Wollstonecraft, Kozol, and Woodson

1.) Mary Wollstonecraft talks about the pernicious, or gradual and harmful, effects that arise from certain distinctions in society. She believes that those who become wealthy and comfortable, no longer want to work or complete their obligations. She ultimately believes that society is disorganized because it does not promote equality for both men and women. Men are expected to gain respect through wealth, work, and property, while women are expected to earn respect through charm and motherhood thus they are not able to think and act for themselves.

2.) I believe women have been perceived as property in many different time periods. Back then, women grew up to be claimed by a man and raise a family. They were not allowed to think or act for themselves, only to serve and continue having children and taking care of the house. Even later, they were sold and mistreated like land was, therefore I do think women can be compared with property.

3.) Wollstonecraft quotes, "The most respectable women are the most oppressed and usually become contemptible only because they are treated like contemptible beings in their bondage of ignorance." I believe that women who are more oppressed and under minded are willing to fight for better standards and actions. This makes them more respectable for what they believe in. Wollstonecraft also believes that reasonable men should fight for equality for both men and women and not follow the slavish tradition that goes towards women. This helps women respect themselves as a whole and be truly affectionate and loving towards men, so yes I believe it is a cause-and-effect scenario. 

4.) Kozol believes that schools spend too much time teaching about diversity and discrimination of the 50's and 60's and not current day diversity. Children should be taught about contemporary civil rights and empower them to speak up about it. I agree with Kozol because we do not focus enough on modern day diversity. There are so many diverse groups that are organized by religion, sex, sexual orientation, color, ethnicity, interests, and more.

5.) Woodson explains that African Americans have been educated to believe many wrong things. They have been taught to hate their culture and admire other cultures, only successful African Americans were self-educated, and many other biases. This affects Africans in such a negative way because through their education, they are not going to be as acknowledged for their achievements. Often, the white culture dominates them and they are not noticed as much as they should be. Ultimately, I believe African Americans are taught wrong ideals and put down through education and I think they should be more acknowledged for their hardships and accomplishments. 

Effects on Education

1.) Maria Montessori has many ideas on the basis of scientific pedagogy. She believes that the teacher or instructor should prepare by closely observing the children. She also quotes, "He should conduct his observations with the self-sacrificing spirit of a scientist and the reverent love of a disciple." This is explaining that the teacher should be focusing on giving all of themselves to the children and not being self-centered. They should ultimately care for all the children's needs and observe what helps and harms the children and their learning capabilities. 

2.) Montessori is very against the continued requirement of "restrictive benches and desks based on misguided scientific principles." She believes that these desks and benches are physically harmful to the students and that if they are hurting the students physically, then they are also being affected spiritually and mentally. In the future, people will most likely find it unbelievable that we forced children to learn using harmful desks and other furniture which is why Montessori demands we change this problem now. 

3.) Lastly, Montessori explains the affect of freedom. She explains that while society tries to end slavery, the school system does not. Children work almost everyday for many hours just to earn little promotions or prizes but this doesn't help them learn that they have a bigger purpose. They need to learn to work for intrinsic rewards rather than extrinsic for greater satisfaction and know that they have freedom and autonomy to make this happen on their own.



4.) Dewey's expression of "thinking in education" explains that in order for effective learning to occur, students must be given an experimental activity to think and learn based on experience. Many teachers give students a heavy academic activity without the students having much knowledge on how to complete it. The ultimate goal is to improve students ability to think and that is done by giving them something to do, not learn.

5.) Dewey believes that an effective learning tactic is utilizing the student's previous experience and also providing some difficulty. He also believes certain conditions such as direct observation, reading, and listening are all useful to some extent. He also believes that thinking is inventive and creative because it puts everyday things into new uses. Therefore, he believes students should deal with problems directly, first-hand, and make sure that it requires thinking.

6.) Once again the best process of education includes hands on experience that requires the students to think and "do", however, Dewey also believes that students must apply the circumstances before they have full meaning. This also means students should work or learn in facilities that allow them to experience real life scenarios. Doing this will separate ideas from experience and help achieve the ultimate goal which is to develop the student's thinking capabilities.

Natural Progress of Opulence

1.) When it comes to Smith's views on, "wealth is used first for agriculture, second for manufacturing, and third for foreign commerce" I can see his point of view but I do not think it stays true today. He believes in this system where the country provides raw materials for the towns to provide advanced materials and give the country produce in return. However, in today's age, I do not think the countryside nor farmers have an advantage. They're jobs are often replaced with machines, many towns do not need them anymore, and when they do trade resources they do not profit as much as they used to. He satisfy's my curiosity because of how passionate he is about maintaining an agricultural based system and makes me wonder how the world would thrive if we focused on that. 

2.) Today, rather than investing in land, I believe the wealthy invest in businesses, restaurants, and the stock market to gain profit. With that, I believe they could consider something a secure investment if it seems like a safe purchase and one that gains a considerable amount of profit without causing detrimental costs. Doing this will ensure that the wealthy individual thrives off of their investment which increases their wealth similar to how farmers thrived back then when they gained more land. 

3.) As I have stated before, I believe that a thriving society should keep agriculture first however that is not the case today. Now, you can buy products and "crops" at stores which were made through factories. Everything is industrialized, farmers lose jobs due to technology, food is processed and tainted with chemicals, and animals ingest hormones which affect their health and pass onto our food. While I think technology can be beneficial and used in moderation, I believe we should revert more to agriculture and gain our resources more naturally.

Poverty vs. Affluence

1.) America is most definitely an affluent society, especially compared to other countries that are far from thriving. America now has so much so offer to other countries and in return receives a huge surplus of imports. While America receives a lot from other countries, we do not always spend that wisely. I believe we struggle to spend the money we have in the most useful ways. We spend it on things that may not be valuable or as reasonable as it could be. Another problem is that we spend money on those we favor when it could be used to help people or countries who could really benefit from it. Yes, America without a doubt has come a long way and has a lot to offer when it comes to money, fortune, influence, a powerful army, weapons, resources, and more but we are not always smart when it comes to giving. 

2.) As mentioned above, I believe America earns a lot of financial resources but does not effectively spend them or give them away. I also mentioned that the people who do receive that money or those resources often do not need it as much as others do. The amount of poverty and unemployment in America is horrible especially because it could be helped and avoided if people were aware and willing to help. I think the government should be more able in helping those get jobs regardless of their status, color, race, ethnicity, religion, etc. I believe people have many abilities that are being put to waste because they cannot find employment anywhere. Ultimately, I think the government has a responsibility in helping its people and that includes finding employment so those people and the government can make money.