Pocahontas Essay -- History Native Americans

Pocahontas Introduction [1] Disney’s Pocahontas has understandably received a lot of flak about the historically inaccurate story that is told about the legendary Pocahontas and Captain John Smith. There is a good reason for that. The movie does little that can be construed as historically accurate, yet Disney claims that was never their intent. Disney, in their previous movies, has been attacked for being racist and unsympathetic to racial minorities. Their answer was a movie whose sole purpose, as stated by Disney, was to promote racial tolerance. The question is, then can a movie promote racial tolerance when the issue is built on false history, history that if told accurately would depict the exact opposite? [2] First, I feel that it is important to establish exactly what Disney’s intentions were in making the film. Secondly, I intend to show that Disney provided enough historical information that it is questionable whether or not one can assume that they were trying to teach history, history that is specifically aimed at children. Lastly, I will show that the real story of Pocahontas was not about racial tolerance, that it was not about understanding one’s culture, but it was in fact about trying to change one’s culture. Disney’s Intention [3] From the movie’s start Disney has been preaching innocence about trying to accurately depict history. Disney, in their press kit, expressed that, â€Å"Pocahontas is a story that appealed to us because it was basically a story about people getting along together†¦ which is particularly applicable to lots of places in the world today† (Pocahontas 33). In addition, Thomas Schmucher, who is the senior vice president of Disney feature animation, says, â€Å"It is a... ... 11 June 1995: 46. Muldoon, Paul. â€Å"Barbie, but no Bimbo.† Times Literary Supplement 13 October 1995: 21. â€Å"Pocahontas: Press Kit.† Burbank: Walt Disney Pictures, 1995. Rasmussen, William, and Robert S. Tilton. Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend. Charlottesville: Virginia Historical Society, 1994. Rollins, Peter C., and John E. O’Connor, eds. Hollywood's Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 1998. Rosenstone, Robert A. Visions of the Past: The Challenge of Film to Our Idea of History. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1995. Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. The Disuniting of America. New York: Norton, 1992. Turan, Kenneth. â€Å"Disney Tries Again to Find the Magic; The Kids May Like it but the Adult Viewers May Feel that Pocahontas is More By-The-Numbers than Inspired.† Los Angeles Times 16 June 1995: 1.

The Worker Next Door

In the essay â€Å"The Worker Next Door† written by Dr. Chris Chiswick, the author addresses the illegal immigrant problem in America, and gives several questionable reasons how if the flow of illegal immigrants were deterred, jobs would still be filled, and life would go on as usual, or even better. Dr. Chiswick wrote a not too convincing essay, having many places where he could have improved or even left out certain parts of his essay that would have made this writing better, and more realistic to his audience. I spotted a couple areas where the author went on a tangent of barely related areas to illegal immigration. Along with that, it doesn’t really seem like he tried to appeal to ethos too much, but gives some attention to logos and pathos early on in the essay and at the end. The first paragraph of this essay is a rhetorical question that asks how different life would be if illegal immigrants were not in the country doing low-class, low-skilled, and low-wage jobs that most Americans would not do. This question is a good way to start the essay, making the reader think a little, and get more interested in the topic while also revealing the authors purpose; to persuade the reader into thinking that illegal immigration is not necessary for the American economy. This purpose is hinted throughout the course of the essay, but is most obvious in his thesis in paragraph eight. As the essay progresses, it becomes clearer that Chiswick’s audience is the American public who live in states with high illegal immigration, specifically from Mexico, as his title so subtly states. Not so subtle in his essay however, is his claim in the third to last paragraph, where he states that â€Å"Less frequent lawn mowing and washing of hotel sheets and towels would reduce air, noise, and water pollution in the bargain. †. Chiswick can have all the Ph. D. s in the world, but its not going to make illegal immigration from Mexico a realistic strain on pollution in America. While the author may not do too well on appealing to ethos, he does make an attempt to make up for it on logos, when he gives data from the U. S. ensus, saying that 64% of lowskill jobs were done by native born Americans while only 36% were foreign born. The problem that I had with this is that no where in this statistic does it mention illegal aliens, which this essay is supposedly about. If illegal immigration is such a big concern for this man, then why does he have to resort to a barely related statistic to get support from? This leaves us to the last appeal available, pathos. Chiswick used pathos most evidently and strongly in the last paragraph, with a hint of ethos, to give a final attempt in convincing his readers. His entire essay up to this point is about how America would be far better off economically without illegal immigration from Mexico, but then he quickly turns from criticizing and blaming aliens to praising the genius of the American public and economy. If his strong attempt at the use of ethics by showing he knows a little American history does not impress a simple high school student, I can’t imagine what his informed, educated, and mature audience would think. Have you noticed how in this very essay, there doesn’t seem to be a nice flow between topics, and that things may at times, seem fairly irrelevant to the subject at hand? This is how i felt while reading â€Å"The Worker Next Door†. Chiswicks organization is flawed, jumping from claim to claim without any real connection between the two. It might be just me, but I don’t really see the link between suggesting bad hygiene (â€Å" Hotels and motels could reduce the frequency of changing sheets and towels†¦ to every third day†) and how home owners could switch grass species. If Chiswick knew his audience properly, he would know that Americans are generally lazy, and we are getting lazier(CNN). At first, I thought Chiswick was a reasonable guy. He pointed out how places with little to no illegal immigration still had groceries bagged, lawns cut, and hotel sheets changed. But what he failed to point out was that these places are usually small towns out in the middle of nowhere, where the standard of living is lower, and the local economy is stagnant. Not fully thinking his statement through hurt the credibility of his essay, and the ridiculous claim that illegal immigration contributes to our pollution is absurd. Chiswick’s essay could have been much better than this. Someone who has a Ph. D. in economics and is writing a persuasive essay should have many more sources, facts, and realistic examples. The strongest case Chiswick could come up with is that immigration is driving down the living standards for low-skilled workers, as if he were writing his essay to help them out. But these workers aren’t immigrating to a lower standard of living. They’re immigrating to a country that has a much higher standard of living, even for low-income workers.

