Sunday, March 27, 2011
External Link for Segregation of Schools
Sorry I forgot to insert an external link in my blog. I found this interesting website about poverty and education and it also includes some interesting charts on the racial composition of public schools.
Brown v. Board of Education, Between Barack and a Hard Place, Separate and Unequal
This week for our blogs we had to read three different things. We had to explore the website that gave us some background on the Brown v. Board of Education, watch a short video called "Between Barack and a Hard Place" with Tim Wise, and we also had to read a short article called "Separate and Unequal" by Bob Herbert. All of these three things are all connected to each other in some way, shape, or form. They all discuss how the Brown v. Board of Education has changed the education world since then and it also talks about how racism and segregation on social class is a huge deal today even though we don't like to admit it.
The historical issues that I see in the Bob Herbert's article is that even though we don't like to admit it but schools are still not legally segregated today. This is because of residential patterns, economic disparities, and housing discriminations. In this article it uses a quote by Richard Kahlenberg where he says that "Ninety-five percent of education reform is about trying to make separate schools for rich and poor work, but there is very little evidence that you can have success when you pack all the low-income students into one particular school". To me this is such a horrible thing to do to separate schools by poor and rich students. There was a study that was done that showed that low-income students who were placed in an affluent elementary school had much higher grades than similar low-income students who were in higher poverty schools. Another issue that this article discusses is that where the child lives also plays a huge impact on their education. If a student lives in a terrible neighborhood then they are more likely to attend the public school in town where there are other misbehaving neighborhood kids. This also plays a role on teachers too because most of the good teachers try to stay away from those kinds of schools so therefore there will be a lot of bad teachers in those public schools which won't help the kids out because they need all the help that they can get. Overall this article says that we can't look at the race of the students as being the important key but we must look for an all-around good environment that has good teachers, fewer classroom disruptions, students who are academically motivated, and the parents also have to be more involved with the schools.
In the video "Between Barack and a Hard Place" with Tim Wise he discusses that desegregation is present in schools but there is still the issue of racism and that we are nowhere near a post racial America. Wise says that "To pretend or to act as if we're heading towards this post racial place would be no more logical than to say that Pakistan was heading to a post sexist place". This video also discusses that even though there is a lot of color out there everyone is intelligent, wise, and capable of doing anything and that we shouldn't blame color on someones ability to do something. Wise also states that "6 out of 10 whites will acknowledge that black people are generally less intelligent, more aggressive and prone to criminality, less patriotic, perceived as less hard working, and that blacks just want to live off of welfare and not work." This last quote was proven wrong a couple of years ago when we elected Barack Obama as our President because some people see him as intelligent, is obviously patriotic, and is very hard working and Tim Wise also recognizes him as well.
Overall the videos and websites are related to the Brown v. Board of Education because now that schools are desegregated there are now issues over racism and segregation of social classes. In other words these three issues are a domino effect on one another. My question that always pops up in my head in this class is why can't everyone just get along?
Questions that I would like to ask in class: Why do people have to judge others based on their race or social class? Why can't more students learn from one another instead of being segregated by social class and stop making enemies? Who is to blame for all of this? Is it the media, parents, teachers, students, government? Are people spending their money on useless things when they could be spending money to move to a better environment to help with their child's education? What are your thoughts?
The historical issues that I see in the Bob Herbert's article is that even though we don't like to admit it but schools are still not legally segregated today. This is because of residential patterns, economic disparities, and housing discriminations. In this article it uses a quote by Richard Kahlenberg where he says that "Ninety-five percent of education reform is about trying to make separate schools for rich and poor work, but there is very little evidence that you can have success when you pack all the low-income students into one particular school". To me this is such a horrible thing to do to separate schools by poor and rich students. There was a study that was done that showed that low-income students who were placed in an affluent elementary school had much higher grades than similar low-income students who were in higher poverty schools. Another issue that this article discusses is that where the child lives also plays a huge impact on their education. If a student lives in a terrible neighborhood then they are more likely to attend the public school in town where there are other misbehaving neighborhood kids. This also plays a role on teachers too because most of the good teachers try to stay away from those kinds of schools so therefore there will be a lot of bad teachers in those public schools which won't help the kids out because they need all the help that they can get. Overall this article says that we can't look at the race of the students as being the important key but we must look for an all-around good environment that has good teachers, fewer classroom disruptions, students who are academically motivated, and the parents also have to be more involved with the schools.
