Baseball

There is nothing like the open air of a windy stadium, the ketchup poured upon a “Nathan” hotdog, and a thirty two ounce of diet Pepsi to quench the thirst of a baseball game. With the temperature at eighty six degrees and the wind blowing at fifteen miles an hour, fifty six thousand fans are cheering for their favorite players, and of course a victory for the home team. Somehow we all have something in common, a national pastime, our friends, our families, and the love for baseball.

Baseball has always taken on a significant role in the cultural development of our society. I could remember growing up in the streets of Brooklyn living just six city blocks away from the famous “Ebbets Field Stadium”, where the Dodgers played. With my homework completed and a baloney sandwich in my right hand, I would run to my mother and beg her to permit me another chase at “taking a crack at the ball”. There, across the street from my house, also stood “Medger Evers Stadium”, a parched grassless field with graffiti stains all over its beautiful facades. Everywhere I turned there was a stadium, you see, locals from the area would send their kids to “play ball” in order to alleviate some of the stresses and harsh realities which plagued most of the families in our community. For some reason we were not welcomed in professional baseball stadiums. We were minorities, and the closest thing we had at participating in a baseball game was playing “stick ball” between the heavily parked cars inundating the Brooklyn city Streets.

Baseball was an opportunity, a dream, a desire that inspired us to rise above our limitations and nourish the imagination of becoming the next “Babe Ruth” or perhaps “Mickey Mantle”. It was not just the game, but what the game symbolized. For some reason there is something fascinating about watching an “underdog” team facing the monstrosity of wealthy, healthy, well trained professionals who smoked cigars in the bathrooms, and ate a five course meal at lunch time. Baseball spoke for the less fortunate masses, and gave us an opportunity to beat the giants who limited our lives and discouraged our potentials. It was not about the money, the fame, or the success, but about the legacy of overcoming the odds.

Who doesn’t want to be part of a winning team? The “Yankees” is the team I most admire, with their famous pinstripe uniforms and twenty six World Serious victories hanging from their executive office, being a Yankee fan means you’re part of a winning fraternity. It is amazing how a simple game of baseball could teach us the art of “teamwork” and the dynamics which fashion the spirit, heart, passion, and desires of a winning team. Baseball has many facets which exemplify the characteristics of the corporate world, by couching, teaching, managing, training, and preparing individuals to achieve their maximum potential, you find people like “Jackie Robinson” coloring the walls of the “Baseball Hall of Fame”, and Latino player “Juan Marichal” breaking the barriers of racism in the sport.

Baseball may have lost some of its candid personalities, its joy, or even the spirit of the game due to its globalization involvement, but one thing is for sure there is one tradition which still attracts kids, families, baseball lovers, and even visitors to the game, and that is the famous “Take me out to the Ball game” song. Just like music has melodies, you cannot go to a baseball game without participating in a seventh inning baseball ritual that goes like this; “Take me out to the ball game; take me out to the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks I don’t care if we never get back, let me root, root, root for the home team if they don’t win it’s a shame. For its one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old ball game.” I Love baseball!

The Poem

Yehuda Amichai is a contemporary Hebrew poet who has had a tremendous influence in the poetry world. With his rich ancestral background and desire to seek out the realities and truth of "Holy Scripture" he meditates, contemplates and orchestrates poetry that bends the theological concepts of early scholars. He also entices his readers to journey through his poetry from a contemporary point of view.

In the poem “A Man In His Life”, Yehuda responds to the writer of “Ecclesiastes” with a poem which depicts the life and death cycle of a man who has limited time. With vivid experiences which inundates the heart and life of most men, Yehuda prophesizes through his poetry and tells the story through the eyes of “manhood”.

A Man in his Life by Yehuda Amichai

A man doesn't have time in his life
to have time for everything.
He doesn't have seasons enough to have
a season for every purpose. Ecclesiastes
Was wrong about that.

A man needs to love and to hate at the same moment,
to laugh and cry with the same eyes,
with the same hands to throw stones and to gather them,
to make love in war and war in love.
And to hate and forgive and remember and forget,
to arrange and confuse, to eat and to digest
what history
takes years and years to do.

A man doesn't have time.
When he loses he seeks, when he finds
he forgets, when he forgets he loves, when he loves
he begins to forget.

And his soul is seasoned, his soul
is very professional.
Only his body remains forever
an amateur. It tries and it misses,
gets muddled, doesn't learn a thing,
drunk and blind in its pleasures
and its pains.

He will die as figs die in autumn,
Shriveled and full of himself and sweet,
the leaves growing dry on the ground,
the bare branches pointing to the place
where there's time for everything.

