ok this time i promise its the last one... really....

• Allan G. Johnson's "Privilege, Power and Difference"

This article is about:

• how we can fix the power struggle all over the world

Examples of Evidence:

• "Attentive listening is especially difficult for dominant groups." (pg. 141) You have to make people realize that they are holding people above themselves before you can get them to help change anything.
• "Sometimes stepping off the path of least resistance is a matter of directly calling attention to the system and how its organized." (pg. 143) Challenging the system by straying from the path everyone else takes as followers is what leads to change.
• " Make noise, be seen." (pg. 144) pretty self explanatory...

Comments:

This class has made me open my eyes.... its amazing the things that i can pick out now that clearly show power struggles around the world... not just in like... physical power... but all kinds of power... like on the everybody loves raymond rerun tonight when defining Good N' Plenty's... the white ones are the plentys cuz theres always more of them??? yeah... and the fact that my work only carries the caucasian Island Princess Barbie, when all the rinky dink stores carry the African American doll? whats that about? its amazing what sorts of things you can find when you are tuned into them....

my last talking point....

Peggy Ornstein and "School Girls: Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap"

This article is about:

• gender inequality in schools
• teachers stepping out of the norm
• male domination coming crumbling down
• helping young boys to realize the effects of their actions and words

Author's Arguement:

Orenstein's arguement is that boys and girls need to be shown at an early age that the world, which is typically male dominated, has gender eqaulity and sexual harrassment issues that need to be taken care of.

Evidence:

1. "'My older brother had Ms. Logan,' she says. 'And he said all she ever talked about was women, women, women. He didn't like her.' 'I guess it's because all the other teachers ignore women,' Holly says. 'But sometimes I worry about the boys, that they get kind of ignored.'" (pg. 11) Boys do not enjoy being overruled in something that makes them feel uncomfortable, and girls are programmed to feel bad that boys are being walked over when it happens to them on a daily basis.
2. "'The boys definately resent it,' she says matter-of-factly. 'They think Ms. Logan is sexist. But you know what I think? I think that it's the resentment of losing their place. In our other classes, the teachers just focus on men, but the boys don't complain that that's sexist. They say, 'It's different in those classes because we're focusing on the important people in history, who just happen to be men.'" (pg. 12) Finally a girl hits the nail on the head....
3. "'Sexual harrassment in school is the worst,' says Mindy, who is in this class too. 'It's like if you wear a tight shirt, you're asking for it.'" (pg. 19) Girls who want to be comfortable are seen as promiscuous, no matter what age...

Comments:

Ohhhh how this class loves to pull heartstrings.... do you know how many times I've been honked at while walking down the road with friends when I was 12? It's sickening.... and the nasty guys on myspace who message me and they're like... old enough to be my dad??? and one of them tells me i'm sexy??? GROSSSSS like i'm all for the age doesnt matter thing... but would you have a relationship that was as old as your dad was??? hopefully not... dunno if there are any donald trump chasers out there... but seriously if you go on my myspace and read through my blogs... one is completely dedicated to telling loser men that i don't do hookups. some men are disgusting horn dogs not gonna lie.... (to all the guys out there, im not a total guy hater... i just hate the nasty ones.... in fact im single and looking hhahahahaha :) )

but yeah men seem to be hero-worshipped in life. i mena duh.... american presidents? hello?? lol.... and again CABBAGE PATCH KIDS!!!!!!!!!... life is a sad sad place.... but its funny.... you go to college, and many of my classes are female dominated... FNED... theres alex, justin, steve and brandon... hmm.... tough crowd... especially cuz we male bash a lot in that class (sorry guys.... nothing personal against any of you... and yes alex im waiting for the comeback..... :) ) my sociology class, four guys... ummm english lit i wont count cuz theres only 9 of us... even distribution if one person doesnt show up usually.... childrens lit i cant count only because there are too many of us....

how many shows on tv are male dominated... two and a half men, how i met your mother, everybody loves raymond, seinfeld, law and order and ncis (both male protagonists), big bang theory, most if not all surroung men and the events in their lives....

yeah life is a cold place.... and its winter now... so it just got colder....

Diversity on Campus, and a Cabbage Patch Quandry

so i went to my diversity event tonight... it fuckin rocked out loud... some people thought it wasnt that great but it got the point across... ill talk about it in class tommorow...be there or be square :)

then i had a cabbage patch problem at work.... im sure we all know cabbage patch kids are the little dolls that you can customize to be like you, or find to look like you, and they can be "adopted" and they have names and birthdays and stuff.... yeah... those...

well at work amber and i had to rearrange the toys to make them look neater, so we decided to make a cabbage patch tree on the floor, you know... you put them in a circle and stack them in circles that get progressively smaller? we knew that his would be an issue if somebody wanted a particular one from the middle, soooo we decided to sort the dolls so one of each kind could be reached from the outside so there wouldn't be too many initial issues...

the sorting astounded me, there were 7 different kinds of dolls that we found... the tally stood at: Group 1: Caucasian Females with Pink Highlights (18) Group 2: Caucasian Females with Blue Highlights (17) Group 3: African American Girls with Pink Highlights (3) Group 4: African American Girls with Blue Highlights (2) Group 5: African American Boys (3) Group 6: Caucasian Boys (2) and Group 7: Oriental Boys (1).... interesting isn't it? people think that kids dont want boy dolls or dolls of different nationalities.... there were no oriental girls... all of the boys had blue highlights... there were no "girly" boys.... all of the girl dolls had t shirts on that said "Pirates Rock" and the boys had shirts that said "I love the Cabbage Patch"....

