The exhibit uses stories and scientific evidence to explain how people first arrived in the Americas. By reading and listening to a narrative as well as the science behind the Ice Age, students are able to create a clearer picture of what it was like more than 13,000 years ago. The narrative was presented through different types of writing, pictures, and art. The scientific evidence was displayed as artifacts, DNA, ice cores, and blood types. The information presented in the exhibit also ties nicely into my weather and climate units. By witnessing multiple accounts and stories that were passed down to each generation, students have many different ways to learn about how things were in the past. The main strength of the gallery is that students will gain understanding that the experience is a very human tale that directly connects and relates to all of us today. It also describes Native Americans not as hostile, savage, and primitive people, but as a peaceful and intelligent people that we can learn a lot from today. As far as I am concerned, Native Americans are just as important as any other cultures. They are the indigenous people that had the first cultures in the Americas. 

 

NGSS Standard: HS-ESS1-6. Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth’s formation and early history.

Before visiting the gallery, my students would have had some exposure to the concept of the Ice Age and how early humans settled in the Americas. This will help the students to not be overwhelmed by all of the new knowledge in the gallery. I would assign a group project for the students to work on. The class will be divided into groups of 4. One group will investigate the Ice Age environment based on what they learn in the gallery. The other three groups will research different environments that emerged just after the Ice Age. I will choose the different environments ahead of time for the groups to focus on. Each group will describe what resources would be available in those environments for food, constructing shelter, making clothing and tools, and creating art. A class project will also be assigned where each student will create a map of the Americas with a key denoting the information each group collected. Afterwards, each group will present their findings to the rest of the class in an informal setting. There will be a formative assessment based on what the students learned. 

 

Do you agree or disagree? Explain.

 

I agree with Freire’s quote. The job of an educator does not simply involve following district curriculum and performing state testing. Educators must also teach, “unteach”, and reteach students the importance of challenging how the school system administers the current state of affairs, compliance, and traditionalism. The current school system has checks and limits that students should be aware of. I regularly participate in dialogues with my students throughout the year without forcing them to believe in a form of education that pushes specific thoughts and ideas into their heads. I do this by teaching the humanity within the lessons. For example, when teaching about Rosalind Franklin’s contributions in the discovery of the structure of DNA, I am sure to teach my students about the struggles that she had to go through as a woman not receiving the appropriate credit for her work. I think that mentioning her allows the students to better connect with the struggles of women in the scientific community in the 1950’s. This can be a great lesson in how those who write the history are also biased in what they cover. 

 

3.b. ‘Teachers’…treat students …as joint seekers of truth and self-actualization. They help students define moral values…by posing situations that pose hard moral choices and then encouraging conflict and debate. They seek to help students rise in higher stages of moral reasoning and hence to higher levels of moral judgment…. Teachers provide a social and intellectual environment in which students can learn. Burns, J. (p. 449)

 

Describe your thinking of this quote as it relates to you, either as a teacher or a student.

 

Based on my education and work experience, I completely agree with Burns’s quote about “joint seekers of truth and self-actualization”. Successful managers and educators are able to create opportunities for learning to be a cooperative process without the need for one-sided lecturing. An effective teacher will engage his or her students by having the students draw upon previous knowledge and experience to see their own potential for learning. By observing and listening to the students, an educator can shape lessons that will reach students by connecting to intrinsic motivations. 

 

3.c. Martin Luther King. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Posted in Blackboard)

Answer the following questions: (One page)

 

 

I believe society defines an unjust law as rights or privileges granted to some at the expense of others. For example, the concept of eminent domain may result in the government acquiring private property without adequately or fairly compensating the owner. Unjust laws make situations where every citizen is not granted equal legal rights where some citizens are favored at the cost of others. They generally do not have a social benefit. Unjust laws are those designed and adapted to certain groups who create them. Often the greater good is forgotten and basic rights are ignored.

 

Based on history, the strategies and tactics that have proven most effective may vary depending on the situation, but may involve the following:

 

 

It is always a step in the right direction, but simply abolishing legal injustice never ensures social justice. It takes time and commitment. The issue arises from the fact that there is not always a consensus of what is deemed unjust. If citizens acted based on their own ideals of social justice, then the end results would not be uniform because the standards that people have are not always uniform. While laws form a reasonable compromise for social justice, there is a possibility that the end results may be deemed unjust to some and not to others. These laws also allow for ways to fix or adjust other laws as needed. 

 

3.d. Henry David Thoreau. “Civil Disobedience” (Posted in Blackboard)

Answer the following questions: (One page)

What would Thoreau consider an “unjust law?” What standard would he use to prove the law is unjust?

 

When Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience, the unjust law he was referencing was the law that mandated all citizens to pay a tax where a portion of that money money went to the approval and reinforcement of slavery. He was imprisoned for not paying the tax for an unjust law. According to Thoreau, an unjust law is a set law that is in disagreement with the moral and ethical law. This is similar to how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted St. Thomas Aquinas in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. 

