be exterminated. This is how the holocaust all started. Hitler’s German army Known as the Nazi’s would capture all these poor people and would either murder them or send them to concentration camps. Concentration camps were camps in which Jews were tortured. Millions of Jews died in these camps due to malnutrition, diseases, mistreatment or just having them executed because there were not fit to work. For example, they would make them work like slaves and not even feed them food. In addition, these Jews were tagged like items. For instance, they would tattoo a number in there inner waist.
This situation reminds me somewhat of Cuba. In Cuba Fidel runs the country his way as a dictatorship and no one can do anything about it. Therefore citizens’s have no rights and have to live under these rules like slaves. For example, he holds the control of the amount of food people get in every house hold by using a little book. This book is given to each house hold in order to receive the monthly there monthly food. Depending on the number of family members living in the house is the amount of food you get which never is enough. In Cuba families have to work twice as hard just to survive these circumcises. In my opinion no one should have to go through these situations. All these things that took place in this point in time were inhumane. We should all be able to be free and just be a united nation. But unfortunately, life is not like that however, we should try to make this world a better place and learn from the past events.

Service Learning Reflection

While working on my Service Learning hours I was able to observe and gain some insight on how a diverse classroom should be obtained. Throughout the hours I watched the different ways the teacher demonstrated effective teaching in regards to diverse students. The following were my observations. In the classroom the teacher has a set of high standards and expects the students to rise up to these standards, yet he treats all students with respect and dignity. This classroom was made up of 100% Hispanics but from different countries. Each country has its own Culture and unique customs. Therefore, the teacher has established an atmosphere of respect and courtesy towards all the students. After all we can learn from one another. As for recognizing different learning styles, the teacher places the students into small groups by reading level. When guided reading is taking place the teacher works with the small groups and adjusts his teaching to the different learning styles. For example, there are students who are visual learners some who are auditory and some who are just hands on.

Throughout the class the teacher is always instructing all students. First they have an entire group instruction where the teacher explains the benchmark or skill that will be learned. Then gives the opening lesson and goes on to guided reading or independent work. In the classroom the teacher has a good relationship with the students providing an open climate making them feel safe when asking questions and also having a healthy exchange of ideas among them. In addition to the classroom being all Hispanic, it is also an Esol class with various levels including ESE non Esol students as well. However, the teacher still provides material for this diverse population. For instance, there is the reading series which includes the vocabulary and a reading library to go along with the story. These are written at the lower level to adapt to the student’s capability. Therefore, he applies different Esol strategies throughout the lessons as well as modifies the curriculum when necessary.

In conclusion, I believe that the instructor is extremely sensitive to the cultural diversity in his classroom. The material that he uses represents the various cultures present in the class. For instance, in the curriculum there are stories about different countries and cultures. Overall I had a great experience which helped me gain some knowledge on how to handle a diverse classroom.

Reflection # 13

After reading the articles the most important concept I intook was bow we care what society thinks of us. It's like we care about what poeple have to say of us and how they see us as a person. as we grow up self esteem and our self concept play a significant role in our lives. I remember being in high school and it was all about joining the popular groups and knowing everyone. I was one of those students always trying to fit into those types of groups. For example, I got myself into cheerleading squad just to be a part of the popular kids in school so that poeple would recognize me. However, this cause me to be indifferent with my other friends which were not in these popular clicks; which made me realize that i was not being myself and that it was not about being popular and being known. Honestly it's about who you are and the things you do that make you different and who you really ate as a person in society. Unfortunately, in this corrupted society that we live in, people think they have to put a front and change themselves to someone else han they really are just so they can feel and be acknowledged in society.Although I acted in such a way in high schoolit made me be who I am today. I now understand my actions were due to me having a low self esteem as well ascaring more about what other saw me as.
In addition, in the article on understanding one self Don E. Hamachek's explains how there is a difference between physical self concept, social and emotional self concept. Nevertheless, they have a connection that helps us be aware of how society feels about us and how it persuades the way we perceive ourselves.Another thing mentioned in this article was the way we present ourselves different than we are. For Instance, I have a friend to protrays that she has money and lives in a huge house. But in reality she is not but a middle class average girl. People like this live in a fantasy world, thinking that there one thing but really they are another.On the same note the real question I have from this whole idea is why do we act and behave in these ways? In my opinion it's all because of our self esteem levels.
Overall, I felt these articles to be helpful in making us realize we need to focuse our minds and oneself in stopping the way we worry how society feels about us.

