Civic Education
Gordon Gee in The Grace Adams Tanner Lecture in Human Values on April 28, 1999 mandates that the modern university "must provide the moral, intellectual, social cultural, and emotional framework into which [students] can properly place the pieces of the puzzle of life. We [the university] must help our students accommodate not only their hopes and aspirations, but also the inevitable fears, disillusionment, the desperate moral dilemmas, the guilt, the anger, and the questions of conscience which are part of every life. We must help them channel the power of the individual into strengthening the community." Gee speaks about an obligation of the university to prepare her students for life as members of a greater community. He places inherent value on the strength of community and assigns, as do the two authors quoted, a "moral responsibility" on contemporary universities to enable each student to contribute to this strength.
Like Gee, William James talks about the "action of innumerable imitative individuals upon each other." Both Gee and James believe that education is not an individual search for self or righteousness or belonging. This process is not one about receiving wealth or fame. It is a process about learning to give. It is a process about acquiring the knowledge necessary to strengthen the community in the ways you feel are right.
My own experience at Brown is one that has led me to internalize many of these same values. When I first arrived at Brown, I asked myself where I would fit here; what was it that I was supposed to do? I took advantage of Brown's liberal curriculum and sought the perfect concentration for me. When I settled on Political Science, I asked myself what I wanted to DO with that degree. Over the course of my Junior year, the answer simply emerged. I became interested in education and finally found the perfect field for my interest: Civic Education. I plan to write my honors thesis next year with professors Tomasi and Kaestle on civic education. The question I ask myself now, is not what can I do with Civic Education, but rather, how can I use my academic work to enhance the educational experience for all American children.
In contemporary debates over civic education theory, the question is often posed: how can an Aristotelian, republican notion of cultivating citizens fit into a modern liberal democracy?
...nd his family to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” God promises that “never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” The offering of sacrifice, and its acceptance by God – these are repeated in both accounts of the Flood.
Unlike the other books I have read, this book left out a lot of elements like ritual, prayer, clothing, and all of the trappings of religion. I really do not agree with this part of the book. I find this part of religion interesting and I was looking forward to reading and learning about it. I am still not disappointed, but I would have liked the book better if it was expressed.
Even though The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis: Noah and The Flood have similar details they both differ dramatically, because of the religious aspects, their different views of destroying mankind , and the importance of the arc.
The nation has seen a rebirth of many of the Vietnam-era values in today’s students. Protests, mostly in opposition to the war in Iraq, have become frequent events on college campuses. Student organizations advocating equal rights for women, racial minorities and the gay community have made their voice heard in state and federal legislatures. Perhaps there is some truth to the view that college students are a very liberal group that tends to become more liberal as they approach graduation.
Aside from school or Universities, our world is a huge classroom. All of us learned things that are not taught in school, but there are some methods that we follow in order to simplify and to understand more regarding the task of different fields of knowledge. In our society today, most people learn by mimicking others and their actions that are influenced by past experiences. There is knowledge that is handed down from mouth to mouth generation that never committed in writing. When I think about knowledge, the first thing that comes up with my mind is education. Education requires self-determination, dedication, and experience. According to John Henry Newman’s philosophy of
The Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the most famous, and definitely the most widely-read, ethical text of ancient India. As an episode in India's great epic, the Mahabharata, The Bhagavad Gita now ranks as one of the three principal texts that define and capture the essence of Hinduism; the other two being the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. Though this work contains much theology, its kernel is ethical and its teaching is set in the context of an ethical problem. The teaching of The Bhagavad Gita is summed up in the maxim "your business is with the deed and not with the result." When Arjuna, the third son of king Pandu (dynasty name: Pandavas) is about to begin a war that became inevitable once his one hundred cousins belonging to the Kaurava dynasty refused to return even a few villages to the five Pandava brothers after their return from enforced exile, he looks at his cousins, uncles and friends standing on the other side of the battlefield and wonders whether he is morally prepared and justified in killing his blood relations even though it was he, along with his brother Bhima, who had courageously prepared for this war. Arjuna is certain that he would be victorious in this war since he has Lord Krishna (one of the ten incarnations of Vishnu) on his side. He is able to visualize the scene at the end of the battle; the dead bodies of his cousins lying on the battlefield, motionless and incapable of vengeance. It is then that he looses his nerve to fight.
