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Message |
    
Nohero
Citizen
Username: Nohero
Post Number: 4287
Registered: 10-1999
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 9:38 am: | 
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"How is Beijing something that can be better read than Peking?" Heck, you tell me. Would someting like "Bŕk Gěng" be better?
But, anyway, my point was just that "Africa" is not a word from an African language. The Swahili spelling is probably based on how that language is transcribed. |
pan
Citizen
Username: Pan
Post Number: 90
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 11:25 am: |
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Beijing - Peking
Beijing is the ancient name of the city. The British colonists found Beijing hard to pronounce, so the accommodating emperor changed it to Peking. Mao-tse-tung changed it back to Beijing in 1949.
I think. |
Dave
Moderator
Username: Dave
Post Number: 5134
Registered: 4-1998
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 11:43 am: |
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It was only in the 20th century that Mandarin became the official standardized spoken language in China. Before then Europeans would go to Shanghai and hear one pronunciation of Beijing, then hear another pronunciation in Guangzhou and another in Beijing. Frustrated, they thew there hands up and said, "let's just call it Peking" (this is still the international postal name for Beijing).
When Mao came into power he formalized pinyin, a new romanization of the language so peasants could become literate by learning a phonetic version of the language, which is where "Beijing" comes from. It's based on the Mandarin pronunciation.
However, it's written the same in Chinese characters, so even if you don't know the dialect, you can still read signs. |
Hoops
Citizen
Username: Hoops
Post Number: 73
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 2:55 pm: |
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so its afrokentric too? |
Dave
Moderator
Username: Dave
Post Number: 5135
Registered: 4-1998
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 2:57 pm: |
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Korrekt |
Sonk
Citizen
Username: Sonk
Post Number: 3
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 3:39 pm: |
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Wow its really amazing how you guys completely got so sidetracked from the original point of the post. Anyway Harmony, i give you full support i dont even need to post my position because you already stated it for me. This is a subject i always thought was important especially because it was that Afro-centric mindset that helped me excell and get out of Columbia. Without it I would have been a lost little black boy,trying to find my way out of tracking systems,out of touch parents (not my own) and harassing cops . Peace and love from a brotha to anotha. |
Samantha Roberts
Citizen
Username: Sunshine915
Post Number: 1
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - 1:53 pm: |
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I agree with Sonk, when discussing a post we should try to stay on target ppl. I also strongly agree with Harmony. We need more ppl like Harmony and Sonk in Maplewood and South Orange to rid it of the ignorance that pollutes the neighborhoods as well as some of theses message boards. |
Daniel I. Goldberg
Citizen
Username: Dig
Post Number: 35
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 2, 2005 - 4:18 pm: |
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These types of issues have become so hot that to oppose the "progressive" view amounts to being a narrow minded racist. Call it political correctness gone bad. Clearly, we need to do a better job of giving our students a global perspective. But, that does not mean trying to cater to every special interest in the school district. It seems to me that the collective concern should be on dramtically improving the scores of the students in our district, without becoming slaves to the "test," while at the same time improving the reputation of the district. |
mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 4595
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 3, 2005 - 9:39 pm: |
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Daniel,
Very good big picture analysis as far as having to cater to special interest. What about the Irish contribution to the US, there are NO studies in our schools about the centuries long Irish suffering experienced both in Europe as well as the several hundred years of degradation this huge population endured here in the US, serving as indentured slaves and treated like immigrant dogs. Now they are one of the most wealthiest minority population as well as a large portion of the working class poor, urban and rural, in the US. This deserves some attention, yes?
Another example is the ancient history of the jews, and their huge contribution to the success of the US, the emerging success of the hispanic situation, and etc, etc. Where can we balance with regard to studies in the schools? |
harmonysociety
Citizen
Username: Harmonysociety
Post Number: 9
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, February 5, 2005 - 9:55 am: |
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ok, correct... However, the subject of this thread is African Studies being taugh in Columbia. The 70% black population of the school surely supports the need for the Afrikan history program being extended |
Dave
Moderator
Username: Dave
Post Number: 5172
Registered: 4-1998
| | Posted on Saturday, February 5, 2005 - 10:04 am: |
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mmmmm |
mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 4607
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, February 5, 2005 - 10:29 am: |
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Harmony,
Point taken. But then Columbia would end up being a special school catering to black studies based upon the current populations stats, and when the demographics change in x amount of years, as they usually and most certainly will given the constant shifts in US town populations, the school becomes 70% non-african american? A tax funded system with a bias towards black studies would then be ridiculous. |
mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 4609
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, February 5, 2005 - 12:52 pm: |
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Here's an idea - create an after school group, similar to CCD, which is a Catholic organization that public school students can join to obtain religious studies not taught in schools.
