Time Wise Brown v. Board of Education

It is sad to think that a mere 50-something years ago segregation existed in the school system. The website was interesting and it put into perspective the work that was put in to do away with constitution sanctioned segregation. I was unaware that it took lawyers 20 plus years to bring the matter to the supreme court. It must have been some people's life's work to bring about this historical change. It is also sad to think that, since Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights movement in the sixties, that we still haven't achieved racial equality. It seems that as a society we could have moved passed this roadblock and achieved much more together.

The Tim Wise videos were good and I found a few things he said to be very important and relevant to what we are doing in class. In response to some people saying that Obama's presidency is proof of racial equality he made a comment about Obama's education and the standards he was held to as opposed to a white candidate. He said,"Proof of racial equality will be the day that people of color can be as mediocre as white people and still get hired." I remember during the election they would always mention that Obama was a Harvard grad but never mentioned what school McCain attended. In fact I have no idea what school Bush Jr. or Clinton attended either.

Another thing that Wise said in the interview reminded me of Johnson. In the interview they kept talking about "denial" of the problem. It reminded me of Johnson's warning to recognize the trouble we're in. The first step is to recognize and acknowledge that there is a problem. Wise said,"If you want to know if a problem is still a problem, it makes sense to ask the people who are targeted by the problem." How are we to know unless we care enough to ask. I guess it is easy not to see what you don't want to.

Talking Points 5 -In The Service Of What?

1."altruism can best be appreciated as an experience rather than an abstraction."

I think this is a meaningful quote that Kahne and Westheimer take from Ernest Boyer. This is the common goal of service learning regardless of whether the approach is 'giving' or 'caring'. Although, the 'caring' approach takes 'giving' to the next level, they both share the same core principal. The purpose of service learning is to experience the joy of selflessness hands on and not just talk about solutions to social problems in a classroom. It is in the doing. Service learning requires action and interaction. Although it would be ideal to have all students come away from service learning with a deep sense of empathy and social concern, just giving in the first place is still better than only talking about it in a classroom.

2. " When I care, Nodding explains, a relationship develops in which " the other's reality becomes a real possibility for me." The distance between the one caring and the one cared for diminishes.

This is a great quote describing a deeper connection and understanding of service learning. To be charitable alone is good but to empathize is better. I think that it is important to realize that service learning isn't just privileged students helping the underprivileged, for their own personal satisfaction. Ideally, it is one person caring for another enough to take the time to understand their situation and help improve it and come away from the experience a catalyst for change as well as a changed human being.

3. "To be critical thinkers, students must be able to consider arguments that justify conclusions that conflict with their own predispositions and self-interest. "

This quote stresses the importance of reflection and critical thinking. Upon reflection, students might arrive at conclusions that are different from what they had believed to be true their entire lives. They must then realize that they were wrong and change. Through service learning students are forced to challenge their own beliefs and question what they had come to accept. It is important for students to experience change and transformation first hand and free from outside influence. The knowledge gained is deeper and more lasting.

I thought that the piece was interesting and relevant to what we are learning and doing with VIPS. I think it is very valuable to have the time in an actual classroom where we are educating and being educated at the same time. The fact that we can help out and learn at the same time is great and it makes perfect sense. How can their be any strong opposition to such a mutually beneficial program? Is it not a win-win situation for everyone involved in service learning?

Talking Points 4 Christensen

1. "Our society's culture industry colonizes their minds and teaches them(students) how to act, live, and dream."

I think this quote is important because we are a society where TV, movies and music play a major part in our lives from birth. I think the entertainment industry definitely influences children as well as adults. We get clothing ideas, hairstyles, body image and social standards all from popular culture. We are told who to idolize and we emulate them. In turn, the things they value become the things we value. I am a product of this environment, and whether I chose to follow or not, the standard still exists. This means that any action I take to either fit in or not is in direct response to popular culture.

2. "Do you agree with Dorfman's position that children receive a 'secret education' in the media? Do you remember any incidents from your own childhood that support his allegations?

