Archive for September, 2010

The Barack Obama Effect on Black Men



When I was a boy, I would overhear older black men talking about this evil, mythical figure called “The Man.” I thought there was Batman, Spiderman, Superman, and The Man.

The Man was accused of selfishly hoarding power and resources that prevented black men from getting jobs, owning businesses, and having greater opportunities in general. As a young impressionable child, The Man seemed like one bad mutha. It took me some time for me to figure out that The Man was the white man.

As humorous and antiquated as this notion may be, it surprises me that The Man still lives in the minds of many black men today. After listening to Barack Obama make his presentation at the Democratic National Convention, which coincided with the 45th anniversary of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, there is a palpable energy, optimism, and pride that I’m sensing in my conversations with other black men. An awakening that’s almost spiritual. A fertile synergy that can produce the seeds of a movement – a black male movement.

While the women’s movement has been legitimized and publicized in the press since their struggles for liberation began, there is a potential – and much needed – black man’s movement that’s underway. Of course the media has not picked up on it because they don’t consider it newsworthy or noteworthy, but conscious black people, especially those who desire and seek financial, mental, and vocational liberation for themselves and their children, are well aware of it.

It’s the effect that Barack Obama’s campaign and legacy will have on black men.

To really understand the magnitude of this effect you have to go back in history to another speech. It was given at a graduating ceremony for Howard University in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson in the aftermath of John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the passage of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin.



“You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying: ‘Now, you are free to go where you want, do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please.’ You do not take a man who for years has been hobbled by chains, liberate him, bring him to the starting line of a race, saying, ‘you are free to compete with all the others,’ and still justly believe you have been completely fair…This is the next and more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. We seek not just freedom but opportunity-not just legal equity but human ability-not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result.”

The bill was later amended to cover discrimination on the basis of gender. That amendment largely benefited white women and opened the floodgates for their entry into the workplace.

As more white women migrated into the workplace in 1964, occupying jobs they were “allowed” to have and armed with new legislature and a spirit of liberation that would gain momentum and evolve into the women’s movement, black women would soon follow suit and be deployed in less desirable roles while black men would essentially be displaced; spawning an employment imbalance in the black community where the men consistently have higher rates of unemployment and underemployment than black women.

This statistic holds true to this very day.

When I Juxtapose today’s work environment with yesterday’s, I see that black men still comprise the bulk of the work force that’s relegated to manual labor or undesirable jobs with marginal pay. I searched, but did not find, statistical data on the ethnic composition of the labor force of FedEx and UPS, but through observation, I’m willing to bet they are among the top – if not 1 and 2 – employers of black men, closely followed by any company that provides security (guard) services.

They are all jobs that place physical demands on their employees. Black men have always been used and valued for their physical strength since they stepped (chained) foot into this country. After all this time, we are still more likely to be paid millions for our muscles than our minds.

The Barack Obama Effect will cause the pendulum to swing in the other direction.

In the 60s, gainful employment was denied due to racism, fear, and distrust. Racism is not what leads to unfavorable employment conditions that black men have to overcome, it’s negative perceptions about black men as a group that have proven to be a greater economic and psychological barrier to our success. It’s the internalization of these perceptions that impact us. There’s extensive research that proves how devastating these perceptions can be when internalized by young black males.

According to Dr. Alvin Poussaint, psychiatrist and author of Lay My Burden Down: Unraveling Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis among African Americans over the last twenty years, suicide rates among young black males between the ages of 15 and 19 increased 114%. Head coach of the Indianapolis Colts lost his 18 year old son to suicide in 2005 and finally the epidemic caught the media’s attention, albeit for a fleeting moment.

With commonplace scenarios such as fragmented families that are often headed by single mothers, lack of male leadership, negative influences, and continued discrimination in our schools from teachers who do not embrace, nurture, or support young black males as readily as their white peers, it’s no wonder that so many young black males fabricate false bravado and a cool facade to camouflage low self-esteem, and often seeking validation through sports, entertainment and sexual conquests. Even worse, it creates a fixed mindset.

Author Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., who is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading researchers in the fields of personality, social psychology, and developmental psychology, notes that psychologists know that negative stereotypes and labels are harmful, but they are still discovering just how negative labels harm achievement. She writes in her book Mindset: The New Psychology Of Success, that a fixed mindset limits achievement. It fills people’s mind with interfering thoughts. It makes effort disagreeable, and it leads to inferior learning strategies. What’s more, it makes other people into judges instead of allies.

My father told me at an early age that black men have to work two to three times harder than white men to achieve the same success. We also have to work smarter to be as successful. There are political, psychological, racial, and legal elements at play in every arena that we thrive in. It behooves us to know how to best navigate through situations that pose a threat to our success.

