Student Reflections EDG 2701/EME 2040

Ana Alarcon  Belkis Cordoba  Roxana Crespi  Maria Cuenca  Christina Herrera   Yasmine Louis   Gissel Rosario  Jeannette Rodriguez    Miranda Spina  Karen Raun-Alonso  

Ana Alarcon

In my opinion the people that believe in God don’t believe in races. In Jane Elliot's article I like it that even though everything was against her she followed her beliefs. I think it was cruel of her, doing the brown eyes, blue eyes exercise to those little kids but at the same time I think that it was good for them because may be with that exercise they learned not to discriminate others because their differences. Is impressing how a person can change his academy responds just because the way the teacher treats him.

Not a lot of people realize that just because they are white they have more privilege than others. I think that our way of living is wrong because it gives too much importance to things like races and ethnic groups. Every human being is different from the other and they should understand that no matter what race or ethnic group a person form part of every human being should be treat it the same way, with the same respect and trust that a white person is treat it. Me being in the shoes of a person that has been discriminate the feeling is horrible and is not fair that a person has to go through that just because of his skin color. 

When I was a little girl I didn’t quite understand why the people around me had different skin color but while I was growing up I understood that every person is different. My mom explains to me that all of us were equal in matter of physical but that the color of our skin may be different. She told me that the color of our skin doesn’t mark a different and that the people that belief that our skin colors is a reason for killing they were ignorant. 

 I think that the testing program that the state is using is unfair. Is not fair for the teachers, the students and the parents. The only thing that teachers focus all year is on the HSCT or the famous FCAT because they think that if the students don’t pass the FCAT they are doing their job in the wrong way. Students are living High School because they think that is not worth the effort because 4 years in High School is measure with a test and if you don’t pass the test they just leave you without your diploma and they are not going to give you your diploma until you have pass the test. So why spent 4 years of your life if instead you can do the GED and save yourself all that trouble. The parents may fell disappointed at a point and angry at the other if they see that after all the work that their son or daughter have passed through High School they don’t get the diploma they deserve. This is just for kids that have born here and know the language.

Belkis Cordoba 

Aryan Invasion theory is a controversial story!  Some Indian people said that they were occupied by “homodic –Indo European tribes”.  They were from Central Asian supposedly.  They came around “1500-100 BC”.  Hindus thought that these people came to make their civilization.  This culture has an idea that this Aryan theory has an original foundation in this Invasion of the Aryans.  They support these opinions because they think that their points of views are truth.  Many people are thinking that this theory can be questionable.

Muller said that Aryan went to India around 1500 BC.  The Hindu culture thinks that they come before this time and maybe these people conquered India.  For example, they think that Indian came as “pre Aryan.” Many people in this culture have their own belief, and they might be or might not have the real reasons.  Muller’s theory explained that Aryan could not come before 1500 BC, for the float occurred before and it was written in the bible in 25000 BC.

Cultures have their own hypothesis; it depends on the believers.  The pass is gone, but the written work are we us.  Cultures have their own roots, the asili.  Cultures are united because their beliefs, values, and attitudes.  However, people do not have the right to be prejudice to tend to attack others countries cultures or way of living.  People in Arabic think that their culture is the best in the whole planet.  Really, I do not like their opinions because their opinions can kill.  They can send a person to exploit in important places in the U.S.  They really are wrong when they do this.  They do not agree with the freedom, life, opportunities, and many ways of positive thinking.

The United States is a wonderful place to live because of all benefits we have.  I like this country because the natives respect the life of others and without saying much of our civilian’s rights.             

Joseph Arthur Count de Gobineau was a historian in 1816.  “He made the racial theory when he met Wagner at Rome in 1876.” He often went to his  house in Bayreuth.  Wagner was interested in Author’s theory he liked younger and fresh ideas of the younger writers.  Even thought he was interested in “miscegenation is expounded in his Essai sur l’inegalite des races humaines”, he disagreed with him.  “He thought that this could be the cause of the human degeneration.” “Warner did not believe in this racial theory because he said that the Christian redemption was to be found in the unity of mankind through the pure blood of Christ.”  People must be unity in one soul without being prejudiced with any ethnic race. 

Houston Stewart Chamberlain was English and German publicist.  He enjoyed writing playwrights.  He was an adversary to the humanity.  He had a cruel and sad babyhood because his mother departed this life before he had one year old.  Even though he enjoyed other activities like reading, his dad had planned his life already.  He had a wonderful teacher that encouraged him with his own appealing topics of study without focusing enough in his father planed.  He continued his education until he had a Bachelor in natural science.  “He became a writer when a demon posed him, and he made him to write.” This is can be a strange thing! This can be truth or untruth.  However, some people had this paranormal experience that we could not explain very easily.  It is something in the air or it is something in people imaginations!  I know something that many people or doctors can give a logical explanation.  If you have a clear explanation, please tell me!  It is intangible. 

Ricard Wagner was the son of Friedrich Wagner, and his mother married a famous poet.  He grew up in an art home due to he was living with he stepfather.  He liked to make compositions in many ways.  He did playwrights, music; sing operas, and many other ways of compositions.  He was an excellent composer, and he was a very good artist as well.  He also participated in the “Young Germany’s movement.” He wrote song and written work to express himself to his personal friends.  His wife published poems that she said that he said many controversial things. In his first festival, he had a prophetic parable about industrial society and more, and he could not sing what he was planned to sing in this opportunity because of this abnormal phenomenon.

 Max Muller wrote about the Hindu culture.  He had an Idea from his culture.  He explained that India went to India in “1500 BC”.  He said that these people had to be pre Aryans.  He believed in his own bible chronology or time.  He believed that the Aryans lived in a time long ago. He thought that in “2400 BC” that this group existed.  “Vedic literature was interpreted on the assumption that there was an Aryan invasion.” “In fact, archeological evidence was proven by the same assumption of this theory.” I give the opportunity to have your own opinion or end toward this specific topic.  The end depends on every way of analyzing or thinking!  This theory may truth or false, and I believed it is hard to measure the past into correct details.  For me it is kind of hard to judge a culture and it’s religion details. 

The Holocaust was a persecution and also there were many murdered of approximately six million Jews and others citizens by the Nazi regimen.  In Greek, the Holocaust means, “sacrifice by fire.” The Nazis had the power in German in 1933.  In addition, they believe that Jews were inferior.  They thought that they were superior to the Jews.  In fact, they believe that their life were “unworthy.” 

 They had discrimination and prejudice problems because they attacked many innocent people.  They killed Jews, and they also murdered many ethnic groups.  For example, they killed the Roma (Gypsies), the handicapped, Slavic, Poles, Russians, and many others groups.  Another important aspect, they persecuted on political and behavior grounds.  They followed and killed Communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s witnesses, and homosexuals.  

In 1933, the Jewish population of Europe was around nine million of people.  They lived in countries that third Reich would live during the World War II.  Due to the Nazis were racists; they murdered an enormous quantity of Jews in Europe.  As well, they killed 200,000 Gypsies in the Euthanasia program.  They murdered many soviets, for they died of starvation, disease, and maltreatment.  Their deported Poland’s citizens so that they taken Poland.  Supposedly, homosexuals were persecuted as well because of their lives styles. 

