Talking Points # 10

　

　

EMPOWERING EDUCATION

Critical Teaching for Social Change

IRASHOR

1. "You must arouse children's curiosity and milk them to think about school. For example, it's very important to begin the school year with a discussion of why we go to school. Why does the government force us to go to school? "

I like this. I always used to wonder as a kid why we had to go to school and what I was supposed to get out of it. Eventually you figure it out, but I can imagine that as a child learning rhyme you must wonder why. We should let kids know the importance of school. I didn't really know until middle school why school is so important and by then if you slacked off or didn't care because you didn't know why it was so important, then you fell behind. Perhaps even if you told kids, "Hey who wants to be an astronaut, or lawyer, or artist? Well, you have to go to school to learn before you can become those things." I think that had I known I would have taken it more seriously from the start, rather than later. I mean imagine what a kid thinks. If a kid thinks that they can become whatever they want by going to school, which they can, then they will get more out of it.

2. "School funding is another political dimension of education, because more money has always been invested in the education of upper-class children and elite collegians than has been spent on students from lower-income homes and in community colleges."

We seem to be reading about this a lot lately and it definately is not fair. It really makes no sense to me why this is. I mean the upper class schools already have all the luxeries they need. Why not start replacing ripped up text books that the lower income schools have. Of course it all comes down to testing and ranking of schools. It is a viscious cycle. Why wouldn't schools with more resources, more experienced professors, endless funding, etc have better test scores. It would be sad if they didn't.  Who is helping the lower income schools. You see it happening everywhere the lower class always gets the short end of the stick. We see it everyday in politics. The government takes from the lower class and the upper class has all of these benefits. I also don't understand this because those families of elite schools have the money to contribute to the schools. Does it make sense then that the lower income schools get nothing. I really enjoyed when I recieved a print out from FAFSA on how I could afford college. They calculated how much money I supposedly have. I think it came to around 13,000. How do they figure this? I have a car payment, rent, I don't live with my parents, but if I did I only have my mother who is a single parent. Now where is this 13,000 that the government says I have to pay for school. I wish they would help me find it. It is dumb because here I am, I can't afford college but I work very hard to pay for it myself, and then there are others who's family has the money, but they also have more resources and know more people to recieve funding. Is it fair, of course not. I'm sure everyone if not most of you guys can relate to this.

3. "In sum, the subject matter, the learning process. the classroom discourse, the cafeteria menu, the governance structure, and the environment of school teach students what kind or people to be and what kind of society to build as they learn math, history, biology, literature. nursing, or accounting. Education is more than facts and skills. It is a socializing experience that helps make the people who make society."

It sounds really scary when you put it like this. It paints the picture in my head that schools are indoctering people. When thought of that way it scares me, but it is kind of true. Schools are shaping/modeling the next buisnessmen, congressmen, and people who will be runnong our counrty one day. Eventually our generation will be the one's taking care of buisness and it all started in elementary school.

This was not one of my favorite articles to read because I didn't find it as interesting. I understood it, made the connections, but politics is not something I have ever been interested in. I found it difficult to get through this reading because of it. It wasn't like the other reading where they talked about topics I may not have considered before. I had already thought of the education system as political so it wasn't an article that did anything for me or changed my views in any way as many of the past articles we had read did.

Autistic child is also math genius

Look at this video too! It also relates to my talking points. Go on Youtube and I am sure you can find so many more.

Texas Boy With Autism A Musical Genius - Shane McAuliffe - KBTX News 3

This video is a good example of how kids with special needs have the ability to learn and can have different skills that other people don't have.

Talking Points # 9

Citizenship in School:

Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

by Christopher Kliewer

1. "It's not like they come here to be labeled, or to believe the label.  We're all here- kids, teachers, parents, whoever- it's about all of us working together, playing together, being together, and that's what learning is."

I really like this because I don't know how many times in school I have seen a person with disabilities get labeled. They are not aliens, they are people who just like you and me have feelings. It isn't about labeling them as different, but working together and getting by day to day with each other. We have to be able to work together because that is what life is all about. People learn best from others not from being outcasts or alone. Learning isn't something that people do just by sitting and listening alone. The best learning takes place when people work off one another and support/help each other. I'm glad that some schools see this.

2.  "Just because she is handicapped doesn't mean she can't learn."

