Brown vs. Board

Extended comments: Jess's blog

Jess's blog really stood out to me on the Brown vs. Board education so I want to continue with her thoughts. The connection she made with Wise and Johnson stood out to me the most. Jess quoted Johnson with "a trouble we can't talk about is a trouble we can't do anything about" If it wasn’t for the Brown vs. Board of education and the NAACP we might still be in the predicament of colored segregation. It takes a lot more bravery and effort to put action towards this than to just casually discuss it with someone. If you can't bring something up you won’t be able to fix the problem at hand and without having supporters your case will surely lose. After a long battle the case was finally dismissed and ruled in the favor that children on color should not be segregated in school systems.

Here are the questions and answers Jess provided:

Have you experienced any evidence of Kozol's/Herbert's articles in your service learning school? 

I definitely have experienced this in my school. The school I work at is so run down and most of the children get free lunch and snacks provided by the school. When I look at the difference between the school that the children I babysit for and then the children at my school it is completely different. Although the kids I babysit for pay tuition which i find extremely unnecessary for a 4 and 6 year old there are such a variety of things offered for them than there is for the children at the school I work with.

Do you think there is still racism? Are things any better at all?

I absolutely think there is still racism but it is more "hush hush" now than ever. People will use other excuses like the lack of money or education someone has but we all know they say it because they are from a different racial background.

What shocked you in regards to this assignment?

I can't say that anything really shocked me with this assignment but it's sad that the world was so close minded back then. I definitely believe it got better but there will always be racism as long as it’s being taught.

Miscallaneous

I was contemplating writing this post for over a week but I decided to do it.

Early last week was my second cousin's 40th birthday. She's more like an aunt to me because of the age difference but she is indeed a cousin. Her birthday is so special to me and my family because she has Spina Bifida. She was told that her living past the age of 16 would be a miracle and she completely exceeding the limits she was given. It has been 10 years since I last saw her because she had moved to Nevada to beat the drastic weather changes which I think has helped immensely. For those of you who don't know much about Spina Bifida here is a link to help better explain. My cousin is paralyzed from the waste down and when her nervous system shuts down it causes her to get more infections than someone without this defect. The past couple of years have been hard because more and more parts of her body want to shut down but she has fought through them and today is as healthy as she can be. Everything can change in an instant though, one moment she could be fine and the next day she could be lying in a hospital bed. It's scary and seeing and knowing what she has gone through has made me a braver person.

There was one story I was told that has always stuck with me and it made me think of it the other day when we were discussing the piece about Down syndrome. My cousin Denise ( one who has Spina Bifida) and her sister Veronica who does not were out at a store one day. When they got up to the cash register the cashier had asked Veronica if my cousin would like a lollipop with a big smile on her face. Veronica looks at her as serious as she could and goes " Why don't you ask her? She's not deaf. " The cashier had completely assumed that my cousin was mentally challenged just because she was in a wheel chair. Although I wish this was the only idiotic story that has happened this was quite the norm when they went out. It shows that a lot of people only look at her as the woman in a wheel chair but not the woman who is smart, witty, and completely capable of having a job and a life of her own.

Shor Education in Politics

Connections:

This reading reminded me a lot of Delpit's view and how she agrues that there are many different techniques on how to handle the children in your classroom. Shor would agree that not all classrooms should be taught in the same way because you need to find your own connection with them.

This reading also reminded me of Johnson and how we feel the need to "belong" to a certain group and meet certain standards to feel accept. The elephant in the room as Johnson would say would be the curriculum standards that all teacher need to abide by this "teacher bible" for it to be acceptable in a classroom.


Shor brings up some really good points about how politics get in the way of teaching children. Sometimes the word teaching gets lost in translation when you have to follow such strict rules from the Board of Education and the school system you work in. In order to be a successful teacher you have to find a way to work some fun into your classrooms but still teach by the book as well. It's a hard task to do but it is completely possible!


creative teachers

Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

Quotes:

"She's really doing well. People come to her for advice on what movies to get, on what's good, what's current. She knows it all. She's doing really well." Beginning with the simple act of listening, Shayne created not only a valued community role for Anne but one that the young woman relished."

