Is Stereotyping Contagious? Essay -- essays research papers fc

Is Stereotyping Contagious? "Recent research indicates that the gap between male and female students' mathematics achievement is gradually beginning to diminish (Gutbezahl, 1995); however, female students are still underrepresented in advanced mathematics classes as well as in careers involving mathematics (Kerr,1994; Stage & Maple, 1996)" (Drzewiecki and Westberg 1). This should concern society including parents, teachers, and students. Carmen Keller is one that has explored the topic of a male driven mathematical field. The goal in her article, " Effect of Teachers' Stereotyping on Students' Stereotyping of Mathematics as a Male Domain" is to discover and prove one aspect to this male domain. This being, students of teachers who tend to stereotype mathematics also tend to stereotype mathematics. Throughout the entire article, Keller supports her thesis very well. The data she uncovers and develops is reliable, because she considers and eliminates features that could possibly factor into her research. She controls external and internal influences such as: school grade, school track, previous achievement; and interest and self-confidence, respectively. Great research data and analysis helps the reader feel supported and the logical information helps connect society and sciences. The following information is a summary of the data and interpretations provided in Carmen Keller's article found in The Journal of Social Psychology. Keller examines an internal influence that effects education, students' perception of mathematics as a male domain. With support of other research she provides, in short, the students' beliefs and their performance are correlated. Meaning that when comparing graphs of student beliefs on gender success in mathematics and actual success, the graphs follow a similar pattern. Through personal experience, I have found this to be true. Students that have positive views about a particular subject tend to be more interested, thus performing better. This also works on the other end of the spectrum. Negative views deem less effort, which produces results below possible accomplishment. The student is not all at fault for these beliefs; they are influence by an outside source in some way. Whether this outside influence is a fellow student, parents, siblings or teachers I feel I still need some more proof. Keller is tryi... ...nces that she did not control. Carmen Keller's article was very informative. Some of the data may have been slightly complicated for an average consumer, not educated in statistics. I have always questioned why I have found more males in my math classes throughout my education and while researching my possible mathematical careers. Now, after reading Keller's article, I have more of an understanding about one of the contributing factors found in the gender-divided mathematical field. Works Cited Drzewiecki, L. and Westberg, K. "Gender Differences in High School Students' Attitudes Toward Mathematics in Traditional Versus Cooperative Groups." The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. 1997, Spring Newsletter. Gutbezahl, J. "How Negative Expectancies and Attitudes Undermine Females' Math Confidence and Performance: A Review of the Literature." ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 380 279. 1995. Kerr, B., "Smart girls too." Ohio Psychological Press 1994. Stage, F. K., and Maple, S. A., "Incompatible Goals: Narratives of Graduate Women in the Mathematics Pipeline." American Educational Research Journal (1996): 33, 23-51.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Beliefs

According to About.Com, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta Georgia.   His father was the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and later on, he himself became the preacher of a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. He led the famous Black Boycotts between 1955-1956 against the segregation in city buses. His policy of nonviolent resistance culminated in the â€Å"March on Washington† in August of 1963, with more than 200,000 African-Americans joining the protest, calling for equal civil rights for all.   This again was able to bring worldwide attention to his cause.   In 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.   In 1964, Congress finally passed the Civil Rights Act, which essentially prohibited discrimination against any person on the basis of race, color, religion and national origin in restaurants, hotels, motels, and also prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of the same factors mentioned above. Dr. King finds that his present actions are inspired divinely.   These clergymen, unwise and untimely, referred to his actions, as a new mayor had just been elected in Birmingham, and it is believed that these clergymen wanted to wait for a while and observe what the new mayor was going to do.   Dr. King described Birmingham as the most violent city in the United States of America with respect to the disregard for the rights of the African-American at that time. He makes mention of biblical passages where equally inspired men left their own homes and comfort zones to preach the gospel of Christ to the far corners of the world. Dr. King also stressed the â€Å"interrelatedness of communities and states† (Dr. King’s letter).   