Nazis made concentration camps to kill Jews, Romans, and many victims of the racial preference.  They maltreat people on these places.  To explain, they murdered victims in mobile units named “Einsatzgrupper.” This was miserable because they assassinated more than one million of Jews in these deathly compartments.  Nazis surrounded, for S. S. Guards forced them to liberate their prisoners on “the West on May 7 and in the East on May 9 on 1945.”  Nazis regimen finished, and people could obtain their freedom.  Finally, they went to many countries including the United States. 

Sorrowfully, the Holocaust devastated many of the European Jewish habitants in Nazism’s Concentration camps before the World War II was ended.  They were affected because their families’ members were missing!      

There is a group to study the education exams.  It is a highlighted association named “The American Educational Research Association” who is searching about the excellent or awful effects on taking exams.  They obtain terrible effects in the evaluation they made on exams.   The AERA was interesting on facts that concerned parents and teachers.  The state orders test to measure the ability of the students and the schools to found out about their responsibility.  The states value schools with the student’s averages.  There are exams that value student’s capacity and if students make lower scores.  They are punishing schools and students denied the rewarding diploma.  For example, I have an experience with the English HSCT the first time I took it. I did not pass for few points.  It almost retains my opportunity to get my high school diploma.  This is to eliminate students from being educated.  This a harmful thing because the state wants students, who make excellent scores in exams, classes.  Exams are the reason for some students to make it, and there are those who withdraw due to the difficulties and the requirements! This is horrible that some students have to be eliminating to find poorly paying jobs.  Who make it are those students who persevere, those who working very hard, those who eliminated a day on the beach, those who listen to their teachers, those who praying everyday, those who do their homework, those who study for their exams, those who have someone little waiting for them at home.  Those who study long hours, those who have the skills to earn it.  Those are the students who will get a college diploma.  It is sad that some schools are making money because some people think that they can do it, and they cannot do it for the lack of skills.  They are so naïve to believe in the possibility of a competition when there are many of students who want to reach the same goals.  It is something to think about.  There should not be test for everyone, and there should be plenty of opportunities for an education for anyone.    Society is unfair many times!

I was thinking on how these classes will be since the semester started. I knew that if I had Prof. Mc Nair for my professor, I would be learning a lot. Happily, I started the semester with at lot of ideas in my mind. I have been learning very much due to my dedication and my professor helped. In addition, I am learning many important concepts since them. I can describe my experience with two different points of view. First, I am glad because I am identified myself as a future teacher. I can learn various lessons from my professor Mc Nair. He is teaching me to overcome problems in my future classes when I will teach. Also, he is one of the best professors in MDCC,

North Campus that I have in my long experience inside this college. With all my respect, people make mistakes sometimes. There are some points that are very controversial in the second essay and the quiz 5. The reading and the quiz 5 are made in a subjective way. This is one of the reason I couldn’t make an A. Logically, I think in a diverse way. Quizzes are supposed to be objective for my opinion. I was unhappy to answer some question that I did not believe in these answers. The questions were too formulated in one point of view. It beliefs is unfair. In the book, some of the details are generalization with vague details. People should be objective than subjective because there are many multicultural people with different point of views who are reading these details. 

Even though of my point of view toward chapter 2 and the quiz 5, I admire Prof. McNair as a wonderful professional. I love you very much and please these opinions do not take them personal. God exists, and people deserve a second chance to realize it. God bless you professor Mc Nair even though some people denied the powerful existence. Think, how the flowers grow, how my son was born, and how we were created! Truly. Surely, you will find the answer of these questions and much more. A good begin is reading the bible. Thank you for reading, and see you on class tomorrow morning hopefully!

Jane Elliott made an exercise with many children who had brown eyes and blue eyes.  She wanted to find out about their different types of cultures.  When she treated students differently, she observed many changes in their conduct and academic accomplishment.  It was an idea that children with blue eyes had better grades than those who had brown eyes.  For example, Miss. Elliot treated students differently, and she could analyze that these children had an improvement.  She realized that if teachers treated student in a good way, children could increase their grades and their averages in a short period of time.  She learned that if she treated all the children the same, she would have more children well prepared.

  She made different workshops with adults, and she could examine that some people had prejudices.  Many of these people who went to her workshops, thought she was uncomforting for being injustice.  People could be offended when she was talking about how people could feel about being victims of discrimination.  There were people who left when Jane was explaining how to modify people attitudes toward other ethnic groups.  She said that it could be tough and stressful working with adults because they had many different ways of thinking.  There are people who are racist and prejudice, and they are not being able to modify their way of thinking!

Some men believe that they are powerful only.  However, this cannot be trustable.  Women have the same capacity as men have.  There is a special balance that men and women should have.  Men need women, and women need men. This balance may change when men consider that they are superior to women.  Some men can forget that women give birth to them. Men can empower themselves for many reasons.  First, they can think that they are the best from the society.  Next, they can imagine that they have a better economic position.  Finally, men can think that they can do everything better than women.  I believe some men are more powerful than women because society has a beneficial view on men.  It makes them greater.  This is a bad thing because men cannot live without women, and women cannot live without men.  Men and women have the same value.     

Some people believe that they deserve more than others ones.  Society needs to create a more equilibrate balance among the multicultural races in the United States.  In this country, people must amend their laws because the authority is not very well balance into the ethnic groups.  They tend to be racists.  The power should be divided, and they will have more people who are deciding and discussing their different opinions. This can be a risk for the culture that has more power in this country.  Another thing is, politicians make awful decisions.  They can provoke the wars, which kill many innocent people.  If the power will be divided, we would live better in a transform country!           

Maria Cuenca 

The Aryan Invasion theory is the main idea that we use to define India’s history, which is mostly based on this theory. It is the theory that India was invaded and conquered by nomadic light-skinned Indo-European tribes (which were known as the Aryans) from Central Asia around 1500-1000 BC. These people ran a more complex and more advanced dark-skinned civilization from which they took most of what later became Indian civilization.

During this process these people never gave these indigenous people, proper credit, but yet they took credit for their conquest. All they really added on their own was their language, and their caste, which was to become the path to later Indic society. I found this fact to be of disgust. I can’t imagine having all I have worked for, all of a sudden taken from me, without even being asked. This is why these people are still in hate with one another.

The Aryan Invasion theory has become the basis of Indian history. India’s history is filled with invasions from Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Scythians,Huns, Arabs, Turks, Portuguese, British, and so forth.

This theory should not be considered an academic matter, but more of a concern to historians. It is the basis of Marxist critique of Indian history where caste struggle takes the place of class struggle. With so many issues of concern, this theory is common in Indian newspapers, which upholds the modern political views of anti-Hinduism.

In my opinion, this issue is still a great concern in even today’s society. As common as it was before to hear about the problems in the East, it is still common to hear the same issues and debates. I don’t agree with what happened in the first place, but that was the way of life these people lived. It is a shame that we as advanced as we have become, still hold these same grudges.

There were several people throughout history that helped influence white supremacy and Anti Semitism. Of these there are four that I will further talk about in the following essay. For example: Max Muller, Joseph Arthur De Gobineau, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, and Ricardo Wagner are the four main people I will talk about in this essay. In my opinion, white supremacy is an issue that dates back to way back when, and is something that is wrong and should be put to an end.

Max Muller was a German orientalist and language scholar. His work stimulated interest in linguistics, mythology, and religion. He was the son of a German poet called Wilhelm Muller. He was a student at Sanskrit, and turned his attention to comparative language studies. His keen interest for studying Avesta, led him to the study of comparative religion and to the editing of the most ancient of Hindu hymns, which was the Riveda. This was published after he had settled in the University of Oxford. It was here when he was appointed deputy professor of modern languages.

