Cultural Education Essays (Examples)

Cross Cultural Education

Cultural History

The information gathered was mostly from my grandparents and my parents. From the interviews conducted, I found out that my ancestors came to the United States in 1850. The main reason why they came to the United States is due to famine. According to information obtained, at the time, Ireland was facing a severe famine, owing to upsetting crop disasters. Due to lack of food for lengthy periods, my ancestors were left with no other option but to move to the United States. However, there are quite a number of challenges they faced upon arrival. To begin with, they had no expertise and no preceding experience in becoming accustomed to a new nation. In addition, they also faced the challenge of having no cash, minimal clothes and lack of education. Another distinctive challenge that they faced upon arrival to the United States was a great…

cultural differences in today's world. Then explain two ways you might address those challenges in your professional life. Support your responses using current literature.

Challenges of diversity: Positives and negatives

Affirmative action embodies many of the paradoxes of the diversity of American society. On one hand, America has long proclaimed itself a land of freedom and equality. However, for many years, African-Americans and other minority groups were discriminated against, resulting in economic, educational, as well as political disenfranchisement. Affirmative action, or taking race into consideration to promote a more diverse environment in schools and in the workplace, is one way to create a fairer and more pluralistic society. It reflects the fact that persons who are privileged in America have historically come from specific races, classes, and ethnicities. However, many people believe that affirmative action's use of racial preference is, in effect, a form of discrimination itself. The courts have…

Values Americans Live by." This is a reflection should include how you relate or not to the concepts suggested in the article. I understand that the article was written in 1988, however, many of the topics still are present today.

After reading the article "Values Americans Live By," which was written by L. Robert Kohls in 1988, I found myself thinking about what the term "values" truly means. I believe Dr. Kohls is referring to the customs, beliefs and attitudes which drive a culture's behavior. Kohl confirms this in the article when he states "the different behaviors of a people or culture make sense only when seen through the basic beliefs, assumptions and values of that particular group" (1988). In the case of American society, Kohls makes it clear that the most important value for Americans is perhaps their lack of values, which simply means Americans believe themselves to be…

Education today has become more interesting and challenging than it has ever been before. This is particularly the case with the teaching and learning of English as a second language. Immigrants to the United States and other English speaking countries, for example, are faced with the challenge of not only learning a new language sufficiently to be able to communicate in their new environment, but also of fitting in with a lifestyle and culture that is more often than not completely foreign to them. These challenges can have both a motivating and demotivating effect on EFL and ESL learners. Teachers who are aware of these effects can then more effectively plan their lessons and work with such students to help them obtain optimal results. Hence, a myriad of research articles have seen the light regarding the challenges faced by this sector of learners. "EFL learners moving to an ESL context:…

Education

Over the last several years, educators have been facing considerable challenges in meeting rising expectations for performance. This is because a host of solutions (such as the No Child Left Behind Act) have not addressed the lack of student achievement. Instead, academic performance has continued to linger and become worse in some areas (i.e. mathematics and science). (Hannah, 2012)

In New Jersey, the Core Content and Common Core Curriculum standards is designed to provide clarity on specific subjects and topics students must learn in order to graduate from high school. To fully understand how this occurring requires examining the way it is related to the concepts from Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses and a contemporary issue. This will be accomplished by focusing on the modes of communication, its shape and the way the literature can provoke cultural insights. Together, these elements will highlight how the Core Content and Common Core Curriculum…

While in high school, she worked as a waitress at a local diner. Most of the population was black, therefore there was little contact with white customers or employees. Margaret feels that she was socially isolated until the 1950s. She was not exposed to white culture; it was foreign to her. She was only exposed to black culture of the time. They were not allowed in certain stores, restaurants, or other places of business. She remembers "white only" restrooms and "black only" fountains. This cultural isolation was oppressive.

Margaret feels that the oppressive attitudes and discrimination that she experienced as a child determined much of how her life proceeded in adulthood. The idea that she could only go so far was ingrained as a child. She never really broke free of this feeling. In her 40s, she moved to upstate New York. Here, she found that many women had succeeded…

scu.edu).Andre goes on to say some critics see Hirsch's efforts to bring culture into the classroom are not so much "cultural literacy" but more like "cultural indoctrination." Not only is the Hirsch strategy and methodology seen as flawed, Andre and Velasquez continue, the "content" he prescribes is subject to criticism. For example, the question of "Whose form of knowledge, culture, vision, history and authority will prevail as the national culture?" should be asked, and Hirsch knows that is an issue. "Will they, like Hirsch, be white, middle-class males?" Andre wonders, and will they be elitist?

Hirsch meanwhile answers these accusations in his Core Knowledge Web site, saying that the contend must arise from "a broad consensus of diverse groups and interests." That consensus should include the parents, teachers, scientists, "professional curriculum organizations, and experts on America's multicultural traditions." The "central motivation behind" his core knowledge initiative is "to guarantee equal…

Education

Cultural Diversity

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/education-for-sustainable-development/cultural-diversity / (UNESCO)

This is information about cultural diversity in education, particularly in education for sustainable development found on UNESCO's website. UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and I found the information about education on their website particularly interesting because it addresses education in a global, multicultural environment.

