Education Is Politics

Since middle school I have learned to dread my classes throughout the day. No longer were my school days fun and interesting. Instead I was forced to live a life of bulleting and highlighting. Instead of being able to show creativity and imagination in school I was now limited to the studying of certain materials and then being tested on said materials. I feel as though this played into the Shore reading "Education is Politics". As I mentioned earlier since middle school I have been forced to just sit there and listen to my teachers and then when it came time to be tested, spit out the information like a puppet. And the only thing that changed through the years is the length of the class. Sadly while working at the Mary Fogarty school I have witnessed the same exact same thing happening.

As I sit there with my small group I watch on as the teacher stands in front of the class teaching her students the basics of math. But all why this is happening the students are either fidgeting with their fingers or the pencils in their desk. And personally I feel it’s because they are learning the same exact thing every day for weeks on end and as stated in the reading,  "If the students' task is to memorize rules and existing knowledge, without questioning the subject matter or the learning process, their potential for critical thought and action will be restricted."

     This reading reminded me a lot of the movie "The Freedom Writer's". I think it reminds me of this movie because a lot of this reading had to do with the participation of the students in the class lecture and the stimulus of their brains. And when Ms. Gruwell introduced games and field trips and other things into her lectures she really got a large amount of participation.

   

Sexual Assault On Campus

 


      Recently I attended the Social Justice event 'Sexual Assault on Campus" in order to complete my requirement for this class. But what started out as just a simple assignment ended up turning into a major eye opener.
      Sadly although I cannot remember the name of the speaker that day I can tell you she was one in a million. She was a educated woman who had graduated college and began working with the police. But as the time went on I learned she was so much more. She was in a wonderful domestic partnership, she was making decent money, and she was also a victim of sexual assault. From first sight I would never have guessed, she seemed calm and seemed as though she had no worries, but it was through this amazing woman that I learned that sexual assault is everywhere. Even here at RIC.
     She began by asking us certain questions based around rape. She asked if we knew what it was and if we had been effected by it in any way. Once she got a census she began her seminar with the idea of power, and its connection to rape. This idea reminded me of Johnson's "Privilege, Power, and Difference" reading. I say this because as defined by law rape is forcible sexual relations with a person against that person's will. And as described in Johnson's reading people who have power  tend remain in power while the other's whether they be a different race, class, gender, etc. are oppressed. And in the case of rape the attacker has all the control in the situation and sadly the victim's are oppressed.
      Next she went into some of the statistics of sexual assault on campus. Did you know that it is estimated that 1 in every 4 woman who attend college will be sexually assaulted by the time they graduate. And out of those statistics 9 out of every 10 women will know their attacker.(http://www.nsvrc.org/saam/campus-resource-list) With these statistics came a sad story. Out of the audience a young woman stood up and shared her story of how she herself had been a victim of rape. And instead of being arrested and thrown out of college, the young man who committed the crime was allowed to continue attending college and was even allowed to be in the same classes as her. While she was sharing this horrific story I kept thinking of the "Amazing Grace" reading by Kozol. Just like what happened to the people in the reading, the young woman was viewed as powerless and the institution continued to oppress her by not properly dealing with the situation, and in the end causing her to suffer. After doing some research I found a similar situation that occurred at another institution. Like the young lady described earlier Margaux J. a student at Indiana University was forced to deal with the fact that her college "not only harbors rapists, but also disregards, ignores and fails women." when her attacker was allowed to continue attending the college.(http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/Few-consequences-for-students-accused-of-rape-3198253.php)(http://www.publicintegrity.org/2010/02/24/4361/sexual-assault-campus-margaux-j-interview-part-i-0) (http://www.publicintegrity.org/2010/02/24/4361/sexual-assault-campus-margaux-j-interview-part-i-0)
     And finally this presentation reminded me of one last reading and that was "SCWAMP" by Lesley Grinner. I made the connection to this reading by discovering that it is because of the way our society values things such as gender, religion and other things that these victims are forced to live a life of oppression.
     And it is through this seminar and through the readings that I have learned of the fallacies victims of sexual assault are forced to face. Through oppression and views of society these victims go are faced with nothing but an uphill battle while sadly their aggressors walk free.

