In the Service of What? Kahne & Westheimer

My friend Matt is 22 and has never had a job but does hours on end of community service. On Thanksgiving last year my dad and uncle were sort of nagging him about not having a job since my brother and I have had jobs since we were 14, he replied to my them, "It's easy to make a buck, it's a lot tougher to make a difference." I was shocked by his response but I know that everyone at the table agreed.

In the Service of What? Kahne & Westheimer
Response to Alicias Blog
I thought Alicia had a lot of great points in her blog so I am going to pull out the parts I enjoyed reading instead of posting her entire blog here.

 “I related to the parents for a number of reasons. Myself, as a parent, worry about my child in all that he is doing, daily. If he told me that he was involved in this assignment, would I be upset and concerned, I say probably yes! I think that the parents that were really against this should have done their research on the school and the area before coming to a conclusion. I feel that the phrase, "You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover", relates to this topic. They could have even visited the school to check it out, and then make a decision.”

I think this is an awesome point. My parents actually did this to me when I was going into my school for this service learning project. I got the “oh that’s not a good area” and the “do you have to go to THAT school?” I understand where parents are coming from by I am a firm believer in not judging a book by its cover. The school I go to may not be in the best area but the kids are great and I would never go into the school pitying them because of where they live because I think every child has something special to offer.

“We need to realize that we have to be open minded, and not pity the youth that we work with, but try to help and understand where they are coming from. We need to help in the 'change' of their lives, and realize the positive things we can do to help improve and fulfill their lives.”

Open-mindedness is key in teaching. I think Alicia pin pointed this concept that we need to realize that we are making a difference even if it is a tiny difference. Children appreciate the littlest gestures, like asking them how their weekend was. I think it is important to make children feel special, mostly in teaching.

“I also feel that any act in any form that a person provides to help and care about others is spectacular! I found myself wanting to volunteer and help an organization, to better them, and better myself. I have helped out in the cause for the fight for leukemia for children in the past years. Did I visually see an impact, no, but I knew that I was a 'dent in the glass of the foundation.”

I agree with this 100 percent. I always do the little things like donating one dollar to the jimmy fund, or buying a bracelet for breast cancer. I believe that I can make a difference even if it is that one dollar. I do a lot of community service and although I may not see those who I impact I know that as Alicia said I am making a “dent” in the glass, and that, to me, is important.

Breast cancer is something that I always donate to and walk for because one of my close friends mom has been fighting it for years and this video shows how one school made a difference and at 1:10 i think the girl really captures the point of community service.

In class I want to discuss what kinds of community we have done and if we think it made a difference.

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us- Linda Christensen

argument

In "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us," Christensen writes of her personal experiences and issues with American media, along with teaching her students to analyze the “secret education” of it. She "wants students to question accepted knowledge and the secret education delivered by cartoons as well as by the traditional literary canon" (127). Christensen argues that Disney movies and Saturday morning cartoons are not being critically reviewed by children-they accidentally accept the stereotypes and grow up believing them to be true. Girls start believing women cannot have beauty and brains-Ursula is the evil sea witch from The Little Mermaid and while she's smart, she's ugly (130), and if a girl wants to be happy, it "means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption - in their case, through new clothes and a new hairstyle" (133). The cartoons and movies also portray that "men must be virile and wield power or be old and the object of 'good-natured' humor" (131) Children take these stereotypes and form them into how men and women are supposed to be portrayed-whether it be their looks or their position and society and it becomes hard to change that.

Christensen thinks the solution to this problem is that that people should not just make note of and realize these stereotypes are in place, but should try to enact change. Through her classroom exercises she shows her students how each of these stereotypes are played into a variety of different cartoons. Her students start to realize that they have grown up with this notion their entire life and start to try to enact change, for example like the boy who turned off the cartoons on his cousins and brought them to the park. Little baby steps like that effect the world- believe it or not.

I like Christensen’s argument here. I guess you never really notice those things until you analyze it-"many students don't want to believe that they have been manipulated by children's media or advertising...they assure me that they make their own choices and the media has no power over them - as they sit with Fubu, Nike, Timberlands or whatever the latest fashion rage might be" (128). I think that quote pretty much sums it all up but I think as teachers it’s important to teach what Christensen is preaching here.

this is a YouTube video that highlights the stereotypical gender-roles, the construction of femininity/masculinity, and the portrayal of dominant/single women in its animated feature films.