The first important aspect on their website is the institutional framework in which the educational segment operates at UNESCO, which particularly reflects cultural diversity. This is the Johannesburg Declaration, from 2002, which stipulates that "Our rich diversity . . . is our collective strength." Moving from this declaration, it proposes three general principles that link ESD to cultural diversity. These include the fact that the educational process (ESD, as UNESCO refers to it) has to be "locally relevant and culturally appropriate," but also that ESD requires "intercultural understanding."

According to UNESCO, the educational process has…

Cultural Schemata Theory:

Together with formal schemata and linguistic schemata, cultural schemata are some of the main types of schema theory, which is a hypothesis on how knowledge is gained and processed. Actually, schema is a technical word used by cognitive supporters to explain how people arrange, process, and store information in their brain. Notably, schemata focus on how people arrange information to long-term memory in relation to experiences, attitudes, values, strategies, skills, and conceptual understanding. The schema theory is founded on the belief that every act of an individual's understanding includes his/her knowledge of the world. The received knowledge is in turn organized into units that contain stores information.

Understanding Cultural Schemata Theory:

Cultural schemata is also known as abstract, story, or linguistic schema and is developed on the basis of people's basic experiences ("Schemata Theory in Learning," n.d.). Cultural schemata theory is described as the pre-existing knowledge about…

13. I also think that field experiences in the community are extremely necessary for success.

14. I don't think enough teachers complete their practicum or student teach in minority schools, and I think this area is underserved and not supported enough by administration and community in many areas.

15. I don't think many teachers would want immersion, living and teaching in a minority community, and I think this is far underserved in the educational community.

16. The group-setting model is very prevalent, and it does make for more challenge and support throughout college.

Almost all of these elements are extremely relevant to the 21st century learner, teacher, and total school environment. As classrooms become more diversified and unique, today's teachers must make more attempts to understand the different blends of students and cultures that fill their classroom, and educational curriculum is key to this basic understanding. Classrooms are not going…

It is important to recognize the many different areas within adult education, and what type of students these areas attract. Ultimately, for the adult education department to be successful, it must attract a wide variety of students, and keep at least some of those students coming back to continue their education in order to be successful. Adult education serves a vital role in the upper education system, and it serves a diverse amount of people, but in most institutions it also has to support itself if not turn a profit, and that is an important aspect to take into consideration. Therefore, classes must be viable to the institution, but to the student, as well, to keep attracting a wide variety of students into the program.

In addition, diverse students could form a major foundation of the program, and so, it pays to understand these diverse learners so administrators and teaching…

Education in the Community

A major issue currently effecting culture, population, and demographics is that of wealth inequality. As the global economic downturn continues throughout the world, wealth disparity is increasing rapidly. This affects culture, population, and overall demographics in a litany of ways. First, due primarily to lower wages, families are postponing child birth. The uncertainty surrounding the future creates an atmosphere of fear. Families are now waiting until the economic climate becomes more certain before they have their children. Furthermore, the median income for middle class families has plummeted within the last 3 years. The median income for the average American household was roughly $51,000 in 2008. Now the median income is roughly $48,000. This creates problems as families are less apt to spend money are discretionary activities that form the basis of their culture. Holiday spending, for example has yet to reach its 2007 heights. Families are…

Education and Equality of Opportunity

The issue of equality in access to education has been a long running argument and each time legislations are passed and initiatives invented towards trying to make education actually equal and accessible, there are gaping gaps that still make these efforts run short of their target goal. There are several terms that are used in the education department that need to be well understood since most have been misused and hence leading to either a stereotype view of education, or a skewed perspective that only helps to make the situation worse than it already is.

The achievement gap; this is often referred to as the disparity or difference in the performance of students in various groups. From the surface of it, it looks justifiable definition, however, these groupings that are use to measure the academic performance are quite stereotyped and the academic achievements have nothing…

Strehorn states that:

To begin, I try to design a syllabus/course outline that is not only readable, but something that will be utilized more than once per semester (the first day!). This document, aside from basic course information (names and dates), emphasizes my expectation that all students must accept responsibility for their own learning as well as my flexibility in teaching style. I try to make the course syllabus available on disk, and it is always useful to have a clear, legible copy that can be blown-up, or scanned if needed."

Question Four:

What kinds of materials or activities has the teacher used with success with English learners?

Answer: Strehorn states that materials used are: Dictionaries and thesauruses, audio tapes of each class period, books on tape, additional reading/reference sources, study guides, support information, sample problems however, it is not so much the fact in the type of the materials…

com, 2003). Fitting into the system of France is very important, and creating a good French citizen is one of the goals of the educational system. Students in France, for example, cannot wear religious clothing or other affiliations with national, non-French institutions of identity.

As in France and Japan, in the United Kingdom, education is free and compulsory until age sixteen, as an educated workforce is highly valued. There is also a great deal of respect and deference given to the role of the teacher. "Teachers in primary schools (4- to 11-year-olds) are always addressed by their surname by parents and pupils alike, always Mr., Mrs. Or Miss Smith

In secondary schools (11-16 years), teachers are always addressed as Miss or Sir" ("Introduction to School Life," oodlands Junior School, 2007). Students in the United Kingdom must wear a uniform, which enforces a certain sense of national and school cohesion, although…

Dr. Frank Pajares, writing in Reading and riting Quarterly (Pajares 2003), points out that in his view of Bandura's social learning theory, individuals are believed to possess "self-beliefs that enable them to exercise a measure of control over their thoughts, feelings, and actions."