Any event that occurs in one part of the world somehow affects each and every other state to a certain extent. Hence this spurred his desire for direct action as a form of protest against discrimination of blacks in the United States. He then replied to the clergymen’s charge that the demonstrations were not the solution to their problems, stating that the Negro community in fact had no other alternatives, as racial injustice was becoming too far widespread and that many cities were becoming too segregated.   He went on to give particular examples of violence against the Negroes: lynching, drowning, kicking, beating, on the physical side, and the deprivation of education; thereafter economic opportunities on the economic side.   He tells how it feels to be called â€Å"nigger† (Dr. King’s letter), and to have such an overwhelming sense of helplessness, to the point of despair. In the same letter he outlines the four steps in any non-violent campaign.   The first is the collection of facts to determine if the injustices done are really existent.   He enumerates the facts of the case: bombings against Negro communities, the violence against Negroes, and the like.   Next, he mentions the need for negotiation, and in the letter it is stated that their group had gone so many times to talk to city officials about the need for changes in the law and in the city ordinances, but it would seem that their pleas had fallen on deaf ears. The third step then is described as the process of self-purification, where one examines himself in order to determine if he is ready to take the effects of the demonstrations or protest actions that they will do in the near future.   Would one be ready for jail, for beatings, or for other forms of retaliation against the self and his family?   If one successfully overcame the step of self-purification, then direct action would follow. (Dr. King’s letter). Dr. King stated in the letter that the end objective of direct action was to create a crisis – a sort of tension within the community, especially if it was known that the aggressors had refused negotiation several times. He stressed the need for a dramatization of the situation, as requests for negotiation have been refused from time to time.   As a result of this refusal to negotiate, direct action has been taken.   He goes on to describe the tension as a necessary item for growth, so that â€Å"men can rise from prejudice to understanding and brotherhood† (Dr. King’s letter). Thus, the purpose of direction is to create a situation so packed with tension such that the aggressors agree to go back to the negotiation table. We often forget that Dr. King is a preacher, and a religious man at that. His basic philosophies in life were also revealed in the very same letter.   The reason for civil disobedience, or in his terms direct action, is because of the existence of unjust laws.   He then goes on to define any unjust law as a law that is not in tune with moral law, and with natural law. If that particular law happens to degrade the human personality, then Dr. King calls that law to be unjust.   He then goes on to say that the constant stream of unjust laws, specifically the instance of discrimination against Negroes in America, has caused some Negroes to become very complacent, and to accept discrimination as a way of life and as their destiny. Towards the end, Dr. King wrote â€Å"nonviolence demands the means we use be as pure as the ends we seek† (Dr. King’s Letter). He points out that the policemen in Birmingham used the nonviolent means of policing the demonstrations as a good means to achieve the immoral means of racial injustice.   Civil disobedience per se may be non-violent, but many will never know the intense loneliness that accompanies their crusade. Civil disobedience is a religious crusade in itself, for it tests the faith of man in his personal beliefs. On March 9, Martin Luther King, Jr., led a â€Å"symbolic† march to the bridge from which civil rights leaders asked for court protection for another big march from Selma to the state capitol in Montgomery (Selma to Montgomery March). Several historic moments in the civil rights struggle have been used to identify Martin Luther King, Jr. — prime mover of the Montgomery bus boycott, keynote speaker at the March on Washington, youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate (Colaiaco, p. 28). But in retrospect, single events are less important than the fact that King, and his policy of nonviolent protest, was the dominant force in the civil rights movement during its decade of greatest achievement, from 1957 to 1968 (The Seattle Times, n.p.). King Jr. places his bets on the inherent goodness of man and that peace and justice will indeed prevail in the end.   He truly was a man of great faith, and in the end, gave up his life towards the achievement of his dream. In his short life, Martin Luther King was instrumental in helping us realize and rectify those unspeakable flaws that tarnished the name of America. The events, which took place in and around his life, were earth shattering, for they represented an America that was hostile and quite different from America as we see it today. Indeed, he was one of the outstanding leaders who have changed the way we live today. REFERENCES Clayborne C. A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2007 at: http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/speeches/contents.htm Colaiaco, J. A.(1988). Martin Luther King, Jr.: Apostle of militant nonviolence.