About this page: This page will store my reading and processing notes from several articles reviewed in class.
About FDN 2400
Learning and teaching and the relations between learners and teachers are inherently moral, intellectual, and emotional. Beginning with the deceptively simple questions Why Learn? and Why Teach?, this course provides students with the opportunity to explore such questions in the context of what education should mean for democratic life. Examining schooling from the perspective of the reflective practitioner, the course helps students inquire into and voice understandings of the varied ways that social, cultural, and political issues impact teaching and learning, especially the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality and religion. Students and professors will work together to develop specific questions that will guide students as they engage in an inquiry project in a school or in the community. The ability to ask and answer questions is fostered throughout the course and is put into practice in the inquiry project. Must be taken prior to admission to teacher education. Link to original source: here.
My final reflection for FDN 2400, The Inquiry Project, can be found here. This is composed of three parts: a prologue of self reflection and identification (prologue), a reflection of social justice synthesis (analysis of our world) (part 1), a reflection of teaching and learning (me in the world) (part 2), and final thoughts.
Reading & Processing Notes
Coates: The Case for Reparations Date: 10 April 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: Coates, T. (2017, August 17). The Case for Reparations. Retrieved April 07, 2018, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/
The authors are saying a few things: In racism between blacks and whites the black sharecroppers were greatly oppressed by the white landlords. “ When farmers were deemed to be in debt—and they often were—the negative balance was then carried over to the next season. [...] The series documented some 406 victims and 24,000 acres of land valued at tens of millions of dollars. The land was taken through means ranging from legal chicanery to terrorism.” Black families were held back from buying homes. “From the 1930s through the 1960s, black people across the country were largely cut out of the legitimate home-mortgage market through means both legal and extralegal.”
“It was the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, not a private trade association, that pioneered the practice of redlining, selectively granting loans and insisting that any property it insured be covered by a restrictive covenant—a clause in the deed forbidding the sale of the property to anyone other than whites.”
*Please see my notes for Discussion Group E for more details, here: Federal Housing Administration (FHA) (1934). FHA insured private mortgages, causing a drop in interest rates and a decline in the size of the down payment required to buy a house. The FHA had adopted a system of maps that rated neighborhoods according to their perceived stability. [Redlining]. [...] Neighborhoods where black people lived were rated “D” and were usually considered ineligible for FHA backing. In the FHA the black Americans and foreigners were left out.
Housing Contracts and Redlining. The Housing Contracts by real-estate speculators were used instead of standard mortgages not offered to Black citizens. Redlining destroyed the possibility of investment wherever black people lived. Housing Contracts were used in place of FHA mortgages for blacks to buy housing, but at a greatly inflated price. If the owner could not make payments for three months their property can be seized by the lenders. The Housing Contracts were used only on Blacks [and foreigners].
Contract Buyers League (CBL) (1969) - Housing Contract Opposition. CBL is a collection of black homeowners on Chicago’s South and West Sides, all of whom had been locked into the same system of predation. CBL refused to pay their installments, instead holding monthly payments in an escrow account. Then they brought a suit against the contract sellers, accusing them of buying properties and reselling in such a manner “to reap from members of the Negro race large and unjust profits.”
Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) (1933). HOLC stepped in to allow more than just 10 years to repay a mortgage. HOLC allowed banks to offer loans requiring no more than 10 percent down, amortized over 20 to 30 years. The HOLC was not awarded to blacks and anyone who was not white.
Affordable Care Act - expanding Medicaid so more citizens can afford healthcare insurance. Affordable Care Act - expansion of Medicaid was effectively made optional, meaning that many poor blacks in the former Confederate states do not benefit from it. Social Security Act (1935) (SSA). Social Security Act was designed to assist in old age and help as unemployment insurance. Social Security Act pays out money after they have worked and reached a certain age, or if they have become unemployed for a temporary time. Social Security Act was eventually expanded, but was initially designed to appeal to “Jim Crow’s South” and leave blacks out.
*My Personal Input: Overall lesson: The majority of those in power in the government were white and believed that it was moral to keep neighborhoods segregated. “The American real-estate industry believed segregation to be a moral principle (Coates).” The best way to do this was by making housing less affordable to those they wanted to keep out of white neighborhoods. When “the niggers are coming” white families started to move out of the neighborhoods. It was a vicious cycle of poverty from then on. It’s good to read and hear about our history. As a white female I have not had the privilege to hear this side of the story as well and thoroughly as it was written and spoken in this article.
Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom Date: 15 March 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: “Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom” by Lisa Delpit. New York, W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. 1995. The authors are saying a few things: (Scene I) Lisa Delpit writes that kindergarten teacher Carolyn is negative towards and about her new poor black student, Anthony, even when Delpit tries to tell Carolyn positive things about him. Carolyn is not sure how to handle or understand a poor black child when she has been used to working with middle-class white children. She wants to get Anthony help with advancing his behavior, learning, and language with the aid of Delpit’s observations. Delpit has observed that Anthony gets more negative feedback than positive. (Scene II) Three-year-olds are able to be lustful. Delpit describes the typical affections of three-year-olds that are normal behaviors. The teacher for that classroom, however, scolds one boy and puts him in time-out for trying to kiss a girl on the cheek when she didn’t want him to. (Scene III) Parents shouldn’t push their children to be more than average. A mother wants her child to go to a mostly-white school and talked with his teachers about how he’s doing. They say, “Just fine,” but the report card showed Cs and Ds. The teachers tell the mother she shouldn’t push her son and that Cs are great for him. Teachers and administrators stereotype students [of color] as dangerous and damaged. “It is the result of coming face-to-face with the teachers, the psychologists, the school administrators who look at ‘other people’s children’ and see damaged and dangerous caricatures of the vulnerable and impressionable beings before them (Delpit xiii).” For every positive thing said about [poor] students [of color] there are several negative things being said. “Sporadically we hear of ‘minorities’ scoring higher in basic skills, but on the same newspaper page we’re informed of their dismal showing in higher-order thinking skills. We hear of the occasional school exemplifying urban excellence, but we are inundated with stories of inner-city mass failure, student violence, and soaring drop-out rates.” Those with power and higher social class make the rules. “The worldviews of those with privileged positions are taken as the only reality, while the worldviews of those less powerful are dismissed as inconsequential.[...] It is others who determine how they should act, how they are to be judged (Delpit xv).” Specifically, white teachers hold racist reactions towards their minority students and minority teachers, whether they know it or not. “I tell you, I’m tired of arguing with those white people, because they won’t listen. Well, I don’t know if they don’t listen or if they just don’t believe you. It seems like if you can’t quote Vygotsky or something, then you don’t have any validity to speak about your own kids. Anyway, I’m not bothering with it anymore, now I’m just in it for a grade (a black male graduate student, Delpit 21).” Specifically, white teachers don’t understand how to really teach and reach [poor, black] minority children - So if you’re black you should ignore them because they will not listen to you. “When you’re talking to white people they still want it to be their way. [...] they’re so headstrong, they think they know what’s best for everybody, for everybody’s children. They won’t listen; white folks are going to do what they want to do anyway. [...] So I just try to shut them out so I can hold my temper. [...] So, I shut them out. I go back to my own little cubby, my classroom, and I try to teach the way I know will work, no matter what those folks say. And when I get black kids, I just try to undo the damage they did (a black urban teacher, Delpit 21-22).” The Culture of Power (Delpit 22-26):
Issues of power are enacted in classrooms.
There are codes or rules for participating in power, that is, there is a “culture of power.”
The rules of the culture of power are a reflection of the rules of the culture of those who have power.
If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier.
Those with power are frequently least aware of - or least willing to acknowledge - its existence.
White Liberal teachers are still different from teachers of color - and both sides have assumptions of each other. “The liberal educators opposed the methods - the direct instruction, the explicit control exhibited by the teacher. As a matter of fact, if was not unusual (even now) to hear of the program spoken of as ‘fascist.’ [...] To explore those differences, I would like to present several statements typical of those made with the best of intentions by middle-class liberal educators. To the surprise of the speakers, it is not unusual for such content to be met by vocal opposition or stony silence from people of color. My attempt here is to examine the underlying assumptions of both camps (Delpit 28).” White teachers will never care enough to listen to black, poor, and minority children and teachers. “It was the lack of attention to this concern that created such a negative outcry in the black community when well-intentioned white liberal educators introduced ‘dialect readers,’ These were seen as a plot to prevent the schools from teaching the linguistic aspects of the culture of power, thus dooming black children to a permanent outsider caste (Delpit 29).” White teachers are less direct and more soft with their direction and instruction than their black counterparts. “[...] working-class mothers use more directives to their children than do middle- and upper-class parents. [...] By contrast, a black mother, in whose house I was recently a guest, said to her eight-year-old son, ‘Boy, get your rusty behind in that bathtub.’ [...] she would never have posed the directive to her son to take a bath in the form of a question (Delpit 34).” Respect for authority figures is seen as something to be earned in black culture, not just given. “Many people of color expect authority to be earned by personal efforts and exhibited by personal characteristics. In other words, ‘the authoritative person gets to be a teacher because she is authoritative.’ Some members of middle-class cultures, by contrast, expect one to achieve authority by acquisition of an authoritative role (Delpit 35).” Students respond better to direct authority better than indirect suggestion. “If the children in her class understand authority as she does, it is mutually agreed upon that they are to obey her no matter how indirect, soft-spoken, or unassuming she may be. Her indirectness and soft-spokenness may indeed be, as I suggested earlier, and attempt to reduce the implication of overt power in order to establish a more egalitarian and nonauthoritarian classroom atmosphere. [...] The black child may perceive the middle-class teacher as weak, ineffectual, and incapable of taking on the role of being the teacher; therefore, there is no need to follow her directives (Delpit 36).” *My Personal Input: Overall lesson: teachers - no matter the race - should take the time to listen to and get to know each of their students, acknowledge their strengths with positivity, be open-minded towards their ideas, and be a partner to the student while being confident in your position of authority in gaining respect through proper action and speech.