I like that! |
fringe
Citizen
Username: Fringe
Post Number: 761
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, February 5, 2005 - 1:36 pm: |
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In effect NJDOE has taken over much of the mandated curriculum setting through the Core Content Standards and its test battery. Individual groups have been successful in getting events that they see as particularly historical included into these standards by statute. Thus all NJ students learn about the Irish Potato Famine and the Holocaust. Whether history based on special interest lobbying is desirable is another question. |
Analog01
Citizen
Username: Analog01
Post Number: 35
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, February 5, 2005 - 8:30 pm: |
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I don't know where harmonysociety found the stats regarding racial makeup in CHS, but this is what I found (I make no claim regarding it's accuracy)
http://hometown.aol.com/njfabian/changing_racial_make.htm |
harmonysociety
Citizen
Username: Harmonysociety
Post Number: 11
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, February 6, 2005 - 3:37 pm: |
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I'm sure that all of you “educated English majors” are familiar with the definition of Diaspora, but in case there is some one who doesn't, the definition is as stated: “a dispersion of a people from their original homeland” (one selection from www.dictionary.com).
When using the Term African Diaspora, I am speaking of people of African descent all across the globe including areas such as North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, West Indies, etc. There for, I use the “black” for all persons of these backgrounds. It is fair to say that most dark skin Jamaicans are perceived to be black by anyone walking down the street, not hearing the accent. However, the system does a very peculiar thing with people of categories other than African-American.
On standardized test, there is a section in which students must fill out their racial phenotype. Within this section are options such as African-American, Caucasian, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, Other, etc. There are more options but I am not able to recall.
You see, there are only three categories on the graph that you present us with Analog01. Those other categories of persons have to go somewhere and that somewhere is marked “other”. The funny thing is that the Hispanic Americans are often classified as white for alternative reasons. Islanders and other groups fall under the “other” category when the naked eye might suggest other wise. I am not saying that this wholly why the percentage that I gave differs from the website that you offered Analog01, but I’m sure it affects it.
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harmonysociety
Citizen
Username: Harmonysociety
Post Number: 12
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, February 6, 2005 - 3:48 pm: |
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By the way... The prison system categorizes Hispanics as white so to cause the number of whites that are incarnated to appear larger when cited for demographics. It’s the same story with some other “groups” but that is where the parallel came from incase anyone was interested.
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e roberts
Citizen
Username: Wnwd00
Post Number: 297
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 7, 2005 - 4:51 pm: |
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it really is easy to manipulate stats to make them say almost anything you want.
the bottom line is there are only so many hours in the school day and for many reasons some topics such as world history or specific region world history cannot in my mind compare with US history, math, science, and english in terms of significance to the society as a whole.
if some individuals feel the need to learn more about a certain group or society they are free to take classes in college and use the library to find whatever information they desire however in terms of practicallity us history is much more valuable to the typical high school student then a cultural or geopolitical history of africa or south america. |
Josh M.
Citizen
Username: Jmaxlaw
Post Number: 213
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 1:32 pm: |
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Am I the only person who-- when reading the headline to this thread-- thought someone wanted to have Afrikans-- the language of white aparthied South Africa-- taught in our schools? |
woodstock
Citizen
Username: Woodstock
Post Number: 892
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 9:30 pm: |
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I believe that's spelled Afrikaans |
Sonk
Citizen
Username: Sonk
Post Number: 4
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 10:01 am: |
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Yea there is a difference so i guess you were the only one |
harmonysociety
Citizen
Username: Harmonysociety
Post Number: 14
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 9:56 am: |
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What about the African-AMERICAN history that the schools shield our children from? There is so much information that very few of children are aware of simply because it is never taught. It’s almost as the adults today live in a different world than our children do; not necessarily because things have changed but more so because they don’t know.
Once they enter the world of politics and when some of the “minority” students try to by a house in this community, this is when they will learn what kind of world we live in.
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