Reflection: In this article, Shor suggests that learning and
teaching should come from outside the classroom rather than being standard
teaching. I have to agree with this statement. I've had teachers and professors
who are very boring and really seem like they don't want to help their students
succeed at all. These are the classes I didn't do as well in because I either
was afraid to ask for help or the teacher's teaching styles just didn't click
with me. This is why I believe that teacher should always incorporate different
activities that are fun and click for all different children. This is one of the reasons why I love our FNED
class so much. The professor doesn't lecture while we take notes and we don't
do dittos. The whole class seems to get along really well and we always try to
give each other advice when something goes wrong. I've never had a class before
where I was comfortable enough to speak to the class and not feel like they
were going to judge me or make fun of me. The blogs are another great way to help
us learn. If I am ever having trouble with one of the articles, I can look at
someone else's and their perspective can sometimes help me understand it
better. Personally, I agree with Shor in saying that we
should try to incorporate more from outside the classroom to help teach our
students. When doing this, it gives all the students an opportunity to learn in
ways they know they will understand.
When I read Vanessa's blog, I felt like she had a lot of great ideas that I seemed to agree with as well. She also had some great articles and videos. I also went to a school like Vanessa where the special needs likds were placed in a different classroom from everyone else. To me, I feel like it is beneficial for them because they are getting the help they need and deserve rather than in a regular classroom where they get no or minimal help. As a child who was put into a separate classroom for needs that weren't found in a regular classroom, I feel like it depends on the individual child whether or not they will benefit from being in the separate classroom. Every child is different even if they may be diagnosed with the same problem. Vanessa posted an article to her blog which I really seemed to enjoy. It talked about how in Europe, they separate the students based on what services they need. I think this is a great idea and its how it should be everywhere. Children deserve to be given the types of services they need and with the way it was done at my high school, although they felt they were doing it right, it should have been done much differently. One thing I really enjoyed about Vanessa's blog was the video about the young girl named Lily with down syndrome. This video was a great example of why it is important to realize that every child is different. In the video, it talks about two different children with down syndrome, but however one is placed in a special needs school and the other in a mainstream school. The great thing was that both children really got what they needed and were able to develop normally. This really shows that it does depend on the child and their specific needs rather than just putting all children with the same problems in the same classes with the same services.
I really like this video about children with down syndrome because it shows that they are just as capable of doing things as people without down syndrome are. Check it out
On November 3rd, I went to the Promising Practices meeting and I have to say I really learned a lot and enjoyed going. The first session I went to was called Wake Up and Smell the Environmental Racism. It was about how minorities are being put into areas where it is unsafe to live because of the air quality. I was surprised to learn that African Americans and Latinos actually have the highest percentage of people with asthma. It's sad because those people have to live in these areas because they can't really afford anywhere else. Also, I learned that the state will put dumpsters or sewage plants near these people because they can't afford to sue or do anything about it. This reminds me of the Tim Wise video. As much as people want to believe racism is dead, it's really not. Although this isn't done purposely, it is absolutly important to realize that it's happening. Just as the title says, people need to "wake up" and realize what's happening right in front of them. What I thought was really cool was that the kids in this club to help the environment have a bus that they drive around in and go visit places to talk about their issues. When they found out that the bus only runs on diesel, they decided they would have it run on vegetable oil because diesel is bad for the environment. I never knew someone could even do this. While they were telling us the process they had to go through in order to make the vegetable oil work for the bus, I kept thinking to myself, "This seems like a lot of work just to get a bus going." After I thought about it, I realized, if they really care about something so much and they go through all that trouble, they obviously really love what they're doing. One thing that really impressed me with this session was the fact that the kids presenting it were only in high school. I was going in expecting all the presenters to be adults who really knew what they were talking about. I was really surprised with how much information they knew. It showed that they really cared about the issue. They really kept the session interesting too. For example, the two instructors were dancing when I first walked in so it made me feel a little more comfortable in knowing they wouldn't be really boring or serious. The next session I attended was called Preventing Transgender Bullying Before Children age 6 or 7 or 8. The instructor was so nice and really seemed to care about what she was talking about. I have always been a huge advocate for anti-bullying in general. I feel that going to this session just gave me more ideas of how to deal with kids who bully others. I was really glad to see how many books there were that included transgender children. Everyone wants to feel included and accepted especially at that age and reading books about others who are "different" is a great way of trying to get them accepted by others. This session reminded me a lot of the GLSEN article we read for class. The article talked about how children as young as five years old are exhibiting bias, bullying and homophobic feelings towards others. I feel that this has to do with the media telling us what is right and wrong, aka boys are masculine and girls are feminine. A great example the instructor used in the session of transgender people was a movie called Call Me Kadeabout a girl who really felt like a boy inside and all the struggles she went through to become who she really wanted to be. After watching this movie, you really get the feeling that children know if they are transgender when they are very young. Kade's mother in the movie even says she felt her daughter was different from when she was about two years old. It's amazing to hear that children that young already know how they feel about themselves. This was a great session to go to and I recommend it to anyone who has the calling to become a teacher.
