preschoolers at lunch

i cannot figure out how to put up a youtube video....but here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6nOylHnvYQ

Talking points 10

"What Can We Do?" by Johnson

Argument:
Johnson argues that in order create equality and fairness, we have to ask why. We must recognize the path of least resistance and try our hardest to deviate away from it, into a path that is not typically taken. In order to take another route, we have to stand up for what is not right, not participate in mean jokes about race, sexuality, etc. We must raise our voices, stand up, and plead for a change.

Quotes:

• "Or look at the names and mascots used by local sports teams and see if they exploit the heritage and identity of Native Americans."

In Johnson's first article, he says to take the risk. If we see injustice take place we should take it upon ourselves and ask the question why. Why are teams being named after Native American tribes? We should also make people feel uncomfortable by standing up and taking a risk.

• "In the end, taking responsibility doesn't have to involve guilt and blame, letting someone off the hook, or being on the hook yourself."

This quote means being proactive. You don't have to do anything earth shattering, but you can do little things to make a difference. By not participating in oppressive behavior, such as name calling, laughing at racist/sexist jokes, and finding little ways to withdraw, can make a big difference in the long run. Like Delpit says, we should not be silenced. However, we have to be aware of what silence does....NOTHING!

• "It's one thing to become aware and quite another to stay that way. The greatest challenge when we first become aware of a critical perspective on the world is simply to hang on to it."

I think this quote means to become aware of a problem, but not just hold it inside. You have to become a preacher and stand up. We have to pay attention to different forms of oppression. Once we realize this, we have to work with other people outside of our inner circle of friends/family. We cannot just stay aware of a problem, we have to do something about it.

Comments:

I thought this article was a fabulous one to end with. It tied in every author and argument throughout the semester. I thought that the jigsaw puzzle activity we did in class was a great way to understand the article. Also I got a lot of different perspectives from everyone in the class.

To sum things up in a quote from Emily, "what will you do to change the path of least resistance?" I came up with the idea to ask why. [why are you making a racist comment? What makes you say that?] My two year old nephew asks. "Auntie, why did you do/say that?" He makes me realize my actions and think of why I did that...He is only two, but he opens up my mind.

Individuals Rights to Education

Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome by Christopher Kliewer

Argument:
Kliewer argues that children with disabilities, specifically with Down Syndrome, should be included in classroom activities.

Quotes:

• "(Douglas Bilken) and fellow educators have substantiated this vision with detailed accounts of actual educational arenas where all students are welcomed, no voice is silenced, and children come to realize their own self-worth through unconditional acceptance of one another."

This quote means that schools should be viewed as a community, where everyone is connected and welcomed. No one should be judged. The children who are labeled with disabilities should not be silenced, which means including them in group work, lunchtime, and recess. They are children, after all, they should be interacting with children.

• "Don't tell me any of these kids are being set up to fail."

Shayne, a teacher mentioned in this article, believes that children do not come to school to be labeled. School is about working and learning together. She values human reciprocity, where individuals are given an opportunity to participate in the community/school. Shayne wants a classroom where no child fails, whether it be a child with or without a disability.

• "So what...if you don't fit exactly what you're supposed to? You know, it's not like I fit many people's idea of what a teacher's supposed to be like."

Shayne analyzes a student who will not conform to society's expectations. Society believes that this child is "defective". Shayne is trying to show that nonconformity is a child's right to being human. Not everyone is going to fit every one's expectations--it is impossible!

Comments:

Students who are labeled with a behavioral or emotional disorder are generally placed in a self-contained classroom. They are hidden from their peers without these labels. I think every student should be able to play with other students. Self contained classrooms avoid socialization, which is one of the main reasons to be in school. I do believe in resource for students because every student deserves individual attention for academic purposes. But, with only 6 or so hours in the school day, that is impossible to achieve. Not every student will receive an IEP.

I think that teachers should accept each student as they are. Maybe at the beginning of the school year, the teacher could meet with the parent and the student outside of the classroom. This way each student will learn the best way they know how. :)

segregation

"One More River to Cross" by Charles Lawrence

Argument

Lawrence argues that segregation in schools make black students feel inferior to white students. Segregation means abuse--physical and emotional--towards these black children. It also involves an unequal opportunity for black people to learn in the school community.

Quotes

"The first is that segregation's only purpose is to label or define blacks as inferior and thus exclude them from full and equal participation in society."