Respect: Pass it on

Shown above are my two cousins Allister (left) and Addison (right) on their way to a RESPECT conference.

 

Since a very young age I have been exposed to the idea of respecting everyone and anyone no matter their race, religion, sexuality, or in this case number of chromosomes. What I mean by this is that people with down syndrome actually have an extra 21 chromosome, which makes them the way they are. And I'm happy to say that I'm blessed with not only one but two amazing people in my family that live with this syndrome.

By no other means but coincidence two people on my mother's side live with down-syndrome. One is my mother's brother (Uncle Jay) and the other is my cousin Amy's daughter Addison. So you can say I can relate really well to the whole concept of respecting everyone.

While reading the  document "Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome" by Kliewer I realized that all I could make was connections. For example on the very first page it mentioned the negative stereotypes given to people living with down syndrome. The idea that just because they are different and take a little while to understand certain things they are stupid. And personally that couldn't be anywhere farther from the truth. For instance ever since  was little I have been going to my grand parents house every Saturday and given that my uncle lives with them I see him quite often. And every time I see him he never fails to impress me with his intense knowledge of every fact about the Muppets, and his ability to sing every song from every Disney Channel original Movie. And if you were a Disney fan you would know just how many movies there were. And even with my cousin Addison, at just 13 years old her reading ability is amazing and to be honest probably exceeds mine.

And even when it comes to education I have witnessed first hand the grouping and set schedules children with down syndrome are forced to face. For instance since elementary school I have been in class with a young boy named Matthew. And even though Matt is ranked higher in intelligence than many children who have down syndrome, I watched as he and the other children with special needs came to school and sat in the same class room every single day, unable to decide which classes they wanted to take. And even though I understand that the Bristol-Warren School District has one of the best special education departments I don't feel as though we should group them like mentioned in the Oak's reading and force them to deal with a life of set schedules.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDt_T-_-QPs

Above is a link to a video pertaining to Karen Gaffney, a young woman with down syndrome showing that even though she has this disorder she can function and thrive just as well as everyone else.
                                               

Should Children Be Grouped?

In the reading "Tracking: Why School's Need to Take Another Route" by Jeannie Oaks the controversial topic of grouping kids comes into play. Now by tracking and grouping certain children, it is said that there are both advantages and disadvantages. However I only see disadvantage. For instance in the reading it mentions that tracking "locks most kids into classes where they are stereotyped as "less able". And by doing this I feel as though it puts everyone at a disadvantage because they are now stuck and unable to be challenged. This reminded me of the video "Between Barack and a Hard Place" because in the film the speaker mentioned how children of black or Hispanic background were placed in lower ranking classes than him just because they were not white. And because of this they were viewed as less able and maybe less intelligent.

Another quote I found interesting was "A number of studies have found that top-classes spend more class time on learning activities and less on discipline, socializing, and class routines." I found this to be important because all though in some classes of lower standards there are disciplinary issues, teachers should always make it their main priorities to teach the students, and should find a way to still have stable order of the classroom. And finally "What about average kids? The quality of classes for average students usually falls somewhere between the high and low-class extremes" I feel as though this is really important because being an average kid myself I realized that many of my fellow class mates who were in higher ranking classes were asked to do more and were given more independence, and with kids in lower ranking classes, they were babies their whole way through high school. But with the average kids we were stuck in some awkward stage of life where there was either too much of one thing and too little of another and it eventually became frustrating! So overall though I believe this reading made some good points I feel as though by tracking and grouping children only harm can be done.

