Blog 11: The Final Blog (review)

My big three for the semester are:

1). From the Johnson/S.C.W.A.A.M.P. group work, "People don't want to look because they don't want to know what it has to do with them and how doing something about it might change not only the world but themselves."- This came from one of the first group activities where we were pulling important quotes from the Johnson reading and I think it truly reflects what we focus on in this course, why we are so resistant to accepting our mistakes within a classroom setting. The problem originates from how we as a society cannot stand the feelings of being uncomfortable and having our societal positions of power questioned therefore we refuse to hear the injustices our ignorant actions cause. This stood out because it's essentially what we were building off of throughout the whole course and how we can begin to open our minds and start being more self-aware of our contributions to societal ignorance. 

2). Group slideshow on Rose's How Structural Racism Works- I really liked being able to analyze Rose's Ted Talk and learn more about structural racism and compare it to what my understanding of the colorblind ideology is. Hearing how she sums up the reasoning behind it as "..because I can't see color it's not my fault and it's the fault of those who are being discriminated against." That statement showed me how ignorant as a society we are and how "not seeing color" is just an excuse for us not to accept the fact that we have contributed to systemic and structural racism. The consequences from the examples of the redlining, culturalization, and the HSRW project illustrated to me what denying one's privilege leads to within our society

3). Jodi DiPiazza "Firework" video- I remember having to hold in tears when first watching this in class. Coming from the perspective of an intended special ed major seeing the girl be able to do something as special as that may have been the most meaningful thing I saw. The way that her parents talked about not being sure of how she would be treated differently because of her autism but being able to see that her disability is not her identity but is just a small aspect of who she is as a person reminded me of why I wanted to pursue special ed in the first place. People's identities are so much more than just their disabilities and Jodi showing everyone that was awesome. 

Overall, I think everything I was able to learn about this year has changed my perspective to my teacher disposition. I think going forward I am will be a more self-aware teacher by being able to recognize my privilege and see past the surface when talking about injustices within the classroom. 4 Ways to Teach Students About Social Justice Issues provides approaches similar to the ones we learned in learning out to have conversations about social justice and the value of it in a classroom.

Blog 10: Woke Read Alouds "They, She, He Easy as ABC"

Ki from Woke Read Alouds argues that students' pronouns should be respected on the basis of respect and empathy as she delves into the reading of "They, She, He Easy as ABC". Ki goes over how using correct pronouns essentially is a way of displaying respect and consideration for young children's peers. Ki goes on to further explain how sometimes it takes awhile for kids to figure out their pronouns and how it can be an intimidating thing for students to learn about, whether it be the young child going through a changing identity or it coming from a friend. Also, the topic of making quick assumptions was brought up and Ki helps explain how sometimes those assumptions can make our friends feel uncomfortable. Ki breaks it down to it being simply how we want our friends to feel good because they make us feel good and everyone deserves to feel good about themselves at the end of the day.

I think the way that Ki broke down pronouns was super respectful and appealed to the younger groups so it didn't intimidate or confuse the students in a way that made them. Ki even kept the footage of when they made a mistake mispronouncing a name/identity and created a new footage to admit they were wrong. They talked about now that they were more aware of this mistake they were going to use it to become better and more respectful instead of letting that make it fester into a negative feeling. Being uncomfortable with making mistakes helps us create changes that are positive.

I think its important to think about how we as teachers can create an environment that allows people to maintain and expect that same respect from their peers. Especially for those who are going into secondary majors the solution won't be to read books and reeducate from read alouds. It's important to start to think of way we can create accountable and respectful atmosphere in our classrooms. Trans Inclusive Practices in the Classroom NYU discusses creating more open and inclusive language for particularly people from the Transgender community within the classroom setting.

Blog 9: Hyperlinks for Hehir and "Examined Life"

Hehir and the "Examined Life" video discussed the different types of stigma and ableist assumptions that surround their disability. Similarly, the video from Matt's Foundation deals with the concepts of stigma against those with Down syndrome. Reflecting on the Hehir reading, many of the main points reflect how the negative connotations around disability in a classroom setting prevent students who have disabilities from receiving the proper support and accommodations that allow them to succeed within a classroom setting. In "Examined Life" Judith Baker and Sanuara Taylor speak about Taylor's perspective and experiences about being disabled and how it impacts the way she is perceived by the outside society. As soon as I read and watched the reading and video, I immediately remembered the video from Matt's foundation discussing the stigma around people with Down syndrome. 