Overall, I really enjoyed going to this meeting. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt. I thought it was going to be really boring and I was upset that I had to get up early on a Saturday, but I think it was really important for all of us as future teachers to go to this. It gives us a different perspective on what goes into being a teacher. I think now that we've all gone, everyone in the class would agree with me in saying that we enjoyed going especially since we all tried our best to be able to sit at two tables near each other and really engaged with each other. It shows how close this whole class has gotten over the semester.
Reading this article reminded me so much of my service learning placement. First of all, the kids at the school are from lower-class families and won't get the same opportunities as upper-class just like was said in the article. Also, there was a piece of the article where Finn talked about making sure the students were always busy so then he would have no reason to be asking questions or to be yelling at them for doing the wrong thing. It seems like with the teacher in my service learning placement, that's all she ever does. The students seem to listen when she does yell but she never gives them chances and to me that's not being a very good teacher. I feel like the students are afraid of her and don't feel comfortable in the classroom. Another piece that reminded me of my service learning was the story about teachers not believeing their students can do the work. My service learning teacher tells me about how her students always fail the tests she gives them and how they're not smart at all. In my opinion, she should be doing everything in her power to be helping these kids achieve their goals in school or she's not really doing her job. In other ways, I really enjoyed reading this article because it made me realize what kind of teacher I want to be. One thing I don't plan on doing as a teacher is taking too long to correct papers. It may not seem like an important thing to do but to the kids, when you grade their papers on time, it makes them feel like what their doing matters and you actually care about your work. Another thing that always drove me crazy about teachers was when they forced their students to do the work only one way which in their opinion was the "right" way and even if a student got the right answer with a different method, it was still wrong. Personally, I think that if a student has found another way to do a problem a teacher has given them, let them do it. It makes the student feel better about themselves because then they feel like they are teaching the teacher and they feel more confident in their work. In all honesty, I'm still on the fence about this article. It makes me feel hate towards the teachers who really don't care about their students or their job. But at the same time it gives me a clear idea of what kind of teacher I don't want to be. It also really opened my eyes to how badly lower-class schools have it compared to upper-class schools and how they won't get the same opportunities just because of where they live.
Argument: Tim Wise, author of Between Barack and a Hard Place, argues that America is no where near a post-racial society. Whites still believe that African Americans aren't as smart as whites which is why they need to work twice as hard to get the same kind of recognition as whites. For example, in the interview, they mentioned that although George was not intelligent at all, because he was still white, he therefore was easily voted into office. However, with Barack Obama, he needed to be very successful and really show how intelligent he was in order to be taken seriously.
Another point that was brought up in this interview was the problem with many minority students living in the poorer schools with not as many opportunities as white schools. In the Brown v. Board of Education trial, African American students were no longer allowed to be segregated from whites in the public school system. Without even realizing it, that is exactly what is happening today, even though we consider ourselves a "post-racial society." We are obviously not putting these students here on purpose, it just has to do with the kinds of services that African Americans are allowed like the kinds of places they can afford to live and that "white privilage backpack" that whites always seem to be wearing.
