“One More River to Cross” – Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown: A Prerequisite to Shaping New Remedies by: Charles Lawrence
Premise:
· Unfairness
· Hurt
· Segregation
· desegregation
· Court system
· Goals
· Life styles
· Anger
· Whiteness
· Being black
· Education
· Disorder
· Laws
· Congress
· Communities
· Civil rights
· Shyness
· Afraid
· Fear
· Hatred
· Not American like
Argument:
Lawrence argues that the Supreme Court’s reasoning in striking down an interdistrict desegregation order in Detroit was flawed in that it misunderstood the true nature of the institution of segregation. The Court’s failure to recognize and articulate the true nature of racial segregation was more the product of an intentional, knowledge decision than the result of any inability to comprehend.
Evidence:
1. There are three underlying reasons that many need to understand about segregation on page 54. Letters A, B, and C all tell about how severe life was for blacks during the mid 19th century. And touch upon the difficulty of becoming equal to whites in society.
2. Also on page 54, “That the purpose of the institution of segregation has always been to stigmatize and subordinate rather than to simply separate perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that whites in the antebellum South had no aversion to commingling with blacks so long as the institution of slavery made their superior status clear.” This shows that segregation was an issue to the black’s and the white did not care as long as they still had their slaves. The Court’s didn’t find anything wrong with this? Along with this on page 55, it talks on the subject of how black children are hurt due to the segregation of schools.
3. On page 58, in the Milliken case, the Court’s intentional misunderstanding of the institution of segregation allowed a rather facile rationale for the Court’s no doubt politically motivated decision to keep black children out of Detroit’s suburbs. The only injury said to hurt blacks was created by official school board action separating black children from white children, Burger only found constitutional violations was in the city of Detroit and, therefore, limited the remedy to that geographic location. This clearly shows how segregation not only affected black adults but black children and even some white children.
Comments/Points to Share:
I liked this reading because it was a very important time in history and the issue is still around today, but it is not as severe as it was back in the time when my mother was in high school. Sometimes I did struggle with reading, because some of the terms were “lawyer-talk” but other wise it was a good read. I found this one to be one of my favorites and I really got into it. While I was reading this article, all I could think about is the stories that my mother used to tell me about my family being the only white family on the block in Harlem and about the time when many racial riots were occurring in the North. My mother went to Hamden High in Connecticut and she told me about the times when she wouldn’t go to school because she herself was afraid since many of the riots were held in front of her high school. Overall, I am a little ashamed that the country I live in sank down to this level because we are a nation and everyone is equal. At least that’s what I was taught from kindergarten through my present schooling.
Monday, March 31, 2008
The pregnant male
i was looking at the msn homepage this morning and I remember someone tells our class about this on thursday, and I found a link that tells more about it. Below is the article...
When the news of a five-months-pregnant transgender man hit, searchers wanted to know more about Thomas Beatie. Much more.Is the "pregnant man" a hoax? And if not, how is a pregnant man physically possible? Related topics getting search traction: the effect of testosterone on human eggs, gender identity disorder and growing up transgender.
It's safe to say that most people are shaky on the difference between transgender and transsexual in the first place. (Beatie's isn't the first transman pregnancy, by the way.) Online comments, predictably, range from strong support to comparisons to Victorian freak shows and science-fiction tales.But the story of the pregnant man makes us ponder some weighty questions, such as is Beatie's decision unethical? And it forces us to reconsider our definition of gender and puts a spotlight on the discrimination transgender people experience. (msn.com)
When the news of a five-months-pregnant transgender man hit, searchers wanted to know more about Thomas Beatie. Much more.Is the "pregnant man" a hoax? And if not, how is a pregnant man physically possible? Related topics getting search traction: the effect of testosterone on human eggs, gender identity disorder and growing up transgender.
It's safe to say that most people are shaky on the difference between transgender and transsexual in the first place. (Beatie's isn't the first transman pregnancy, by the way.) Online comments, predictably, range from strong support to comparisons to Victorian freak shows and science-fiction tales.But the story of the pregnant man makes us ponder some weighty questions, such as is Beatie's decision unethical? And it forces us to reconsider our definition of gender and puts a spotlight on the discrimination transgender people experience. (msn.com)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Talking Point 6
Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take another Route by Jeannie Oakes
Premise:
· Parents
· Teachers
· Students
· Schools
· Tracking
· Positives and negatives
· Day-to-day learning
· Caring
· Unfairness
· Consequences
· Uneven opportunities
· Typical classroom
· Inequality
· High- ability and low ability
Argument:
Oakes argues that tracking yes has positive sides, but overall can really damage a students learning. She also argues that many educators and policymakers are looking for alternative strategies to help schools reach their goal of providing high-quality, relevant education for all students. Along with these two arguments, I feel that there are two more that are required to be mentioned and are the most important arguments too. Oakes argues that many educators and parents assert that when schools group by ability, teachers are better able to target individual needs and students will learn more. However, she argues that growing numbers of school professionals and parents oppose tracking because they believe it locks most students into classes where they are stereotyped as “less able,” and where they have fewer opportunities to learn.
Evidence:
1. On page 178 under Tracking’s Consequences, John Goodland’s national study of schools, reported in the book A Place Called School, students in high-ability English classes were more likely to be taught classic and modern literature, while those of lower-ability do not receive the same learning strategies.
2. Through tracking students in lower-ability classrooms learn basic reading skills through workbooks, kits, and easy-to-read books. While students in a higher-ability class were personally taught by their teacher. This shows the difference based on “ability” and how this approach is discriminative.
3. With the separation, higher-level students are required to have more homework every night than a student in a lower-level. This is unfair to the higher student. Along with this the higher-level students’ teachers seem to be more enthusiastic about teaching, introduce lessons clearly, use strong criticism or ridicule more frequently, there are better organizational skills, and students are given more of a variety of things to do. Leading to students who need more time to learn appear to get less; those who have the most difficulty learning seem to have fewer of the best teachers. Creating an unfair aspect in the school.
Points to Share/Comments:
This article I found interesting, but at the same time I really struggled finding the real argument making it difficult to completely comprehend the materials and have a clear understanding. Personally, I feel that tracking in schools is not needed; it can damage a smart student, who because of the division, now is not given the same awareness as a student in the higher-ability course. There are pros and cons to this, but I am still confused on if it is a good thing or not. Mainly I believe it depends on the school environment, meaning public or private. Overall, I understood this reading a little but I still think I need to reread some parts of the article a few times to really let it sink in.
Premise:
· Parents
· Teachers
· Students
· Schools
· Tracking
· Positives and negatives
· Day-to-day learning
· Caring
· Unfairness
· Consequences
· Uneven opportunities
· Typical classroom
· Inequality
· High- ability and low ability
Argument:
Oakes argues that tracking yes has positive sides, but overall can really damage a students learning. She also argues that many educators and policymakers are looking for alternative strategies to help schools reach their goal of providing high-quality, relevant education for all students. Along with these two arguments, I feel that there are two more that are required to be mentioned and are the most important arguments too. Oakes argues that many educators and parents assert that when schools group by ability, teachers are better able to target individual needs and students will learn more. However, she argues that growing numbers of school professionals and parents oppose tracking because they believe it locks most students into classes where they are stereotyped as “less able,” and where they have fewer opportunities to learn.
Evidence:
1. On page 178 under Tracking’s Consequences, John Goodland’s national study of schools, reported in the book A Place Called School, students in high-ability English classes were more likely to be taught classic and modern literature, while those of lower-ability do not receive the same learning strategies.
2. Through tracking students in lower-ability classrooms learn basic reading skills through workbooks, kits, and easy-to-read books. While students in a higher-ability class were personally taught by their teacher. This shows the difference based on “ability” and how this approach is discriminative.
3. With the separation, higher-level students are required to have more homework every night than a student in a lower-level. This is unfair to the higher student. Along with this the higher-level students’ teachers seem to be more enthusiastic about teaching, introduce lessons clearly, use strong criticism or ridicule more frequently, there are better organizational skills, and students are given more of a variety of things to do. Leading to students who need more time to learn appear to get less; those who have the most difficulty learning seem to have fewer of the best teachers. Creating an unfair aspect in the school.
Points to Share/Comments:
This article I found interesting, but at the same time I really struggled finding the real argument making it difficult to completely comprehend the materials and have a clear understanding. Personally, I feel that tracking in schools is not needed; it can damage a smart student, who because of the division, now is not given the same awareness as a student in the higher-ability course. There are pros and cons to this, but I am still confused on if it is a good thing or not. Mainly I believe it depends on the school environment, meaning public or private. Overall, I understood this reading a little but I still think I need to reread some parts of the article a few times to really let it sink in.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Talking Point 5
In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning by Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer
Premise:
· American Schools
· Education/Learning
· Service
· Idealism
· Individualism
· Materialism
· Service Learning
· Community Service
· Beneficial
· Helpful
· Rewarding
· Students
· Caring/Kindness/Charity
· Civic Duties
· Rich and Poor
· Homeless
· Drugs
· Pregnancies
· Goals
· Compassion
· Volunteering
· Youth
· Understanding
Author’s Argument:
Kahne and Westheimer argue that “In the service of what?” is a question that inevitably merits the attention of teachers, policy makers, and academicians who take seriously the idea that learning and service reinforce each other and should come together in America’s schools. Along with this I found two more arguments that I think are relevant; in the political aspect, they argue that the efforts to integrate service learning activities into the curriculum have great potential and deserve the support they are now receiving. However, there is little attention towards the goals of service learning. Finally both authors’ argue that through service learning, this program can really have a positive impact on student’s understandings of both disciplinary knowledge and the particular social issues with which they are engaged. Also it allows students to get a first hand view on what is out there in their community, instead of only listening to what others say.
Evidence:
1. Moral Domain: giving and charity; A student in Mr. Johnson’s class volunteered at the Veterans’ Memorial Senior Center tells the story of how the student liked serving out the food and witnessed how happy the people were that they got to associate with their peers. The only problem with this is that there is a distance between the one caring and the one cared for diminishes. In many service learning experiences, students view those they serve as clients rather than as a resource.
2. Political domain; community service equals giving back to the community. An example is found where Sen. Kennedy writes what democracy means “… [it’s] the responsibility to give something back to America in return for all it has given.” Another great example is how Atlanta ensures that all students recognize “the responsibility of good citizens to help others.” Finally, Mr. Johnson believes that “community service… a vital part of the government course [because] part of citizenship is the practice of helping others in the community.”
3. Intellectual domain; This one tells how in Atlanta and Maryland a student must fulfill 75 hours of community service to graduate, and in Atlanta the student also must include a 500 word essay on their service learning project. Other states are following such as: Vermont, New York, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. This just shows how service learning benefits the students. One student after doing their service in a community changed her view on everything she had heard; “[The neighborhood] isn’t as bad as the news makes it to be.” “The rumors I have heard are a big bunch of hogwash …I’m glad I went on that trip because it was a wonderful experience to meet new people and find out about their lives.”
Comments/Points to Share/Questions:
This article was hard to read at first, during the introduction, but once I began to read parts one and two I found it more engaging. I was surprised that Atlanta and Maryland students must complete 75 hours of community service and in Atlanta they have to write a 500 word essay in addition. But when I think of it, that really isn’t much for four years. At my high school we were required to complete 40 hours a year, but I know that many of my peers used to just make up hours here and there and hand the sheet in. Personally I used to submit over 200 hours a year of community service from dancing, fire fighting, and volunteering in the school where my mother works. Overall, the reading really made me think and helped me to realize the importance in doing my required total of 160 hours of community service in four years to graduate. I always wondered why the public school in my district only had to do 25 total hours to graduate, it makes perfect sense now.
Premise:
· American Schools
· Education/Learning
· Service
· Idealism
· Individualism
· Materialism
· Service Learning
· Community Service
· Beneficial
· Helpful
· Rewarding
· Students
· Caring/Kindness/Charity
· Civic Duties
· Rich and Poor
· Homeless
· Drugs
· Pregnancies
· Goals
· Compassion
· Volunteering
· Youth
· Understanding
Author’s Argument:
Kahne and Westheimer argue that “In the service of what?” is a question that inevitably merits the attention of teachers, policy makers, and academicians who take seriously the idea that learning and service reinforce each other and should come together in America’s schools. Along with this I found two more arguments that I think are relevant; in the political aspect, they argue that the efforts to integrate service learning activities into the curriculum have great potential and deserve the support they are now receiving. However, there is little attention towards the goals of service learning. Finally both authors’ argue that through service learning, this program can really have a positive impact on student’s understandings of both disciplinary knowledge and the particular social issues with which they are engaged. Also it allows students to get a first hand view on what is out there in their community, instead of only listening to what others say.