As has been mentioned earlier in this paper, but put a slightly different way by Pajares ("Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Motivation, and Achievement in riting: A Review of the Literature") based on Bandura, behaviorists can better predict what individuals are capable of based on "their beliefs about their capabilities" than by what they are actually capable of accomplishing.

This aspect of self-efficacy carries over into a student's writing abilities; and a writer with a "strong sense of confidence" may excel while writing an essay because there will be less apprehension over the quality of what the writer is trying to express. The writer may have some doubts about whether…

Education

The definition of an educated person has no doubt altered over time. Certainly, many people have tried to formulate the ultimate definition of what an educated person is, and what achieving that state might entail. In my earliest thoughts about the subject, I probably thought an educated person was probably my grandmother; she seemed so wise, and certainly, I never asked her anything for which she didn't have an answer, and a good one at that. I hasten to add that I didn't necessarily think so at the time. hen an adolescent love affair of mine had gone awry and I was miserable and mopey, she would advise me that the way to get out of the pits was to work at something, really hard. I wanted to wallow in misery. It took a few years more of life before I understood that, and even now, she was better…

Education

As the educational system continues to come unde inceasing amounts of scutiny, the teache is ultimately at the fulcum of pessue. They ae equied to digest new educational theoy and sot out the wheat fom the chaff. They ae asked to manage inceasing levels of divesity in the classoom, and students who come to class acoss a widening spectum of pepaedness. At the same time, they ae expected to be a students fiend, motivato, and at times suogate paent. Technological advances in the maketplace have made it necessay fo teaches to adapt to inceasing amounts of technology in the classoom. All of these issues ae coming at a time when fedeal mandates in the No Child Left Behind act ae demanding impoved pefomance, in some cased damatically impoved pefomance.

In light of the inceased levels of demands placed on teaches and the continuing decline of academic pefomance, it is…

It is now recognized that individuals learn in different ways -- they perceive and process information in various ways. The learning styles theory suggests that the way that children acquire information has more to do with whether the educational experience is slanted toward their specific style of learning than their intelligence.

The foundation of the learning styles methodology is based in the classification of psychological types. The research demonstrates that, due to heredity factors, upbringing, and present circumstantial demands, different students have an inclination to both perceive and process information differently. These different ways of learning consist of: 1) concrete or abstract perceivers, where concrete perceivers acquire information through direct experience of doing, sensing, and feeling, and abstract perceivers, instead accept new ideas through analyzing, observing and thinking; 2) active or reflective processors -- active processors understand a new experience by immediately utilizing new information, and reflective processors analyze an…

The State has also established a string of both general and specific policies for improving and developing special education and set aside special funds for this purpose. Consequently, just like regular education, special education has also developed rapidly. Although local governments are encouraged to provide compulsory education to children with and without disabilities, the enacted policies do not necessitate that education be provided to all students.

Despite the fact that students with disabilities were earlier educated in special schools, China has adopted new channels of special education including the integration of disabled children into general education classes. Currently, the number of disabled children enrolled in schools has continued to experience a big increase since 1987. Although many articles in the laws formulated by the Chinese government call for the overall education of handicapped children, special education for children with autism or severe disabilities is not directly mentioned in these policies…

" (Chan, East, Ali and Neophytou, 2002; p.6)

III. POST-WWII ENGLAND SCHOOLS

The work entitled: "Doing Comparative Education: Three Decades of Collaboration" relates the fact that the post-World War II world in England "left a series of emergencies for which immediate answers had to be found. There were shortages of staff, equipment and building..." (Eckstein, 1960) Eckstein additionally states: "Post-war legislation has generally been characterized by radical thinking and optimism. However, the euphoria brought by the end of a war is so often soon dissipated in the exhausting battle of the peace. At such a time, the ambitiously optimistic spirit of reconstruction may also be lessened. A more cautious planned expansion replaces the scheme for extensive reconstruction, ideas of reform have once again to vie with practices which are entrenched in the typical ways of thinking of a people. The educational legislation of the last five years or so has…

Education for Economy Theory as it elates to Adult Education

In an economy motivated by improvement and information, in marketplaces betrothed in powerful opposition and steady regeneration, in a world of incredible chances and risks, in a culture facing multifaceted business, political, scientific, technological, health and environmental challenges, and in diverse workplaces and neighborhoods that center on mutual associations and social networking, the cleverness, nimbleness and skills of the American people are vital to U.S. competitiveness (21st Century Skills, Education & Competitiveness, 2008).

Education economics is the study of economic matters as they relate to education, comprising the demand for education and the funding and condition of education. The leading model of the demand for education is founded on human capital theory. The main idea is that undertaking education is an investment in the attainment of skills and information which will augment earnings, or offer long-range benefits such as an…

Education of Abbasid

Today, the majority of high school students hope to finish college one day. This is a realistic dream for many, as there is an established education system that gives students a choice of career paths and training. The modern world if full of universities and training centers. However, the world was not always like this. Many centuries ago, education was limited to the privileged and even the privileged did not have many opportunities in learning. Today's existing modern educational system has been influenced by traditions of the past, particularly by the great advances that occurred during the Abbasid Dynasty in the Muslim world.

