Women Rights, Diversity, and Education for Negros

1. Define the phrase "pernicious effects" on the basis of what is stated in the essay.

- Wollstonecraft's essay is all about women rights. She mentions that women do not have the privileges that men do, and men control their wife's. This makes women feel inferior. She advocates that if women are treated better, and fairly like their husbands, they will be more willing. " would men but generously snap our chains, and be content with rational fellowship instead of slavish obedience, they would find us more observant  daughters, more affectionate sisters, more faithful wives, more reasonable mothers-- in a word, better citizens." 

2. Is it possible to compare women with property on the basis of this essay?

- Yes, Women are treated as if they are owned by their husbands and the ways of society. They are not allowed to vote, go to war, or express their own ways. Instead they are confined to their homes like property.

3. Clarify in what way the “unnatural distinctions” affecting women in society cause them to behave

as Wollstonecraft says they do. Do you feel it is a genuine cause-

and-effect relationship?

- I believe that the way women were treated then made them stronger now. Their days of being inferior made them really see what they deserve. They were oppressed for so long that they decided to take action and gain equality.

4. Describe Diversity in Schools according to Kozol and what your definition would be.

-  Kozol believed that diversity in schools was more so racial segregation. Educatiors just didnt want to call it this. The schools he visited had about a 99% student body of blacks and hispanics. Only a few were white. White kids went to "better" schools. A school with  diversity would have students of all races. 

5. What does Woodson mean by mis-education?
Mis education happened with Negros. They were considered to be dumb, and they were taught that way. They missed out on education. The thesis of Dr. Woodson's book is that blacks of his day were being culturally indoctrinated, rather than taught, in American schools.

Montessori's Method of Education

1. What is the basis of scientific pedagogy for Montessori?

- Pedagogy is the scientific method of instruction. Her method was to have an environment that is suitable for her learners. Such as: children sized chairs, sinks, bathrooms, etc. She wanted to have children teach each other while not blunting their natural impulse to learn. 

2. How does school furniture affect the education of the child?

- School furniture is a trap. You sit in the exact same desk every day for hours and become stationary and bored. Montessori states " the principle of slavery still pervades pedagogy, and, therefore, the same principle pervades the school." These desks are scientifically made by anthropologists, physiologists, and psychologists to fit a persons body requirements; however, these desks are hard and make people humpbacked. 

3. What effect does freedom have on the education of the child?

- freedom allows a child to try and try again as much as they want. They can also teach each other. Freedom gives a child a chance to learn in their own way without someone instructing them all the time. 

Dewey's Education System

4. What does Dewey seem to mean by the expression "thinking in education"?

- " Thinking which is not connected with increase of efficiency in action, and with learning more about ourselves and the world in which we live, has something the matter with it just as thought." Thinking is the method of intelligent learning. you can teach someone something without teaching them to think about it. 

5. What conditions must exist for the student to use thinking in education?

- Conditions such as experience, opportunities, appliances, more material cause children to think.

6. What seems to be the best process of education, according to Dewey?

- Instruction seems to be the best process of education, because it produces good habits of thinking. Students should be able to acquire and test their ideas.

The Progress of  Opulence

1. How would you defend Smith's view as expressed in this essay?

- I would agree with Smiths view on the progress of opulence.  Circulation of commerce between the city and the country is what makes a community and its economy stronger. Both rely on each other and provide for each other. Opulence is defined as having great wealth or luxuriousness. This opulence is first gained in one palace, then, when that village, as smith refers, is prosperous they can spread that wealth with others. A village should first expand its own opulence before it evolves. Smith believes that " The great commerce of every civilized society, is that carried on between the inhabitants of the town and those of the country.”(page 445 in Of Natural Progress of Opulence) I think that we rely too much on exports and imports with other countries and fail to rely on our own. How often do you see a product with a "made in the USA" tag?

2. Wealthy people think that our big investments come from machines, or technology. I disagree because agriculture is what prospers everything. Kentucky is one of the leading states in producing agriculture, and without it most of us would be jobless. Land can still have a huge impact on the USA today if we use it wisely. Instead, we focus more on the buildings, or business.


3. Again. today the US directs its manufactured goods on exports and imports with other countries.” According to the natural course of things, therefore, the greater part of the capital of every growing society is, first, directed to agriculture, afterwards to the manufacturers, and last of all to foreign commerce.” (page 449). I think that smiths statement is true, and we need to take it more seriously.





Is America an Affluent Society?

1. Yes, America is an Affluent society. The USA is one of the most intelligent and wealthy countries. We focus our priorities on imports and exports, and it has strengthened us greatly. "An affluent society that is also both compassionate and rational would, no doubt, secure to all who needed it the minimum income essential for decency and comfort." Welfare, health insurance, financial aid, and charities are all things that America provides to the unfortunate. The only way to stop poverty is to help the people. This starts with enforcing children to go to school, feeding them, creating ample housing, and keeping the streets clean. America has all of this. We have created an ample school curriculum, as well as attendance policies. Also, it is made aware that students live in clean environments and live a healthy lifestyle.  "These needs also be attacked  even more directly-- by giving the mobility that is associated with plentiful, good, and readily available housing... and by eliminating the special health handicaps that afflict the poor. " (Galbraith page 507)

Reich 

2. The government should always have jobs readily available to people who loose their job to the businesses financial downfall. however: people who got fired according to their own faults should find a job on their own. For example, here in Kentucky our coal industry is running out of places to mine. This is not the miners fault so they should be compensated with a job readily on hand when their job no longer stands. "Advanced economics like the United States will continue to generate stable numbers of new in-person service jobs, of course, the automation of older ones notwithstanding ... three new jobs open for aerobics instructors" (Reich page 523). Job opportunities  are always changing.