(Blog 11) "Empowering Education" by Ira Shor

QUOTES

"People are naturally curious. They are born learners. Education can either develop or stifle their inclination to ask why and to learn" (Shor 12). 

     This quote really supports the author's main idea. Socialization is crucial to student's education. Imagine a world where you learned with no interaction. People really are born curious, and one of the best ways to help those curiosities is to learn through others. 

"People begin life as motivated learners, not as passive beings. Children naturally join the world around them. They learn by interacting, by experimenting, and by using play to internalize the meaning of words and experience. Language intrigues children..." (Shor 17). 

     This quote is similar to the last one I used. It goes further to mention that not only are we born ready to learn, but we also are ready to be involved in society. We want to learn with and through others. It is in our blood. It comes easily to even toddlers. This is a really important quote for the authors argument as well. 

"...I routinely ask students to define what "news" means to them and to write down questions they

have about the news. Their definitions and questions launch our class discussion, not a lecture by me" (Shor 28).

     Shor gives a fantastic example of what all teachers should be doing. This is just one of her many ideas, but it's a huge game changer. Kids do not always want to be lectured. It is a boring, old fashioned style that does not help most children. Letting them engage more in a classroom instantly makes learning more fun for them. Not only that, but they'll learn, and remember a lot more when they are interested and engaged. 

QUESTION: What else can we do, as future teachers, to help our kids to interact, and make the classroom more fun? It can be difficult to find a good mixture of fun and education at the same time, especially when the kids are younger and get off topic and hyper easily! I think having more peer-to-peer socializing is a great method. 

(Blog 10) "Schooling Children with Down Syndrome" by Christopher Kliewer

REFLECTION

     This chapter really spoke to me. I work one on one with a ten year old girl who has down syndrome. I am not going to sugar coat things, it is a very hard job. As a future educator, working with special needs can be very frustrating. Of course, there is a spectrum for down syndrome, but the girl I work with is very low functioning. She can not speak and knows very limited sign language. There are days that I get very overwhelmed, because I am so use to working with children that society would call "normal" (as this article points out). It can be difficult to try to teach someone who does not learn at the levels that you're used to. The burden that Kliewer mentions is often how teachers perceive special needs. The main topic of this story is similar to that of Christensen's. Both deal with the reality of how stereotypes are affecting children. As someone who has given in to the stereotype of special needs myself, people must understand that not everyone with down syndrome is the same, as I have come to learn. As the story points out, some kids function just as much, if not more, than everyone else in their class. To treat them differently is unfair. Furthermore, even the children who are less functioning should still get a chance at education. People could look at the girl I watch and think she is incapable of anything. However, I have worked with her for about a year now, and know that this is not the case. She understands a lot more than you'd think, and it is very apparent when you really pay attention. Working with a down syndrome child has opened my eyes to be less judgmental. I think teachers with the same mindset could easily have a change of heart if they just gave special needs children a chance. They should definitely do some research, to realize that not all kids with down syndrome learn the same way. 

QUESTION: Do you think children with down syndrome should be integrated into the classrooms, or should they stay in their own classes? How would staying or not staying benefit them and their peers? For higher functioning kids, there are many strategies to teach them equally. Do you think this is an inconvenience for the rest of the class?

(Blog 9) "Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route" by Jeannie Oakes and "Literacy with an Attitude" by Patrick J. Finn

REFLECTION

     In the article, Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route by Jeannie Oakes, she talks about the two sides to tracking in schools. Some parents are for keeping track of student's scores, because they want their kids to be around other successful peers. These parents think that the less academic students will have a bad influence on their kids. The parents that are against tracking think that tracking not only excludes kids, but also neglects them. Personally, I related a lot to this article while reading it. I also have some strong opinions on the topic. I am against tracking. I think that tracking causes the students that are put in the less academic groups to fall even more behind. Being integrated into a classroom with less and more successful students will help influence those who are less academic to do better. I think that tracking is unfair segregation. It makes students feel bad about themselves, which will only make them give up in school. Teachers will also lose hope on these kids, and only the students in the more advanced group will get attention, when they're the ones who need it the least. When I was in middle school, we had groups that were based on academic scores. The groups would never get along. Everyone would always think one group was better than the other. It caused constant conflict. I was in a less advanced group, and I didn't feel like I belonged in it. I was never able to reach my full potential. If I had been challenged more, I could have been a lot more educated. Placing students in a group off of only test scores can be completely off as to what their actual abilities are. Tracking will only cause kids to be over or under challenged. 