Reflection #12

For starters Sigmund Freud was a very clever man who invented the cure of talking, which is known for his philosophy. I personally like his theory and think it is vital for us to learn the information Freud has to offer us. Freud was known for being curious on the way people behave. According to him there are a number of things that are internal in which can move or drive us to the way we behave and act. For example, the first time you ride a roller coaster you get this tingly feeling in your stomach. This feeling can be the action of excitement or fear. Some behave can also be by instinct, which can be seen as reflects. Reflects are involuntary movements that will happen whether or not you want to. Freud discusses how there are two essential drives that help stimulate our thoughts, emotions and behavior. Which are characterized as sex and aggression. These drives all lead to Freud’s theory of the sexual patterns.
Freud’s theory on the personality models follows three structures, the Id, the Ego and the Super ego. The Id is the collection of drives, needs and instinct which is presented once a baby is born. This stage is an important one because as a newborn they obtain all these basic needs which we give them. The Ego stage is when the child interacts more with the outside world. The ego starts to develop more and can understand other people’s needs. The Superego stage is that last stage in which has developed due to moral and ethical restraints set by our parents. In addition to these stages Freud also follows the stages of life. These are the Oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage the latency stage and the genital stage. In the oral stage the biggest thing is eating because they are babies. In this stage baby tend to stick thing in there month. In the anal stage they are toddlers and it’s when potty training is being done. The phallic stage is when the child starts understanding language and begins an attachment towards the mother or father depending on the sex of the child. For instance, as a child I was always daddy’s little girl, I wanted to be with my dad all the time. The latency stage is when they start interacting with other children of the same sex and are less attached to the parents. The genital stage is when the interacting with the opposite sex and become more independent due to puberty.
Overall I find Sigmund Freud’s theories very important and educational. I personally can use them so when one day I conceive a child I can know the different stages they are going through.

Reflection #11

The article on Belief’s, Values & Attitudes caught me attention. Beliefs, values and attitudes play a significant part in our lives and in how we interpret things. To me a belief is anything you think is real. Throughout our lives we usually belief everything our parents thought us. For instance, I mother would always tell me to be careful to not sweep me feet while sweeping the floor because I would never get married. As I have mentioned before parents take part in an important part of our lives. In on journey through life we sometimes come across things that we are not sure whether or not we should believe them. This is because we believe the things by authority which is our parents. If we are faced with something that our parents told us verses something a teacher might tell us we are put in a state of confusion. Therefore, we should try to find evidence of what is really true .In the same token we have our attitude which is another word for conviction. It is the mental image we place that gives us a feeling to act. A good example of conviction is when Kanye West just based on his views and attitude made him act in a discriminative way.
In addition we have our values in which are similar to our beliefs. Values help us classify the good from the bad and the right from wrong. A value I always keep in mind when eating at my parent’s house is to never place my elbows on the table. To my parents that is disrespectful and in our house hold this is one of the values we follow. However, all these beliefs, values and attitudes we confidence in can all lead to us become prejudice people. Prejudice is when a person has negative views about another person’s cultural, race, gender & etc. In which can cause a person to act in different forms toward these multicultural people. For instance, a person can have a prejudice behavior such as discrimination towards a colored person. Discrimination can lead to the person avoiding or physically abusing the other person, just by the color of there skin. I personality think that this is not the way we should treat each other. People need to start trying to become open to new things and ideas. They need to stop being closed and believing everything there parents have taught them. We are in the 21st century were supposedly everyone is equal but till this day we are not. There are still people harming others and we have not yet become a union nation that we should be.

Reflection #10

To begin with, I found this article, on Inclusion very informative and helpful for those interested in becoming future educators. The article gives you a number of diverse teaching strategies on different issues you can face while teaching. As a teacher you need to remember that you will be faced with many different situations in your classroom. However, as teachers it is important that you make sure a child feel they can succeed under any circumstance. Teachers are the guide to these young children; we are the ones they look up to in the education world. In this article you get an insight from how to address your class on the first day of school and goes on with issues like gender, racism, conflicts, and sexual assaults and how to deal with them. For example, in a classroom teacher need to distinguish any stereotypes you have engaged.

