Reflection 1

A few insights that I have gained from reading the article Prehistoric Human… is that we have a great ability to adapt to our surroundings and circumstances. We witness this adaptation in our ability to control fire unarguably 230,000 to 300,000 years ago. We also witness this in evolution. Evolution has been a survival mechanism for all animals since the beginning of time. In this article it is suggested that because the Homo erectus learned to use fire to cook their teeth became smaller and so did the entire face. The females also evolved because of the need to protect the food from the stronger males while the food was cooking. Because of this need, they became more sexually available to attract a male that could protect them during times of cooking.
Another insight that I have gained is that the early human’s capacity to learn is enormous. I write this because this article suggests that when a lightning strike ignited a fire the Homo erectus learned to reap the spoils of the burnt forest.
A few insights that I have gained from The Invention of the Wheel is again, man’s ability to make our lives easier. The invention of the wheel was an immense stepping stone in the power to make our lives easier. If you look at where the wheels has taken us today (the automobile), it is simply amazing. In my opinion the invention of the wheel was one of the first technology revolutions. The wheel is a device that was created to make our lives easier and simpler and I was developed further and further. This also makes aware to me that man’s ability to improve his life is endless.
A few insights that I have gained from the article History of Writing is that our need to communicate with one another is a necessity and that is why through time it was developed and perfected. What I find to be extremely interesting is that humans first communicated through pictures and then it later evolved to words.
I believe we are being asked to read these articles because as pre-teachers we need to gain an understanding of our beginnings. It is imperative that you know where you came from so you know where you are going. These articles have shown me that our capacity to learn and to adapt is endless. It is up to the teachers to tap into ourselves and to our students to get the best out of them. I think that these articles are extremely important to read because they give you a sense of what we were like hundreds of thousands of years ago and how far we have come.