I actually suggested the sorting after I heard about the doll test that was done in classes during Brown vs. Board... I'd heard about it in the book, but i figured hell im going to be stacking dolls i might as well learn something... what i learned is that we need more dolls of different nationalities, and for gods sake get some boys in there! boy dolls need love too!

ok thats my bit....

Yet Another Talking Point on Kliewer

Christopher Kliewer and "Schooling Children With Down Syndrome"

This article is about:

• building better communication with disabled students
• how disabled students interact with thier teachers and their peers
• how many of the things practiced at home or for leisure can be incorporated into teaching for disabled students
• how some teachers are able to adapt to a student's individual needs
• how America is scared to help the disabled and how they are prejudiced from the get-go about how disabled people look and act

Author's Arguement:

Kliewer argues that America needs to become more accepting of the disabled in our community and that the prejudices held against them need to be broken down.

Evidence:

1. "Success in life requires an ability to form relationships with others who make up the web of community." (73) Our community is very diverse and one can only consider themselves a full member of that community if they are willing to work with others who are similar and different to them.

2. "They didn't think it was realistic, that she could handle that job. Here they have her educating America's future, but they're scared to let her work at a movie place." (78) People freaked out about letting a girl with Down Syndrome work at a movie rental place, but they had her teaching little kids.... something is ass backwards about their opinion.... she's able to do either if she really wants to, but for them to be like all freaked out... thats bull..... sorry... more of this will come in the comments section...

3. "So I guess what I'm arguing is that if you did pick Lee out, you wouldn't be seeing Lee. It's not Lee you're picking out. It's your stereotype, your mind-set. It's you, and it has nothing to do with Lee. But if that's how you choose to see him, I don't know that anything I could do, we could do, I don't think there's anything Lee could do to change your mind." (84) Because of obvious features and stereotypes given to the disabled over time, people think what they see is what they get.... however they don't actually see the real person... and their unique abilities...

Comments:

Ahhhhh another current issue that pisses me off... the prejudice against the disabled... mentally, physically, any type of disability really.... its sickening. Yeah... people see somebody with Down Syndrome and immediately believe that they are too different from the rest of us to be worth anything. I can tell you that I have an uncle with Down Syndrome, and I have worked with kids who have Down Syndrome, hell.... I've worked with kids with Cerebral Palsy, with Autism, with Aspbergers... hearing impairments, sight impairments... these kids are no different then any other child. And in the article where it was talking about "the man" freaking cuz of Anne who wanted to be a movie director trying to get a job at a movie rental store... dude what the hells your problem??? im surprised you're not freaking out about her working with your children (whoever you are), you know... with the age old addage about "oh theyll catch their stupid"... that pisses me off too.... stupid people leading stupid lives i suppose...... even something as awesome as the special olympics was ruined with the movie "The Ringer"... as good of a movie as it was... showing that a "normal" guy can infiltrate and steal something like that away from these kids is disgusting... even if the special olympians accepted him, its rediculous that somebody would bet on something like that. i realize i have been deviating from the article and stuff but i've had a very pissy week and all these rediculous articles about stupid people leading their stupid lives only make it worse.......

OMG THAT LADY WAS NUTTY AS A BABY RUTH!!!

holy god that movie today in class was freakin sweet!!! its about time people were shown what its like to feel inferior... and that screaming bitch chick who refused to apologize will be the first person at that event labled as a racist because she just didnt freakin get it. even the first girl that cried eventually figured out why the lady was being so rude... and what she said was bogus... "im sorry theres racism"... thats rediculous. the whole excercise was supposed to premote the fact that for once what hitler deemed the elite race of the "blue eyed people" would switch with those who suffered on a daily basis. unless your michael jackson or filthy rich... you cant change your skin color. and you know what... people should have to, nor want to. like the one african american student said he is proud of his heritage and he has every right to be. the point of the students with blue eyes wearing the green colors was basically to prove that when they left the room they could "take off" the oppression they had been feeling, again, people of color and homosexuals and any other type of discriminated person on earth cannot. some of the people in the blue eyed group appeared to be the types of individuals who are usually quiet, and as delpit would put it, the people in power are the ones least aware of it. think about it... how often has a blue eyed blond haired person been picked on? unless they are extremely nerdy looking, or gothic (in which they would dye their hair im sure) they probably never have been.... i even remember being envious and wishing i had blue eyes at one point in my life, and then theres the book "the bluest eye" where the young african american girl wishes for blue eyes. its sickening how some people are envied... even the extremely rich slutty mcwhorebags like Paris Hilton, or Britney the mother from hell... or Lindsey Lohan.... the child star turned drunken princess.... why do people look up to them???? why does anybody look up to anybody when EVERYBODY has flaws of their own??? look at me!! im a total bitch when it comes to stuff like this, and i am absolutely critical about my own appearance, but i do not hold myself to be superior to anybody else... not anymore... college was a culture shock that knocked the "smart kid superior" out of me... thats for damn sure... if only the entire world had that culture shock... maybe the world would be a better place... just like when we were talking about brown versus board.... the way that grown adults handled themselves was disgusting.... watch hairspray.... youll figure it out... i would love to shake that womans hand.

