Talking Point 7

Anita Hill Is A Boy

By: Peggy Orenstein

In the article written by Peggy, she argues for an education system in which gender is treated equally. A system that is not male dominated, by providing classes, such as self defense for females, to help bring equity closer in the school systems.

1" Some educators are developing strategies to break down gender and race hierarchies in cooperative learning groups."
---- This quote is kind of... i don't know, it is hard because not every female learns the same, or acts the same of do anything the same, and the same goes for blacks, Asians, and anybody. How can they be doing a serious study to help benefit students, when in fact it might work in Providence but not in Smithfield. It also depends on the groups that they are learning in it will always be different, so I see this as more of a struggle to try and fix the problem. It would seem it be a time consuming and tedious experiment. Maybe I am looking at the quote all wrong, but.... I don't know

2. "...to challenge both boys' and girls' perspectives on the female self."
----- This quote makes it sound like females are like outcast in the school and people are trying to make others realize that we are not bad, nor do we have cooties. Yes I believe that this country does not give enough credit to women, but I have never thought that it goes back to the classrooms, I have always felt equal with other males in my classes. It might have to do with my personality, but in school I do not feel the gender battle, but I guess it would make sense to teach it in the class to prepare both the males and females for the real world. Educating children will help to prevent, and slowly diminish the inequality.

3. "I mean, as long as they're interesting, what's the difference if they're women? Women are people, too, you know."
-----I agree with this kid, and I feel like this is the view of most people, excluding the sexist people of the world. But I do not look at a class and go O wow lots of males, must be smart and all the females well they are borderline, and yes I am a female, but I highly doubt males do that either.... I think it is a good thing that children can say that thing.

I liked reading the article it was interesting to see what some of the ideas were and how they were implicated into a classroom. Also it was interesting to see the responses of the children to the curricula.

Talking Point 6

"One More River to Cross"- Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown: A Prerequiste to Sharping New Remedies.
By: Charles Lawrence

In this article Lawrence talks about the struggle for equality, in America. He uses the famous case Brown vs. Board of Education to show just a piece of the struggle, as well as other segregation cases. These cases really changed the education system for blacks, who at one point were hardly going to school and learning.

Quotes:

1) "The ultimate goal was full political and civil equality for blacks; they knew that this could not be achieved until the entire system of segregation had been destroyed"
---- This quote stands out to me for more then one reason, for starters it amazes me that at one point they thought that this could or would have potential to bring total equality to America. Yes it is a step in the right direction, but there is no way that this one simple act can erase. Also knowing that it could not be achieved until the entire system had been desegregated, even when that happens I believe racial problems will always exist. The history can never be erased.

2) "Many black schools that existed within the segregated school systems of the South were in
fact superior to their white counterparts."
-----This quote, to say the least confusing.... especially to what I have been taught growing up. You always learned that the black schools had the worst materials; broken books, and not enough supplies to teach. Maybe I am just reading this wrong, or I was not taught the truth, which would not be a surprise because often children are not.

3) "In 1954 we believed that school integration would break down racist attitudes by bringing white and black children together."
----Because many Northern Americans wanted a quick fix to the racial problem, they believed that a simple act of forcing schools to desegregated would immediately solve all problems. When in fact the problem was much deeper then that, the history would not be erased by such a simple act.

The reading was difficult to read, both for vocabulary as well as just the structure in which it was written. Is was interesting to read the different views, as well as integrating the different cases into the time period, and conflicts. Looking froward to the talk in class to help bring some of the things into perspective.... :)

Talking Point 5

In The Service Of What?
The Politics of Service Learning
By:Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

In this article both of the authors argue that when it comes to service learning projects in school the teacher or whom ever is assigning the project need to be explicit and precise about what they are looking for. So that the people being assigned know the vision of the assignment they are about to encounter.

1.""After they returned, the students' perspectives of these elementary school children had changed."
-----This reminds me of what many people say to me when I mention volunteering in an inner city school. I always hear O well that is going to change your idea of thinking....and they are right it did, I know can not wait to have my own classroom and help these children. But people have a set idea of how children from schools like that act, they automatically think o well they are bad, impolite and rude children, when in fact they are just as polite if not better then children from suburban schools. They are all children and no one has the right to make judgments before meeting them.