Houston Stewart Chamberlain was a writer who had an influence on Western superiority. His most important book was Die Grundlagen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts. The main idea in this book was that the moral, cultural, scientific, and technological superiority of the Western-European civilizations were mainly a result of the positive influence of the Germanic race.  It is for this reason that the book is considered to be racist and  anti-semitic. 

Joseph Arthur De Gobineau is best known for his theories of racial superiority. He claimed the theory of the hierarchy of races, at the top of which was the Aryan race. He cited Aryan Germans as the sole remaining of racial purity. His theories influenced the ideology and policies of the Nazis.

Finally Richard Wagner is best known for our better understanding of the German culture and history. He has been classified as an anarchist and as a socialist. His name has  appeared in connection to almost all mayor trends in German history of the 19th and 20th century. Wagner also wrote an astonishing 230 titles. These titles range from opera music to political programs.

In conclusion, all four of these men have had an influence in some way or another to white supremacy. What they all had in common was that they were all political leaders and felt the same about Germans being more privileged than any other race. They all felt the same about the German race being superior, and therefore were known as backbones to this injustice.

In my opinion the Holocaust was the worst act of hardship that the human race has endured. It is a tragedy that people would actually put other people through that much pain and anguish. I don’t know what I would do if I were to be a part of the Holocaust. If I were a Jew, I’m not sure if I would have any hope in my heart for survival. I honestly think I would lose hope and probably commit suicide.

The Holocaust was Hitler’s plan to remove a particular ethnic group, which were the Jews. The Nazi’s were a group of Hitler’s government. They were the ones who were ordered by Hitler to eliminate the Jewish race. Hitler’s reasons for this extermination were quite simple. He wanted to have one common race with the same religious beliefs. More or less, Hitler wanted the German’s to rule Western Europe. With Hitler coming into power, Jews were denied jobs, properties, and luxuries.

In 1939, Hitler came up with the idea of a “Final Solution”. In order to carry out this solution, they came up with several concentration camps. The first concentration camp was built in 1941 but did not have too much of an effect. In 1942, there was a conference held to discuss a more effective way of doing the job.

This is when many other concentration camps were built with gas chambers, gas ovens, and several other ways to murder the Jews.

In conclusion, the Holocaust was Hitler’s removal of the Jewish ethnic group. In my opinion, this event was a catastrophe that should not have occurred. These people were innocent lives that were lost because of a religious belief and or governmental policies. It is a travesty that our human race had to go through, but in my opinion it made us stronger. Of course, there is no doubt that it should not have happened, but it is a historical record. It is sad to say that there is still discrimination like that today. Of course, it is not as severe as the Holocaust, but the sad reality is that it continues to happen even after all that we have been through. I strongly feel people should be more educated on this subject, and attempt to learn from our past experiences.

Well, for starters, this class is definitely what I did not expect. I remember walking into class about an hour after we had started and already I was lost! The first day of class, I walked into the wrong class (it was a room full of cops). I was happy, but I knew that there was definitely a mistake. When I finally got to the right room, I felt so lost. But I guess that after a while, I have gotten used to this class.

I could tell that this class was going to be very tough. I even thought to myself if I would make it, and so far, I think I am doing well. I know that I am one of the quiet ones in the class, but I can’t help it. I guess that is what I am accustomed to. The class interests me because of the lectures we get into. I do feel that I sometimes get sleepy, but that’s because I love to sleep and the class gets very cold! Other than that I think the class is overall excellent. Some of the assignments are long but they are challenging to me. I have never really liked to read, but in this class I really don’t have much of a choice. The

Reading assignments aren’t all that bad; they are just very long. What I don’t agree with are the long quizzes. One of our “quizzes” was 80 questions long. This to me is a test!      I do like the way we as a class help each other out and share our knowledge with each other. That makes me feel more comfortable around my peers. I remember that I was even thinking of dropping this class because I was afraid of the challenge, but now that I decided to stay, I feel I can handle this. I remember seeing the class with more students, and then all of a sudden we are down to like 16 students. I am glad that I am one of those students because it’s teaching me what college is really like. I actually feel like I am in college and not in high school. I just graduated high school this past June and I am over whelmed by the amount of work that is being given, but I do feel I can handle it. I have talked to other friends and asked them how college life is treating them, and they say that they feel they are still in high school. I tell them to take McNair’s class and they would no longer feel that.       

The article on high test taking was very educational in my opinion. I believe that what the educational system is doing is wrong. Public schools nation wide are placing their students on a certain level depending on a certain score on a certain test. This is very disturbing and alarming. Although high stakes testing has been around for as long as I can remember, I find it wrong and there should be another way to judge a students performance.

Students all over the nation are being discriminated against because of a certain test that they may be unable to pass. They are being denied an education on the basis of their performance on a test. Half the fact is that they are not stupid; they are just not given an equal opportunity. The system is judging their abilities based on an inaccurate test, that cannot possibly measure their actual capability. Doesn’t our constitution guarantee us an equal opportunity? Why should students be judged of their capabilities based on a standardized test?

            I am an example of being denied an education. When I graduated high school, I graduated with a 3.5 G.P.A., and with honors. I was very active in my schools activities, and when I reached my senior year, I was denied entrance to a state university because of my low S.A.T. scores. I was astonished and I tormented myself all through my senior year because of that. I knew it was not my fault and that I was not a bad student. I felt very much denied my rights. I did all I could to try to get into a four-year university but it was in vain.

            In conclusion, this article was very true and educational as I mentioned before. I felt very much the words that I read because I endured that experience. It did not surprise me at all, and I do feel that this nation should find some other means of judging a students performance. It’s not right to the students or to the teachers for that matter. We should fight for our rights as individuals, and seek for better ways to place our future generations.

Christina Herrera

A renowned Indologist by the name of Max Muller is credited with the popularization of the Aryan racial theory in the middle of the 19^th century.  The German and French political and nationalist groups began to propagate the supremacy of an assumed Aryan race of White people, which Hitler used to it’s extreme absurdities for his political “hegemony” and his barbaric quest to torture Jews and other people.  This resulted in the death if millions of innocent people, what we now refer to as the Holocaust.  The main things of the Aryan Invasions Theory is that … “Arya is a racial group, their invasion, they were nomadic, light skinned, their original home was outside India, their invasion occurred around 1500 BC, they destroyed an advanced civilization of Indus Valley etc.  In 1853, Max Muller introduced the word ‘Arya’ into the English and European usage as applying to a racial or linguistic group when propounding the Aryan Racial theory.  This theory is pretty much based on the beliefs that white supremacy is a more than appropriate belief to hold.  How ridiculous!  What these people tried to make so many believe is that they were obviously better than everyone else, and that there was no disputing that what they did was completely and totally appropriate.  Another little theory floating around in all this mess was that the holocaust never even happened.  Now this is something you have to laugh at.  The idea that all that was discovered of the Holocaust, the people who survived-everything, that it was all falsified because that’s how Jewish people are.  Just to hear that someone could possibly even consider the notion that the Holocaust never even happened is far beyond my imagination.  I guess you would not only have to be ignorant but you would also have to be pretty stupid to believe something like that!  I don’t know how these terrible people were able to convince the Nazi’s that what they were doing to Jews was the right thing, but to now, after all this time, and everything we have learned it is inconceivable to me that people can actually just blow it off as if it was just a made up story!  That is sickening!