One of the topics that I found more entertaining was the one on getting to know your students. Teacher’s should always get a feel about there student’s cultural background and ask them to tell you a little about themselves. This is important that we get to know who are students are and were they come from and it should all take place on the first day of class. In a classroom you can find students from all over the world and they may have different cultures from one another. For instance, in one of my classes we were going to have a Christmas gift exchange party but, I had one student who was Jehovah’s witnesses. This is a religion in which they do not celebrate certain holiday like Christmas or Halloween, etc. Therefore, as a teacher I could not just exclude the student from this holiday activity just because he can not participate due to his religion. So what I had to do is accommodate to the child’s beliefs and change the name of the name of the event to Winter break gift exchange so that it he didn’t feel left off from the party.

In conclusion, this article presents a guideline that can aid teachers in established a more comfortable learning environment for students. Whether your students have any diverse backgrounds teachers should try to make an effort to make a comfort zone for these kids. By that said, the atmosphere of a classroom is the key ingredient to establishing a safer and comfortable zone for students. Overall I really enjoyed this article I have to say it was one of my favorites so far, one that I feel can help me in the long run as

Reflection #9

After reading the article on awareness and consciousness I gain knowledge that we need to make sure we are aware and conscious when trying to understand things. My understanding on how awareness is being described is having the ability to identify, or realize events, objects or patterns happening. It all derives from being aware of your environment. For example, I consider myself to be an aware person when I’m traveling to a different county; I find myself observing my surroundings and categorize different things I have not seen before, which catch my attention. On the same token consciousness is quite similar. The condition of being conscious is the state of mind in which the person can classify different aspects such as a person’s attitudes, beliefs or the characteristics. Both being aware and conscious is all linked through our minds. As a read I also came across different points of views. The person I personality agree with is Metta Zetty. She explains, how it is part of who we are, what we know and what we see as observers. However, I don’t really agree with Deepak Chopra awareness and quantum theory. It makes me feel as if he expresses us as a science project comparing us to atoms.

On the other hand, consciousness can be described in three forms according to David Rosenthal. He explains that there are three different types of forms of consciousness. His first view he refers to it as the creature consciousness. In the stage people as well as creatures are conscious of being awake and the way they open to sensory participation. In his second belief of consciousness he explains how people and animal’s are conscious when you see or hear something and identity’s it in another way. This is called the transitive consciousness. His last concept of consciousness applies to everything. Rosenthal says this stage is the mental phase where people and creature and animals sense things, think, feel, desire things and can perceive things, which is called the state consciousness. Overall, both awareness and consciousness both work together in our minds. They are very similar in what they do to us. They both help us with our reactions and the way we perceive things.

Reflecion # 8

Our parents play an important role in out lives. They are the ones who usually teach us about life. All children including myself learn from what their parents teach them. It is the parent’s job to make sure they teach them right from wrong.

When it comes to understanding my social class, my parents taught me well. I come from a middle class Hispanic background. By that said, I am Cuban, in which my parents have always followed Cuban cultural traditions. For example, my parents always play Cuban music as well as cook Cuban food so that we don’t forget the customs. As for being socialized as a middle class family, my parents taught me that we don’t always get what we want but we live comfortably. As a child I usually got everything that I wanted, yet there were times when they would say we couldn’t afford it. However, when it comes to social class and television, that’s when it changes. In today’s world popular media is taking over and is influencing all of our lives. It is proven that children are spending more time in tune with the popular media than in school. Popular media is in introduced with in T.V., radio, computers, advertisements, and books. Whether you like what the media has to say, it offer’s important information for parents in making good media choices for their children.

In addition, getting to know your gender is an essential part of being a kid. Children usually started having and understanding of their gender as soon as their born. Once you are born you go through stages. As an infant, you start identifying gender by listening to your parent’s voices. As you get older, and become a toddler you begin to use different gender forms in playing. For instance, as a child my mother would buy me Barbie dolls and as for my brother she would get him toy cars. Another way my parents provided me with an understanding of my gender was by the clothes I wore. Girls are typically dressed in pretty delicate clothing with pigtails and bow on their hair. Boys are dressed more in cute sporty clothes. Many parents like mine involve their kids in extra activities like ballet for girls and sports for boys to show them the differences in gender.

