(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.