The video talks about how the girl in the video is perceived as unable to do all the things someone her age can be doing (drinking at a bar, living alone, etc) because society perceives her as unable to do that. It leads to her never even trying to attempt to do any of these things because people have always been telling and treating her as if she can’t. She encourages people instead to expect that she can so she will. It relates to Hehir’s writings about ableist assumptions within the classroom as he discusses how because of the assumptions made about students with disabilities within the classroom prevent them from their disabilities being properly accommodated and properly addressed. Due to this, those students are never given the same opportunities to succeed within a classroom setting. Baker and Taylor in “Examined Life” expand upon the stigma of disability within society and how the idea of assistance within our society and we as a society neglect the idea of assisting others. 

The main connection all three of these pieces of media possess is they deal with the idea of addressing the various stigmas that surround their disabilities. They all share how they are perceived as not as capable as able-bodied individuals. They are looked at as problems to fix rather than actual individuals who just need a little help within a society that perceives them as not actual people.

It’s here that we can ask ourselves how we have contributed to this stigma. In one way or another, all of us have had ableist assumptions about members of the disabled community. So how can we start to hold ourselves accountable when we start having these ableist assumptions? I think it’s important to start with what Baker said: “Do we or do we not live in a world where we help each other with basic needs ...and when did our needs need to be decided upon as a social issue?” We need to tackle the issue of thinking that people with disabilities won’t accomplish or live the same lifestyles as able-bodied people just because some people need a little more help than others. We are a society that is built off centuries of support from our peers and it's time we start acknowledging it.

Blog 8: Quotes on Richard Rodriguez's "Aria" and "Teaching Bilinguals"

Some valuable quotes from the reading and video:

1). “At last, seven years old, I came to believe what had been technically true since my birth: I was an American citizen.” (pg 36)- Rodriquez states this after he had finally learned how to speak/understand the English language from the school attempts of a bilinguals education. Rodriguez's saying helps highlight the irony in his statement, that despite being born in the country it was only by getting rid of his native tongue and another piece of culture that he was able to adapt to that new culture. It was ironic that the only way for him to finally feel a part of being an American was to get rid of the close personal connection that he had with his culture and have to abandon those ties that he had which he later explained felt like a loss of closeness of family.

2). "And their lives are enriched when they are able to use all their languages critically, intentionally, flexibly, and creatively...that use of language is called translanguaging." - The Bilingual education video segments continuously refer to the term translanguaging creating methods within a classroom to help prioritize that concept. By encouraging students to use their bilingualism within a classroom and providing them spaces where they're able to embrace learning that new language without having to abandon their culture in the way Rodriguez described in "Aria". The "Teaching Bilinguals" used translanguaging as a way to learn the new language and create new connections without having to abandon all other connections as well.

3). “..suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality.”- This quote helps convey the message that Rodriguez attempts to convey throughout the reading about the conflict of the intimacy vs. public when it comes to his transition to bilingualism and American culture. While Rodriguez's transition to learn the language allowed him to blend better and create this "new" American identity he had to abandon the individuality that his culture provided by neglecting his first language. The quote illustrates the negative effects that assimilation for bilingual education can have on students when the students are made to feel like their first language is an inconvenience to overcome and has to be changed to feel that sense of belonging within an American classroom.

After this reading and videos, I leave with the question of how to correct our bilingual education system within America. How can we try to implement practices within classrooms that, unlike the Bedford Hills classroom, are more like Rodriguez's class? Where do we start to begin to restructure that? Additionally, it makes me wonder how bilingual education was considered a process to convert people into English speakers rather than a tool that can allow others to appreciate their and others' cultures and be able to relate to a wider variety of people. What Is Translanguaging and How Is It Used in the Classroom? takes a closer look to what translanguaging really is and breaks it down into an easy to understand style.