     The preface and chapters one and two of Literacy with an Attitude, by Patrick J. Finn was written in 1999, but is still a very prominent topic today. Finn connects his topic to Kozol's, which I though was pretty cool. Finn mentions that he was born with a birth defect, which made him unable to follow the family business like all of his other siblings were. This left him with school as his only backup to figure out what to do for his future. Of course, as a future teacher, I also have a very strong opinion about education. I believe that college is not for everyone, it really just depends on what career choice you make. However, I am a strong believer in getting your high school diploma. Like this article states, it is a hard era education wise. It is nearly impossible to find a good paying job without some sort of education. This article closely related to how I grew up. I always knew I'd have to go to college to become a teacher, and though it isn't ideal, it is the society we live in today.

QUESTION: Do you think that education should be important in finding a job? What can we do as a society to lesson the stigma that not having a college degree is bad? 

(Blog 8) "The Problem We All Live With" Parts I and II, "Separate and Unequal" by Bob Herbert, and the Brown vs. Board of Education website

ARGUMENT

     Since there are three separate pieces to look at for this week's blog, I decided to talk about each of their arguments individually, and then connect the three at the end. I first listened to the radio show, "The Problem We All Live With". There were a few different speakers on this podcast, but they all had the same argument; integrated schools are very beneficial for student's education. The podcast talks about the Normandy school in Missouri. In 2013, it was very behind in racial matters. When the school wanted to bring in kids from a less fortunate background, the parents reactions were shocking. One parent even mentioned that they were worried about their child getting stabbed. The blatant racism is hard to listen to, and the teenage speaker in the show really proves this racism. She had, first hand, experience on what it is like to be treated differently because of your skin color. For the time being that the school was integrated, the new student's education improved greatly. However, as stated, it was too much for everyone, and sadly, they did not continue it. Overall, this radio show was very surprising, but definitely showed that racism still exists today.

     In "Separate and Unequal", Bob Herbert's main argument is that there is still segregation in schools, and that this segregation is holding students back from their full potential. He is very big on the matter of integrated schools. Separating students automatically makes their education unequal. Keeping kids that have bad tendencies with similar peers can only make them worse. They need motivation. It is very similar to putting someone out of shape into a running competition. That person will see everyone else running much faster than them, and it'll only discourage them. They'll most likely feel bad about themselves and will give up on trying to run faster. 

     I then explored the Brown vs. Board of Education website. While they don't really have an argument, their work relates closely to this podcast and reading. It is for the exact cause that these resources are arguing. I found the project's history very interesting. Integration in schools would not be what it is today if it weren't for this association. 

     To relate these three resources, they all have very similar arguments. They all stress the importance of mixing students from poverty backgrounds (who are doing poorly in school), with students that are more fortunate. They kids that are doing better in school can really influence students who have worse grades. They will catch up much faster, and all the students will have a chance to be equal. Overall, these resources send a huge and important message.

QUESTION: After listening about the Normandy school, I looked up their website. They seem to be a lot more diverse than back in 2013. However, I did find this issue that happened two years later. I also noticed that on the Brown vs. the Board of Education website, they had no accomplishments on their timeline since 2003. Do you think the issue of integration is still around in 2018? If so, what could we do to get less diverse schools to expand their racial backgrounds? 

     

(Blog 7) "In The Service Of What? The Politics of Service Learning" by Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

CONNECTIONS

Service learning projects are not just beneficial to the students, but to us as well. 

     This article was very similar to the one I just read by Soloway. Though this one does not mention the issue of gender directly, it still is part of the article's issue. Part of the article really stuck out to me, where it mentions,"...more attention has been focused on moving forward than on asking where we are headed". Though they are talking about educational matters, politics is politics no matter what. This quote can be applied to gender issues just the same. Sexism and the issues it causes is getting ignored just as much as education. Both of these articles show a huge political impact of two different matters. It is important to learn how both are affecting politics, before we can find solutions for them. Children are not only lacking in education because of issues like native language and race, but also from gender. Many girls are getting looked down on the same way children of color are. In service learning projects, there must be equality for every single child. 