On the other hand, understanding what sexual relations are is very important. It is vital that parents explain to their young ones about sexuality and understanding what sexual relationships are. Now a day’s teenagers are becoming more and more drawn into sexual relationships. Nevertheless, there are many parents who don’t know how to speak and take time to enlighten their child about this topic on sexual relationships. Some parents may feel too embarrassed talking about sex or just might not know how to bring it up in a conversation. I remember when I was about 12 years old and I had turned into a young women, my mother sat me down and explained to me what sex was and how I need to be carful now. My mother and I have always had an open mother daughter relationship which has always made it easier for me to tell her things as well as being able to understand her better.

In conclusion, I feel that parents play a very important part in a child’s life. Overall, parents need to remember that a child is always depending and counting on their parents for basically everything. By parents getting involved and actually educating their kids they can make a difference and could prevent many things from happening.

Reflection # 7

The Rites of passage was interesting to read about and in my opinion I think the rites of passage to be important. These rites describe the rituals, beliefs, and the customs of different cultures as they are passed on through each generation. Everyone has a different culture in which they follow. For instance, I have a friend who is Arabic and she follows a different religion as me in which it’s a custom to fast for an entire month. They also follow our rituals like when getting married they paint on a henna tattoo on there hand containing patterns symbolizing that they are Arabic. I actually find it fascinating how people have different customs they follow. Every culture is unique in its own way.

On the other hand, after reading Facing Mt. Kenya, The Sambia and Sitting Quietly, I have to disagree with the Rites of Passage. The idea of children getting abused is not something I agree with morally wrong for young kids to be harassed into having to perform oral sex on older male teenagers. As in the passage of The Sambia I think what the fellatio and fellated process in which take on these youngster in doing these things is appalling. How can these people do these types of things to these poor children. This kind of practice is totally wrong, harmful encourages unsafe sex leading to deadly disease that can be sexual transmitted. In the passage of Facing Mt. Kenya: Initiation of Boys and Girls, it talks about promoting circumcision, or trimming of the genital organs on both males and females. However it’s still a form of child abuse. I remember when my little brother was born and they asked my mother if she wanted to have the baby cirumcised and she said yes. I honestly don’t understand why should they have to go through that horrible pain when back in the old days that was not done. I guess it all about customs and traditions.

In conclusion, in relation to a formal education and the Rites of Passage, I believe as a college student our graduation is a representation of the Rite to Passage. It’s like a ritual we all go through to receive that diploma. Therefore it’s the change that takes place in form of us becoming college graduates. Overall, I found these rites to be very interesting and learning of them gave me an insight of how people express themselves through there rituals, belief and culture.

Reflection # 6

First and for most, attending a school in a community that is against integrated schools has to be extremely difficult for those of color. If I had to walk into a school listening to everyone shouting and protesting that we are not welcome due to the color of our skin I would feel extremely unwanted and rejected. I personality believe no one should be treated different or be left behind. My first reaction to this whole segregation problem would be to try and make a difference, having an opportunity to stand out and change people's opinions and thoughts can be rewarding. I have never really understood why this whole isolation issue of blacks and white happened. However, I have the up most respect for the "Little Rock Nine" to need armed guards to enter school has to be very terrifying and overwhelming.
Honestly, if I was in their position that these kids were in I think I would most likely lose interest in school. Why go to a school were your not welcomed and will be called names. I respect their ambition and loyalty to disregard all the chaos and discrimination they had to go through. By that said I look up to these kids for having the desire to still focus in school. Therefore, I would have liked to be one of the "Little Rock Nine" simply to have the advantage to make a different and change society and its views. This story opened my eyes to realize how different things use to be in the late 50's. Now a day’s segregation has reduced yet, we still see it happening all over the world. For example, we still have segregated communities like there are white neighborhoods and black neighborhoods. Even though the after so many years after laws have been pasted by segregation is still going on in schools. I believe it’s some type of mental idea people still have against colored people. We as Americans need to realize that we are all created equal and we all have the opportunity and should attempt to get along and live together in this united country as one. Hopefully in the near future we learn to do this so that we can all be a safer and happier community.