One of the achievements of Muslim culture during the Abbasid Dynasty was the widespread spread of literacy. Elementary education was almost universal, especially in the cities. Emphasis on the value of reading and writing stems from the very first revelations of the Qur'an, which…

This helps the institution become more successful and viable, and it creates a more diversified and content student body. It is the responsibility of students to demand this type of diversity if it does not already exist, as well. Students have the right to expect the best educational experience they can imagine at their institutions, and institutions have the responsibility to continually upgrade their delivery and content to meet the needs of a changing student body. Diversity brings greater awareness and understanding, and it brings new opportunities to learn from a more diverse population. An institution that remains stagnant when it comes to diversity will find itself behind the times and losing enrollment to more progressive schools, and so, it is the responsibility of the institution to keep current and foster diversity.

Diversity is the wave of the future, and an institution has to prepare its students for the future,…

With Kim's help, I saw that I had a knack for helping people. I was able not just to be supportive of others, but I could really connect with people and help them. I also had a great knowledge of course planning for almost every major at UConn, because I liked to read through the course booklet and see what kinds of classes were out there and see the different majors and what the requisites were for each. Also, I realized that I often helped my friends with their course selections and major planning before they went to their own advisors. Therefore, I decided to major in Human Services, where my concentration was in academic advising.

Thus, in my own way, I was able to travel through each of the seven vectors identified by Chickering and elucidated by eisser, ultimately arriving at the final point: the development of purpose in…

Finding out about other peoples and cultures, through technology, will be an essential part of education in the years to come.

Numerous aspects of the current educational system will need to be improved in future years. The focus must be on children's individual needs and abilities. Today, standardized tests and general requirements frequently restrict students' opportunities to learn. Many youngsters do not get the attention they need, or the enrichment they deserve. Teachers often lack the necessary resources to prepare children for the real world, or to deal with children's real world problems. "Teaching to the test" creates its own difficulties for the educator, leaving many unprepared for atypical classroom situations. Young people have difficulties at home, or in their personal lives, and educators do not have the training to deal with these potentially serious problems. Disruptive and violent behavior can lead to tragedy. Children do not receive sufficient ethical…

Cultural Competency in Nursing

The basic knowledge in nursing or medical studies needs substantial facilitation in order to be effective and appropriate towards addressing the needs and preferences of the patients. Watson notes the need to integrate humanistic aspect into the career or nursing profession. He also believes on the need for the establishment of the caring relationship between the patients and nurses thus demonstration of unconditional acceptance of the patients in any condition. Nurses should integrate holistic and positive treatment with the aim of promoting health through knowledge and interventions thus elimination of interruptions during treatments or 'caring moments'. Modern patients have diverse problems and issues because of the cultural differences, races, and ethnicity thus the need to enhance the operations of the nurses. There is need to ensure that the nurses obtain cultural competencies with the aim of enhancing their ability to address diverse issues and problems faced…

Cultural Counselor

Being a counselor can sometimes be a really tough job. Counseling can only be effective and beneficial when the counselor places himself or herself in the shoes of his or her client. If he or she is unable to do so, he or she will never become an effective counselor. Placing oneself in the circumstances of someone else is not easy, let alone placing oneself in the shoes of a person who is of a different race, religion or culture. That is the real test of a counselor. In this paper I shall discuss what is required to understand the cross-cultural relationships in counseling to help the client get over their problem easily. All the dimensions pertaining to counseling (of a client of a different background that the counselor) will discussed with the case scenario.

Case Scenario

When clients and counselors have different cultural (or ethnic or racial)…

Cultural Distance: How Is it Measured, And How it Impact on Global Marketing Operations

The persistence of cultural distances is relevant for the global multinational marketing operations exposed to multiple cultures in their everyday activities. This indicates that marketing across border introduces complexities because it forces global marketers to tailor their approaches and practices to each cultural context they carry out their business activities. As a result, this paper will discuss concepts applicable to different aspects of cross-border operations. The primary focus of the paper is on multinational business corporations (Baumann, 2007).

This study shows how Hofstede's model is still the most relevant piece of reference for a successive cross-cultural analysis despite it being a widely criticized. The paper compares and contrasts Hofstede's famous concepts with Turner and Schwartz, Trompenaars and Hampden's valued inventory. It will attempt to provide empirical evidence of how cultural diversity influences the global markets by…

A group that is, by its very nature, mentally defective, will also easily be viewed as incapable of supporting itself without help - a strain on the larger society. In terms of modern day American society, this could be seen as declaring that African-Americans, and other similarly impoverished and marginalized groups, are likely to remain forever within the care of the social welfare system. Believers in such ideas might easily raise the question - why bother with caring for these people at all? More to the point; however, is the question of whether there is really anything wrong with most of these individuals at all? Clearly, a large part of their "mental disabilities" derive from internal and external assumptions about what it means to be African-American, or a member of some similarly tagged minority group. A multicultural approach to the educational process helps to guarantee that all individuals are ranked…

People need look no further than their own homes to see the interdependence of world trade; no further than their neighborhoods to see the results of international migration and multiculturalism; no further than the news to see the causes and effects of global economics, ecology and ethnic conflicts. "While domestic debate continues over the nature of these connections, few can doubt their existence. As these connections increase, educators, utilizing a global model, can provide a context that allows students to analyze and understand the impact of world events" (Baker, 1999).