Talking Points on Lawrence

"One More River to Cross"-Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown: A Prerequisit to Shaping New Remedies by Charles Lawrence

This Article is About:

• How Brown only succeeeded in injuring the view of minority individuals further
• How constitutional violations are more the focus of Brown
• How desegregation is not the only step we need to take
• How schools do not properly prepare minority students for a life after high school

Author's Arguement:
Charles Lawrence argues that the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education was more of a hindrance than a help to the minority students in America. It has placed them in an entirely different category than they had originally been in.

Evidence:

1. "In short, segregation American-style, like South African apartheid, has only one purpose: to creat and maintain a permanant lower class or subcaste defined as race." (pg. 282) Basically, although racism existed because of segregation, racism existed after, it was just seen differently.
2. "...Burger only found constitutional violations within the city of Detroit and, therefore, limited the remedy to that geographic location." (pg. 286) Instead of fixing various problems nationwide... the problems are only fixed in the specific areas in which they are discovered. This needs to change.
3. "Following the rule that the remedy must match the injury, judges have ordered that schools be desegregated if there has been evidence of school segregation, that Blacks be given access to housing if there has been proof of discriminatory real estate practices, that Blacks be given jobs if there is sufficient evidence of discriminatory employment practices, and that states that have engaged in practices denying Blacks the vote cease and deisst from engaging in those practices." (pg. 287) Rules are put out... but not necessarily enforced.

Comments:

This article was so boring, so this comment section will probably be the shortest ever.... I skimmed the article looking for important quotes and points... and I still don't feel like I learned much. It was repetative... I got the idea that desegregation was bad in the sense that it created a whole new class of minority... but I got that idea in the first page... so the rest of the article killed me..... so yeah... I thought this was really boring.... but I can connect this to Delpit because the Caucasian people in power over this case were oblivious to the facts.... they were using thier power to "help" but did not foresee the consequences.....

Talking Points Number Whatever on Oakes

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

This article is about:

• lumping students together
• the effects of putting students in certain groups or out of them
• the privileges displayed by the groups of "smarter kids"
• the uncertainty over which side to take, the lumping side or the integrator side
• what to do instead of lumping kids together
• how to teach kids so that they get the full benefit of their education

Author's Arguement:
Oakes argues that choosing sides between lumping students and integrating students is a hard decision to make, because both sides have their pros and cons.

Evidence:

1. "On one side of the issue, many educators and parents asser that when schools group by ability, teachers are better able to target individual needs and students will learn more." (pg. 178) Basically, if the same skill levels are put together teachers can pinpoint problem areas more easily.

2. "On the other side, growing numbers of school professionals and parents oppose tracking because they believe it locks most students into classes where they are stereotyped as "less able," and where they have fewer opportunities." (pg. 178) The counter arguement where many parents believe their kids are being left out.

3. "...students who are placed in high-ability groups have access to far richer schooling experiances than other students." (pg. 178) The misconception that some kids are missing out...

Comments from the Peanut Gallery:
Ok.... soooooo coming from an honors class life... I can say EHHHHHHHH WRONG..... on a lot of these comments..... yeah.... lets begin with that...

I did not feel privileged, and I did not feel like I was being pushed to "prepare for college". I barely ever had homework, and the work wasn't stimulating. I felt smart there... but I got to college and felt stupid because I was not at all prepared for what was coming to me. And there is no way that I can argue that college kids were prepped for like... Ivy League and top colleges.. because our valedictorian was rejected from Brown University because they were "looking for more private school kids"... so how is that for privilege? Our valedictorian had straight A+'s from 6th grade to senior year.... they checked..... she was a freak.... and she got rejected...

Yeah you had your people who thought they were special.... there was one girl who was in the AP level classes, and she busted our balls all the time because we weren't applying to Ivy League colleges. She thought it was disgraceful that some of us applied to community colleges or state colleges just because they "had the better choices for our majors"... she didn't believe in that...

Being in honors classes didn't make you do well on your college prep exams either.... I did horrible on my SAT's both times that I took them.... some people just don't test well.... funny thing is i got close to top scores on my PPST's... weird......

I don't have much else to say on this one.... but this article irked me... cuz it brought me back to those senior year days when everyone is freaking about entrance exams..... i told the story about my friend who had the seizure cuz of it... yeah... thats what it does to people....

