Martin Luther King Jr. Where Do We Go From Here?
Today, I was assigned to write a short paper on a primary source document in my political science class. It just so happens that I was assigned a piece of a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. The entire time that I read through his speech, I thought about our class and Kozol's speech from last Thursday night. The speech is called, where do we go from here? and was on August 16th, 1967 at the convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. I wish I could find a video of his speech because the entire duration of his presentation resonated with everything that we have been learning about in Dr. Bogad's class.
He made the statement, "Negroes are still impoverished aliens in an affluent society. They are too poor even to rise with the society, too impoverished by the ages to be able to ascent by using their own resources. And the Negro did not do this himself; it was done to him." This reminded me of Tim Wise's interview on the Ring of Fire where he claimed that blacks, hispanics, and other minorities continue to be segregated by lack of opportunity to things such as housing, employment, education, health care etc. We did not provide African Americans with equal opportunities in 1967 and sadly, we still do not today.
Martin Luther King went on to defend Johnson's theory by claiming that in order to move forward, it is necessary to understand where we currently stand. He stated "In order to answer the question, 'Where do we go from here?', which is our theme, we must first honestly recognize where we are now...In elementary schools, Negroes lag one to three years behind whites, and their segregated schools receive substantially less money per student than the white schools. One-twentieth as many Negroes as whites attend college. Of employed Negroes, seventy-five percent hold menial jobs. This is where we are..." He pushes that we need to be honest with where we stand; that we can't be afraid to state our problems in order to fix them. This also shows that the Brown vs. the Board of Education was extremely necessary because the segregated schools were not providing equal treatment to the African American schools. Though we have grown from these numbers, we still have alarming statistics in relation to the difference of educated and employed African Americans vs. whites. Clearly, many changes still need to be made in order to have equality in the future.
Reading Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech reminded me a lot of Jonathan Kozol's speech. Miguel was right when he said in class today that they both speak about one cause. They are both so incredibly passionate about equality and speak in a way that is tremendously powerful. I am glad that I was assigned this particular primary source document in my political science class because it related extremely closely with everything that we have been learning.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Talking Point #6
Tim Wise/ Brown vs. Board of Education
1. "I like to be hopeful but I think that it is important to deal with what's real...whether were talking about housing, education, criminal justice, employment, health care, or elsewhere, the evidence of discrimination against average everyday folks of color is still very much in evidence." (Tim Wise)
Tim Wise stated this quote in beginning of the first video. In relation to President Obama representing changes of racial equality, Tim Wise clearly believes that the United States has a long journey ahead. He claims that even though he likes to be hopeful about the future of equality in the United States, the only way to actually reach that goal is to look at the problems that need to be fixed. This reminds me of Johnson's idea of "naming the problem". Both Johnson and Wise claim that he must identify the problem and recognize that we, as a nation, are failing to treat all men equal before we can reach equality. Even though the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education was a major building block for racial equality, it would be foolish to assume that putting a law in place automatically fixes these problems.
2. "We just need to be on the lookout for the potential of success of what I am calling racism 2.0...to support Obama because they view him, as many in fact said they did, as transcending race as being different from the black or brown norm and my fear there is that the black and brown norm is considered in a negative light. The fact that we can carve out exceptions for certain people of color that make us comfortable is not going to get us the whole way towards racial equity." (Tim Wise)
What Tim Wise calls Racism 2.0 is really a tactic that people use to attempt to fit other people into the categories of S.C.W.A.A.M.P. The need to fit people into the norm of society and try to find reasons for powerful people who don't fit under the norms of society pushes us further from equality. By making claims such like: Obama is an exceptional black man; that he is so successful because he has many white qualities, all prove that our society continues to shame his race. That we, as a nation, do not want to give credit where credit is due; people will not accept that a black man is successful because of his race, it must be all of his other privileges that made up for his lack of privilege. This shows that we are continually in denial, unable to name the problem, and are unwilling to see people for who they are as individuals rather than their categorical privileges.
3. "we, as white folks, can be really articulate or really inarticulate and still become president..." (Tim Wise) "...the standard is that you [minorities] have to be truly exceptional to break that glass ceiling." (host?)
