Monday, April 21, 2008

Johnson

Premise:

-priviledge
-power
-difference
-community
-rejection
-schools
-problem
-answers
-hatred
-acceptance

Authors Argument:

Johnson argues that the more aware and the more people talk about roblems we have in society the more likely we are to be able to face the problem and solve it.

Evidence:

-"The problem of privilege and oppression is deep and wide, and to work with it we have to be able to see it clearly so that we can talk about it in useful ways"
-"We won't end oppression by pretending it isn't there or that we don't have to deal with it"
-"Dare to make people feel uncomfortable, beginning with yourself"
- "It simply means acknowledging an obligation to make a contribution to finding a way out of the trouble we're all in and to finding constructive ways out of the trouble we're all in and to finding constructive ways to act on that obligation"

Comments:

I felt that this peice was very easy to understanding and read. Also i think that the topic was great and caught my attention right away. i agree with him 100%. problems cant be solved if we dont realize the proplems and run into them head on. there is no point running around a topic, it is easier to just face it. Also i loved the quote "dare to make people feel uncomforatable, begining with youself", this quote is sooo true. Some things are hard to face and talk about but if we can crack open our hard outershell we can get down to the problem without feeling awkward adventually and it will be easier to talk to others once we can comfortable face it ourself.

P.S. ~ things went great on thursday :) all of the group was there and we got a game plan ready and a day to meet up to finish everything up

Monday, April 14, 2008

Orenstein

Premise:

-gender
-inequalities
-girls
-boys
-comparisions
-self confidence
-self esteem
-education
-community
-families
-schooling
-statistics
-fairness
-hidden curriculum

Authors Argument:

Orenstein argues that teachers need to watch how they teach curriculum differently with different genders. She warns that we need to be fair for both girls and boys with out making one stand out as better. Also we ned to stop assuming what we see as feminine or masculine. She also talks about the "hidden curriculum" that can effect girls self-esteem and self-confidence.

Evidence:

-“ Boys perceive equality as a loss”
-"Curriculum should be both a window and a mirror for students , that they should be able to look into other's worlds, but also see the experiences of their own race, gender, and class reflected in what they learn."
-"Sexual harassment is part of the hidden curriculum for girls, and for boys, too, because they learn whether it has anything to do with them or not"

Comments:

I thought that this article was a great read. It was easy to understand what Orenstein was trying to get across and it proved so many point si never thought of. Schools, media, ect. all point men out as the masculan and dominating type and show women as silent. This article also helped to teach me about things i was blind to. I did not even realize how much the media and schools effected the way i view myself as a women and view men. It was a great read and i feel it will help me a lot not only in the classroom but in my life experiences.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Tim Wise

Premise:

-race
-minorities
-priviledge
-real action
-income/money
-opportunity
-cause and effects
-invisibleness
-treatment
-differences

Authors Argument:

Wise argues that white people have always been priviledged so they do not see the inequalities that others have. The ideas white people have are ingraved into them that they do not even rocognize the racism around them.He also believes that the progam of affermative action we have now is only furthur benefitting whites, not truely helping the problem.

Evidence:

-“privilege, to us, is like water to the fish: invisible precisely because we can not imagine life without it.”
-"We strike the pose of self-sufficiency while ignoring the advantages we have been afforded in every realm of activity: housing, education, employment, criminal justice, politics, banking, and business."
- “White families , on average, have a net worth that is 11 times the net worth of black families, according to a recent study; and this gap remains substantial even when only comparing families of like size, composition, education, and income status.”

Comments:

I really enjoyed this article. It was easy to read and it really opened my eyes. Whites get priviledges everyday, but blacks only get a few and the few they do get, people complain about. Another thing i like about the article is how anyone can relate to it. Everything in the srticle i backed up with substancial evidence which makes it even more eye opening.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Charles Lawrence

Premise:

-race
-truth
-lies
-hate
-denial
-seperation
-power
-labeling
-inequality

Argument:

Lawrence argues that there is still much segregation in schools. The laws and court ulings alone can not do enough. People need to realize how much this effects children in schools and there needs to be change.

Evidence:

- “Segregation’s only purpose is to label or define blacks as inferior and thus exclude them from full and equal participation in society.”
-"Equality of education is not enough, there can be no equality under a segregated system. The American negro is not a dominant minority; therefore he must fight for complete elimination of segregation as his ultimate goal."
-"If one views the Brown case narrowly, as a case intended to desegregate the nation's schools, history has proven it a clear failure."