Why I’m Not Thankful for Thanksgiving Date: 29 March 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: Dorris, M. (April 2011). "Why I’m Not Thankful for Thanksgiving." Rethinking Popular Culture and Media. Rethinking Schools. The authors are saying a few things: Native Americans and their culture are heavily stereotyped around Thanksgiving (USA). “From early October through the end of November, ‘cute little Indians’ abound on greeting cards, advertising posters, in costumes, and school projects (Dorris).” Native Americans and their culture are suffering in the name of history education. “Is it necessary to the North American psyche to perpetually exploit and de-base its victims in order to justify its history (Dorris)?” The quest for “identity” is very hard and important in childhood. “Most people spend a good part of their lives in search of the ephemeral ideal often termed ‘identity,’ but never is the quest more arduous and more precarious— and more crucial—than in the so-called “formative years (Dorris).’” Children can find identity themselves, but adult intervening can be harmful. “In many arenas, little or no parental control is—or should be—possible. Learning, particularly about self, is a struggle, but with security, support, and love it has extraordinary and marvelously unique possibilities. [...] Passivity ends, however, with relation to those adult-manufactured and therefore wholly gratuitous problems with which our children are often confronted (Dorris).” Adults who are unaware of the way they carry themselves can influence children in a negative way, and may also prevent children from seeing their own talents and potential. “Attitudes pertinent to ‘racial’ or ‘sex-role’ identity are among the most potentially hazardous, for these can easily be internalized—particularly by the ‘minority’ child. Such internalized attitudes profoundly affect self-concept, behavior, aspiration, and confidence (Dorris).“ Stereotypes and folk-lore harm cultures. “Consider for a moment the underlying meanings of some of the supposedly innocuous linguistic stand-bys: ‘Indian givers’ take back what they have sneakily bestowed in much the same way that ‘Indian summer’ deceives the gullible flower bud. Unruly children are termed ‘wild Indians’ and a local bank is named ‘Indian Head’ (would you open an account at a ‘Jew’s hand,’ ‘Negro ear’ or ‘Italian toe’ branch?) (Dorris).’” The stereotypes shown in media (such as Western movies) regarding Native Americans is harmful and degrading. :Society is teaching him that “Indians” exist only in an ethnographic frieze, decorative and slightly titillatingly menacing (Dorris).” The true history should be told. “If there was really a Plymouth Thanksgiving dinner, with Native Americans in attendance as either guests or hosts, then the event was rare indeed. Pilgrims generally considered Indians to be devils in disguise, and treated them as such (Dorris).” Parents and children are responsible for learning how to appreciate other cultures. “Parents’ major responsibility, of course, resides in the home. From the earliest possible age, children must be made aware that many people are wrong-headed about not only Native Americans, but about cultural pluralism in general.Children must be encouraged to articulate any questions they might have about “other” people. And “minority” children must be given ways in which to insulate themselves from real or implied insults, epithets, slights, or stereotypes (Dorris).” *My Personal Input: Overall lesson: Be aware of the stereotypes of Native Americans and be more considerate when discussing Thanksgiving and the Native American culture. Be aware of how certain phrases can be harmful and avoid them.
Pedagogy of the Oppressed Date: 13 February 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: Excerpt from Chapter 2 of Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire The author is saying a few things: “Education is suffering from narration sickness (Freire 72).” Teachers tend to speak to the students in a way that they do not convey emotion making the lesson not very meaningful or lively for the student. Teachers seem to worry that if they don't speak in this way that the information may go above the students head and beyond their comprehension. The teachers then normally speak only factually, rather than leaving a sentence of open-ended for the student to think on their own. Because the students just memorize facts they are mindless whenever repeating the answers, making them quite meaningless to the student. The banking concept of Education (Freire 72): students are receptacles and teachers fill them with knowledge and instruction and the more they can be filled the better the teacher and the student. “[...] the following attitudes and practices, which mirror oppressive society as a whole (Freire 83).” Within this list from A to J the teacher is the almighty ruler of the classroom and the students are just the receptacles of information and are treated as the oppressed. The teacher teaches and gives orders and the students essentially are required to be quiet and do as they're told and learn as they are instructed. There is no creativity apparently allowed in a classroom and no free will to think on their own, according to Freire. “A solution is not to ‘integrate’ [the oppressed] into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so they can become ‘beings for themselves (Freire 74).’” A significant change needs to happen within the classroom and the curriculum so that students can use their higher level thinking skills and not just repeat facts and solutions mindlessly. The classroom needs to be transformed. “But the humanist, revolutionary educator cannot wait for this possibility to materialize. From the outset her efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization. His efforts must be imbued with a profound trust in people and their creative power. To achieve this they must be partners of the students and their relations with them (Freire 75).” While it would seem that the majority of teachers use the Banking concept of Education of just treating a student as a receptacle, there are other teachers that would rather engage students in their higher order thinking skills and creativity. If a teacher were to use the banking concept of Education the students will be passively learning. It would seem that a active learner who is actively engaged and the lesson would retain the information better and enjoy the experience more. “One cannot impose oneself, nor even merely co-exist with one students. Solidarity requires true communication, and the concept by which such an educator is guided fears and proscribes communication (Freire 76-77).” Teachers need to have a functional, professional relationship with their students. By investing in a relationship with the student both the student and the teacher will benefit from mutual respect and learning. To develop a relationship is to develop a life. This will help the lessons not to be so dry and stagnant. I can also help a student with their higher order thinking skills and creativity and growth. “The revolutionary society which practices banking education is either misguided or mistrusting of people. In either event, it is threatened by a bee spector of reaction (Freire 78-79).” A revolutionary teacher would be one that is more on the humanitarian side believing and a student who is able to use their creative thinking skills in the classroom and to have strong personal growth and development. “Liberation is a Praxis: the action and reflection of men and women on their world in order to transform it.[...] Those truly committed to Liberation must reject the banking concept and its entirety, adopting instead a concept of women and men as conscious beings, and consciousness as consciousness intent upon the world (Freier 79).” Freire explains the concept of problem-posting education. This is where I put the student and the teacher are able to learn together with proper guidance without the feeling of being oppressed. Teachers are responsible for the growth of the whole classroom and for themselves (Freire 80). “Problem-posing education affirms men and women as beings in the process of becoming - as an, uncompleted beings and in with likewise unfinished reality (Freire 84).” Humans are always evolving and learning and adapting to their situations. Therefore they are unfinished. *My Personal Input: I can appreciate all of these thoughts, though it's a bit hard for me to read how oppressed Freire believes teachers are. Sure, I can relate from my childhood experience, to a degree. I know, however, that times have changed, and the way Freire writes is so extreme and uncomfortable. I have never felt as oppressed in a classroom as he has described. Many teachers now use the problem-posting method of teaching, and may still incorporate some of the “oppressive” banking concept. I don't have a problem with that, personally. I feel that the banking method is still a good idea for strict facts such as the periodic table, multiple times tables, and spelling words, for example.