This conversation between Tim Wise and the host of the Ring of Fire Talk-show shows the continuing double standard between people of different races. In relation to the presidential election, Wise focused on how a person of white ethnicity, such as George W. Bush, can be extremely inarticulate and still become president for two terms. While President Obama does stand today as an African American president of the United States, it required him to be much more qualified to be provided with the same opportunity. The truth is that blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities are not provided with equal opportunities to things such as education, criminal justice, and employment as white people. Therefore, it is common (if not always the case) that successful people of color are forced to work much harder than a white person simply because of their lack of privilege.
4. "If you want to know if a problem is still a problem, it probably makes sense to talk to the ones that were the target of it, not the ones that don't have to know because were not...I don't have to know that; I can be a good person, a decent person, and remain oblivious." (Tim Wise)
This quote reminded me of McIntosh a lot. This resonates with the entire idea of white privilege; that white people have the option to be oblivious; that they can stand in denial and be completely unaffected. It also focuses on one of the major problems that relates to equality: most of the information about any topic is generally based from the suppressor; the people in power. It is very rare that the people being targeted by inequality are asked how they feel and it is much easier for the suppressors to stand in denial than to actually accept their crimes. Fortunately, there have been cases in the past, such as Brown vs. Board of Education, where suppressed people have fought for their chance to be heard and make the changes that they know are necessary. Even Though instances such as this one are extremely important to the continual growth of equality, we must carry on by being aware of new forms of inequality. We must remember to focus on the present rather than solely remembering events from history; even though it is important to remember the steps that people have taken to put our nation in the place it is today, we must continue to better the lives of our citizens and focus on our future.
I really enjoyed this week's assignment. It was a nice change from the articles and I think having a visual often makes things easier to understand. I like that Dr. Bogad is asking us to draw a link between the case of Brown vs. Board of Education and the current issues of inequality that we are facing as a country. Clearly, there have been major steps that have been taken, such as Brown vs. The Board of Education and the election of President Obama, which have improved equality for Americans. However, as Wise explains in the video, change requires a collection of these changes. Yes, one thing can make a difference. But, a number of things make an even bigger difference and a problem that is as big as equality of all people requires a lot of time and effort to make a complete transformation.
These videos brought up a lot of ideas that we have focused on with previous articles. Being able to name the problems we are facing is extremely important to the success of the future of Americans. It is a theory that was mentioned by both Johnson, in the topic of privilege, and Wise, in the topic of race inequality. Also, McIntosh's idea of whiteness as a invisible privilege is also highlighted by Wise. He claimed that it is important to ask those that are suppressed about the topic of being suppressed rather than the suppressor. Often times, the suppressors do not even believe, or realize, that they are suppressing others. Therefore, it makes sense that they would not be knowledgeable of how to fix this problem. I really like how this assignment tied in so closely with other articles from the class. I also think it is important to realize that issues of inequality began a long time ago and will continue in the future.
1. "I like to be hopeful but I think that it is important to deal with what's real...whether were talking about housing, education, criminal justice, employment, health care, or elsewhere, the evidence of discrimination against average everyday folks of color is still very much in evidence." (Tim Wise)
Tim Wise stated this quote in beginning of the first video. In relation to President Obama representing changes of racial equality, Tim Wise clearly believes that the United States has a long journey ahead. He claims that even though he likes to be hopeful about the future of equality in the United States, the only way to actually reach that goal is to look at the problems that need to be fixed. This reminds me of Johnson's idea of "naming the problem". Both Johnson and Wise claim that he must identify the problem and recognize that we, as a nation, are failing to treat all men equal before we can reach equality. Even though the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education was a major building block for racial equality, it would be foolish to assume that putting a law in place automatically fixes these problems.
2. "We just need to be on the lookout for the potential of success of what I am calling racism 2.0...to support Obama because they view him, as many in fact said they did, as transcending race as being different from the black or brown norm and my fear there is that the black and brown norm is considered in a negative light. The fact that we can carve out exceptions for certain people of color that make us comfortable is not going to get us the whole way towards racial equity." (Tim Wise)
What Tim Wise calls Racism 2.0 is really a tactic that people use to attempt to fit other people into the categories of S.C.W.A.A.M.P. The need to fit people into the norm of society and try to find reasons for powerful people who don't fit under the norms of society pushes us further from equality. By making claims such like: Obama is an exceptional black man; that he is so successful because he has many white qualities, all prove that our society continues to shame his race. That we, as a nation, do not want to give credit where credit is due; people will not accept that a black man is successful because of his race, it must be all of his other privileges that made up for his lack of privilege. This shows that we are continually in denial, unable to name the problem, and are unwilling to see people for who they are as individuals rather than their categorical privileges.