Reflection # 5

After reading the article on Culture I was able to gain a better understanding of what culture really means as well as how the human sprit plays a part in it. In my opinion, the human sprit is the aura that we portray as a person. It’s like the vibe you receive when you get after meeting a person. In addition, when taking a look at culture it’s not only becoming acquainted with the culture but being a part of it to really value that culture.
Fashion can be compared to culture. In the fashion industry, haute couture is considered to be the finest. Those who could not afford this high fashion are looked down upon. This leads to people trying to fix in, which is happening all over the world. For example, last summer I took a trip to Cuba to visit my family. Once I arrived everyone was looking at me immediately knowing that I was not from there. I remember when I got to my family’s house all my cousins asking me what the brand of clothing I was wearing was. I had told them that it was named American Eagle and that it came from the United States. Usually in Cuba or as in other countries in south and Central America people often travel to the United States just too actually purchase these different name brands. I ended up actually leaving all my clothes giving it to my cousins. The reason after all this is so that they feel and be a part of what they consider to be the higher class. To them they feel that this can symbolize as different and unique being able to have something that is not stole in there own country.
However, it is not only in these countries but all over the world in general. For instance we travel to New York, London, Japan and so on just to get the last style and trends. I actually when to New York recently to see what the lasted fashion was just to know before it started here. Overall I believe it is not about what you wear or the materialistic things you might have but, what one has to offer as a person with in. At the end of the day we all come from the same place and should get along with one another. By that said, we need to realize that we are all equal as one.

Reflection # 4

To begin with, diversity is recognizing that we are all different in our own ways; as well as acknowledging and respecting our individual uniqueness. After reading Samantha’s story I could totally relate to her. I have always had the desire to become a teacher but, I know there are many aspects we need to take into consideration to become good educators.
When it come to being well-prepared for diversity an experience I can relate to is when I first started at Miami-Dade College. As I started taking classes was expecting to be around different people. However, being a student has really prepared me to deal with different people around the world. I am now able to understand their different cultures, religions, some languages and so on. Interacting with other students and professors is mainly what helped me understand and appreciate diversity. For example, I took speech class and in that class I learned so much of the Indian culture. I was put into a group where we choose to work on the difference between our culture and the Indian culture. It was an experience were I was able to learn how to value the uniqueness different countries have from one another. Therefore, this makes diversity in my life so positive and challenging.
Overall the areas in which I feel well- equipped in are acceptance and respect, dealing with diverse genders, ethnicities, races, religions and so on. As a child I was raised to always taught never to judge a book by its cover or just anything less than who they really are. In conclusion I consider myself well fix to work with diversity.

reflection # 3

A paradigm is your way of thinking and the way you approach a situation due to previous experience. Paradigms play a huge role on society and how we perceive all the different components of our everyday life. I also feel that paradigms play a huge role in the conglomerate we call marketing. Several companies spend millions of dollars on marketing strategies to keep their company in the right light of the public. If companies can maintain a positive outlook , people will use them because their mental paradigms tell them that it is a good company to work with. For example, I want to bring up the company McDonalds… they still happen to be at the top of the fast food chain ,yet they did experience a downfall a couple of years back. The public always perceived McDonalds as a convenient company for purchasing food when your in a hurry, and several people ate McDonalds religiously but then the movie Super Size was released and millions of paradigms changed. Many people stopped purchasing McDonald products when they realized how unhealthy their food is. People were now aware of how unhealthy their food is, and whenever they see a McDonalds they rather not eat their knowing the affects it will have on them. Their paradigms shifted, they no longer believe McDonalds is a great good
Paradigm shifts are always occurring and it is this that keeps our society moving in a promising direction. Without paradigm shifts, civilization wouldn’t progress, we would keep going back to the same things, regardless if they’re good or bad. Paradigm shifts, allow people to develop cognitively and it portrays whether or not we’ve learned from our mistakes. I strongly feel that it is vital for teachers to have paradigm change, because it allows their students to broaden their horizons. With a teacher that constantly changes his paradigm, students will began to think for themselves and they will be more active in class. Students will start to think for themselves, and that I believe is the prime definition of learning.
Reading these articles made me realize that I actually did have a recent paradigm shift of my own. I use to be extremely wasteful, and recycling didn’t even exist in my vocabulary but then I took a biology class and I wanted to change. In my biology class I learned how important it is for us to maintain this earth for our future generations. I use to believe that recycling was unnecessary and a complete waste of time, but after that course I began to recycle and I became an avid member of the whole “go green” movement. My mental paradigm completely shifted!
Furthermore, I would like to conclude by stating how much I agree with Kuhn’s idealistic views on paradigms. I believe that it is very important for us to continue shifting paradigms; it would reflect off of us by showing people how open minded we can really be.