Video Analysis: “Teach Us All”, “Classroom Tour”, and “Precious Knowledge”

 

Blog 7: Reflection on Finn's "A Distinctly Un-American Idea"

 Finn's "A Distinctly Un-American Idea" made me reflect on my own schooling career in my hometown public school circuit. I came from a middle class school system where everything that was taught to me came from a book. Everything that was in the book was not to be questioned as it was just the way that it was taught. The people who taught me were mostly teachers who went to that same school when they were my age. The buildings were the same and the way we learned had only been improved by the edition of the textbooks we learning out of. Education was logical, analytical, and matter of fact. I stayed away from creativity because it had little to do with what I was learning in the classroom.

My education was what I could make of it. Instructed by my teachers that it was the way I would find success in life I was encouraged to put my nose down in a book and work until I was able to achieve my goals and go to a good college. My parents who went to the same schools as me when they were kids had the same education style enforced these values within my life so that I would idealize my education as a tool for me to be able to achieve whatever I wanted in my life because education is the "great equalizer" within our society. I found great achievement with that mindset.

When we talked in class about our schooling experiences it became aware to me that maybe that my education created this role for me in my life. My schooling had created my priorities in my life and I sit in my college classroom learning about the new approaches and ideals I find myself reluctant to accept these new creative ways of education. They are unfamiliar to me and they are not what I was raised with. However after our discussion I realize it is my school that has made me like this. I abhor creative approaches and have always found myself more fond of lectures rather than formulating personal opinions. The placement I am in now is similar to the ones my parents were in before me and its the same from my peers. Our schooling creates a cycle that has been created for us since the day we were born into our families. 

So now what, how do we break these cycles? I think the first step of doing this comes by questioning the whole system itself and observing the compliant behaviors to how we got ourselves here. How can we create change in a system that were born to play a predestined role? I think it starts with questioning everything. Seven Solutions for Education Inequality provides some ways we can start to shift the tide from a lower/working class perspective.

Blog (5) 6: Argument on "How Structural Racism Works" by Tricia Rose

 Throughout her talk, Tricia Rose argues how structural racism and the colorblind ideology cannot exist within our society. Rose talks about structural racism as the measurement of acts of discrimination that usually create white advantages and disadvantages for people of color. She goes on to compare it to colorblind ideology and how it's the belief that ignorance will create a solution to racial inequality but in actuality, it takes away all measurements that structural racism utilizes to understand the spectrum of racial discrimination. Rose goes on to explain the HSRW Project and how it impacts the structures of mass media, housing, wealth/jobs, education, and criminal justice. All of these are heavily impacted by the systemic racism that exists within the gaps that our society creates through years of discrimination. Rose goes on to that racism is aided by the culturalization that criminalizes people of color, worsening the impact of structural racism that exists.

    The main point Rose wants us to take away is that colorblind ideology is not viable. Society cannot be left to its own devices to fix a system that they inherited broken. People can’t fix something that they choose not to see because it doesn’t impact them. It makes them uncomfortable knowing that they contribute to structural racism. Structural racism needs to be addressed for what it is and how it creates lasting impacts within our society. I think that structural racism needs to be blatantly addressed for what it is, just as the Fair Housing Act of 1968 exposed how not a single dollar was withheld from known organizations that participated in unequal housing. We need to hold ourselves accountable and accept that there is a problem within our society. We need to get comfortable with the idea of being comfortable and create an environment that makes it ok for us to call each other out for our contributions to ignorance. By making excuses for ourselves we turn against and fail each other because we can’t handle the concept that we are wrong but at the end of the day, we are! We all make mistakes and we are all ignorant so the question I leave with is how can we learn to accept our ignorance and grow from it when we are in a society that is so reluctant to accept we live in a structurally racist society. The Structural Racism Remedies Repository goes further in depth about the pillars from the HSRW project Rose talked about and expanded upon other structures where structural racism exists.

Blog (4) 5: Connections on Intersectionality through Crenshaw

    In her Ted Talk, Kimberle Crenshaw explains that there is a framing problem present within our society and it leads to people being recognized by only one aspect of their identity rather than their whole identity itself. Crenshaw goes on to explain how black women in particular have fallen victim to this because people cannot accept both their identities and just take them at face value. She goes on to talk about intersectionality and defines it as the overlapping of multiple social justice problems that add many levels to injustice. Essentially what Crenshaw was saying is by taking into account the multiple intersections of our identities we can suitably address the problem going on.