Brown Vs Board Assignment

For hundreds of years millions of people have suffered at the hands of immoral practices which dominated the social scene in American history. Ever since the foundations of this nation, political powers have been proficient in assembling excuses and practices which favors a stratum of people. The Anglo-centrist concepts were widely accepted and a national paradigm was birthed. In the following dissertation I will be commenting on the details which highlighted the “Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka” amendment, and why do I think schools are still segregated today.

The idealism of “Segregation” depicted the devaluation of social groups according to race, and used forced to institutionalize its practices. Many legislative and local officials assumed this ideology as a common practice in United States, and masked itself behind the concepts of “separation”. Separation, in contrast, was the devaluation of social groups freely practiced without use of force, but by use of choice. This masking of words, lead to an incredible period of civil adjudication and readjustment.

In the Brown vs. Board amendment (347 U.S. 483-1954) the Supreme Court was challenged to overturn the “Plessy vs. Ferguson (163 U.S. 537-1896)” amendment which upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation in public accommodations under the doctrine of “separate but equal”. By freely separating the racial classes and offering equal accommodations the U.S. government was justifying the concept of separation rather than segregation. This notion played erroneous in the eyes of thirteen families and their twenty children. With Mr. Oliver Brown, a concerned African American parent, welder, and Assistant Pastor leading this legal precession, the United States found racial segregation a violation to the Fourteenth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. This overturned all earlier adjudications set forth by the “Plessy v. Ferguson” decision, and paved the way for integration and the Civil Rights Movement.

“Reform” has always found herself banging at the doors of society, political circles, and now education. This unmovable notion continues to be significant in the evolutionary process of socialization and its concepts. Even though society won an important decision in 1954, there are still many ideologies which continue to battle the notions of social inequality and segregation. The social stratification of the populace is a modernization concept practiced by local and political officials. By separating, stereotyping, and marginalizing individuals by their financial successes, zip codes, and last names state and educational officials may be undermining their own successes.

We have obviously seen schools in different neighbors receive additional funding simply because of the social stratum which it dwells. This biased resolution challenges the concepts of equality, equal accommodation, and equal assessment. With less funding perpetuating the accessibility, tools, and academic instruction of our schools systems, students associated with “lower class” families are being challenged to perform at the same level as “upper class” families. This categorization of funding, requirements, and assessment is questionable and can lead to an additional constitutional amendment in the future. With socialization and integration being the primary subject of interest in today’s society and the eternal clock of evolution ticking we may see a new wave of reform plunging at the footsteps of society. This categorization process undermines all political, social, academic, economic and diverse arenas.

Joan Cartwright & Jazz

The rich sounds of Jazz and Blues is a genre of music which has its roots planted in the echoes of the original African slave hymns. It expresses and vocalizes the sounds of a history of peoples, and culture which is so richly found in the African American ethnicity. Breaking the chains of racial tensions and telling the stories of relationships, love, and soul expression these sounds unites us all because it tells of life’s stories that goes beyond the color barriers. Joan Cartwright is one of the leading Jazz and Blues artists and composer who is still with us today, and I had the privilege of meeting her and participating in this rich history of music.

As we studied about “Women in Jazz”, Joan Cartwright made it clear that women had their place in the origins of Jazz Music. From the West Coast of Africa to the Clubs of Harlem she tells the story of greats such as, Betty Carter, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Cole Porter and others. I enjoyed very much singing along her famous song “Love Translation” which speaks of how love unites us all through the trail of life, country, continent, world, and universe. With her charisma and smiles she ignited the floor and brought us the rich sounds that with its history, imparted in us all a rich experience and feeling of pride. For some of us, it reminded us of the early sixties and seventies and perhaps for others she gave a great history lesson. With tambourine in hand, she made us dance and feel the joy of participating in a diverse event not focusing on our difference but in our similarities.

Listening to the history of Jazz and Blues, we continue to see an evolution of sound, music and message which embraces its history. From the drums of Africa to the trumpets of Jazz it is so clear that we have evolved into a diverse group of people with a diverse ability to share history from the lens of time. It is not usual to see a lady saxophonist play her tunes while “lady melody” played her keyboard. Yes, I must say women have come a long way and they are here to stay. They had rime, they had rhythm, and they had blues. Much prettier than their counterparts, these women had style. Culturally this event was rich in information, and brought to life the history, emotions and feelings of the great women of Jazz.

By embarking in this event in “Black History Month”, I learned, laughed and participated in the sounds of my ancestral background. I took my sandals off and sang along in some of the song such as “I sing because I’m happy”. It reminded me that we all come from one, we all are one, and we share in one common goal called “life”.

Paideia Practice

Like an artist, a teacher continues to develop new styles, methods, tools, and frameworks which will help their students understand and attain the concepts which he or she is trying to convey. In the following reflection I will be describing in my own words what is the “Paideia Practice”?