Fat girl: A history of bullying Date: 24 April 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: Golden, G. (2010, December 6) “Fat girl: A history of bullying.” Retrieved December 7 2010, from https://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2010/12/06/fat_girl_history_of_bullying
The author is saying a few things: For someone who is being bullied, the only thing they think about is getting through the day and out of school. “By the time my weight became a problem -- when I really was the fattest person (adults included) in school -- I had long since given up weighing myself or caring. Making it through each brutal day became the only goal. The rest of it -- my health, my body -- fell away. By the time I cared again, after I graduated from high school, I weighed nearly 400 pounds.” Taunting chants of name-calling follow throughout the day, and throughout the year. “Kids chanted, some from my class, some from other grades. Older children, younger children, strangers -- they knew my name, the one that Brad, the sixth grader who lived in the house behind mine, had conferred. I heard this chant in line. I heard it on the bus. I heard it on the playground. I heard it every day of my life, every school day, for four years. In sixth grade, the teacher joined in.” One teacher pointed out her flaws even though she was clearly not perfect. She became a bully, too. “Her dentures didn't fit properly, and her mouth never closed all the way. She called me "butterball" and pointed out the shiny smear of blood the day I got my period in class. She crowed at the discovery while my classmates shrieked with laughter. ” After years of verbal and emotional abuse this 12-year-old could only think of one way out: Suicide. “All I know is that this was my life. I was 12 years old, and school wasn't safe. I went home and thought about how I would kill myself. [...] I felt sad and afraid every day. I never had friends who stood by me.” It’s very hard to focus and do well in school when you are afraid. “I found it hard to focus because the fear never went away, not even when teachers were around.” Those who are bullied would rather be invisible than have any attention. “I longed to be invisible. I worried that anything I did that made me stand out -- even good things, like drawing well or writing a story for the school paper -- would mean attracting the wrong kind of attention.” Because those who are bullied don’t want any more attention they will often not say a word about being bullied to adults who could help. “ I bled. I cried. I trembled. I know I should've screamed, or done something else to attract the attention of the wrestling coach in charge of the class, sitting at his desk and prying bits of black scum out from under his fingernails with a pocketknife, but I couldn't actually believe this was happening until it was over. Even then, I couldn't make a sound. I didn't move until long after the bell rang and the classroom had emptied completely.” Social Media now addresses bullying, but many suffered from it before it was cool not to bully. “We've heard so much about the tragic consequences of bullying lately. Facebook and other social networks have added a new, baffling dimension to children's attacks on each other. But long before "bullying" was a national conversation, there were people like me.” The victim is often to blame. “People who tried to help thought the best way to end this daily nightmare would be for me to do the right thing and lose weight. [...] At the time, lectures on my weight just made me angrier and sadder. Given how intensely miserable I was, tending my health was beyond my reach. Suggestions like that infuriated me.” Even in adulthood there are bullies. “One day at the gym, after swimming a mile and showering, I heard the sound of teen girls laughing. I saw them behind me, pointing at me as I changed clothes, making whispered comments to one another.”
*My Personal Input: Overall lesson: Being bullied has long-term effects, and often lasts a lifetime. I am also a big lady, but at age 33 I have not really heard anyone making fun of me. I’m back in college now, and I don’t have any issues with anyone. I do understand that children can be cruel - and I hope that my girl isn’t picked on for her little tummy. I also want her to be healthy. I’m going to try to help her make better choices than I made. At the end of the article I saw that Golden has a good sense of humor as an adult. I think that’s awesome.