Also, when you finally do put kids together disregarding personal abilities, its traumatic.... my brothers high school did away with levels this year... the kids are all screwed up... as are the teachers.... my brother feels stupid because he isn't in his comfort zone anymore. It's really not fair to those kids who want to try, but are constantly overshadowed by the fact that there are kids vastly more abundant in knowledge then they are...... I find that depressing... You don't know the problems with this stuff til you finally do it.... then it's too late...

Yet Another Life Connection...

you know... i vowed to never ever ever ever EVER use Delpit's name outside of the classroom... but i feel like i have too... Delpit states that the people with power are usually oblivious to its existance... this can be said with cops.... seriously...

i look up to law enforcement, and i believe in the idea of justice, but how far is too far for treatment of criminals and rule breakers??? i was watching COPS tonight (don't ask me why... I like the theme song.... bad boys bad boys.... whatcha gonna do? lol :) ) and every single case of criminal activity, the person was tasored..... now im all for punishment... but tasoring to me is like.... the electric chair... its cruel and unusual... pepper spray works just as well... for one thing, the little prods or hooks at the end of the tasor can become dislodged from the object and they can be stuck in peoples clothing or skin... duh... a health risk if not found... besides the fact that about 15,000 volts of electricity are pulsing through a being that is 75% water.... umm... hello? electricity vs. water equals big ZZZZAAAAPPPPPPP....

then i think we all know about the college student that raised his voice at a john kerry assembly at his school, who was tasored for speaking out and arguing a point during the Q and A session... just because he wanted to be a little bit of a hell raiser, and to bring about questions that maybe could have used a debate or an answer, does not give the cops the right to bring down a student and tasor him repeatedly... he did appologize for his actions on national television, but has no one realized that since the tasor was introduced into law enforcement it has been used more and more??? how did we cope without tasors??? do these cops realize what they are doing to people when they use this instrument of torture???

and how about those pellet guns that cops have??? when used to stop a riot (well not really a riot but a rowdy gathering) after the first red sox world series win since the Bambino's curse, one lady was hit in the eye and killed... how much more unnecessary pain and death must be caused because these "keepers of the peace" have the tools capable of causing it???? what the hell is wrong with society??? the cops dont even seem to realize what they are doing to these people... they just know they are doing it.... and they dont give a damn.... people look up to them..... but yet they are truly encouraging violence in thier own practices....

oh oh oh i had a moment!!!!!!!!!!!!

so we were allowed to dress up at work for halloween, i was suped... so i stole my younger brothers boyscout uniform. wow... the people shopping at kohls were funny... i had stuffed my hair up inside the hat for a majority of the time, and at one point this couple (a homosexual female couple, which i found quite astounding, not the orientation, but the situation that happened) was in my department and I asked them if they needed help, to which they responded that they were all set, and walked away at a rather brisk pace. A few minutes later I was paged over the intercom to help a couple in the boys section, when I got there it was the same couple... so I approached them (yes I had my name tag on, but I had put a piece of tape over the usual "Jessica C" and written "Jesse") and they gave me a strange look. "We were told a young lady would be here to help us..." In my head I was thinking "Do you wanna see my bra?" but of course I would never say that being the good little sales associate that I am... so instead I responded "Yes, that would be me..." and shook my hair out of my hat so they could see that I was in fact a female... kinda funny seeing as I wore olive green eye shadow and black mascara so that my eyes would stand out as feminine... they were even more bothered by this it seemed because they said that they had changed their mind and walked away.
even after that, I went into the bathroom to make sure that my drawn on cuts and scrapes (yes I was the beat up boyscout...) were still intact and to make sure I had not gotten anything on my brothers uniform. A lady washing her hands at the sink asked me if I was in the wrong room... I turned to her and responded... no I'm in the right one... again, took off my hat... and watched as she said "Oh my God" and walk out without drying her hands....
Later that night I also had a young man approach me and say:
"I saw you walking from behind and realized that it was not a dude" (yes he said 'It')
"No, IT is not a dude, IT is a female."
"Oh... so are you really a boyscout?"
"No, I stole the uniform from my brother for the night..."
"Oh... do you do that often?"
and I left it at that... wow... amusing...
So I guess the point is that even though it was Halloween, and people are usually dressed up on Halloween, people still get freaked out over little things like that... funny isn't it... that was my night of tapping the glass....

Talking Points #5 on Oakes and Lipton

"Teaching to Change the World" by Jeannie Oakes and Martin Lipton

This article is about:

• how the "traditional" views of schooling and school children have changed
• attempts at keeping the schooling democratic
• schools are trying to teach the students how to be American citizens
• how schools try to recognize talent in minority children so that they can benefit from education
• how some people do not care about students
• how teaching has become feminized
• how students are encouraged to reach for goals that are "out of their reach"

Author's Arguements:

Jeannie Oakes and Martin Lipton are arguing that the world is changing all the time, and teachers, parents, and students need to start adapting to those changes in order to completely benefit from an education. This applies to teachers and parents as well, because they are life-long learners, teachers need to learn the newest and best techniques to educate thier students, and parents need to learn how to help thier kids in any way that they can.