This is so true. Handicapped people are not incompetent. Maybe it appears they can't learn because nobody gives them a chance. Some of the most brilliant minds are handicapped.Once again they are people and learning may be a little harder, but none the less they have the ability to learn just like you or I. I have heard of a lot of autistic people who have difficulty learning some things, but they are geniuses in another area that I could not begin to understand. Everyone can learn and everyone can grow. I remember in high school when the students with handicaps would all sit at the same table and whenever any student who wasn't handicapped walked by and got quiet. No wonder they probably feel labeled when nobody can even walk by them without putting their head down and avoiding eye contact. It is almost like people are pitying them. I would hate for someone to always pity me.

3. "That's what learning is. It's taking risks and seeing stuff in new ways...Maybe you don't read the book exactly like the author wrote it, but you're making sense of it... and then the next day, maybe your dance changes."

This is an awesome quote. I think what it is saying is that not everyone sees things exactly the same and that is fine. That's what makes us all unique and what makes learning so interesting. We are constantly changing and developing and this is all apart of learning. If everyone played it safe without any deeper connections to the material how would a person get a deeper learning. I don't have to learn the same way someone else does. The point is that I learn.

I was surprised to read an article like this because it is kind of different from what we have been reading, but I liked it. I"m always surprised by the articles because a lot of time I have thought about these subject subconsciously, everyday I go to school, but I never really got to think about them or decide my point of view. I'm going to be sad when we are done with these because I leaned a lot about my beliefs, morals, values, which all make up me as a person.. It really was a self discovery in many aspects.

Talking Points # 8

(chapter taken from Learning Power)

From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work

JEAN ANYON

1. "Scholars in political economy and the sociology of knowledge have recently argued that public schools in complex industrial societies like our own make available different types of educational experience and curriculum knowledge to students in different social classes. "

This is without a doubt true in my mind. All I can think about is "Freedom Writers". In the school shown in that movie those kids in the beginning were not even given a chance. Nobody wanted to waste the good books/textbooks on them. They wouldn't appreciate them enough, apparently. I think a lot of working class schools feel this way which is why higher learning isn't being done there because the people of power feel as though they wouldn't get it or couldn't get it. In upper class schools it is believed that these kids appreciate it more and understand more intellectually. It is wrong, but the truth. I only hope that when I become a teacher I don't treat students like they are dumb, but give them enough credit that they could understand the material if given the chance and if they had a little more encouragement.

2. "Work tasks do not usually request creativity. Serious attention is rarely given in school work on how the children develop or express their own feelings and ideas..."

I do not like this way of teaching at all. I understand things better when I am creative and think about things in a creative way. I am much more of a visual learner. I learn with taking ideas and recreating them in different ways. For example, I learned how to say the states in alphabetical order due to a song and to this day I still now them. Putting learning in the form of a song really helped me, which in itself is creative. Now if someone sat me down, gave me a worksheet of all the states, and said learn this I would not know how to. It is not how I learn or how I express what I know. I love presentations. To me I learn a lot more out of preparing for a presentation than taking a test and that is all because I am more of a creative/ reflective person. I would hate to be in a school where creativity didn't matter. In fact if I ever were in a school like that, I don't think I would have gained half of the knowledge that I have throughout the years.

3. "...the children may be brought into line by reminding them that "It is up to you." "You must control yourself," "you are responsible for your work," you must "set your own priorities." One teacher told a child, "You are the only driver of your car-and only you can regulate your speed."

I have been to a lot of different schools throughout my life because i have moved a lot. One school that I went to was the Executive Elite School in many ways. That high school treated us like semi-college level students. Attendance was only sometimes taken, but rarely. We were given outlines where is was up to us to learn the material and keep up with the reading. If a person feel behind it was up to them to seek help. Homework was checked periodically, but basically it was up to you to learn the material ad pass the final exam. If you didn't keep up you would be lost for future classes. We had a lot of group discussion and group presentations. I like this school because I didn't feel pressured and I learned in my own way. This is why I liked this quote because I was responsible for my work, and it was up to me whether I succeeded or failed. I was in control of my future and what I was going to do with it. Help was always available so you were not completely alone, but we had choice.

This article is one of those articles that I believe will always stick with me. Whenever I enter a school I will always be conscious of these things and when I teach I hope to be in a school that believes in their students ability. I want to be in a school where the students are not "silenced". I'm glad this class exists because it makes me have some hope for those schools where the students are silenced that maybe us new teachers can make a change. We are aware of the problems, but are we going to act on them and strive for change. I hope so. I really do hope so.