Essay on My Philosophy of Education - 733 Words

Philosophy of Education Jean-Paul Sartre said, â€Å"Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself† (Myra, David, 402). According to him, personality is made by him/herself according to environment, religion, or society and everyone has a different belief and idea such as how they want to behave toward others or what I want to be on their own through their experience or life. Everyone has his or her own belief, philosophy, and dream but also I have my own concept. My philosophy of education revolves around why I want to be a teacher, my own philosophy of education, and what I want to do in future. After reading the nonfiction book by Torey F Hayden †The Child, Sheera† I was influenced to be a childhood special education†¦show more content†¦It made me feel relieved. This good opportunity makes me confirm that I like children and I want to be a teacher. Because of above reasons, I want to be a teacher. To be the ideal teacher whom I want to be, I will focus on the philosophies of Existentialism and Progressivism. Existentialism is one of the big support philosophies in my belief. Existentialists believe that the human being is not affected by the environment, but establish their own independence. According to the existentialism as an educational philosophy, subject matter takes second place to helping the students understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals who accept complete responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions. (Myra, David, 402) I really want students to have and say own opinions with complete self-confidence. It builds them own characteristics. In Japan, people prefer not to say their opinion and they regard that it is a good attitude. Because of this tendency, most Japanese can’t express their opinion. Thus, I strongly believe this is an important philosophy. In addition, progressivism also supports my belief. Progressivists also believe individuality. Believing that people learn best from what they consider most relevant to their lives, progressivists center the curriculum around the experiences, interests, and abilities of the students. (Myra, David, 398) This idea is completely opposite idea of the essentialists. According toShow MoreRelatedMy Philosophy On The Philosophy Of Education844 Words   |  4 PagesIn mathematics, as in life, everything must be brought to the simplest of terms. I base my teaching philosophy on the foundation that every student is capable of learning mathematics. I will strive, as a teacher, to ensure that my students are able to have a strong foundation of mathematical skills when they leave my classroom. Some students believe that they are not mathematically gifted; therefore, incapable of learning mathematics. I believe to the contrary, all students with motivation, sustainedRead MoreMy Philosophy On Philo sophy Of Education852 Words   |  4 PagesMy Philosophy of Education My philosophy of education is founded on a belief that all students have a desire to learn and to feel accepted. Learning takes place when students are able to have their specific needs meet inside the classroom, to feel accepted in the environment, and find the learning to be meaningful. I believe that before learning can take place a proper educational environment must be present inside the classroom. In order to make any classroom work I believe you need meet three criteriaRead MoreMy Philosophy Of Education As A Education864 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferent philosophy of education, and what purpose education serves in a child’s life. The five philosophies of education that we recognize are: Essentialism, Perennialism, Progressivism, Social Reconstructionism, and Existentialism. 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In addition to this, I will present various traits I believe are essential and critical for teachers to successfully fulfill their role as an educator. During my elementary years, I developed an urge to frequently ask many questions during the school day. Being able to question anything was astonishing to me. This was because my parents were unable to answer my questions and help