Evidence:

1. "Jefferson reasoned, 'By this means twenty of hte best geniuses will be raked from the rubbish annually, and be instructed, at the public expense.'" (pg. 9)
This quote realllllllly irked me... yes I realize that this was back in the days of the founding fathers, but who in the world would imply that a child or student was "rubbish" just because of their color? Prior to this quote, it is described that Jefferson wished to educate children of color even if the public did not agree. But this quote directly shows how teaching has changed in modern times. EVERY child has the chance to learn, and no student would ever be told they were worthless because of ethnicity, religion, sex, or other factors. Obviously adults are learning something.

2. "As Sarine Gureghian's efforts illustrate, the young continue to learn, in school, the knowledge and habits of citizenship." (pg. 5)
This is obvious, because one of the biggest activities we ever participated in in elementary school was the Junior Achievement program. Fourth and Sixth grade, the program concentrated fully on giving us the understanding of the word "citizen" and what it means to be a citizen in American culture. We also learned a lot about other cultures, and what it means to be a citizen there as well. Through programs like this, students are learning things that they may not encounter until they are older. Getting to get be removed from the standard classroom setting where you're working on math, history, spelling, etc. also gives the students a break so they are interested in learning these new concepts.

3. "For the past 100 years, schools have been asked to "Americanize" immigrant children...Now, in response to our most recent arrivals, several states and communities have sought and some have passed "English only" policies." (pg. 11)
This connects to what Rodriguez is talking about in his article. He felt that he lost his identity the day that those nuns came to talk to his family about having him and his siblings speak English at home. Immigrant children are losing parts of themselves because of the English only policies, but this appears to be the American way. Too bad nobody realizes that at one point we were ALL immigrant... hello... Mayflower? came from Europe guys.... and the Native Americans? They came to the America's long before we did... if anything we should have been given a "Native American only" policy...

Comments:

Besides the fact that this article was really really REALLY long... it basically stated what we have known all along. That our own adult views need to change before we can expect our children to benefit from education. In today's world, our kids are learning what war is like... so many kids have lost their parents, siblings, aunts, uncles because of the War Against Terrorism. Sure, the government may argue that we are not "seeing the good being done in Iraq" because the media only puts forth the bad... but what does 5 year old Johnny know about the democratic policies in Iraq? All he cares about is that his big brother Tim, whom he has idolized all his life, is in danger; he probably watched mom and dad cry when he had to get on that plane... and now his family suffers day to day because of it.
Immigrant children and minority children are also seeing that they are quickly becoming more important in the eyes of educators as well. The Reading Buddies program I think is wonderful for kids who need extra help, but may not get it otherwise. I'm pretty sure that when we were assigned this task, a bunch of us assumed we could go to a nice school in a nice little community where we'd be working with Caucasian children who needed help. But now that we've been out there, we have seen that these kids need help too, and I have to tell you, I love going to the Fortes school. When I tutor, there are maybe 6 of us with our buddies at a time, and we all sit in the hallways and have a great time, and the kids are learning with us. Our reading buddies love seeing us, and my first reading buddy Raspucia told me that she loved when I came to see her because I help her where he teacher could not... "Mrs. Taylor is really busy, she can't help all of us at the same time..."
Teachers themselves are even acknowledging that their work environments sometimes have to be adjusted to meet their needs. One incident told of a teacher who's school bathrooms were flooded for over two months, and nothing was done about it. Kid's can't learn with stuff like this going on about them...

OH AND CAN I JUST POINT OUT... THAT NOW THAT DUMBLEDORE IS GAY A WHOLE BUNCH OF PRIESTS AND SUCH IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS HAVE BANNED THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS AND MOVIES FROM THEIR SCHOOLS???? FREAKIN' HOMOPHOBES... THE BIBLE HAS HOMOSEXUALITY IN IT....... GOD.... ITS LITERATURE.... PEOPLE... GET OVER IT....

Talking Points #5 on Christensen

"Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us" by Linda Christensen

This article is about:

• the prejudices shown in movies and cartoons
• how these prejudices have shaped American culture
• the subtle bits of racism and other things in movies and cartoons
• arguements against such cartoons and movies
• how to find the bad points in modern movies

Author's Arguement:

Linda Christensen argues that old/new movies and cartoons shaped the way that children see their world and the peoples in it.

Evidence:

1. "Many students don't want to believe that they have been manipulated by children's media or advertising." (pg. 128) Using the word manipulated shows that the author believes that there is more to these cartoons and movies and things then meets the eye upon initial viewing.
2. "After viewing a number of cartoons, Kenya scolded parents in an essay, 'A Black Cinderella? Give Me a Break.' She wrote: 'Have you ever seen a black person, an Asian, a Hispanic in a cartoon?'" (pg. 131) The author's subject, Kenya, is clearly upset by this fact that she is pointing out, as well she should be, because it is a very true fact, most of the time...
3. "Catkin wanted to publish her piece in a magazine for young women so they would begin to question the origin of the standards by which they judge themselves." (pg. 137) That would probably help the number of girls suffering from eating disorders and various other problems due to a low self-image.