It's Hard to Study if You're Hungry Date: 22 February 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: “It’s Hard to Study if You’re Hungry” by Sara Goldrick-Rab, January 24, 2018, The New York Times
The author is saying a few things: There is an alarmingly high rate of food insecurity, estimated to be half of college students: “They were pressuring their schools to allow students to donate unused meal plan vouchers to those on campus who needed them.” While the cost of higher education increases the populations poverty increases as well: “It makes sense that students work hard to go to college to achieve stability, and it is tragic that many fail to complete degrees because they cannot escape poverty long enough to focus on their studies.” There is an illusion to the affordability of attending a college:“Even though a far greater percentage of college students qualify for financial aid than in the past, colleges and states have fewer dollars per student to allocate to them.” The government still assist students (whether or not they are parents) with food stamps but at a price of working a minimum of 20 hours per week: “Students without children who qualify for food stamps often cannot receive them without working 20 hours a week on top of going to school.” Food insecurity needs a long-term solution instead of only a few charities that provides short-term Solutions:“The hunger strikers at Spelman and Morehouse were part of a growing coalition of youth who have joined Swipe Out Hunger, a nonprofit that advocates donating unused meal credits. Spelman and Morehouse both agreed to allocate 14,000 free meals per year to students in need.” Real changes and real expenses need to be made and accounted for in consideration for financial aid plans: “Fundamentally, financial aid must be reformed to address the real price of college, which cannot be calculated without factoring in food and shelter. Living expenses are educational expenses.” *My Personal Input: There have been times in my life where I didn't know where my next meal would come from. And I can appreciate the struggles of the students in this article.
Beyond Discipline: from Compliance to Community Date: 06 February 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: Beyond Discipline: from Compliance to Community by Alfie Kohn The author is saying a few things: Students must be quiet and have the right body language to progress in school: “A premium is put on a physical quietude; on silence, on rigid uniformity ofposture and movement, on machine like simulation of the attitude of intelligentinterest.” I do remember in my time as a child and student there was a rigid uniformity and being trained to stay quiet be in a straight line and raising our hands to ask and answer answer questions. This reminds me of an industrial type environment. A teacher can be seen as either an enforcer which which uses punishment or as a manipulator of mindless obedience which gives rewards. I saw this first-hand as a substitute teacher to last year. There would be specific instructions of giving children a card or a check mark or something so that if they get enough by the end of the week they can pick a prize from the treat box. I've also seen the other side where a teacher or principal has disciplined a whole class by giving them “silent lunch” or making them silently walk around the track instead of having playful recess because they were too noisy or rude earlier in the day. The structure of the curriculum has a lot to do with the behavior or misbehavior of the students.“Is it too simple, boring, without value, or lacking opportunities to interaction with others?” A curriculum must be carefully planned and engaging, allowing for multiple learning and higher thinking skills to take place and be more effective on the classroom over all. “[How-to guides and easy-to-follow recipes] are short-term fixes, instruments of control intended, at best, to stop bad behaviors rather than affirmatively help children to become good people.” We need to create a curriculum, lesson plan, and learning environment that stimulates and challenges the students, keeping them engaged in the classroom. This allows for higher order thinking skills and better retention of the materials. “Every teacher has a theory. [...] is operating under a set of assumptions about human nature, [...] These assumptions covor everything that happens in classrooms, from the texts they are assigned to the texture of casual interactions with students.” Teachers tend to place students into stereotypes and assume their actions and reactions. Teachers feel that they need to keep control, when they should keep an more open mind. The assume if they're not in complete control there will be chaos. Being goal-oriented helps children become more responsible and keeps their interest. *My Personal Input: I can appreciate all of these thoughts for curriculum and on punishment and reward. As a substitute teacher last year I would read the lesson plans for the day and hear a lot of collaboration between the teachers on how they are going to instruct on disciplined for the classrooms that had issues. Usually it was silent lunch or walking silently and a straight line around a field instead of having playful recess. Now after reading this article I can understand that neither one of these is really a good reflection on the teacher. Who wants to be known as a disciplinarian or a punisher or a manipulator?
An Indian Father's Plea Date: 29 March 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: Lake, Robert. 1990. "An Indian Father's Plea." Education Digest 56, no. 3: 20-23. Education Research Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed January 10, 2011).
The authors are saying a few things: This Native American Father wants the teacher to know that his Kindergartener son is well-cared for and raised differently than his Western culture peers. “He has already been through quite an education compared with his peers in Western society. [...] And he has been continuously cared for by his mother, father, [...] and extended tribal family since this ceremony (Lake 48/1).” The student’s Native American upbringing from birth promoted a close bond with his mother and family. “ Wind-Wolf was with his mother constantly, closely bonded physically, as she carried him on her back or held him while breastfeeding. She carried him everywhere she went,and every night he slept with both parents. Because of this, Wind-Wolf's educational setting was not only a "secure" environment, but it was also very colorful, complicated, sensitive, and diverse (Lake 48/2).” Native Americans process events and sensory content with more patience than the typical American student. “It takes a long time to absorb and reflect on these kinds of experiences, so maybe that is why you think my Indian child is a slow learner (Lake).” If this father had more choice his son may not have attended a government institutional education facility. “He is not fluent yet because he is only five and required by law to attend your educational system and learn your language, your values, your ways of thinking, and your methods of teaching and learning (Lake).” Other students bully because they do not understand the Native American culture. “Yesterday, for the third time in two weeks, he came home crying and said he wanted his hair cut. He said he doesn't have any friends at school because they make fun of his long hair. [...] So now my young Indian child does not want to go to school anymore (even though we cut his hair). He feels he does not belong. He is the only Indian child in your class, and he is well aware of it. Instead of being proud of his race, heritage, and culture, he feels ashamed (Lake).” The School environment makes Wind-Wolf (son) feel that his natural culture is strange, so now he doesn’t accept it, himself.. “When I ask him to help me with a sacred ritual, he says no because ‘that's weird’ and he doesn't want his friends at school to think he doesn't believe in God (Lake).” The father feels that he has to explain Wind-Wolf’s lineage and include information that he’s part white - like he’s trying to get his son’s teacher to accept him better. “He has seven different tribal systems flowing through his blood; he is even part white (Lake).” The father lays out the deep impact they have on Wind-Wolf’s education and life in society, and how he wants his son to be able to function in both the Western and Indian culture. “What you say and do in the classroom, what you teach and how you teach it, and what you don't say and don't teach will have significant effect on the potential success or failure of my child.Please remember that this is the primary year of his education and development.(Lake).” The father points out Constitutional Rights of all students, including his son. “My Indian child has a constitutional right to learn,retain, and maintain his heritage and culture. By the same token, I strongly believe that non-Indian children also have a constitutional right to learn about our Native American heritage and culture, because Indians play a significant part in the history of Western society (Lake).” *My Personal Input: Overall lesson: Understand and inquire about the cultures of your students to better appreciate them, and - if need-be - help them integrate better with the classroom. Take time to help classmates understand that there is nothing “wrong” with a student just because they come from a different culture or have a different lifestyle.