3. "we, as white folks, can be really articulate or really inarticulate and still become president..." (Tim Wise) "...the standard is that you [minorities] have to be truly exceptional to break that glass ceiling." (host?)
This conversation between Tim Wise and the host of the Ring of Fire Talk-show shows the continuing double standard between people of different races. In relation to the presidential election, Wise focused on how a person of white ethnicity, such as George W. Bush, can be extremely inarticulate and still become president for two terms. While President Obama does stand today as an African American president of the United States, it required him to be much more qualified to be provided with the same opportunity. The truth is that blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities are not provided with equal opportunities to things such as education, criminal justice, and employment as white people. Therefore, it is common (if not always the case) that successful people of color are forced to work much harder than a white person simply because of their lack of privilege.
4. "If you want to know if a problem is still a problem, it probably makes sense to talk to the ones that were the target of it, not the ones that don't have to know because were not...I don't have to know that; I can be a good person, a decent person, and remain oblivious." (Tim Wise)
This quote reminded me of McIntosh a lot. This resonates with the entire idea of white privilege; that white people have the option to be oblivious; that they can stand in denial and be completely unaffected. It also focuses on one of the major problems that relates to equality: most of the information about any topic is generally based from the suppressor; the people in power. It is very rare that the people being targeted by inequality are asked how they feel and it is much easier for the suppressors to stand in denial than to actually accept their crimes. Fortunately, there have been cases in the past, such as Brown vs. Board of Education, where suppressed people have fought for their chance to be heard and make the changes that they know are necessary. Even Though instances such as this one are extremely important to the continual growth of equality, we must carry on by being aware of new forms of inequality. We must remember to focus on the present rather than solely remembering events from history; even though it is important to remember the steps that people have taken to put our nation in the place it is today, we must continue to better the lives of our citizens and focus on our future.
I really enjoyed this week's assignment. It was a nice change from the articles and I think having a visual often makes things easier to understand. I like that Dr. Bogad is asking us to draw a link between the case of Brown vs. Board of Education and the current issues of inequality that we are facing as a country. Clearly, there have been major steps that have been taken, such as Brown vs. The Board of Education and the election of President Obama, which have improved equality for Americans. However, as Wise explains in the video, change requires a collection of these changes. Yes, one thing can make a difference. But, a number of things make an even bigger difference and a problem that is as big as equality of all people requires a lot of time and effort to make a complete transformation.
These videos brought up a lot of ideas that we have focused on with previous articles. Being able to name the problems we are facing is extremely important to the success of the future of Americans. It is a theory that was mentioned by both Johnson, in the topic of privilege, and Wise, in the topic of race inequality. Also, McIntosh's idea of whiteness as a invisible privilege is also highlighted by Wise. He claimed that it is important to ask those that are suppressed about the topic of being suppressed rather than the suppressor. Often times, the suppressors do not even believe, or realize, that they are suppressing others. Therefore, it makes sense that they would not be knowledgeable of how to fix this problem. I really like how this assignment tied in so closely with other articles from the class. I also think it is important to realize that issues of inequality began a long time ago and will continue in the future.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Talking Point #5
Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer, In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning
1. "These curriculum theorists and education reformers wanted students to engage in service learning projects so that they would recognize that their academic abilities and collective commitments could help them respond in meaningful ways to a variety of social concerns." (Kahne and Westheimer, 3)
This quote is in reference to the service learning projects that were assigned by Mr. Johnson and Ms. Adams. Even though each project was slightly different in the sense of what they provided the students, they both focused on the "transformation potential" that was explained in the article. Both of these projects provided the students with the opportunity to use their knowledge, beliefs, goals, and curiosities to take action and make use of them. These assignments also allowed the students to take the information that they were learning in the classroom and apply it to the real world; to actually make a change and take the assignment to the next level. By assigning the service learning piece to their lesson, these two teachers were forcing their students to think of these issues outside of the four walls of the classroom. This reminded me of both Johnson and his idea of being the change, and Linda Christensen's technique of taking an assignment to the next level in order to push her students to put their knowledge to good use in their community.