Kehinde Wiley

I learned a lot of interesting things today at Promising Practices, particularly in my first workshop where we talked about race. I liked this workshop because it talked about race in the media which we have spent a good deal talking about in class so I was already a little familiar. I learned of a painter named Kehinde Wiley. What he does is he paints black men in higher ranked white man poses. The example the instructor gave was the pose of Mary shown below. He painted a black man in this holy pose, why? I liked the different ideas discussed. Wiley is trying to break racial stereotypes. Here we have a black man wearing pink and purple who is surrounded by flowers. This is definitely not a dangerous image as we so often relate to black people as being violent. In this painting he is as innocent as Mary. Look at his tattoos. It says to me, hey without these clothes I may have tattoos and look scary, but I'm innocent. I couldn't hurt a thing.



I like that he poses himself as higher ranked white people such as the Virgin Mary, who is a prominent religious figure. He has done this with Napoleon and others as well. It shows the black man as equal to the higher ranked white person. He is definitely sending a message. I'm sure you can think of a lot of things that he is saying and portraying in this image just as I know I could go on forever talking about it. You can see more of his painting if you CLICK HERE!

So I Was Thinking

         So something happened today that really made me think about this class. I just got home from RIC and something interested happened while in my theatre class today. My teacher had given us rehearsal time so the whole class was sitting together rehearsing and talking about random things. We starting talking about the theatre shows that RIC puts on when all of a sudden a boy in my class made an interesting remark. He said that he never auditions because he is black and why would he be cast for a role where the rest of the people are probably white. He continued saying that it doesn't make sense to have a play about a family where all the characters are white and he is black because it wouldn't make sense. I told him that the theatre we have at RIC is gender and race blind, meaning they don't cast off of that, but wow. How horrible is it to have to think like that and I can see where he is coming from. It makes sense. Just think about movies. In every movie you always have the black friend, or the really smart Asian, but how many movies have a Chinese person as the lead, not many. They really gear entertainment toward whites. Like Delpit explains, there is a culture of power and we are it. Or even the Macintosh reading where white people don't even know that we are oppressing others, but we are. Look at this poor kid who loves theatre, but doesn't even bother auditioning. How sad. I hope that after talking to everyone that he changed his mind, but I fear he won't. I understand him, but I wish I didn't  have to.

Talking Points #7

Teaching Boys and Girls Separately

By ELIZABETH WEIL

 

1. “You need to engage boys’ energy, use it, rather than trying to say, No, no, no. So instead of having boys raise their hands, you’re going to have boys literally stand up. You’re going to do physical representation of number lines. Relay races. Ball tosses during discussion...If you try to stop girls from talking to one another, that’s not successful. So you do a lot of meeting in circles, where every girl can share something from her own life that relates to the content in class.”

I will admit that I would not appreciate being in a school with all girls, I do like the things that they say girls enjoy. I love talking in groups, it's true, I also love relating things to my own life because it allows me to understand things more. I can see how boys might like relay races as well. The problem that I have is that I don't think all boys and girls are like this.

2. "I’m so annoyed by the sexist rubbish I just heard from Dr. Sax. Dr. Sax is trying to tell us that boys draw action and girls draw stasis. He might as well have said: ‘Boys are active, girls are passive. Boys should go out and have jobs, girls should stay home and have babies.’ "

 Yeah, I can see how someone would have taken what Weil said in this way. I kind of can see this point of view. I felt as though Weil was saying this too. He kept seeming to say that girls can only be one way and girls the other. I don't feel this is true. Not all girls are colorful and sociable. Just as not all boys are physical. What about males who feel more feminine or females who feel more masculine. I did feel like Dr. Sax just kept saying how boys are like this and girls are like that but I don't think it is all black and white. There is more to it. What about individuality. If you say all boys are one way then it takes away people's uniqueness. I just don't want to believe that we are this simple and all work in the same way.

3. “Coed’s not working. Time to try something else.”

I don't see why coed is not working. I think it is doing just fine. Sure we have problems within the education system, but I don't believe it is because of coed schools. Private schools that are for a single sex probably get higher test scores because they pay to go to that school, they come from upper class/upper middle class families, and their is more discipline in those schools. It's not because they are not coed. If anything I think it would bring about a different problem. Wouldn't it cause social issues if boys and girls were separated?

