Reflection #16

Rhetoric discipline is to persuade someone through a speech or writing. According to the overview of rhetoric discipline, Plato reveals to us that through rhetoric we can persuade someone away from the truth. According to Aristotle, there are three methods that follow behind or are proofs of a rhetoric speech or writing and they are logos which is logic's, pathos which is emotions and ethos which is the characteristics of the speaker. According to the article for a period of time in Greece, the teachings and studies of rhetoric's had not been used. To me I find this hard to believe that rhetoric's could stop being used in the USA. The reason why I believe this is because our life is built around being persuasive until it almost feels innate to be rhetoric about life itself. For example, when we are seeking a job it is our job to create a portfolio to persuade our potential employers that we are well fit for a certain position. There are even certain careers and fields in which being persuasive is much important to as much as keeping the job. For example lawyers, Lawyers use rhetoric discipline in order to persuade a jury that the suspect is either innocent or guilty, even if it means driving the jury away from the truth by means of defending their client. I believe Rhetoric discipline and it's relationship in Ancient Roman education has a lot to do with the fact that around the time of 735 BC because of the rudimentary form of education parents were educating their own children. During this time the lessons that were being taught by parents basically in order to survive, the children needed to learn how to grow their own crops, fight for their land or country, and be good citizens to their land and country. Could it be that because the parents educated their children so they too were also educated by their parents. Therefore what was taught was based on a form of tradition passed down from generations before. So these matters of survival may as well been important but not the most important when it came to educating a child. If we were to categorize this depiction of how rhetoric correlates with the Roman education we would see that it was logic for the parents to teach their children that they needed to learn how to grow their own food to eat, and how to protect themselves and their land. It was emotional for the educating to be done by the parents of the children, the most valuable person to a child's belief. Last it was a very persuasive characteristic because if the children did not obey or retain the information they would be disciplined physically, even worst by their own parents.

Reflections #15

According to the passage about Early Roman Education, the most accurate form of education for children around the time of 735 BC was rudimentary education. Rudimentary education in Rome consisted of the teachings of agriculture, military skills, and moral and civil responsibilities upon Roman citizenry. These lessons were taught by the children's parents. Free public schools did not exist in Ancient Rome at this time. At about half way through the third century, an ex- slave by the name of Spurius Carvilius formed the first fee paying school called Ludus in Ancient Rome. Ludus in English means play. Of course this type of schooling most likely benefited the wealthy children as appose to the poor children who could not afford to pay school fees. Although the poor still had basic training in reading and writing, schools in Ancient Rome were only for boys. The Roman children would carry over their shoulders their school bags with their school supplies and their school fee payments. Roman children attended school at a very early age. The Roman instructors, also known as the Quintilian felt that children memories are very retentive at a young age. I totally agree with this Quintilian when he says that children retain information better when they are taught at a young age, it's just like saying you can't teach an old dog new tricks. It's easier to train them when they are still puppies. Ancient Athenians focused on literacy music and physical education. Athenians considered these methods of teaching much more than the Romans. In Athens, school was also only for the boys but the girls did have a form of education, it just was not formal education as so did the boys. Many of the Athenian girls did learn how to read and write by their parents Education in Athens was affordable for everyone, even the poor. Education in Rome was very strict as to where the child would be beaten if they did not retain the information given by their instructors as to where education in Athens was not so strict.