2."He experienced the joys of service, but he had few opportunities for meaningful interactions through which caring relationships and understanding might develop." (Kahne and Westheimer, 6)
This citation focuses on a particular student in Mr. Johnson's class who completed a service learning project. For his assignment, this student created "Daily Life Kits" and passed them out to homeless people. Unfortunately, most of the work that this student completed, in relation to this project, was done on his own. He never worked with the homeless before making these kits and was never informed of the types of things to include in these kits. Therefore, this particular student was able to give back to his community and feel the gratitude of giving to someone less fortunate. However, he was unable to make deep enough connections to make real, significant changes to the people he was giving to. This is an example of the idea of emphasizing charity more than change, which was highlighted in the article. Many people believe that service learning often focuses primarily on pushing students to give to their community in any form rather than truly investigating and working toward making changes to lives of these needy individuals. Even though I think both charity and change are important, there must be a strong balance of both in order to truly gain from service learning.
3."In a written evaluation, the students said that they had imagined 'horrifying children running around on a dirty campus.' They had expected them to be 'rude, tough, noisy, and very unfriendly.'...One of the students wrote, 'I was scared because my mom told me it was a bad neighborhood and to be careful" (Kahne and Westheimer, 7)
This quote refers to an example of a service learning project where students from a upper-middle class school were asked to visit a lower-class school. The preconceived thoughts that the students had before entering this lower-class school were absolutely awful. Considering none of these students had been to this school prior to their assignment, all of these expectations were based on hear-say; some of these ideas even originated from the mouths of their parents. After completing this particular service learning assignment, many of the students viewed this school, and many schools alike, very differently. They realized that the students were friendly, polite, and well behaved and that the school was not a scary place after all. I think this is a perfect example of how helpful service learning projects can be to students and how these experiences can show the students things that they could not learn in a classroom setting.
This article was fairly hard to read. The style that the authors used was hard to get into. I found the article easier to read once I was four or five pages in and the authors began providing examples of particular service learning projects. This article definitely related to other articles that we have read in the past. Like I had mentioned before, Johnson as well as Christensen would agree with the purposes of service learning that were highlighted in this article.
I found myself drawn to the examples that were provided about the experiences that people have had with service learning. The example where the upper-middle class students were asked to go to a lower-class school reminded me a lot of my service learning project. I, too, had awful expectations of the providence public school system due to a variety of things that I have heard in the past. On the first day working in Edmund W. Flynn Elementary School, I was absolutely blown away by how wrong my expectations were. The children are awesome and the school was like any other ordinary school. I understand the problem that deals with overemphasizing charity and not emphasizing change enough. I think both change and charity are important to service learning, but that people learn from the experience the most when both are equally balanced. Below is a video which captures just a few of the ways that service learning can be successful.
1. "These curriculum theorists and education reformers wanted students to engage in service learning projects so that they would recognize that their academic abilities and collective commitments could help them respond in meaningful ways to a variety of social concerns." (Kahne and Westheimer, 3)
This quote is in reference to the service learning projects that were assigned by Mr. Johnson and Ms. Adams. Even though each project was slightly different in the sense of what they provided the students, they both focused on the "transformation potential" that was explained in the article. Both of these projects provided the students with the opportunity to use their knowledge, beliefs, goals, and curiosities to take action and make use of them. These assignments also allowed the students to take the information that they were learning in the classroom and apply it to the real world; to actually make a change and take the assignment to the next level. By assigning the service learning piece to their lesson, these two teachers were forcing their students to think of these issues outside of the four walls of the classroom. This reminded me of both Johnson and his idea of being the change, and Linda Christensen's technique of taking an assignment to the next level in order to push her students to put their knowledge to good use in their community.