The “Paideia Practice” is the art of teaching which elevates, exerts, creates, and mediates a desired experience and method to effectively furnish knowledge to students. Simply transmitting information either through verbal or scriptural means is not the only and effective way of educating the populace. Educationalists have a responsibility to nurture a teaching and learning environment which will enhances and provoke students to extend beyond their passive learning experience and attain the desired results. Merely lecturing through a course study may show limited teaching efficiency and can discourage students in their journey through their educational career.

Educators who are effective in developing the “Paideia Practice” involve questioning, dialogue, participation and in some cases, extra-curriculum activities in their course outlines. Many modern day teachers will introduce a film, piece of art, pictures, music, poetry and other forms of stimuli which help cultivate an effective learning environment for students. Being knowledgeable of the diverse learning style of each student is vital in preparing and developing lessons plans that address the special needs of each student.

Fashioning and assembling lesson plans takes critical, creative thinking and careful attention. It is important for educators to understand their own lesson plans before presenting it to their students in order to make adjustments and remove content which may be confusing and negatively impactful. Stimulating memory, recitation, integration, and critical thinking concepts may empower students to stretch beyond their own paradigms and strengthen their intrapersonal and interpersonal communication skills.

In conclusion, with the current movement of diverse populations inundating the American school system it is becoming more challenging and exciting for future teachers to create a lesson plan which embodies a multicultural theme. It is important that we do not allow for the assimilative process to take root in the “Paideia Process” of developing unbiased and effective lessons plans which will prepare our future students. Like any other concept, idea, or movement which continues to evolve it is going to be interesting to see how colorful classrooms will become and how educators address and prepare to answer the principles of the “Paideia Practice”.

Constructivism

Construction workers have the responsibility to take a designed idea and assemble the necessary tools, resources, and procedures in order to erect the desired structure. In the following dissertation I will describe in my own words the Constructivist Approach to teaching and learning?

Similar to the methods used by “construction workers” in the workforce environment, teachers are responsible for introducing new principles, concepts, ideas, resources and information which builds upon the foundational concepts previously learned by students, this concept is called the “Constructivism Approach”. In the “Constructivism Approach” knowledge takes active precedents in the student’s life and compels teachers to challenge the fundamental principles on which the knowledge is based. By questioning, empowering, and challenging students to explore and investigate new information educationalists are certifying the accuracy of the student’s knowledge and adding to the totality of their understanding and experiences.

In the process of “Constructivism”, time is vital in securing a sustainable and vivacious growth of added knowledge. Simply challenging students to investigate their thesis of knowledge is not conclusive in the developmental process of educating. But, allowing students to process, allocate, reason, and regulate the new information attained helps fortify the accuracy and understanding of that knowledge. Similar to the apperception ideology which states “process of new ideas always associates themselves with old ones”, constructivism closely resembles fundamental principles practiced and mentioned by earlier philosophers.

The learning approach to “Constructivism” is the responsibility of students. Simply accepting new knowledge without regulation or investigation can lead to devastation. It is my contention that if knowledge is continually active then new knowledge can lead to solutions or truths unchartered or attained. Developing a critical thinking process is essential to “Constructivism” and leads to a healthy battle of pursuing a passive approach to learning. Simply accepting different concepts as “factual”, without investigation limits our scope in the educational developmental process.

Constructivism will always be part of the educational process. As the thirst for knowledge continues to unveil we will always find new ways, means, concepts, ideas, truths, and information which will provoke the innovative mind and challenge our structured paradigms. Constructivism is a concept that continually adds to the nurturing of knowledge. Constructivism is active and it’s here to stay!

Behaviorist Approach

The “behaviorist approach theory” is a concept which focuses on the relationship between exerted behaviors provoked or initiated by external stimulus. In several analyzes performed by various notable psychologists such as Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, and Skinner, experiments revealed that behaviors can easily be learned, extinct, recovered, or discriminated by a process called “conditioning”. Conditioning was the pivotal means of training, achieving and attaining desired behaviors from individuals and animals through a continual process of occurrences or steps.

In these occurrences, the experimented would be naïve to the desired reaction and certain negative and positive stimuli would be introduced. If the experimented achieved desired responses certain rewards would be issued, if not, then disciplinary repercussion would be adhered. Watson found that these negative and positive stimulated occurrences explained the notions of phobias, fears, and prejudices found in the sociological strata of society. In continuing the investigation Pavlov observed that once a behavior has been learned it can easily be triggered with similar stimuli in order to attain an associated response, this practice is understood to be “stimulus generalization”.