Identity in the Classroom

     After reading the article "Becoming Something Different' by Fairbanks, Crooks, and Ariail, I felt as though it connected really well with the readings we have done without the semester. For instance it connected really well to the readings of "Aria" and an "Indians Father's Plea". I think this because throughout the study on Esmé she was faced with similar situations that occurred to the young boy in "Aria" and from Wind-Wolf in "An Indian Father's Plea". However I feel as though this reading had more of a personal connection to me. Like many of you I am faced with a lot of diversity in our tutoring classrooms. And in mine I have witnessed first hand a young boy change from who he is in order to fit in. On the first day of tutoring I was asked to work with some students who had trouble working on some basic math problems. One was Rico(alias). Now Rico had moved here from Spain over the summer and really hadn't picked up on much over the past couple months. However after working with him through out the weeks I began to notice slight changes in him. What started off as getting new shoes, and a unique hair cut, eventually led to a big change in behavior and I watched as this sweet boy turned into a very agitated, mean young man. He stopped paying attention in class and when he would work with me had little to no interest in focusing. But last Tuesday while I was working with him, he seemed to open up. And began telling me how he was getting picked on for his accent, and the way he dressed, and he actually apologized for the way he had been acting. After this I went up and talked to the teacher and she had let me know how she was dealing with the situation and what was being done to make sure Rico was happy in the classroom.

     Now even though I will never experience what its like to change my culture in order to fit in, by working with Rico I managed to see just how big of an effect it can have on a young child.

 

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=latino+students+in+the+class+room&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=5CBBE4B8902F96EE80BD5CBBE4B8902F96EE80BD
In the video above it talks about the importance of affirming identity inside the classroom.

The Talk On Racism

   
     After watching the two videos I really found that the "Between the Barack and a Hard Place:Challenging Racism, Privilege, and Denial played a huge role in the various readings we have been doing. From the very beginning of the presentation the speaker made amazing points towards the battle of racism. For instance one that I really enjoyed was when he said the excuse of "Some of my best friends are black...". I really enjoyed this because he mentioned that just because you have friends that are black, it does not mean that racism does not exist. In addition to this idea he mentioned a study that had been conducted where 75% of Americans stated that they had many black friends. And in correlation to the term "many" is the idea of 4 or more. So that would mean that 142 million white people would have at least 4 friends who were black but at the time of the poll there were only about 35 million black people in the country, so this poll would be viewed as very inconclusive.
     In addition to this, the speaker also mentioned that people of color were usually placed in lower ranking classes while children of Caucasian background were usually placed in higher ranking classes despite their academic ability.He also mentioned a study in which 626 white students keep a journal for 6 weeks and were asked to report every sign of racism they saw. And after the six weeks there was a total of 7500 accounts of real racism recorded. ( http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/12/reid.race.lessons/) And it is from these different experiences that I can connect this video to Idea's like SCWAMP where whiteness is the prominent factor over other  races.
     Furthermore another thing that I found extremely interesting was a study where a black man and a white man both went to the same doctors with the same symptoms, occupations, and insurance. Yet received different diagnostics and prognostics. And in the case of the white male, there were almost immediate treatments, where as with the black male the treatments were different and seemed to be spread out further. And also when it comes to black students, 14 studies show that they were 2-3 times more likely to be suspended over white kids, even if they committed the same act. These incidents remind me of McIntosh's reading "White Privilege" where people who are white are treated better than people of color.
      In conclusion I feel as though these videos played in perfectly with what we are learning in class. Especially the idea that even though we may not be racist ourselves, by remaining silent we are no better than the ones making the racist remarks. And also the absurd idea that just because we have a black president all racism in the world is gone. For the only way to end racism and inequality is to "befriend the unequal".

Service learning: In the service of what

In today age, service learning has become very prominent in local schools. 

The ability for students to get out in the world and do their part to make a difference has really become a large part of our educational norm. But as the title of the reading  "In the Service of What?"  by Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer states that doesn't mean whether or not you are working at a food pantry or the senior citizens home down the street but whether or not you actually understand why you are doing it. From this reading I pulled some fairly important quotes. The first one is " In addition to helping those they serve, such service learning activities seek to promote students' self esteem, to develop higher-order thinking skills, to make use of multiple abilities and to provide authentic learning experiences- all goal of current reform efforts." I picked this quote because I felt as though it helped give a better idea as to the many benefits students get form doing these service learning projects. I firsthand can tell form my experiences of working in schools that I have learned so much from working with the kids and feel a thousand times more comfortable working with them now then I did before. In addition I feel as though I have gained so much new knolege and feel as though I know how to use these abilities to my advantage. The second quote I enjoyed was " The approach to service learning by Mr. Johnson stresses charity and the ways in which participating in service and reflection can develop students' sense of altruism." I chose this because I feel as though in today's world many children don't see the need to help anyone but themselves and by making kids, especially older ones begin helping people of less fortune without expecting anything in return, the world will become a better place. And that connects to my final quote "In contrast, much of the currant discussion regarding service learning emphasizes charity, not change."

The reason why I chose this quote is because as shown in one of the charts it states the charity is the art of giving while change has to do with the aspect of caring. And if children only focus on the idea of charity and giving I feel as though they will never reach true altruism and care about the difference they are making. And in the following link http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=service+learning+project+effects&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=7948D401E1947CB778F37948D401E1947CB778F3 it discusses the service learning project going on at Fred Becker Elementary school.

 Finally In conclusion I feel as though through service learning projects children are becoming more aware of their surroundings and how they can improve the world around them.

A Cartoonish Way of Life

Don't get me wrong I have been and always will be a huge fan of the classic cartoon such as Popeye or the Looney Toons, and many of the Disney Classics will remain my favorites, however after reading this article I have come to a conclusion that it is through these cartoons that stereotypical beliefs are passed on. In fact only recently did Disney begin incorporating various "princesses" such as Mulan and Princess Tianna from the Princess and the Frog who don't conform to the typical white Disney princess. And even though Disney has expanded their range of nationality and race they still conform to their own ways. For instance in many of their films the role of the female characters usually play the ones of Damsels in Distress. Granted even though they are getting better at truly being one with the beliefs of the 21st century, Disney still has a long way to go before it can say it is a contributing factor in the fight against sexist and racist stereotypes.

In "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us" by Linda Christensen she explains the way her own students question the act of impression through the movies and cartoons we watched while growing up. And in reading this I have to completely agree with her beliefs, For even I have stereotypical beliefs that I have acquired throughout my life of TV watching. For instance one of my favorite shows to watch even still today is "Spongebob". And though it seems like just a stupid show pertaining to the life of a sponge it has tons of stereotypical connotations that go along with it. For instance it has ccharacterslike the cheap business owner, or the fat idiot. Also in addition to this in one infamous episode of Spongebob, the two main ccharacters(Spongebob and Patrick) go on a rant about everything they believe about Texas.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ_PwD0gOSo 

It si through these various shows and movies that we watch while growing up that the beliefs of certain types of people are put into our heads. And as explained by Christensen  works like a "secret education" and makes us view things a certain way. But perhaps if various children shows worked to promote equality for all sexes and races then this stereotyping nature would be one of the past.

Out of the Closet, and Into the School

When we first were talked too about working in the schools, we were warned about sharing any private information. Not only did this create an unprofessional relationship between the teacher and the student but it opened up the teacher to all types of commentary; whether it be positive or negative. But what happens when you are working with a class every Monday through Friday for a whole year? Do things change? Should you admit your true sexuality or just go with the flow of assumption that you are heterosexual? These scenarios are perfectly depicted in the reading "Speaking the Unspeakable in Forbidden Places: Addressing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality in the Primary School" by Allan, Atkinson, Brace, De Palma, and Hemingway.
     In the reading it mentions are group called "No Outsiders". What this group does is have a group of trained professionals, whether they are teachers, professors or anyone else go into schools and then record their experiences. In it there was the story of the teacher and her lesbian version of Cinderella and another teacher who came out to all of her art students, and also the idea of "openness" in the staff room.
     Now while reading about this all I could think about was my won personal experience. While growing up I had only experienced "straight" teachers, that is until I went to High School. In my eyes teachers were sort of "straight until proven otherwise" and this would be the time I would be proven otherwise. I had heard rumors of a gay teacher working in our school, But like I said I thought it was a rumor. I figured someone didn't like him, or he had been misunderstood or something. Because I just couldn't believe that any teacher would tell his class he was gay. But on that that first day of chemistry sophomore year, when I walked in and one of the first things out of my teachers mouth was "Yes, I am gay. And yes, I am Jewish" I was Astonished. I wasn't turned off or uneasy, but instead I was intrigued. I thought it was crazy how comfortable he was with his sexuality. He never seemed worried about what people were saying about him, or how people were viewing him. But instead he embraced his lifestyle and wanted everyone to know about it.
     Now the thing that I found most interesting about sophomore year in chemistry wasn't the use of Avogadro's number in measuring molar mass's or the correct way to use a Bunsen Burner, but instead the idea that a simple prefix such as homo or hetero doesn't define you as a person let alone a teacher. And even though many teachers tend to keep quiet about their sexualities whether it be of fear or privacy you can never assume that everyone you meet is going to be straight, and you can never assume that straight is better.
      In the following link http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/nov/26/gay-teachers-homophobia-stonewall-research it tells various stories of different homosexual teachers and their concerns and experiences.

