History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 23

History - Assignment Example Arguably, the most divisive political issue in American history has been slavery; understanding its evolution over time is key in helping to explain a significant portion of our nation’s past. Trace the path of slavery from its origins in early European colonization of North and South America to the time of the Constitutional Convention. How did the practice of African slavery begin? How and why did it expand in the 13 English colonies of North America? Finally, how was the issue of slavery impacted by the American Revolution? Slavery in Africa has existed even before the Arabian and the Atlantic slave trade. Owning of slaves is part of their culture and it was boosted by the Roman siege and influenced by Islam and other introduced as well as native religions (Lovejoy, 2012). But the start of African slavery in the American colonies is pegged at 1619, when the 1st African slaves docked in Virginia (Berlin, 2003). From Virginia, the practice of slavery spread to all 13English Colonies in North America. The slaves were used as laborers in cotton, sugar, and other plantations, household help, as well as skilled workers in the craft of carpentry, and welding among others. It was also a status symbol promoted by the government so as to quell the disparity of rich, land-owning Whites against the poor, land-less Whites. This move strengthened the foundation for racial slavery and racism (Wood, 2005). The American Revolution started the transformation in the attitudes of the colonial Whites towards slavery that w ill eventually lead in the abolition of slavery in January 01, 1863, with President Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation. The newly freed â€Å"Americans† set freedom as one of its country’s undeniable virtues and with that, slavery must be put to an end. The presidential proclamation against slavery became the key to abolishing African slavery yet a considerable amount of time still passed between the enactment of

Multicultural Education (7) Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Multicultural Education (7) - Coursework Example What surprised me about multicultural education is that the cultural background of a teacher and students can affect the learning process. According to Salili and Hoosain (2001), "Teachers and students alike have their own cultural backgrounds, values, customs, perception and prejudices. These cultural characteristics play an important role in teaching and learning situations and can have substantial effects on our learning and behavior" (p. 9). The fact that some teachers may harbor prejudiced opinions on learners is surprising to me. In my opinion, a teacher ought to expect the best of his or her students regardless of their cultural backgrounds. Salili and Hoosain (2001) reiterate that methodical investigations conducted in the past have shown that teachers beliefs about their students have an impacts on performance. A good example as cited by Salili and Hoosain (2001) is the fact that some may have stereotypes that African American students perform poorly as compared to White Ame rican students. The new insights I have had as a result of this class include the importance of conducting proper training to teachers on multicultural education before they can train students. It is important for teachers to have optimistic mindsets in regard to cultural differences characteristic of their students. Being considerate and respectful of different cultural aspects especially in regard to religion and race can have an effect on the overall performance of the students in the classroom (Ghosh, 2011). My main challenge was in relation to communication barrier. Language according to Salili and Hoosain (2001) is one of the factors that define cultures. It is difficult to communicate to students or people whose language is different from mine. As an example , a Chinese student will have to learn English if he wishes to enroll in an American school. However, accent can still be a challenge for teachers. Students performance is dependent on whether the