I think Shayne did such an amazing job with the situation with Anne. People often forget that even though a person has down syndrome they still have aspiring dreams just like you and me. She took the time to get to know Anne as a person looking past her disability and helped find a job that would make Anne happy. Like Shayne said, it might not be Hollywood but its a lot closer to something she enjoys.

"To value another is to recognize diversity as the norm. It establishes the equal worth of all school children, a sense that we all benefit from each other, and the fundamental right of every student to belong."

Van der Klift and Klunc hit it right on the nose with this quote. If you are going to be a teacher or any decent human being you have to realize that diversity is what makes us special. Being different is what makes learning and living fun. Once you accept that, the possibilities to learn and to teach will be endless.

"Lee is, in a sense, in a way he's branded. People see him. They see Down syndrome. They see mental challenge, retardation, whatever you want to call it. That's what they see, but they wouldn't be seeing him. Do you know what I mean? Because Lee is Lee, and anybody who knows Lee knows, and this includes all the kids, they know he's gifted-in how he solves problems, cares about others, reads, loves math. So I guess what I'm arguing is that if you did pick Lee out, you wouldn't be seeing Lee. It's not Lee you're picking out. It's your stereotype, your mind-set. It's you, and it has nothing to do with Lee. But if that's how you choose to see him, I don't know that anything I could do, we could do, I don't think there's anything Lee could do to change your mind."

Reading this part made me think of the saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover". Yes on the outside Lee would be very easy to pick out in a crowd and he might not do everything the same as other "normal" children but he is smart. He learns and speaks and tells stories in his own way and if you try to get to know him or any child with a disability you will find their strengths. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and some may be be easier to point out but that will never take away what they do know. People should focus on the good, not the bad. 


I loved reading this article. The way students with disabilities are treated is one of the many reasons why I want to work with kids with disabilities. I want to be a teacher like Shayne and Colleen and help others find the good in all children. I want to figure out which ways of teaching works for the children so they can become the best they can, without being judged. I will probably definitely hold on to this article for future reference to look back on.

 What is Down Syndrome ?

The National Advocate for People with Down Syndrome Since 1979

Promising Practices

Entering the Promising Practices conference I was unsure what to expect. I was wondering if I would be dressed up enough, if I were going to be able to understand what the context was and hoping that I wouldn’t be sitting with a bunch of strangers. The moment I walked in I was greeted with smiles from our FNED 346 class and I felt better. I also had always more than two classmates in both of my sessions that made it fun and easy going. It was so early that it was hard for me to concentrate on the opening speeches, but some of the things they talked about were interesting.

            The first session that I went to was called “ If your safe and you know it clap your hands” It was directed by Gerri August and she mentioned some key points from her book Safe Spaces- Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth. We talked about what a safe space meant which is a place that provides physical, social and psychological freedom from all youth. We also mentioned how children need a sense of belonging and a settled confidence. After we broke up into groups and discussed positive and negative social statuses that would make it easier or harder for children who were LGBT.  I was in a group with Vanessa, Alex W. and Genesis and the first thing that came to mind was S.W.A.A.M.P. We dissected it for our peers and it tied into what we talk in our class. Two new words that I learned were Mirrors and Windows.  I learned that Mirror meant that you have something in your curriculum that relates to your students of the LGBT community. Maybe a book with two moms or two dads, etc. Windows are giving examples of doing certain things all different ways. One interesting fact that caught my eye was how many states have so many anti-bullying campaigns but refuse to accept the LGBT community in that. How can you promote anti-bullying if you are subtly bullying a whole community of people? I believe when you become a staff or faculty member of a school your main job is to make a comfortable learning space for each and every child. I found the session tied in a lot with what we talked about during our discussion on LGBT so it was more of a review but I still learned some new techniques and information.

