Educational psychology Essay Example for Free

Educational psychology Essay Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic. [1] Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. Education is commonly divided into stages such as preschool, primary school, secondary school and then college, university or apprenticeship. A right to education has been recognized by some governments. At the global level, Article 13 of the United Nations 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes the right of everyone to an education. [2] Although education is compulsory in most places up to a certain age, attendance at school often isnt, and a minority of parents choose home-schooling, e-learning or similar for their children. Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Formal education 3. 1 Preschool 3. 2 Primary 3. 3 Secondary 3. 4 Tertiary (higher) 3. 5 Vocational 3. 6 Special 4 Other educational forms 4. 1 Alternative 4. 2 Indigenous 4. 3 Informal learning 4. 4 Self-directed learning 4. 5 Open education and e-learning 5 Development goals 5. 1 Internationalization 5. 2 Education and technology in developing countries 5. 3 Private v public funding in developing countries 6 Educational theory 6. 1 Purpose of schools 6. 2 Educational psychology 6. 3 Learning modalities 6. 4 Philosophy 6. 5 Curriculum 6. 6 Instruction 7 Economics 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Etymology[edit] Etymologically, the word education is derived from the Latin educatio (A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing) from educo (I educate, I train) which is related to the homonym educo (I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect) from e- (from, out of) and duco (I lead, I conduct). [3] Education can take place in formal or informal educational settings. History[edit] Main article: History of education Nalanda, ancient center for higher learning Platos academy, mosaic from Pompeii Education began in the earliest prehistory, as adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. As cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond skills that could be readily learned through imitation, formal education developed. Schools existed in Egypt at the time of the Middle Kingdom. [4] A depiction of the University of Bologna, Italy, founded in 1088 Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclids Elements published in 1607 Plato founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in Europe. [5] The city of Alexandria in Egypt, founded in 330 BCE, became the successor to Athens as the intellectual cradle of Ancient Greece. There mathematician Euclid and anatomist Herophilus; constructed the great Library of Alexandria and translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. European civilizations suffered a collapse of literacy and organization following the fall of Rome in AD 476. [6] In China, Confucius (551-479 BCE), of the State of Lu, was Chinas most influential ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and neighbours like Korea, Japan and Vietnam. He gathered disciples and searched in vain for a ruler who would adopt his ideals for good governance, but his Analects were written down by followers and have continued to influence education in East Asia into the modern era. [citation needed] After the Fall of Rome, the Catholic Church became the sole preserver of literate scholarship in Western Europe. The church established cathedral schools in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education. Some of these ultimately evolved into medieval universities and forebears of many of Europes modern universities. [6] During the High Middle Ages, Chartres Cathedral operated the famous and influential Chartres Cathedral School. The medieval universities of Western Christendom were well-integrated across all of Western Europe, encouraged freedom of enquiry and produced a great variety of fine scholars and natural philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas of the University of Naples, Robert Grosseteste of the University of Oxford, an early expositor of a systematic method of scientific experimentation;[7] and Saint Albert the Great, a pioneer of biological field research. [8] The University of Bologne is considered the oldest continually operating university. Elsewhere during the Middle Ages, Islamic science and mathematics flourished under the Islamic caliphate established across the Middle East, extending from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus in the east and to the Almoravid Dynasty and Mali Empire in the south. The Renaissance in Europe ushered in a new age of scientific and intellectual inquiry and appreciation of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press, which allowed works of literature to spread more quickly. The European Age of Empires saw European ideas of education in philosophy, religion, arts and sciences spread out across the globe. Missionaries and scholars also brought back new ideas from other civilisations — as with the Jesuit China missions who played a significant role in the transmission of knowledge, science, and culture between China and Europe, translating works from Europe like Euclids Elements for Chinese scholars and the thoughts of Confucius for European audiences. The Enlightenment saw the emergence of a more secular educational outlook in Europe. In most countries today, education is compulsory for all children up to a certain age. Due to this the proliferation of compulsory education, combined with population growth, UNESCO has calculated that in the next 30 years more people will receive formal education than in all of human history thus far. [9] Formal education[edit] Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. School systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula. Preschool[edit] Young children in a kindergarten in Japan Main article: Early childhood education Preschools provide education up to the age of between 4 and 8 when children enter primary education. Also known as nursery schools and as kindergarten, except in the USA, where kindergarten is a term used for primary education. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate. [citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the childs physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them. [10] This period of education is very important in the formative years of the child. Teachers with special skills and training are needed at this time to nurture the children to develop their potentials. [citation needed] Primary[edit] School children line, in Kerala, India Main article: Primary education Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising. [11] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on a national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Secondary[edit] Students working with a teacher at Albany Senior High School, New Zealand Main article: Secondary education In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, post-secondary, or higher education (e. g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved  to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history. Community colleges offer nonresidential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. Tertiary (higher)[edit] Students in a laboratory, Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University See also: Higher education and Adult education Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school or secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees. Higher education generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy. University education includes teaching, research, and social services activities, and it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Universities are generally composed of several colleges. In the United States, universities can be private and independent like Yale University; public and state-governed like the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education; or independent but state-funded like the University of Virginia. A number of career specific courses are now available to students through the Internet. A liberal arts institution can be defined as a college or university curriculum aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum. [12] Although what is known today as the liberal arts college began in Europe,[13] the term is more commonly associated with universities in the United States. [citation needed] Vocational[edit]. Carpentry is normally learned through apprenticeship. Main article: Vocational education Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture and the arts. Special[edit] Main article: Special education In the past, those who were disabled were often not eligible for public education. Children with disabilities were often educated by physicians or special tutors. These early physicians (people like Itard, Seguin, Howe, Gallaudet) set the foundation for special education today. They focused on individualized instruction and functional skills. Special education was only provided to people with severe disabilities in its early years, but more recently it has been opened to anyone who has experienced difficulty learning. [14] Other educational forms[edit] Alternative[edit] Main article: Alternative education While considered alternative today, most alternative systems have existed since ancient times. After the public school system was widely developed beginning in the 19th century, some parents found reasons to be discontented with the new system. Alternative education developed in part as a reaction to perceived limitations and failings of traditional education. A broad range of educational approaches emerged, including alternative schools, self learning, homeschooling and unschooling. Example alternative schools include Montessori schools, Waldorf schools (or Steiner schools), Friends schools, Sands School, Summerhill School, The Peepal Grove School, Sudbury Valley School, Krishnamurti schools, and open classroom schools. To a greater or lesser degree, ideas from these experiments and challenges to the system may in time be adopted by the mainstream, as to a large degree has happened with kindergarten, an experimental approach to early childhood education developed by Friedrich Frobel in 19th century Germany. Other influential writers and thinkers have included the Swiss humanitarian Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi; the American transcendentalists Amos Bronson Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau; the founders of progressive education, John Dewey and Francis Parker; and educational pioneers such as Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner, and more recently John Caldwell Holt, Paul Goodman, Frederick Mayer, George Dennison and Ivan Illich. Indigenous[edit] Na Schoolyard. Teaching indigenous knowledge, models, methods in Yanyuan County, Sichuan in China Main article: Indigenous education Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge and language through the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities to reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students. [15] Informal learning[edit]. Main article: informal learning Informal learning is one of three forms of learning defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Informal learning occurs in a variety of places, such as at home, work, and through daily interactions and shared relationships among members of society. For many learners this includes language acquisition, cultural norms and manners. Informal learning for young people is an ongoing process that also occurs in a variety of places, such as out of school time, in youth programs at community centers and media labs. Informal learning usually takes place outside educational establishments, does not follow a specified curriculum and may originate accidentally, sporadically, in association with certain occasions, from changing practical requirements. It is not necessarily planned to be pedagogically conscious, systematic and according to subjects, but rather unconsciously incidental, holistically problem-related, and related to situation management and fitness for life. It is experienced directly in its natural function of everyday life and is often spontaneous. The concept of education through recreation was applied to childhood development in the 19th century. [16] In the early 20th century, the concept was broadened to include young adults but the emphasis was on physical activities. [17] L. P. Jacks, also an early proponent of lifelong learning, described education through recreation: A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. Enough for him that he does it well. [18] Education through recreation is the opportunity to learn in a seamless fashion through all of lifes activities. [19] The concept has been revived by the University of Western Ontario to teach anatomy to medical students. [19] Self-directed learning[edit]. Main article: Autodidacticism Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is a contemplative, absorbing process, of learning on your own or by yourself, or as a self-teacher. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. One may become an autodidact at nearly any point in ones life. While some may have been informed in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to inform themselves in other, often unrelated areas. Notable autodidacts include Abraham Lincoln (U. S. president), Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician), Michael Faraday (chemist and physicist), Charles Darwin (naturalist), Thomas Alva Edison (inventor), Tadao Ando (architect), George Bernard Shaw (playwright), Frank Zappa (composer, recording engineer, film director), and Leonardo da Vinci (engineer, scientist, mathematician). Open education and e-learning[edit] Main articles: Open education and E-learning In 2012, e-learning had grown at 14 times the rate of traditional learning. [clarification needed][20] Open education is fast growing to become the dominant form of education, for many reasons such as its efficiency and results compared to traditional methods. [21] Cost of education has been an issue throughout history, and a major political issue in most countries today. Open education is generally significantly cheaper than traditional campus based learning and in many cases even free. Many large university institutions are now starting to offer free or almost free full courses such as Harvard, MIT and Berkeley teaming up to form edX. Other universities offering open education are Stanford, Princeton, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Edinburgh, U. Penn, U. Michigan, U. Virginia, U. Washington, and Caltech. It has been called the biggest change in the way we learn since the printing press. [22] Many people despite favorable studies on effectiveness may still desire to choose traditional campus education for social and cultural reasons. [23] The conventional merit-system degree is currently not as common in open education as it is in campus universities, although some open universities do already offer conventional degrees such as the Open University in the United Kingdom. Presently, many of the major open education sources offer their own form of certificate. Due to the popularity of open education, these new kind of academic certificates are gaining more respect and equal academic value to traditional degrees. [24] Many open universities are working to have the ability to offer students standardized testing and traditional degrees and credentials. [citation needed] There has been a culture forming around distance learning for people who are looking to enjoy the shared social aspects that many people value in traditional on-campus education, which is not often directly offered from open education. [citation needed] Examples of this are people in open education forming study groups, meetups and movements such as UnCollege. Development goals[edit] World map indicating Education Index (according to 2007/2008 Human Development Report) Russia has more academic graduates than any other country in Europe. [when? ] (Chart does not include population statistics. ) Since 1909, the ratio of children in the developing world going to school has increased. Before then, a small minority of boys attended school. By the start of the 21st century, the majority of all children in most regions of the world attended school. There are 73 million children,[clarification needed] mostly female children in poor families, who did not start elementary school. There are more than 200 million children, mostly females from poor families, who did not go to secondary school. [25] Universal Primary Education is one of the eight international Millennium Development Goals, towards which progress has been made in the past decade, though barriers still remain. [26] Securing charitable funding from prospective donors is one particularly persistent problem. Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute have indicated that the main obstacles to receiving more funding for education include conflicting donor priorities, an immature aid architecture, and a lack of evidence and advocacy for the issue. [26] Additionally, Transparency International has identified corruption in the education sector as a major stumbling block to achieving Universal Primary Education in Africa. [27] Furthermore, demand in the developing world for improved educational access is not as high as foreigners have expected. Indigenous governments are reluctant to take on the recurrent costs involved. There is economic pressure from those parents who prefer their children to earn money in the short term rather than work towards the long-term benefits of education. [citation needed] A study conducted by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning indicates that stronger capacities in educational planning and management may have an important spill-over effect on the system as a whole. [28] Sustainable capacity development requires complex interventions at the institutional, organizational and individual levels that could be based on some foundational principles: national leadership and ownership should be the touchstone of any intervention; strategies must be context relevant and context specific;[clarification needed] they should embrace an integrated set of complementary interventions, though implementation may need to proceed in steps;[clarification needed] partners should commit to a long-term investment in capacity development, while working towards some short-term achievements; outside intervention should be conditional on an impact assessment of national capacities at various levels; a certain percentage of students should be removed for improvisation of academics (usually practiced in schools, after 10th grade). Internationalization[edit]. Nearly every country now has Universal Primary Education. Similarities — in systems or even in ideas — that schools share internationally have led to an increase in international student exchanges. The European Socrates-Erasmus Program[29] facilitates exchanges across European