In the video "Between Barack and a Hard Place" with Tim Wise he discusses that desegregation is present in schools but there is still the issue of racism and that we are nowhere near a post racial America. Wise says that "To pretend or to act as if we're heading towards this post racial place would be no more logical than to say that Pakistan was heading to a post sexist place". This video also discusses that even though there is a lot of color out there everyone is intelligent, wise, and capable of doing anything and that we shouldn't blame color on someones ability to do something. Wise also states that "6 out of 10 whites will acknowledge that black people are generally less intelligent, more aggressive and prone to criminality, less patriotic, perceived as less hard working, and that blacks just want to live off of welfare and not work." This last quote was proven wrong a couple of years ago when we elected Barack Obama as our President because some people see him as intelligent, is obviously patriotic, and is very hard working and Tim Wise also recognizes him as well.
Overall the videos and websites are related to the Brown v. Board of Education because now that schools are desegregated there are now issues over racism and segregation of social classes. In other words these three issues are a domino effect on one another. My question that always pops up in my head in this class is why can't everyone just get along?
Questions that I would like to ask in class: Why do people have to judge others based on their race or social class? Why can't more students learn from one another instead of being segregated by social class and stop making enemies? Who is to blame for all of this? Is it the media, parents, teachers, students, government? Are people spending their money on useless things when they could be spending money to move to a better environment to help with their child's education? What are your thoughts?
Saturday, March 19, 2011
In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning by Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer
Extended Comments:
This week for my blog I have decided to use Amanda's blog as my extended comments blog. In Amanda's blog she discusses how at her church there is a youth ministry group that is very involved in the community and in the church. Also during Holy Week this youth ministry group fasts for 24 hours and they sleep on the church floor to get a feel for what it is like to live on the streets. After I read this I remembered that my friend, who is also part of her church's youth group, would have to sleep outside in a big open field near the church for an entire weekend. They weren't allowed to pack clothes and what not but they were allowed to bring tents of course. I remember all throughout high school she was very excited to participate in this event but I never really understood why she would want to sleep outside for an entire weekend and was only allowed to bring the clothes on their back. If I was her I would not be able to survive and I would complain the entire time but I never realized how much of an impact this event was. One year the weather wasn't too great and it rained the entire weekend but they all still managed to participate because they knew how important it was and get a feel for what it was like to live on the streets for an entire weekend.
I believe these church groups do a very nice job of getting kids involved in the community and helping others. There are many kids out there who don't realize that there are a lot of people out there who suffer in some way every day and we don't realize that and I think there aren't enough kids out there who are thankful for what they have. I 100% agree with Amanda on how no matter what type of service learning someone does it will always benefit either tremendously or just a little bit to someone.
The service learning that we are doing in class has made me aware of so many things that goes on in public schools. The school that I am in now is drastically different from my own elementary school. At George West Elementary there are mostly African Americans and Hispanic students where as in my elementary school, 95% of the students were white. At first I was a little uncomfortable with the change and I felt as though I didn't fit in but now I love the students that I work with and they enjoy having me in their classroom and that makes me feel like I'm a huge help to them. This website shows the benefits of being involved in the community whether it's for a student, a faculty member or just a regular community citizen. As Kahne and Westheimer state, it is very important for people to get involved and make a difference in your own community because you never know how much you could change or help someones life.
In class I would like to discuss what other types of service learning projects people have been involved in. If they were involved in any others, did they enjoy them as much as they enjoy the service learning project we are doing now? Also another interesting point that I noticed in this article was that it talked about how at some high schools they had to do 75 hours of community service before graduating. Do you think that's too much? Do you think all high school's should do this but set a low minimum number of hours such as maybe 10 hours? What are your thoughts?
