RANDOM BLOG

So i haven't really seen many of the "random blogs" so im not totally sure what im supposed to have in them so here goes...Kinda getting stressed out with all the work due.  Not only for this class but every class with every teacher assigning papers and projects due in the last week of school.  I just read and saw that we need two misc. blogs when i thought it was only one so im going to have to do another one on top of the normal blog and the social justice one that is worth ten percent of my grade so that's going to have to be a really good blog.  So right now im just trying to relax and just do a little bit of work at a time especially since tomorrow is easter and im going to have like no time to do my work then so that means one less day to get everything done.  Also we have our group projects that i think are very stressful because we only have two weeks till there due and i know most groups havent started them as of thursday.
Basically just have to just keep trudging and get everything done and just listen to a little bit of music to keep going.

Quotes:

As soon as i started to read this article i immediately found quotes that had a lot of significance.

"I started to notice that I didn't like the classes I was taking called special education.! had to go through special ed. almost all my life. I wanted to take other classes that interested me. I had never felt so mad, 1wanted to cry. (Peterson, 1994, p. 6)"

             When i rad this quote it meant a lot to me.  My mom is a Special Education teacher so over the years i have spent a lot of time in her classroom with these kids.  When i go to my mom's classroom the children are a lot younger so i don't see many of these issues coming up.  This quote is saying how the student is forced to take "special ed" classes which makes her feel badly about her self and she feels like it is unfair because she wants to take "normal" classes.  Being around a lot of students with down syndrome and numerous other disabilities i really feel for this student.  They should be allowed to take other classes that interest them so they feel like they want to go to school and be normal like the other students because they aren't on a specific curriculum.  I believe that they should take special classes but they also should be allowed to take electives just like everyone else because they are normal, they just have a disability.

"Now we know that people with disabilities can learn and have a full, rich life. The challenge is to erase negative attitudes about people with develop­ mental disabilities, get rid of the stereotypes and break the barriers for people with disabilities. (Kingsley, 1996, p. 6)"

               This next quote is directly under the first one.  Basically everything i said about the first one is what this one is talking about.  The person who said this wan't things to get fair for people with disabilities.  The thing that i liked the most in this one was that it said that we need to erase the negative attitudes towards people with disabilities.  I know that there are people in the world that will never change their views but the image needs to be changed.  People with disabilities can be very smart and just need to be given a chance and not be written off as soon as you see them.  The quote is very meaningful and once people read it they should no longer pass judgement on someone who is different and actually get the time to know them and realize that they aren't that different from themselves.

"It's not like they come here to be labeled, or to believe the label. We're all here-kids, teachers, parents, whoever-it's about all of us working together, playing together, being together, and that's what learning is."

              This quote is great, it was said by someone who doesn't have a disability.  Is is taking on the perspective of a person with a disability and is saying how they don't want people to think of them as different or already have the idea that they are different before they even talk to them.  It is also saying that basically we are all people and we are all different but should be treated the same.  They also shouldn't be separated on the sheer fact that the person has a disability.  They should be given a chance to show off how smart they actually are and if they are able to succeed ina classroom then they should be left there.  later on in the article there is a boy who is in a normal classroom that has a disability and if you didn't already know he had a disability you wouldnt be able to tell.  Basically the quote is saying that everyone deserves a chance.

Class Talking Points:  Do you just pass someone off because they have a disability or do you take the time to get to know them.  Also does anyone spend any time or have any experience with people with disabilities?

Literacy With an ATTITUDE

For this weeks blog I just wanted to do a reflection and talk about what was in the pieces that we were supposed to read.  First off i really like what was in the preface of Finn's Literacy with Attitude.  I thought that this was a very powerful piece and and really goes along with a lot of what Delpit says with the culture of power.  One thing that i found in the preface that looks exactly like what Delpit would say is this, "The status quo is the status quo because people who have the power to make changes are comfortable with the way things are. It takes energy to make changes, and the energy must come from the people who will benefit from the change."  This quote sounds exactly like something Delpit would say because she is big with the culture of power in how the people who are reaping all the benefits don't want to do anything to change these things.  Then the people who need change don't have any of the resources to do so.

