Sunday, October 31, 2010

Gender and Education (Hyperlinks)

The topic of gender and education is still an issue today, although not as big as it use to be but there is still an issue. Before searching about it and reading articles I did not realize there was still an issue with segregation of genders in school.
I found this article that was very interesting to me. The article talked about a blog  that was about a Middle School in 2009 in Kaplan, LA where the girls and boys were split up for their core curriculum classes. The principal said “boys are more likely to enjoy argument and lively classroom debate while females may be content to simply observe.”  I personally could not disagree anymore with this statement and while reading more of the blog neither could the person who blogged about it. In the blog it talked more about how the “boys will learn to be active, dynamic participants in conversation, to be leaders and movers and shakers, while pushing girls to sit quietly and listen to what people tell them, setting them up for a nice obedient life of doing whatever their husband says and never speaking up.” I think that this is awful and that they feel the females should not get the same education as the males. Luckily, this issue is going to the court because of a lawsuit on Title IX law. The article ended with this quote, “Sex segregation has no place in public schools, especially when its message is that girls ought to sit down, shut up and find a man to take care of them.” I think although at a time women were suppose to sit down and take care of men, I do not think this is their job anymore at all.
I thought this video was interesting because it was done in 2010 by High School boys. It talks about how women not having rights and being unequal but they are saying to "turn things around." Although the things they are saying are not all about education, I thought it was interesting that it was done by High School students and that they were boys.

In class I would like to talk about if anyone has seen or has been segregated in schools by gender. I know for me personally I have not, only with sports but I still think that that is an issue.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Between Barack and a Hard Place by Tim Wise

Tim Wise, the author of “Between Barack and a Hard Place,” talks about how racism is still very much in the world today. He says that a person of color may not be thought of the same way as a white person because they might not have come from a prestigious university. They may be in fact qualified for a job but might not get it because of their skin color. They may be as smart and capable of working a job but their skin color may interfere with them getting the job. The Brown vs. Board of Education trial was done to stop segregation of people of color. Wise is saying that even though this trial helped, there is still racism.
Something I thought was interesting was how Wise said that a white male who was mediocre was more likely to get the job to that of an outstanding black male. They said how George Bush was a “buffoon” but yet he was still the president of the United States. They also talk about how if George Bush had been a black male then he would not have received the job. What does not make sense is why color matters and why being white would make someone more qualified for a job. 

This video relates to the other videos and is by Tim Wise called, "The Pathology of White Privilege." This video is part one but there are 5 other parts that go along with it.

In class I would like to talk more about what Tim Wise said and what everyone thinks about it.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning by Joseph Kahne and joel Westheimer (Quotes)

"Educators and legislators alike maintain that service learning can improve the community and invigorate the classroom, providing rich educational experiences for students at all levels of schooling".
I really liked this quote and thought it was important. I think that service learning is important for both people who are experiencing it. The person who is going in and helping will leave with something while the other person who is receiving the help or guidance will also learn something or get what they need. I think by doing a service learning project, everyone gets something out of it. Even if you are helping someone, they are also helping you by giving you an experience you probably have never experienced and you learn something new.
“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. In so doing, the potential to develop caring relationships is created.”
I think this quote is very important. Service learning activities bring people together who may be different from one another.  By doing this the different groups of people may not feel separated from one another and will have something in common. I think it is also good that a person who is different from another person helps them because you will learn about them as well.
“If we focus on the “numerous values we share as a community,” writes Amitai Etzioni, the founder of the communitarian movement and a proponent of service learn-ing, “our world would be radically improved.”
I agree with what Etzioni is saying. I think that every person has something different to offer then someone else. By doing a service learning activity you are able to learn something new no matter if you are the person helping or the person getting the help.  
In class I would like to talk about more service learning and the different kinds, such as for charity and change.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us by Linda Christensen (Reflection)