† New York: St. Martin's Press. Fairclough, A. (1995). Martin Luther King, Jr. University of Georgia Press Dr. King, M.L. Letter from Birmingham Jail. reproduced in the Semi Daily Journal of Stephen Long, Retrieved Feb. 1, 2007 at: http://www.bdlong.com/mlkingjr.htm Dr. King, M.L. Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.   reproduced in NobelPrizes.Com. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2007 at:. http://www.nobelprizes.com/nobel/peace/mlk-jail.html; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. About. Com. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2007 at: http://www.christianity.about.com/od/martinlutherking/a/martinking.htm Selma to Montgomery March. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2007 at: http://www.cr.nps.gov/NR/travel/civilrights/al4.htm The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Seattle Times.   Retrieved Feb. 1, 2007 at: ;http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/king/biography.html; ;

Essay on Socrates Fight for Justice - 1101 Words

In Plato’s works Apology and Crito there is an attempt by Socrates to defend himself in court and defend his choice to receive the death penalty when found guilty. Although he makes very valid and strong arguments throughout one can only wonder why such a wise person would choose death over life. The following essay will analyze three quotes from Apology and Crito, find the correlation between them, and reveal any flaws that may exsist inside these arguments made by Socrates. In Plato’s Apology Socrates explains to the jury the reasons he should be found not guilty against his accused crimes. Although none of the accusations have any true merit Socrates is forced into the courtroom. During his defense Socrates states, â€Å"A man who really†¦show more content†¦Socrates would rather be punished or die before he breaks the laws that were set forth by his state, and this he says later in the same passage, â€Å"I should run any risk on the side of law and justice rather than join you. (Cahn pg. 38 Apology b10-c2).† Socrates is eventually found guilty and is to fight no longer for his innocence, but against a penalty of death. As Socrates speaks to the jury he begins to speak more of the meanings of life opposed to the need for life. He claims, â€Å"it is the greatest good for a man to discuss virtue every day and those other things about which you hear me conversing and testing myself and others, for the unexamined life is not wort h living for men.. (Cahn pg. Apology39 38a1-4).† Although Socrates never explicitly states why he feels this way, but upon reading this statement and analyzing its context one can grasp a sense of this argument. Socrates is arguing that life is unlived if it is not questioned and our thoughts are not examined. He understands that his wisdom is far greater than that of the jury, and he feels that all other punishments would leave him unhappy and dissatisfied. He would rather suffer death than to go against the laws of the state, although he is being wrongly convicted. He feels he has lived a good life and a true life because he was able to examine himself and others trueShow MoreRelatedInterview With Plato: . Question: What Important Questions1345 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"what is justice?† Socrates addresses this question both in terms of political communities and in terms of the individual person or soul. He does this to address the second and driving question of t he dialogue: â€Å"is the just person happier than the unjust person?† or â€Å"what is the relation of justice to happiness?† Given the two central questions of the discussion, Plato’s philosophical concerns in the dialogue are ethical and political. In order to address these two questions, Socrates and his interlocutorsRead MoreAttaining Virtue in The Republic of Plato695 Words   |  3 PagesIn the Republic of Plato, the philosopher Socrates lays out his notion of the good, and draws the conclusion that virtue must be attained before one can be good. For Socrates there are two kinds of virtue; collective and individual. Collective virtue is virtue as whole, or the virtues of the city. Individual virtue pertains to the individual himself, and concerns the acts that the individual does, and concerns the individual’s soul. For Socrates, the relationship between individual and collectiveRead MoreThe Great Thinkers Like Socrates And Martin Luther King1229 Words   |  5 PagesGreat thinkers like Socrates and Martin Luther King took themselves in a unique way of thinking in social changes and attempts to influence others. 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In Plato’s Republic, this question is asked between Socrates and other conversationalists. In the beginning of this work, many different definitions of justice are debated. However, to provide clarity, Socrates proposes that, instead of discussing what justice is, they should apply the term holistically and try to imagine justice in an â€Å"ideal city.† From this, the city of Kallipolis was created. Prior to Kallipolis being thought of, the idea of the first city, or the â€Å"City of Pigs†Read MoreSocrates s Theory Of Justice1202 Words   |  5 PagesIn Plato’s Republic, Socrates argues for the importance of living a just life. However, Glaucon asks why any person favors the just life over an unjust one. Glaucon would like an answer regarding this type of justice, and if it is good only for its results or good in itself. Socrates argues that justice in the individual is the balance between sprit, reason, and desire (scc. 435a). 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