Evidence:
1. Moral Domain: giving and charity; A student in Mr. Johnson’s class volunteered at the Veterans’ Memorial Senior Center tells the story of how the student liked serving out the food and witnessed how happy the people were that they got to associate with their peers. The only problem with this is that there is a distance between the one caring and the one cared for diminishes. In many service learning experiences, students view those they serve as clients rather than as a resource.
2. Political domain; community service equals giving back to the community. An example is found where Sen. Kennedy writes what democracy means “… [it’s] the responsibility to give something back to America in return for all it has given.” Another great example is how Atlanta ensures that all students recognize “the responsibility of good citizens to help others.” Finally, Mr. Johnson believes that “community service… a vital part of the government course [because] part of citizenship is the practice of helping others in the community.”
3. Intellectual domain; This one tells how in Atlanta and Maryland a student must fulfill 75 hours of community service to graduate, and in Atlanta the student also must include a 500 word essay on their service learning project. Other states are following such as: Vermont, New York, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. This just shows how service learning benefits the students. One student after doing their service in a community changed her view on everything she had heard; “[The neighborhood] isn’t as bad as the news makes it to be.” “The rumors I have heard are a big bunch of hogwash …I’m glad I went on that trip because it was a wonderful experience to meet new people and find out about their lives.”
Comments/Points to Share/Questions:
This article was hard to read at first, during the introduction, but once I began to read parts one and two I found it more engaging. I was surprised that Atlanta and Maryland students must complete 75 hours of community service and in Atlanta they have to write a 500 word essay in addition. But when I think of it, that really isn’t much for four years. At my high school we were required to complete 40 hours a year, but I know that many of my peers used to just make up hours here and there and hand the sheet in. Personally I used to submit over 200 hours a year of community service from dancing, fire fighting, and volunteering in the school where my mother works. Overall, the reading really made me think and helped me to realize the importance in doing my required total of 160 hours of community service in four years to graduate. I always wondered why the public school in my district only had to do 25 total hours to graduate, it makes perfect sense now.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
TOPIC FROM 3/4 CLASS
Pocahontas......
heres the link for the real story about Pocahontas....
heres the link for the real story about Pocahontas....
cheack it out. (to the left is a painting of the real Pocahontas, not the disney portraid one) 
(to the right is how Disney portraid her and her story)
On the Topic about Disney Princesses......
On the Topic about Disney Princesses......
And about the discussion today on the topic of Disney Princesses I decided to go on google and look at the ways these princesses are advertised, and here they are.....
(notice this first one only shows WHITE princesses)
(notice this one includes the major advertised princesses and majority are WHITE with the exception of Jasmine)
(notice this is the only one that shows a little DIVERSITY, by including Jasmine and Mulan; however the majority still consist of being WHITE)
I have never seen this last image of the Disney princesses ever in my life, but I think that it should be used more often to eliminate a stereotype in culture. If I was Asian and I always saw the same WHITE princesses on everything, I would feel left out anf upset... now how do you think a little child would feel????
Monday, March 3, 2008
On the topic of gayness
I was watching the movie Clue with my parents this weekend and this movie is from the 1950s. Anyways, in this movie Mr. Green is a in the closet homosexual and is being blackmailed by a certain individual. And I found it funny that when this fact came about in the movie, the two other men who were sitting on the couch next to him in the lounge got up and moved. Then at the end of the movie he reveals his true identity and states that he was going home to his wife. I found this very interesting since in that day and time it was unheard of to be a homosexual and it was put in a movie???? what does everyone else think???
Talking Point 4
Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us by: Linda Christensen
Premise:
· “secret education”
· Social blueprints
· Children’s literature books
· Sexism
· Racism
· Ignorance
· Social class
· Misinformation
· Stereotypes
· Cartoon shows/images
· World view
· Society
· Anger
· Media critiques
· Social inequality
· Industrially produced fiction
· Violence
· “handled”
· Women, people of color, and poor people’s roles in society
· Body type
· “good-natured” humor
· Self-image
· Materialism
· Frustration
· Unfairness
· “happy”
· “factories of cynicism”
Author’s Argument:
Christensen argues that our society’s culture is corrupting and colonizing the young minds of the younger generation of Americans by teaching them exactly how to act, live, and dream. This is known to adults as the “secret education” that is placed in numerous cartoon shows that can be found daily on every channel of the television world. All these shows for children only show a domination of one sex, one race, one class, and even one country over a weaker counterpart; Christensen supports that this should not be.