Multiculturalism and globalism are obviously not unique to the United States. The majority of Western societies are racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse. Ethnic revival movements have come up in a lot of countries including quite a few Western European nations (Banks & Lynch, 1986). This type of revival movement occurs when an ethnic group organizes efforts to attain equality inside…

Cultural Observation

In any culture, the way someone dresses will have an impact in identifying who they are and the traditions which are embraced. The Indian civilization has their own form of dress that is holding onto various social customs in the form of the sari. To fully understand how this is impacting society requires carefully examining the cultural context of the dress ensemble, providing a description of it and discussing various influences (such as: somatotypes). Together, these elements will highlight the impact of these styles on different segments of society. (Katiyar, 2009)

Briefly describe the cultural context of the dress practice or ensemble.

The Indian sari is a strip of indistinct cloth which is worn by women. It is from four to nine yards in length and is draped over the body in various styles. The outfit is worn based upon historical traditions which are dating back to the…

While popularly associated with the advent of web-based technologies, DE is not a new phenomenon (agusa et al. 2009, 679)." The author asserts that during the nineteenth century many universities had correspondence programs. These programs remained popular for many years because they were different from more conventional learning environments. At the current time, distance education is driven by the pace of technological change and such changes are occurring globally in a manner that is rapid and complex. There are currently more than 130 countries in which institutions of higher learning provide students with distance courses (agusa et al. 2009). These courses often have as a foundation new information and communication technologies. The author also explains that

"In Australia, DE has particularly been embraced, at institutional and policy levels, as a means of extending higher education to rural, isolated, and often structurally disadvantaged learners (little or no access to a reliable…

Education

There is no subject that exists in isolation of others. This is especially true for social studies, which is inherently cross disciplinary. Social studies encompass economics, politics, sociology, history, geography, religion, and culture. Cross-curricular integration allows students to see the inter-connectedness between the Social Studies and the other subject areas in the school curriculum. The following analysis of a course on Trinidad and Tobago provides a detailed example of how Social Studies integrates with other subjects in the curriculum. Other subjects in the curriculum include mathematics, social sciences (psychology and sociology), hard science (chemistry, physics, and biology), art, art history, music, and physical education.

The syllabus of the course on Trinidad and Tobago includes the following: history and geography; culture and people; government, politics, and transnational issues; and the economy.

History and Geography

This section of the course addresses the history and geography of Trinidad and Tobago. It is…

(Cha-Jua, 2001, at (http://www.wpunj.edu/newpol/issue31/chajua31.htm)

Another aspect of representation, however, concerns collective memory and the representation of a shared past. Through the context for dialogue they create, social movements facilitate the interweaving of individual stories and biographies into a collective, unified frame, a collective narrative. Part and parcel of the process of collective identity or will formation is the linking of diverse experiences into a unity, past as well as present. Social movements are central to this process, not only at the individual level, but also at the organizational or meso level of social interaction. Institutions like the black church and cultural artifacts like blues music may have embodied and passed on collective memories from generation to generation, but it was through social movements that even these diverse collective memories attained a more unified focus, linking individuals and collectives into a unified subject, with a common future as well as a…

But Rushdie's relationship with English as a writer, even as a critic of the former British Empire, is far more complex. In Salman Rushdie's text "English is an Indian literary language," Rushdie states that the output of literature in English by Indian writers is more interesting and vital than those produced in India's native languages. Through creativity and dialogue with the oppressor, a great literature has been generated. India's original languages were vast in number but parochial. Ironically, English has proved to be a unifying force for Indians, even if one of the unifying ideologies for Indian writers in English is their attempt to create a new, national literature that is distinct from the British.

This phenomenon is not new, of course. Great Irish writers also used the English language that was imposed upon them to create great works of literature. Even if the ideology that resulted in the imposition…

Indeed the Germans, the French, and the rest looked back to an antiquity in which their ancestors had been subjugated by the legions. Nothing is more remarkable therefore than the rapid and irrevocable penetration of Italian ideas and practices among the "barbarians," as the Italian writers referred to them, some of whom were currently invading the peninsula." (Wiener, 124) it's also important to note that influence of antique classicism typical for Italian architecture of the 14-16th centuries is not observed in the north. Classical style of Italian cathedrals and churches, typical for Ancient Greek and oman pagan temples is usually not observed in buildings of enaissance epoch in Germany, Britain or France, where architecture was influenced by Gothic style, which got earlier spread in Europe.

eformation and Counter eformation

The spread of Protestantism over Europe, which is considered to be one of the most historically significant achievements of enaissance and…

Cultural Event Report: Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting the Museum of Art at Fort Lauderdale. Surprisingly, I had never been to the museum before. It sits adjacent to Nova University, in a very beautiful and modern section of the city. The very moment I walked up to the doors, I was excited. The museum is a very interesting exterior composition, with the bright coat of abstract paint, which seems to drift down the side of one of the main exterior walls. From looking at pictures of its old facade, I am definitely impressed with how well they have grown and opened up to facilitating the true spirit behind modern art. Pictures from their website show a much different building, one that was much more drab and boring. The new facade that now stands is much more enlightening; a true testament to the modern…

Cultural epresentation of Social Class

Social class is a reflection of more than the material conditions of the lives that people live. Objective resources such as income are responsible for shaping up some cultural practices as well as behaviors which signal social class. These signals end up creating cultural identities among the people in the upper and those in the lower classes. This makes people get rooted perceptions that are subjective in terms of social classes. The paper will look at how culture which is related to social class impacts identity and pride within individuals within specific social classes.