Whether in Christianity in the form of Noah’s Ark, or through Mesopotamian history in the form of an immortal, the idea of a great flood has proven to be a common story throughout the world. Though Noah’s Ark may be the most popular form of the story, it is not the oldest. Many people believe Noah’s Ark was based on Utnapishnem’s flood story. The two stories are obviously based on the same thing, but one must wonder which one is true or which came first.
The right and privilege to higher education in today’s society teeters like the scales of justice. In reading Andrew Delbanco’s, “College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be, it is apparent that Delbanco believes that the main role of college is to accommodate that needs of all students in providing opportunities to discover individual passions and dreams while furthering and enhancing the economic strength of the nation. Additionally, Delbanco also views college as more than just a time to prepare for a job in the future but a way in which students and young adults can prepare for their future lives so they are meaningful and purposeful. Even more important is the role that college will play in helping and guiding students to learn how to accept alternate point of views and the importance that differing views play in a democratic society. With that said, the issue is not the importance that higher education plays in society, but exactly who should pay the costly price tag of higher education is a raging debate in all social classes, cultures, socioeconomic groups and races.
Perhaps the most popular comparison with Noah's Flood is that of an ancient Babylonian story of a similar flood. A quick look at the text does show some key similarities between them however there are also some pointed differences. I will show you both and let you decide whether there is or is not a connection.
"[I]t seems appropriate to understand sexual orientation (heterosexual or homosexual) as a deep-seated dimension of one's personality and to recognize its relative stability in a person. Generally, homosexual orientation is experienced as a given, not as something freely chosen. By itself, therefore, a homosexual orientation cannot be considered sinful, for morality presumes the freedom to choose. The teachings of the Church make it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be defended and that all of us must strive to eliminate any forms of injustice, oppression, or violence against them"(Pastoral).
The roles of Noah and Utnapishtim in the Flood Myths are quite similar. There are several differences regarding the two flood myths, but the general idea behind the two remains consistent. In the Mesopotamian Flood Myth, the Gods were overwhelmed by the amount of humans that existed on Earth and were unable to sleep due to the noise of men. So they decided to "exterminate mankind." While in the Hebrew story of Noah and the Flood Myth, God grew tired of the evil that had plagued mankind and engulfed the earth. So God decided to start the world over to undue the mistakes of man. Both of these stories display an attempt by the Gods to start the world over to cleanse the earth. Both Utnapishtim and Noah were spoken to by Gods and asked to build large boats from which all who were to be spared would seek shelter during the storm. Both men were allowed to spare the lives of their family via the safety of the boats. Also, the method used by the Gods in these myths are the same, the skies would rain down upon the earth flooding the land and killing all who were not ordered onto the boats.
The Bhagavad-Gita, a portion of the great epic the Mahabharata, is the “most typical expression of Hinduism.” It is eighteen chapters long and was composed around the first century BCE. The sage Samjaya recites the story to the blind king Dhrtarastra, the father of the Kaurava princes. While presenting ideas of wisdom, duty, and liberation in the midst of the rivalry between the Kauravas, the Bhagavad-Gita epitomizes the teachings of Krishna. Focusing specifically on the moral struggle of the Pandava prince Arjuna, the Bhagavad-Gita’s major themes include yoga, karma, dharma, and moksa. Yoga, being discipline or the strict and “attentive cultivation of mental character and meaningful action” , is crucial to the text because it is dharma yoga, acting properly according to one’s dharma, and bhakti yoga, a disciplined life of devotion that allows one to achieve moksa, or liberation, one of the four aims of li...
The civics education in the United States needs to be reevaluated. Few teachers have the knowledge to develop civic literacy within their students, and are not supported in doing so. Today more than half of high school government teachers can not give adequate explanations of civic topics. (Black) In the article “Tomorrow's Citizens,” author ...
In the movie, God never seems to directly say a single word and Noah is only informed of his wishes after consuming mixtures made by Methuselah and consequently receiving dreams. In Genesis, God seems to directly communicate with Noah and gives him directions after informing him of what is to happen to the Earth. There are also other minor differences
If you consider taking the side that homosexuality is wrong and hate those who follow the lifestyle, then you must also agree that you too are a sinner and will be condemned by God.