Count Joseph Arthur de Gobineu was a French diplomat, a scholar, and the intellectual founder of racism.  His most famous book was the “Essay on the Inequality of Human Races”.  His thesis was that the races were incredibly unequal and that the white Aryan race is the “purest” and the most superior to all the others.  He had a very sinister influence on the German theorists, for who became a justification for anti-Semitism.  I don’t believe there is a justification for anti-Semitism, and no one is superior to anyone else. 

Houston Stewart Chamberlain was a writer and cultural philosopher.  He also happened to be Richard Wagner’s son in law.  He was the son of a British admiral, but he still chose to become a German citizen before World War I.  He wrote a book titled “The foundations of the Twentieth Century”, which uplifted the Aryan spirit, and strongly influenced the Nazi’s racial theories.  At the end of 1923, Chamberlain “officially” stated the he believed Adolf Hitler to be … “the long awaited German Messiah sent by God to the German people.”  How disturbing is that idea?  Sent by God?  More like sent by evil! 

Richard Wagner.  Considered by many to be the most politically incorrect composer in history and one of the worst anti-Semites of the 19^th century.  I have to say that now I think twice about even playing one of his pieces and I no longer listen to his music, it turns my stomach and makes me sick to think that I ever enjoyed anything that came from this man.  Wagner hated Jews because supposedly Jewish financers and impresarios failed to support him at the state of his career, and because many Jewish composer’s Operas had become and were much more popular than his- how pathetic.

Talk about a hate crime!  My mind does not conceive the ideas that the Nazi’s maintained.  I do not understand, nor do I think I will ever understand, how it is possible for a human being to partake in such acts as the Nazi’s did, and much less did I ever think that I would ever have to try and understand how an incredibly large group of people partook in these disgustingly repulsive crimes.  What I must say I find even more disturbing is that no one thought it was there place to help.  I mean, yeah I know it was stopped eventually, but what were people doing to help in the mean time while children and innocent people were being slaughtered as if they were animals, actually I think animals are treated with more respect and dignity than the Jewish people were treated.  Would it nowadays be acceptable for me to say, “You know, I really don’t like Hispanic people because they have dark eyes, and dark hair, so I guess I’ll just kill all the Hispanic people in the world because I don’t want to have to look at them”.  I don’t think it would be taken as lightly as it was in those days.  But, my question is why.  Why was it taken so lightly?  I know that of course may took it very serious but how serious could people taken it If they didn’t even do anything to stop it?  It all started with a heartless man (if you can really call him a man) his name, I am disgusted to say, was Hitler.  Adolf Hitler.  To try and undermine hi genius isn’t fair, because in all honesty he was an incredibly intelligent, well educated, man  (as most murderers and psychopaths are).  He was smart enough and had enough intelligence to brainwash and convince the Nazi’s to hate people for an incredibly ridiculous reason, and to kill people…based on what?  Ask a Nazi, I don’t think he would know either.  As much as it turns my stomach to talk about this I  would have to say that I can only pray and hope that there is never such a form of pure evil put on this earth again.  I can only begin to try and imagine what it would have been like to be a Jewish person at that time.  It must be such an incredible feeling of hopelessness.  I have spoken to and conversed with survivors of the Holocaust, and all I can really say is that just in conversation a tear is always brought to my eye because I know that I am not able to take away the painful memories that they must carry, nor can I explain why it was that no one helped for so long.

According to McNair, “Prejudice is the most fundamentally problematic of all the negative attitudes which stand in the way of attaining multicultural awareness/ consciousness”.  Although I do agree with this statement I don’t think that attaining 100% of multicultural awareness and conscioussness is really possible because I don’t believe that we as humans, in our own human nature will nevercease to be prejudice.  I don’t think that it’s because we want to be but it is human nature to be prejudiced in one way or another, and although we may try our best to understand another culure for everything it is, I don’t think we will ever fully comprehend what it is to be someone else, because we will have never lived that person’s life and had their life experiences.  I have to say that I believe that fear is the cause for many different peoples actions or beliefs-I’ll give you and example: no one has proof that there is a God or that there is a greater being out there but although many believe because of faith I also believe that many believe because of fear.  Fear of what is unknown - the fear of “what if’.  I believe that although Adlers article does explain or describe many things, McNair’s article goes much more in depth and because it is more complicated, it actually makes it easier to understand.  without complexity everything would be boring, and (not to be rude), but Adler’s article can be looked at as boring because of it’s terrible simplicity.  Adler’s believes that “adult lifestyles are influenced by temperament, family atmosphere, and family constellation”.  In my opinion, this is where he should have stayed little more general-- I think adult’s lifestyles are influenced by everything- as is the way we walk, talk, eat, think, act and are.  One thing I have learned in this class is that although many of us are similar, every single litle detail of our life is the reason why who and who we are is what and who we are.  I think that the reason I probably do not relate well to adler’s theories on almost everything is because he is very outdated in his ideas and concepts of what is.  Don’t get me wrong, I can understand why his theories are what they are but I think we hae progressed enough as people to know that we have to look at each thing in it’s individuality, and that includes people.

Alfred Adler was a psychologist and psychopathologist who was born in Vienna, Austria on February 7th,1870.  He has originated a numerous amount of ideas that have been incorporated in the mainstream of present-day theory and practice of psychology and psychopathology.  At 5 years of age Adler became gravely ill with pneumonia and decided from then on that he would become a doctor, in order to find deadly diseases.  He acquired his M.D. degree at the University of  Vienna.  Due to Adler’s friendship and conversations with his father, he learned to question everything he was told until it was accepted in his mind without any reasonable doubt.  Adler wrote his first book at the age of 28, which dealt with the health conditions of tailors.  In 1907, Adler published his book on organ inferiority and it’s compensation.  Adler already had a few encounters with the workings of Freud and Freud himself, but by the time this book was published it  became very obvious that Adler and Freud had very different views on things, especially because Adler did not believe that everything had something to do with sexual trauma, as on the other hand, Freud thought it had everything to do with it.  In 1912 Adler published his book, The Neurotic Constitution, in which he further developed his main concepts(in a manner, sort of contradicting Freud’s theories).  He referred to his psychological system as “Individual Psychology,” although many times misunderstood, what it really means is the indivisibility of the personality in it’s psychological structure.  In 1926 Adler was invited to lecture at Columbia University, and from 1932 on he held the first chair of Visiting Professor of Medical Psychology at Long Island College of Medicine.  “Adler’s lectures were overcrowded from the beginning, and he communicated as easily with his audiences in English as he did when usingg his native German tongue.  He was in Aberdeen, Scotland, to deliver a series of lectures at the University when, on May 28, 1937, he suddenly collapsed while walking in the street and dies from heart failure within a few minutes”.  They say that the smartest people go crazy because of how much their brains can acquire, maybe the weight if truly understanding people was a strain on his heart, no one knows but we do know that he was a guiness.

Yasmine Louis 

The Aryan invasion theory first started with the ideas of Max Muller. According to the AIT theory, northern India was invaded and conquered by nomadic, light-skinned race of a people called 'Aryans' who supposedly came from central Asia around 1500 BC, and destroyed an earlier more advanced civilization of the people habituated in the Indus Valley, and then imposed upon them their culture and language. These Indus Valley people were supposed to be either Dravidian or Austrics.

