Friday, May 15, 2020

Mackinders Heartland Theory

Sir Halford John Mackinder was a British geographer who wrote a paper in 1904 called The Geographical Pivot of History. Mackinders paper suggested that the control of Eastern Europe was vital to control of the world.  Mackinder postulated the following, which became known as the Heartland Theory: Who rules Eastern Europe commands the HeartlandWho rules the Heartland commands the World IslandWho rules the World Island commands the world The heartland he also referred to as the pivot area and as the core of Eurasia, and he considered all of Europe and Asia as the World Island.   In the age of modern warfare, Mackinders theory is widely considered outdated. At  the time he proposed his theory, he  took into consideration world history only in the context of conflict between land and sea powers. Nations with large navies were at an advantage over those that could not successfully navigate the oceans, Mackinder suggested. Of course, in the modern era, the use of aircraft has greatly changed the ability to control territory and provide defensive capabilities.   The Crimean War Mackinders theory was never fully proven because  no one power in history had actually controlled all three of these regions at the same time. But the Crimean War came close. During this conflict, waged from 1853 to 1856,  Russia fought for control of the Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine. But it lost to an allegiance of the French and British, which had more effective naval forces. Russia lost the war even though the Crimean Peninsula  is geographically closer to Moscow than to London or Paris. Possible Influence on Nazi Germany Some historians have conjectured that Mackinders theory may have influenced Nazi Germanys drive to conquer Europe (although there are many who think the eastward push of Germany that led to World War II just happened to coincide with Mackinders heartland theory). The concept of geopolitics (or geopolitik, as Germans called it) was proposed by Swedish political scientist Rudolf Kjellen in 1905. Its focus was political geography  and combined Mackinders heartland theory with Friedrich Ratzels theory on the organic nature of the state. Geopolitical theory was used to justify a countrys attempts to expand based on its own needs.   In the 1920s, German geographer Karl Haushofer used the geopolitik theory to support Germanys invasion of its neighbors, which it viewed as expansion. Haushofer posited that densely populated countries like Germany should be allowed and were entitled to expand and acquire the territory of less-populated countries. Of course, Adolf Hitler held the much worse view that Germany had some kind of moral right to acquire the lands of what he termed lesser races. But  Haushofers geopolitik theory provided support for the expansion of Hitlers Third Reich, using pseudoscience. Other Influences of Mackinders Theory Mackinders theory  also may have influenced Western powers strategic thinking during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the  United States, as the Soviet Union had control over the former East Bloc countries.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Piaget s Impact On Education - 862 Words

Jean Piaget was one of the most influential researchers in the area of developmental psychology during the twentieth century. Piaget’s theory has impacted education and a focuses on developmentally appropriate education. Because of Piaget’s impact on education, curriculum, instruction and materials have been developed and are used by students in accordance with the student’s physical and cognitive abilities, along with their emotional and social needs (Ojose, 2008). Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development; before his work, it was assumed that children were just less competent at thinking than adults. Piaget disproved this assumption and found that children think differently when compared to adults. Piaget’s Cognitive Theory Piaget’s theory differs from others in several ways. It is focused on children and not all learners, it focuses on development and not learning of information or specific behaviors, and it marks stages of development that have clear boundaries rather than a gradual increase in the number and level of difficulty in the behavior or concept (McLeod, 2009). The goal of the theory is to explain the mechanisms and processes by which the infant, and then the child develops into an individual who can reason and think using hypotheses (McLeod, 2009, p. 1). There are three basic components to Piaget’s theory; schemas, adaptation and stages of development. Piaget called schemas the basic building block ofShow MoreRelatedTheories Of Development : Piagets Theory Of Cognitive Development1363 Words   |  6 Pagesbehavior. Psychologist and philosopher Jean Piaget empirically verified, moving towards the cognitive development theory to provide the new perspective to the individual i n getting awareness about the developmental stages of the children. 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The strengths and weaknesses of Piaget s cognitive development theory will be discussed. Piaget suggests that development in children occurs in four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. During the Sensorimotor stage (between birth and the age of two)Read MoreJean Piaget And Marie Montessori1124 Words   |  5 Pagesbiography of Jean Piaget and Marie Montessori. In addition to a biography it compares and contrast the two educators. One was more focused on the development of children, while the other specialized in the way children learn. They both were crucial components in the development of how teachers and professors educate their students regardless of their age. There are many people that have made a great impact on education throughout history. Two of the more prominent educators are Jean Piaget and Marie MontessoriRead MoreInfluential Theorist And Child Development : Who Are Capable Of Inventing New Things? 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One of the key theoretical concepts developed by Piaget is adaptation ‘adapting to the world through assimilation and accommodation (Atherton

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Political Correctness In The Classroom Essay Example For Students

Political Correctness In The Classroom Essay Political Correctness In The ClassroomSchools in Canada have recently become the battleground for the fight overhow much political correctness should be allowed to infiltrate grade schoolclassrooms. One can take two sides when dealing with such issues as violent toys,good clean fun, the benefits and disadvantages of political correctness. There is much controversy about violent toys which are far from beingconsidered politically correct. The toys that enter many grade school classroomsthroughout the country may also seem offensive to people who try to be aspolitically correct as possible. I can remember an incident involving myself, awater gun and a teacher back in grade four. What had happened was that Ipondered onto school grounds with a tiny plastic watergun. As I proceeded downthe hallway a teacher took notice of my water-squirting device. She approachedme and ceased the toy from my hands . Many elementary school educators believethat violent toys can lead, and often do lead to violence if the children areallowed to play with the toys in an unsupervised environment. Something that used to be considered good clean fun has become aconstant frustration to teachers and parents everywhere. Many educators onrecess duty who have observed children at play have come to believe that roughplay which might look innocent can and often does lead to real violence. Thegoodness of teaching political correctness in the classroom is its ability toprotect our children from violence, discrimination, and the unfairness thatexist in this world. Political correctness is a good thing for kids to learn. I think thatbeing politically correct is just being polite and considerate for the feelingsof others. I encourage parents and teachers to teach children about the fairnessand equality that political correctness implies. However If teachers and parentsallow political correctness to dictate the educational process, schools will nolonger work toward educating, but instead will shift their focus towardsaltering the attitudes and minds of students. Its not always beneficial for a teacher to over-emphasize politicalcorrectness in the classroom because it limits the students ability to learn. Its not right to isolate children from the books, toys, and games that let themlearn and have fun for the sake of being considered politically correct. Nearlyall of us grew up and experienced political incorrectness; with dolls such asBarbie, fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood or Cinderella, toy guns andcartoons. This is especially evident since the vast majority of adults grew upto be decent human beings who can form their own opinions. In our multicultural, racially diverse, opinionated nation we, asteachers, parents and students need to adjust the grade school curriculum inorder to keep up with the changes that are taking place every day. Main goal forthe educators and teachers it to challenge students to think, reason and toconsider the views of others and eventually come to their own conclusions onpolitical correctness.