Wise- Between Barack and a Hard Place

This week with watching the interview about Wise’s book “Between Barack and a Hard Place,” I was enlightened on Wise’s view of racism in our society. He argues that racism has not changed over the years and we keep repeating this vicious cycle that we somehow need to escape.  He talks about Obama getting elected. We all thought now that we have a black president things were going to change. Like we talked about in the last article; change doesn’t happen overnight. Wise talks about racism 1.0 and that is the blatant racism that anyone can point out. Then there is something Wise is calling racism 2.0. This is a bit harder to see. It the kind of racism that makes us feel comfortable. It is as Wise says “carving out suggestions,” of the people of black or brown color that we feel comfortable with. In this case he is talking about Obama. He talks about something we mentioned in class; Wise talks about breaking the glass. We need to break out of this cycle and look at Obama getting elected as steps forward in the right direction.

With the website of Brown vs. Board of education it talks about the history. It mentions moments in history that were honored for their drive forward for racial equality. He also talks about with comparison to the B VS. B link that a white person back then would have stated that a white child had the same education opportunities as a black child which the link and ourselves from history know are not true. White classrooms and black classrooms were run and set up very differently. We need to acknowledge that racism is around us and it hasn’t just gone away. We need to break the glass and make racial equality a reality.  This shows we still have some work to do, because there are annoying, stupid, close minded people like this fighting the system and going against equality.

In class I would like to talk more about the reasons for Obama becoming President and how many more acts will it take to wipe out racism once and for all. Also why people need to be racist in the first place.

A Video That Encompasses FNED

Kahne and Westheimer- In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning (Hyperlink)

Service Learning

This week I read about service learning and found that there are a lot of ways to help in a community. I thought that the fact of service learning was helping schools and children in need, but it is about much more than that. It encompasses all that is community service. I found a link that I thought would bring light to how teachers and students think about service learning. The video is a discussion between a teacher, a student, and a host on what service learning is and why it is good in the classroom. In the reading it discussed two different types of teachers who used service learning in their classrooms. The first teacher was described as someone who “stressed charity” said Kahne and Westheimer, and the second teacher was said to focus more on “critical analysis.” What this video shows is that this specific teacher and the teachers at Rhode Island College focus on both of those categories equally. We do it to learn about the field we want to go into and to help those in need. We also focus and discuss in class the things with education and go out and experience it just like these kids in this psychology do as well.

When Kahne and Westheimer start talking about the moral aspect behind service learning we cannot help but agree. We feel good when we help other people. One of the students from the class talks about how good he felt by feeding Thanksgiving dinner to a homeless shelter. The student in the video felt good about helping the children with disabilities ride horses. I feel good every time I leave my service learning project knowing I have done good. A quote from one of my favorite musicals is “When you help others you can’t help helping yourself,” and they’re right, you get such an amazing feeling from helping others.  (Yes the song is funny but it makes a point)

Like Kahne and Westheimer said there is an intellectual gain we get from a service learning project. We are learning outside the classroom and really developing skills that cannot be expanded upon in a classroom. The student in the video discussed how she learned so much about psychology from her service learning project. I myself have learned a lot about diversity and the culture of power from working outside the classroom and in a real school.

I feel from reading this article that all classes should have a service learning component. It helps prepare people for life in the real world, it gives people more knowledge about a topic, and it just feels good to help.  

A question I have for class is how can we have service learning in more classrooms?

Christensen- Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us (Quotes)

           “Many students do not want to believe they have been manipulated by children’s media or advertising. No one wants to admit that they have been “handled” by the media. They assure me that they make their own choices and the media has no power over them --- as they sit with Fuba, Nike, Timberlines, or whatever the latest fashion rage might be.”

This quote really shows how people are manipulated by the dominant culture without even knowing. When you are a child you want to fit in. If follow what you see. If we see people on television who are cool because of their clothing we dress like them. I know myself I would not go around in a pair of parachute pants and a leather studded vest because those are not the times. We follow what we see on the television. We are a visually learning society and our media shows that.

”But, like the original tale, Cindy Elle’s main goal in life is not working to end the plight of the homeless or teaching kids to read. Her goal, like Cinderella’s is to get the man. Both young woman are transformed and made beautiful through news clothes, new jewels, new hairstyles.

This quote talks about how Christensen reads this book to her class and they discuss how much better it is because the lead character is black; it also helps support the Ra Ra Diversity team. Unfortunately the teacher then points out to the class she does everything Cinderella does to get what she wants; she changes her appearance. We need to stop looking at the outer figures of these people and look at the underlying meanings of these fairytales. Cinderella tells us you need to change yourself for a person to notice who you really are. That is not teaching our children to be themselves and that they have something called inner beauty. Here is a link that shows fairy tales are not all they are all cracked up to be.

“They were fueled by the opportunity to convince some parents of the long lasting effects cartoons impose on their children, or to enlighten their peers about the roots of some of their insecurities. Instead of leaving students full of bile, standing around with their hands on their hips, shaking their heads about how bad the world is, I provide them the opportunity to make a difference.”

This quote I find to be helpful and non helpful in two different ways. One I think that it is great that students are taking action and telling parents about this. I think that people should know these things. My problem is we are not going to stop having children watch cartoons. It is part of t our culture to let children watch these silly cartoons. Let them dream big and make mistakes, that is what being a kid is all about. I do agree with her letting them go out and try to change things. Her class reminds me of our class. We sit in class and discuss things about education and how we can change it. We say this is not right and luckily we get to go out and help make a difference. We use what we learn in class to educate children and we do not sit their shaking our heads saying how can we fix the this, WE DO IT.

Carlson- Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community (Reflection)

This week we read an article that was about a different subject matter then what we have talked about in the past, but it still had that connection to the who le idea of the culture of power. Carlson talked about how gayness in our society and how it is not the dominant mindset of the culture of power. He also says how there are ways that the dominant culture keeps gayness “in its place.” Carlson says that the people do this by “the erasure of gayness in the curriculum, by “closeting and “witch hunting” of gay teachers, and by verbal and physical intimidation of gay students and teachers.”

In curriculums he says that people try not to bring up the topic of homosexuality in the classroom. I say why not bring up an issue such as that. If we as students can talk about racism, a thing that clearly existed and still does, then why must homosexuality be pushed under the rug? If anything talking about diversity in people gives use a more open mind when going out into the world. If it can further the knowledge of a child and help with the lesson then just teach it.

The whole idea about finding gay teachers and exposing them as a sort of “witch hunt” is a crazy idea. If accusing people of witch craft back then was wrong what makes it better today. Carlson states about how they would do this to expose improper role models. Personally I fell these people are the best role models. They stand up for what they believe in. They do their job without letting the culture of power get in their way. There is also a quote that Carlson uses that states homosexuality as being contagious. That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. Students will follow their own sexual preference and not be persuaded by a teacher. It is also not the teachers place to get involved. Although this video may be humorous at times it gets across the point that homosexuality is not a choice.

Of course people will find a way most of the time to poke fun at another person. So this comes to no surprise that people make fun of homosexuals. The thing that shocks me the most in Carlson’s article is that the student is making fun of an adult teacher. There are lines in schools that should not be crossed and making fun of a teacher is one of them. Carlson does not mention about what happened to that child after the incident but I think in not telling it hints to the culture of power, and how she being a heterosexual had the power.

People need to realize sexual discrimination is just as bad as racial or gender discrimination.  My question this week is why is it that racial and gender discrimination get more light shed on the issue than that of sexual discrimination?