Today was my sad, last day tutoring at the Met until the next opportunity arises from General Education courses. I took a photo of the students that were not absent from school or off doing something to do with their New Trimester Project Planning. So I only got to take the photo of about one half of the sixteen students, in Tim Shannon's Room 109, on the first floor of the Equality Building. It is a Great name for the building, and the concept of their educational system. While I am going to enjoy the time off between semesters at RIC, I will miss the students in Room 109.
Today, they continued working on their New Projects and asked a million questions about different career choices. It was fun explaining what was involved in getting to their career choices. Liz said that she wanted to be an astronaut, and then asked Tim, how do you spell astronaut. It is funny because she was already sitting at her computer. Tim told her to look it up. She is pretty smart in all of her classes that I have seen her in so far Gino was asking a few questions about getting a Grand National, so I think it strayed a little from working on his next project.
From 10 am to 11 am they went to Math Class, where Matt is the third year Teacher and pretty smart at that. His assistants are Liz and Kyle, whom I have already mentioned earlier in this series. From 11 am until Noon was more time spent on which Internships that lead to which careers discussions. Today there were 3 students out absent, and that is the most that I have seen out of 16 students in this classroom 109, run by Tim Shannon. He is an excellent teacher with more than ten year teaching here, and one year at a Traditional Structured School in the Warwick School System. His wife is also a Teacher at CCRI, which is about two to three blocks away from the Met School. The Campus there hosts many of the Met students, who are working on Internships and taking classes that directly apply to their future career choices. What a difference the Met School is from the Central Falls High School that I went to from 1964 to 1968. Dream about what a school should be and then take a tour of the Met and you will see what I mean. I really loved this FNED-346 class and the Met Tutoring as well.
Fred Issa, FHTOFA, Future History Teachers of America. I just made this up.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
EMPOWERING EDUCATION - Critical Teaching for Social Change, By Ira Shore
Education Is Politics: An Agenda for Empowerment
This is my favorite of all of the Year's Handouts with regards to Teaching Methodologies. I am still not comfortable using the term Pedogogy? For the entire school year we have been talking about the following; What type of school environment and city did you come from? My answer is always;
Working-class schools but in a very tightly disciplined environment, whereby the Counselors would help you immensely if you were an Honors or Deans List student. Since I rebelled against its Hitler- type environment, I would keep my nose clean, but lost interest in school and the disinterested teachers who felt that I was destined for the Factory floors of Industry. I had a straight B which kept my Mom and Dad out of my hair, and the teachers out of my lifestyle. I could hear a lecture once, or read an article once and it would stay with me for an entire school year almost verbatim. But I digress
once again. Our teachers themselves were under the yoke of a dictatorial, narrow-minded, thick-waisted, perpetually scowling, discipline first, foremost, and always unhappy looking ogre. Like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to his gaze, of which I would return it with equal distain and loathing.
I like how Ira Shor says that the most important thing that young students should be learning before the three R's is Socialization. He urges teachers to encourage students to question their experience in school. Wow. This is what I used to do and get in trouble for? I would question things like Why don't we have a school cafeteria, and have to brown bag our lunches daily? How come we no longer have a football teach? How come the Student Council are all Straight A Students that seemed to get elected and yet everyone swore that none of us voted for them. I smelled a Rat. A Big Smelly Rat?
Ira has the right idea, how we need students to develop socialization skills first and be able to ask questions of our teachers and principles and not be kept in a state of fear from authority. I had no problem with the three R'S. I had a real problem with the "other" three U's that we had in our school.
Unnecessary Restrictions, Unwanted Repression, Undemocratic Restraint. As Ira Shor says, "The restraint and imposition in the socializing function of school. He further states that a school year that begins by questioning school could be a democratic and critical learning experience for students. I have seen this type of "openly democratic learning" in Tim Shannon's classes at the Met School in Providence. He does not ever raise his voice, as his students listen out of respect, not out of fear. The principle is a smiling, soft-speaking man who also is respected, not feared. Fear is only a short-term motivator, while respect and love last a very long time. I took a chance on the Met School and their method of teaching in small classes, mutual respecting, highly socialized environment of free speech.
I was not wrong in that choice then, and I write of this now as proof that this teaching method works.
Back to "Empowering Education" where he says, "you must arouse children's curiosity and think about school." We do this with a discussion about why do we go to school? This gets them to open up like the petals of a flower when it faces the sun. And with the same sense of facing knowledge in an open encouraging democratic classroom, where you want to learn, and not be forced to learn by fear.
Piaget urged a reciprocal relationship between teachers and students, where respect for the teacher coexisted with cooperative and student-centered pedagogy. "If the aim of intellectual training is to form the intelligence rather than stock the memory, Piaget wrote, "and to produce intellectual explorers rather than mere erudition, then traditional education is manifestly guilty of a grave deficiency." That pretty much sums up that portion of thinking in this part of the article.
