Introductory Reflective Essay
During this term, there has been significant improvement in my writing in diverse ways. For example, before I write I ensure that there is adequate information. I also plan all pieces of writings that I wish to undertake. While writing the essays in this portfolio, I ensured that there was sufficient revision of my final draft to provide exemplary writing.
Several challenges in the undertaking of this entire course (EN 106) were evident throughout the term. First, it seemed impossible that one could relate to the depictions by several authors in my sources. This meant that I had to undertake more than one reading of the materials and in turn send extra time. Another reason was the tiresome revision procedures, which involved repeating each step of the writing process.
Another significant challenge in the execution of this assignment was the availability of time. The complexities of the assignment required several hours of research. This was challenging because there were other classes that I had to attend. The respective revisions of the essays took time and intense understanding.
Mastering the requirements of MLA formatting was equally challenging. The creation of the “Work Cited” page had taken time before I mastered how to do it. The skill on in texting was also challenging because of the need to master page numbers. This meant that I had to cram all the page numbers of the various books that I was using in the assignment.
An example of a strong paragraph in the two essays
The representation of American history in educational and media circles has been the subject of criticism with some quarters suggesting the presence of inherent controversies. The problem is that the inaccuracies hinder learners from capturing the true picture of their history and understanding their country. Slavery is one of the issues that American history studies have misrepresented. The presentation of American history is inaccurate because it omits some details that conceal the truth about past events.
An example of a weak paragraph in the essays
The relationship that the teachers and students have with each other is critical in determining what students learn. The teachers, who feel they have all the information and who feel their duty is to instill this information on the student, may feel threatened and inferior when they learn students may know more than they do (Freire par 6). This will in turn influence what they choose to teach the students, and the method, they choose to instill this knowledge. Parents may feel inferior when children get information and inquiry that is unavailable to adults and use them in ways that seem to intimidate adulthood (Loewen 296)” Many people continue to hold the perception teachers know all and students do not know anything. This perception has to change if the education system has transformation in this country.
Essay A (3) Title: Of Deciders and Limitations of Education
There can never be sufficient emphasis on the significance of education. In the current world, it is impossible to live a fulfilling and successful life without education. However, what exactly constitutes education and learning, and why has the education system failed in some respects? The answers to these questions require reexamination of the education systems in institutions. Previously, there was high esteem of college-educated graduates by the society. Indeed, they could change the world, and they did change it, through the education they received. They did not have as much knowledge as people have today; neither did they study as many subjects as today’s students do. However, the education they received enabled them to make significant changes and contribution to their society. It paved the way for people to make inventions, advance in technology, develop many scientific methods, and change their world. It seems that as the country grew and progressed, there was simply too much to learn, and the limited time and space in schools did not give people the opportunity to find any relevant interpretations to their studies. There is a need to reexamine the education system so that it can provide a worthwhile education to the students.
The information that a student receives in class can determine the course in their lives, and change their lives in a momentous way. Therefore, educators have a significant role in determining the content of what students learn. Content is vital, and the incorrect content delivered to students will have the wrong impact. Loewen and Friere agree that students do not remember their history because history does not present any purposeful experiences in their lives. Students learn as soon as they forget, because the history taught in school does not provide any valid lessons for them. Historians and those who write the history books have distorted or omitted crucial information from the history textbooks. High school textbooks contain distorted information, and this information influences the children as they learn. Thus, the children suffer from being misinformation in the process of seeking an education. Schools go to considerable extents in buying books that do not contain controversial ideas. They avoid textbooks with information that might make the students criticize their parents or the nation’s leaders. This has limited the information of history to students unable of knowing the truth and complete information about their country’s past. This has the wrong impact on the students. This is because part of learning history is to enable people to learn from their country’s past. When students do not learn certain information, because this information does not glorify their leaders or their country, they miss learning opportunities. They miss the opportunity to avoid the mistakes leaders made in the past.
The relationship that the teachers and students have with each other is critical in determining what students learn. The teachers, who feel they have all the information and who feel their duty is to instill this information on the student, may feel threatened and inferior when they learn students may know more than they do (Freire par 6). This will in turn influence what they choose to teach the students, and the method, they choose to instill this knowledge. Parents may feel inferior when children get information and inquiry that is unavailable to adults and use them in ways that seem to intimidate adulthood (Loewen 296)” Many people continue to hold the perception teachers know all and students do not know anything. This perception has to change if the education system has transformation in this country. People must realize that there is no moment when one stops learning. Thus, even as the teachers teach, they also continue to learn. Teachers must not feel threatened when the students criticize them, or when they criticize their area of knowledge. This is because, just like the students, the teachers were taught what they know. Rarely do they teach what they have discovered. They should appreciate points of criticisms, as this will give them the opportunity to learn more, and perhaps discover something.
Both Loewen and Friere have noted the limitations of the current education system. They have observed the lies and controversies that exist within the system, but which, many people are not willing to confront. With this unwillingness, it becomes impossible to change. Change can only exist when people realize and recognize the necessity for it. It can be realized when people are willing to admit faults. “Knowledge emerges only through invention and reinvention, through the restless, impatient, continuing; hopeful inquiry men pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other (Freire par.5).” The education system is failing because it is not preparing students to change the world. Rather, it is enabling students to conform to the world as it is. This is denying the students the chance to develop and effectively disseminate their knowledge globally. There are no absolute and meaningful inventions anymore. Instead, people choose to focus their strengths on existing inventions, only that they do it in a different way. There are no longer any inventions like the computer, but there are improved computer-related technologies such as laptops and smart phones. There are no longer any meaningful inventions, such as led to the development of home appliances, but people have found ways of making the inventions, faster, smaller, or more efficient. This has contributed to limited thinking, as people no longer explore their creative abilities and ingenuity.