This question posed by Christensen to her students caused me to think of my own childhood and how cartoons influenced me. I watched a lot of TV as a kid and I remember when we first got cable it was new to everyone so you just watched as much as you could. I watched a lot of cartoons like Tom and Jerry, Popeye, and Bugs Bunny. I used to watch Heckle and Jeckle, and Woody Woodpecker which are no longer aired on TV. I look back and think about how there were definitely racist, sexist and homophobic images portrayed. Tom and Jerry used to have a southern black housemaid who used to talk in a stereotypical southern drawl. She looked like Aunt Jemima and swatted Tom with a broom. Now they overdub her voice to sound less racist. There are a number of racist Bugs Bunny episodes they no longer show on TV. They pulled Heckle and Jeckle and Woody Woodpecker off the air completely. I am not sure, but I don't think that they show Speedy Gonzalez the Mexican mouse any more either. I grew up watching these cartoons over and over again so they definitely had an impact whether I like it or not.

3. "I don't want my students to believe that change can be bought at the mall, nor do I want them thinking that the pinnacle of a woman's life is an 'I do" that supposedly leads them to a " happily ever after."

I think this is a powerful statement about what we emphasize in our society. We are taught to be consumers and that everything can be bought. From "Sex and the City" popularizing Manolos to"Cribs" making competition out of luxurious possessions, all you see are images of people buying happiness, respect and admiration. Little girls are taught to dream about 'Prince Charming' and hope that someday he will come and sweep them off their feet. The 'Princess' waiting for a 'Prince' image devalues women and sets them up for disappointment and low self-esteem. It teaches women that they are only as good as the man that wants them. Women are more then a man's counterpart and they do not need a man to make them whole or even happy. Conclusion: I found this to be an easy read. It made me think about my childhood and how I watched way too much TV. It made me think about how much it played a role in my life and how it probably affected me negatively. Images aside, I think I have a shorter attention span and I don't read as much as I should because of it. I feel like there are a lot of kids out there who are being babysat by a TV and are being fed misleading images. Although TV is a bit more PC and socially responsible, I think children need to know that entertainment and truth are very different.

Talking Points 3 Carlson

1."Gay men are confirmed in their role as the Other---a bit silly, prone to emotional and hysterical outbursts, narcissistic, obsessed with sex and fancy clothes, and inhabiting an exotic and "decadent" life on the margins."

This quote struck me because this is how gay men have been portrayed in film and TV my whole life. This is a comfortable stereotype of gay men that the culture of power has accepted. It is like how Johnson said, "The trouble is produced by a world organized in ways that encourage people to use difference to include or exclude, reward or punish, credit or discredit, elevate or oppress, value or devalue, leave alone or harass." No reasonable person would deny that gays have been excluded, punished, discredited, oppressed, devalued and harassed in our society.

2. "The challenge is to engage straight men in a deconstructive analysis of how they understand "being straight" in ways that involve treating women and gays as Others."

I think this is an important point because straight men are often very uncomfortable about homosexuality when it comes to gay men. I think it's also important to point out that many straight men view "feminine" gay women favorably but are uncomfortable with "butch" lesbians. You can see how society, as a whole, has adopted these feelings that stem from straight males. I don't know if our male dominated society is willing to fully embrace a strong gay male and not the effeminate stereotype that is seen in the movies and on TV.

3." ...but we have a responsibility as public educators in a democratic society to engage them in a dialogue in which all voices get heard or represented and in which gay students and teachers feel free to "come out" and find their own voices."

This is the closing sentence of the whole piece and I think it is an important one to end on. It is exactly what we are doing in class. We are trying to understand and appreciate differences, not by blind acceptance, but through open discussion and dialogue. It is easy to accept something because it is politically correct but it's more important to arrive at the same conclusion through understanding.

I think Carlson made me think back to when I was a kid and "gaylord" was the big insult of choice. I went to school at a time when kids didn't "come out" because it wasn't an option. I remember I got my ear pierced when I was eleven ('87) and even though I made sure that I got the so called "non-gay" ear pierced I still got called a "gaylord". I remember straight kids getting beat up for being labeled a "homo" so no one who was actually gay would come out and say they were. As I got towards the end of high school I think it began to be slightly more acceptable, but I still can't remember any openly gay male students in school. I think it is great that kids have more of an opportunity to be themselves today, even though being gay still must be difficult in our society.