Lawrence writes this quote as a way to understand why segregation should be placed in our society. I guess being a non-white skin color, that means you are inferior. These black people should be put in a different category of life because they are so different (skin color) from the skin color of those who have power.

"Once blacks are labeled as inferior, they are denied access to equal societal opportunities."

There is a stigma towards black people--earning power, work ethics. People of the non-white power culture are often wrongfully accused of crimes and denied the opportunities to do the same things that a white person can do.

"The exclusion or segregation of blacks in public facilities was settled policy and reached considerable maturity in the North before moving South in full force."

The North was said to abolish slavery way before the South and this is still evident today. In the North people are more liberal in the sense that they are more welcoming towards diversity. In the conservative South, there are debutante balls devoted to the white young ladies coming of age. And like Kayla said, Obama won the North states and McCain won the South states.

Comments

I was surprised to see that this article was written in 1996. It was a very long list of how segregation is still apart of our society today. This was one article that I did not enjoy reading. I was so blind to not see segregation in our country. But, according to the article, my observations proved false. Lawrence says that if we don't recognize and try to fix prejudism, then it will never go away. If nothing is changed, then African Americans will always have to cross one more river and never reach their full potential.

School Tracking

"Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route" Jeannie Oakes

Oakes' Argument:
Oakes argues that tracking should be in all schools because it allows teachers to target certain individuals in the classroom. Many teacher find this a helpful way of figuring out a students needs (equity). Others find tracking to be stereotypical-- students are grouped by being "less-able" and put into a different class or even put in a different part of the classroom.

Quotes:

• "In low-ability classes, teachers seem to be less encouraging and more puntitive, placing more emphasis on discipline and behavior and less on academic learning."

High-ability classes have better instruction. The teachers spend more time on learning and less time on discipline. The teachers are enthusiastci. The students tend to trust their teacher. If there is trust, then there is more time spent on learning. However, on the opposite side of the spectrum is the low-ability classroom. The atmosphere here is not a postive one. The students interefere with the teacher, making him/her spend their whole time creating order and discipline.

• "Unless students are similar in learning 'speed', such a curriculum racing horrendous problems of pacing."

In the classroom, there are always going to be some students who acell and learn at a fast pace. Then, there are other students who learn a little slower. For these students it becomes humiliating to be retaught by the teacher. During this re-teaching period, the fast paced learners have to be occupied by "busy work" in order to resist boredom.

The curriculum that Oakes is writing about is the material taught that requires prior knowledge from the students. It is obvious to know that not everyone and/or their parents ever taught them this prior knowledge. So, I can imagine the difficulty in trying to mix students who do have prior knowledge, with those who do not. It becomes frustrating.

• "Students need not be held back from ideas because of skill differences; rather they can acquire skills as they become ready."

I agree with Oakes because not everyone is ready at the same time. As teachers, we should not hold back on new ideas--"challenging, complex, related to real life, and rich with meaning". These students have the right to know and it is up to them when they will process and become ready for this information.

In order to spread these ideas, Oakes suggests creating an active classroom environment, where the students work together. The material needs to be taught with the abilities of the whole class. Some stratgeies Oakes points out are teaching through thinking, discussing, writing, and visualizing. This makes all the students able to comprehend material. Through real world problems, students venture away from the "abstract world of 'school'".

Comments:

Working with the students from VIPS, I notice that when I go over to one of the students desks and ask if they need help, they sheepishly shy away from me. When I do actually get the chance to help them, they feel timid and unsure. My intentions are by no means to humiliate the students, I just want them to comprehend the material. I can see where Oakes is coming from when he writes about the horrendous problems of pacing. I think that schools should track its students that way the children can learn in the best possible way. I know that it is controversial, but so what? Maybe the parents should allow their children to be placed in special classrooms, in order to acheive greatness. :)

In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning

Author’s Argument:

Kahne and Westheimer argue that in order to “serve” the community, we need to reflect and change what needs to be fixed inside the community. They investigate two cases of service learning-- both reflect on matters affecting the community. In order to be a citizen, we have to provide a service learning experience to our resumes.

Quotes:

1.) “He argued for the creation of ‘miniature communities' in which students would work together to identify and respond to problems they confronted” (4).

