Brown vs Board of Education

"Separate is not Equal"

 

I feel that both the website, article and interview with Tim Wise have the same message incorporated in them, yes there has been tremendous change in this country when it comes to racism, however there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Brown vs the Board of education is the Supreme Court case that claimed that Separate was not equal and gave people of all races the right to an equal education in the same schools. Although this was a very big step in heading toward the right direction for Racial America there was still so much racism going on in the country. Tim Wise argues that although we have a black President today, there is still racism going on in this country. In the interview wise says

"The proof of racial equity will be that day that people of color can be as mediocre as white folks and still get hired" This really stood out to me because it is completely true. Exceptions are made for white people that would most likely not be made for those of color. I feel that Wise's main point is that yes we do have a black President, and Obama is a very smart, articulate man who happened to graduate from Harvard, but if he had graduated from a different college and had a different style and wasn't as articulate, would be still have became president. What Wise said about meritocracy is completely true, in order to be a Black President in the US Obama had to be the complete opposite of Mediocre, as opposed to some white Presidents we have had. I think the main point in this weeks piece is that although we have come a long way when is comes to racism and segregation, we still have a long way to go.

 

Talking point: The new York times Article made me think a lot about my Service learning, did anybody else feel the same?

"Educators know that it is very difficult to get consistently good results in schools characterized by high concentrations of poverty. The best teachers tend to avoid such schools. Expectations regarding student achievement are frequently much lower, and there are lower levels of parental involvement. These, of course, are the very schools in which so many black and Hispanic children are enrolled." one more point id like to make is that this particular quote, or quotes from the article reminded me of the movie Freedom Writers because this white teacher was put into a poor school with segregation and many students of color that just didn't care about having an education, and she was told by many people to give up on them and that she cant make them want an education but she never gave up and in the end she ended up getting through to them and helping them and bettering their education.

 

"In the Service of What?" - Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

I love this quote from JFK and the fact that the article started out with it, if we could all think like this there would be a lot more change happening in the country.

 

 "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." (pg 2) 

This quote is basically saying that students who participate in service learning projects are bettering the lives of others by helping them as well as bettering their education by getting a real life experience of what they are being taught in the classroom. I agree with this quote completely, since I have been doing my service learning I have been able to connect so much more with the readings and discussions that we have in class and I always find myself thinking back on the things I have learned in class while I am at the school. also I have been working one on one with a particular child and I really feel that I am making a difference in his learning, it is such a rewarding feeling to know that I am helping him and possibly bettering his future.



"This experience and others like it, quite common in the literature of service learning, emphasize charity more than change. The experience was structured to promote giving rather than to provide the kind of understanding needed for the development of caring relationships. As a result, the student's description of the event lacked the perspective and input of those she was helping." (pg 7)

This was said after a student wrote about her experience feeding the elderly on Thanksgiving. After reading this I realized that often times when people give to the less fortunate they focus on how it makes them feel, rather than how they are making the people in need feel. Often times you will hear people talk about wanting to help out in a soup kitchen, but most of the time they do it to make themselves feel better not because they actually want to make a difference in somebody else's life. most people will go and serve the people food and make small talk with them for the time being and then leave happy because they did something nice for another person, but after that they will not think about it again, they don't think about how those people are doing a week from then. I think this is why there is not as much change in the world because people do things for others to make themselves feel like a better person.


 "The experiential and interpersonal components of service learning activities can achieve the first crucial step toward diminishing the sense of "otherness" that often separates students-particularly privileged students-from those in need." (pg 8)
This made me thin of  McIntosh and racism this was said after children for a more privileged school went and performed for other children at a less privileged school, before going to the school they were scared and thought the students were going to be rude and mean, and then after going to the school they realized that the students at that school were not much different than them. they only believed bad things about children from that neighborhood because of what their parents told them. the service learning helped to diminish the differences between the two schools and actually brought them together. The parents of these children without even realizing it were being racist and in tainting their children's minds with racist thoughts, the service learning helped to change that.

Talking Point: do you feel that you are making a difference in the children's lives while doing the service learning project?

August- "Safe Spaces"

This blog touched me in a number of ways, here are some of the quotes that really stood out to me.

1. "So far, so good- until the family is two moms with their children, or two dads and their adopted daughter. Such families rarely make the curricular cut- they are invisible."  (August 85)

This was said while August was talking about how in elementary school children learn about all types of families and differences between families. Children learn about how families differ all around the worth weather it be because of race, because of only having one parent, they are taught about adopted families and foster families, but they are very rarely taught about gay or lesbian families. This I do not understand why wouldn't we want to teach children that some families may have two mom's or two dads, I feel that if children were to be taught this at a young age they would grow up to accept it and think if it as normal, which could in turn help keep the classroom safe for LGBT students, and students that come from a gay and lesbian family.

2. "Heterosexual students with LGBT family members or friends need to see their lived ones reflected in the images and stories that shape ideologies. Heterosexual students who have no LGBT friends or family also need positive LGBT representations if they are to have a full understanding of the human experience." (August 91)

I chose this quote because I agree with it completely, ideologies are the most important and influential aspects of society and growing up. students should be shown that all types of people are positively represented in these ideologies. Children who's loved ones are LGBT should grow up with the belief that there is nothing wrong with it and it is normal. on the other hand children who do not know anybody who is LGBT should also be taught about it in a positive way, this would avoid so much bullying and discrimination for LGBT students in the future. if children are brought up to accept the differences in other people's sexual orientations and are taught that there is nothing bad or wrong with it, they will be less likely to discriminate as they get older. LGBT is a part of everyday life and if children are not exposed to it they will not be able to fully understand life.


