A Partucularly Cheap White Whine

Tim Wise Erika QUOTES: 1. " . . . less than four percent of scholarship money in the U.S. is represented by awards that consider race as a factor at all, while only 0.25 percent of all undergrad scholarship dollars come from awards that are restricted to persons of color alone." This is outlining how ridiculous it is to think that race based scholarships are taking anything away from Whites. Even without the historical oppression and the privilege implications on people of any color, this statistic is boggling! Only one quarter of one percent is awarded because of color! It seems so insignificant. 2. " . . . white students are twice as likely as their African American or Latino counterparts to be taught by the most highly qualified teachers and half as likely to have the least qualified instructors in class . . . being taught by highly qualified teachers is one of the most important factors in school achievement." The author was giving some support to his argument that race based scholarships are no only fair but needed. He says there should be more. This quote points out white privilege ( a recurring theme this semester). It is sad that there is such a difference between the quality of education received by whites and non-whites. 3. " . . . persons belonging to groups that have been systematically marginalized in this society, should have opportunities targeted to them, so as to allow for the development of their full potential which otherwise might be restricted by said marginalization." I agree that there needs to be more done in the big picture, but had I not taken this class and been educated on things like white privilege and silenced dialogue I may not have been so quick to take this authors side. It takes showing everyone that the inequality exists that then there may be a handful who will want to change it. Making people aware is always the first step. I believe that was the point of this article. COMMENTS: I liked this article. I thought it was a well written commentary on the absolute ignorance of some people. I couldn't believe a group of people could come together and rally support against race based scholarships. And with no real proof! The statics I quoted were astonishing! I couldn't believe it. White victim-hood...what a joke. There is no-one taking ANYthing way from white males. This echoed everything we have been reading from SWAMP to Johnson to Deplit to Christensen to McIntosh; you cant talk about one without talking about the other or relating it to the other.

PRAXIS

So I ook my PRAXIS I today. I think I did pretty good. BUT the hardest part was filling out the consent form!!! I had to copy a whole paragraph in CURSIVE!!! AGGHH It took me so long. I had to first remeber what the heck cursive is, then what the letters looked like and how to combine them. HAHA It looked like a hot mess and my hand hurt afterwards. I hope I NEVER have to write in cursive again!

In Service of What?

Joesph Kahne and Joel Westheimer.

Quotes:

1. "What values do service learning curricula model and seek to promote?" This is one of the main focuses of this article. What kind of values do we want our kids to come away with after these projects? Are the values these projects based on that of the school or child? Or are they that of the white upper-class power of culture?
2. ". . . service learning activities can achieve the first crucial step toward diminishing the sense of "otherness" that often separates students from those in need." This echos what we have read in previous articles we see it as them and us. It is their problem not ours, but by doing theses projects and thinking about the impact students can make they can start to break down that barrier. They can become part of the community not just an on-looker.
3. ". . . the combination of service and critical analysis that seems most likely to promote interest in and insight into these complex social issues." They argue in this article that service learning is not enough, that teacher need to get students to think about the issues on a higher level. They need to learn about the social injustice that lead to these issues and they need to act.

COMMENTS:

Service learning is a great thing to get kids involved in. But let me play devils advocate for a minute. Isn't any action better than no action? What's so bad about kids just caring? Seems like it's a good experience all around when students do these projects so why does there have to be a right way?

Well I'll answer my own question. These projects without a focus will do little more than make the person doing them happy. With out critical thinking the students will not know why there is this problem and that they can do something about it. With out guidance the students will no benefit as much as they need to.

Another thing I noticed ... who is doing these projects? White middles class students? I think that if we got student from a poor neighborhood to do these projects and to really think about what they can do, that it would improve these neighborhoods. All it takes is a little care and pride and realizing that they CAN make a difference.

The point made about President Bushes comments about:
"I am particularly pleased that [this act] will promote an ethic of
community service . . . . Government cannot rebuild a family or
reclaim a sense of neighborhood, and no bureaucratic program
will ever solve the pressing human problems that can be
addressed by a vast galaxy of people working voluntarily in their
own backyards."

WHAT? The government can and should help in rebuilding communities. We need more government based social programs NOT less.

Teacher Staples a Disiplinary Note to Childs Shirt!

http://news.yahoo.com/video/miamicbs4-15750840/teacher-criticized-for-how-she-sent-a-note-home-24445195


Personaly I think this teacher went a little overboard. There is no need to staple ANYTHING to a child. I don't understand why the adminisrtaion is backing her up. This is just wrong. I would be livid! UGGHH this is just really irking me. What was the teacher thinking. If she didn't think the note were getting home, then CALL! She let her frustrations get the best of her.

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

Linda Christensen
Erika
QUOTES:
1. “The “secret education”… delivered by children’s books and movies, instructs young people to accept the world as it is portrayed in these social blueprints.” The article explains the underlying message in children’s works and explains that this “secret education” is often over looked. Yet it is taught to us by these works. This seems to be another way that children learn society’s culture of power.
2. “… two myths: Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved through consumption – in their case, through new clothes and a new hairstyle.” This is explaining that even when a princess story is changed in terms of culture and ethnicity. There is still an underlying message that we must confront. It’s no wonder that most single moms can only “get out” of their situation of being poor by marring, it was taught to us.
3. “. . . most students wrote for local and national newspapers or magazines. The writing in these articles was tighter and clearer that for-the-teacher essays… the possibility of publishing their pieces changed the level of student intensity.” She asked the students to critique this “secret education” using proof from some works for children. The student excelled above and beyond what she expected and some even got published. They also got an outlet for their frustrations and opened other up to this concept.
COMMENTS:
I love the idea of raising awareness that children’s cartoons can have an effect on how/what you think. A lot of the time the content of cartons is not analyzed by the general public. We think they are innocent and pure entertainment. It is obvious that there are subtle underlying messages. Messages about how society and people in power want us to think/act. The culture of power is evident in some of these cartoons; older cartons portray male dominance and marginalize minorities. Now while we may not know how to change it and some may not even want to change it we still need to be AWARE of it. We need to, as future educators, be able to point these inaccuracies out and help overcome them. We need to address the issue with our students when they are feeling the pressure to act a certain way or wear a certain outfit. We need to let them know that they are in control of what and who they are.