Whether it’s working harder or smarter, extra “work” is inevitable. Dealing with the inertia that stems from apathy in many of our neighborhoods, communities, and homes; dealing with lingering fears and stereotypes, and having to exert constant effort to fit in with white men who don’t feel as comfortable with us or in our presence. Historically, our prosperity as black men has always been tied to our ability to successfully interface with white men.

I imagine that living life as a paraplegic or without one’s sight is probably harder in terms of difficulty and adaptability, but certainly not capability. That’s where the line gets drawn and a new way of thinking can begin. Yes, being a black man is harder for some black men and it certainly has some societal drawbacks, but like those with the aforementioned physical challenges, we must view them as just that; challenges not disabilities, and certainly not handicaps. Being a black man is hard, but being a black man who is president will be inconceivably hard.

What do we find when we delve into Barack Obama’s background? Let’s see:

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Kansas-born mother, Ann Dunham (who is a distant relative of Robert Duvall) and a Kenyan-born father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., who met while both were atten
ding the University of Hawaii, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student.

His mother and father divorced when he was two and his mother re-married and they relocated to Indonesia. His father attended Harvard, traveled around the world on official business for Kenya and saw Obama only a few times by the time he turned 10, at which point he was sent back to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents so that he could attend the highly-regarded non-sectarian private Punahou School where he graduated from.

Obama studied for two years at Occidental College in California before transferring to Columbia University, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. He became a community organizer for a small Chicago church-based group for three years, helping poor South Side residents cope with a wave of plant closings. He then attended Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review.

He turned down a prestigious judicial clerkship, choosing instead to practice civil-rights law back in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation. He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School. Eventually he ran as a Democrat for the state senate seat from his district, which included both Hyde Park (where he currently lives) and some of the poorest ghettos on the South Side, and won.

In 2004 Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, representing Illinois, and gained national attention by giving a rousing and well-received keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston; won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word for the CD version of his autobiography “Dreams From My Father” (2006); won his second Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for “The Audacity of Hope” (2008); sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Presidency (2008).

It’s a brief overview that highlights great accomplishments, but his origins are similar to most black men I know: He came from a single parent household, had a strained relationship with his father, a close relationship with his grandparents, and had to make choices.

Law school, community organizer, civil-rights activist, Grammy award winner, member of the U.S. Senate, Presidential candidate – they are all talent and value based decisions. None of them would be feasible if Barack Obama did not truly believe that these goals were possible and put forth the consistent effort to reach them.

What will happen if Barack Obama gets elected president? What will happen when black men stop blaming the man, and start being The Man? Every door will be open. Every American dream – including being president – can be a reality.

Our view and definition of The Man will finally be flipped; replaced by a positive self-image and greater awareness of the super powers we possess, but seldom activate. We will become more motivated to utilize resources, get better jobs, start successful businesses, and capitalize on opportunities because the leadership and role model that so many of us have lacked, will have emerged in the highest visible position in the country – the presidency.

In short, The Barack Obama Effect will mean that our statute of limitations on excuses will have officially run out. The fixed mindset that has plagued black men for centuries from the aforementioned internalization of negative perceptions will be repaired. The Effect Of Barack Obama will germinate a growth mindset which will benefit black men for centuries to come.

Dweck writes: The growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. The growth mindset takes the teeth out of stereotypes and makes people better able to fight back. They don’t believe in permanent inferiority. She also writes: Prejudice is a deeply ingrained societal problem…a growth mindset helps people see prejudice for what it is – someone else’s view of them.

The Barack Obama Effect will inspire little black boys to find the courage to choose the road less traveled and explore the many options available to them. The Barack Obama Effect will motivate the parents of little black boys to instill an authentic, deeply rooted confidence which allows and enables them to have personal and professional lives that are only limited by the boundaries of their imagination and efforts, not lack of opportunities. The Barack Obama Effect will linger because black men and black boys will know that in their hearts and in their minds, they are The Man – the only man – who controls their own thoughts, actions, and destinies.

 

Penile Enlargement Clinical Studies



When it comes to penis enlargement, a careful customer is faced with a dearth of professional studies and official endorsements from doctors or other health care experts. This is one of the things that make men think penis enlargement is, at best, a risky proposition because one can never know for sure if it works or not. Trying to find a penis enlargement solution backed by a clinical study is even harder and, until recently, it was also unheard of. The fact that such a study has been launched is a strong hint that the penis enlargement market is at last becoming main stream.

