Social Justice Event

I completed my social justice event paper on the Whiteness Project. This project is an assortment of videos by different white/Caucasian citizens who speak about their opinions on race. The videos begin with the candidate suggesting that most white people are afraid or intimidated to say they are proud of their heritage in being white. The idea of white privilege and white’s being guilty of “having power” is a big deal. The next candidate that left an impact on me said, “More than 40% of white Americans say ‘many’ or ‘almost all’ black men are violent.” For the most part I am totally against this statement, but in situations where I am in the middle of a bad area and the population is predominantly black males, I get a little frightened myself.

I related this event to three readings and Lisa Delpit's "Silenced Dialogue," Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, and Allan Johnson's Privilege, Power, and Difference. I chose Delpit’s Silenced Dialogue because here Delpit looks at the culture of power within schools and the significance of teachers often coming from different social and cultural backgrounds than those of the students with whom they work. I believe this relates to the Whiteness project because there they all discuss the culture of power although this is not so much in the classroom but on the “streets.” One quote that stood out to me that relates to this issue states, "they (white people) won't listen; white folks are going to do what they want to do anyway. It's really hard. They just don't listen well. No, they listen, but they don't hear - you know how your mama used to say you listen to the radio, but you hear your mother? Well they don't hear me." Honestly I find this to be very true; I think white people find themselves viewing what they do as the correct way versus anyone else’s.

 The next reading I related it to is Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. I found the idea behind this reading was very powerful. I loved the list of examples of "White Privilege" in McIntosh's everyday life. This list relates to this event, but two in particular stood out to me. For example, "if a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race" and  "I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me." I come from a town that is not very diverse and I have heard these two phrases in my everyday life. These quotes prove white’s believe they have more power and authority, but most of the time they don’t realize it until situations like this come up.

The last reading I related to was Johnson's Privilege, Power, and Difference. In Johnson's piece he makes a statement, which talks about the social issues in our world and how it is up to us to either make it worse or fix it. According to Johnson, "[A] great deal of trouble surrounds issues of difference in this society, trouble relating to gender and race [...] All of use are part of the problem. There is no way to avoid that as long as we live in this world. But we could also make ourselves part of the solution if only we knew how." I chose this quote because it reminds me of this website. This issue of race can only change if we want it to. Everyone has the power.

As I sat in the dining hall at school completing this assignment, I decided to take a look around. Usually whenever I am alone on campus, I people watch, but now that I think about I find myself watching but not actually observing. Today I decided to observe. As I look around there are people of all different kinds of races surrounding me; whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, etc. I see a table full of Asians sitting together whispering; I see a mixture of black and white soccer players laughing; I see a table full of Latino/ Hispanic females talking; and I see a table full of white girls with their MacBook’s and coffees, gossiping. In the moment I felt as though I was in high school again. There were “cliques” everywhere! Is this what the real world stays like? Do we stick to our races? Is it because we feel equal and comfortable in these groups? It is quite mind-blowing because you think the idea of separation of race is going away, but it is the opposite. 

Another outside source I found that relates to this event I found on YouTube, “What is White Privilege? Here’s What People On The Streets Have To Say.” I found this video to be interesting. The interviewer’s final question was directed to those not white, she asked, how would you feel/ what would you do if you could be white for a day? Or where do you think you would be if you were born white? Their reactions were astonishing, all answered with positivity. They thought they would have had a better life as well as treated with more respect. That tells you something. The last outside source is my personal experience. I recently started waitressing at a well-known restaurant. 
The other day a huge African American family came in and was placed in my section. I was very nervous, but it was not at all because they were African American, but because I am new, I hate big parties. This family complained about everything under the sun, thus I had to get my manager involved. When I was talking to another waitress she said, “they are complaining because they want free food, that’s what black people do.” I just kind of starred at her in amazement, how could someone say that? I did not believe that at all. Another comment I received was, “Sam, I hope you know you aren’t getting a tip.” These comments made me feel very uncomfortable. At the end of their stay, I went over and said thank you and they asked me about school and how I liked working at Applebee’s. Then after they left I saw they left me almost a 50% tip. People are so quick to judge others. One of my favorite quotes is, “what you say about a person says more about you than that person.”

Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change

This week's blog was on Ira Shor's, Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change. The main point of Shor's reading is that school isn't just about forcing students to memorize facts and completing assignments. Instead it should be about socializing and connecting with students so that they are interested and excited to learn every time they go to school. For this blog I decided to do quotes. 
The first quote I picked is, "You must arouse children's curiosity and make them think about school. For example, it's very important to begin the school year with a discussion of why we go to school. Why does the government force us to go to school? This would set a questioning tone and show the children that you trust them and that they are intelligent enough. at their own level, to investigate and come up with answers" (Meier 1990, 7). I chose this quote because I find it to be very true. Children are always very curious as to why they need to go to school to be successful; when in all actuality school is the first step to the rest of your life. How you react to your education, can make or break the rest of your life. 
The next quote I chose states, "Empowered students make meaning and act from reflection, instead of memorizing fact's and value, handed to them" (Shor 12). I chose this quote because I believe the key to success if actually learning and engaging in the material rather just going through the motions. I believe that is what Shor is trying to say here. 
The last quote I chose is, "Students in empowering classes should be expected to develop skills and knowledge as well as high expectations for themselves, their educa­tion and their futures. They have a right to earn good wages doing meaningful work in a healthy society at peace with itself and the world" (Shor 16). I chose this quote because one's education is fully the individual's responsibility and is in their hands. By being a 100% committed to one's own education, you are opening yourself up to a world of opportunities in the job market.

http://www.parallax.org/blog/mindfulness-classroom-teacher-social-emotional-learning/

 

Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

For this weeks blog we are reflecting upon Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome by Kliewer. Kliewer argues that these children should not be demoted because of a disability, but rather receive the attention they need to utilize their strengths. I loved this reading because I am so dedicated to special needs kids in my life. Throughout my life I have always been surrounded with special needs kids. I have grown up with a special needs uncle and I love spending time with him and listening to all of his stories. He participates in the special olympics and occasionally will work at the local grocery store and help bag groceries. He is a very smart guy and I believe is very independent. I also work with a down syndrome girl, Kate. Kate is a very intelligent girl. When I work with Kate, she speaks with such knowledge to both academic information and everyday information. After school, Kate is able to make her own food properly. Kate was also placed in a class with kids who do not have disabilities. This is a great idea because it gives Kate the opportunity to challenge her academics. My high school was very big on helping those with special needs feel comfortable. Nobody in my high school made fun of those with disabilities. Instead we engaged them in many school activities. These students ran our pep rallies as well as unified sports. Everyone wanted to be on the unified team In the classrooms, my school was great with "no child left behind." Once you entered that classroom everyone was equal, if you needed extra help, you were given it. Just because a child is considered disabled, does not mean they should be treated differently.  It is a teacher's job to help a struggling student who has these disabilities. This will only benefit them in the long run when they have to become independent.

http://www.globaldownsyndrome.org/about-down-syndrome/misconceptions-vs-reality/

Tracking: Why School's Need to Take Another Route

In Tracking: Why School's Need to Take Another Route by Jeannie Oaks, there was a lot that stood out to me; but overall I think grouping children is wrong. In high school you see a lot of this "grouping." There are the kids in CP, honors, and AP. For the most part, these kids stay with the same group of kids throughout high school. These classes are strictly based on academics. There is no room to help each other grow because each one is basically at the same level. I find putting kids of different academic levels in a single classroom is a better idea. This way students can help each other out. Although this may be a little difficult for the teacher, their lessons may be off, but I believe in the long run everything will work out better in the classroom environment. 

One place I see this is during my tutoring sessions. I am in an ESL classroom. One thing I find disappointing is that these kids are surrounded with the same 30 kids all throughout school since they are ESL. I find this is more harmful to their learning then helpful. Yes, they are all going through the same struggles of learning English, but they could learn this in a classroom with different kids. Instead they are forced to see the same faces everyday for all four or five years in elementary school. 

The last point I want to make comes from Adam's blog. Adam started off with a quote, then gave his opinion. "Finally 'What about average kids? The quality of classes for average students usually falls somewhere between the high and low-class extremes' I feel as though this is really important because being an average kid myself I realized that many of my fellow class mates who were in higher ranking classes were asked to do more and were given more independence, and with kids in lower ranking classes, they were babies their whole way through high school." I found this very interesting because I wasn't really thinking about myself when reading this piece. But I agree with Adam, I would consider myself average as well and those kids who were above me, in the AP courses, had a lot more work, but a lot more elbow room with their learning. Same with the kids in the lower classes. These kids were treated like needed someone to hold their hand through everything. I find both of these situations wrong. Why not mix all of these academic levels together to create equality. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/education/grouping-students-by-ability-regains-favor-with-educators.html?_r=0