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack Date: 22 March 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh. 1988.
The authors are saying a few things: Men will not allow women equal power. “They may say they will work to improve women’s status, in the society, the university, or the curriculum, but they can’t or won’t support the idea of lessening men’s. Denials which amount to taboos surround the subject of advantages while men gain from women’s disadvantages. These denials protect male privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened or ended (McIntosh 165).” White people are ignorant. “I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privileges (McIntosh 165).” “16. I can remain oblivious to the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion (McIntosh 167).” White people don’t realize they take many things for granted. A 26 item list of things she consciously observed about her day shows that the “white” culture is more dominant in society, overall, and because she is “white” these things go in her favor. (p. 166-7) Being white gives you a protection bubble. “In proportion as my racial group was being made confident, comfortable, and oblivious, other groups were likely being made not confident, uncomfortable, and alienated. Whiteness protected me from many kinds of hostility, distress, and violence, which I was being subtly trained to visit in turn upon people of color (McIntosh 168).” Power can be unearned entitlement or earned by works. “Power from unearned privilege can look like strength when it is in fact permission to escape or to dominate. [...] For example, the feeling that one belongs within the human circle, as Native Americans say, should not be seen as privilege for a few. Ideally it is an unearned entitlement. At present, since only a few have it, it is an unearned advantage for them (McIntosh 168).” Not all [groups] are equally powered because they are different. “Difficulties and dangers surrounding the task of finding parallels are many. Since racism, sexism, and heterosexism are not the same, the advantaging associated with them should not be seen as the same (McIntosh 168).” The individual acts of “white” people cannot change the system of “isms” in the United States of America. Disapproving of the systems won’t be enough to change them. I was taught to think that racism could end if white individuals changed their attitudes. [But] a “white” skin in the United States opens many doors for whites whether or not we approve of the way dominance has been conferred on us. Individual acts can palliate, but not end, these problems (McIntosh 168-9).” *My Personal Input: Overall lesson: Be aware of the overall advantages and disadvantages of your stereotyped race and sex/gender, because that is how the majority of society will think of you - in general terms, not as individuals with distinct personalities. Be aware of how others will perceive you, according to your race and sex/gender (even though you cannot control the circumstances you were born into or your biological and genetic features).
*My Argument - This is the United States of America, founded by mostly “white” protestants from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany. This is a historical fact. That was the foundation in the beginning. That is why most of the culture in the United States are this way. The founders also acknowledged because of the Enlightenment of the 1700s by French Philosophes that all humans have natural human rights, the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Also there are freedoms of religion in the United States of America. A lot of the world still practices their culture without these freedoms. It is a privilege to be a member of the United States of America.
If an American traveled to China would they be offended at how Chinese their society was? Just because the Chinese people founded and settled China? Or be offended to go to Kenya or Morocco in Africa and be offended that it was not American enough or too African? No. Think of context. Where are you? What makes where you are unique? In a predominantly “white” neighborhood where mostly “white” people live why is it strange to hear “white” music? If you go to a more Hispanic neighborhood why would it be strange to hear mostly Latino music? If you’re a shopkeeper wouldn’t you want to appeal to your “target audience” to get more business? I wouldn’t be offended to go into a world-market like for food or other goods and hear a variety of music from various countries. I keep context in mind. What is a “privilege” is to be a citizen of the United States of America.
Also, I remember in class that there were more poor “white” children, in pure number, that required food and nutrition assistance such as free and reduced lunch at school, than all other races. Those “white” children and their families were not as privileged as they may seem - just because they are “white”. I believe in the bigger picture it is more of an issue with lack of money and means, and not so much the color of someone’s skin. I know it’s nice to recognize someone’s skin-tone (race), but I think it would be more nice to recognize something that has a unifying effect instead of a polarizing effect. How about nationalism and the unity of humankind? How about not separating ourselves from each other until the end of time?