Comments:

This reading was very very hard. I continuously needed to go back and re-read thins and at times even look up words. I am still not to sure that i fully comprehend the message that Lawrence is trying to get through. But overall i do not think there is much segregation in our generation, i feel the difference lies mostly in the hands of our grandparents. The more and more generations being born will hopefully lead to less and less segregation.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Oakes

Premise:

-student abilities
-teaching methods
-classroom atmosphere
-opportunities
-learning speeds
-grouping
-skills
-curriculum

Author's Argument:

Oakes argues that children are placed into "lower level" classrooms at an age that is too young to truely show the childs ability. Also she argues that children in "lower level" classrooms do not get equal treatment and education as those in "higher level" classrooms.

Evidence:

-"In low-ability classes, for example, teachers seem to be less encouraging and more punitive, placing more emphasis on discipline and behavior and less on academic learning"
-“No wonder we find a “rich get richer and poor get poorer” pattern of outcomes from tracking.”
-"Sterotyped as "less-able" and have fewer opportunities to learn."
-"Obviously, the kinds of changes likely to promote high quality learning for all students in heterogenous classrooms go far beyond mere fine tuning of current practice. These changes also require fundamental changes in the structure of schooling and teachers work."

Comments:

I really enjoyed this article, it was an easy read and easy to understand. The idea of the article was also great. It really brought attention to the needs ALL children have in the classroom and how they ALL need to be treated equally. All of the labeling teachers and school put on children only put a disadvantage on the children and do not let them perform to their best abilities. We assume to much. I see this in my VIPS classroom, there are children who leave to go see a resource teacher everyday. Lately the resource teacher has been absent, my techer does not take his very well. She says things lie "they are so hard to handle and they hold the rest of the class back because of all the attention and time they need". Also she talks about how desperatly they need that other teacher to help them, but instead of teaching "them" and helping "the students who need more help", she puts them on the computers with head phones on. This leads to them missing the lesson and actually placing "them" furthur behind the class, not because they could not to the work but because unfortunatly these kids where not even given a chance to learn it. I think this was a wonderful acticle and pointed out a crucial (spelling :/) point for all teacher to consider, including special education teachers.

Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

Premise:

-charity
-community service
-volunteering
-experiences
-learning
-politics
-morals

Author's Argument:

The author's argue that service learning should become part of all school chriteria because it build character and help the community.

Evidence:

-"In addition to helping those they serve, such service learning activities seek to promite students' self-esteem, to develop higher-order thinking skills, to make use of multiple abilities, and to provide authentic learning experiences"
-"However, there are numerous ways in which a curriculum focused on giving provides opportunities for students to develop caring relationships, especially when compared to a traditional academic curruculum."
-"Efforts to integrate service learning activities into the curriculum have great potential and deserve the support they are now receiving."
-“They stress the importance of compassion for those in need, and they encourage children and young adults to find ways to help.”

Comments:

This article was a little more difficult to read than I exspected but once i got through the introduction it got easier to understand what the author's where trying to get through. Also this article brought up a really good point that servise learning should become more manditory in school systems. This would be a wonderful help to communities in need and also give students great opportunities to discover things they would have never imagined they would have enjoyed.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Christensen

Premise:

-stereotypes
-children books/ movies
-media
-gender
-racism
-minorities
-myths
-inequalities
-learning lifestyle
-change
-hidden message/ secret meaning

Authors argument:

Christensen argues that the media greatly impacts and effects the minds of children and what they see and learn from the media change how children view others. He feels similar to how Carlson felt along the lines that he thinks we need to change how the media portrays people but it might not be very realistic at times.

Evidence:

- "Our society's culture industry colonizes their minds and teaches them how to act, live, and dream." this quote is a great quote to see what Christensen is trying to get through from this piece. It demonstrates how much he feels the media impacts our children and their outlook on the world.
-"Although these stories are supposed to merely entertain us, they constantly give us a secret education.”
-"But I want students to understand that if the race of the character is the only thing changing, injustices may still remain."

Comments:

As both a child and now as a teenager, i have ALWAYS! loved DISNEY movies and TV shows. This makes it very difficult to fully agree with what Christensen. There is so much i think she is looking to deeply into, also she keeps making exceptions for the princess and characers in TV shows tht arent white like saying "...I show a Popey cartoon, "Ali Baba and the 40 Theives," that depicts all Arabs with the same face, same turban, same body,--and they are all thieves swinging enormous swords." She is making an exception to the fact that there is a Arab Disney Princess. There is also Pocohontis, Mulan, Jasmin, Ariel, SnowWhite, Arorah, Bell, Cinderella just to name a few, and they al have different traits like poor white girls and rich arabian girls that all have a different meaning behind the story. But i do agree that the media does afftect the way that children percive the world and demonstrate the culture of power.