Educational Philosophy :: Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Educational Philosophy If you do not make a difference, then what have you made? This question has guided me in my pursuit of life, not simply my pursuit of a career. Simply put, the point is that being an educator is so much more than recording grades or getting a student through school. When a person begins to become educated, then that person’s life has begun. It starts as soon as we come into this world and continues throughout adulthood until we take our last breath. Education comes in all forms and from different forces. People can be influenced in several different ways, whether it was by friends on the streets or criminals made famous by the media, or a teacher who took the time to care. In each of those cases, an educational force of some sort got through to them. I want to teach. I want to guide. I want to be a role model. Most importantly, I want to make a difference. Looking back at my high school days, the period in my life when I had no clue of what path I wanted to follow, I can recognize the direction that began its pull on me. Before I understood that Socrates was more than a name, philosophy was slyly pulling me towards the path I am now on. I remember several times just standing and looking at my fellow students. I would stare and try to imagine 5, 10, 15 years down the road. What would become of them? Who would be a doctor, a lawyer, dentist, actor/actress? Then it hit me. Who would end up in jail? How many would grow up to become criminals and lead a life of crime? These thoughts seemingly came out of the blue and to this day I am not sure why I thought of such things at the time. Regardless of the reason, it was at that point that I began my journey towards becoming an educator, towards making a difference. I consider my philosophy to be an eclectic blend of several different theories and philosophies. But by far I like the Socratic method the best. Personally, I feel I am able to learn to my full potential by using it. Learning by asking questions makes sense to me and I think if I apply this method to my teaching goals that I will be successful.

Ragging in India Essay

Ragging in India is a damaging form of interaction of the seniors in college or school with the juniors, newcomers or first years. It is similar to but not same as hazing in the United States, it is not an initiation. It involves insults (simple or suggestive sexual, sarcastic and even physical), running errands for seniors, and many other complex activities. Highly reputed Indian colleges have a wistful history of ragging especially Medical colleges. It has become increasingly unpopular due to several complaints of serious injury to the victims and strict laws regarding ragging. Ragging is now defined as an act that violates or is perceived to violate an individual student’s dignity. It often takes a malignant form wherein the newcomers may be subjected to psychological or physical torture. Prohibition Of Ragging As per Ordinance XV-C of the University of Delhi ragging in any form is strictly prohibited, within the premises of College/Department/Institution and any part of Delhi University system as well as on public transport and elsewhere Any individual or collective act or practice of ragging constitutes gross indiscipline and shall be dealt with under this Ordinance Ragging for the purposes of this Ordinance, ordinarily means any act, conduct or practice by which dominant power or status of senior student is brought to bear on students freshly enrolled or students who are in any way considered junior or inferior by other students and includes individual or collective acts or practices which involve physical assault or threat to use of physical force violate the status, dignity and honour of women student; violate the status, dignity and honour of students belonging to scheduled castes and tribes; expose students to ridicule and contempt and affect their self esteem entail verbal abuse and aggresssion, indecent gestures and obscene behaviour The incidents of ragging in educational institutions is becoming a National issue. I wish that all the senior students of SSITS will receive the suggestions expressed here positively and act as desired so that we can continue to maintain â€Å"RAGGING – FREE INSTITUTION† status for ever. Remember the fact: Awareness on ragging leads to eradication of ragging. The following may happen to the victim of ragging: 1. The ragging may leave permanent scar in the victim’s mind that may haunt him/her for years to come. 2. The ragging demoralizes the victim who enters the college life with many hopes and expectations. 3. It causes grave psychological stress and trauma to the victim. 4. Those who succumb to ragging may drop out, thereby hampering their career prospects. 5. In extreme cases, if the victim is too sensitive, he/she may resort to suicide, or culpable homicide. Ragging has become a menace, cause of fear and shock, not only for a fresher but to his/her parents too who are sending their loved ones for pursuing higher studies by investing a lot of hard earned money Ragging in any form inside or outside the college campus is banned/prohibited vide Prohibition of Ragging in Educational Institutions Act passed by the Parliament. Ragging means doing an act that causes or is likely to cause insult or annoyance or fear or apprehension, threat or intimidation or outrage of modesty or injury to a student. Those who indulge in this uncivilized activity are liable for severe disciplinary actions besides being liable for prosecution. Nature of Ragging Punishment Teasing, Embarrasing and Humilating Imprisonment upto 6 months or fine upto Rs.1000/- or both Wrongfully restraining or confining or causing hurt Imprisonment upto 2 years or fine upto Rs.5000/- or both Causing death or abating suicide Imprisonment upto 10 years or fine upto Rs.50,000/- or both Student convicted of any above offences, will be dismissed from the college.

Writing Workshops and the Issues of Race

Issues of race are one of the most sensitive topics in modern society, and people have to deal with them in all kinds of environments, including writing workshops. But what does it entail? In what ways the questions of race arise during these discussions and how do they influence their results? To begin with, writers of color, be they students or professors, face a dilemma: on the one hand, they feel kind of obligated to speak up when the issue of race arises (after all, it is the issue of their identity, and they are supposed to be sensitive about it); on the other hand, they resent this responsibility (after all, don’t we live in the world where these issues should have already been resolved?). While the majority of issues discussed at workshops are universal and can be perceived in the same way by anyone, there are cases in which some people have their own positions, defined not by their points of view, but by different life experiences. For example, a deaf man perceives the world in a way completely different from a man with normal hearing, and no amount of explanations will allow one of them to get into the shoes of another. They are simply different, have different perceptions of life and can only share their views but never fully understand each other. The same goes for race. A person of color perceives the world in a way different from that of a white person; it doesn’t mean that he is worse off or better off, he is just different, and when it comes to the experiences, the chances are he simply knows better. However, it is exactly what a lot of people don’t seem to understand. There are numerous cases when writers of color are told during these workshops that their characters are not what they are supposed to be – because they have a preconception that, for example, a Hindu character should be exactly like this, they cannot accept it to be different, even though this character is created by a writer of Hindu origin who is likely to have more insight into it. On the other hand, sometimes the very fact that race is such a sensitive topic does a disservice to proper depiction of these issues. A lot of workshop leaders tend to avoid discussing race altogether for the simple reason that in modern world it is all too easy to offend someone. Thus, race becomes a taboo topic and popular misconceptions grow even stronger. Either way, the color-blindness, the presupposed ideal of our society, becomes the first victim. If a person of color is asked to contribute during a workshop, all too often he is asked for exactly this reason – to get an opinion of a minority, not because his point of view is interesting or valuable in and of itself, but because it comes from him. All this shows that we still have a long way to go.