Another thing that caught my attention was right at the beginning of chapter one.  This was when he was talking about naming his book and he started to talk about Jonathan Kozol.  I thought that this was interesting because in class we have talked about him a lot in class.  This particular piece was talking about his book Savage Inequalities and how it is unfair how different races are being taught differently.  This is something that Johnson has said a few things about in how we need to educate everyone equally.  Finn and Johnson are on the same page with this and Finn actually uses these things in his own classroom where he treats everyone the same and tells them specific directions.  This is something that really needs to be done to help create a better balance in our world today where people are on the same level as each other.

When going back and re reading my blog i realize that it is more of a connections piece than i originally thought it was going to be.  In class i want to discuss how there are so may people that can be connected to this piece.  I would also like to talk about education and how it needs to be equally distributed to everyone and have it be equal.  If schooling was equal for everyone then our world could be much different than it is today.

Title Nine in Sports

This weeks blog is something that i personally know a lot about because i wrote my research paper about it in highschool.  Title 9 is something that tries to take the restriction off who can and can't play a particular sport.  Title 9 says "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid." This is a change that i believe was made for the better in sports.


This website tells you everything that you need to know about title nine and how it has affected people.  Although i believe that it was made for the better and has helped many girls be allowed to play in quote unquote mens sports i haven't personally seen it help any male athletes play in quote unquote female sports.  For example a boy in my highschool was a tremendous volley ball player and we didn't have a mens volley ball team at our school but there was a girls team.  Because of title 9 the boy should have been able to play on the team because there wasn't a mens team but the school wouldn't just let him.  If he wanted to play then he would have to jump through a million hoops first and then if he did all that he would only be allowed to play in the back row and was never allowed to approach the net.  I could see why they wouldn't want him to approach the net because people could say he could jump higher or hit harder than any of the girls and that wasn't faire but by not allowing him to do this he wasn't able to play to his full potential.


Another experience i have with this issue is when a girl at my highschool was allowed to play football.  All she had to do was say she wanted to play and she was on the team because of title nine.  There were no restrictions put on her where she could and couldn't play.  She ended up playing middle linebacker on the freshman team and at times she would be the full back.  I personally believe that this was a great thing just letting her play but at the same time it was a little bit one sided just letting the female athlete play her sports when the male athlete had to jump through so many hoops just to play the back row so he never played.


Something that i also notice is that everything that you see about title nine says women's sports.  if you type title nine in sports into google this come up under videos.  Every video there is about women where Title 9 clearly states that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex"be discriminated upon in sports.  This should mean men too and there should be more about this information on the internet than just the womans information.  I do know that it has affected much more women then men but still there needs to be information on both sides.


A couple video that i found aren't from you tube so i cant post the actual video but here in the link for the first video.  it is about how schools are going to have to do more to show that they are complying in title nine.  The only issue is that the video mainly talks about woman but clearly says both sex at a few points.  Then my favorite video is this one.

it talks about both mens and womens sports being equal.


During class i just want to touch upon how great title nine is but also how it isn't truly fair for both men and women.  It seems like men's sports are always being cut to add more women's sports so the schools dont get in trouble.  One great example of the is at PC where the men's division 1 baseball team was gotten rid of to make a women's hockey team.  Although they are a good team just because they needed another women's sports the just totally got rid of a good men's program.

Video's, Articles, and Websites

This weeks blog is a little bit different from what we are used to doing.  Instead of reading just one article we had to watch a few videos, look at a website, and then read an article.  Then basically take the main points out of them and or connect them.  The main thing that I took from these artifacts was that we still do not consider all people equal and we are scared to talk about and admit that this is true.

In the videos that we watched one of the main things that i took out of it was that we do not see all people as equals.  The videos used two different examples that stuck with me.  The first one was with President Obama and former President Bush.  The video was saying that we give way to much credit to white people even if they are a "bafoon" (talking about bush).  The first video also said that just because Bush was white and mediocre we were fine with him as president.  Along the same lines with this it also says that McCain was also a candidate only because he is white.  If he was a black man and we knew his background about how he crashed five planes we would never be talking about his as a presidential nominee.