Social classes have a great influence on people thoughts, feelings and their actions. Social class is a form of cultural identity which is constituted in various processes. First of all the social class that someone belongs to is determined by symbols such as wealth, preferences and social behaviors such as the…

colostate.edu/guides/research/casestudy/pop2a.cfm.

3. Hispanic, White Communities Forge Ties in Alabama (2003) a UA Center for Public Television and Radi9o Production. Online available at:

4. McDade, Sharon a. (2002) Definition of a Case Study. Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning - North Carolina State. Online available at http://www.ncsu.Edu/fctl/Programs/Instructional- Development/Teaching _Materials / CaseStudies/Materials / Case studyDefintion.pdf# search =%22 CASE%20STUDY % 3A%20DEFINIT ION%20OF %22.

5. UAB Wins $389,000 in Grants to Help Teachers Educate Non-English Speaking Children (200) UAB Media Relations. 27 Nov 200. Online available at http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=46333.

6. English Language Development and Multicultural Education (2005) University of Alabama. Berkeley University Online available at http://crede.berkeley.edu/tools/directory2-/PDF/esl.pdf#search=%22Alabama%3A%20Elementary%20ESL%20SERVICES%22.

7. English as a Second Language (ESL) (2004) Baldwin County Public Schools; Bay Minette, Alabama. Online available at http://www.bcbe.org/Default.asp?DivisionID='824'&DepartmentID='958'.

8. UAB Wins $389,000 in Grants to Help Teachers Educate Non-English Speaking Children (200) UAB Media Relations. 27 Nov 200. Online available at http://main.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=46333.

9. Alabama (2006) KYTESOL Newsletter Vol.…

While both gender and race are positionalities that are difficult to hide (not that one should need or want to, anyway), sexual orientation is not necessarily something that is known about a person, and its affects on the learning process can be very different. The very fact that sexual orientation can be hidden can create a situation where the learner closes off, hiding not only their sexuality but demurring away from other opportunities of expression and engagement as well. Conversely, if an individual with an alternative sexuality was open about this fact, it could very well cause discomfort in other adult learners who have a marked generational bias against many alternative sexualities and lifestyles (Cain). Both situations could provide useful grounds for personal growth in self-acceptance and self-security, for the learner of a minority sexual orientation and for the other learners in the class, respectively (Cain).

Situated Cognition v. Experiential…

One thing my father has taught me since I was a little boy is always to look neat and clean, hold my head up high, and walk with purpose, no matter how rich or how poor. He says that this can affect a person's confidence, and it won't hurt if someone is watching them for an advancement at work. I try to follow his advice, but find my body bending too easily to the positions of a soccer player. My father asks Miguel to pardon us while he leads me to the window to pray. Once our noon prayers are done, the four of us sit at the table, and my mother, artfully tucking her veil out of the way while she slurps noodles, says my father has something to discuss with us.

"Son," my father begins in the stiff way he has adopted for talking about serious matters. "I…

Whatever biases remain in public education can be removed, because the belief in equal opportunity has prevailed.

Standardized testing offers the only known way to ensure admissions to universities are based more on merit than on social class. In spite of their limitations, standardized tests do offer the only means to assess scholastic aptitude. A merit-based admissions procedure contributes to the betterment of society by offering educational opportunities to citizens who would be otherwise denied them. Upward social mobility and the ability to participate fully in the political process are possible outcomes of a merit-based educational system.

Effective educators understand the cultural contexts in which they work. In "Culture of Youth and How it Affects Learning," we saw how educators need to work hard to understand youth culture. To relate to their students, teachers must find common ground. Learning the language and values their students use out of the classroom…

According to a British Study conducted on all students born in the first week of March 1958, and following them through adolescence and on until the age of twenty-three:

There were no average differences between grouped and ungrouped schools because within the grouped schools, high-group students performed better than similar students in ungrouped schools, but low-group students did worse. Students in remedial classes performed especially poorly compared to ungrouped students with similar family backgrounds and initial achievement. With low-group losses offsetting high-group gains, the effects on productivity were about zero, but the impact on inequality was substantial." (Gamoran 1992)

As Gamoran points out, grouping or "tracking" tended to accentuate a student's skills or lack thereof. High-ability students benefited from segregation, but low-ability students did even worse than before. And while low-ability pupils received no benefit whatsoever from the tracking system, neither did their schools. The net gain in performance among…

Education

John Gatto is one of the few teachers who are speaking out against the current educational culture who knows what he is talking about. After teaching the state of New York, which has one of the highest per student budgets in the nation, uses many progressive teaching theories, and still produces some of the lowest test scores in the nation, his frustration comes from a wealth of experience. Teachers who start their careers with a sincere desire to educate students have their hands are tied by multi-cultural disconnectedness and a socialist teaching culture which discourages individual accomplishment. The frustration expressed by Mr. Gatto (Berlau, 2003) is likely only the tip of the iceberg representing the depth of the nationwide problem. From Atlanta to Minneapolis, news papers are filled with stories of failing students, failing schools, and school systems which are confused as to the source of the problem. Maybe…

