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.