     Kahne and Westheimer's article most closely related to Amazing Grace, by Jonathan Kozol. Kozol vividly describes children growing up in poverty with specific examples. In In The Service Of What? The Politics of Service Learning, it deals with service learning projects. These projects help students to be a part of their community and learn a lot from it. Service learning projects are most commonly to help kids as pictured in Kozol's story. Reading Amazing Grace could even inspire people to want to help out students in their community. Charity is so important to kids in need. Helping them can impact both you and them. Making a difference in the world is truly inspiring. After reading Kozol's article, it's difficult to not what to par take in a service learning project. Not only is it impactful, but the experience is a great educational experience. 

QUESTION: When we get busy with school and work, what sort of service learning projects can we still try to fit in? It's important to help make a difference for those who need it. I found some fun ideas for us future teachers to incorporate! 

(Blog 6) Option One: Gender and the 2018 Election

     Soloway's article was very interesting for me because I got a women's perspective. Right away, this article reminded me of how Kozol wrote his article. Soloway and Kristof both showed the reality of their topics by using real life situations and lots of quotes from people. Soloway's main argument was that the whole "boys will be boys" defense is used to excuse them from everything. Women are constantly shamed and being called derogatory words, but when men do repulsive things, it is always justified. She then shows examples of politicians, who are supposed to be professional, speaking down on women instead of doing their jobs. Donald Trump, as we all know, has said some awful sexist comments, which she points out in this article. This article shows that no matter what your job is, gender is still setting women back. Women are held to a higher expectation. Men are sexist to them, and women have to work twice as hard to be taken as seriously as men are. It is also harder for them to become a politician, because it is still seen as a "man's job". Lastly, these stereotypes of women that Soloway points out connects greatly to the Christensen article, because both show the sad reality of the impacts stereotyping can cause.
     As for the article, Stacey Abrams Didn't Play It Safe. Neither Do These Female Candidates., by Susan Chira and Matt Flegenheimer, this also sent a huge message. This article talks a lot about how there are many women as politics, but how hard they have to work to get there. It is brought up that, "As Democratic women run for House, Senate and state offices in historic numbers this year, many are bucking the careful and cautious ways of politics". It is so sad that women have to try harder, and tread quietly to be "equal" to men. Not only that, but women of color have it even harder. This relates closely to Kozol's article as well, because he deals with issues of race in his article. I found it so sad that being black and female is still such a huge issue for getting certain jobs. I think that these articles are very important to read. Women should not have to work harder than men, and still get talked down on for absolutely no reason other than their gender. This issue is far too real, and not just in politics either. 

(Blog 5) "Safe Spaces" by Annemarie Vaccaro, Gerri August, and Megan S. Kennedy

EXTENDED COMMENTS

     I chose to extend Marissa's comments, because she chose very good quotes for her blog post! Her first quote was sad, but what she said to go with it was even more sad to me. I can't believe that someone could judge a child so young for just simply playing. I agree with Marissa completely. Children should always feel comfortable enough to be themselves. Teachers and parents especially should not be the ones to shame them. Marissa's next chosen quote about death never being an option is simple, but so important. I think that helping people when you know they need it is so important. being kind can save someone's life. Her last quote was very shocking. It made me wonder what the rate of suicide among teenagers was. The number for just high schoolers alone is shocking. No one should be made to feel this way at this young of an age. One of the most shocking things I learned is that suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in America alone. The last picture Marissa included inspired me to look up more statistics. The picture below is also mind blowing. Suicide rates are continuously increasing each year. I think Marissa's quotes are a huge eye opener on this topic. 

QUESTION: What changed between 1999 to now? Why are suicide rates increasing and what can we do to stop it? Hopefully we discuss this more in class, though the August article has many examples of real life situation that leads kids into this path.

Critical Reflection on Social Justice Event

Pariah

     Today, I watched the film, Pariah. It was featured in Gaige Hall, and was a little over an hour and a half long. No guest speakers were there, and there were only a few other people there to watch the film. In all honesty, I did not enjoy the film as much as I though I might. It kind of seemed to drag out. There were a few parts of the film that got my attention, but most of it seemed confusing and plot-less to me. Perhaps it was because I was taking notes at the same time, but it did not spark my interests too much. Towards the end of the film, however, I did find a few things sad. There was quite a few scenes that reminded me of past readings. 