Another great point that the video brought up was that we don't let people of color be mediocre and still get jobs.  While the white man can go to a community college and have no experience in the field and still get the job over a person of color who is pretty good at the job and has experience with it.  This shows that we don't consider all people to be equal and we give precedent to people in the culture of power even thought they aren't the best candidate for the job.

In the NY Times Article that we had to read it talked about how schools still are segregated even though they legally aren't anymore.  The article says that school still are segregated because of where people live.  If the child is living in a bad neighborhood like a lot of hispanic and black people do then they are forced to go to a bad school because that is what is in those bad areas.  The article also said that when these kids were put into better schools they started to get better grades and became better students.  It is sad to think that schools are still segregated and most people don't believe that they are but the truth is that schools are segregated simply by the fact of where people live.  Another article that i found says that schools are more segregated today than they were in the 1950's.  This article said almost the same things as the one we had to read for class with the main reason still being where families live depend on what school they go to and therefore still contribute to segregation.

Talking points for class:  Did anyone think that schools were still segregated before you read the article? And whose fault is it that the schools are segregated?Personally i don't believe that the government is responsible for the segregation.  I believe that the people are  responsible because they are the ones living  in the areas and not moving to different neighborhoods for better school systems.  I also know that it may not be financially possible for these people to move but i do think it is possible for quite a few of them because i drive through providence everyday to school and see really nice cars in old houses driveways and think that they have enough money for $80,000 worth of cars but they are still living here.

In The Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning

Extended Comments:

Like Sarah, i am also using Amanda's Blog for my extended comments blog because i know a few people that have been apart of their churches youth group and have done similar things as Amanda's church.  My best friend before his confirmation had to participate in the same thing as Amanda's church group and fast for twenty four hours and sleep on the floor at the church.  They did this because the church wants the kids to know what it feels like to be homeless.  Even though it is only for a short amount of time it still really makes you think about what these people go through every night.  Another thing that my friends church did was go to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina occurred.  They went down there for a week and helped rebuild the churches and worked in soup kitchens to feed the people that were impacted by this tragedy.  I have a ton of respect for my friend and his family for going there and helping all those people because they really did make a difference.

Another thing in Amanda's Blog that i really liked was when she said, "Service learning, no matter what type, is beneficial for everyone".  I really like that she said this and completely agree with her.  No matter what you are doing to help out your community, it matters.  You may feel like you are doing something so small and not even think it matters but it does.  Some one out there is grateful for what you are doing no matter how big or small of a task it is.


Something that i do that i don't really consider service learning is coaching a basketball team.  I don't really consider this community service because i have just as much if not more fun than the kids do.  It is something that i really enjoy doing and i know that the kids and parents really appreciate it because they tell me and my parents how nice it is for me to help out coaching the team.


What kind of service learning does everyone think they are doing in their VIPS classrooms?  And are there other service learning projects that you take apart in, and do you enjoy doing them or do you just do it because you were told to or had to.  Also with the VIPS tutoring do you think that if you only had to go to the classroom three times would you still be going now?  Do you enjoy going or do you just go because you have to?

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us By: Linda Christensen

Connection:

     This piece was very interesting to me in how it talked about things that i have never thought about before but have seen frequently.  just like most kids in America today i grew up on watching Disney Movies and the Disney channel.  I always saw that the rich man was in charge and the out of shape person of color was the servant but never really had a second thought about it.  In this article it talks about how the white person was always the person in power and that really relates well to Lisa Delpit's culture of power that says the white man and white culture is dominant.  This piece just shows how true that really was because in movies and shows the main characters are mostly white and always were in the past.  This example is more subtle than many other examples but it is just another piece of the puzzle in why the culture of power exists.  Another article that relates to this one was Peggy McIntosh's white privilege.  In Christensen's piece the actors were all privileged because they were white and that must have played a role in getting the job.  All three of the articles went really well together because in some way they all had to do with white people having an advantage over other ethnicities