I am not really sure about this article. I understood it and it made sense, but I don't think I would support it. I don't believe that this is the solution to the problem. I think it separate people and isn't it a proven fact that we learn best from each other and different point of views. Well a man's and a woman's point of view are going to be different.

What Do You Think????????

Hi!
OK so I tried to find that video that I had seen a long time ago that I think relates to the Wise article, but I couldn't find it. I did however find a similar site which said the same thing. Before I write what it talks about I just want to say that I don't necessarily agree with it, but take it for what it is...

You call me "redneck" ,"hillbilly", "slaker" , "Cracker", "Honkey", "Whitey", "Gringo" and you think it's OK.
...But If I were to call you coon,jiggaboo, Kike, sand ******, rag head ,Towelhead, WOP, Camel Jockey, ****, ******, slant eyes or Chink you call me a racist.
-You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
-You have the United Negro College Fund.
-You have Martin Luther King Day.
-You have Black History Month.
-You have Cesar Chavez Day.
-You have Yom Hashoah
-You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi
-You have the NAACP.
-You have BET.
-If we had WET(white entertainment television) ...we'd be racist.
-If we had a White Pride Day... you would call us racist.
-If we had white history month... we'd be racist.
-If we had an organization for only whites to "advance" our lives... we'd be racist.
-If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships...you know we'd be racist.
-In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights...you would call us racist.
-Did you know that some high school students decided to make a club for only the white students because the other ethnicities had them... they all got sent to court for being racist but the African-American, Latino, and Asia clubs were not even questioned.
-You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
I am white.
I am proud.
But, you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?
Now watch, I'll be a racist for posting this
So what? no one will re post this for fear of being called racist

...You can find this and read the reactions too it at Why Are Only White People Considered Racist.Com I'd like to know what you guys think about this.

Help?

Ok so I'm not sure if anyone else is sure about this but I have all my journals from my school, but I have not typed them yet. I have been keeping them in a book so I don't wait to get home and forget. Are they due by a certian time? Or is what I am doing fine as long as I type them and submit them, which I will have to do this week, maybe I can type one entry per day because I already have them written. Let me know what you guys are doing otherwise I will ask in class tomorrow. Thanks.

Talking Points #6

A Particularly Cheap White Whine: Racism, Scholarships and

 the Manufacturing of White Victimhood By Tim Wise


1. "Then, white students at four entirely different colleges dress up in blackface or throw "ghetto" parties, at which they mock low-income African Americans: next, a group of Muslim clerics are thrown off a plane because passengers get nervous after seeing them engaged in evening prayers prior to boarding their flight..."

I hate all of these things and I hate it even more that I know it's true. Especially Muslims who enter plans. Unfortunatly it has become a racial stereotype that every Muslim who boards a plane is a terrorist. I can't believe that one event such as September 11th have changed the oppinions of many and who knows if this will ever end. People, not even consiously judge Muslims. 

2. "In response to this most horrible of racist practices, the campus GOP has announced its plans to offer a "Caucasian Achievement and Recognition Scholarship" for deserving white students.
According to the head of the group, the scholarship is not being offered to help whites, per se, but rather, to point out the unfairness and immorality of "racial preferences" in American society.
Merit, rather than race, should determine scholarships, they insist. "

This is something that I often think about. I understand that scholarships are being given out to different cultures who are less privilaged, but at the same time I feel like it should be somewhat based on Merit. I think that if there was ever a scholarship just given to white people that there would be an uproar. People would say that was racist, and yet other races can have their own scholarships. The fact that we give out scholarships to different groups, in my oppinion, reminds us that there are different groups and people are not just people. It says hey you are different then these people over here. Doesn't that promote racism. I don't know maybe I'm completely wrong, but it doesn't make sense to me.

3. Because race has been the basis for oppression, and continues to play such a large role in one's life chances, it is perfectly legitimate to then offer scholarships on the basis of that category which has triggered the
oppression.

The world is very fair and unjust. I'm not sure that it will ever end or can be fixed. How do you change how people judge other people. I mean just think of when it come to gettting jobs. Who is the big boss going to hire, someone named Jane Smith or someone named Shaniqua Robertos. I'm not saying that I feel this way but it is a proven fact that people are like this. Check out the book Freakonomics. I read it in high school and it is all about these topics.

I enjoyed this reading and I found it interesting the different aspects about giving scholarships to races. I can see the pros and I can see the cons. It really is difficult to say. I feel as though I change my oppinion on the matter ever five minutes. 