     The first connection I made was to the article, U.S.A., Land of Limitations? by Nicholas Kristof. Though it was not a talked about issue in the film, it was clearly filmed in a poorer town. Again, this was not the focused issue, but it still reminded me of the statistics of children who follow their parents income. The main character in this film was incredibly smart. In the end, she even graduates high school early. It was nice to see that she was leaving her town and making something of herself. This led me to connect Pariah to Amazing Grace, by Johnathan Kozol. Just like the children in Kozol's story, who were happy despite their odds, the main character in the film was just as brave. She did not seem to care about being in a less fortunate neighborhood. She also was happy and kind to her mom, even when her mom was nothing less of horrific to her. Her mother constantly made her dress more "girlier". Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us, by Linda Christensen had the strongest connection to Pariah for me. Since the mom was so cruel, all I could think about were the stereotypes Christensen talks about. The mom wanted the perfect daughter that the media portrays. She was extremely harsh to her daughter for not dressing the way society "should". The main character received so much backlash for such stereotypes as these, which are all because of the media. 

     At the end of Pariah, the main character is attacked by her mother because she opened up about her sexual orientation. As a result, the girl leaves home. She says, "I'm not running, I'm choosing". This scene was very sad to me. She even goes back home a few weeks later to say goodbye, and the mom was still just as cruel to her. I found some statistics on children running away from home because of their sexual identity. This website has stories about children not accepted by their parents. It really upsets me that people can be so judgmental. I can't imagine hating your own child no matter what. Another too real issue this movie touches on is how this can impact the kids. Not being accepted in the LGBTQ community can cause so much damage. There is even research on how this can cause depression. Lastly, this film brings up the issue of being a part of the LGBTQ community while still in high school. It can be so hard, that there are real life videos of people giving tips on how to manage this. This was pretty shocking to me. Overall, I think this is a very sad and shocking topic that needs more light shed on to it. Stereotypes and judgments really need to be diminished. To me, it is just pointless hatred. 

(Blog 4) "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us" by Linda Christensen

HYPERLINKS

     Stereotypes and discrimination in our society are far too out of hand. Like Christensen states, hardly anyone in the media is ever portrayed as anything but white. Not only that, but they have to meet certain standards of beauty, which are highly unrealistic. Many statistics show the affects society's beauty standards have on children. From a young age, children start to notice the perfect hair that all the Disney princesses have, or the fact that all of their barbies are white. They start to subconsciously wonder why they don't look like the images that society portrays. This sets them up for so many insecurities, which can affect both boys and girls childhood's. This hyperlink even states that 80%  of 10 year old girls will go on a diet. This is both shocking and sad to hear. This impact not only starts at such a young age, but this video shows how it even continues to affect adults. It is something that never fully goes away. Overall, the media has started a huge unrealistic standard of beauty. It is affecting children and adults more and more, and needs to be changed. Though I was aware of this issue, looking at these links along with everything Christensen stated was still very surprising and saddening. 

     QUESTION: How can we get children to understand that everyone is unique? They should not be taught that they should look like people that they see in the magazines. If we can't change the media, how do we change the way children perceive it? Everyone needs to understand the difference between real life and the media. 

(Blog 3) "Aria" by Richard Rodriguez

ARGUMENT

     For this story, I chose to talk about Rodriguez's argument, because I feel that it is very strong, and needs to be highlighted. Rodriguez argues that there is a difference between public vs private individuality. Being bilingual is a very good advantage in society, however, it it important to stick to your roots. Rodriguez lost his identity not only in public places like school, where he was forced to learn an alien language to him, but also at home. His parents did not let him keep in touch with his roots, and soon, Spanish became his alienated language. It is important to stay in touch with your native language, but it is also good to learn a new one too. Society (especially schools and parents) need to differentiate the two languages, and understand that children need both. They need to have a home where they feel safe to keep in touch with their roots, after speaking a new language in public all day. Only speaking the newly learned language can lead to quietness, uncomfortably, a loss of identity, and much more. 

QUESTION: How can we teach kids when to speak English and when to speak Spanish? 

     As educators, we need to differentiate the two languages, but make sure they understand not to lose sight of one or the other. Personally, I also think that all schools should teach another language. Learning a second language at a young age is much easier than it is for adults, and I think that being bilingual is very important and helpful in today's society. There are many misconceptions that prevent kids from being taught a second language. These need to be debunked. This reading is also closely connected to most of our other readings, since most segregated kids will also speak a different language. 