Education mirrors life. And, life follows from education. Both entities are inextricably linked. This is a salient point that most teachers and students must recognize. And by teachers, one also means students of a particular domain -- even if that domain is global and extensible to every aspect of life -- since the process of learning never stops. In developing a philosophy of education, one must also be able to dissociate education from literacy -- the latter being far more important. The crux of this essay will be to show that since each individual -- and this is common knowledge -- is different, then the process of education should not devolve into a one- size-fits-all groupthink straitjacket. How should education then be defined? As a mode of instruction that leaves avenues open, into which, aspects of a student's (or teacher's) life experiences and richness of talents and culture might be…

What works for one child is not necessarily going to work for the next. So how can one promote the use of standardized tests as the only way to measure educational learning and success? The premise of the No Child Left Behind Act is very honorable. Each child should be taught by the best teachers that there are and each school should be held accountable for making sure that this occurs. But the measuring device that this act relies on is faulty. It places so much emphasis on the scores of the tests that all of the other educational ideas are being lost among the numbers.

eferences

Beveridge, Tina. (2010). No Child Left Behind and Fine Arts Classes. Arts Education Policy

eview. 111(1), p4-7.

Caillier, James. (2010). Paying Teachers According to Student Achievement: Questions

egarding Pay-for-Performance Models in Public Education. Clearing House. 83(2),

p58-61.

Derthick, Martha and Dunn, Joshua M.…

Education Platforms

The purpose of this work is to research precisely what factors should be taken under consideration when making a determination of what learning platform should be utilized and why. This work will further answer the question of "hat are the legal and ethical issues, learning tools, instructional methods, content or context that needs to be considered and why they are important?"

The platform when speaking of education is the structural base upon which the framework of education rests. This platform or base is utilized and often exploited in the pursuits of politicians and other key school board personnel in their gaining of elections to educational positions. However, there exists a real need for a viable, workable and sustainable educational platform particularly in the face of rapid globalization. Platform Learning's program called the "Learn-to-Succeed" program is a federally-funded tutoring program with a design specifically for improving achievement of students…

Symbolic interactionalism thus posits a much more dynamic view of human learning, rather than the rote reception of societal norms in functionalism, or functionalism's belief in education to shape human minds in a pre-determined fashion. But it also is a more positive view of education than conflict theory, because even if there are problematic ideas in the way knowledge is conveyed, human beings may be creative enough to reconfigure preexisting systems of meaning in a liberating fashion. Also it is the individual who chooses how his or her personal liberation and development should take place, not the teacher. "Symbolic interactionalism emphasized several important dimensions of knowledge management through schooling: in school classroom interaction; by the professionalizing of the teaching process; through the bureaucratization of school organization; and, at the cultural level, where the links between the sociology of education and the sociology of knowledge are more immediately visible" (Marshall 1998).…

Cultural Artifact

Mental Health Drugs as Panacea

A culture is made up of people who have developed the same language (or at least dialect of a larger language), art forms, religion, and other means of distinguishing one group from another. It can be said that all groups have a certain culture that they have established by which they are constrained. For example, a company develops a culture that is specific to it, and that culture governs everyone who works at, or is affiliated with, that company. In ethnic terms, a culture will define the ways in which one ethnic grouping is different from another. Although certain groupings may have similar languages, religions and ways of doing things, they will also have differences which distinguish them. In the same way that different species of birds are characterized by slight differences in appearance or location, people are grouped by the culture from…

At the same time, it considerably increased the number of books that would reach the masses, allowing them to see outside the teachings of the Church or of the religious preachers. Moreover, the printing machine offered the possibility for those opposing the rule of the Catholic Church to spread their beliefs and convictions. Thus, Gutenberg's invention was the main tool for what would later be called the Reformation, the religious movement which is often associated with the Renaissance and which influenced the artistic movement in the same manner as the Renaissance affected the emergence of the reformist churches.

The hallmarks of the previous era were rather obvious and contrasted to the ones the Renaissance promoted. They manifested themselves at all the levels of the society. Thus, during the middle Ages, the Church represented the highest institution of the state which had as its subjects all political and land owners (Berstein…

Cultural Audit of St. Cloud State University: HR Analysis and Critique

To address the deficits highlighted the cultural audit, St. Cloud University has resolved to address issues of demographic isolation, namely the sense of students that they do not have a 'connection' to the university, and the persistent problems regarding minority tensions and institutional discrimination. Perhaps the most telling survey comment came from a student, criticizing the survey structure: "I think that this survey was bogus. I can't believe you wasted $50,000 on this thing. e already know that SCSU is a hub of institutional racism" as noted in the Qualitative Analysis Section of the report. Another telling detail was that some faculty, administration and staff felt there was a notable lack of African-American and Jewish faculty members on campus, and that some felt the presence of a 'glass ceiling" regarding promotions of women. Also, disability services were perceived as…

In order to build an age-appropriate vocabulary in the English language, ESL students must learn words at a faster rate than normal (Lipka, Siegel, & Vukovic, 2005; Drucker 2003). This results in a widening gap between the reading and comprehension levels of ESL and non-ESL students if the needs of ESL students are not addressed (Lipka, Siegel, & Vukovic, 2005).