universities. The Soros Foundation[30] provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Programs such as the International Baccalaureate have contributed to the internationalization of education. The global campus online, led by American universities, allows free access to class materials and lecture files recorded during the actual classes. Education and technology in developing countries[edit]. The OLPC laptop being introduced to children in Haiti Technology plays an increasingly significant role in improving access to education for people living in impoverished areas and developing countries. There are charities dedicated to providing infrastructures through which the disadvantaged may access educational materials, for example, the One Laptop per Child project. The OLPC foundation, a group out of MIT Media Lab and supported by several major corporations, has a stated mission to develop a $100 laptop for delivering educational software. The laptops were widely available as of 2008. They are sold at cost or given away based on donations. In Africa, the New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD) has launched an e-school program to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. [31] An International Development Agency project called nabuur. com,[32] started with the support of former American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development. India is developing technologies that will bypass land-based telephone and Internet infrastructure to deliver distance learning directly to its students. In 2004, the Indian Space Research Organization launched EDUSAT, a  communications satellite providing access to educational materials that can reach more of the countrys population at a greatly reduced cost. [33] Private v public funding in developing countries[edit] Research into low cost private schools found that over 5 years to July 2013, debate around low-cost private schools to achieving Education for All (EFA) objectives was polarised and finding growing coverage in international policy. [34] The polarisation was due to disputes around whether the schools are affordable for the poor, reaching disadvantaged groups, provide quality education, supporting or undermining equality, and are financially sustainable. The report examined the main challenges that development organisations which support LCPSs have encountered. [34] Surveys suggest these types of schools are expanding across Africa and Asia and is attributed to excess demand. These surveys also found concern for: Equity, widely found in the literature, as the growth in low-cost private schooling may be exacerbating or perpetuating already existing inequalities in developing countries, between urban and rural populations, lower- and higher-income families, and between girls and boys. The report says findings are that LCPSs see evidence girls are underrepresented and that they are reaching some low-income families, often in small numbers compared with higher-income families. Quality of provision and educational outcomes: You cannot generalise about the quality of private schools. While most achieve better results than government counterparts, even after their social background is taken into account, some studies find the opposite. Quality in terms of levels of teacher absence, teaching activity and pupil to teacher ratios in some countries are better in LCPSs than in government schools. Choice and affordability for the poor: parents can choose private schools because of perceptions of better-quality teaching and facilities, and an English language instruction preference. Nevertheless, the concept of ‘choice’ does not apply in all contexts, or to all groups in society, partly because of limited affordability (which excludes most of the poorest) and other forms of exclusion, related to caste or social status. Cost-effectiveness and financial sustainability: Evidence is that private schools operate at low cost by keeping teacher salaries low, but their financial situation may be precarious where they are reliant on fees from low-income households. The report said there were some cases of successful voucher and subsidy programmes; evaluations of international support to the sector are not widespread. [34] Addressing regulatory ineffectiveness is a key challenge. Emerging approaches stress the importance of understanding the political economy of the market for LCPSs, specifically how relationships of power and accountability between users, government and private providers can produce better education outcomes for the poor. A class size experiment in the United States found that attending small classes for 3 or more years in the early grades increased high school graduation rates of students from low income families. [35] Main article: Educational theory Purpose of schools[edit] Individual purposes for pursuing education can vary. The understanding of the goals and means of educational socialization processes may also differ according to the sociological paradigm used. In the early years of schooling, the focus is generally around developing basic interpersonal communication and literacy skills in order to further ability to learn more complex skills and subjects. After acquiring these basic abilities, education is commonly focused towards individuals gaining necessary knowledge and skills to improve ability to create value and a livelihood for themselves. [36] Satisfying personal curiosities (education for the sake of itself) and desire for personal development, to better oneself without career based reasons for doing so are also common reasons why people pursue education and use schools. [37] Education is often understood to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and status for all (Sargent 1994). Learners can also be motivated by their interest in the subject area or specific skill they are trying to learn. Learner-responsibility education models are driven by the interest of the learner in the topic to be studied. [38] Education is often perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potentialities[39] with the purpose of developing every individual to their full potential. Educational psychology[edit] Main article: Educational psychology Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms educational psychology and school psychology are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists.