2."He experienced the joys of service, but he had few opportunities for meaningful interactions through which caring relationships and understanding might develop." (Kahne and Westheimer, 6)
This citation focuses on a particular student in Mr. Johnson's class who completed a service learning project. For his assignment, this student created "Daily Life Kits" and passed them out to homeless people. Unfortunately, most of the work that this student completed, in relation to this project, was done on his own. He never worked with the homeless before making these kits and was never informed of the types of things to include in these kits. Therefore, this particular student was able to give back to his community and feel the gratitude of giving to someone less fortunate. However, he was unable to make deep enough connections to make real, significant changes to the people he was giving to. This is an example of the idea of emphasizing charity more than change, which was highlighted in the article. Many people believe that service learning often focuses primarily on pushing students to give to their community in any form rather than truly investigating and working toward making changes to lives of these needy individuals. Even though I think both charity and change are important, there must be a strong balance of both in order to truly gain from service learning.
3."In a written evaluation, the students said that they had imagined 'horrifying children running around on a dirty campus.' They had expected them to be 'rude, tough, noisy, and very unfriendly.'...One of the students wrote, 'I was scared because my mom told me it was a bad neighborhood and to be careful" (Kahne and Westheimer, 7)
This quote refers to an example of a service learning project where students from a upper-middle class school were asked to visit a lower-class school. The preconceived thoughts that the students had before entering this lower-class school were absolutely awful. Considering none of these students had been to this school prior to their assignment, all of these expectations were based on hear-say; some of these ideas even originated from the mouths of their parents. After completing this particular service learning assignment, many of the students viewed this school, and many schools alike, very differently. They realized that the students were friendly, polite, and well behaved and that the school was not a scary place after all. I think this is a perfect example of how helpful service learning projects can be to students and how these experiences can show the students things that they could not learn in a classroom setting.
This article was fairly hard to read. The style that the authors used was hard to get into. I found the article easier to read once I was four or five pages in and the authors began providing examples of particular service learning projects. This article definitely related to other articles that we have read in the past. Like I had mentioned before, Johnson as well as Christensen would agree with the purposes of service learning that were highlighted in this article.
I found myself drawn to the examples that were provided about the experiences that people have had with service learning. The example where the upper-middle class students were asked to go to a lower-class school reminded me a lot of my service learning project. I, too, had awful expectations of the providence public school system due to a variety of things that I have heard in the past. On the first day working in Edmund W. Flynn Elementary School, I was absolutely blown away by how wrong my expectations were. The children are awesome and the school was like any other ordinary school. I understand the problem that deals with overemphasizing charity and not emphasizing change enough. I think both change and charity are important to service learning, but that people learn from the experience the most when both are equally balanced. Below is a video which captures just a few of the ways that service learning can be successful.
Monday, October 12, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Talking Point #3
Dennis Carlson, Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community
1. "To the extent that gayness is recognized in the curriculum, it is likely to be in the health curriculum, where it is associated with disease." (Carlson 237)
This quote really made me think; I can't believe that I have never noticed this before. I grew up in a family that really pushed me to be accepting of other people so I feel like I was more aware of homosexuality than other students in my classes. However, I totally understand how people would categorize homosexuality as a negative thing if they only place that they learned about it was in the same place that they learned about health related issues. This is extremely unfair to people in the gay and lesbian community. I think many children come from families that shy away from talking about things such as homosexuality, which is why I agree with Carlson that it is imperative that teachers recognize homosexuality in school.
2. "'In my sociology class we were talking about AIDS. One guy said, 'I think gay guys are just sick. How could they do that? It's wrong!' ...Well, everyone looks over to Miss L., our teacher, for what she thinks. She says, 'I'm going to keep my opinion to myself.'". (Carlson 238)
This quote completely reminded me of Johnson. This is a perfect example of a teacher who chose to silence an issue rather than talking about it and helping to make a change. I think it is the responsibility of teachers to protect the rights of all students. While I believe they are responsible to protect the ideas of the student who made claims against gay men, they must also stand up for the rest of the students who are opposed to his ideas. Being open to discussion about these issues is a very successful way for teachers to embrace difficult situations and help students feel welcome and comfortable in their learning environment. By avoiding the conversation, nothing is being accomplished.
3. "...gay culture has been overwhelmingly 'white' and this makes it difficult for many young black gay people to affirm both their gayness and their blackness." (Carlson 248)
I think this quote is extremely important because it relates to different kinds of privilege. Because African Americans are denied the right to racial privilege, it is understandable that it would be harder for them to give up their straight privilege as well. Giving up the right to privilege has a huge impact on the easiness of a person;s life. I could only imagine that someone who is already denied particular privilege would have a strong understanding of the difficulties they are faced with as a result. Therefore, it must be harder to them, knowing what they will be faced with, to give up another privilege.