Comments:
Ok, I can see and agree with many of the points in these paragraphs... however I do have a few bones to pick...

First off, I want to know why Peter Pan is seen as a key teaching tool for little kids? It didn't really say in the article, and I sure as hell haven't seen any little kids throwing dirt on their heads and trying to fly to Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch... so clearly they're not learning how to fly with faith and trust and a little bit of pixie dust...

Second, I totally agree with the fashion thing... I don't wear name brand unless I can help it, although I am very partial to Glo jeans... but its more because they actually fit me without a. falling off or b. having to be hemmed. But seriously, little babies don't need to be wearing Roca Wear... that's just rediculous... paying 50 something dollars for a pair of size .02 Timby's.... which they are going to outgrow ANYWAY

Ok, the next thing about the stereotyping comment in media... the only thing that could come to mind was Charlie Chaplin's film "Modern Times". Charlie Chaplin is the lead character, playing a hobo-ish persona... how can you say that most white men are portrayed as the rich ones? This poor little dude suffers so much in that one film... clearly he isn't subject to the white privilege... so not all media is like that... at least not all older media...

The bit about an African-American Cinderella? It's been done! There was that movie (produced by Disney I believe) that had Brandi as the lead lady... doing exactly what the cartoon Cinderella does. I don't remember precisely what it was called... for some reason Ever After comes to mind but that's the one with Drew Barrymore I think, but it has been done. And what about Aladdin? That Disney cartoon clearly wasn't your average "fair skinned" princess... Jasmine was of a more olive complexion, and she is still one of Disney's six Princesses. Clearly that just makes her the more special one (she's always been one of my favorites... Cinderella is over rated anyway).

The part about the Cinderella with "big hips" and wearing the "dazzling gold sandles" was rather amusing. It brought into mind the movie Phat Girls, which I loved, because it showed that big girls are beautiful too. In that movie, two Nigerian men choose the two larger of the three girls, arguing amongst themselves in Nigerian on who gets the third, the "toothpick" who "is obviously sick". Big girls should love themselves, cuz one of my best friends is a big girl, and she's damn proud!!! Heart you mucho my friend :)

But yes I agree that it is very true that kids learn a lot from what they see in the media. There's even a Disney group on facebook dedicated to it called "Disney gave me unrealistic expectations about love." (which i agree with and am a member of lol) But isn't to find the guy what most girls have dreamt of throughout history? Regardless of the media? Think about it, we didn't even have T.V. in older times where a girls fondest wish was to find the man of her dreams and settle down... yes i'll admit its mine too... even though i haven't exactly found that dream man...

Talking Points #3 on Carlson

"Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community" by Dennis Carlson

This article is about:

• the creation of the terms associated with Homosexual peoples
• the view that Homosexual peoples are "ill"
• avoidance of using Homosexuality as a reference
• avoidance of asking someone of their sexual preference
• discrimination against Homosexual peoples
• suicide rates among Homosexual individuals

Author's Arguement:
Carlson argues that the world's people have created the image of Homosexuality being "bad" or being an "illness". He is arguing that it is hard enough for people who are Homosexual to live in a world full of discrimination, without the prejudices of close-minded people.

Evidence:

1. "...while other individuals and subject positions (i.e. black, working class, female, homosexual, etc.) are disempowered and represented as deviant, sick, neurotic, criminal, lazy, lacking in intelligence, and in other ways, "abnormal".
   This quote shows that many people are subject to the view that they are "ill" when in fact they have not chosen the way in which they are living. Obviously, African American peoples did not choose their skin color, women their gender, Homosexuals their sexual preference or working class citizens their stations in life. It is simply something we are all born into, and being a female I can personally attest to that. However they are trying to pin these people as being "sick" or "criminal".
2. "In such an environment, it should hardly be surprising that major textbook publishers avoid gayness like the plague. English literature anthologies still go out of their wayt ot avoid acknowledging that certain famous writers were gay, such as Gertrude Stein Walt Whitman, or James Baldwin."
   I think this is a changing thing, but it is true that most teacher's try not to tell people that some of the most esteemed people in their culture are gay. Look at Elton John or Ellen Degeneres? There was a rather large outburst at their coming out of the closet because of their high places in culture, however every one in the world has learned to get over it because they are good people. Homosexual's are all good people, and it's time the world got over it.
3. "For example, it is now estimated that up to one-third of all adolescent suicide victims are gay, approximately one-quarter of all homeless youth in the United States are gay, and dropout and drug abuse rates among gay youth are likewise high."
   Well it's no wonder, when they are put under such disgusting scrutiny. It is an appalling thing to know that most suicides are because people have come out of the closet.

Comments:
This article really opened my eyes, because I have grown up with a cousin who is a Lesbian all of my life. Nobody in my family really cares because we've all known and accepted her for who she is. We all attended her commitment ceremony (except for a few who don't particularly matter in the least anyway) and we all accept her Life Partner as part of our family, partially because she's been around since I was about 6 years old. But it is true that Homosexual couples are alienated. At the commitment ceremony (which was held outside) it was astounding the amount of people who would stop in their cars to see the wedding party, but then drive away at about 80 mph when they saw it was between two women. I honestly think the world needs to grow up, Homosexuality is a fact of life, and I would not give up my Gay or Lesbian, or even my Bi friends for the world. They are awesome people, just like anybody else.