3. "But what did she teach? the message to Marcus and his to his classmates was that Marcus's family was shameful, something to be hushed." (August 95)

This was said after the story if how Marcus a 7 year old student was sent to the principal and sentenced to in school suspension for telling one of his classmates that his family was gay because he has two moms and that "gay is when a girl likes another girl". If I was Marcus's mother I would have been enraged if my child was reprimanded for explaining his family to one of his friends. Marcus' teacher implied that there is something wrong with his family by sending him to the principal and probably damaged his self esteem. not only did his teacher make him feel like his family is something to be ashamed of which is just plain wrong, but she also interrupted his education by removing him from the classroom for no good reason.



here's some more Modern Family that I found fitting for this topic (:

Aria- by Richard Rodriguez

For my blog post I decided to do a reflection because while reading this I had so many thoughts going through my mind. First I would like to say that I don't think it was fair for Richards teachers to basically change his name for him. At home he was referred to as Ricardo, he was born Ricardo and I feel that is the name his teachers should have used for him. It is so upsetting that he grew up to believe that his given name was not right and I notice that he now refers to himself as Richard also.
"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. I would have trusted them and responded with ease." This quote stood out to me because I find it so sad that he felt so separated from the English language that he was afraid to go to school and to speak in class. the fact that his teachers came to his house and asked his parents to speak English to him which in turn changed his families entire life just does not seem right to me. as educators his teachers should have encouraged his differences not changed them. It is great that he eventually started to feel more comfortable at school but at the expense of his family life. Why was it not possible for Richard to learn how to be more comfortable with English while at school while still being able to bond with his family through his native language at home. It just does not feel right to me. 

I felt that this reading related to me because I am actually half Dominican, my mother is Italian and Irish and my Father is Dominican, however I did not grow up with my father so unfortunately I never learned to speak much Spanish. When i spend time with my dad's family i feel separated from them, my own family because they speak to me in broken English which I know is not comfortable for them therefore i was never able to form a very good relationship with any of them. When reading this I found it so upsetting that Richard and his family basically threw away the Spanish language because I would give anything to learn the language and be able to form a relationship with my family. Often times when I meet my Grandmothers friends they will start talking to me in Spanish and my Grandmother will tell them in broken English that I do not speak Spanish which usually results in the end of conversation. I just think that it is so important to be able to communicate and relate to your family so Richards story really touched me.


I read a summary of Rodriguez's book " Hunger of Memory" and it says he writes about how his education cost him connections to his culture and his family. I just cant bring myself to understand why he had to alienate himself from the Spanish language in order to be comfortable with the English language. I feel that if his teachers would have been more understanding in the beginning this would have been possible.

Peggy McIntosh White Privilege Quotes

Quote 1: "I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage." (1) 

This quote made me think about Delpit's article and her fifth aspect of power that states "Those with power are frequently least aware of -or least willing to acknowledge -its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence" what McIntosh is saying in this quote goes hand in hand with what Delpit said. We are taught all about racism and what people who fall victim to racism go through however we are never taught about white privilege and what that means for white people who do not fall victim to racism. This quote is basically saying that people focus more about the disadvantages racism causes but never stop to think about the advantages that white privilege causes. This is another point I would have never through about had I not read this article but now that I have I agree with it completely.

Quote 2:  "I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color that more or less matches my skin." (3)

This quote is just one of McIntosh's 26 conditions and although it may be the most simple of them all I feel like it was put last for a reason. I feel as if the simplicity of being able to go into a store and choose a Band-Aid of her skin color no questions asked sums up all 25 of the other points perfectly. It is something that a white person would not think twice about, and probably most colored people because it is the norm, but why is it the norm? Why in the society is it normal for a white person to be able to find a band-aid that matches their skin color but not a colored person? These are things that nobody puts much thought into because we were not taught to look at these things as white privileges, we were not taught to look at being white as a privilege at all.

Quote 3: " If these things are true, this is not such a free country; ones' life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own"

This quote is basically saying that we call our country a free country but it is in fact not free at all. they say your life is what you make it but that is not the case for all people. for some people, especially people of color things do not come very easily and regardless of what they do to get themselves out of a hole or to be successful it doesn't always happen. this quote is also saying that white privilege plays a big role in the succession of a white man regardless of if he asks for it or not. This is just something that is a norm in this society.

When signing up for this class I had no idea it was going to be so interesting and engaging. Many of the things we read about and talk about in class are things that I would have never thought twice about had I not taken this class. I feel as a future educator the lessons we are learning in these readings are very important and I am looking forward to what the rest of the semester brings.

The silenced dialogue- Other Peoples Children Delpit's argument

Lisa Delpit's argument in her article The Silenced Dialogue is that educators do not realize the power they have over their students and how their ways of teaching affect their students. she also stresses on the fact that the education system is centered around people of middle and upper class therefore making life for students of color and lower class more difficult. she mentions many occasions in which this argument is very apparent. She says how white teachers concentrate more on educating their white students for the future than their African American students. According to Delpit we are education African American students on how to be successful in a white mans world, which is not fair to those children. She raises the issue that many teachers think they are doing the right thing in teaching African American students based on research they have done but they don't think about the perspective of the children.

Many things I read in this article were things I did not think about before reading, but I definitely agree with now. As a future educator I think it is important to think about every student and be able to accommodate every students needs differently.