Reflection # 14

Aristotle's Writings about the nature of life which included the four causes the nature of different species and or beings and the unmoved mover creates an urge to understand not only mans and other species purpose but everything that involves creation. In Aristotle's Great Chain of beings, he describes different species from lowest to highest the lowest being worms and the highest being God. From what I understand Aristotle's thought behind which species should be considered lower than the other or higher than the other is based upon the soul and mind. He also states that in some species cases the one may be greater than the other, although it is considered lower in the great chain of being. For example cats and dogs, some people would consider a cat to be a greater being than a dog and vice versa. The Great Chain of Beings is also known as the ladder of creation. When you think of a Ladder, you can go up or down but it is not called a ladder of creation for this reason. In the ladder there are two levels of which one can be placed and that it is high or low. So no, an insect can not trade places with a human or an animal cannot trade levels with an angle and most certainly no being can take the place of God. In Aristotle's theory of The Unmoved mover he claims this to be the mover of all things but this mover moves without anything causing it to move. He states that the first heaven is the mover of all things. All other things that are moved move by being moved by some other force that is being moved. The unmoved mover is moved by the emotion of love. In Aristotle's 4 causes he speaks about the causes of materials an example of this is what happens when you mix the color blue with yellow it causes the color to change into green. The second type of cause is a formal cause. an example of this cause is if you have four wooden legs and top t makes a table. The third cause is efficient cause. An example of this cause is, efficient cause of the butterfly is the caterpillar. The last cause is the Final cause. An example of this cause is exercising will make you healthy.

Reflection #13

Based upon my readings about the Philosopher Plato, his theory of idealism is that ideas are based on absolute truth and not materialism. Plato believed that in all things there is some form of truth and that people should search for truth. I don't really agree with this because from what I can interpret from the statement Plato made of there being truth in all things this literally means that lies don't exist. One may say that maybe he is trying to say that even in a lie there is some form of truth. Okay lets say this is exactly what he is stating. According to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia, a lie is a type of deception in the form untruthful statement especially with the intenton to decieve others. When someone lies they are called a liar therfore there is no such thing as a lie being in the truth. If lies don't exist then there would be no evilness but then that wouldmake the word of God a lie. Many can say that they only believe in some of the Bible but I can tell you right now that if you don't believe in all of it then you dont believe in any of it and you may as well call Jesus a liar but I don't reccomend that. We bassically only listen to what we want to hear but thats anything but the truth. So I disagree, I don't believe there is truth in all things. Plato also brought up the argument that we were all born with a spirit of ignorancy. He belives that because of our ignorant ways we close ourselves up from knowledge. He states that knowledge is something that we were all born with but when we enter the world we got caught up into materialism and we no longer have that knowledge. Therefore he believes knowledge is to be rediscovered so he believes that it lies within us. I kinda believe this but I don't believe we were born with anything God didn't give us as far as knowledge goes, I believe that God gives knowledge to those who seek it dilgent and earnestly. So I believe that all knowledge of everything and wisdom comes from God. He refered to Adam and Eve when he described us as being born with ignorancy because of what they did in the garden. He didn't state what the relation was between that or what he was trying to impose. Although if I had to guess it was because God created them without sin therefore all they had to do was obey God and not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But because of the fall of men we must now discover kowledge and as we grow older through experience.

Reflection # 11

I am actually familiar with a lot of Socrates ideas and beliefs about life and its even now existing morals. Socrates never left an account of his works much less his beliefs because he believed that knowledge was something was that one must experience on their on and not attained by what someone else recorded. Some of his morals were quite intriguing. One of his morals that i believe totally is the value of the soul and the body. Socrates according to Plato's writings believed that if the soul will out live the body then death to the soul is greater than death to the body. Socrates stated it is much worse to have a rotting soul than to have a rotting body. This must have been the greatest knowledge Socrates had ever had when it comes to death. Socrates didn't just say the death of any soul but the death of an evil soul. He stated that he rather have an honorable soul than to have an groveling soul. He is right, if you think about this statement your body is only temporary. Once you die your soul departs from your body there for your body cannot feel anything. Now your soul lives on for eternity and if you don't believe in a a hell much less that it exists and that's your justification for doing evil then I wouldn't worry about your body i would worry more about the soul that live forever. Socrates theory of elenchus was the idea to question some one's morals, and values until they were contradicting themselves. When I first read about this theory it reminded me of a court system. In a court case the suspect is either guilty until proven innocent or innocent until proven guilty. The suspect or even the victim is interrogated with all types of questions to be proven guilty or innocent no matter who is innocent or guilty we still have innocent people locked up and the guilty ones roaming the streets and influencing our future. One of Socrates views of happiness is a conversation we all like to discuss and that's the conflict of good verses evil. Is it okay to lie or steal when it will benefit good? An example of this theory would be if you had a baby and no money to buy baby food or milk would it be a good reason to steal from someone else's business or store. I know most peoples defense would be yes its okay because if you don't do it the baby will starve to death or some other excuse. Truth be told this is wrong regardless of any way you decide to go about this whether it involves a baby or not. If it were your business and your way of making ends meet was the income of your business you would see it wrong. So just because it benefits the thief doesn't mean it will benefit the victim. There is nothing right or even acceptable of lieing or stealing even if it were to benefit someone else's life. Someone that steals big or small is a thief, someone who tells a lie good or bad is a liar, someone who does wrong is wrong, and someone who does right is only right. There is no way you can be both your either or.