(Blog 2) "Amazing Grace" by Jonathan Kozol

QUOTES

1. "By and large, the words of the children in the streets and schools and houses that surround St. Ann's more than justify the grimness in the words of journalists who have described the area" (Kozol 4).

     This quote immediately got my attention. This article was very blatant and shocking. It was sad and hard to read for me. Though it is a harsh reality, I think that this point is harsher than the author needed to make it. He is justifying authors for shaming poor children. No matter the income or what they are wearing, they are still human. No one should be able to talk down on people's appearances or incomes. I know it is important to get people to realize how bad poverty affects people, but we do not need to be rude in the process. We should not focus on how they look, but rather how we could help. 

2. "There are children in the poorest, most abandoned places who, despite the miseries and poisons that the world has pumped into their lives, seem, when you first meet them, to be cheerful anyway" (Kozol 6).

     This really is an eye opening quote. It shows how strong children can be. They always see the best in life, and are able to stay positive. Even when they have to deal with things much worse than a child should have to, they are able to keep their childhood innocence. They can always see the good in the world, even when dealing when family illnesses all around them. The author even states that every child knows someone who has died of AIDS. I think that this is a powerful quote for the author's main point. It almost makes you wonder if we should be the ones learning from children. 

3. "At 96th Street, all of the other white people leave the car I'm in, but several black and Hispanic women, two or whom are in maids' uniforms, come in and sit together on a seat beside me" (Kozol 17).

     The child poverty statistics in New York are extremely shocking. It gets even more upsetting when you look at the other factors behind these statistics, such as race or gender. The majority of children are living in poverty, under horrible conditions. There are so many descriptive quotes in this article, and almost all of the tragic scenes involve people of color. It was shocking to read about a world still so segregated to this day. 

Question: We know the statistics of children living in poverty, but what can we do to help? How can we bring more awareness to the issue and raise the funds to get parent's needed medication or necessary clothes for their children? In a perfect world, you could say something such as equaling out everyone's income. But realistically, is there a solution that we as a society could do to prevent this? Can teachers help in any way?

(Blog 1) "U.S.A., Land of Limitations?" By Nicholas Kristof

The Article 

REFLECTION

     This article was very relatable to me right from the beginning. Growing up, my family struggled a lot with money. There were days where it nearly seemed impossible to ever move out of my small town and make better money. Just like the article says, we are living in an economy with no mobility. Here is a link given in the article. I found it very useful because it shows statistics of how unlikely a child born into a less wealthy family is to become wealthy in their future. The facts were very shocking to me. Personally, growing up with little to no money always inspired me to want more for my future. I was very surprised to see that most kids don't grow up and try to make a different, better life for themselves. 

     However, it does make sense when you start to think about it. If you come from a family with little money, you have no one to support you financially while you begin to better your life. This is why I have very strong feelings about how expensive college tuition is. I definitely related to the small percent of kids mentioned in this article, who bettered themselves financially. Through many loans and scholarships, along with a part time job, I was the first in my family to attend college (other than my mom). 

     I could also, however, relate to the kids that did follow their family's footsteps in income. My brother did not have any of the motivation to change his life like I did. By 16, he dropped out of high school. Though he is doing a lot better now, there were many years of seeing him living at home, sad and jobless. He used my dad's unemployment as an excuse to not need a job either. It was a really hard thing for me to watch at a young age, but thankfully, it only motivated me more. It encouraged me to get extremely good grades, and work my hardest to get into a good college! Having personal experiences to both sides of this article (me and my brother), this article made me think a lot. I realized that this issue is not discussed as much as it should be. More research should go into the kids that follow their parents financial footsteps, in order to figure out how to stop it. We should be economically encouraging these kids to go out there and achieve big things. Motivation is so important for kids to have if they want to succeed in their educations and futures, and it can be hard to get motivation in a house full of struggling, unmotivated families. 

QUESTION: What can teachers do at school to help motivate their students? It can be hard to want to learn when you have a bad home situation. How can we get through to kids and send them the message that education is important?

About Me

Last summer, I went to Spain, France, and Italy. My favorite part was seeing the Colosseum. Here is a picture of me in Rome, Italy, at a famous fountain called "Trevi Fountain".

I am a huge cat person! These are my two cats, Linus and Levi.