Works Cited
Freire, Paulo. “The Banking Concept of Education.” Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Ed. Myra Bergman Ramos. New York: Continuum, 1993.
Loewen, James W. “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History TextbookGot Wrong.” Inquiry to Academic Writing a Text and Reader. Ed. Stuart Green and April Lidinsky. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Boston, 2008.
Essay B (4) Title: Slavery Misrepresented
The representation of American history in educational and media circles has been the subject of criticism with some quarters suggesting the presence of inherent controversies. The problem is that the inaccuracies hinder learners from capturing the true picture of their history and understanding their country. Slavery is one of the issues that American history studies have misrepresented. The presentation of American history is inaccurate because it omits some details that conceal the truth about past events.
One of the events in American history that has been the subject of misrepresentation and factual inaccuracies is slavery. A misconception about slavery was that it was a regional issue confined to the South. Literature seldom condemns figures from the North for racist comments or their participation in slave trade or slavery itself (Dessens 1450). Southern symbols, heroes or victors get the bulk of the condemnation for promoting slavery. The argument is that during the Civil War, the North fought for equality and human freedom, while the South sought to maintain slavery (Schweninger 588). At the same time, slavery existed long before the Europeans settled in the American South making it impossible that it had Southern origins (Dessens 1450). This misrepresentation of slavery in America has consequences. Learners of American history and citizens not only have a superficial knowledge on the issue of slavery, but they have the wrong perceptions because they believe it as a ‘Southern’ rather than national problem. If this is the case, it is unlikely for learners and citizens without ‘Southern’ origins to take action to address any manifestations of slavery because they believe that it is a cause for concern only for the ‘Southerners’. The subversion of the truth about slavery has had consequences beyond the academic field. As Kennedy points out, “The prejudice of the sycophants of the myth (those who flatter to favor) respects no limits when attacking those who hold views that differ from the accepted view of the institution of slavery” (10). The acceptance of this myth regarding slavery as originating from the South has led to the criticism of everything from the South and opposition against those who deny the view that slavery is a Southern institution.
Secondly, contrary to popular belief, the early Church did not condemn slavery. As Kennedy points out, “Christianity itself took little direct action to abolish slavery. Rather, it was a Christian emperor, Justinian, who gave slavery its legal foundation in Rome” (15). The abolition of slavery in Italy took place around the period of the rise of the Christian Church, but this did not translate into calls from the Church against enslavement. Therefore, it is erroneous to equate the emergence of the Church with opposition against slavery or its abolishment. This reveals another face of the way in which the citizenry has misconstrued American history, with regard to slavery.
The inaccurate representation of American history during the instructional process is indicative of the banking perspective of education, as Freire describes it (Freire 73). It shows that learners do not have opportunities to analyze critically the presentation of historical facts or events to uncover their truths, inaccuracies or misconceptions. Learners perceive their instructor as superior with regard to events in American history and theirs is merely to receive the content as the instructor presents it. Thus, failure to subject instructional material to constructive criticism leads to the lack of a comprehensive understanding of historical events or even their significance. It leads to the omission of key facts or failure to discover inaccuracies in the sequences of events, or portrayal of historical figures. Without a constructive teacher-student exchange, the results are evident in learners who know little about their country’s history or misconstrue past events and their value. In the case of the issue of slavery in America, learners get the wrong picture about its origins, attributing them to the South, and its abolition, believing that the advent of the early Church contributed to the termination of this institution.
By contrast, if instructors of American history would adopt the problem-posing approach as proposed by Freire, they would produce learners who comprehend their history and have their facts right. This is because the problem-posing approach allows learners to participate actively in the learning process rather than merely being passive recipients of instructional content (Freire 72). In this approach, learners have room to criticize instructional content and contribute their views and background knowledge. Consequently, the problem-posing approach provides teachers with a viable means of equipping American learners with an accurate representation of their history. With regard to the occurrence of slavery in America, learners would understand that it was a global phenomenon, and that it did not originate from the South because it existed prior to European occupation of this region. Learners would also comprehend that the emergence of the early Church was not a precursor to the abolition of slavery.
This essay supports Loewen’s view that the inaccurate representation of American history obscures the truths of past events. The discussion uses the example of slavery and highlights some of the myths regarding this institution, particularly the circumstances surrounding its origins and abolition. This paper posits that learning institutions in America must adopt the problem-posing approach to education, if they want to produce learners who understand slavery and other events in their history in a comprehensive and accurate manner.
Works Cited
Dessens, Nathalie.‘Myths of the Plantation Society: Slavery in the American South and the West
Indies’ The Journal of American History 91.4 (2005): 1450. Print.
Freire, Paulo. “The Banking Concept of Education” in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Trans. Myra
Bergman Ramos. New York: Continuum, 1993. Print.
Kennedy, Walter. Myths of American Slavery. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company,
2003, Print.
Loewen, James. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American Textbook Got Wrong.
New York: Touchstone, 1995. Print.
Schweninger, Loren.‘The Accidental Slaveowner: Revisiting a Myth of Race and Finding
an American Family’ Journal of American History 99.2 (2012): 588-589. Print.
