Their Children Education In Many Different Ways example essay topic

Education is a common practice throughout the world that is the basis for a child's upbringing. Different cultures teach their children education in many different ways that respond to their respected traditions. We are going to look at the education practices of three different cultures compared to that of the one that I experienced here in the United States. The education practices we will be talking about are the African education, the Aztec education, and the indigenous education. Africa is a large continent consisting of many countries and thousands of different cultures. Although there are many cultures, the educational experience is somewhat the same.

The African educational experience is more of a natural process where a child gradually acquires skill and knowledge over time through oral traditions and life experiences. A traditional African education is divided into seven goals. These goals are "to develop a children's latent physical skills; to develop character; to inculcate respect for elders and those in position of authority; to develop intellectual skills; to acquire specific vocational training and a healthy attitude towards honest labor; to develop a sense of belonging and to participate actively in family and community affairs; and to understand, appreciate, and promote the cultural heritage of the community at large". Individuals that complete these goals will be looked at as adults that are respected and honest. This type of schooling is more of a life school than a traditional school that I attended when I was young.

In the African experience, people learned all the time. There was no certain time that a child would attend a certain school and stay there for the day learning about history or math. Instead, every adult in the community was looked at as a teacher that could have some important lesson that could be shared with a child. The most influential teachers in a child's life were their parents. Children would play games that imitated the adults as if they were playing "grown up". In Africa it was difficult to distinguish between learning and playing when observing a child.

As I mentioned before, oral tradition played a major role in the African educational experience. Children would be taught using proverbs, riddles, word games, or arithmetic puzzles. When playing word games, children would quiz each other about different animals or flowers that would help build each other's memory and arithmetic puzzles were mathematical challenges that tested a child's math capabilities. Stories that the elders told about their respected culture's history and rituals was by far the most important education of all.

It was important for children to know their culture and rituals and why certain beliefs are what they are as well as the importance of passing them on to their future children. Another major part of the African education, is a child's transformation into adulthood. The age at which this happens varies among the different African cultures but is always done through an initiation ritual. The transformation to African adulthood was one done socially which is not typical of western cultures where it is more private. The initiation process was seven basic steps, which included the child's separation from the community under adult supervision, instruction in history and folklore about the community, instruction in sexual relations as well as adult duties and responsibilities, and finally circumcision. The only difference between female and male initiations was the physical torture that men endured.

This was to physically and mentally prepare them for the new life they were about to embark upon. The initiation of a child into an adult, however, does not give African people the training or skills to enter the workforce and earn a living as the western education does. Africans would either enter the field of agricultural production, trades, or regular professions such as doctors and priests. However what field the child choose was not made on their own.

Children would enter in the trade of which their father worked in and would observe this trade throughout their childhood years. By the time they were teenagers they would have already mastered it. By this time the basic education process was over. The person, now an adult, begins their adult life by working and starting a family. They will now be the ones that the children will look upon for guidance as well as teachings that are essential to keep their culture alive. Another educational system that differs from that of the western world is that of the Aztecs.

The Aztec society flourished in Mexico and was a very developed civilization. Their society was centered on war and was known as a barbaric and brutal society that often killed. The social structure of the Aztecs was based on military rank. Warfare was considered sacrificial and the means of expanding their empire. The main focus of the Aztecs religion was on human sacrifice. The "shedding of blood" ensured that the society would continue to thrive.

Aztec children were educated in a different manner than that of the previously mentioned Africans as well as the western world. An "educated" member of the Aztec society must maintain discipline, respect for their elders, knowledge of their gods, fluent speech, and a willingness to die for the continuance of their society. There were two main aspects in the upbringing of a child, informal and formal education. Children would begin their informal education at age four by performing chores and their responsibilities grew as they got older. Boys would eventually tag along with their father to work, while girls helped their mother around the house. As in the African society, Aztec boys would learn to master the same trade as their father and continue on with that trade throughout their lives.

Another form of learning practiced by Aztec children was the use of proverbs and metaphors to teach them of everyday things. Another major part of this informal education was the toleration of pain and hunger. This was essential in order to prepare these boys to become warriors. A child's formal education began at age twelve, and continues until they were fifteen. Children would attend what is called a cuicacalli, "house of song" where they were taught about the gods, as well as, songs and dances that were important for the religious ceremonies.