This week for my blog I have decided to use Amanda's blog as my extended comments blog. In Amanda's blog she discusses how at her church there is a youth ministry group that is very involved in the community and in the church. Also during Holy Week this youth ministry group fasts for 24 hours and they sleep on the church floor to get a feel for what it is like to live on the streets. After I read this I remembered that my friend, who is also part of her church's youth group, would have to sleep outside in a big open field near the church for an entire weekend. They weren't allowed to pack clothes and what not but they were allowed to bring tents of course. I remember all throughout high school she was very excited to participate in this event but I never really understood why she would want to sleep outside for an entire weekend and was only allowed to bring the clothes on their back. If I was her I would not be able to survive and I would complain the entire time but I never realized how much of an impact this event was. One year the weather wasn't too great and it rained the entire weekend but they all still managed to participate because they knew how important it was and get a feel for what it was like to live on the streets for an entire weekend.
I believe these church groups do a very nice job of getting kids involved in the community and helping others. There are many kids out there who don't realize that there are a lot of people out there who suffer in some way every day and we don't realize that and I think there aren't enough kids out there who are thankful for what they have. I 100% agree with Amanda on how no matter what type of service learning someone does it will always benefit either tremendously or just a little bit to someone.
The service learning that we are doing in class has made me aware of so many things that goes on in public schools. The school that I am in now is drastically different from my own elementary school. At George West Elementary there are mostly African Americans and Hispanic students where as in my elementary school, 95% of the students were white. At first I was a little uncomfortable with the change and I felt as though I didn't fit in but now I love the students that I work with and they enjoy having me in their classroom and that makes me feel like I'm a huge help to them. This website shows the benefits of being involved in the community whether it's for a student, a faculty member or just a regular community citizen. As Kahne and Westheimer state, it is very important for people to get involved and make a difference in your own community because you never know how much you could change or help someones life.
In class I would like to discuss what other types of service learning projects people have been involved in. If they were involved in any others, did they enjoy them as much as they enjoy the service learning project we are doing now? Also another interesting point that I noticed in this article was that it talked about how at some high schools they had to do 75 hours of community service before graduating. Do you think that's too much? Do you think all high school's should do this but set a low minimum number of hours such as maybe 10 hours? What are your thoughts?
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Jonathan Kozol's Amazing Grace Revised
I realized I forgot to put an external link in my blog for this article! Here's an interesting link I found about the government getting involved in distributing clean needles to addicts.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Linda Christensen: Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us
Reflection:
When I was reading this article all I could think about was the Disney movie that recently came out back in December, "The Princess and the Frog". This is the first Disney movie where the leading character is an African American princess. Some people are happy with the decision Disney made and some people are horrified by their decisions. Not only don't they agree with their decision of having an African American being a princess but they also thought that their decision of having the movie set in New Orleans wasn't a very good idea. As we all know, New Orleans was where one of the most devastating tragedies beset a black community and by having an African American Disney Princess live in New Orleans was not a good combination and it stirred up many arguments by the critics and the viewers. Another issue that many critics found disturbing about this movie was that the original name for the Princess was Maddy but before the movie came out they decided to change the name to Tiana. Many people saw this as very racist because when you think of a name for an African American you don't often think of ordinary names so many people believed that since it's an African American we should give her an name such as Tiana.
I work at Target and up front at each register we have a section with various items such as advil, chapstick, tide to go pens, hot wheels cars, and we also have a small collection of Disney Princess Dolls. One day we received a shipment of all the various items. I remember I was helping my manager put out all the items and when we came across this
African American Princess she began to bust out laughing. I asked her what was so funny and all she could say was "This is too funny!". I didn't say anything back to her and I just continued on with what I was doing. Working at the register I would see numerous kids pick up this doll and look at it kind of strange and they wouldn't beg their parents to buy it for them like they would for any other toy. I will admit that for the two years that I've been working here seeing this African American Princess was a little different to me but it I didn't let it bother me like it is doing to everyone else.