Talking Points #5

In the Service of What?

The Politics of Service Learning

By Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

1.    “Students would interact with those less fortunate than themselves and would experience the excitement and joy of learning while using the community as a classroom.”

I think that it is great for kids to do community service and help out in the community. Sometimes you never realize what is out there until you are faced with it or experience it firsthand. In order to understand life, and all its hardships one needs to see it, and if you can help someone in need why not? In order to move toward change, fix problems, we need to acknowledge their existence. Of course some issues like disabilities you cannot really do anything about, but issues of poverty and such we can help.  It develops compassion and rids ignorance. This is very much an authentic learning experience.

2.    “We create opportunities for changing our understanding of the other and the context within which he or she lives.”

I completely agree. People are so quick to judge others and their way of life when they have no idea the hardships that person might be going through. By doing these projects we get to know people, their lives, their feeling, and how they truly live rather than assuming what we believe to be true. A lot of times I think people are surprised by the unknown, which is usually not as it seems.

3.    “A music director at a middle school we studied wanted her suburban, upper-middle-class students to perform at a nearby elementary school in a poor neighborhood…they had imagined "horrifying children running around on a dirty campus." They had expected them to be "rude, tough, noisy, and very unfriendly," and they even thought they would be "mean, gang-related blacks." One of the students wrote, "I was scared because my mom had told me it was a bad neighborhood and to be careful."

So often we hear this term “bad neighborhood” and with it comes all these stereotypes listed above. What is a bad neighborhood? What makes this neighborhood good, and this bad? It is so weird to think about. Perhaps these neighborhoods are bad because they are always labeled as such. Why are “bad neighborhoods” always related with “gang-related blacks”. Nobody can deny that when they hear the term “bad neighborhood” they think this, but it’s wrong. I hate it when I hear this.

This article was okay. It wasn’t my favorite out of all the articles that we have read, but I understand it. Service Learning is very important, not only for the community, but for us as individuals. It can teach us about life and bring us to the very core of reality. It’s amazing.

Sexism, Strength and Dominance: Masculinity in Disney Films

I found this video after class today and I think it does a good job at analyzing all the stereotypes in Disney movies. Check it out!!!

Talking Ponts #4

Christensen, "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us"

1. “When we read children’s books, we aren’t just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated.”

Books, magazines, cartoons, and movies all project images to young children. They teach children what is accepted and what is the ideal man/woman. You never see ugly princesses who are happy. They are always pretty. You never see a handsome prince who cannot get a maiden. It projects the idea that looks provide happiness. These ideas and much more are leaking into the minds of children everyday, and everyday children are adapting to these "ideals"

2. “As Tinker Bell’s obsessive vanity in Peter Pan. These seemingly innocent stories teach us to look for our faults. As Tinker Bell inspects her tiny body in a mirror only to find that her minute hips are simply too huge, she shows us how to turn the mirror into an enemy….. and this scenario is repeated in girls’ locker rooms all over the world.”

I had never considered this before, and I love Tinker Bell. It does however send off the wrong message to young girls. It makes them believe that if they are not like this then they are not pretty or are not what society wants. Even Tinker Bell thinks her hips are too big and that is a problem for her. This is why girls become anorexic, because they want to be what society expects from them. They want to be "Barbie" so to speak. Everyday one sees girls walking down the street with bleach blond hair, big boobs (fake, stuffed, etc),a fake tan, and a stomach that looks like they hadn't eaten in months. This is all because girls are projected to look like this in the media so it must be right.

3. “Both of these tales leave young women with two myths: Happiness mean getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumtion…”

This is definitely true. Whenever I consider what the American dream is it always includes being with a man. If I'm not married it is almost as if I have failed in some way. I know that I have been with someone now for the past almost 5 years and I wonder when I will marry. It has become almost a requirement toward happiness. Cinderella was a perfect example. She was only happy once she met the prince. As far as the transformation, she was only accepted after she wore nice attire. This teaches kids that happiness is gained through materialistic items, such as clothes.

It is really sad to think that our world is like this and that society does this to us, but it is true. We are materialistic and obsess over our looks. Happiness is not built on love, but on appearances. Many times people date not because of the other person's personality, but if they are cute enough, or not embarrassing. Another quote that I liked was,“…like the absence of female characters in many of the older cartoons. When women do appear they look like Jessica Rabbit or Playboy centerfolds” Women have become toys to mold and fashion, little dolls. Of course, it is only getting worse.