In class I want to see if we can come up with any Disney movies that don’t portray stereotypes, because honestly I cannot really think of any.

I saw this today in the RIC parking lot and thought it would be a good connection to this weeks discussion.

Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community

Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community

Dennis Carlson

Hyperlinks

The subject of homosexuality is obviously a very controversial issue within our society. Reading this article and listening to Carlson argue that "that schools use their power of influence to keep gayness 'hidden', 'in its place', and not to be part of the 'normal' that is accepted in our society” (Alicia’s Blog) It really made me wonder how this could actually be happening. This class is making me see that maybe America isn’t all it’s worked up to be. How are we the land of opportunity if we have a “culture of power” and don’t let people inside that without these certain characteristics, in this case, straightness? That is beside the point though. “Gayness” is always a topic on the news and I want to pull up a few things that relate to this topic and are real eye openers.

First, just two weeks ago, a freshman student at Rutgers College committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge because his roommate broadcasted his gay relations over a webcam. This sickens me because it is such a cruel thing to do to someone. Carlson argues that everyone is different in this world and people need to be accepting of that. If Tyler Clementi’s roommate was accepting of Tyler’s lifestyle then he would have never been found at the bottom of the Hudson River.

Next I found a YouTube video (which i could not embed?) on a thirteen year old boy who committed suicide because of being bullied for being gay. One, this is disturbing because he was so young. Police said that they cannot prosecute those who bullied Seth Walsh because it is not a criminal act. I found this heart breaking and think that if this had been going on for so long how could a teacher not recognize it, they must have at least somewhat witnessed it since most of the bullying was at school. Do you think they were just “sweeping it under the rug” and ignoring it. Carlson talks about teachers not having comments on this subject and it makes me sad to think that this got so far to where a boy committed suicide and it could have been prevented.

Last I just want to conclude with a story that connects to Carlson. My friend Travis is gay and came out in 2007, his senior year of high school. His dad sort of abandoned him when this happened-saying that it “would ruin his reputation” and gives the family a “bad name.” This is exactly what Carlson was talking about, challenging the norm. Trav’s goes to school in New York for dance at probably the most prestigious performing art school in the United States, Juilliard. I don’t think that is at all ruining any reputation or giving a bad name to his family. To this day Travis and his father do not talk, it’s a sad way to show how society can be so cruel, even to one’s family.

Carlson talks about how a "democratic multicultural education must become a dialogue in which all "voices" are heard and all "truths" are understood.”  I, in one way or another, would like to see this in classrooms. I realize that this is difficult, but I strongly feel  that every student should feel comfortable enough to talk in a classroom and not feel they will be judged on their opinions.

Online I found this debate, although I did not read all of it, some of the points made here were interesting and if you have time you should skim through it.

In class I would like to discuss our thoughts about discussing homosexuality inside the classroom.

Aria, Richard Rodriguez

Aria-Richard Rodriguez

Quotes

While reading “Aria” by Richard Rodriguez I started to realize how much language means to an individual. Our language is a way of communicating, learning, escaping, and a plethora of other things. Rodriguez really put this into perspective for me, especially with his choice of words. There were a couple of quotes within his writing that really stood out to me and I will discuss them below.

“Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom. I would have felt much less afraid, I would have trusted them and responded with ease. “

This quote really hit and made me think about going into teaching. How do you greet someone who is just learning English? Do you say “Good Morning” to a Spanish student or “Hola”? Rodriguez thinks that he would have felt more comfortable if a teacher greeted him in Spanish, acknowledging his culture. He was scared, scared of English, scared of leaving his culture-a safety zone. I think that we need to acknowledge cultures but I really don’t know whether I’d greet a Spanish student with English or Spanish.  It made me really think.

“But the special feeling of closeness at home was diminished by then. Gone was the desperate, urgent, intense feeling of being at home; rare was the experience of feeling myself individualized by family intimates. We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed. No longer so close; no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of our public separateness.”

When the nuns asked Rodriguez’s family to only use English at home his family lost a huge part of them. There was nothing to bring them together. As the children got more educated in English and less in Spanish the parents remained at the same level of brokenness and it became hard for communication. I thought this was a big point. No one should ever ask a family to give up their native language, that’s the entire concept of the ‘melting pot’. I could only imagine being a family and losing all ties together. It came to the point where Rodriquez and his siblings could barely talk to their parents, or where they would just get annoyed with all the “What’s” I thought this was really terrible for a family to go through.