In Christensen's article she talks about how some people refuse to go see another Walt Disney movie until they have a black woman playing the role and how many people wanted to see a change in the race of actors. Well, with this movie I believe that they did get that change but some people don't see it as a change they see it as the creators of the movie being racist. Why can't people just accept a change for once and stop looking at the negatives of everything? This is the FIRST time that they've had an African American princess and everyone was so angry about it. I don't agree with everyone's negative reaction towards this movie and I thought it was a good idea for Disney to do.
Do you think Disney should have created this movie? Has anyone ever seen this movie and if you did, do you think it's a racist movie?
When I was reading this article all I could think about was the Disney movie that recently came out back in December, "The Princess and the Frog". This is the first Disney movie where the leading character is an African American princess. Some people are happy with the decision Disney made and some people are horrified by their decisions. Not only don't they agree with their decision of having an African American being a princess but they also thought that their decision of having the movie set in New Orleans wasn't a very good idea. As we all know, New Orleans was where one of the most devastating tragedies beset a black community and by having an African American Disney Princess live in New Orleans was not a good combination and it stirred up many arguments by the critics and the viewers. Another issue that many critics found disturbing about this movie was that the original name for the Princess was Maddy but before the movie came out they decided to change the name to Tiana. Many people saw this as very racist because when you think of a name for an African American you don't often think of ordinary names so many people believed that since it's an African American we should give her an name such as Tiana.
I work at Target and up front at each register we have a section with various items such as advil, chapstick, tide to go pens, hot wheels cars, and we also have a small collection of Disney Princess Dolls. One day we received a shipment of all the various items. I remember I was helping my manager put out all the items and when we came across this
African American Princess she began to bust out laughing. I asked her what was so funny and all she could say was "This is too funny!". I didn't say anything back to her and I just continued on with what I was doing. Working at the register I would see numerous kids pick up this doll and look at it kind of strange and they wouldn't beg their parents to buy it for them like they would for any other toy. I will admit that for the two years that I've been working here seeing this African American Princess was a little different to me but it I didn't let it bother me like it is doing to everyone else.
In Christensen's article she talks about how some people refuse to go see another Walt Disney movie until they have a black woman playing the role and how many people wanted to see a change in the race of actors. Well, with this movie I believe that they did get that change but some people don't see it as a change they see it as the creators of the movie being racist. Why can't people just accept a change for once and stop looking at the negatives of everything? This is the FIRST time that they've had an African American princess and everyone was so angry about it. I don't agree with everyone's negative reaction towards this movie and I thought it was a good idea for Disney to do.
Do you think Disney should have created this movie? Has anyone ever seen this movie and if you did, do you think it's a racist movie?
Friday, February 25, 2011
From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America - A National Report on School Bullying
Quotes
1)"This study clearly illustrates the prevalence of bullying and harassment in America’s schools and that students who experience harassment are more likely to miss classes which can impact a student’s ability to learn."
Bullying is a huge issue that takes place in America's schools and each year it seems to be getting worse and worse. The LGBT students who are harassed every single day don't feel comfortable going to school because they know each day they'll hear at least one remark about their gender expression. Hearing those remarks makes them feel empty inside, makes them feel like don't belong, and all they want is just to just be accepted for who they are. The school systems are the worst place for this type of harassment because it can then lead to the child missing a significant amount of school due to the fact that they don't feel like they belong and they have nowhere to escape to. If teachers had more control over this issue then the student's wouldn't have such a hard time of coming to school because then they know that they have someone to report these incidents to and they have someone to escape to.
2)"The survey reveals that having a harassment policy in place that specifically mentions sexual orientation or gender identity/expression is associated with more students feeling safe (95% vs. 83%) and reporting less harassment or fewer negative remarks at their school."
All schools have a harassment policy in effect but in order to reduce the sexual orientation or gender identity harassment some schools have found it very helpful to have a harassment policy that specifically mentions sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. If students are aware that there is some type of punishment for this type of harassment then this would result in less bullying and LGBT students would feel much safer and comfortable in school. A simple policy like this could make a huge difference in every school because it shows all the LGBT students that the school system cares about them and they actually feel accepted in their own school and they don't have that feeling of fear coming to school every day.