It seems that the more racism is talked about the more hot the fire gets and the more it spreads - creating more tension and racism. During the last elections there were several “black” groups that were so hateful against “whites” that they would make statements in all forms of media that white babies should be killed and that all white people are racist and evil. If that mentality continues to be fueled there’s going to be another Civil War - but it’ll be more of a Race War. In the United States of America we are all US citizens/residents. Unity. In earth we are all Earthlings. Unity. Love and respect create unity. Love and respect your fellow man. I don’t see any issues with loving each other as equals, or promoting common love and respect for all. “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.” Jefferson.
Date: 19 April 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: Saldivia, G., Vedantam, S., Schmidt, J., Boyle, T., Cohen, R., Klahr, R., Shah, P., Soh, D. (2017, October 9) “Nature, Nurture, And Our Evolving Debates About Gender.” Podcast: Hidden Brain, NPR.. Retrieved April 07, 2018, from https://www.npr.org/2017/10/09/556116385/nature-nurture-and-our-evolving-debates- about-gender
The authors/podcasters are saying a few things: While companies are trying to diversify their staff with different races it is still hard to give a woman a leadership role. “Women, [James Damore, senior software engineer at Google] said, were more interested in people than things. They had more anxieties and lower stress tolerance. They tended to be less confrontational. This quality, he said, made it hard for them to ruffle feathers and take on leadership roles.” Political Correctness vs. Advancing a Racist or Sexist Agenda. “Science, [James Damore, senior software engineer at Google] said, had conclusively found that nature trumps nurture, that women and men are different, and all the diversity training in the world couldn't change that.” “Boyness” is determined in the womb by the levels of testosterone, leading some females to identify as being male. “Debra says she felt male. She has helped conduct studies into the nature of gender. She thinks both her outlook and her interest in science stem from her biology (Vedantam).” “The levels of exposure to prenatal testosterone is actually the determining factor in terms of what children will be interested in and what they will gravitate towards in terms of their interests and behaviors (Dr. Debra Soh).” Biology of the Brain has real physical differences between that of a woman and that of a man. “There are more connections running from the front to the back of the brain in men and more connections running left to right or inter-hemispherically in women. So this leads to, in adulthood, differences. [...] So men tend to be more efficient, on average, when it comes to visual-spatial processing, whereas women tend to be more efficient with processing analytically and intuitively (Soh).” Biological traits of the brain are what determines perspective of gender, rather than gender being a social construct. “You know, if we acknowledge that men and women are different because this is what biology is telling us, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be equal. It doesn't mean that one is necessarily better than the other. And I think, also, there's this sense that female-typical traits are somehow inferior to male-typical traits (Soh).” 100 years ago children were all dressed the same well into the late 19th century because children must be pure until it is appropriate (well past toddlerhood). “So it's the idea that your gender was innate, and you would start to express it later. But if you put children in - put a little - put a baby in pants, they would be - well, they'd be horrified at little girls in pants and the little boys in pants because pants were just not for babies (Jo Paoletti).” Babies were not pre-programed to only learn certain things and they learn from their environment. “So it's the idea that your gender was innate, and you would start to express it later. But if you put children in - put a little - put a baby in pants, they would be - well, they'd be horrified at little girls in pants and the little boys in pants because pants were just not for babies (Lise Eliot).” Parents and Teachers treat boys different than girls. “Without necessarily intending to treat sons and daughters differently, adults also subtly communicate expectations about language, math and spatial skills. Research from Israel, for example, found that sixth grade teachers in Tel Aviv schools give girls slightly lower math scores than they deserve and give boys slightly higher math scores than they deserve. By high school, the children often end up with different beliefs about their own ability in math (Vedantam).” “[We] need to think about how to maximize the brain potential of both genders as opposed to slot them into these limited roles that really don't allow them to express the full range of humanity (Eliot).” Some people, like Jamie Shupe (first legally pronounced Gender Binary citizen) feel so depressed over gender identity that they consider either suicide or reassignment surgery. “So I got bought into it - hook, line and sinker - and, you know, right away decided that I was going to transition to a female because I expected it to help alleviate my mental health crisis that I was having from all the suppression (Jamie Shupe).” “But it still didn't feel right. After hearing a few horror stories about gender reassignment surgeries that turned out poorly, Jamie rejected that option (Vedantam).” The LGBTQ+ Community has hierarchies and are not always supportive. “ The transgender community has hierarchies. The - you know, you never see cross-dressers in the news. It's all about the trans women and the trans men. And, you know, the lesbian community, they have their gold-star lesbians that, you know, if you've ever touched a male, then you're not really a lesbian. You're not our equal. You know, everywhere you look in society, there's hierarchies (J. Shupe).” There is still a divide on how people feel regarding gender. “The folks who think biology determines gender roll their eyes at people who think culture is important. Proponents of culture accuse the biology people of being sexist. [...] They are really ways of saying, the categories I see and believe are better than the ones you see and believe. To the extent we will ever have progress on these debates, we may all need to get more comfortable with blurriness (Vedantam).” *My Personal Input: Overall lesson: Biology does have some effect on gender as it pertains to testosterone levels in the womb, and economic decisions and trend-setting gender-based clothing and how people interact in society also play a role in gender identity.