            My second session was so intriguing. The session was about Transgender friendly picture books for young children and Elizabeth Rowell directed it. Her energy and excitement toward the subject really got me pumped up! I had no idea how many transgender books were out there and it saddened me a little that they are not in most schools. We talked about the difference of transgirls and transboys. Transgirls are little boys who feel they are in the wrong body and transboys are little girls that feel they are in the wrong body. Elizabeth gave us a list of books for both and also a couple books for parents that have transgender children. The session was really so informational. Did you know that a child knows if it belongs to its body by at or prior to the age of 6? This is why having a selective amount of transgender books are nice to have so the child feels welcomed. Whether or not you know of a child in your classroom is or isn’t transgender have the book anyways because most stay quiet. It has been recorded that more than or less than 1% of our population are classified transgender but there is the leading factor that not all are out so you can really tell. We also discussed being an advocate for transgender they need to know they have someone who will stick up for them and stand by their side. My favorite saying that was shown to us was “ What we don’t know – we fear! What we fear- we shun! What we shun- we don’t know! “ I think that is a great simple and easy way to remember that before you judge you need to know exactly what your judging and why it matters.  This briefly relates to our class discussions for when you read us the fairytale of the two princes’. 

            Both of my sessions showed great proactive anti- bullying behavior acts for the LGBT community. Both of these sessions reminded me of when of the “white backpack” but instead about color and class it was about gender specifics. There are many for race, and color of the skin but almost all schools look passed the LGBT community. I believe that it should be our generation of teachers’ goal to make it a suitable and comfortable learning experience for all students no matter who or what you are. I have great hope for the years to come when I become a teacher because there are so many resources and tools out there to make it all happen. Equality for all is a very important subject to me and I will most definitely look back at this seminar to help me in the future.To follow up with this, check out this awful song "You've got to be carefully taught..."

            The lunch un-conference was really interesting and something I’ve never been to before. I loved the A.L.L.I.E.D speeches I think it really livened up the room and opened things up for discussion.  Also I thought the closing was pretty cool how people got up and told some stories from there own experiences.

literacy with an attitude

Extended Comments: Vanessa Blog

I chose to center my blog on Vanessa's because I agree with her thoughts on how a teacher should be and act. Most of the teachers I feel like my generation had didn't really enjoy there job. It seemed like they did it because it was easier then or because they got summers off. Students always can sense when a teacher doesn't really want to be there or doesn't like the kids. The main way to get children to pay attention and to learn something from your class is to first understand them as a whole and see what works best for them. Also you need to make sure that the class isn't repetitive or boring because they will lose interest fast. On the link Vanessa put up there were many good points but this section stood out to me the most and explains exactly what Finn was trying to say in his book. 

"Before teachers can address the cultural and literacy needs of their students, they must first become aware of the influence of their own culture. Abt-Perkins and Rosen (2000) suggest that self-knowledge can be gained through "inquiry into cultural consciousness" so that teachers will discover "the assumptions and stereotypes which will create obstacles to culturally responsive teaching" (p. 254). Further, they suggest the need for teachers to "critique their own values pertaining to languages and dialects other than standard English, what counts as good literature, and the role they can play as English/language arts teachers in the success of students from diverse cultures in the schooling process" (p. 254). A teacher's culture, language, social interests, goals, cognitions, and values--especially if different from the students'--could conceivably create a barrier to understanding what is best for children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (Orange & Horwitz, 1999). Teachers can break through this barrier by reflecting on their self-knowledge and by learning to acknowledge and respect their students' language, literacy, literature, and cultural ways of knowing."

I agree with this because if you know yourself as a teacher and how you were taught and then what the norms of the students in your classroom are you will have more successful teaching strategies and really inspire the children. 

 Here's a great ice-breaker to get to know your students and for them to get to know you too !

 

Romney Vs. Roseanne Barr - Gay Marriage

HyperLinks

Although Roseanne becoming president is a long shot I thought it would be a great spin to write about the differences Mittens and Roseanne have on Gay marriage.


Romney has shown in many occasions how he does not approve of anyone from the LGBT community. He refuses to even accept that these people exist and should have the same rights as any heterosexual and that is really sad. In an article that I read Mittens himself said ""What should be the ideal for raising a child? Not a village, not 'parent A' and 'parent B,' but a mother and a father.'" Honestly that is completely sickening to me. No one is asking him to like the fact that people are LGBT but to at least acknowledge that they are every much as human as he is. If Mitt Romney is elected president I do strongly believe that it would almost be like taking back all the years we had fought for equality for all LGBT, people of color, and women. May seem a little extreme but after reading these articles it does not seem that he will budge for his "belief".  Here is one last article that has clips of Romney speaking on this subject...enjoy.

Roseanne Barr is a legendary comedian and as crazy as she is I love her dearly. She has always been an advocate for LGBT and has two siblings that are gay, her sister and her brother. As a comedian she puts a comedic twist on almost everything but this is something that is dear to her heart. A story has fled about her tweeting about a restaurant named Chick Fil-A that made a lot of commotion for all LGBT and LGBT supporters. Here is a more serious article on Roseanne and the rights of Gay marriage. I honestly would love to see a battle between Rosey and Mittens on this issue but thats just me.

All jokes aside I would vote for Roseanne over Mittens any day because I believe in equality for all human beings no matter how you look, act, feel, etc.

In The Service Of What?

by Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

Quotes

"...such service learning activities seek to promote students' self-esteem, to develop higher-order thinking skills, to make use of multiple abilities, and to provide authentic learning experiences-all goals ofcurrent curriculum reform efforts."

This completely sets the article for why service learning is such a great learning experience all all aspects listed above. It another way of learning  and also putting what you learned to actual real life situations.



"We attempt to "apprehend the reality of the other" and then to "struggle [for progress] together." In so doing. we create opportunities for changing our understanding of the other and the context within which he or she lives."

Instead of believing what everyone says about a certain type of people or person you get to learn first hand what it is like being them and then pass that on to others. To know that not all people are who you were told they are.



"The experiential and interpersonal components of service learning activities can achieve the first crucial step toward diminishing the sense of"otherness" that often separates students-particularly privileged students-from those in need"

This quote follows up with the second quote I posted but explains in greater detail. If everyone was giving the chance to do service learning, I think there would be more acceptance toward students and different privileges. 


I love that we have a service learning project because I get to use the things we learn in class in the classroom I'm working in instead of waiting until one day when I have my own class, however long that may be. It's cool to be able to compare and contrast this elementary school to my elementary school. Also the difference of being on the other side. 

This is a cool website I found on pinterest that I think will be extremely helpful in the future
 

Cinderella Ate my Daughter

Arugement:

The author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter argues that gender specific toys like Barbies, American Dolls, Princesses and any domestic type toy teach young girls and boys the wrong views of the world. To some extent I agree that the plots in the movies are wrong and not every girl is put on earth to be pretty and to get married but these are the fairy-tales we have and we can't change it. I think that this author is going to absolutely drive herself insane if she continues to pick apart each and every aspect of Disney princesses and all things pink. It totally sucks that this is the world we live in but we still shouldn't take the imagination and fantasies away from the children. I mean my male cousin at one point played  "house" and "dolls" with us all the time and my family saw nothing of it. I myself had a playskool tool table that I was pretty obsessed with for awhile and I would go around pretending to fix things in my PINK tutu. I think that watching and playing with these toys are okay as long as other options are available to your children. Also I think it depends on the child too, my sister was a Disney fanatic and I mean I watched it because it was on but I didn't really care for it. She loves anything musical and to her the songs are all she cared about, not the plot. To this day my sister can recite any and all Disney movies but if you were to ask someone in my family who was the more "girly" daughter, all fingers would point to me.

Although with that being said, I dont like the message that these toys and movies portray, here's a video on Disney, She swears a lot but she gets her point across!

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us
by: Linda Christensen
 Quotes

"when we are reading children's books, we aren't just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated."

 This quote makes such a strong statement and opens discussion for the rest of the reading. It imply's that every story a child see's or reads sits deeper in their minds and creates how they should be in the world.  Girls should be pretty with a small hourglass figure so they can get the man of their dreams, step parents are seen as always mean, and that men are always at the top of the hierarchy of life. The whole text kind of surrounds around this one quote.

"Look, Ursula the sea witch is ugly and smart. Hey, she's kind of dark looking, The young pretty ones only want to hook their man; the old pretty ones are mean because they are losing their looks." 