The last quote I want to discuss really ties the whole piece together and it is something I hope to remember when going into my own classroom.

”I would have been happier about my public success had I not sometimes recalled what it had been like earlier, when my family had conveyed its intimacy through a set of conveniently private sounds. “

Rodriquez wished that he still had learned English and was very proud that he did but he wanted his Spanish culture too. I think it’s really important to have two cultures and be proud of it. He lost a lot of communication with his parents, which to me is a huge thing. I think family is the most important thing in a person’s life and Rodriquez, because of English, lost a great deal of family ties. When I go into teaching I want to embrace the different cultures and encourage the use of both and this article really opened my eyes towards that.

Searching online about "Aria" I came across an interview with Richard Rodriquez that i thought was interesting! It actually answered a lot if question i think to be helpful, so check it out!

In class I want to discuss what you would do if you had Spanish or any other language speaking students. How would you greet them?  I still don’t know what to do and I’d like other opinions.

White Privilege; Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

White Privilege; Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Peggy McIntosh

Reflection

While reading Peggy McIntosh’s piece “White Privilege; Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” the concept of SCWAAMP really started sinking in. It’s like when I start reading more and more of these articles everything I have ever believed to be true about America-it being a melting pot of differences, everyone being welcomed no matter color, gender, religion, et- that concept is washed away and a new vision of segregation and racism comes to mind. McIntosh’s article listed out many ways she has white privilege in her life. Now I could sit here and list out everyone that related to me but then I would be relisting her entire article. That scared me, how because of one minor detail of my body I am thought of as having more “privilege” than someone who has maybe two shades of darker skin. Everything McIntosh was saying was true and got me wondering and questioning how I have never made this realization before.

            I’m going to focus in on a few points of her article that I can recall situations of my personal life to. Point number 12- “I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.” Now my brother has an obsession with shopping at Savers, the second hand store, and he always finds really nice, but cheap things. Sometimes I go with him and I even found an Ed Hardy t-shirt for five dollars. I never have really thought as that concluding to other people that I am poor but after reading this article and thinking about this when I see people of Hispanic race or African American race in a second hand store I sometimes think savers is all they can afford, but is that racist of me? I mean I am making an assumption but are they making an assumption that maybe I am a poor white person? Sure most of those people aren’t even poor but white privilege makes it seem like they are.

            I’m going to relate to one more point, point 25- “If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has racial overtones.” One week last year I got two tickets, one for running a red lights in providence, and one for doing 40 in a 30, I couldn’t buy a book I needed for school because I was borrowing my brother’s credit card and they wouldn’t let me use it because the name didn’t match my ID, and I got a flat tire on the way up to visit my friend. Now not once did I think “It’s because I’m white” but I’m sure if I was of a different race I would think differently. Maybe that cop only pulled me over because I was black, maybe they thought that I stole that credit card, etc, but none of those things ran through my head but I’m sure they would of if I was black, or Latino, or Hispanic, etc.

            The last thing I want to mention isn’t from McIntosh; it’s from the article “Data Show Racial Bias Persists in America” and the part where a person who has a “white” name is more likely to get an interview over a “black” name. This is white privilege and I have witnessed it firsthand. I have a lot to do with setting up interviews at my job along with a manager, Melissa, who has final say. The other week we were in desperate need to hire some more people, Melissa and I looked through probably a hundred applications and she would read a name then make a judgment on just that, I found it troubling to sit there with her since she thought that a name was more important than anything else but it just goes to show you how white privilege is used.

In class I want to discuss how not many people realize this and how we can just go on living our lives as if none of this ever happens, I don't fathom it and I just would like to hear other's opinions on it.

About Me(:

I'm Beckah, I am from Rumford, RI. I transferred from Stonehill College to RIC in the spring of 2010. I am studying to be an elementary school teacher with a second major of special ed. I cannot think of a better or more rewarding job that is suited for me! During the school year I work at Chuck E Cheese (embarrassing!) and during the summer I work at Camp Ramsbottom, a children's day camp in Rehobeth. Outside of school I dance competitively and have been since the age of seven. I love country music, especially Taylor Swift and Keith Urban. I also have a small obsession with Vera Bradley(: