"Education is Politics" By: Ira Shor

Extended Comments

I used Shannon’s blog post this week to be the center of my blog.  She chose to write an argument on education and how it is failing; it has become a chore to both students and teachers.  Shannon stated, “Shor argues that the education system in the United States is not what it should be at all.  Both students and teachers are not benefiting from our country’s educational system”.  I completely agree with this statement.  Students are not taught to be creative or ask questions; they must sit in their seat, be quiet, listen to their teachers, and write notes.  I have gone to public school all my life and this is exactly what I did in school.  It was extremely boring at times.  Most teachers hated the curriculum and loathed teaching certain topics, but they had no choice but to follow it.  Another quote Shannon stated that I liked was, “People are naturally curious”.  People love to ask questions so they can learn about different things.  As Shannon stated, how do you expect people to learn if they are not given the opportunity to ask questions.  Students are constantly being taught what they are “required” to learn instead of having the student’s best interest in mind.  I also agree with Shannon about our education system and how it needs to change.  Students are dropping out of school at an alarming rate and something needs to be done.  Going to school was a chore for me as well.  It was the same routine five days a week.  Wake up at 6 a.m., go to school, fill out worksheets, take notes, and leave at 2:35 p.m.  It was not fun at all; I only enjoyed the social aspect of school.  I had several classed and teachers that I loved, but other than that and getting a good education, seeing my friends was the only thing I looked forward to.  Like Shannon, I barely learned anything.  There are a few things I remember, but a lot went in one ear and out the other.  I would study for one test and after that we began learning new material; I would forget everything I previously learned to study for the next test.  Then I would have to cram all of the material I learned throughout the year to pass my exams.  Shannon is correct, “if the curriculum was different, we would have learned so much more and we would not have wasted twelve years of our childhood sitting in a classroom day after day”.  We were only taught to obey and follow directions during school.  This method does not help students remember anything they learn.  Students need to maintain everything they learn, but the only way this can happen is if teachers make class more interesting and fun and allow their students to ask questions.  I guarantee this will help students stay engaged in school and it will decrease the dropout rate.

I found an article that relates to Shor's "Education is Politics".  It states, The Failure of American Public Education.  I also found a YouTube video: Stupid in America. Are unions destroying America's educational system?  Take a look at both!  They agree that the United States educational system needs a drastic change.

This YouTube video is different than what Shor states, it blames unions for destroying America's education system. Whereas, Shor blames teachers for following the standard curriculum. They do not make learning fun and they do not let their students state their opinions or ask questions. 

Question:

Do you agree with Shor?  Does America’s public education system need to change?

"Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome" By Kliewer

Hyperlinks

In this article, Vvgotsky states that children who have special needs should be allowed to participate in a normal classroom setting, I completely agree with him.  There are many stories discussed throughout this article that show us some of the challenges special needs children face every single day of their lives.  One story that caught my eye was Anne, a girl with Down syndrome, and her dream of becoming a Hollywood director. She was left out of her high school transition conference and they decided that Anne would become a preschool aide.  Anne did not like the idea because she was not fond of young children.  I am glad that Shayne did something to help Anne out.  “Shayne realized this desire grew out of Anne’s love of movies and so took it upon herself to find a video rental store that would hire Anne” (78).  No one believed in Anne because she was “different”.  She proved everyone wrong and ended up doing a great job.  It makes me sick that there are companies who will not work with or hire the disabled because they feel that these people will not be able to handle the job, like Anne.  I found an article online that discusses Disability Discrimination and the Law.  Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.  “ADA’s purpose is to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities in the workforce-- as well as in most businesses and other places open to the public-- by requiring that ‘reasonable accommodations’ be made for many types of disability”.  ADA applies to employers who are fifteen or older for a minimum of at last twenty weeks.  I am glad Congress passed this law because it is unlawful for companies to discriminate against people with special needs.  Many of them could be qualified for a job, but because they have a disability they are not wanted.  Now, the ADA helps these people get a job.  Please take a look at this article, I found it to be insightful. 

During my junior year of high school, I took culinary arts as my elective.  We were split up into four different groups when we cooked.  There were two special needs kids in my classroom and there was always a teacher with them, she helped them with everything.  They were placed in my group and at first I admit I was skeptical, I was afraid something could go horribly wrong.  But as the semester went on I realized that these children were capable of doing anything.  They were just like me; they just needed a little extra help.  I also bowl with a Down syndrome man every Saturday at East Providence Lanes.  He is twenty-one years old and he is the sweetest man you could ever meet.  He gets so excited when he gets a strike or a spare.  He always gives me a high five and I do the same to him.  I have trouble understanding him sometimes, but I always encourage him to do his best.  People with special needs are no different than you or me, they are capable of anything, it might just take them longer to accomplish something than it would for someone who does not have a disability.  Special needs students should be allowed in regular schools and classes because it helps other students accept them and it makes the special needs students feel like they belong.

Here is another article I found on Teaching Special Needs Students In the Regular Classroom.  This article states that all special-needs students are capable of success and they need to be given a great deal of encouragement.  Another article, Do children with special needs belong in mainstream classrooms?  I believe they do because they are just like regular students, they are going to school to get a good education.   

Question:

Do you believe children with disabilities or special needs belong in regular classrooms? Why or why not?

Down Syndrome: Should you send your child to a mainstream or special needs school?

Pictures from Promising Practices

I took many pictures at the Promising Practices Conference. I did not want to make my last post any longer than what it already is.  So, here are my pictures. Enjoy! :)





Promising Practices

On Saturday, November 3^rd, I attended the Promising Practices Conference.  To be honest, I was not thrilled about going.  As the day went on I ended up having a great time and I learned a lot more than I thought I would.  Dr. Dana Fusco gave her Keynote Address to the audience, which was primarily about youth development.  Youth development is maturation (biological) and learning (behavioral).  Youth and child programs can provide a healthy ecology for thriving and so can classrooms.  Another thing I learned during her speech was that sometimes school is not enough.  Children need to have relationships, hands on activities, and culminating events that celebrate accomplishments.  After school activities are great for children.  These programs help students to unwind after school; the children benefit from this because they form relationships with their peers and teachers.  There needs to be SPARK, theory of flow and engagement.  Teachers can celebrate the student’s accomplishments.  By doing this, the students will know that their teachers care about their academics and want them to succeed.  It also makes the children happy because they feel good about themselves.  Everyone wants to hear a little encouragement now and then, it is extremely important in youth development.  I found the correlation between youth development and equity interesting.  This had to do with the yin-yang visual.  One half represents youth development, “things that matter to children personally”, while the other half represents equity, “things that matter to me in the world.”  Agency divides them, but also brings them together.  Youth agency means supporting young people to be active in their own lives, but also active in the world.  Students are highly engaged when a professor “invokes dialog to get a solution.”

Workshop #1

 Once the keynote speech had finished, we were sent to our two workshops.  The first workshop that I attended was called, “Student Voice in School and Community Transformation.”  This workshop was taught by Emily Harris and several other Rhode Island College students.  Once they introduced themselves, they wanted everyone else in the room to do the same.  They asked to say our name, where we live, why we were there, and what our favorite childhood memory was.  Most of the people attending the workshop were RIC students and we all admitted that our professor’s told us to attend the conference.  I learned that this workshop pushes for improved discipline policies and stronger academic standards.  They also work together with other school groups to improve the school: the College Crusade, SMILE, and the Student Council.  I learned that we can make recommendations in our school or community.  In order for change to occur, people need to speak their mind and fight for what they believe in.  We need to focus on “planting the seeds of change.”  The class was then split into two groups and both groups were given this question.  Identify a change in your school or community you would like see?  My group and I decided that schools should not use standardized tests (NECAP) as a graduation requirement for the following reasons:

·         Every student learns differently

·         More hands on

·         Teacher focus on success

·         Testimonies (talk with students…still successful and passionate about whatever they do)

·         Focus groups

·         Focus on academic achievement

·         Go to Mayor or governor for help

- Board of Trusties, Superintendent, or Board of Education

- Students and parents

- Rhode Island Ready Program

·         College readiness

·         Do not let one test make the kid

·         If the kid is ready or not

·         Go to groups for help

This workshop taught me that I can make a difference in my school or community.  Anyone can “plant the seeds of change.”  However, not a lot people do it because they often believe that they do not have a voice and that no one will listen or take them seriously.  This is not true at all, we can all make a difference in the world; it just takes hard work, determination, and dedication.  I am glad I attended this workshop, it was helpful and fun.  Here is a website that shows one how to start a community action project.

Workshop #2

The second workshop that I attended was called, “Preventing Transgender Bullying Before Children Are 6 Or 7 Or 8 By Using Transgender Friendly Picture Books.”  Elizabeth Rowell taught this workshop.  She was extremely nice, sweet, and energetic.  She taught this workshop with such passion and was able to keep our attention the entire time.  In this workshop, I learned that over 50% of transsexuals will have a least one suicide attempt before their twentieth birthdays, some as young as 7.  This is why we have a Transgender Day of Remembrance, in honor people who took their lives because they were being bullied.  She gave us an example of a four year old boy who was thrown off the playground equipment because he was playing with a Barbie doll, the other children called him a girl.  These children are called names, made fun of, ignored, excluded, do not want to attend school because they feel unsafe, and they have been bullied at least once during school.  We discussed the “T” in LGBT because it is the one that is always left out.  The “T” stands for transgendered.  We were taught that we can stop the bullying and the only way to do that is to work with young children through anti-bias and anti-bullying activities!  The reason, transgender bullying starts then.  Children must learn to STICK UP for those who are being treated unkindly, unfairly or need some help.  One of the biggest myths/mistakes is that people think children are too young to think about these issues.  They are not too young at all, this is happening all over the world.  Another interesting fact that I learned was that most transgender adults always knew prior to six years old that they were in the wrong body.  The National Center for Transgender Equality estimates that approximately 1% of the population is transgender.  Each gender variant child is different.  However, most have strong and persistent interest in things deemed unusual for their gender such as: clothing, toys, play, and artwork.  This is why transgender children like the color people because it is a mixture of blue and pink.  Books are extremely powerful and validating for transgendered children.  When children are exposed to books like these it helps them learn about themselves and other people.  I was completely astonished when Elizabeth Rowell told us that most transgender books are soft cover.  It is rare to see a transgender book with a hard cover, but there are a few out there.  While reading these books to children, one would want the class to engage in discussions, empathy/building enhancement, role play, and act out the problems in the stories.  There would be three roles: the bully or bullies, the victim, and the bystanders.  This is the best way for kids to learn how bullying affects people.  Kids want to help other children who are being bullied, but they do not want to be bullied as well.  Here are several transgender books that the professor discussed during the workshop: “Are You a Boy or Girl”, “Be Who You Are”, “When Kathy is Keith”, “Tulip”, “Luna”, “All I Want to be is Me”, etc.  If you are interested in reading any of these books, you can go to the Rhode Island College library.  I absolutely loved this workshop and it is all thanks to Elizabeth Rowell, she did an amazing job.  This was by far my favorite workshop of the day.  I found two articles online that relate to this workshop: Research Shows Lack of Support for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth in U.S. School Systems and a story about how a transgender student overcame depression and bullying.  They are sad, but interesting to read, I highly recommend that you to read them both!

After the two workshops, we went back to the Donovan Dining Center, had our lunch, and the “Unconference”.  Dr. Bogad and her A.L.L.I.E.D. group gave their presentation during the “Unconference” on Youth Development.  They discussed Cultural Competency, which is the ability to recognize and work comfortably with cultural and identity markers outside of your own.  Each student that presented had an experience that they shared that was based on cultural competency.  I am glad they shared their thoughts because it is something that people do not see as important until it is addressed.  I especially loved hearing the poem, “For the white person who wants to be my friend”, by Pat Parker.  The members each read one line from the poem and I found it to be a great way to end their presentation.  You cannot judge people based on their race or social class.  We all deserve to be valued as our own person.  Everyone is different and it does not mean that all white people or all African American people are the same or do the same things.  People look at me and automatically assume that I am white, but I am also Portuguese and Hispanic.  No one would guess that I am Hispanic or Portuguese because I do not fit the stereotype.  We need to stop automatically labeling each other; instead everyone should be open minded.  Overall, I had a terrific time at Promising Practices and I intend on going again next year. I am looking forward to it!

Connections

1. Workshop #2 connects with the article, “Cinderella Ate My Daughter” by Peggy Orenstein.  I believe that they both connect because in the article Orenstein explains that girls are meant to play with girly items such as makeup and wear pink all the time.  While boys are meant to play with trucks and tools in order for them to be masculine.  “If you make a pink baseball bat, parents will buy one for their daughter,” she explained.  Then, if they subsequently have a son, they’ll have to buy a second bat in a different color.  I wonder what all that pinkness—the color, the dominance of the play pattern it signals—is teaching girls about who they are, what they should value, what it means to be female?” (Orenstein 43).
2. Workshop #2 also connects with GLSEN.  Although, in the workshop we discussed the “T” (transgender) because it is often excluded.  They both talk about ways to help elementary educators to help students feel safe and school.  Both agree that we need to start with young children through anti-bias and anti-bullying activities.  They want to focus on name-calling, bullying, and bias.  It is easier to teach this to young children instead of high school students because it is harder to build respect.  Bullying needs to come to an end.  I learned a few statistics in my second workshop about transgender children and how they bullied at a young age.  Take a look at this article that I found on the GLSEN website, “Playgrounds and Prejudice:Elementary School Climate in the United States.”  This article has more statistics in it.
3. At the end of the conference, Dr. Bogad and her A.L.L.I.E.D. group discussed cultural competency.  I believe this relates to Tim Wise and his book, “Between Barack and a Hard Place”.  Wise says that we do recognize race in the world, but he argues that just because we have an African American president, does not mean that racism is over.  Racism still exists today, in all parts of the world.  Dr. Bogad and her A.L.L.I.E.D. group are saying that we cannot judge people based on race or social class.  We cannot assume that racism is over because that would mean we are ignorant to the world.  People should be more open minded instead of just assuming.

Literacy with an Attitude By: Patrick J. Finn

Reflection

While reading Finn’s article, I was able to relate it to my elementary school experience.  Anyon would have identified me as a middle-class student who went to a middle-class school.  While in school, I was constantly told to figure out the correct answer.  I had to show my work and explain how I got my answer.  I could not just come up with some answer, the teachers wanted to make sure I understood how to solve the problems.  “Middle-class school was ‘more conceptual’.  It was a matter of gaining information and understanding from socially approved sources.  Work was getting the right answer.  Answers were words, sentences, numbers, facts, and dates.  You could not make them up.  They were found in books or by listening to the teacher” (13).  I was taught how to complete tasks by following directions.  To get good grades I had to take notes from the teacher and read books pertaining to the lesson.  This was the only way for the students to get the answers right on a test.  “If you got enough right answers, you got a good grade” (13).  As Anyon stated in the article, creativity was not priority in my elementary school.  Of course we were allowed to be creative, but it was mostly just for our own entertainment.  My former teachers would sometimes compliment us on our creativity, but we were never graded on it.  “Lessons that explicitly called for creativity and self-expression were ‘enrichment’ and ‘for fun’.  They did not count toward grades” (14).  

Growing up, my parents told me my school work came first.  After school, I would go straight home and sit down at the kitchen table.  I was not allowed to do anything until my homework was complete.  As I grew older, my father refused to let me use the internet for any of my school projects.  Instead, I had to use encyclopedias and if I could not find what I was looking for only then I was allowed to use the computer.  My parents wanted me to succeed and to try my best.  My teachers and my family taught me that anything is possible, as long as I set my mind to it.  I guess that is what it all comes down to, possibility.  “The dominant theme in the middle-class school was possibility.  There was widespread anxiety about tests and grades but there was a pervasive belief that hard work would pay off” (14).  Anything is possibly as long as you are willing to work hard to achieve it.  Getting good grades has always been important to me because I have always known it would lead to college and a successful career.  Growing up, I felt like I could have been a little more challenged in school instead of given the easy A.  By no means am I complaining, but I am certainly capable of learning more than most of my former classmates.

Here is a website that relates to Finn's article.  Check it out!

Questions:

How would you relate this to your own elementary school experience? Did you come from a working-class school, a middle-class school, an affluent professional school, etc.?

"Between Barack and a Hard Place" By: Tim Wise

Connections

Brown v. Board of Education

For more information on Brown v. Board of Education go to this website.  This is where I got some of my information from.

In the early 1950’s racial segregation in public schools was normal in America.  All schools in one district were supposed to be equal; most black schools were inferior to their white counterparts.  Whites and African Americans were considered separate, but equal.  Brown v. Board of Education was a Supreme Court case in Topeka, Kansas where Linda Brown’s parents sued an all-white school because they refused to enroll her because she was an African American.  On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court discussed this controversial debate.  They stated, "We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities?”.  Their ruling, “We believe that it does...We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment”.  The Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” was against the Fourteenth Amendment.  They made it illegal to segregate students by color.  However, the Supreme Court’s decision did not abolish segregation in other public areas such as restaurants and restrooms.  This was a giant step towards desegregation of public schools.  U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education marked a turning point in the history of race relation in the United States.

Today, most people believe that racial equality has been accomplished.  Especially since the United States elected our nation’s first African American president (President Barack Obama) in November 2008.  Tim Wise, author of “Between Barack and a Hard Place”, explains that this is not true.  Here are some quotes by Wise that I took from the video.

“Evidence of racism and discrimination against average every day folks of color is still very much inevitable”.

“We are still in a position and this election proves it.  There is no way in the world that a person of color could have been taken seriously as a presidential candidate if they graduated 5^th from the bottom of the academy they attended”.

“The proof of racial equity will be the day that people of color can be as mediocre as white folks”.

He states, most white people still believe that African Americans are not as smart as white people.  African Americans need to work incredibly hard in order to be recognized.  In order for people to vote for Barack Obama, he needed to show the people of America how intellectual he is in order to be taken seriously.  If he did not prove this then most of Americans would have considered him a joke in the 2008 presidential election.

Wise and Johnson
These two authors have similar ideas, which is, "Instead of talking about the racism and sexism that plague people's lives, people talk about 'diversity' and 'tolerance' and 'appreciating difference'.  Those are good things to talk about, but they're not the same as the ism and the through they're connected to" (Johnson 12).  People cannot ignore racism, it is a painful memory that still occurs in our society.  They both agree that the first step is to recognize what the problem is and involve others in this predicament in order to make a difference.

Wise and Delpit 
"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" (Delpit 26).  These authors are stating that people who are privileged and are not affected do not see any problems.  But there are others who see just how horrible discrimination is because they are witnessed to it every day.  One cannot simply state that racism does not exist because it does.  People say this because they are not aware of what is truly going on in the world, they just assume.  People must talk to one another in order to see if discrimination is still happening.  To get an answer talk to the families who live in lower class neighborhoods and see what they witness every day.  Only then you will find the real answer.

Bob Herbert and McIntosh
Bob Herbert's article, "Separate and Unequal" and McIntosh both agree that white people have white privilege.  It is something most whites are unaware of.  "White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, code books, visas, clothes, tools, and black checks" (McIntosh 1).  White children seem to be given a better education than Hispanic and African American children.  In Brown v. Board of Education they declared that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" (Herbert).  We did not intend for so many Hispanic and African American children to be put into these poor schools.  Just because a school is poor does not mean the education should be different, but in reality this is true.  Upper class schools give better educations to their students than lower class schools because they have the money to do so.  "Educators know that is is very difficult to get consistently good results in schools characterized by high concentrations of poverty" (Herbert).  The best teachers avoid these schools because expectations of the students are not the same and parental involvement is too low.  These teachers are wearing the white privileged knapsack.  How are these children going to get a good education if people are not willing to teach them and see what these young children are capable of.  "If you really want to improve the education of poor children, you have to get them away from learning environments that are smothered by poverty" (Herbert).  We can do this by sending these under privileged kids to upper class schools or send "the best teachers" to these lower class schools so these children can receive the education they truly deserve.

Questions:
Do you believe racism still exists today?  Have you heard or witnessed any racists comments that were directed towards yourself or someone else?

Miscellaneous Post on "Gay Marriage"

I was going through my news feed on Facebook when I came across a picture on the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Straight Alliance page. The picture indicated below, "I Support Gay Marriage.  It's About Love Not Gender", was the first photo that I saw on my Facebook page and it made me decide to go searching for more photographs.  These photos reminded me of the readings that we had discussed in class.  There are many texts that these photos can relate too.  For instance, in Johnson's article, Privilege, Power, and Difference, it describes that, "People can't help fearing the unfamiliar.  There is only one natural sexual orientation (heterosexual)"(3).  It also relates to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).  If you look at my previous blog post you can see that this article talks about putting a stop to name-calling, bullying, and bias.  It focuses on all students who have different gender identities.  Lastly, these pictures also refer to the presidential election between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.  My last blog post was about abortion, but I added a link at the end of my post about gay marriage and how Romney and Obama differ on this issue.  President Obama and I believe that gay marriage should be supported in the United States.  Also, today at the Promising Practices conference, I was in a workshop about Preventing Transgender Bullying.  I just thought it was interesting that I now often notice these different gender identity issues and can relate them to most of our class topics and discussions. By looking at these pictures and my blog posts you can tell where I stand on gay marriage.  It hurts me that there are people who do not understand that marriage is just about love and not gender.  Hopefully, people can try to change their perspective about this issue.  Everyone is equal and has a right to be happy. Honestly, same-sex marriage is not hurting anyone so what is the problem?

If you have a Facebook I recommend looking for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Straight Alliance page.  They have amazing pictures.  Take a look!!! :)

While watching the news, I discovered that France is thinking about legalizing same-sex marriage. Here is a website that explains it all.  I found it very interesting.  Hopefully, the bill for gay marriage becomes ratified in France. :)