Talking Points 2 on Rodriguez

Richard Rodriguez "Aria"

Premise: This article is about:

• complications between teachers and bilingual students
• loss of an identity
• adaptation
• personal struggles
• an underlying sense of shame or loss?

Authors Argument:
Rodriguez argues that it is hard for bilingual children to learn without the proper encouragement, but that additional push may also be damaging to families.

Evidence:

1. One can first see this struggle, when Rodriguez states that "Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom. I would have felt much less afraid...Fortunately, my teachers were unsentimental about their responsibility. What they understood was that I needed to speak a public language." (page 34) Rodriguez knew that he needed a little extra nudge to be taught English, and so did his teacher's... they also knew that it would be hard for him, but they wanted him to do it anyway... they probably wanted him to succeed.
2. Rodriguez' family starts to fall apart because of this new "English-at-Home" alteration. "But I had no place to escape to with Spanish. (The spell was broken.) My brother and sisters were speaking English in another part of the house...Neither my older brother nor sister rushed home after school anymore. Nor did I...The old Spanish words (those tender accents of sound) I had used earlier--Mama and papa--I couldn't use anymore. They would have been too painful reminders of how much had changed in my life." (page35-37 various lines) His mother and father want him to succeed so badly, that they also undergo the drastic change, and even though it brings them all further apart, they do it to help their children.
3. The author clearly feels as if he lost a part of himself when his family changed from strictly Spanish-speaking to an English setting. Although it was still a part of him, he had lost something as well. "...like so many of the Spanish voices I'd hear in public, recalled golden age of my youth. Hearing Spanish then, I continued to be a careful, if sad, listener to sounds...I smiled for an instant, before my glance found the Hispanic-looking faces of strangers in the crowd going by. Today I hear bilingual educators say that the children lose a degree of 'individuality' by becoming assimilated into public society." He is aware that he has lost a part of himself, but he tries to keep it all inside.

Comments:
Honestly, reading this article made me rather sad. I am a firm believer that if one moves to a new country, they should attempt to learn the language spoken there, but I also believe that they should keep their own culture as well. That is a part of them that will never change, and I would never want it to change, just like I would never want a part of me to be removed either. It is true that the parents changed their lifestyles for their children's education, but to not encourage them speaking Spanish at all is rather disheartening. Not only did the children lose part of their heritage, but also the parents as the reader can see reflected in the father. It wasn't that the children were not trying to learn, they just had a hard time understanding the concepts, and also according to Rodriguez, gaining the understanding that it was okay for them to speak English. He seemed to make it sound like English is a private language that only the privileged can use, when that is far from the case. No child should ever be made to feel that way... anybody can speak a language... there is no copyright on languages... so this greatly bothered me... working at a department store you hear kids come in all the time, and they'll say to their parents "look Mommy!" and when the parents don't respond they resort to "Mira Mama! Una autra Dora!!" to which they gain a greater response. Clearly they understand the concept of English, but they are also being encouraged to speak their Native tongue... many times customers will come to the registers with questions, but they will not speak a word of English, I have had a 10 year old girl play translator for her Hispanic mother. Hopefully children these days are evidently showing more progress in the learning processes if they can accomplish this much on their own...

Talking Points Number One: Kozol

"Amazing Grace" by Jonathan Kozol

This article is about:

• poverty in New York (particularly the Bronx)
• fear and anxiety of kids and parents in the Bronx
• murders and serious injuries children are subjected to in everyday life
• different horrors that are arriving in the cities
• level of intelligence in children in the Bronx
• support for drug addicts and "sex workers"
• the poor situations in hospitals
• the inability to receive care and medication for the sick

Authors Arguement:
Jonathan Kozol basically argues that the poverty and destruction that children (and adults) are shown in their daily lives in the Bronx could be having adverse effects on their learning processes and also on their views of life. This is beside the fact that the things they are exposed to could also be damaging to their physical and mental health.

Evidence:
1. The things that children see can be damaging to their mental health, especially if it is an everyday thing. You would think that the children "get used to it" or see it as "a thing in life" but how do we know that deep inside, in their sub-conscious that it is not hurting them? To support this, you can read the short quote from a little boy that the author had the pleasure of touring the Bronx with on page 6 of Kozol's article:
"I saw a boy shot in the head right over there," he says a moment later, in a voice that does not sound particularly sad, then looks up at me and asks politely, "Would you like a chocolate chip cookie?"
Clearly although the boy seems disaffected, he dwells on this fact both because it is a jarring situation for someone to be in, and also because he has to see the crime scene all the time, and it will continue to bring back those terrifying memories.

2. We can assume that kids in schools are not recieving the education that "privileged" children are receiving, as they do not know things that most kids do, or even should. This can be seen on pages 8 and 9, again with a conversation with the little boy and the author:
"Have you read about George Washington?"
"I don't even know the man," he says.
How can a child not know the nation's first president? Either there is no emphasis on American History, or there is something preventing the child from retaining things like this, perhaps he has learned it and merely forgotten because there is not much put into remembering the information.