Yay, I did it!

Okay I am a lot happier now that my assignment seems to not be disappearing on me. Things seem to be looking better. I'm ready for the debate tomorrow so competitors BEWARE. Just kidding :) Good luck.

Talking Points # 2 ...Hopefully it stays posted this time! :)

Terry Meier's "Why Can't She Remember That"  
   
1. "...the teacher asked, 'How many mitten's are there?' Gabriela (a pseudonym0, the bilingual Puerto Rican child sitting next to me, turned and asked me, in an exasperated tone, 'Why can't she remember that?'"

This amuses me because I never thought of what children are thinking when teachers repeat things multiple times as if they don't understand. I love the way this girl says that she cannot understand why her teacher keeps asking a question that she has already been told the answer to twice. It makes you think how many other kids are thinking the same thing. Maybe it's not that they don't understand the material, but that they don't raise their hands because if the teacher cannot remember why should they. I can see how a child might see it this way. It is a bit funny to think about.

2. "I turn the pages, book after book, and ask where are we?"

One Asian American educator wrote this when reflected on the books she read as a child. When teachers read books they always read safe books with white perfect characters. children of other races often feel as if they are excluded, or rejected from this "white world". It is important to read books that show all types of families of all types of races. If teachers continuously only read stories representing white people then children of other races tend to feel that they are different and not what they should be and this is not the message we want to be teaching children.

3. "If books are not compelling to children, then no amount of time spent on rhyming games, phonemic awareness exercises, or any other kind of literacy activity will result in them becoming proficient and empowered readers."
If you asked me a few years ago what books I read over the summer I was the one who never read them until the week before the summer reading tests. I hated to read. I don't anymore, but I will say that not reading for fun made it hard in other subjects. reading helps strengthen vocabulary, makes you more knowledgeable in other subjects, and helps with grammar in a way too. Once I began to read I found that I did better in these areas too. I always got good grades but I had to work even harder for them because not reading all those years held me back in the sense that I was not as familiar with vocabulary, and other things that reading helps with. I completely agree with this quote.

This article made me think of my boyfriend and the experiences that he has had to go through as a Hispanic coming to America not fully knowing how to speak English. I remember when he was learning how to speak English and people would talk very slow and loud to him saying, "DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH? HELLO MY NAME IS..." People would treat him like an idiot like somehow speaking louder and slower was going to get him to understand. It always amused me. He would respond "YES I DO." yelling back at them and making them realize how they were acting. What made me think of this is Gabriela and how she doesn't understand why her teacher keeps asking the same question again and again.

Ugh...

OK Sometimes this site does not want to work for me. I swear I posted my Talking Points #2, but yet it is not on here. I don't even know where it is. Hopefully I can find it if not I'm going to have to write it again because I definitely do not want a zero. Is anyone else having trouble like this? This is the first time for me but it is definitely stressful only because I know I posted it. What happened?

Talking Points # 3

Dennis Carlson's "Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community"

1. "Nevertheless, normalizing texts systematically exclude and neglect the culture of those outside the norm for the purpose of ratifying or legitimating the dominant culture as the only significant culture worth studying."

This is definitely true because I have had many teachers who skip over the discussion of homosexuality whenever possible. I believe they did this to avoid not only opposition, but the tension that enters the room when talked about. It is that same tension that you feel when people are faced with the discussion of racism. Everybody wants to avoid any discussion of something that may be new, or never looked at before. People fear change and being "different".

2. "...signing into law of a Minnesota bill that makes it illegal to discriminate against lesbians and gay men in employment and housing. Yet what got ignored in all the celebrating was a provision in the bill that prohibits teaching about homosexuality in the public schools."

This is something I never realized and really struck me when I read it. It is like giving people some hope, but not all. I don't understand how people can have some rights, but not all. I do not understand the big deal about teaching homosexuality. I'm not saying that we should have a whole subject dedicated toward it, but don't ignore it's existence because the more you ignore it the more it is ever present.

3. "...it is likely to be in the health curriculum, where it is associated with disease."

The only association that seems to be made toward homosexuality is disease. I hope that this is not true because if so, that is sad. Why does it have to be seen so negatively. I don't have to be a lesbian to respect the choices the others make. Why do people care so much what other people do with their lives. This never seemed to make sense to me.