The problem with clinical studies and professional endorsements lies in the current state of the penis enlargement market, which is dominated by relatively small companies interested in making money off a niche that’s failed to catch the eye of Big Pharma. Such companies are content to come up with a product that’s more or less effective and sell it by trying hard to avoid any talk of clinically-proved effects and focusing instead on real or false testimonials from satisfied customers. The line between success and failure is rather thin and many times success proves to be nothing more than fluke.

Since we’re talking about small companies that don’t make piles of money at this trade, it’s pretty clear that they are not going to spend money on a clinical study. Such studies are far more expensive than the average provider of penis enlargement solution could afford to pay and spending a large amount of money on a study that may end up disproving the effectiveness of a product is not exactly a sound business decision. The only thing worse in not having your products backed by a clinical study is the failure of the study spreading around and scaring off customers.

Nevertheless, there are exceptions to this general situation because there is a company that has faith in its product and is willing to spend the money to have it proved once and for all that penis enlargement works. The rest of the market will ride the coattails of this success and it’s very likely that penis enlargement will finally become main stream because people can see an official proof of effectiveness. The PenisHealth™ program of penis enlargement exercises is at this moment being clinically tested in the UK and it’s on its way to become the only clinically proven penis enlargement solution on the market.

The PenisHealth™ program is already backed by a medical doctor and a doctor of clinical psychology who were impressed with the completely natural approach to penis enlargement offered by the program of exercises. Nevertheless, the company behind this program has sought the ultimate accolade that can be received at this time by a penis enlargement program: the official seal of recognition that only an independent and properly conducted clinical study can bestow on a product.

Educational/school Psychology in the Pursuit of Human Well-being



Educational/School Psychology in the Pursuit of Human Well-Being

 

 

Introduction

 

            Now we are living in the technological modern world. With the help of science and technology we have developed in all fields. India is a developing country. We have lot of human resources after China. But the literacy rate is very low when compared to other developed and developing countries in the world. India is a rich country, but Indians are poor. With the help of science and technology and by utilizing all sources in the proper way it is possible to India to become a developed country in the world. In the modern world people living with high tension. The student in schools and colleges are also living with high tension because of heavy competitions. It is necessary to introduce psychology as a general subject in all the classes both at school and college levels. Yoga and meditation is also necessary for each and every one in the world.

Definition of Education

Ø      Education is the learning of human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of them?

–        John Ruskin

Ø      Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it is his hands and at whom it is aimed.

                                                                                                    – Joseph Stalin

The word education is derived from the Latin educare, meaning “to raise”, “to bring up”, “to train”, “to rear”. Education means the gradual process of acquiring knowledge. Education is a preparation for life. Education is also defined as the profession of teaching (especially at a school or college or university).

Importance of Education

India is a union comprised of twenty eight states and seven Territories. The Constitution provides directives regarding the development of education throughout the country. The areas in which the respective central and state governments have domain have been identified in the Constitution as the central list, state list and concurrent list. Until the late 1970s, school education had been on the state list, which meant that states had the final say in the management of their respective school systems. However, in 1976, education was transferred to the concurrent list through a constitutional amendment, the objective being to promote meaningful educational partnerships between the central and state governments. Today, the central government establishes broad education policies for school curricula development and management practices. These serve as guidelines for the states.

 

Generally, at the start of a very young age, children learn to develop and use their mental, moral and physical powers, which they acquire through various types of education. Education is commonly referred to as the process of learning and obtaining knowledge at school, in a form of formal education. However, the process of education does not only start when a child first attends school. Education begins at home. One does not only acquire knowledge from a teacher; one can learn and receive knowledge from a parent, family member and even an acquaintance. In almost all societies, attending school and receiving an education is extremely vital and necessary if one wants to achieve success.

Educational Psychology

Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms “educational psychology” and “school psychology” are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists. Educational psychology is concerned with the processes of educational attainment among the general population and sub-populations such as gifted children and those subject to specific disabilities

            Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology. Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialities within educational studies, including instructional design, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and classroom management. Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences. In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks.

Uses of Educational Psychology

For finding Individual differences and Disabilities

            Each person has an individual profile of characteristics, abilities and challenges that result from learning and development. These manifest as individual differences in intelligence, creativity, cognitive style, motivation, and the capacity to process information, communicate, and relate to others. The most prevalent disabilities found among school age children are attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disability, dyslexia, and speech disorder. Less common disabilities include mental retardation, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and blindness.

Although theories of intelligence have been discussed by philosophers since Plato, intelligence testing is an invention of educational psychology, and is coincident with the development of that discipline. Continuing debates about the nature of intelligence revolve on whether intelligence can be characterized by a single, scalar factor (Spearman’s general intelligence), multiple factors (as in Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence and Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences), or whether it can be measured at all. In practice, standardized instruments such as the Stanford-Binet IQ test and the WISC are widely used in economically developed countries to identify children in need of individualized educational treatment. Children classified as gifted are often provided with accelerated or enriched programs. Children with identified deficits may be provided with enhanced education in specific skills such as phonological awareness.