Dr. King: “An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law.”

In my opinion, unjust laws do not have a legitimate reason to be followed other than the fact that they are laws. The basic standard that I would use to prove that a law is unjust involves whether or not the law worsens the inherent moral code of humans by causing the unjust misery of a particular group from the vote or influence of the majority or dominance of others. Those in power can oppress or cause suffering to others. This would be a great benchmark to measure what constitutes an unjust law. 

Conversely, it would also useful to have standards on how to prove that a law is just. I believe that a just law must not discriminate in any manner or under any circumstances. It is also important to note that justice means different things to different people. Because of this, having universal standards about what is unjust may prove to be difficult and challenging. 

The standard that Thoreau uses to prove that a law is unjust involves contrasting human-made law to divine law. For Thoreau, if a human-made law conflicts with a higher law law, then a person should follow the divine law. For example, despite the legality of slavery, it was always considered to be a misconduct of the the divine law. 

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot describes the fascinating tale of bioethics, experimentation, and legality of a person’s cells. The main person being covered is Henrietta Lacks. Working as a meager, black, tobacco farmer, her cells were extracted without her knowing. These special cells ended up becoming one of the most revolutionary instruments in virology, biology, and medicine. Since 1951, her cells have been cloned by the billions and billions and sold to various corporations and entities. Skloot writes about how the cells have been profitable for many people, but Henrietta’s family is struggling to make ends meet. Within the book, Skloot covers where the cells were extracted in Johns Hopkins Hospital, the many labs throughout the country that hold the cells, and how the Lacks family is living with the issues.

        The main assumptions that Skloot makes involve scientists using the cells without thinking about the human aspect of them, patients are not properly compensated for their donations, and lawmakers not protecting the rights of donors.

        Skloot’s primary argument is that the family should be compensated for the use of Henrietta’s cells to make a profit.

        The strengths of the book are how Skloot explains the science, how the policies of medicine are tracked, and how the Lacks family suffers from through the history. The limitations of the book are the negligence of donors when signing or giving away their cells to scientists.

        Over the years Skloot learned of the racial aspect of the cells, she learned that Caucasians contacted the family when it had to do with Henrietta’s cells. Members of the Lacks family feel they have been deceived of money by corporations that have used the cells for profits. Throughout the book, Skloot covers the family’s stresses, the ever-changing laws about donations, and the violation of the privacy by releasing the medical records and genetic information about the cells. When interviewing the family, Skloot also explains how the family struggles with health insurance while the healthcare industry profits from the use of Henrietta’s cells. Henrietta’s daughter, Deborah, was quoted as saying: “Truth be told, I can’t get mad at science, because it help people live, and I’d be a mess without it. I’m a walking drugstore! . . . But I won’t lie, I would like some health insurance so I don’t got to pay all that money every month for drugs my mother cells probably helped make.”

        I feel that Skloot does not give specifics about what the family should be owed and who should be paying them. Since Henrietta only indirectly helped science, it is difficult to put a proper price tag on the worth of the cells. Current donations of cells tend to pay donors $5,000 per donation. It is up to the donors to properly negotiate how much they believe they deserve for their donations. I also believe that Skloot should have mentioned the fact that other human cell lines have been immortalized. Henrietta’s cells are not as rare as they once were. Most scientists use the cells because of convenience. Skloot should have mentioned how the family is not legally allowed a share of the billion-dollar industry, because the statute of limitations at both the federal and state levels has long been lapsed. I highly recommend this book to people who are interested in such an important part of our history. The science mentioned is not anything too advanced for the average reader. I have my freshmen read with no issues. 

 

Skloot, R. (2010). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York, NY: Crown Publishing Group.

I promise to:

1.      Create and foster a positive and safe classroom environment for you no matter what your background is. 

2.      Learn as much as about all of you as this will make the learning process that much easier and efficient. 

3.      Recognize that you are different and that should be recognized.

4.      Always assume the best in you even when you give me reasons to think otherwise.

5.      Remember that there is always more to know about you.

6.      Assume you are not aware of what you are not aware of. 

7.      Never give up you even when you give up on yourself. No matter what. 

8.      Fight tirelessly for equity, fairness, and justice in every situation. 

9.      Make mistakes as this is also expected of you. 

10.  Grow from my mistakes as this is also expected of you. 

11.  Show you the respect that you deserve. I also expect that same respect. 

12.  Use the learning time as efficiently and effectively as possible.

13.  Be aware of all of your cultural differences and how that makes this country unique and amazing.

14.  Help you grow to your fullest potential using a variety of methods and techniques of instruction.

15.  Enforce the school’s rules and policies fairly and consistently no matter the situation.

16.  Use special activities that suit each of your diverse background as much as possible.

17.  Be sensitive to all of your differences including cultural diversities, racial differences, and sexual orientations.

18.  Be the teacher that motivates you as well as colleagues to be a better person through better understanding and better attitudes.