The word Aryan, as described by Muller, meant the language of a particular group. Since there was no reference to the word Aryan in the written Sanskrit, scholars used this to classify a race of people.

It is very weird because from Muller’s ideas people developed an anti-Semitic belief that some still believe to this day. The Germans are supposed to be the ancestors of the Aryans. 1,200 years after the supposed invasion, the German descendants of the Aryans claim to have written the classic Indian literature called the Vedic manuscripts.

The Germans have no real evidence that supports the Aryan Invasion theory. Archceologist have been unable to find any references to an invasion in the Vedic manuscripts. Recent archaeological discoveries suggest that the Indus civilization was shut down by droughts combined with a devastating flood, not a brutal encounter. Archaeological evidence also shows that most of the so-called "Indus River" valley peoples lived in the Sarasvati River, which is referred to in the Vedic manuscripts as a homeland. Simply put, there is no biological or archaeological evidence of a colossal invasion of people of a different race.

I feel that the Aryan Invasion Theory is highly unsupported. Max Muller started a heinous chain of events with his anti-Semitic ideas. This is a perfect example for ethnocentrism. I feel that Muller’s ideas fueled the brainless notions of A. Hitler and kindled the fire that was to become the holocaust. This type of primitive thinking prevents us from destroying oppression.

This reflection was very informative. I learned about people I have never heard before. These people were regarded as intellectuals; but some of their theories were not anything close to intelligent. De Gobineau, Chamberlain, Wagner, Muller all had some kind of influence on the holocaust.
Count Joseph Author De Gobineau was a French author and diplomat. He wrote a book called the Inequality of Human Races. He believed that there was a great and pure Aryan race. He also believed in that every race was born with certain unequal abilities and talents. He proclaimed that only the white Aryan race was capable of creating culture the other darker races only borrowed; which made cross breading and exhausted the Aryan race.
Houston Stewart Chamberlain was also an author. He wrote the book entitled Die Grundalagen des neunzehnten Jahrhuderts. (Foundations of the nineteenth century)  The  idea in this book is that the moral, cultural, scientific and technological superiority of the germanic race. (Slavs and Celts included)
Ricardo Wagner was a famous composer. He met H. S. Chamberlain in 1908. Chamberlain ended up marrying Ricardo's daughter and settling down in Germany.
Max Muller was German language scholar whose works stimulated widespread interest in the study of linguistics, mythology, and religion. His greatest achievement was editing  The Books of the East 51 vol. Müller's essays on mythology are his most appealing writings. His exploration of mythology also led him further into comparative religion and to the publication of The Sacred Books of the East, begun in 1875
All of these people had influence on the holocaust in some way. Their ant-semitic thinking is being confused with intellectual thoughts. This kind of racial discrimination must not be disguised. We must see it for what it is, oppression.

The morbid details of the Holocaust are frightening. That is ethnocentrism and oppression at its worst. The holocaust was not only the genocide of the Jewish culture; it also affected other cultures, such as the Germans with African descent. The after affects can still be felt by its survivors. I think that this is the worst part of humanity and we should all work together to destroy this type of oppression.

I guess you can say that the holocaust started in 1933, when Hitler came into power. The Jews were not allowed to have jobs, property, or luxuries. I could not imagine having everything I worked so hard for being taken away simply because I was black. However, this did not become controlled murders until 1939 when Hitler announced his Final Solution Plan. In 1941 was the opening of the first concentration camp called, Chelmo. My god, my grand mother was already alive when this was occurring.

It is hard for me to understand how anyone race was able to achieve the pure massacre of another culture. The Americans supposedly came to the rescue of the Jews. I felt that this was very hypocritical because to a certain extent they were not giving African Americans an easy time in this country. They are really guilty of the same crime, although they chose a less heinous way of committing it.

I was shocked when I realized that this only happened sixty years ago. Personally this was very alarming because there are still survivors to this day. I think that a person with that experience has much to talk about. Reading about the barbaric acts of the Germans made me think that it took place in another century. It was unbelievable knowing that people in this day and age can still have the same primitive minds.

In conclusion, the oppression of any race is horrible. We can learn a lot from this, and eventually stop this from ever happening again. We must be careful of our elected leaders, and make sure that they represent our interests as well as the well being of our culture.

I never thought that test taking would be so hard. I guess because I was trained to take test I do not freak out as much. I feel as though if you know the material you will not be scared when you see it on a test. Even though I believe in this aspect of test taking, I do not think so much should be ridding on one test. That amount of strain, might make the kid crack under pressure.
Emphasis on one particular test, such as the FCAT, makes it hard for schools that do not have adequate learning materials to receive descent scores. The better the score the more government funding that school receives. Therefore these particular tests keep financial support from the schools that really need it. Unfortunately, most of these schools are located in inner cities and have a majority of black students.   I thought this was horrible. The financial needs of the schools are not being met and our children are suffering. Without the basic learning materials there is no way these students can pass these tests.
The amount of stress placed upon the teachers and the student to do well on these tests is ridiculous. The teachers no longer teach the curriculum instead they drill in fact after fact trying to prepare the kids for a test that they have no chance of passing. Most of the time the children are not used to seeing and taking these sort of tests which inevitable closes the door of opportunity for these kids. No money equals there is no learning materials, which in turn equals a failing score for the school. This just does not make sense to me.
I think that a school must be judged on several aspects of learning curriculum. If the government sees that a school has a problem with one of the elements money should be poured into that school to see that the problem is corrected. The solution is not to close these schools down. Sometimes a school represents pride in a community. How would you react if the government closed down your Alma matta?  If you close it down you strip the community of its pride and no good can come from that.
I think that this system of high stakes testing should seriously be revised. The government needs to keep every one in mind when forming a plan of action. I believe that more teachers input would be helpful in finding a solution. After all, teachers have all the hands on experiences with the students

The journey thus far… hmmmm where do I begin?  Being a first year student this class was very interesting. I still stand by my statement that this class should not be given to first year students. There are so many reading assignments. I was not used to doing this amount of work for one class. The articles, and the test, and the class session can sometimes be a little over whelming. I know that it sounds like I do not enjoy this course, but that could not be more wrong. Because of my teacher and classmates this turned out to be one of my more enjoyable classes.
The tests are a pain in the but. There are so many and they come so quickly. Thank goodness we are able to take them as many times as we want. I hate that spelling counts. If we have the right answer, you know that we understood the reading, so it is silly that we should get it wrong because of spelling. The tests are also very long. I find it very hard sometimes to keep up with them. You have look back in your reading to find the answers, and because we have so much to read sometimes you do not know where to look, so it can be a bit strenuous when you have three tests to take.
I do not think I have read this much in my entire life. I already have to get a bigger binder. We have so many essays to read and I can hardly retain all the information, and I read. For the most part the articles are interesting. But some of them are very, very, very long. I also find some of the reading very, very, very hard. It takes me a very long time to read some of the articles because I am to busy looking up certain words. By that time I have already missed the point of the essay.
I have to say that my class sessions are very interesting.  At eight twenty-five in the morning the professor really has no choice. It is great being able to speak our opinions in class. Hearing what every one has to say adds a little flavor to the lecture. It is also nice having everyone sit in the center of the class, because I do enjoy seeing everyone's faces. Having this class has been a real experience. Hopefully I will be a little more aware of people, their cultures and the world around d me, when it is through

Gissell Rosario

Well, well, well, what do we have here, another way to categorize the schools by who performs better and what school perform better. If the average of the school students comes up to be high then wow! This school deserves the best and we should give them all the support they need. While the school that’s doing bad and that actually needs the support that they are offering to other schools doesn’t get anything why because the average of the student’s grades were bad. Is this fair? I don’t think so.