2. "Service learning makes students active participants in service projects that aim to respond to the needs of the community while furthering the academic goals of students."
---- I like this quote because it not only reflects directly from the text and the arguments made by the authors but it reflects what we are doing OUR own Service Learning Projects. In doing a SL project you are directly responding to the needs of a specific community, one that is in the need of help in a specific area. In our case helping out with these children who are academically behind. Not only are we just doing this because it is a requirement it is a wonder learning tool for the future, gives students a feel for their own future. The points made in this article can clearly been seen through our own projects in the classroom.

3, "In the intellectual domain , a service learning curriculum can further a number of goals."
-----In working with the community it brings people aware of their surrondings, and ususally of the surrondings that need help. In my project I have defenitly seen things around me that make me want to change them, simple things like the children being behind in reading. It made me set my goals for these children higher, I am determined that these children will learn what they need to. I am willing to try new things and help in anyways, because the project has made me aware and directly related to these problems. My goals, and I am sure many goals of others in the class have changed from this. SL is a great tool to use in classroom settings.

I liked this article and found it easy and interesting to read because we are directly involved in the assignment. It helps bring a better understand of what exactly we are doing, and got me thinking about how much it can help children. It would be a great tool to use in my own classroom one day, because it brings with it many learning oppurtunities. I think they bring up good points and logical points that I agree, and most people that are involved or were involved in a SL project would agree with.

Talking Point 4

"Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us"

By: Linda Christensen

In this article written by Christensen, she argues that we all need to live out lives how WE want to and not how the media says we should. Society and everything around us tries to tell us how we need to live our life to be "accepted" in this world. We need to learn and teach others that it does not matter your waist size, or what you do for a job, that does not define us as a person.

--"Many students don't want to believe that they have been manipulated by children's media or advertising."
-----------> Whether you want to admit it or not your life is influenced by the media. In both the way you act to the way you dress. Children especially, when watching some of the "children" shows the way the child act you can see straight from the show. Even in adults, you see adults not eating because a size two is not good enough, need to get down the the 00. And the money some people spend on the "hip" clothes is ridiculous, all because someone famous or cooler then you is wearing it. I babysit a young girl and young boy who are not allowed to watch t.v. until Sunday, because it is a privilege in that house. And despite this you can still see effects of other children in what they say. It is amazing how much the media effects today's world.

--"We look at the roles women, men, people of color, and poor people play in the cartoons."
-----------> Although these stereotypes were more noticeable in early America, it is still apparent in today's world. People of color still do not feel safe everywhere they go, and still have the sense of being judge through every door they enter. Poor people are treated like they are not good, and should not be living. If you are not in a well paying job, making the big bucks, then you did not succeed at life, is what this world tells you. In order survive in todays world you need to be in a high paying job. Although women are not stereotyped as much today as they use to be, but I still hear jokes about women all the time. This world is built around sterotypes.

--"Both of these takes leave young women with two myths: Hapiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption- in their case, through new clothes and new hairstyle."
----------->The media teaches all of its viewers that inorder to be happy you need to to a b and c, when in reality you do not need any of those things to be happy. In reality it seems that the people who are just getting by with bills and such tend to be more happy then those who are rolling in money. Which just proves that you do not need to be rich to be happy.

--->The media strongly influneces what goes on in thsi country, and I believe they need to step up and change how they are protrying "life", and they have started to. But there are still people convinced that being a size 2 is to big and they need to lose weight. I myself struggle with that, I struggle with my body and often thing that I weigh to much. My doctor has even said to me that I if I gain a pound, ONE POUND, I will be overweight. And I struggle with this more because often people tell me how much they think I weigh, but when I hear what they say it is often 15 to 20 pounds less then my actual weight, and it makes me think that is where i need to be. I know that I get all of this from the world around me telling me that being me, is not good enough. When in fact being me is all I need to be!!! :)