3. There are various quotes to suggest that children are subjected to drugs and prostitution daily, and perhaps this could be teaching them that this is merely a part of life, and they are accepting that there is nothing better. There are multiple quotes to suggest this:
"The pastor tells me that the place is known as 'Children's Park'. Volunteers arrive here twice a week to give out condoms and clean needles to addicted men and women, some of whom bring their children with them. The children play near the bears or on a jungle gym while thier mothers wait for needles." (p. 12)
"I went to the clinic last week with my mother. Out in front there was a table set up on the street. On the table there were paper bags with condoms and clean needles. I saw the prostitutes lined up waiting for the condoms. I saw drug users lined up waiting for the needles. It was like seeing a line of ghosts. It looked like all the people there were dying." (p. 23)
The children in the Bronx are used to seeing this type of behaviour. They also see that there are people who are willing to help the addicted and the working women and they see that it is ok to do this. So for many, they see this as a way of life.

Comments:
Ok, honestly this article scared the living buh-Jesus out of me. To think that kids see other kids getting shot and killed or over-dosing on drugs, and bodies and pieces of bodies being put in incinerators (which they consequently live near) is completely morbid... not to mention depressing. I would never want my children to grow up in this sort of environment, and I honestly can't believe that the people with power, you know... the big people with power in the big U.S. government, can't see this and want to fix it... No... instead they are worrying about putting our country into debt to fix things overseas. That bothers me a lot... I support our troops, but I do not support the cause of why they're there. There are many problems at home that need to be solved, and this article clearly shows many of them.

Alright Let's Get This Party Started!

Howdy! I'm Jessica, or if you really want you can call me Jess, I answer to pretty much anything. Hmm... I'm supposed to write a little about myself, so let me start by warning you that even though this blog is for school purposes only, I'll probably still be typing as if I was in my regular blog... That's just how I do things.

Um... when I'm not at school (which is pretty much 5 out of 7 days of the week) I'm either working at Kohl's Department Stores in the children's department, or at home with my family and our new puppy, or out and about in the city of Warwick with my friends.

I love working at Kohl's even though I just started there in the middle of August. They put me in the children's department because I had nearly three years of experiance working with kids at two different daycares between the ages of 3 months and 12 years old. I did not leave because of the kids at the daycares, I left because of the people, but I refuse to slam people on my page... If you really want to know which ones they are and get my opinions about them... trust me... just ask. Because of working at the daycare I am CPR certified, I have already been subjected to finger-printing and background checks, and I have been exposed to a very diverse group of children and parents. I have also student taught my Junior year in high school in a third grade setting which was really fun... so I'm very excited about the upcoming chance to tutor kids in the elementary school setting!

Um... (yes I say um a lot in my blogs) my family is pretty much Me, my mom, my dad, my younger brother, our two cats and our puppy. My grandfather also lives with us, but like most independant elderly he's out and about from 8 in the morning until about 11 at night. My family is a very close knit tribe... I am very close with both my maternal and paternal sides and if anybody threatens my family I become very defensive... part of the reason why nobody messed with my nerdy cousins in high school. Pretty much they know that I have thier backs as much as they have mine.

I would also like to point out that I hold the same values with my friends. I am very close to my friends and would do anything for any of them if they asked. My best friend is Meg, and we get lost a lot. If you hear about random escapades... it's most likely because we got lost for hours on the way there. Other then that, many of my friends are not commuters (one thing that we do not have in common) so it's really hard to see them most of the time. Brandon is one of my most trusted guy friends, and he is currently studying history at the Naval Academy. Thus when I get the chance, I spend as much time with my friends as I possibly can. I've met a bunch of new friends at RIC in my freshman year, and I really hope to get to know many of you as this semester progresses. I love meeting new people, but I'm usually very shy about it... trust me... when you get to know me, I am usually the one who does not shut up.

As for my hobbies... I practiced kenpo karate for 9 years, and I received my black belt on December 5, of 2003 (also a reason why nobody messed with me in high school I suppose :) ) I also participated in competitions and traveled over a lot of the United States and also to parts of Canada. I was a member of my high school swim team which was fun... and for some odd reason I really want to try ballroom dancing... anybody wanna be a partner? :) I enjoy reading and writing... I write my own poetry when I feel like it, and Meg and I are currently attempting to write our own Country songs... some of them are posted on my Myspace blog. I find myself to be very creative... I keep my own scrapbook(s) (I currently have 3 for the different stages in my life) and I enjoy cross-stitching... my work in progress is an antique Fire-Engine pattern for my father who (obviously) is a FireFighter. I enjoy doing things for other people... so really if you need help don't be afraid to come to me... I'm always willing to help out...

*Phew!* If you've made it this far without getting completely bored then welcome to the world of Jessica! I congratulate you for reading all the way through the story of my life, and I really do hope to hear from many of you very soon! Later :)