They need to look at the possibility that some of the schools that are doing bad is because of the increase of Hispanics kids. I’m an example of these kids. When I took the FCAT I didn’t have a clue of what I was doing, why? Because I didn’t know a bit of English yet they made take the test, and for what I didn’t even know what I was reading or writing it was like Chinese to an American. They let us use dictionary, but that wasn’t enough because we didn’t have all the time in the words to look for all the words that we didn’t know and to figure out how to put them together, everything was plain crazy. Also, in the math part they give you some geometry problems, hello!!! I didn’t have geometry yet. They are expecting that we all get at least an average grade, but how being a genius and learning a foreign language in one day, but I guess they don’t understand the point. I’m aware that all the schools need to have at least an average performance but when a school gets a low grade that’s the time to check if the school has the technology necessary in the classrooms to teach, or if the conditions in the classroom motivates the student to learn, and if this is what’s going on then that’s the school that needs the support not the one that has the high grade. It’s like a student. Are you going to dedicate more time to the student that’s doing bad or the student that’s doing good, you pick.

 To fight against prejudice Jane Elliott created a behavior training to show white people what oppression does to you. Jane noticed that the white kids were treated with more possibilities that the color skin kids. The white kids were well behaved and had good grades, and also the didn’t show a problem when it came to behavior. In the other hand color skin kids were not given the same possibilities. These kids weren’t well behaved most of them had bad grades. Jane Elliott noticed all these and came up with a plan that would make history and that giving privileges to certain groups will make a big difference. Jane Elliot would put the brown eyes kids at the top one day and the next day the blue eyes kids would be put in the top. The behavior of the kids change completely, behavior wise, and the grades of the brown eyes kids were going up and the blue eyes were having behavior problems.

I think that this is an excellent training because it showed that the way you treat people will reflect on their actions and that prejudice doesn’t take us to a place but a place of hatred. We should not treat people differently just because they have different life styles or because they look different, or because they act different. If we all were the same the world would be a boring place.

People learn from people and we all copy behaviors from people that we admire or that we love, why not learn from the ones that are different that way we’ll be wiser and would have things in common. A perfect example is my boyfriend’s mom. She is white with blue eyes and she doesn’t like anyone that’s has darker completion than her. Well when she saw me she question his son (my boyfriend) and he was calm and just told her so many wonderful things about me that she looked interested in my life and we started talking and getting along just find. Well that shows that is not to late to learn to appreciate another culture or accept another behavior.    

Jeannette Rodriguez 

From my understandings, the Aryan invasion theory was derived from an inaccurate depiction of the Indian culture by French missionary, Abbé Dubois.  He erroneously joined the original Vedic manuscripts from the true Aryan descendants together with what he understood of Noah and the Great Flood.  From his manuscripts of the incorrect translations, and an English preface admiring Dubois by the German archaeologist Max Muller that formulated what is known today as the Aryan Invasion theory.  The Aryans were a tribe of Indo-European-speaking, nomads.  Approximately in 1700 BC, the Aryans were said to have invaded the civilizations of the Indus Valley, and destroyed the culture. It is also said that the Indus Valley people were far more cultured than the nomads that supposedly invaded their land.  Some 1,200 years after the hypothetical invasion, the offspring of the Aryans, supposedly wrote the classic Indian literature known as the Vedic manuscripts. 
       The fact that the Nazi's clung to this theory as a basis for their own destruction of the Jews and any other race thereafter, is despicable.  There are no references that prove any such invasion in the original manuscripts.  This proves that the Nazi's very own desire to wipe out an entire race was blinding enough for them to base their Aryan, superior race on an untrue foundation.  It is very pitiful that the Nazi's were even able to get away with these attempts of extinction whether their basis was true or not.  There is no justification for their behavior even if the "Aryans" or Germans were truly superior to any race at all.  Today it seems as though the world has never been worse with all of the terrorism, mysterious shootings and disappearances of innocent individuals but how quickly the world forgets what we have gone through thus far.  It saddens me to know that we as humans living in this present time are no better then the Germans themselves and it is even more disturbing to realize that we have not come as far as we should have.

 The Holocaust was a product of the prominent views of Anti-Semitism in Germany.  The literal meaning of, holocaust came form an ancient religious ritual sacrifice by the Israelites in honor of God.  The sacrifice meant "burnt offering".  In the ancient times, Judaism was always looked upon with mistrust.  It was the only religion, in a time which the rule was the worship of many gods that was monotheistic.  The Judaist tribes of Israelites which came from Mesopotamia to settle in Canaan of Palestine eventually migrated into Europe due to years and years of oppression by the Roman Empire.  In the 19th century, Jews living in most European countries were emancipated or granted rights equal to those of Christian citizens.  By this time, the Industrial Revolution had already come in to play and the Jews were playing an immense role as entrepreneurs. This was due to their predisposition for finance and mercantilism which! in turn, arose more hatred from the cultures they inhabited.  In the second half of the 19th century, the Catholic Church began enforcing anti-Semitism through their journals and sentiments.  By the middle of the 19th century, a new social theory emerged in Europe which distinguished the "higher" from the "lower" classes.  The Nordic race was the highest and that other races were inferior.  The Jews, naturally fell under the lower of the races and were looked upon as a threat to social "purity".

In 1930, the Nazi's, (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, or NSDAP) a small political party, gained popularity in the elections.  Then in 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as prime minister.  As the Nazi Party grew stronger, they arranged riots and protests against the Jews along with passing a law in April 7, 1933 that allowed the government to dismiss Jews from the civil service.  Eventually, the Nazi's were able to deprive Jews of their German citizenship, forbid Jewish and German weddings, and take away their rights of attaining medical and legal professions.  By 1938 the Jews who had not already immigrated out of Germany, were robbed from their ordinary lives; on the night of November 9, 1938, 90 Jews were murdered, hundreds were beaten and 30,000 were sent away to concentration camps.  Jews in Poland were forced to live in Ghettos where they were to wear a yellow Jewish star and live in atrocious conditions.!   In 1941, the head of the German security service ordered his commanders to kill those Jews involved in the Soviet Administration.  However, they took it upon themselves to expand those restrictions killing any male Jew they came in to contact with.  By late September 1941, hundreds of men, women and children were killed along with entire Jewish communities and about 33,000 Jews in Kiev in Ukraine alone.  By the summer of 1942, the Germans had exterminated over a million Jews.  And then, it was time for the "final solution".  In July of 1942, three concentration camps were built; Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka where about 1,750,000 were killed in total.  The "final solution" entailed the murders of first, the poorer Jews, then the foreign, the refugees and finally the rest of the Jewish communities.

My journey thus far in this class is not what I had expected or ever anticipated to experience in this school.  After my first semester here, I knew that Miami-Dade Community College would be a breeze.  I thought it would be all small, sporadic homework assignments along with a few tests here and there.  Then after my second and third semester, I was positive that I would graduate without ever having to stress about any of my classes.  Then I entered this class and everything changed.  I was bombarded with constant reflection papers, tests, and pressures to read and keep up with the class.  At first, it was incredibly difficult to manage all five of my classes.  Since I had never been this challenged, it took me a while to adapt to picking up the pace.  After attending this class more and more, it began to remind me of an influential teacher I had a few years ago. 