3)“It is important that teachers be made more aware of problems that students are having in school and be willing to identify themselves as resources for students who experience bullying and harassment.”
This is another key factor that helps reduce bullying in America's school systems. Teachers have to be aware what goes on in and outside of their classrooms. If there is only one person in a classroom that a LGBT student could rely on it should always be the teacher. The teacher has the most power in the classroom and if a LGBT student is being harassed they should be able to report to the teacher and from there the teacher can either talk to the other student who is harassing the LGBT student and tell them to stop or if it continues then the teacher has the power to talk to the principal who can then call in the bully's parents to have a meeting. When teachers take control over situations like these they are preventing a serious situation from becoming even more serious. If the LGBT student can't rely on the teacher for help and nobody else in the school system is taking control over the situation then the victim could start having suicidal thoughts. In my high school we had several different after school programs and one program that relates to this article was the GSA Club, Gay Straight Alliance Club. Programs like these make a huge difference for LGBT students and I think teachers who created clubs like these can help solve any other issues going on in the school systems.
Questions:
Why can't everyone just accept people for who they are? Should there be a requirement that all schools should have a policy that specifically mentions sexual orientation and gender identity since it helps reduce the harassment?
Larry King Video on Gay Bullying:
1)"This study clearly illustrates the prevalence of bullying and harassment in America’s schools and that students who experience harassment are more likely to miss classes which can impact a student’s ability to learn."
Bullying is a huge issue that takes place in America's schools and each year it seems to be getting worse and worse. The LGBT students who are harassed every single day don't feel comfortable going to school because they know each day they'll hear at least one remark about their gender expression. Hearing those remarks makes them feel empty inside, makes them feel like don't belong, and all they want is just to just be accepted for who they are. The school systems are the worst place for this type of harassment because it can then lead to the child missing a significant amount of school due to the fact that they don't feel like they belong and they have nowhere to escape to. If teachers had more control over this issue then the student's wouldn't have such a hard time of coming to school because then they know that they have someone to report these incidents to and they have someone to escape to.
2)"The survey reveals that having a harassment policy in place that specifically mentions sexual orientation or gender identity/expression is associated with more students feeling safe (95% vs. 83%) and reporting less harassment or fewer negative remarks at their school."
All schools have a harassment policy in effect but in order to reduce the sexual orientation or gender identity harassment some schools have found it very helpful to have a harassment policy that specifically mentions sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. If students are aware that there is some type of punishment for this type of harassment then this would result in less bullying and LGBT students would feel much safer and comfortable in school. A simple policy like this could make a huge difference in every school because it shows all the LGBT students that the school system cares about them and they actually feel accepted in their own school and they don't have that feeling of fear coming to school every day.
3)“It is important that teachers be made more aware of problems that students are having in school and be willing to identify themselves as resources for students who experience bullying and harassment.”
This is another key factor that helps reduce bullying in America's school systems. Teachers have to be aware what goes on in and outside of their classrooms. If there is only one person in a classroom that a LGBT student could rely on it should always be the teacher. The teacher has the most power in the classroom and if a LGBT student is being harassed they should be able to report to the teacher and from there the teacher can either talk to the other student who is harassing the LGBT student and tell them to stop or if it continues then the teacher has the power to talk to the principal who can then call in the bully's parents to have a meeting. When teachers take control over situations like these they are preventing a serious situation from becoming even more serious. If the LGBT student can't rely on the teacher for help and nobody else in the school system is taking control over the situation then the victim could start having suicidal thoughts. In my high school we had several different after school programs and one program that relates to this article was the GSA Club, Gay Straight Alliance Club. Programs like these make a huge difference for LGBT students and I think teachers who created clubs like these can help solve any other issues going on in the school systems.
Questions:
Why can't everyone just accept people for who they are? Should there be a requirement that all schools should have a policy that specifically mentions sexual orientation and gender identity since it helps reduce the harassment?