In my opinion, it is unfortunate that this still goes on in our society. We like to think that we no longer discriminate against other races and that everyone is equal in our country, but unfortunately that is not the case. As a future teacher, I want every student to get the same opportunities as every other student and it's sad to think that depending on what school you go to or where you come from will determine your success. Especially since now I am in my service learning and I can see that all those kids deserve success and they are capable of it, but just because of where they come from and the school they go to, they won't be given the same opportunities.
A lot of people feel that abortion shouldn't be a political topic and I can see where they're coming from, but at the same time it needs to be something disscussed among all citizens and everyone should have an opinion on it. Personally, I never really had an opinion up until recently on the topic. My uncle's fiance had an abortion about five months ago because they found out the child was going to have down syndrome. Although I understand why they did it, I was still very disgusted by their choice. I feel that every human life deserves to live whether they will have problems or not.
As for the presidential candidates, Govenor Romney is pro-life meaning he is against abortion and President Obama is pro-choice meaning he feels it is the women's choice on whether she should get an abortion. Its pretty easy to see who I agree with. I understand that President Obama wants every women to have the choice to have an abortion and I think he's right to some extent. If a women was raped or, like with my uncle and his finace, the couple finds out the child will have special needs, then I think it is ok to get an abortion. However, I know there are some women who use abortions as a form of birth control and I think that is just uncalled for and disgusting. It's like saying you're too lazy to use other forms of birth control.
Although both candidates make good points, I feel that I agree with Govenor Romney more in that I am pro-life. No child deserves to die even if they are still inside the womb.
Quote #1: "Educators and legislators alike maintain that service learning can improve the community and invigorate the classroom, providing rich educational experiences for students at all levels of schooling."
I completely agree with this quote because this is what I'm going through right now. I feel that the service learning I am doing for this class has really helped me with my understanding of the classroom and teaching styles. I can see first hand how everything is run and be able to run things myself. So I would have to say that I agree with the educators and legislators in saying that service learning provides rich educational experiences.
Quote #2: "For Thanksgiving this year my stepmother helped serve the seniors their Thanksgiving dinner. This was a very rewarding experience helping others in need. It seemed that the dinner was something special to them; it was a chance for them to get together with their peers."
I really liked this quote because it showed that this person was honestly getting something good out of their service learning experience. I find that a lot of people, especially young people, think it's stupid to go and help people in need, but I was glad to read that someone understood its value and is getting something out of it.
Quote #3: "After they returned, the students' perspectives on these elementary school children had changed. They were 'surprised at the children's responsiveness and their attentiveness,' they found the children to be 'extremely polite and surprisingly friendly,' and they discovered that they 'listened well and had excellent behavior."
This quote caught my eye because I had the same reaction after a few sessions in my service learning. The school was in a tough neighborhood so I was expecting this kids to be exactly that. However, I was surprised at how well behaved and polite these kids were to me and I can tell they really seem to enjoy having me there to help.
Quotes Quote #1: "You can gussy up Pocahontas's eagle feathers only so much. As for Mulan, when she does show up, it's in a kimono-like hanfu, the one that makes her miserable in the movie, rather than her warrior's gear" (Orenstein 14).
This quote is explaining how the more "ethnic" Disney characters don't show up as much as the main Princesses when it comes to little girl's outfits. Even in Mulan's case, the outfit with her attire is a feminine one that she didn't even like in the movie. I was shocked by this because I never even thought of them before. I guess because they are the "manlier" of the Disney characters, the creators just over-look them. It's kind of messed when you think about it because its like society is telling young girls who they are allowed to like and how they're suppose to dress.
Quote #2: "There is, however, ample evidence that the more mainstream media girls consume, the more importance they place on being pretty and sexy" (Orenstein 16).
This I did not find surprising at all. Of course the more girls are exposed to pop culture and mainstream media, the more they are going to want to look good. The problem is that the girls shown in mainstream media are suppose to look "perfect" but today's technology, all those "perfect girls" that are seen in ads, tv, and movies, don't even look like that because of the help from computers. That's why I get so upset when young girls wished they looked like models or actresses. The models and actresses don't even look like that themselves.