Back in high school, I had an English teacher who I will never forget.  He understood, was supportive and did not place pressure on you to get things done.  He always listened to what you had to say and knew exactly what to respond with.  When he spoke to you, you felt as though you were the only person in the world he was interested in talking to at that moment. It was not until this class that I realized what he was doing.  He, just as Professor Mcnair, took up the transpersonal style of education.  This style enables the student to feel at ease with their progress and achievement while allowing them to feel trusted enough to do things at their own pace. As an aspiring teacher myself, I always wondered what I could do to acquire this same style and how I could develop that certain rapport with my own future students. As a student, I sincerely appreciate this.  No matter how much work, or how many assignments, I never feel pressured by the professor to meet any kinds of demands.  It gives me the opportunity to push myself and allows me the freedom to get assignments done whenever I have time.  So far, I am really enjoying this class and what it has done for me.  Every class meeting challenges me to think differently or revise one of my incrusted views.  I have already begun to notice changes in my thoughts towards certain individuals and issues I felt differently about before.  I plan to continue to do as well as I’ve been doing and I can only hope that this class influences my style of teaching the way it is designed to do.

Due to the fact that teachers have to spend so much time schooling students on how to successfully pass high stakes tests, they deviate from their original purpose.  I do not think that teaching a student how to pass a statewide, mandatory exam expands a child’s horizons.  How can teaching students to pass one exam, influence their learning capabilities for the rest of their life?  It also does not make sense that the government can believe that one exam is able to summarize the progress of an entire school.  In my opinion, the government needs to visit the schools and allow the teachers to voice their opinions on what needs to be done with the problems they see.  Every school and classroom has special needs that concern them.  Some schools need more books, more funds, or better curriculums.  Without these elements or any other resources they may lack, how can the government expect them to pass a test that influences the school so greatly? 

  Another issue that bothers me is the branding of the “F” schools.  The reason these schools get the stigma they do is due to their lack of resources.  They can be found in low-income, unsafe areas where the incentives are not good enough to teach or to learn.  This is why I think the government should take the time to fix the root of the problem, instead of making it worse by imposing pressures on the students and the teachers to pass certain tests.  In addition, it is very sad that these schools are closed down due to their failure to pass these exams.  It seems as though the government has picked up Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” and implemented it in to the classrooms.  I do not believe that this is a way to compose our schools.  I feel that we need to focus more on the students needs and make sure they learn the necessary in order to survive in the real world.  They should focus on increasing literacy, math and science skills along with finding funds to make extracurricular activities accessible for all students.  They are making a big mistake and it is sad that their blind political views do not allow them to actually see how much damage they are causing to the individuals who suffer the consequences.  

Miranda Spina 

Although some people do believe the Aryan Invasion is factual, everything I found has referred to it as a myth.  The basic theory is that India was invaded by the Aryans.  The belief is that these Aryans brought the ancient writings of India because the Indian aborigines could not have done it themselves.  People who followed Max Muller formulated these ideas of the Aryan Invasion Theory.  Based on what I have read, the theory is indeed a myth, formulated by Western Civilization.
It is sad to me that we compete with one another and speak of other cultures in a negative way.  These things still go on today, and they will go on until the end of time.  Racism and prejudice are so dangerous.  They start in the home, and if the parents are not open to other cultures, then one can be sure the children will hold the same attitude.  The hard part about Miami is that it is such a mixture of cultures.  There is no way to avoid "different" people, if one really wanted to do that.  That is where teaching would be very hard.  One cannot hold bias, racist or prejudice views especially in our classrooms.  A person would struggle tremendously with trying to be civil to all the different children.
What is harder though is making sure the children respect one another.  I've said in past reflections that is very disturbing to watch children pick at one another, especially when one knows they are doing it out spite for the race or culture of the other child.  The "Blue eyes, Brown eyes" experiment proved that children learn this hatred from their parents.  Their fathers would make racist comments.  That experiment allowed the children to see what a stupid world their parents were living in and helped them to stand up to them.  I know I cannot do something like that experiment now in my classroom, but I do know that I have to watch very carefully to make sure the children are respectful towards one another.  For one, I don't think this experiment would go over very well with the parents.  Nowadays, parents are very protective of their children and I think they would be angry with me for the mental bashing done to their children. ! ; I also know that I don't have the personality to carry out this experiment.  I would like to learn techniques for dealing with racism and prejudice within the classroom though because I know I will be presented with it and it is up to me as the teacher to keep my learning environment healthy.

These four men were really not very nice people. Most of them seem to be connected by Richard Wagner, so I will begin with him. He is also the one I gathered the most information on. Wagner was a musician, and without a doubt, an anti-Semite. His music became the "spirit of the nazis" when Hitler came into power according to the article I read. Although there is a debate on exactly how much Wagner's music reflects his attitude towards the Jews, there is no doubt he had a very strong dislike for them. Some believe his hatred for the Jews comes from the fact that his stepfather, who was believed to be his biological father, was Jewish. Also, most of his competitors in the music world were Jews. His hatred can be clearly seen in his book Judaism in Music. There has been a ban on his music being played in Israel since 1938. This is due to the fact that his music stood for German nationalism in the early to mid 20th ! century.

Houston Stewart Chamberlain was a man who wrote the book The Founders of the 19th Century. This book caused people to believe him to be an anti-Semite. However, the article I read explained that there was more than that alone. He actually opposes against any cultural, religious or political system that has globalistic intentions like the Jesuit order, capitalism, socialism etc. According to the summary of this book, it seems to me that he was very much against the Jews. Basically he wrote about how the West-European civilizations were superior and the Jews were actually a "jamming factor" in their dominance as a superior race.

Max Muller, apparently, is associated with popularizing the theory of Aryan racial superiority. Scholars used his racist views to help solidify the idea of Aryan supremacy and anti-Semitism. Hitler then used these ideas to create the drive for Aryan dominance and used his insane ideas to promote terrorizing the Jews as well as other groups. The last man, Count Joseph Arthur De Gobineau, actually influenced Chamberlain's race theories. In his work, Essai sur l'inegalite des races humaines, he argued for the superiority of the Nordic races and explained how they would decline due to their unavoidable mingling with other races. Chamberlain, however, was a scientist and he knew better than to buy this the last part of De Gobineau's theory.

Adolf Hitler was a man that despised the Jews. Ethnocentrism played a major role in his hatred. He wanted all people to be a part of the "Arian race" and the only way he could make all people a part of this was to get rid of the Jews who would never belong. He chose extermination as his method of destruction. Hitler was a smooth talking man and he was able to rally thousands of people to follow his plan for extermination. Nothing makes me sicker than the story of the Holocaust.

We must understand where the Holocaust developed so that we can watch our world today and make sure it never happens again. We must learn history so that we can look at the mistakes of the past and attempt to keep them from reoccurring. As difficult as this can be, if every one of us took it upon ourselves to make a difference then eventually we would have millions of people rallying together for the same cause.

My heart sinks every time I see pictures of the dead piled one on top of the other. The movies and the documentaries always bring tears to my eyes. What angers me the most is that some people actually claim the Holocaust never happened. They believe the pictures and documentaries are set up and the movies are all a lie. How can people be so ignorant to deny such a tragedy? Obviously there is a tremendous amount of ignorance in the world about many topics, but it is amazing to me how far some people will go to deny the truth.