This goes on in almost every fairytale I have seen. The villain is always ugly looking or they are mean because they are losing their looks, and every girl is simply on earth just to find that one guy. I mean Ariel gives up her voice to become and human but to really find the prince, seems a bit much don't you think? These types of stereotypes and many more are shown in the text and how the students now see what the underlying message was. 

" The Barbie syndrome starts as we begin a lifelong search for the perfect body. Crash diets, fat phobias, and an obsession with the materialistic become commonplace."

Anything you watch whether the pretty girl is always the one that most resembles a Barbie doll. Cinderella, Bell, Ariel, Pocahontas, Jasmine, and  Snow white are all shaped like a Barbie. In our society that is the "Perfect" body and that any girl who does not look like them are not considered beautiful. It gets in your mind without even knowing it. Growing up watching how the men all swoon over these women make us think that is how we need to look in order to get the right attention. The relevance to the text would be anything of the woman characters in all of the movies, and tv shows.

 Growing up as a young girl my sister and I grew up on all Disney movies. It was just the two of us so it was Barbie and baby doll heaven in my house! I totally fall into the category that one day i will have my happily ever after and it has probably ruined my sense of crappy boy acknowledgement ! I am a hopeless romantic and I definitely give some credit to all of those fairytale movies. I am now just accepting my body for what it is, all throughout high school and most of college I wish I could always look skinnier, or more fit, or had a bigger bottom. Now I am starting to get more comfortable with who I am and taking me as ME and not caring what others think. I am who I am and will continue to try to love myself more everyday regardless of what those fairytales showed while growing up! 

 

LGBTQ

Found this photo on pinterest and I thought it went very well with what we were discussing today :)
Plus who doesnt love The Lion King?

GLSEN

GLSEN is such a great program, I had heard of it before but I never ventured to the website until now. There are so many great articles, resources and tools to help anyone become more aware of the alliance. With my sister being in theater I've been around lesbian and gay's all my life and I think nothing of it. I feel very strongly about this bullying and harassing of LGBT's. It made me remember a class discussion that I had back in the 7th grade. Our English teacher brought up the subject and was trying to make kids more aware of what was going on. There was one kid that was just outright rude and disrespectful and kept on saying how it was "gross and disgusting" and that it shouldn't be allowed. I was not going to let him get away with that so I stood up and freaked on him. I dont remember exactly what I said but I do remember how I felt and I was furious. I was upset and pissed off that people could be so unwilling to being supportive about this and I didn't understand why it was such a big deal in the first place. I later figured out that people are afriad of being different and out of the everyday "norm" of society.

The resource kit I liked the most was the one for the Day of Silence. I think that it shows courage and strength and really speaks to all people. By participating it speaks to other children/classmates, teachers, faculty and their own family. It has many useful handouts and information for teachers students and parents to try to get everyone on board with why this is so important.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOIIwmVbzw&feature=related

Peggy McIntosh White Privilege

Peggy McIntosh argues in her article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack that there is an unspoken, unaddressed power. That she has learned what racism is as an act but not the issues that aren't spoken about. This is the power of white males and white people in general. She goes on explaining how growing up white she did not realize the power her color of skin has given her. When you are in the group of power it is hard to see what others do and do not have. As a privileged human being you walk around life with just the mediocre struggles you as a person goes through. As a person of non-privilege you walk around with your personal struggles and that of being black, Hispanic, Indian etc. With that being said she also argues that you as an individual cannot change what has been done. She believes that the whole social system needs to be looked into and changed and that it is up to the ones with power to do it. She argues that whites have this “knapsack” and that wherever they are and what ever they are going through there is usually something inside that metaphorical knapsack to get through it. Others go around with problems just the same but can’t do anything about it because of the color of their skin. For example she gives a list of conditions that being in the color of power help her. Here are a couple that stood out to me. “I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group. “,  “I can be sure that if I ask to talk to "the person in charge" I will be facing a person of my race. “. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children's magazines featuring people of my race.” and “I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having coworkers on the job suspect that I got it because of race.” These are just a few of many conditions that people of power do not have to worry about. McIntosh continues to say that these conditions are things that people of power don’t even realize that they have these privileges