Larry King Video on Gay Bullying:
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Aria by Richard Rodriguez
Argument:
Richard Rodriguez argues that by forcing a child to not use their native language at home and instead use the public language or the "gringos" language can pull the family's bond apart and could change their lifestyle forever.
I believe that making a student speak their second language at home is not solving any problem the student is having with learning the actual language. Why would you want to take their comfort zone away from them? Teachers need to realize that everyone has their own way of learning. Teaching a student whose first language is a foreign language is very tough. This is why teachers have to use what the student knows and mix it with what they are trying to teach them. They have to understand that it is okay for the student to use their native language once in a while to learn the English language. This is the learning technique of the student "mixing". Having the nuns tell Richard's parents to speak only English at home was a very bad idea. By doing this they are only taking away the student's individuality. Richard used to be able to escape school by going home and speaking Spanish but now he can't escape to anywhere because everywhere he goes he hears the English language. This also caused Richard and his family to lose their family bond. The only bond that was holding his family together was that they would always speak Spanish to each other and now they can't because the nuns believe it is the only way for their children to learn English. Forcing him to only speak English at home is going to make him think that he HAS to learn English or else they're going to think they will not be successful in school. All these changes in Richard's life also occur in other bilingual student's lives. Teachers are not aware of how much individuality the bilingual student's lose when they become a part of the public society. They also need to realize that people are individualized in two different ways and they are public individuality and private individuality. By having the nuns take away the Spanish language in Richard's home they have taken away his private individuality and that is not solving any issues. They need to accept the fact that this student comes from a foreign background and they need to work him in an ESL classroom and help him learn the English language and not take away his private individuality.
Comments:
From reading this article it made me realize that when I become a teacher I have to realize where all my students are coming from and I have to accept how they will learn. By making a student speak English at home isn't going to solve any problems in school, it's just going to make them feel like they HAVE to speak it or else they will not succeed in school. Having the nuns go to the student's house was a little too extreme and instead they should have worked with Richard in an ESL classroom. How do you think the nuns should have handled the situation?
Richard Rodriguez argues that by forcing a child to not use their native language at home and instead use the public language or the "gringos" language can pull the family's bond apart and could change their lifestyle forever.
I believe that making a student speak their second language at home is not solving any problem the student is having with learning the actual language. Why would you want to take their comfort zone away from them? Teachers need to realize that everyone has their own way of learning. Teaching a student whose first language is a foreign language is very tough. This is why teachers have to use what the student knows and mix it with what they are trying to teach them. They have to understand that it is okay for the student to use their native language once in a while to learn the English language. This is the learning technique of the student "mixing". Having the nuns tell Richard's parents to speak only English at home was a very bad idea. By doing this they are only taking away the student's individuality. Richard used to be able to escape school by going home and speaking Spanish but now he can't escape to anywhere because everywhere he goes he hears the English language. This also caused Richard and his family to lose their family bond. The only bond that was holding his family together was that they would always speak Spanish to each other and now they can't because the nuns believe it is the only way for their children to learn English. Forcing him to only speak English at home is going to make him think that he HAS to learn English or else they're going to think they will not be successful in school. All these changes in Richard's life also occur in other bilingual student's lives. Teachers are not aware of how much individuality the bilingual student's lose when they become a part of the public society. They also need to realize that people are individualized in two different ways and they are public individuality and private individuality. By having the nuns take away the Spanish language in Richard's home they have taken away his private individuality and that is not solving any issues. They need to accept the fact that this student comes from a foreign background and they need to work him in an ESL classroom and help him learn the English language and not take away his private individuality.
Comments:
From reading this article it made me realize that when I become a teacher I have to realize where all my students are coming from and I have to accept how they will learn. By making a student speak English at home isn't going to solve any problems in school, it's just going to make them feel like they HAVE to speak it or else they will not succeed in school. Having the nuns go to the student's house was a little too extreme and instead they should have worked with Richard in an ESL classroom. How do you think the nuns should have handled the situation?
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