Attendance at the cuicacalli was mandatory and absences were punishable by law. Boys not of noble background would then go on to attend the telpochcalli, "house of youth" where they would receive their military training. This was taken very seriously, as they would even engage in real battles. The boys were also taught such subjects as history and religion and were responsible for maintenance of the school. They stayed at the school overnight and would return home in the morning in order to work with their fathers. The sons of noble men attended a different school called cal meca, which was headed and run by the religious authorities in the society.

Just like the telpochcalli, boys would endure in military training but they were also taught subjects such as law, astrology, painting, and religion. This would prepare them for professions in more prestigious jobs in their society. The education in the Aztec society was for everyone. There were not many societies at that time that gave every child, rich or poor, the opportunity to attend school and learn.

This aspect of their schooling is very similar to mine. Everyone in my society has the chance to attend school regardless of your social status. The last cultural education we will compare to that of the western civilization is that of the Native Americans. Their education deals mainly with a Supreme Being and a person's mind, body, and spirit living in harmony. Education of Native American children is mainly through observation of the surrounding adults, especially their parents.

Children play games that imitate their fathers, such as bow and arrows that will teach them different needed skills such as hunting. All aspects of their society such as religion, hunting, behavior, and survival are all taught with the emphasis on harmony. When the body, mind, and spirit are in harmony, a person is experiencing total wellness, whereas illness brings disharmony to the person. Children basically learn how to live life and "how to be a human being".

(Regan, 89) Elders play an important role in the teachings of rituals and ceremonies. The Native Americans form of education was much like the Africans, with a large portion of the teachings done orally. Just as the Africans, Native Americans hold initiations to bring the child into adulthood. When thinking back to my educational experience, I have come to see how differently I was schooled compared to these three societies. In a traditional western education, children started school around the age of five with all the teachings done in a designated building. Subjects were taught throughout the day such as reading, math, history, and art.

Class lengths were always divided equally and at the end of the day children would go home to their parents. In order to test one's knowledge, exams were given and after a half of year, report cards were issued. The report card would reflect one's hard work and performance in each subject. While not in school, most children are at home with their parents or out with their friends partaking in such activities as sports and drama.

My cultural background was not an important role in my education as it was to these other societies. I was not taught of my heritage and rituals that took place when my ancestors were alive. This was common in suburb America. Parents went to work during the day while kids were at school.

At night, the family would eat together, watch television, and then retire to bed only to wake up to another day of school or work. As a person got older, he / she would move along in grade levels. The levels began with kindergarten and continued all the way up to grade twelve. After completion of grade twelve, a person then had the choice of attending an institute of higher education known as college. This type of structured grade system was not found in these other three cultures, but in fact, the cultures were able to exist and survive on their different types of education. As a person made their way through the grade system, courses such as math and English would become more challenging in preparing one self for the real world that they would enter upon completion of school.

As I aforementioned, exams were given and report cards handed out. If a person was to do an unsatisfactory on their report card they were unable to move on to the next grade. However, our punishment for failure is quite different then those of the Aztecs, Africans, and Native Americans. Upon failure, a person was not be physically punished but forced to repeat the grade over until their grades were satisfactory.

The classroom setting during my education has been very organized and planned out. Teachers teach the same subjects' year after year and students are all brought through the system learning the same subjects. Besides learning history or math in school, I was also taught proper behavior. This proper behavior was not directly taught in class, as behavior was to be taught at home by a person's parents. This proper behavior was to continue on in school and if a child was misbehaving, punishment within the confines of school was assessed, as well as, possible punishment at home.

When school was finally out for the day, many students, including myself, made our way to our after school job. Sometimes this job would be a specific trade that would further assist a person in their preparation for the real world. The trade would be, in most cases picked by the student and not by his / her parents which is different from those of the other three cultures. Upon completion of grade twelve, a student should have the intelligence and skill to enter the work force and earn a living or the person can attend college. As we have seen throughout the paper, different cultures have different educational practices. There are many distinctions between the three culturals, which would explain why each has a different way of teaching the youths.

My own educational experience was extremely structured and quite different from these other educational traditions. It was quite interesting to learn about these different cultures, their educational systems and how they came to be. Though education comes in many different forms around the world, it can not be distinguished which one works the best since culturals use their own education to exist in their own cultural.