4. "Don't ask, don't tell." (Sorry I had to add one more.)

It should not be like this. This just promotes the idea of homosexuals being silenced. People should not have to be afraid to come out. I really don't like this saying because it brings about discrimination. To me it is like saying, "I like you and accept you as long as I believe you are not gay." That's wrong and it should not be a big deal what people's sexual orientation is.

I am glad to say that in my high school it was a lot better then others. Of course there will always be those opposed to the life styles of homosexuals, but when I attended Attleboro High, the teachers did talk of homosexuality. I remember talking in my English class about Emily Dickinson and how many people believe she might have been a lesbian. As a class we analyzed her poetry and had in-depth conversations about it. My school also had "A Day of Silence" where students would sign up and receive a pin that they would where for the entire day to show respect to all homosexuals who are fighting to come out of the closet. It was a day to show respect. When wearing the pin you were not allowed to talk and none of the teachers could call on you. This was so you could show respect and feel like homosexuals feel, silenced, before they come out. I was fortunate that my school was like this, but I have seen many that are not.

Talking Points #1

Jonathan Kozol’s “Amazing Grace”                                       Vanessa Blanchette

1. “What is it like for children to grow up here? What do they think the world has done to them...do they think they deserve this? What is it that enables some of them to pray? When they pray, what do they say to God?” (Kozol pg 5)

This shot paragraph really made me think and yet at the same time I cannot begin to imagine the answer to these questions. I am not in this situation and hope that I never have to be, but as for the people who are, I pray for you. What do you pray for, I don’t have that answer. It is so hard to imagine that there are people out there who run into problem after problem and don’t have any idea why they deserve the life they were given, the hand they were dealt. I wish this was not the case, but it is. Children grow up thinking the worst, feeling unworthy of any happiness. Most of them might feel unwanted. I think they pray for change. They pray for the only thing they can, light. They want to escape the dark, but can’t find a way out. What happens when they stop praying, when they lose all hope?

2. "I saw a boy shot in the head right over there," he says a moment later, in a voice that does not particularly sad, then looks up at me and asks politely, "Would you like a chocolate chip cookie?" (p.6)

These children have adapted to their surroundings that things as horrible as murder are nothing new to them. It is a weekly, if not every day, occurrence. How many of us in this class can say that. I know I cannot. My boyfriend, on the other hand, is Latino and was brought up in what we would call the “projects”. He lived in El Salvador. He would not blink an eye if he heard a gunshot. He has told me some horrible stories about his friends being killed right next to him. I cannot even imagine. I know that if I touch his arm and he is not expecting it, he gets into defense mode. He has grown up having to protect and defend himself and lives this way on a daily basis. If I were shocked I would scream, but not him. He would resort to defend himself anyway possible to survive. It amazes me how we have come from such different atmospheres. It does not bother him though and he does not see the shock that I see when I hear these stories. He is as the child is in this quote, so involved that it becomes normal. What I mean by normal is that murder is looked at as just another event happening during the day. Wow! I don’t even know what else to say because I find it shocking.

3. “There’s a whole world out there if you know it’s there, if you can see it. But they’re in a cage. They cannot see.” (Kozol pg 24)

It is very hard for people who are underprivileged to move from the situation that they are in. They are not given opportunities and nobody wants to give them a chance. People of privilege may see it as, “Why should I care? It’s not me.” It is sad to say that the world we live in is like this, but it is. I was in a pharmacy once and saw a woman who was trying to buy medication for her child, but was surprised when her insurance didn’t cover it. She had no money and could not get it. How many people helped her? None. Now, how many people could have? I don’t have the answer. Unfortunately I was too young to fully comprehend the situation, but I would like to think that if I ever witnessed this I would sacrifice something in my life, to help another’s. Not all people are like this. People who are in the streets, or who live in these neighborhoods cannot picture another world. They are blinded by hatred, and helplessness. They have given up just as animals in a zoo have at ever escaping. It reminds me of the movie Freedom Writers. Nobody wanted to give those kids a chance, because they were thought of as not appreciative of anything, but nobody gave them a chance to see how they were, except one teacher. One teacher out of many was the only one who believed in change. Everyone else feared they would lose their privilege and didn’t want others who were Latino, African-American, and other races who were not white to succeed. Instead they used the excuse that they wouldn’t appreciate it. Well, these kids did, and when given a chance they shine, but before that they were just another person waiting to die.