Reflection # 2

Transformation is a word that I believe can be stretched to an unimaginable extent. The first article really gave me a great understanding of what this term stood for. After reading this article I now have a better comprehension of what this word really stands for. My generic idea of the term transformation was simply synonymous to the word change, but these articles helped me realize what a huge role transformation plays in our everyday life. Now I see how transformation can either be as small as changing your outfit to as large as remodeling your entire house. The process between being a baby and an adult is what I consider to be the best example of transformation. I would also like to point out how the method of transformation, very well changes your lifestyle and everything in it. For instance, in high school I managed to hang out with the wrong crowd which it began to affect my academics. I then found a different (more productive) social group and because of their positive influence, my grades began to rise. It’s quite obvious I embodied “transformation”. These articles also helped me convey that not all transformations can be good. For example, my personal experience could have been vice-versa. I also want to point out the importance of “reinventing ourselves”, after reading this portion of the passage I strongly feel that it isn’t healthy to constantly reinvent yourself. According to the article, reinventing yourself means changing yourself concepts and raising your self esteem. As far as raising your self esteem, I believe that it is great and I support that idea, however changing yourself concept might turn out to be a major negative if it is constantly being done. I trust that by changing yourself concept redundantly you will never really understand who you are. I think that life is basically a journey to figure out who you are and what purpose you serve on this Earth. There is no doubt that “time” will justify your transformation, but I feel that reinventing yourself will lead you to a lonely road because people will always acknowledge you as a poser or as a liar. Overall, after reading these two articles, I consider the thought of transformation to be good.

Reflection # 1

To begin with, these passages all point in the same direction, as far as the point they are trying to convey. I feel that the main objective is the idea of “progress”. I feel that we’ve been on a successful road to progress dating back 350 million years ago, when the first fires occurred (as per the document). This passage helped me understand that we have been progressing ever since we can remember. I would also like to point out how the phrase “survival of the fittest” comes into play within this passage. We are, what we are today because we’ve manage to adapt and survive the struggles that others couldn’t. Another thing I would like to point out is the creation of the wheel; it was quite obvious that this “simple tool” was created in order to make work easier and more efficient but it also acted as a tool to speed up the process. I also found it astonishing how they first known “wheel” was a log. While reading the article I came across a line that really did spark my interest, it read, “… human beings, being similarly observant and opportunistic creatures…” I feel that the most powerful word within that statement is “opportunistic” simply because it describes the solemn truth about humans and how they approach situations. Throughout the passage I was arguing with myself about how we don’t appreciate what really helped fund what we have today. It’s quite astonishing how today’s public would read this passage and realize how the most minuscule things aren’t appreciated as much as they use to. In the beginning of the passage it starts by stating how the “homo erectus” was establishing as well as learning the many functions of fire. Aside from using fire, they had a thirst for knowing how to control it. The article gave me the impression that we really owe it to our ancestors for helping us institute the lavished lives we live today. Fire was considered to be an essential part of survival in this era, yet in today’s realm we rarely conceive fire as a necessity. However, not only did fire help thee Homo erectus species for cooking or for warmth, but it also became a tool to assist in communicating. According to the article, fire served as the light used in dark caves, so they may write their so called “language” on the walls. In contrast to the article on fire and the wheel, the “history of writing” article, aloud the understanding that we acknowledged team-work as an even better form of surviving. The idea that people spoke by portraying images would be considered blasphemy today however, it served them as an optimal tool for success. As a pre-teaching intern, I sense that this article was given to me to read so that I could reflect on the progress we’ve made and how we should pursue it. We have come a long way but there is always room for development. I feel that everyone has the potential to make this world a better place…after all, we don’t know who invented the wheel but there is also no telling who will re-invent it!!!

My Bio

To begin with, I am 22 years old born and raised in Miami. I Have Cuban parents therefore I come from a hispanic background. Unfortunately, my parents seperated when I was 3 and my dad passed away when I was 17. with that said I has been a little deficult but if has made me who I am today. I have 4 younger brothers and sisters; Tiffany which is 18, Ashely 15, and the twins Frank & Alex who are 8 years old. Being that said I am the oldest therefore, I am there role model, the one they look up too.
This is my 3rd year in Miami Dade and hopefully I graduate next spring with an AA. I choose to go into the education field due to the fact that I enjoy working with kids. I have always had that ability of working well with children. I believe that I can make a difference in there life by planting a seed of knowledge in them. However, my overall goal is to one day own a daycare of my own. Actually currently voluteer at a day care center named Centro Mater West.