As a teacher, I know I must watch my students carefully to see their attitudes towards one another. In a previous reflection I wrote about the two girls in my class who picked on the new African American child. Hatred is not innate, it is taught. Ultimately, the parents are the ones to blame for their children's prejudice against other children. The hardest thing as a teacher, especially one of elementary age children, is to figure out the best method for dealing with such prejudice. I know from personal experience that it is very frustrating and very difficult. I hope to learn the best ways of dealing with such problems. Unfortunately, prejudice and hatred will exist in the classroom and so the question is not "will it be there?" The question is "how do I control it?"

I loved reading about the "Blue eyes, Brown eyes" experiment.  I think it is wonderful that she was able to come up with something that would open the eyes of these ignorant people and give them a taste of their own medicine.  I also thought the part about the 8-year-old children going home and arguing with their fathers was great.  She was able to make that much of an impact and that is why these people were threatened by her.  They were threatened by someone with that much power who believed in something against the norm.  It is sad to me that they beat up her children and gave her family so many problems over it.  It is also sad to me that some of her family members turned on her.  They really should have supported her in her efforts no matter how difficult.
The McIntosh article was interesting too.  Some of the things she pointed out I didn't even think about as being white privilege.  Some things I think are farfetched though like walking into a music shop and finding "my music" there.  Music shops these days are very diverse and you can count on finding virtually everything.  I do understand that all races are not treated equally though.
I would like to share some experiences I have had living here in Miami as a Caucasian female.  When I went to HML, I could count on the African American girls who went to that school butting me in the lunch line.  I knew not to say anything because I witnessed them turn on individuals who would call their hand on it.  This was downright unfair and they knew it.  They knew that I wasn't going to challenge them and that was wrong.  I got to where I didn't buy lunch anymore.  I made my own because I couldn't take it.  Now, this is unique to me and my high school and I don't believe all whites are treated this way, or that all blacks do these things.  I just want to point out that I have dealt with discrimination also.
I went to the grocery store to get a deli sandwich for lunch.  Not one person working in the deli spoke English.  None could communicate with me.  I know everyone does not agree with the English only policy and that is fine, but I feel that hiring someone that is "bilingual" has turned into hiring someone who speaks Spanish.  That is ridiculous.  Bilingual means you speak two languages and these women did not.  Another customer had to help me order.  I have been told many times in my life that I should learn to speak Spanish.  Why?  Why shouldn't that person learn English?  Why is it my job to learn to communicate with them?  It should be equal between the two and we should both learn each other's language.  But I do not find this to be the general opinion and this makes me angry.
I do not feel this way about all Hispanics and, in fact, I know many who are indeed bilingual.  It is only the few I come in contact with in these situations that truly upset me.  The same goes for my experiences in high school.  As a teacher, I hope to be able communicate well with my students and I hope to make them feel comfortable.

I have always hated standardized testing.  I feel that too much rides on these tests and I don't feel they accurately measure ones' abilities.  For example, the salutatorian of my graduating class got something like 1470 on his SATs.  However, that was like the 5th time around.  The first time he got closer to my score, a 1070.  There was another girl who took the test and on her first try she got something like a 1470.  She and the salutatorian, to me, don't even compare.  Hands down, she is more intelligent.  Yet, the highest score is accepted and so they will both be considered virtually brilliant. 
My sister got a very low score on her SATs, and when she came to Miami Dade the advisor told her she was not "college material."  This assumption was made because of her test score.  Yet, my sister is in a doctoral program for a degree in forensic psychology.  She is a hard worker and can make the grade without a problem.  However, her test score would tell you she was unintelligent.  How can these scores have so much placed on them that an advisor would actually discourage a student from coming to a school of "opportunity" to get an education?  There is no excuse for that.
Also, the classroom has become a place of year round "pre-testing."  There is no creativity anymore.  Elementary school students are working out of workbooks labeled FCAT half the day, then they eat lunch, then they do worksheets, then they go to P.E. for 30 minutes, then they do more worksheets and then they finally get to go home and do endless worksheets.  This is ridiculous.  Children are turned off to school because of the endless work and pressure during the most enjoyable years of schooling.  This is so unfair.  These children should be doing creative assignments made to stimulate their brains and teachers should be encouraged to find methods besides worksheets to prepare students for these exams.
I understand these tests must be given because there has to be a standard on which to base all students.  It is impossible to create a test that has no bias, discrimination or problems in general.  For this reason I believe it is wrong to make these tests such a vital part of what will determine the rest of our lives.

The journey thus far has been interesting to say the least. I would not define this class as hard, but it does keep me on my toes. I know the whole technology thing is good, but to be honest with you it really frustrates me sometimes. The computer is not always cooperative and that makes me hate that aspect of the class. But, I have learned a tremendous amount as far as technology is concerned and I truly appreciate it. I will definitely use these programs in the future to make my classes interesting.

I really like PowerPoint. I think it is a great program and I can definitely see how it can be used to create a presentation that can teach and entertain at the same time. When people are enjoying a presentation they forget they are learning. My mom said there was an instructor that presented a PowerPoint presentation at HML and it was fabulous. There was music to match all the pictures and animation and she said it presented its point very well. I am very glad I learned how to use it.

I love the reflections. I love the topics and I love free writes. They allow me to express myself without having to worry too much about the grammar part of it. Also, the topics such as oppression, high stakes testing, white privilege, and racism have really made me think. They have helped me to better understand what it takes to be a good teacher. I have also seen some of the reasons why so many people are not good teachers. They may know the material, but they do not know how to present it. They are also impatient and many times they don’t even like children. You cannot teach kids if you don’t like them. They will know that is how you feel and they will close up to you. You will never reach them.

All in all, I am thoroughly enjoying this class. I love that it stimulates my mind most of all. This class always makes me think. Even though the technology can get really annoying sometimes, I am glad I have learned a lot of it. I plan on using it all in the future.

Karen Raun-Alonso

I was sad, mad, surprised and tense when I read and watched the experiment carried out by Elliot in her third grade class. Yet, I was appalled when I saw the results of this exercise. You tell a person they are worthless because of the color of their eyes, you label them and put a collar around their necks and you can create a motive for genocide within minutes. I was distraught in a way I've never been when I heard about the racist remarks and prejudice that the teacher herself had to endure from the community she lived in as well as the parents of the children who participated in the experiment.
Racism is blind. The mere constant putting down a person every day can make a person with perfectly good self esteem break down and become enslaved and a victim to the cruelty of the oppressor. Elliot's experiment shows how easy it can be for another genocide such as the boer war or the Holocaust.
I like how she addresses the fact that women, especially black women, black men, homosexuals and lesbians live day to day in fear of dying because of the white man's hatred and need to be superior without regard to anything. Antisemitism is also alive in the land of the free as Elliot puts it. I felt scared knowing that maybe in the future something like the Holocaust can happen. I am of different ethnicity and speak a different language, good enough for some radicals to do another cleansing and exterminate what they might consider the undesirable.
I also couldn't help but feel admiration toward Elliot, she herself lives in a neighborhood where everything is great as long as no black people live in it. She was called the "n" word many times herself and her parents lost their business because of her standing up against racism. I wish I could be as courageous.