While reading this article I was confused about what the point was about. While reading it all I was getting from it was how bad the world is and that in Cartoons there were underlying stereotypes. Finally while reading the last paragraph I understood that the point was suppose to be about making a difference. The last sentence says that instead of leaving the students upset with what they were learning and learning how bad the world is, the teacher wanted them to make a difference. I on the other hand still only got the image of how bad the world is.
I understand that some cartoons and movies make a gender or race feel lower then another gender or race but I also feel that that is just how society is. I do not think that this is right, but I feel like why take the fun out of cartoons (like the teacher did to her students) and classic Disney movies if this is how the society is. I think the cartoons are being too analyzed.
After reading the article I was frustrated. I understand that in cartoons and movies, which are made for children, there are many stereotypes; I think that in some cases this never changes. I wish and think everyone wishes that this would not happen but it has not happened yet. I think cartoons should not be blamed fully though, it is the society that we are in that makes the cartoons the way they are. I also think though that depending where you are the theme of the movie changes and the princess is not necessarily white. In other countries I feel as though the main person probably changes depending where they are and their race. Our Disney movies usually have a princess that is white, pretty and very girly and I understand that this is not a good image to give to young kids but there are also other movies such as Mulan who is opposite, she is not white and she goes off to battle and is not very girly. Although there are not many princesses who are not white, there are some, which is better than none.
I think movies can be changed now but there will always be classic movies that have these stereotypes. I felt bad while reading the article that during the project when the children were watching the cartoons and analyzing them that the fun was taken out of them. The point of cartoons and movies are to entertain people and if the fun is taken out of them what is the point of watching them if they only annoy and leave us thinking how bad the world is?
            In class I want to talk about the part with the black Cinderella.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community by Dennis Carlson (Extended Comments)

Caiti Donovan's blog
Gayness,Multicultural Education, and Community By Dennis Carlson, Reflection
        Reading this article really made me thankful for how accepting my education and home-life has been.  My mother has always encouraged me to be myself, no matter what.  She always had said that her love for me is unconditional no matter my sexual orientation.  My high-school was also very accepting.  I went to Rogers Highschool in Newport, Rhode Island.  We were very diverse in every sense of the word.  A lot of the race issues we have come across in FNED class has been a shock to me because in my community I have always been assimilated in with children of all races. My childhood best friend is half black so my "second dad" was a black man and I never noticed any differences in the way he raised his children.  Not only has my schooling been racially integrated but I feel like we were very accepting of sexual orientation as well.  When you found out a girl was a lesbian or bi-sexual it didn't change how you felt about her.  I had a friend come out to me in seventh grade, I was shocked but it did not change my relationship with her at all.  
        One of my very close friend's little sister came out in highschool, she is the sweetest girl. For Rogers to graduate you need to complete a senior project.  For her senior project she started a GSA Club, (Gay Straight Alliance).  I was so proud of her, she had brought even more awareness to our school and was not afraid to show who she really was. I loved this quote from the article,


" This authorized message- be yourself- has begun to
 surface as one of the primary codes within commercial popular cultural texts, and it is a message that, like many postrnodern messages and codes, is open to contradictory readings. "Beingyourself" celebrates individualism and the autonomy of individuals to construct their own lives according to their own values and achieve goals they set for themselves-a deep foundational value in American culture"

I myself believe that being yourself in the most important thing in the worlds.  You only live once, be yourself and be happy.

My Response:
      After reading this article and reading Caiti’s blog I fully agreed with what she had to say, especially since I also attended Rogers High School with her and know of the experiences she wrote about. Like Caiti’s mom, my parents have also always encouraged me to be myself and to do what I feel was right for me. No matter my sexual orientation, my parents would always be accepting of the decision I have made. I also have to agree with Caiti when she said Rogers High School was very accepting of everything. At school nothing mattered, not your race, gender, sexual orientation, nothing. All of the schools I have attended have all had the same acceptance, so to me not accepting someone because they are different then me does not make sense. I feel as though at Rogers everyone was very accepting of one another. A good example of this was how Caiti said a girl came out and did her senior project to create a Gay Straight Alliance club. Right away when GSA started so many of her peers joined. The club was filled with all different types of people, from different sexual orientations to different races and everyone accepted one another. I do not think the thought of not accepting someone or judging someone was a thought to anyone, in our eyes everyone is equal.
       I like the quote that Caiti used. I think it is important to be you and be happy. If everyone was the same then the world would be dull and boring.
In class I would like to discuss if other people grew up with the same experiences.