    

The Need to Read

     In "Why Can't She Remember That?" by Terri Meier, Meier explains the need for children to be engaged in reading and not only memorizing the words to certain books but by being able to understand what is happening and why it is happening. She does this by introducing us to certain children such as Marisa, Lindsey, and Lem. And something all three of these children had in common is that they all used forms of vocalization and demonstrated "the ability to use language in powerful ways to negotiate relationships with other people and to accomplish his or her social purposes." However all three used different forms of language. For Marisa she changed her tone from being serious to being friendly or kidding, for Lindsey she quoted a book to get the rice cake she wanted, and for Lem he created a poem off the top of his head to prevent from getting in trouble. But what made all three of these children behave in different ways? Perhaps it was from their family backgrounds and the way they were socialized while growing up.
     In the reading Meier's explained the importance of class room readings, and how different students engage in the reading process. Where as some are amused by the easy-answered questions normally asked by elementary school teachers; children like Gabriella are all but amused with these simplistic questions. And instead of enjoying the book, become bored and uninterested.
     Now while reading this all I could remember was the time I helped out at my cousins school. Now with both of them being born deaf the idea of communication, via the spoken word let alone the written word was always difficult. Since they could not hear it was always harder to explain what certain words meant and it was always harder to engage them in reading. However one during sophomore year I was given the chance to go in and help out in their classroom, and in hopes of becoming an elementary school teacher some day I thought this would be an awesome idea. So as it came time for stories I began to wonder how this teacher is going to read to them let alone get them to understand. For many of them were not used to being read to. But as she began reading she had the children elaborately sign what was happening in the story. And in almost a theatrical way the kids acted out every part of the book. And with this I watched as even my own cousins who barely sat still for five minutes became infatuated with the book.
     And it was from this experience that I realized that reading and story time plays such a huge role in the development of children. Whether they are Black, White, hearing, or deaf, the idea of learning new words and creating a sense of verbal expression is so important in kid's lives. https://www.earlymoments.com/Promoting-Literacy-and-a-Love-of-Reading/Why-Reading-to-Children-is-Important/
    

Black Vs. White: The Educational Dispute

 

Racism: The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.

   

 

     Being in the 21'st century we are very used to the integration of not only black and white students co-existing and co-learning, but we have also become accustomed to their educating teacher counter parts. So why is it that due to "liberalistic" ideas and ways that people of different cultures besides white must feel silenced and unheard? Well in Deplit's "The Silenced Dialogue" shed goes into detail her beliefs of why this is and her experiences within dealing with it.