    I want to point out that when Crenshaw was talking about one of the cases about a black woman trying to find a job at a plant and being shown racial and gender discrimination Crenshaw said “There was no name for this problem and we all know when there’s no name for that problem we can’t see a problem and when you can’t see a problem you pretty much can’t solve it.” This is the same problem of recognizing our privileges that Alan Johnson talked about in his book “Power, Privilege, and Difference”. While Johnson may have been talking primarily about privilege through his novel he repeatedly says that we have to call our behavior for what it is. We have to recognize that there is a problem within our perspective that creates difficulty in the intersections of our identities. 

It also connects to S.C.W.A.M.P when recognizing the different identities that exist and how certain privileges and challenges come with the intersections of both. By being able to recognize the privileges of our identities of S.C.W.A.A.M.P. as Johnson says we can recognize the difference that those identities have within our society. By doing so we can name the problem for what it is. It is by doing that we can see the problem and work towards solving it.

    Now how can we use this information to help navigate our intersections? How can we start to recognize our blindness to problems so we can properly read the different frames of identities within our society? The article The Intersections in "Intersectionality" provides a thoughtful breakdown of what intersectionality is what the intersections of what an intersection is.

Blog 4 (3.5): Reflection on Kohn's "What to Look for in a Classroom" and Cultural Pedagogy

Kohn and the classroom tour had me reflecting on my own personal classroom experience. I came from a public school system where there was a stark difference between the good and the bad teachers at my school. With those differences came a difference in the environment of which we learned. The classroom walls were barren, the desks in rows facing forward, teachers teaching from their desk front and center in the classroom, and just bored faces across the room. The way Kohn talked about not just the material objects in the classroom but the attributes of the people and students inside the classroom itself. I have seen firsthand the balance of both in my classrooms and how usually the teachers who care about their students are the ones whose classrooms reflect that care. It makes me think about how in my last FNED 101 class we would spend time reflecting about the environment the class we were observing was in because it was an illustration of the kind of education going on within the building. Additionally, for the culturally pedagogy video I went to a mostly white school where the terms of culture were not greatly discussed. While it didn’t seem to be such an apparent issue since most of the kids shared similar cultural backgrounds, many of my friends felt under represented in the ways that our education standards were saying was normal. School is not supposed to make us feel separated because of our differences. It’s supposed to highlight them in their honest and natural form and our diversity to create an improved perspective on our world. It would make me angry when the perspective of the teacher or the education standards would represent their common “norm”. There are so many unique cultures that should be celebrated and embraced within our education so we can learn new perspectives and strive towards a better education and morality. The article How to become a reflective teacher speaks about reflective teaching and talks about it in a way that is similar to the manner Kohn and the video were illustrating. To create a better classroom environment the teacher has to work on enveloping the understanding of her students’ culture.  I think it helps take a closer look at the actions of the teachers themselves and how those actions can reflect the classroom environment. I think a question to leave with is how can we as teachers create the environment that Kohn was describing that helps support students while still reflecting our independent dispositions?

Blog 3: Quotes from Kozol's "Amazing Grace"

In his piece "Amazing Grace", Jonathan Kozol shares his experiences from the conversations he's had with people from Mott Haven, an extremely poor community in South Bronx New York. Through these conversations Kozol learns and explains the oppression and power that have created hard-to-break cycles of poverty within the community, specifically targeting people of color. Three important statements that arose from Kozol’s conversations are:

1. In the context of being asked if the treatment of her community is being used as a dumping ground, one mother said “It used to... The truth is, you get used to the offense. There are trashy things all over. There’s a garbage dump three blocks away. Then all the trucks come through stinking up the air, ... Drivers get their drugs there and their prostitutes.” This quote illustrates how this woman has just become accustomed to the poor treatment of her neighborhood. If this were to happen in the richer white areas of New York this problem would be addressed immediately but since it’s a lower-income, more diverse area they are stuck living in those conditions. They become used to that offense because it’s all they have ever known so they don’t have the burning desire for better.
2. “I don’t know how sick you have to be to qualify for SSI. My girlfriend died from AIDS in March. She never did get SSI. After she died, the checks began to come. Now they keep on coming, Her boyfriend cashes them. She’s dead!” This quote comes from an older woman Kozol talks to who has AIDS and has just lost her welfare and SSI (assistance checks). She can’t get these checks but her dead friend keeps getting them. It illustrates how broken the system is for them to not give the support when the woman was alive and now that she’s dead the money is going to places it shouldn’t. This illustrates the brokenness of the system in place that’s main priority should be assisting people in those cycles of poverty yet cannot even get itself order for it to be fixed.
3. “I believe that we were put here for a purpose but these people in the streets can’t see a purpose. There’s a whole world out there if you know it’s there if you can see it, But they’re in a cage. They cannot see.”- This comes from the son of the woman from the previous quote. In his conversation with Kozol, he speaks about his community and how they struggle to stay away from dangerous lifestyles because it’s all they have ever known. It’s the only way they know how to live their lives and they’re so resistant to change because as the text continues to reinforce this is how they’re surviving so they cannot try to chase loose strings hoping they eventually tie together in a way that leads them to a better life.

To take away from these quotes, how are we supposed to convince people that their is a better opportunity and life out there for them when all they know is a system that continuously fails them. Can we take away their short-sight and help them find a way to find progress and development within their lives. The article Social Security disability system is broken talks more about the problems mentioned with quote two. The essential question Kozol creates for me is how can we change the system to do the job it was created to do and how can we convince people to regain trust in the system?

Blog #2: Connections for Delpit's "The Silenced Dialogue" and Lake Role Play

    The readings of Delpit and Lake heavily connect with the principles that Johnson and S.C.W.A.A.M.P. by providing the basis and essential argument that Delpit and Lake instate within their respective points. S.C.W.A.A.M.P. recognizes the types of privileges and the ways they show up within society and Johnson talks about how in our society we have to accept and acknowledge our privileges and not be afraid to use honest and raw language, no matter how harsh or uncomfortable it may be. Johnson vocalizes that this is the way that we begin to fix the problem that our privilege has caused.

The way that Delpit remarks about the culture of power through her five points that comprise that power. Each revolves around the central idea that the culture of power consists of the privilege people have to create that systematic oppression. Delpit also states how there is sometimes a difference between cultural patterns for different socioeconomic and racial communities. Delpit continuously mentions the need for educators to have an open dialogue so they can accommodate the differences in backgrounds and patterns so the students can be able to learn productively and inclusively. This connects to the point Johnson makes about having that open conversation about the issues surrounding the ignorant nature privilege causes. The way Johnson encourages people to be accountable when acknowledging their spectrum of privilege (S.C.W.A.A.M.P) is the same as when Delpit encourages educators to acknowledge their role in the culture of power so future dialogue of change will not be silenced.

Coincidentally, the Lake role-play helps reflect this manner in a physical example. How the characters of the principal, teacher, and PTO president were resistant to accepting the fact their actions were harmful and ignorant of other people’s cultures is similar to the example Johnson uses when he can’t understand how other groups in society feel. The way Johnson mentions that he can try to feel the same way that they do but he’ll never understand that so he can just take a step back and acknowledge that his S.C.W.A.A.M.P. is the only way he can help understand the situation and provide the basis for change. It parallels how the principal in our role play remained ignorant at first but eventually was better at acknowledging the situation for Wind-Wolf was different due to Wind-Wolf trying to balance his native background in a Westernized system. It was by acknowledging that difference that the dialogue changed and all parties were able to work on the actual issue of accommodating Wind-Wolf’s difference in background and working to create a more comfortable educative area.

I think one point that should be taken into consideration from all these readings is that they’re cannot be a change without acceptance and acknowledgment of differences of privilege. The article Confronting My Privilege to Teach About Privilege offers an additional perspective on how educators begin to acknowledge their privilege for the sake of their students. How are we supposed to continue when our ignorance is creating a culture of power that is silencing the people we are supposed to help?