Becoming Something Different

For this blog on Becoming Something Different by Colleen Fairbanks, Penny Crooks, and Mary Ariail, I decided to write a think piece. This think piece I discuss the importance of language. Colleen Fairbanks, Penny Crooks, and Mary Ariail had an encounter with sixth-grader, Esmé Martinez, her school experience is described in interviews up until halfway through her junior year of high school. Learning a new language can be very difficult. For me, I started learning Spanish in my freshman year of high school. Besides English I could not speak any other language, besides the occasional Italian words I heard from my family. One thing I did realize when learning Spanish was the similarities between Spanish and Italian; some of the words are the same or very similar. This had me thinking, 'I wonder if other languages share this similar vocabulary.' To my knowledge, I saw that other languages don't always share the same vocabulary but the same principals, like la means the in the feminine form and el is the masculine. It is pretty basic, words that end in a are feminine and words that don't are usually masculine. You don't see these principals in English. After realizing this, I found it rather strange that people say learning Spanish is harder than learning English. The English language has no set rules, it's like a free for all; rather with these other languages there are rules you follow by, which benefits the learner in case they forget how to spell certain words. No wonder why students like Martinez struggled going to a new school and was trying to learn English. English is to an easy language, it is all memorization.
Learning any language is very difficult especially at an older age, thus I believe it is important to start learning in your younger years. We as educators can't expect high schoolers to grasp all the knowledge of a language when their mind has already developed a good amount. It is important to start learning in elementary school because this is when a child's mind is still developing and they are eager to learn. In Esmé's case she was learning at an older age and wasn't able to the English well. "Such frustrating experiences pointed out to Esmé where she had academic difficulties and contributed to her positioning of some teachers as not helpful" (Fairbanks, Crooks, and Ariail 7). Most of the time students end up learning these new languages in their older years in school, which if they have the correct support and help from their teachers and parents they should do just fine.
http://www.languagestars.com/program-overview/programs/parents-and-tots/14-programs/curriculum/66-the-benefits-of-learning-language-young.html

Between Barack and a Hard Place

For this blog on the video, Between Barack and a Hard Place: Challenging Racism, Privilege and Denial with Tim Wise; I chose to reflect on quotes within the video. 

The first quote I picked was at the beginning of the speech; “today we live in a world where people are ignoring the issues at hand." I find this to be very true. There are so many issues occurring in this world at this very second that nobody cares to mention or try to fix. Problems aren’t just going to go away and I think that is many people’s problems. Most people think, ‘well maybe if I don’t acknowledge the problem, I wont have to think about it or see it as a problem.’ Once one-person thinks in that way, everyone starts too. Then who is going to fix the problems at hand? No one will.

It only takes one person to start a chain reaction, so be that person to try and fix the problems in this world, not only Barack Obama can fix things, the average person can too.

The second quote that stood out to me was, “if people did not want to have the conversation about racism, they (white people) would say I’m not racist, most of my friends are black.” This stood out to me because sad to say but I have seen a lot of this in my life. In the town I grew up they would throw around the ‘N’ word and other foul language, but the instant someone would call them out on it, they would say it is okay because I am friends with the only black kid in school. People I know would have these quick remarks to make others believe that it is okay then. This happened way too often throughout high school and I still see it now as these “sheltered” kids are off at college. It is sad.

The last quote I have chosen is, “the only way would benefit from greater equity, is that we would be forced to face the realities, that we will eventually have to confront anyways.” I think this is important because it is the sad truth. As individuals we like to think we are in complete control and know our lives better than anyone else. The truth is we don’t have full control and we don’t always know the best for ourselves. Sometimes we need that extra help from an authority figure or someone with greater knowledge than us to come in and teach us right from wrong. The example Wise gave about privileged kids who have relative advantage over under privileged kids; yet they are big on substance abuse, parent alienation etc. These are the times in one’s life that require higher guidance to help these people face reality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuRURJ9E3iQ

In the Service of What?

In The Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning by Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer the importance as well as the benefits of service learning programs are highlighted for both students and communities. Service Learning allows a student to take the information they are learning in a classroom and transfer it into real-life experiences while responding to the needs of their communities at the same time. I strongly agree with this idea. Students get bored from being lectured in a classroom and usually wonder how this will help them in their future. I believe the most effective education is taught to us through doing it our self; at least that is how I’ve always learned best. Service learning allows students to have a more hands-on learning experience and connect this to the real world.

There was one section of the article that I was able to connect to the most; when the music director had her upper-middle class students volunteer at an elementary school in a poor neighborhood. This reminded me of our community service being done in a providence elementary school. I did not come from a wealthy family, but my family was able to live without worry. I’ll admit, when I first found out that we had to do this I was very nervous and skeptical. I am not even sure why because my mother taught me to not be afraid of unknown places.  But I wasn’t sure what to expect, how the kids will treat me (an outsider) and how they will react to tutoring. When I arrived on the first day to the classroom I was placed in, kindergarten ESL, the students were all so sweet and eager to learn. They are bright children for only being in kindergarten. They learn with hand on activities and I cannot think of a better way. This is fun and educational for them. My prior accusations were wrong and I am ashamed I felt that way. These kids are just like kids from my hometown just in a different environment. I hope I will be able to make an impact on their learning; they should be able to receive a great education as well.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pFTINdpen94

I couldn’t agree with this video more. Service learning is so crucial. It is one thing to receive your own education but to then use that to your advantage and help someone grow theirs is amazing.