The Renaissance anf its impact on Society :: essays research papers

The Renaissance and its Impact on Modern Society The Renaissance 1 Abstract The Renaissance is a term that means rebirth. The renaissance marked a renewed interest in many things such as the arts but also brought about change in the areas of class structure; trade; invention and science. These changes have influenced nearly every social class and industrialized society in the modern world. This paper will show how this unique period in our history impacts our society today. The Renaissance 2 Class Structure and Trade Before the Renaissance, power was achieved by birthright, wealth and nobility however; the Renaissance gave birth to the merchant class. Agriculture was a mainstay of wealth and power however, it was quickly becoming less lucrative and many farmers decided to move to cities and take up new occupations. These city-based occupations required the need for increased educational skills such as reading, writing and bookkeeping. Accordingly education became more important, and parents of this emerging merchant class increasingly wanted their children to attend schools and universities. As the merchant class grew, they became increasingly wealthy. Along with this newfound wealth, this emerging merchant class gained power. Power that changed existing class structures and influenced politics. The evolution of the merchant class has developed into the free-trade system used throughout the industrialized world. Furthermore, the merchant class of the Renaissance allowed people not of birthright o r noble blood to gain wealth and ascend to power in both business and politics. Today many of our successful business men and women who came from humble origins and owe their ability to improve themselves through education and the earning of wealth through trade and business to the merchant class of the Renaissance. The Renaissance 3 Invention The Renaissance brought about the first portable clock. Invented in 1410, Filippo Brunelleschi’s spring-driven design clock made it possible to keep track of and manage time outside of the home or village. The evolution of Brunelleschi’s portable clock is our modern day wristwatch. The development of convex and concave lenses during the Renaissance also led to the invention of both the microscope and telescope. Arguably, the most valuable invention of the Renaissance was the moveable type printing press invented by Johann Gutenberg. Prior to Gutenberg’s printing press the copying of books and text was a painstaking, slow process done by hand. The Renaissance’s printing press is the grandfather of our modern day copy machine and computer printer. Science During the Renaissance science made leaps and bounds as well.

Family Guy, Friend or Foe? Essay

Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious In Antonia Peacocke article â€Å"Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious,† she discuses the show created by Seth MacFarlane, stating how she loves the show and how she can even recite several episodes by heart. However, when she first started watching the show she did not care for the type of humor that was expressed. Peacocke goes onto explains that she is not the only one who has these same feelings on how the show is bigoted and crude (Peacocke). Evidence to this was when the show was cancelled not only once, but also twice, in 2000 and 2002. Soon after the show was band, complaints from so many viewers to Fox Television Network, the producers were forced to start airing the show again (Peacocke). However, as she continued to watch the television program, she noticed that there was more than just racist, sexist, and bestiality jokes to be taken from the show (Peacocke). She even goes on to state how she gave the show a second chance and realized that it actually had a purpose and portrayed the stereotypes many people use today. Family Guy is one of the most disgusting, cruel and racist shows I have ever laid my eyes on, that is what I first thought after watching the TV show, Family Guy, for the first time, now that I look back on it, it is simply not true. If you look into the show more deeply and get what Seth McFarland, creator of Family Guy, is trying to portray you realize there is a lot more to it. I took the same view of the show as Peacocke, at first I did not like it, but I was forced by my family and friends to watch it. After watching several episodes, I stepped back and took a deeper look at the racist and sexist jokes said on the show, and I realized there was mor e to learn and see then just getting a chuckle out of the cruel jokes. Family Guy can be one of the most sexist and demeaning television programs out there