Talking Point #4

Linda Christensen, Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

1. "I've discovered that I need to keep my mouth shut for a while. If I'm the one pointing out the stereotypes, it's the kiss of death to the exercise. Besides, students are quick to find the usual stereotypes on their own." (Christensen 130)

Christensen proves a good point to teachers with this quote. She shows how important it is to allow children to learn things for themselves; that experiencing things for yourself is much more effective than having it lectured to you. Watching the movies and seeing the stereotypes places a visual in their minds that the students can relate back to in future situations. This quote also goes on to show that students can easily surpass expectations. It is important for teachers to remember that children are often smarter than what they are expected to be and it is always better to provide them with too much opportunity to learn than not enough.

2. "For some students the cartoon unit exposes the wizardry that enters our dreams and desires, but others shrug their shoulders at this. It's okay for some people to be rich and others poor; they just want to see more rich people of color or more rich women. Or better yet, be rich themselves. Their acceptance teaches me how deep the roots of these myths are planted and how much some students, in the absence of visions for a different and better world, need to believe in the fairy tale magic that will transform their lives." (Christensen 133)

I find this quote to be extremely important to this article. This proves that the media has such a strong impact on us, starting from the time that we are babies, that the stereotypes and false advertising that is blatantly posted daily is generally accepted. That for some people, the stereotypes can be pointed out time and time again and they will say that it is the way things are; that these stereotypes truly do portray the way the world works. Some people do end up believing that the only hope for change is a fairy tale. This quote also shows how Christensen was able to learn from her own students. The reactions of these students made her think differently about the topic and possibly aided her to make changes to the lesson in order to help the students who have been molded so strongly by the media.

3. "Instead of leaving students full of bile, standing around with their hands on their hips, shaking their heads about how bad the world is, I provided them the opportunity to make a difference." (Christensen 137)

This is a huge accomplishment for Christensen as a teacher. There are tons of massive problems that are going on in the world and it can be very difficult to teach about these things without leaving students feeling hopeless and depressed. I think it is very important to learn about things that are going on in the world and ways that we are being mislead by the media, politics etc. However, if you are left feeling useless from learning about these new and depressing ideas, it can sometimes leave you to feel as if you were better off not knowing about it at all. For example, I was enrolled in a class in high school that was strictly about genocide. Even though most of the topics were focused upon situations of genocide in history that had already ended, we spent a few weeks at the end of the year learning about Darfur. Learning about Darfur did leave me feeling helpless. The project that Christensen assigned to her students was a really awesome way to get her students involved in the issue and leave the class feeling like there are steps that can be taken to make a change. Like Johnson would have wanted, Christensen is allowing her children to take their education to the next level and be the change.

I thought this was overall a great article. It was very easy to read and Christensen did a good job incorporating the ideas of her students by adding in some of their thoughts. I like how the article was organized; she did a good job walking the reader through the entire process of her lesson. She explained along the way some of the things that worked and some parts that really made her think as a teacher. This lesson also shows how successful is can be educationally for students to really feel connected and affected by the lesson. She went out of her way to get every student involved and to allow them to work through their own thoughts and come to their own conclusions.

Even though the article brought a lot of good thoughts to the table, I think there were a few things that should have also been highlighted. I do agree that there are many problems surrounding the media and that stereotypes are boldly presented in movies, cartoons, magazines, etc. However, I do think the issues have come a long way over the years. For example, most of the Disney movies that were mentioned in the article for portraying such horrible stereotypes, such as Cinderella and Snow White, were made in the mid 1900's. Unfortunately, many of the ideas seen in these movies were extremely dominant during this time period. I do understand though, that our future generations of kids are watching these films which are passing on the bulk of bad stereotypes. Over the past few years, cartoons and other movies have shown to be much more accepting of people that do not fit SCWAAMP. For example, Dora the Explorer includes a lot of the Spanish culture. Also, the movie The Incredibles, though continues to show the main character as a white and male superhero, also portrays the strength of women through his wife as well as African Americans with Mr. Freeze. I am not saying that these movies and shows have mastered equality. They do, though, show that these issues are starting to receive recognition.