Reflection #10

When I read the statement the teacher is the gatekeeper, I thought of the possible responsibilities that a gatekeeper would be responsible for. I also went through a couple of definitions that a gatekeeper could be defined as. Some of the definitions I found are the process through which ideas and information are filtered for publication. Someone who controls access to something. Open and shut the doors they have keys. One that is in charge of passage through a gate. Monitors or oversees the action of others. Besides these basic definitions my own thought about the gatekeeper is someone who holds the keys or controls of entrance to another level or place. Maybe a gatekeeper could be so professional that they know every route from left to right, how to get in and out, and how to get to and from a certain area. They can direct you when you get lost and even warn you before you get lost.When I compared my thoughts of a gatekeeper to a teacher it was pretty similar. Teachers are those great gatekeepers that can guide you for a certain time or season and when that time is over its up to you to take it as far as you would like to take it. Like a gatekeeper can give directions so a teacher can inspire and give knowledge, it will be up to the driver to follow directions as well as it will be up to the student to bare fruit with this knowledge. From the time we are able to understand language we become students. What we are influenced by or who we are influenced by determines whether we will gain knowledge or not. Teachers set the trails and paths that students will follow. The good ones have that type of impact were you never forget those lessons that make you successful. The interesting similarity I found between a teacher and a gatekeeper is that when we get lost we feel confident that if we can locate the gatekeeper or the teacher we will get back on the right track.

Reflection # 9

According to the Article The first Schools, the Sumerians were the first scribes to teach formal schools at about 3000 B.C. The Sumerians invented the form of writing called the cuneiform. The cuneiform of writing consists of pictographs on clay tablets. These tablets consisted of more than a thousand small pictograph. There were also lists of words found they were used for studying and practicing. During the times of the first Sumerian schools, there were different scribes. There were Junior, High, highly specialized, temple scribes and more. Such scribes became leaders in the Government. Most Sumerians that went to school came from wealthy families. The poor families could barely afford to send their kids to school. Teachers were paid from student tuition's. The head of the Sumerian school was called the untmia, translated as the expert, professor or the school father.

In Ancient Egypt children learned by imitating their elders. More than often children grew up learning the trade in which their parents worked in. For instance, as the children grew older they were worked the fields, farms, vineyards, and any other work areas that they had bee trained to work in. So in other words they continued the family trade. Parents, in Ancient Egyptian times were their children's teachers they taught them mostly everything. Moral values such as what they should believe in and the way they should view their life and lifestyles and even their behaviors and attitudes were taught by parents. Especially their thoughts and attitudes towards religion and their deities. Teaching you children the family business was very important to the Ancient Egyptians. If the parents had no children and they wished to adopt, then they had to teach them the family business. The young men did not choose their own career, but instead they followed the family profession and with the blessings of the King they could even become workers for the royalty. The girls in the family were trained how to become wives basically. They were trained to manage households, sing, dance and play musical instruments.

There are so much more new techniques in our time. Students today go through out the first thirteen years of their lives in school that they don't even have to pay for. Technology today even allows students today to go to school online. We have computers in school that students have access to, and programs on computers to help students achieve higher standards in different subjects.