Evidence:
1. In the movie, Peter Pan the cartoon images taught many children all they knew on one particular area of information. These children learned at the age of three how to stereotype society and continue to do so currently. This is one of the most influential ways children learn how to stereotype individuals based on their gender, social class, and race.
2. Christensen looks at the way women, men, people of color, and poor people play in many cartoons. Many families are married and consist of a man and women and are white. Also majority of the families are either wealthy or from the upper middle class, this stereotypes those families who are from a different culture background/race and families that consist of one parent and have no money. Many deny that they have been manipulated in their young years, but in reality they are incorrect. Every child who watches television is manipulated and is taught how to stereotype people.
3. More evidence can be found when she talks about “A Black Cinderella? Give Me a Break” since if you think about the title, not many lead roles are from a different ethnicity. She questions if black, Asian, or Hispanic character would be the lead role or a servant and what does this conclude your children to think. She continues to state that in this case women of a different ethnicity feel left out and ugly.
Questions/Comments:
I found this reading easy to read and at first I was one of those people who denied being manipulated from watching cartoons as a young child. But as I continued to read and shows and movies that I have seen many times were used as examples and it hit me. I realized that I too was a victim of the television world. I found everything that was analyzed very interesting and once it was pointed out to me in black and white I became aware of it. This relates to S.C.W.A.M.M.P in the way that society is stereotypical buy culture. The power of culture is very strong among civilization and has power over all who view programs that discriminate against those who have different cultural backgrounds. Since most cartoon shows teach children how to be stereotypical this shows how the culture of power is dominated in America as being white.
Premise:
· “secret education”
· Social blueprints
· Children’s literature books
· Sexism
· Racism
· Ignorance
· Social class
· Misinformation
· Stereotypes
· Cartoon shows/images
· World view
· Society
· Anger
· Media critiques
· Social inequality
· Industrially produced fiction
· Violence
· “handled”
· Women, people of color, and poor people’s roles in society
· Body type
· “good-natured” humor
· Self-image
· Materialism
· Frustration
· Unfairness
· “happy”
· “factories of cynicism”
Author’s Argument:
Christensen argues that our society’s culture is corrupting and colonizing the young minds of the younger generation of Americans by teaching them exactly how to act, live, and dream. This is known to adults as the “secret education” that is placed in numerous cartoon shows that can be found daily on every channel of the television world. All these shows for children only show a domination of one sex, one race, one class, and even one country over a weaker counterpart; Christensen supports that this should not be.
Evidence:
1. In the movie, Peter Pan the cartoon images taught many children all they knew on one particular area of information. These children learned at the age of three how to stereotype society and continue to do so currently. This is one of the most influential ways children learn how to stereotype individuals based on their gender, social class, and race.
2. Christensen looks at the way women, men, people of color, and poor people play in many cartoons. Many families are married and consist of a man and women and are white. Also majority of the families are either wealthy or from the upper middle class, this stereotypes those families who are from a different culture background/race and families that consist of one parent and have no money. Many deny that they have been manipulated in their young years, but in reality they are incorrect. Every child who watches television is manipulated and is taught how to stereotype people.
3. More evidence can be found when she talks about “A Black Cinderella? Give Me a Break” since if you think about the title, not many lead roles are from a different ethnicity. She questions if black, Asian, or Hispanic character would be the lead role or a servant and what does this conclude your children to think. She continues to state that in this case women of a different ethnicity feel left out and ugly.
Questions/Comments:
I found this reading easy to read and at first I was one of those people who denied being manipulated from watching cartoons as a young child. But as I continued to read and shows and movies that I have seen many times were used as examples and it hit me. I realized that I too was a victim of the television world. I found everything that was analyzed very interesting and once it was pointed out to me in black and white I became aware of it. This relates to S.C.W.A.M.M.P in the way that society is stereotypical buy culture. The power of culture is very strong among civilization and has power over all who view programs that discriminate against those who have different cultural backgrounds. Since most cartoon shows teach children how to be stereotypical this shows how the culture of power is dominated in America as being white.
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