This was a very powerful article. I could hardly get through it without stopping to blog about it because I feel like there were so many points made that shocked me or left me wondering. I think Carlson and Johnson would get along well. There were many examples provided in Carlson's piece that strongly reminded me of Johnson. Carlson's article focuses largely upon silencing homosexuality in classroom settings. As Johnson also mentioned in his article, silencing something is the worst way to produce change. Carlson's article goes on to prove this statement as he provides examples of how gay men and lesbian women are slowly starting to feel acceptance as popular culture has begun to address these issues and show people that it is aright to talk about them.
I think incorporating homosexuality into the classroom is much more difficult than other topics due to religion. As Carlson mentions in this article, many believers of the Catholic religion have strongly opposed ideas such as bringing in books and allowing lessons which talk about homosexuality inside the classroom. I think this makes homosexuality extremely hard to talk about in mixed crowds, like schools, but is clearly something that needs to be addressed. The statistics prove that silencing homosexuality is having horrific contributions to teen suicide, drug use, etc., and the easiest way to help change these rates is by welcoming their differences and encouraging them to be open about their feelings.
1. "To the extent that gayness is recognized in the curriculum, it is likely to be in the health curriculum, where it is associated with disease." (Carlson 237)
This quote really made me think; I can't believe that I have never noticed this before. I grew up in a family that really pushed me to be accepting of other people so I feel like I was more aware of homosexuality than other students in my classes. However, I totally understand how people would categorize homosexuality as a negative thing if they only place that they learned about it was in the same place that they learned about health related issues. This is extremely unfair to people in the gay and lesbian community. I think many children come from families that shy away from talking about things such as homosexuality, which is why I agree with Carlson that it is imperative that teachers recognize homosexuality in school.
2. "'In my sociology class we were talking about AIDS. One guy said, 'I think gay guys are just sick. How could they do that? It's wrong!' ...Well, everyone looks over to Miss L., our teacher, for what she thinks. She says, 'I'm going to keep my opinion to myself.'". (Carlson 238)
This quote completely reminded me of Johnson. This is a perfect example of a teacher who chose to silence an issue rather than talking about it and helping to make a change. I think it is the responsibility of teachers to protect the rights of all students. While I believe they are responsible to protect the ideas of the student who made claims against gay men, they must also stand up for the rest of the students who are opposed to his ideas. Being open to discussion about these issues is a very successful way for teachers to embrace difficult situations and help students feel welcome and comfortable in their learning environment. By avoiding the conversation, nothing is being accomplished.
3. "...gay culture has been overwhelmingly 'white' and this makes it difficult for many young black gay people to affirm both their gayness and their blackness." (Carlson 248)
I think this quote is extremely important because it relates to different kinds of privilege. Because African Americans are denied the right to racial privilege, it is understandable that it would be harder for them to give up their straight privilege as well. Giving up the right to privilege has a huge impact on the easiness of a person;s life. I could only imagine that someone who is already denied particular privilege would have a strong understanding of the difficulties they are faced with as a result. Therefore, it must be harder to them, knowing what they will be faced with, to give up another privilege.
This was a very powerful article. I could hardly get through it without stopping to blog about it because I feel like there were so many points made that shocked me or left me wondering. I think Carlson and Johnson would get along well. There were many examples provided in Carlson's piece that strongly reminded me of Johnson. Carlson's article focuses largely upon silencing homosexuality in classroom settings. As Johnson also mentioned in his article, silencing something is the worst way to produce change. Carlson's article goes on to prove this statement as he provides examples of how gay men and lesbian women are slowly starting to feel acceptance as popular culture has begun to address these issues and show people that it is aright to talk about them.
I think incorporating homosexuality into the classroom is much more difficult than other topics due to religion. As Carlson mentions in this article, many believers of the Catholic religion have strongly opposed ideas such as bringing in books and allowing lessons which talk about homosexuality inside the classroom. I think this makes homosexuality extremely hard to talk about in mixed crowds, like schools, but is clearly something that needs to be addressed. The statistics prove that silencing homosexuality is having horrific contributions to teen suicide, drug use, etc., and the easiest way to help change these rates is by welcoming their differences and encouraging them to be open about their feelings.
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