Quote #3: "Meanwhile, according to a 2006 survey of more than two-thousand school-aged children, girls repeatedly described a paralyzing pressure to be 'perfect': not only to get straight A's and be the student body president, editor of the newspaper, and even captain of the swim team but also to be 'kind and caring'" (Orenstein 17).
I was also not shocked when I read about these statistics. I to was the kind of girl who was worried if I was nice enough or caring enough to other people. Sometimes I would feel more self-conscious about that than I would about my looks. I think there's pressure out there for girls to be nicer than guys because it's the "feminine" thing to do. It all goes back to SCWAAMP. If a guy is really nice and friendly it makes him seem weak because society wants them to be tough, however if a girl is nice it seems normal.
Comments: I was always the kind of person who thought that Disney movies were great and always taught us life lessons. However, the more and more we discuss the real meanings behind them, the more I don't want my own kids to watch them.
Quotes: Quote#1: "Then students started to notice patterns- like the absence of female characters in many of the older cartoons. When women do appear, they look like Jessica Rabbit or Playboy centerfolds- even in many of the new and "improved" children's movies" (Christensen 130).
Reading this quote really shocked me. Beforehand, I was a little confused on what the author meant by women being portrayed different in cartoons than men. After reading this, I totally understood and was kind of disgusted on what that really meant. This is part of the reason why so many young girls have problems with the way they look and sometimes drive themselves to eating disorders and depression at such a young age. These are just cartoons so it's pretty obvious that no one looks like that but it still gives young girls a false image of how they should look.
Quote# 2: "Both of these tales leave young women with two myths: Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption- in their case, through new clothes and a new hairstyle" (Christensen 133).
This quote really caught my eye because I always found it gross when girls thought they needed to have a boyfriend. I have honestly never had a boyfriend and its not because I'm against it, I just feel that at this point and time in my life, I'm not mature enough to handle a relationship so I never did. I know many people feel that once you get to a certain age, it's like a law that you need to have a boyfriend or girlfriend and I don't think that way. I'm not the kind of person to have a boyfriend, just to have a boyfriend. I feel like the author of this article agrees with me in saying that it's disgusting that these cartoons for young girls are sending the message that you are only happy if you have a man.
Quote# 3: "Turning off the cartoons doesn't stop the racism and sexism. They can't escape, and now that they've started analyzing cartoons, they can't stop analyzing the rest of the world" (Christensen 134).
Here the author is saying that just because you don't let your kids watch cartoons, does not mean they won't be exposed to the racism and sexism that society teaches our kids. You will still find it the news, movies, other television shows, and even in commercials. It's not about keeping your kids away from it because racism and sexism will always be there, but it's about teaching your kids that racism and sexism is wrong and that we are all equal.
Bullying is one of my biggest pet peeves, so reading this article was really upsetting to me. To know that kids as young as kindergarden are showing signs of bullying and name calling just disgusts me. As teachers, we like to think that kids are all pure and they're like minds to mold. Clearly that is not the case and I have experienced this first hand. I volunteered at my dance school to be a teacher's aid and I loved it. The kids were great to me and they were a lot of fun. However, they weren't always great to each other. There were these two girls who always picked on and made fun of this one girl. I don't know if her race had anything to do with the bullying, but she was in fact Middle Eastern. Watching this made me flashback to when there were two girls who did the exact thing to me in my dance class. However, I was the kind of kid who never let bullies bother me and I always gave it back to them. Unfortunately, this young girl was just so shy that she never really said anything to them because she didn't want to cause trouble. The instructor never said anything about it either and I don't know if it was because she didn't know it was happening or if she didn't want to get involved. I know there are teachers who will completely ignore the fact that bullying is happening and this makes me so upset. I always promised myself that I would never be that teacher and I would always be the kind of teacher who kids can come and talk to with any problems they are having. If kids can't trust you, then how do you expect them to learn from and respect you? The other problem with this is the fact that teachers are using the kind of language that we don't our students to use. We have to teach our students the problems with using these kinds of words because these words can really hurt people. They're the next generation and we want them to live in a society where everyone can respect each other andnot feel alone and isolated. The whole bullying thing is just a sensitive subject for me. I was glad I was able to read this article and able to talk about my experiences with bullying. I can promise you I will never be that teacher who pretends that bullying doesn't really happen and it's not our main concern. It affects our students in so many ways that we don't even know and if we don't stop it now, things are never going to get better.