but if you take a step back and look at what Seth MacFarlane is trying to get at, from the women of the 1950’s to the censorships of the FCC, you can learn the true meaning of Family Guy. Anyone who has ever watched an episode of Family Guy will agree that the show is very offence and often time sexist, but most people do not really get the true meaning of the show and how it relates to the stereotypes in our day to day lives. In one occasion in Peacocke essay â€Å"Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious,† she states that in an episode â€Å"I am Peter, Here me Roar,† there is a scene of an old 1950’s work place where a business man is talking about how women are very insecure about their appearance(). He explains that men should be sure to complement women on how they look, even if they are ugly, because they will believe it (302). Then the businessman goes on to say that a firm slap on their butt will let them know what good of a job they have done (302). I take this not to be a sexist skit but how the women of the 1950’s were mocked in the work place and how normal it was for this to happen to them. This is just one of the many examples of people misunderstanding Family Guy. Peacocke also includes in her essay how celebrities influence the way we think and what we do things in our everyday lives. This is shown in one episode of Family Guy, mentioned in Peacocke’s essay, when Brian and Stewie, are talking about Stewie’s choice of reading material (304). Brian then goes on to explain to Stewie that he only picks what he is going to read based on the books presented in Oprah’s Book Club on the Oprah Winfrey show (304). However, Stewie is quick to deny any of his accusations. Soon after Stewie’s denial, Brian is able to get Stewie to admit that he really is reading the book simply because Oprah suggests it. Here they are trying to demonstrate how Americans are willing to listen to the suggestions of celebrities and do what they tell us to do, without thinking twice about it. I agree with Peacocke on this because I have first hand experiences with my family. One example of this is my dad is a huge Payton Manning fan. When he saw that Payton was endorsing the brand Buick, he just had to go run out and get one because he wanted to be just like Payton. When I asked him about it, he said that it was a nice car and had nothing to do with Payton. But in the back of my mind I knew it was because of Payton. This goes to show that people are willing to follow the instructions of celebrities but don’t really want to admit that they do (304). An episode of Family Guy, PTV, as mentioned in Peacocke’s essay, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is trying to shut down Peter’s Griffin’s own television show because it is not censored and appropriate enough to be put on television (306). Then the FCC takes it to a whole other level and tries to censor the town where they live, Quahog, later the FCC puts black bars over nude Griffin’s and uses a frog horn when they are using a swear word. The point MacFarlane is trying to depict in this episode is that no matter how much you try and censor media, you can never change the unforgiving nature of humans and therefore, in trying to do so, would be virtually impossible. Peacocke also states in the essay that it is the parent’s responsibility to watch over their children and there is more to worry about in this world then television (306). This reminds me of one of my own personal experiences with this as a child. One of my favorite shows that my dad let me watch growing up, The Three Stooges, got banned because the FCC thought that with them beating each other up and getting hurt every episode that it promoted violence, even though it was just a funny show to watch and get a laugh out of. Similarly, in Family Guy, they are not promoting hurtful racial or sexist slurs; they are showing the true stereotypes that exist in people today. At the end of the day, I have first hand experiences on both sides of the story. I have a reasonable understanding of the side, which does not care for Family Guy, and the side that knows the true meaning behind the television program. If the people who think this show is a disgrace would just take a step back, they could that Family Guy really has much more to offer then just racist, sexist and bestiality jokes. There is a distinct difference between what many people believe is sexist and what is simply just what the creator of Family Guy is trying to show us how people stereotype. I think that people are much more willing to listen to a message about discrimination and sexism if it is delivered in a funny way and they can make themselves believe it is really not them.

