American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

American History - Essay Example The confederates lost the war because it was outclassed militarily by the north. Though it had strong generals by the book, they failed to mount an offensive that could defeat the commitment of the Northern forces. The North had a strong Navy to put blockades ion river ways and southern seaports. In terms of size, the south was not able to provide a force as big as the north (Bancroft and Nye 32). Dependency on the north for economic progress was also a weakness well exploited by the North. They had industries to produce finished goods and also make weapons. The South did not have many industries with huge economic capabilities. They even had to import their weapons and some of the finished goods. Black men serving in both the union and confederate forces had reduced roles with most of them helping in labor positions. There was the initial fear of arming black men especially in the south where they still remained slaves. They also served as nurses, blacksmiths and cooks in the army. More advanced military roles executed by the blacks included spying and scouting. The use of the black men was not widespread because the white men did not approve of their capabilities. Together with continuous racial discrimination, black men were termed inferior by fellow white men who even failed to train or equip them adequately. The black soldiers serving in the war also received lower payments for their services. The captured black soldiers received harsher punishment than the white prisoners of war. The objective of reconstruction was to make the rebel states come back to the union as well as help freedmen integrate into the society. The political wave by some section intended for those rebel states to face punishment and be subjugated. The punishment occurred but not the subjugation. The goals of the punishment were also not achieved. There were many divided opinions regarding the course of action that hampered the plan (Bancroft and

Cross cultural language differences Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cross cultural language differences - Assignment Example It is the aim of this essay to assess the types of curricular and related activities that can be used to increase awareness of cross-cultural language differences among teachers and among children. In the American schooling system, the percentage of white teachers is by a large degree greater than that of teachers from ethnic minorities. In most cases, this leads to less interaction among teachers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. However, in urban schools, the interaction between these teachers becomes increasingly common, attributable to the multiculturalism of urban areas. Sometimes, the teachers may not know how to treat their colleagues who are from different cultural groups and who speak different languages. As a way of bridging the cultural differences, teachers should use some aspects of the curriculum to familiarize themselves with different cultures. For example, teachers can hold discussions amongst themselves and review how different their histories are, while also acknowl edging the similarities in their cultures. Teachers with ability to speak multiple languages should also act as bridges and translate information for their colleagues. Teachers may also engage in other activities such as giving each other cultural souvenirs to facilitate cultural awareness and interaction. Once teachers are able to exist harmoniously with each other despite their cultural and language differences, it then becomes easier to teach learners who speak different languages and who have different cultural origins. The curriculum should be one of the tools used to promote cultural and lingual differences among learners. A good curriculum is one which emphasizes on the benefits of cultural diversity and teaches learners to embrace their cultural and language differences. For example, the curriculum should ensure that learners are taught different histories, languages and cultures. This type of education teaches learners to respect each other’s culture and shun racism and discrimination. According to Hill the classroom should be treated like a public place, where slurry comments should not be entertained lest such comments end up hurting an individual’s pride and identity (201). As Hill states, it is the responsibility of a censurer to ensure that speakers do not make racist or culturally offensive statements all in the name of â€Å"light talk† (203). In the school setting, this role of censorship should be taken up by the teacher. By treating all cultures with respect, the teacher acts as a role model for students to do the same. In designing the curriculum, experts should be very careful in choosing the most appropriate language of instruction, bearing in mind the diverse cultures represented by learners. The language of instruction according to Fought plays a key role in the educational development of a child (185). Although the instructional or standard language in most schools is English, the teacher should enhance learner und erstanding by asking students to give the equivalents in their native language or mother tongue, of words used in the instructional language. However, the use of coded language and slang should be discouraged from the school setting. The use of slang African-American slang sometimes brings about conflicts. The same goes for coded language where for example, American children know that whenever an English word contains the Spanish â€Å"