Allegory of the Cave Date: 30 January 2018 Reading and Processing Notes: Allegory of the Cave by Plato The author is saying a few things: - Perception is reality. The author gives the cave illustration. He mentions that the prisoners' necks and and legs are chained and bound, therefore they cannot look around and only see shadows, unable to name what they reflect. Truth for these people ARE the shadows. They haven't seen anything else to make them think otherwise. To the prisoners, shadows are truth, however, to a person unchained with freedom to look around, they would see what is making the shadows and be familiar with the objects and shadows. The prisoners may argue that what they see is right/true, and for them it is because they've never seen anything else; however, it does not mean it is universal truth. - Complacency is misery... we must seek out truth/knowledge. ALSO, Ignorance is NOT bliss; Truth is best. After giving the illustration of the cave, including a prisoner breaking free and going to the light and adjusting, the author relates with Homer to say, "Better to be the poor servant of a poor master and endure anything rather than think as they do and live after their manner?" and his listener responds, "I think that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and live in this miserable manner." - It takes time to adjust to new conditions, see truths, and accept them. During the illustration, the author continues to talk about how physically it would be painful for a prisoner ascending the cave into the light. He says, "At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look toward the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him-- and he will be unable to see the realities..." and "And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away to take refuge in the objects of vision which he can see..." and "Is he not likely to be pained and irritated? When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities..." He continues with, "He will require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. At first he will see the shadows best... last of all he will see the sky and the stars by night better than the sun or the light of the sun by day?" - Men make judgments based on their own schema; it is their truth, but it doesn't mean that it is indeed truth. The author makes the illustration of a prisoner escaping a dark cave where he could only see shadows, to ascending to light, adjusting (painfully), and eventually being able to see everything in the world. Then the author says, "And when he remembered his old habitation, and the wisdom of the den and his fellow prisoners, do you not suppose that he would felicitate himself on the change, and pity him? He goes on to talk about the prisoner (with this new vision) returning to the cave and only being able to see darkness because his eyes are now accustomed to light. Then, if there is a contest to measure shadows with the prisoners who had never left the cave, he would not be able to see well. The cave prisoners would assume that going to the light makes you lose your vision, when in reality, it opened his eyes to a new world and new things. The author says all of this to make a political statement. - Mankind must focus on the good and light of the world. "Whether true or false, my opinion is that in the world of knowledge the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen only with an effort; and, when seen, is also inferred to be the universal author of all things beautiful and right..." - We must not be too quick to judge others because we don't know their situation in life. "Anyone who has common-sense will remember that the bewilderment of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees anyone whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh, he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light." - Optimism and pessimism influence how people see the world, and is influenced by life circumstances. The above reference in addition to this reference: "And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other, or, if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the den." - Sometimes people choose not to see the truth. "And must there not be some art which will affect conversion in the easiest and quickest manner; not implanting the faculty of sight, for that exists already, but has been turned in the wrong direction, and is looking away from the truth?" - Everyone has the ability to learn. "Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already..." and, "and whereas the other so-called virtues of the soul seem to be akin to bodily qualities, for even when they are not originally innate they can be implanted later by habit and exercise, the virtue of wisdom more than anything else contains a diving element which always remains, and by this conversion is rendered useful and profitable or hurtful and useless." - It is just/fair that once you attain knowledge/light/good things, that you share that information with others. "Then, I said, the business of us who are the founders of the State will be to compel the best minds to attain that knowledge which we have already shown to be the greatest of all-- they must continue to ascent until they ***"For the people, by the people" mindset: the government will only be successful/orderly/prosperous if the people running it are selfless and consider what is best and just for the whole, not the self (especially in regards to monetary values). The author says "...there will be no injustice in compelling our philosophers to have care and providence of others, we shall explain to them that in other States, men of their class are not obliged to share in their toils of politics: and this is reasonable, for they grow up at their own sweet will, and the government would rather not have them... kings of yourselves and of the other citizens, and have educated you far better and more perfectly than they have been educated, and you are better able to share in the double duty; Wherefore each of you, when his turn comes, must go down to the general underground abode, and get the habit of seeing in the dark. When you acquired the habit, you will see ten thousand times better than the inhabitants of the den, and you will know what the several images are, and what they represent, because you have seen the beautiful and just and good in their truth. And thus our State, which is also yours, will be a reality, and not a dream only, and will be administered in a spirit unlike that of other States, in which men fight with one another about shadows only and are distracted in the struggle for power, which in their eyes is a great good. Whereas the truth is that the State in which the rulers and not reluctant to govern is always the best and most quietly governed, and the State in which they are most eager, the worst." The author finally makes his point, saying, "You must contrive for your future rulers another and a better life than that of a ruler, and then you may have a well-ordered State; for only in the State which offers this, will they rule who are truly rich, not in silver and gold, but in virtue and wisdom, which are the true blessings of life. Whereas, if they go to the administration of public affairs, poor and hungering after their own private advantage, thinking that hence they are to snatch the chief good, order there can never be; for they will be fighting about office, and the civil and domestic broils which thus arise will be the ruin of the rulers themselves and of the whole State." How my own values and experiences shape my response to the text: My personality is shaped through my faith. As a Christian I see good in everything, stay optimistic, try helping others, and strive to be selfless. I strongly believe less is more in government and that there should be more individual responsibility in choices and in accepting consequences.