Ambiguity At The Araby By James Joyce - 2076 Words

Colleen ODonnell UCLR 110 Professor Farina 20 April 2015 Ambiguity at the Araby Recent trends in literature heavily rely on crossover between genres. Science fiction is becoming more integrated with young adult novels, and even murder mysteries are starting to incorporate romance. This crossover insures authors that they will be able to reach a broader audience, with the hopes that more people will read their books. Short stories have blended countless genres together for a long time, so it’s not surprising to see a short mystery, or a short romance. Poet James Joyce has recently become just as recognized for his prose, especially when that prose is in the form of a short story. His collection, Dubliners, includes a handful of well-recognized stories that have similar themes run throughout. One of the most famous, Araby, quickly melds between a mystery and a love story, famously ending on a cliffhanger that leads readers to interpret the finale for themselves. Throughout the brief entirety of Araby, James Joyce continues to create a n aura of mystery and confusion, even going as far as to end the novel in a cliffhanger. This ambiguity allows for the reader to input their own experiences and ideas into the characters, which leads to the extensive feeling of relatability that most readers have with the little boy. The story begins as many of Joyce’s others, with a sad and dreary town that the narrator describes to the readers. The narrator is revealed to be a little boy,Show MoreRelated Epiphanies in Joyces Dubliners and Chaucers Canterbury Tales1179 Words   |  5 PagesJames Joyce’s Dubliners is a compilation of stories that all rely on character epiphanies in order to develop each story. These epiphanies change the tone of each story because each yields a negative change or reaction. In both â€Å"Araby† and â€Å"The Dead†, the characters realize or learn something about the world around them, which makes them second guess either themselves or the reason behind their actions. Geof frey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales contains at least one tale that relies on an epiphany to helpRead MoreThroughout The Beginning Of The Course We Have Read A Wide1487 Words   |  6 Pagesthat there is a continuing theme in the majority of the works we have read. Many of these stories are about a character or characters journey and what this reveals to them about themselves or the world around them. In particular Young Goodman Brown, Araby and A Good Man Is Hard to Find all deal a character s realization of the bitter world they live in. The journey is merely a prompt or tool that helps to unearth the misery that each character finds. I will be comparing and contrasting the charactersRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem The Blessed House By James Joyce1803 Words   |  8 PagesMaladies† it subtly exemplifies how post colonialism can begin with anyone regardless of race, religion, or gender. Also, the author James Joyce introduces his own narrative by illustrating of post col onialism properties on his story Araby, the many different references which he uses to employ that the Irish are different their conqueror, the British. Overall, both Joyce and Lahiri characters in their stories accept that they are hybrids of many culture, and they negate the stereotypes that their WesternRead MoreDublin as City of Paralysis VS Paris as City of Darkness in Modernist Literature2049 Words   |  9 Pagesfrom â€Å"Dubliners† written by James Joyce and an extract of the poem â€Å"La Cuve (The Vat)† by Charles Baudelaire will be discussed and analyzed to illustrate how Dublin and Paris are described as city of paralysis and city of darkness respectively. James Joyce chose Dublin not only as the setting of his short stories, more importantly, he wanted to â€Å"show the paralysis of the psyche, society and politics of Ireland†. (Daniels, 2) In the â€Å"Selected Letters of James Joyce†, Joyce clearly suggested that â€Å"[his]Read MoreAnalysis Of The Novel A Short Story 1979 Words   |  8 Pagesthe circumstances or backstory of the situation at hand, nor does it allow the reader to develop an in-depth relationship with these characters. Despite its condensed form, the short story can possess layers of subtexts and a sort of narrative ambiguity where pressure is placed on the reader to make something of these literary texts. To make sense of these subtexts, the reader should pay particular attention to the narrative voice being utilized because the narrator has the ability to influenceRead More James Joyces Ulysses - Balancing Information in Ithaca Essay3248 Words   |  13 PagesJames Joyces Ulysses - Balancing In formation in Ithaca I hold this book [Ulysses] to be the most important expression which the present age has found; it is a book to which we are all indebted, and from which none of us can escape. T.S. Elliot In the midst of Ithaca, the climactic second to last episode of Ulysses, James Joyce provides the necessary information for calculating how much excrement, in pounds, is produced annually by the entire population of Ireland (p. 718). The typeRead MoreLecture on Short Story5432 Words   |  22 Pagesdifficult to put our finger on it, it often seems unexplainable just like lyric poetry. Both may have a touch of the ineffable (unexplainable) just like mystical experience. The revelation offered by short stories illuminates but does not rationalise. Joyce used a religious word to refer to the instants of recognition at the end of his stories in Dubliners. He called them â€Å"epiphanies† a term that means a manifestation of a deity on earth. The short story may be then particularly apt to capture theRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesturning point of the narrative actually occurs. Nor is there any special reason that the crisis should occur at or near the middle of the plot. It can, in fact, occur at any moment. In James Joyce’s â€Å"Araby† and in a number of the other companion stories in â€Å"Dubliners† the crisis – in the form of a sudden illumination that Joyce called an epiphany – occurs at the very end of the story, and the falling action and the resolution are dispensed with altogether. Exposition and complication can also be omitted