 For Social, Moral and Cognitive Developemnt      

To understand the characteristics of learners in childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age, educational psychology develops and applies theories of human development. Often cast as stages through which people pass as they mature, developmental theories describe changes in mental abilities (cognition), social roles, moral reasoning, and beliefs about the nature of knowledge.

For example, educational psychologists have researched the instructional applicability of Jean Piaget’s theory of development, according to which children mature through four stages of cognitive capability. Piaget hypothesized that children are not capable of abstract logical thought until they are older than about 11 years, and therefore younger children need to be taught using concrete objects and examples. Researchers have found that transitions, such as from concrete to abstract logical thought, do not occur at the same time in all domains. A child may be able to think abstractly about mathematics, but remain
limited to concrete thought when reasoning about human relationships. Perhaps Piaget’s most enduring contribution is his insight that people actively construct their understanding through a self-regulatory process.

Piaget proposed a developmental theory of moral reasoning in which children progress from a naive understanding of morality based on behavior and outcomes to a more advanced understanding based on intentions. Piaget’s views of moral development were elaborated by Kohlberg into a stage theory of moral development. There is evidence that the moral reasoning described in stage theories is not sufficient to account for moral behavior. For example, other factors such as modeling (as described by the social cognitive theory of morality) are required to explain bullying.

Developmental theories are sometimes presented not as shifts between qualitatively different stages, but as gradual increments on separate dimensions. Development of epistemological beliefs (beliefs about knowledge) have been described in terms of gradual changes in people’s belief in: certainty and permanence of knowledge, fixedness of ability, and credibility of authorities such as teachers and experts. People develop more sophisticated beliefs about knowledge as they gain in education and maturity.

Psychology and Teacher

            Teacher is a national builder. He has a power to change the world through education. According to our Indians teacher is a third god. Teacher plays a prominet role in the development of society. Educational Psychology is a main subject in  teacher education at D.Ed., B.Ed., and M.Ed. levels. It is necessary for each and every teacher to know about psychology. Becausse it is necessary to know the behaviour of the students in the class. Teacher has different roles  like father, advisor, councellor, administrator and well wisher. The future of any country is in the hands of teachers. So it is necessary to give importance for teacher education. So our government introduced psychology subject in teacher education curriculum.

After undergoing the course, the student teacher

1)      Explains psychology and its relationship with Education.

2)      Classifies different branches of psychology and explains their significance.

3)      Explains the importance of heredity and environment and its influences in educational process.

4)      Explains the different aspects of the development of the child.

5)      Explains the growth and human beings and their behaviour.

6)      Describes the individual aspects of the development of the child.

7)      Explains the primary needs of the children.

8)      Explains the secondary needs of the children.

9)      Explains the theories of learning and the factors influencing learning.

10)  Explains the concept of socialization.

11)  Explains the different types of learning.

12)  Understands the concept of motivation and the steps to be taken to motivate the children.

13)  Explains attention and its uses.

14)  Develops skill of observation, listening, responding and understanding.

15)  Describes memory, remembering and forgetting and identifies conditions of good memory.

16)  Describes the effects of different methods used for learning process.

17)  Explains thinking process and its uses-perception, conception, apperception for different ages.

18)  Explains the role of creativity and its development.

19)  Explains the meaning of intelligence and understands the changing concept of intelligence.

20)  Enhances personality development of pupils.

21)  Describes the mental hygiene and mental health.

22)  Understands exceptional children and their significance.

23)  Practices guidance and counseling for school pupils.

Conclusion

          Educational psychology is an application of the principles of psychology for effective learning and modification of behaviour on desirable dimensions.  Knowledge of educational psychology makes a teacher effective in motivating the pupils in their learning.  In short it is an inseparable part of strategy in education. Education gives knowledge, wealth and health. Education is a solution for all types of problems in the society. Through education only it is possible overall development of a person in the society. Through education it is easy to know about behavour of the students and persons in the society with the help of psychology. So it is necessary to study psychology all persons in the society in the modern world. Educational Psychology helps the overall development of the student.

References

1. Educational psychology a cognitive view by Asubel, D.P. 

2..Element of educational psychology by Bhatia, H.R. 

3. Psychology applied to teaching by Bichler, R.F. 

4. Educational psychology by Cole, E.C. and Bruce, W.F.

5. http:/ www.google.com

 

 

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