In today's democratic society, there are many people in need of assistance. As citizens we have to recognize these people and find our own ways of helping them. The miniature communities that the authors are talking about are our own neighborhoods of helping hands. As a VIPS volunteer, I think that the school I work at is a miniature community because it is filled with children who need to be taught something. It is my responsibility to recognize these students and to respond by teaching them what I think is best for their learning experience.

2.) “In contrast, much of the current discussion regarding service learning emphasizes charity, not change. The claim regarding the relation of service learning to the development of altruism is relatively articulate and, in many respects, compelling” (4).

It is so difficult to change a person. A student may volunteer because he/she has to do it. But to get a student to take something away from charity and learn and grow from their experience is an amazing feat. I know that in high school we had to do charity work in order to graduate. I worked at a nursing home, but I was not appreciative of my experience. I received no change from my experience. I just did it because I had to. But working with VIPS has made me feel like I was changing a child's life by being at the school and working one on one with him/her.

The authors identify charity as "giving" and the deep relationship received from charity as "caring". I think that when you volunteer, you are giving yourself to another person. As a young adult, I recognize that when you give your energy into something, you become selfless. That is what I get out of service learning. I drop the "me, me, me" act and think of someone besides myself. That is altruism.

3.) “Maybe this [community service] is what citizenship is about, acting in a decent way toward people who live where we live” ( 9).

What JFK said about serving your country is true. We need to ask what WE can do for our country, not the other way around. Why not serve the people who need help? What if we ever needed help? Would we hope for assistance? I know I would. In middle school I learned about reciprocal respect. Do unto others, as they do unto you. Under Obama's new US policies, we should provide service anywhere we see fit. It is all about citizenship.

Comments:

I thought this article was pretty boring because before we started with VIPS, we discussed how we need to provide service and learn from it. Going to a Catholic school my whole life, I know what charity work and giving is all about. As I am maturing, I realize that I am learning and growing from my service learning. It makes me feel good to help out. I do not want to do it because I have to (like I have done in the past). I want to be a citizen of the US and according to Kahne and Westheimer, I need to provide my services to those who need it.

Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us by Linda Christensen

Argument:

Christensen argues that through the media--children's books, children's movies, clothing ads, etc.--we can see that the world is dominated by one race, sex, class, or country. She wants the parents and teachers of the world to break this mold by making children realize that our society is distorted and it is up to everyone to dissect the media.

Quotes:

1. "...So why dissect the dreams..My dreams keep me from dealing with the unpleasant."

This quote was spoken by a student analyzing the media. All of her dreams, as well as who she is now, has been formed by Disney moves. The student says that all of her dreams are related to each other. The way she acts, thinks, and speaks are all influenced by her dreams. So, why would she want to alter her dreams? I think she has a fear of knowing that the media does "steal" her dreams because subconsciously that's where she got the dreams from. Starting as a little girl and developing into a young adult, the media has given her these dreams.

2. "Happiness means getting a man and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption--in [Cinderella's] case, through new clothes and a new hairstyle."

This quote sums up the media. Any television show or movie or advertisement, you can see the need for consumption. This can mean anything from having a man to owning the newest pair of skinny jeans. Self worth is determined by what you have. If you don't have a man or a new style, then you are unhappy. I disagree that these two things will make me happy. I think that surrounding myself with good people, family, and friends, will make me completely content.

3. "Women who aren't white begin to feel left out and ugly because they never get to play the princess."

Almost every princess is white. There are the exceptions of Mulan and Jasmin. Two out of a lot more princesses are non-white. That is sad to see because there are waaaaay more than two people in our world who are non-white. As a white woman, who has a white three year old niece who loves Tinkerbell (that is a different issue in itself), I find that it must be difficult to fathom the idea that a non-white three year old girl rarely sees a princess who looks like her. I wonder who those little girls look up to?

Questions/ Comments:

What a sad article to read. I didn't actually cry while reading this article, but I did find it disturbing to read how distorted our media is, especially the cartoons I grew up watching. I mean I am set in my ways now, but I have a two year old nephew and a three year old niece who are very moldable. I think if you showed several types of cartoons, they could develop their own sense of the world. But maybe cartoons that have no people could be a better option to show kids because their is no race. However, if they looked at Spongebob Squarepants, then they would see a fat starfish who was dumb. Therefore, maybe they just shouldn't watch any cartoons because they all offer a negative mindset, whether it be with race, body type, ethnicity, or financial status. Now what can kids watch? National Geographic...and that's pretty much it.

Fin.