    In her writing Deplit mentions five different aspects that she calls "The Culture of Power". One that really stood out to me is "Those with power are frequently less aware of-or at least willing to acknowledge- its existence. Those with less power are often more aware of its existence." (Deplit, 24)And this really helped give me a better understanding of what the reading was trying to portray. For instance in a mainly predominant white school, where almost all the educators and students are of white descent, black or any multicultural educator/student would have little say in the way the school was run. And all though many schools believe in the "equal say" policy where everyone is supposed to be able to voice their opinions, people who are not of the majority are often silenced, and usually unknowingly by their fellow co-workers. Another quote that I felt really made this piece came from an upset parent stating "My kid's know how to be black-you all teach them how to be successful in the white man's world." and this continued into the idea that "many of the 'progressive' educational strategies imposed by liberals on black and poor children could only be based on a desire to ensure that the liberals children get sole access to the dwindling pool of American jobs" (Deplit,29)So from this I wonder is it possible that perhaps through silencing the idea's of black or different cultural ideas white liberalists have created an educational system that teaches one not to survive in the world but instead on how to survive in the "white-man's world" and by doing so creates an unfair disadvantage to the children of colored or poor backgrounds. And finally Deplit states that when teaching "Two qualifiers are necessary, however. The teacher cannot be the only expert in the classroom. To deny students their own expert knowledge is to disempower them." (Deplit,33) And by being the only teacher in the room it would enable he or she to have the upper hand, therefor creating a gray area in which knowledge is given to those who are seen as privileged or deserving.

     It is through this idea of empowerment between not only teachers and students but between teachers and fellow teachers that different multi-cultural relationships are strained and people are silenced. If instead people focused more on the ideas of equality among all, then perhaps situations would not be so bad today.

     The following link describes some of the multi-cultural connections between students and their teachers. http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/09/the_teacher_wars_book_provides_more_evidence_that_teachers_of_color_matter.html

All About Me!

     Hello my name is Adam Dutra. I grew up in the small town of Bristol Rhode Island and attended Mt. Hope High School.While there I participated in many clubs and groups such as the school executive board and VAASA (Varsity Athletes Against Substance Abuse). But my main past time was swimming. All though Rhode Island College does not have a swim team I still manage to swim on my local YMCA team. However when I'm not swimming my favorite hobbies are playing hockey hiking and just relaxing. Currently I am majoring as an elementary education major with a focus in the sciences and hope to someday teach in a local Rode Island School.

New York's Darkest Place

Above: A young boy turns a fire escape into a makeshift home.

     In Jonathon Kozol's Amazing Grace, the reader is introduced to the behind the scenes action of one of New York's toughest cities. From drug use to prostitution to a  being one of the highest concentrated areas of AIDS infested people in New York The Bronx has been battered with the effects of poverty and depression in almost every way.
     While reading this, I realized that I too, have witnessed hardship like this in my own life. Growing up in the quaint town of Bristol Rhode Island I never believed anything was bad. I always felt safe and felt that everyone in Bristol was "good" and I had nothing to worry about. However as I got older I became more aware to my surroundings and began to realize that not everything in this small town was perfect. For we too had the local homeless, the alcoholics, and the cannabis abusers. But it wasn't until I hit high school that I saw just how bad things were. Kids who I had gone to school with since kindergarten were now experimenting with drugs far worse than marijuana. Drugs like cocaine and heroine or hallucinogens like "shrooms" had finally infiltrated the walls and kids were actually dying. Within just a couple years we lost three teenagers due to overdosing. Now that may not seem like a lot but in a small suburban town where everyone knows each other losing three kids due to drugs is three too many. But drugs weren't the only things ruining our small town; For instance the act of prostitution became more prominent, and as of an occurrence last May Bristol's own Colt State Park became an area of complication, when during a Blood's gang cookout a stabbing took place.
     But this leads me to wonder, even through recognizing all of the harsh realities my home town hides, Bristol is nothing but a mediocre speck when it comes to dangerous cities.  And when compared to a place like described in Kozol's writing, I cannot physically understand the hardship that goes in cities like the Bronx or Harlem.
     While reading this chapter I really admired Kozol's writing. I admired the way he integrated his own personal opinion and experiences with the stories told by the many people he met. I really liked this because it helped me understand the extreme hardship that is going on in the other parts of the country.
      One thing I really had to question was idea of social security and welfare. In the case of Ms. Washington I still not comprehend how it was so hard for her to get it. Yes, I understand that today many people abuse and cheat the system to get easy money, but how can a single homeless mother battling two forms of cancer not eligible for SSI? I believe that it through our messed up government that we are just giving money to all the wrong people for all the wrong reasons, and then in return leaving the American citizens who have worked all their lives but are facing hardship to struggle and for themselves.