Quote #1: "With great tact the visitors continued, 'Is it possible for you and your husband to encourage your children to practice their English when they are home?' Of course my parents complied" (Rodriguez 35).
In this quote the nuns from Richard's school come to tell his parents they would prefer them to speak English at home so Richard can speak better and more often in class. In my opinion, I find this to be ridiculous. I understand it would be helpful for Richard if he heard his parents in the national language. On the other hand, it's like having their family change their entire culture and who they really are.
Quote #2: "One day in school I raised my hand to volunteer an answer. I spoke out in a loud voice. And I did not think it remarkable when the entire class understood. That day, I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier" (Rodriguez 36).
This quote is Richard talking about how much more confident he is in class now that he can understand the English spoken. Here, I can see why it is important for Richard to be hearing English as his main language at home. He will understand the lessons and be able to answer and contribute to the class.
Quote #3: "By contrast, my father seemed reconciled to the new quiet. Though his English improved somewhat, he retired into silence" (Rodriguez 37).
This quote is saying that now that Richard's family has resorted to speaking in English, his father can no longer follow what they are saying and now just sits in silence. This is obviously a con of changing the language at home. Now it's harder for Richard to communicate with his own father.
Comments: This whole article is a touchy subject because having a student's family change their native language has its pros and cons. Like I said before it gives the child the confidence to be able to speak in class, but on the other hand, it can cause friction at home like when Richard's father could no longer speak because he didn't know English very well. Reading this article, made me realize that things like this happen all the time in this country. Immigrants move from other countries and have to learn the native language to become "Americanized". In my opinion, it's all pretty ridiculous. We should be trying to help the students inside the classroom rather than trying to change their whole home life.
Quote #1: "White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, code books, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks" (McIntosh 1).
In this text, Peggy McIntosh talks a lot about white privilege and the "white privilege knapsack." But what is the white privilege knapsack? To me it's an invisible bag that all white people are wearing at all times. Since they are white, they are lucky enough to have all the right tools to help them in any tough situation. On the other hand, black people also have a bag they carry around. However, they have about one-third of the tools that white people have. This has nothing to do with their skills or how much money that have. It has only to do with the color of their skin. This bag that black people carry around is suppose to help them in any siuation wheather it be getting into college or getting a good job. The white people will be able to get the better jobs and get to college much easier than blacks because of all the tools they have in their bag to help them.
Quote #2: "Life is not what one makes of it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own" (McIntosh 4).
I have always heard the quote "Life is what you make of it." Reading this part of the article made me re-think the meaning of the quote. The author is right about how life is not always your own take upon it. Privilege is what makes your life. You can be black, trying so hard to be successful and privilege just gets in the way. It's liked a locked door and you don't have the key to get in. You try so hard to get it open, but without the key, you'll never get through. For a white person, the privilege door isn't even locked. They still have to get it open but its much easier to open because of their privilege.
Quote #3: "I think whites are carfully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege" (McIntosh 1).
In this quote, the author is trying to say that people of a dominent or privileged group, are taught not to realize that privilege exists. They feel it does not affect them, so it's not really happening. Privilege and Racism usually are only noticed by the people it affects the most. I feel that if the privileged people don't take into consideration what is going on, then nothing will ever be solved.
Comments:
I never thought of bandages being part of white privilege. Now that I have read about it, I can see where the author is coming from. Bandages always come in "flesh colored." But who's to say that everyone's flesh color is the same? Many people are much darker than the color that bandages come in. It's just another way that white privilege is very powerful in this country.