Some ESL students come from a native language that poses more difficulties than others. For example, ussian and Arabic have alphabets that look very different from the English alphabet. Children must learn an entirely new coding system in order to proceed (Lipka, Siegel, & Vukovic, 2005). Even when the alphabet is similar, the English language is difficult to learn due to the many inconsistencies in tense and individual word use. Because they may not be conversationally fluent, subtleties of the English language may take some time to master (Palmer, El_Ashry,…

Cultural Observation of Dress

Why do all humans engage in the act of dressing the body? Consider how dress relates to both the physical and the social needs of the wearer.

Everyone dresses according to social factors and to make themselves more physically appealing to other. This helps them to be seen as hip and enhance their appearance. These variables ensure that the social and individual needs of the person are met. This is when they will have greater amounts of self-confidence. (Eicher, 2008)

f all humans dress themselves for the same basic reasons, why do we look so different from each other? Consider the influences of culture, age, gender, and other factors that distinguish people from one another.

People look different based upon their cultural background, age and gender. These elements are combined together to provide the person with a unique sense of style. This is used to make…

In this regard, the instructor's individual characteristics should be secondary to the readiness of the instructor to recognize individual learning strengths and needs in the students.

Diversity:

Diversity is often taken as a term which refers particularly to difference in race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation, to name just a few categories of cultural distinction. And indeed, it does refer to this within the context of education. However, there is yet another level to the discussion on diversity which concerns education in particularly, relating to the individual nature of learning styles. It is therefore necessary for the teacher to channel a recognition of learning styles and cultural diversity into a unified approach to the classroom. This tends to reinforce the position taken throughout this research, which is that the successful teacher will, therefore, tend to an educational strategy which diverts from strict academic prerogatives and instead approaches its subjects…

Each customer's predictive score informs actions to be taken with that customer. usiness intelligence just doesn't get more actionable than that." (Siegel, 2009)

Predictive analytics involves: (1) a focus on actions; (2) rapid deployment; and (3) engagement of business and IT. (Siegel, 2009) Decision management is characterized by: (1) a focus on decisions; (2) the combination of business rules with analytics; and (3) putting predictive analytics to work. (Siegel, 2009) Irwin Speizer writes that there is a "new generation of workforce-planning tools" that offer great promise through the use of "sophisticated software and data-rich predictive-modeling techniques..." (Speizer, 2006) It is stated that the study of "internal staffing history and skill sets, external and internal business trends, demographic data and other variables" that the HR leader can "predict a company's talent-related needs years into the future." (Speizer, 2006)

V. Summary & Conclusion

Starbucks did manage to negotiate their way successfully through…

But most important, Geert Hofstede will give you the 'edge of understanding' which translates to more successful results" (Geert Hofstede's Website, 2003).

If Steven Kafka conducted an analysis of the Czech market through the lens of cultural features, there is an increased likelihood for the results to indicate major discrepancies. This should not however disappoint him, as different does not implicitly mean worse.

A d) in its desire to adhere to the great economic powers of the globe, driven by its sense of innovation and its adaptability to the forces in the macro and micro environments, the Czech epublic has managed to remove most of its trade barriers. These measures were due mostly to its adherence to the European Union and other international trade organizations. "The Czech market has no trade barriers to food and agricultural product imports, except for the usual import duties and tariff rate quotas permitted under…

"9.8% in urban areas; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas; an official Chinese journal estimated overall unemployment (including rural areas) for 2003 at 20% (2004 est.)" (CIA orld Factbook "China") the occupation breakdown for the nation is also rather simplistic, with a large protion of the population still being engaged in agricultural industries: "agriculture 49%, industry 22%, services 29% (2003 est.)" (CIA orld Factbook "China")

Cultural habits of China are relatively universal as the nation has relatively few national minorities and limited immigration from other nations due to its communist legacy. The majority ethnic group Han Chinese constitutes 91.9% of the total population with the significant minorities including Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities, constituting only a total of 8.1%. There is though a significant social and cultural disparity between urban and rural populations. Urban China is relatively modern, with many conveniences…

4). This idea has since been abandoned. The mythology of the Amazons, a matriarchy of warrior women, has been discounted as no more than a myth, one deriving from the deep-seated fear on the part of males that they might lose their power and authority. In matrilineal societies, men tend still to monopolize the rights of power. Some Chinese anthropologists believe the stories of true matriarchal societies in some regions of China in the past, but this is uncertain. A matriarchy would be presumed to be less warlike and more nurturing as a social order and would not subordinate men in the way men have done to women in the patriarchal society.

The formulation and operation of power in the largely patriarchal social order in the world today divides along other line than gender, with political action influenced most by ideology, religion, divisions of power, and other aspects of group…

let us begin by analyzing the Pharisees.

The term itself is derived from a Hebrew word which literally means "separated." Right from the ethimological interpretation we can deduce that the Pharisees were a group of people who saw things differently compared to the majority. This difference was manifested in the religious area, but also in the political area and the social one.

The Second Temple was the period in which the Phariseean philosophy flourished. It is worth underlining that it is this very philosophy and religious thought that put the basis of the contemporary forms of Judaism.

During the reign of the king Antiochus Epiphanes in which numerous pressures were being made in order to impose the Hellenistic culture and polytheist religion, an anti-Hellenistic Jewish movement was created in order to defend the traditional views.

This movement was called the Hasidim and the Pharisees are one of the group's successors.…