Another observance was “extinction”, by eliminating the continued stimulus from the experiment the desired behavioral responses would cease and training would have to be repeated or replaced. Thus, any behavioral reaction had a “direct” relationship with the stimulus introduced or used. In the other hand, “Spontaneous recovery” was the actual recovery method performed in order to attain the previously loss behavior practiced by the experimented. By reconditioning and reintroducing stimuli to the experiment, learned behaviors could be rendered.

The concept of “discrimination” was also introduced by Pavlov during his observations, whereas the experimented would distinguish between similar stimuli in order to discern which reaction is required in order to attain desired reward. By continually introducing comparable stimuli, individuals and animals innately formulated and learned differences found in closely associated incentives which sharpened their training and senses. This practice was non-intentional and latter was observed to be quantifiable. The “higher order conditioning”, in the other hand, was an advanced training induced to provoke the experimented to choose from various stimuli in order to attain desired reward. In this concept numerous incentives were introduced in order to encourage the experimented to react proactively to desired stimulus in order to attain desired results. This freedom signaled behavioral advancement and suggested choice.

All behaviors, disciplines, and attitudes can be learned through conditioning. In spite of the difficulties which one may encounter through repetition, reoccurrences, and practice there is valuable training which will lead to competence and mastery. For, the destiny of each trainee is to attain prominence and the rewards that are associated with his or her process.

Mental Discipline, Natural Unfoldment, Apperception

The developments of modern day school curriculums have been influenced by many rudimentary concepts which have induced practices in the way students attain knowledge. These concepts can be traced back to famous philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, and as late as Wolfe and Rousseau. In the following dissertation I will be commenting on the forces that have helped shape the school curriculums, and preferences among mental discipline, natural unfoldment, and apperception.

First, looking back through the pages of history it is important to mention the significant roles that early philosophers, and the reform movements had on the modification of modern day curriculum courses. With people like Horace Mann leading the “Common School Concept” and John Dewey introducing the “Progressive Education Concepts” the portico of education would never be the same. Topics such as philosophy, immigration, gender, exceptionalism, technology, and sociology now challenged the prospectus of most school officials, and altered the adaptation and adjustment of modern day academic demand. All of these evolving issues required progressive solutions which eternally modified our school curriculum and its future framework.

Secondly, in scope of all these modifications, there is a pivotal purpose which drove all concepts of the sociological and economical demands found in the academic arena as well as in society. That pivotal purpose was to attain the new academic and/or “mental disciplines” necessary to adapt to change. Mental discipline as stated by James D. Koerner is “The harmonious development of the mind, the will, and the conscience of each individual so that he may use to the full of his intrinsic powers and shoulder the responsibilities of citizenship." In the process of “mental discipline” we see several notable components which focus on the strict development of memorization, recitation, perseverance, and humanistic development. Learning, training and exercising the mind to prepare and answer common day problems is a concept that challenges all citizens to stretch beyond mediocrity and break through paradigms which catapult them into unscathed domains. Exercising mental discipline either through classical, existentialist or scientific means would remain in the foundations of our academic framework for years to come.

Thirdly, “unfoldment” was another concept which nurtured the curriculum progress found in our school system. With a notable philosopher such as Jean J. Rousseau introducing this new model of course discipline, he stated that “Human hereditary nature is good, it need only be permitted to develop in a natural environment free from corruption” provoked school officials to permit students to live close to nature so that they might indulge freely in their natural impulses, instincts, and feelings. This concept was deemed significant because it later associated itself closely to the progressive concept founded and practiced by John Dewey. Understanding that students should freely develop, search, and attain their innate qualities and interests in a healthy school setting encompassed a new degree of learning that triggered changes in the time and context in which students learned. Each student independently possessed learning qualities which was distinct from the rest of his or her colleagues and could differ in visual, auditory, experimental or other means. All these means were positively influential in a constructive environment.

Finally, the “apperception concept” was a culmination of the “unfoldment” and “mental discipline” concepts shared by earlier philosophers. Apperception is understood to be the “process of new ideas associating themselves with old ones”. In any evolutionary process, one cannot remove the fundamental principles or substance which gave rise to the movement or concept which it nurtured. In the apperception concept we learn that everything “one knows come to one from outside oneself” or external means. In applying this notion, a chain of developmental components coincides with the previous knowledge already attained, thereby adding to mental perception and development. This concept takes precedence to notions shared by an earlier philosopher named Aristotle. Aristotle introduced the “unmovable mover” and “great chain of being” concepts which possesses a class structure by ascending importance.

It is my contention that each concept has played a universal role in the process of curriculum development. Similar to any evolutionary process one cannot speculate or preference on the theoretical precepts which birthed its foundational beginnings, for each contains truths which can easily be applied or perceived. “Apperception”, “unfoldment”, and “mental discipline” will always have its residence in academic development.