This article was hard to read. It talked about things that I know exist, but try not to think about because they are so horrible. I know other people have difficult lives, with different, unimaginable struggles then myself, but it’s easier not to think about it. It’s not because I do not care, but it is because I don’t know how I can help. There is nothing worse than seeing children living this way, in a way that you and I don’t, but not being able to help and yet want to so bad.

If there is anyone I look up to it is defiantly the teacher in the story of the Freedom Writers. All it took was one voice with enough determination, to change a community. That teacher bettered the lives of kids that beforehand had nothing to wake up to. Now they wake up for tomorrow, and that right there is an inspiration. When I become a teacher I hope that is the kind of person

Hi Everyone!!!

So I'm really looking forward to start teaching at a school. I have only been to one class so far because I missed the first two days, but I already love this class. At first I was stressed, but now that I am all caught up I just can't wait. The only thing that I am having trouble with is finding Dr. Stevos's page. I'm fairly new with making blogs and this site that I do not know how to look people up. So if anyone finds me and could help me out, that would be greatly appreciated.

Stop Pretending and Start Living.

While reading “Privilege, Power, and Difference” by Allan G. Johnson there were many topics that he brings up the I not only found interesting, but I agrees up. He also brings up points that I had never thought of before. There were three quotes in particular that stood out to me.


“The bottom line is that a trouble we can’t talk about is a trouble we can’t do anything about”, exclaims Johnson. It seems like such a simple thought and yet he manages to write an entire paper about it. On the surface people might think, “yeah whatever”, but it’s more than that. We as a country have dug ourselves in a hole that right now seems almost impossible to get out of. How can we fix racism, discrimination, and the different privileges that exist if we ignore that they are there. Everyone knows about it, everyone can sense the tension in the air that surrounds it, but nobody wants to be the first to speak for change. Nobody wants to be the first voice to make a difference because everyone has in his or her mind that it can’t and wont be fix, this problem we have. Therefore, it is just as Johnson says, we can’t expect to fix or do anything about a problem we don’t talk about. Once we can admit that it exists and stop living in a world of denial, then we can move forward, until then we will keep on digging.

Another quote that I really enjoyed and got a mental picture of was when Johnson says, “Our collective house is burning down, and we’re tiptoeing around afraid to say ‘Fire’.” What an amazing quote, and it is so true. This quote is exactly about the first quote I mentioned. It is the same idea. We can see ourselves falling in the hole we dug for ourselves, but nobody wants to ask for help. It reminds me of the movie Crash with Sandra Bullock. The movie focuses on different races, white, black, asian, muslim, ect and they show how each race judges the next, sometimes subconsciously. For example, there is a part in the movie where a white woman who is walking to her car, side by side with her husband, suddenly gets closer to her husband while walking by a black man. Why? This is because she subconsciously associated him with wanting to rob her. The movie talks of racism and how it is present everywhere and simply getting worse. It is an interesting movie and also sad movie to watch because it is not a movie in the sense that our culture is one of the same. The movie is filled with tension that nobody mentions is there. It is so sad to think about.

The last example that I want to talk about is Johnson relating his discussion to an elephant. Johnson says, “All of that sits in the middle of the table like the proverbial elephant that everyone pretends not to notice.” I love this example because it is relatable. People say don’t think about a big pink elephant and everyone thinks about it but won’t admit it. It is the same thing. Everyone knows the problem exist, but nobody will admit it’s here or that they see it. It’s easier just to pretend that everything is normal and fine. People like to take the easy way out because once they admit its presence a lot of work will follow and unfortunately it seems as though nobody wants to be bothered.

Just thinking of these quotes makes me want to speak out and make a difference. Change needs to take place and I hope that others, after reading these few chapters, will also want to do the right thing and stop pretending and start living.

A Very Stressful Few Weeks

To whoever may read this my name is Vanessa. Most people call me Nessie. I'm currently majoring in theatre, which I love, but I also had a passion for teaching as well. My semester hasn't seemed to start off good for me so far. I missed the first week of school and I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm not completely sure what I have missed, but I'm trying my best to catch up. Grades are very important to me and I hate the feeling of being completely LOST, which is what I feel lately. I know I can catch up, but until then it's stressful. Usually school starts after Labor Day so I never realized that I would have to miss the first week, but I guess I haven't had good luck. I am looking forward to all of my classes, and for things to get back on track. Well, I wish for the best, and things can only get better.