Further, In a curriculum that encourages student questioning, the teacher avoids a unilateral transfer of knowledge, she or he helps students develop their intellectual and emotional powers to examine their learning in school, their everyday experience, and the conditions in society. This is exactly the reverse of what I believe is happening in the Traditional Teaching Schools of today. Discipline and Order is first order of business, which is wrong. First order of business is to establish an environment of free thinkers, an opportunity to ask questions and get honest answers, not the politically correct ones, or the ones that the school board preapproved. I am not suggesting that we throw the "baby out with the bath water?" I am suggesting that we change what is not working, and make substantial paradigm changes to what we know is not working, and has not worked for a long time. Fred Issa
This is my favorite of all of the Year's Handouts with regards to Teaching Methodologies. I am still not comfortable using the term Pedogogy? For the entire school year we have been talking about the following; What type of school environment and city did you come from? My answer is always;
Working-class schools but in a very tightly disciplined environment, whereby the Counselors would help you immensely if you were an Honors or Deans List student. Since I rebelled against its Hitler- type environment, I would keep my nose clean, but lost interest in school and the disinterested teachers who felt that I was destined for the Factory floors of Industry. I had a straight B which kept my Mom and Dad out of my hair, and the teachers out of my lifestyle. I could hear a lecture once, or read an article once and it would stay with me for an entire school year almost verbatim. But I digress
once again. Our teachers themselves were under the yoke of a dictatorial, narrow-minded, thick-waisted, perpetually scowling, discipline first, foremost, and always unhappy looking ogre. Like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to his gaze, of which I would return it with equal distain and loathing.
I like how Ira Shor says that the most important thing that young students should be learning before the three R's is Socialization. He urges teachers to encourage students to question their experience in school. Wow. This is what I used to do and get in trouble for? I would question things like Why don't we have a school cafeteria, and have to brown bag our lunches daily? How come we no longer have a football teach? How come the Student Council are all Straight A Students that seemed to get elected and yet everyone swore that none of us voted for them. I smelled a Rat. A Big Smelly Rat?
Ira has the right idea, how we need students to develop socialization skills first and be able to ask questions of our teachers and principles and not be kept in a state of fear from authority. I had no problem with the three R'S. I had a real problem with the "other" three U's that we had in our school.
Unnecessary Restrictions, Unwanted Repression, Undemocratic Restraint. As Ira Shor says, "The restraint and imposition in the socializing function of school. He further states that a school year that begins by questioning school could be a democratic and critical learning experience for students. I have seen this type of "openly democratic learning" in Tim Shannon's classes at the Met School in Providence. He does not ever raise his voice, as his students listen out of respect, not out of fear. The principle is a smiling, soft-speaking man who also is respected, not feared. Fear is only a short-term motivator, while respect and love last a very long time. I took a chance on the Met School and their method of teaching in small classes, mutual respecting, highly socialized environment of free speech.
I was not wrong in that choice then, and I write of this now as proof that this teaching method works.
Back to "Empowering Education" where he says, "you must arouse children's curiosity and think about school." We do this with a discussion about why do we go to school? This gets them to open up like the petals of a flower when it faces the sun. And with the same sense of facing knowledge in an open encouraging democratic classroom, where you want to learn, and not be forced to learn by fear.
Piaget urged a reciprocal relationship between teachers and students, where respect for the teacher coexisted with cooperative and student-centered pedagogy. "If the aim of intellectual training is to form the intelligence rather than stock the memory, Piaget wrote, "and to produce intellectual explorers rather than mere erudition, then traditional education is manifestly guilty of a grave deficiency." That pretty much sums up that portion of thinking in this part of the article.
Further, In a curriculum that encourages student questioning, the teacher avoids a unilateral transfer of knowledge, she or he helps students develop their intellectual and emotional powers to examine their learning in school, their everyday experience, and the conditions in society. This is exactly the reverse of what I believe is happening in the Traditional Teaching Schools of today. Discipline and Order is first order of business, which is wrong. First order of business is to establish an environment of free thinkers, an opportunity to ask questions and get honest answers, not the politically correct ones, or the ones that the school board preapproved. I am not suggesting that we throw the "baby out with the bath water?" I am suggesting that we change what is not working, and make substantial paradigm changes to what we know is not working, and has not worked for a long time. Fred Issa
Monday, November 24, 2014
Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome, By Christopher Kliewer
I am of an age where children with Down Syndrome were kept away from other children, considered "normal" under school standards of the time. It was wrong then and it is still wrong now to segregate these children, and others with disabilities. These children were called "special" or "special needs" and as I said were kept away from the so-called "normal kids" of the same or close in age. They had a "special bus" and "special classrooms" and were not very often in close proximity to other children. This was at a time when Society thought it best to hide these children away from the others, like their was some sort of unnamed shame or a curse that fell upon the family. If they allowed the children out at all, then they were installed into these segregated classrooms. This was during the 1950's and 1960's when "judgment and "democracy" were not operating at their level best in their thinking.
I always felt a bit sad when the special students would be at recess, but in another part of the school year with an extra fence around it at Broad Street School, in Central Falls, where I grew up. I always remember that there was a little girl who would spend her entire recess standing next to the fence between her "special recess area" and my recess area looking longingly into our much larger recess yard and looking at all of the other kids who would not talk to her.
One day I walked over to the fence and started talking to her, and she was startled when I started to talk to her asking her name. At first, she did not talk to me and I thought that this was her special disability. After a minute or two, she blinked and said that her name was Daisy, and why was I talking to her, that she was very different from me? I said, "You are not so different because you have two eyes, two legs, and arms, and two hands like me?" She
said she had some sort of a disease that made her older than me? I still did not understand since she was the same age as me. We started talking everyday at recess time and we would share apples and oranges and I noticed that her sadness seemed to melt away. Daisy had blonde hair, and blue eyes always with a ribbon in her hair that matched her outfit. I do not know why, but I always felt happy when I saw her in the recess schoolyard, even though we were separated by Society and with a fence. My friends also were not happy to lose one of their team mates and said why are you talking to a retard? I put him in a headlock until he admitted that she was not retarded, but just special and then he went away.
One day I saw her "Special Ed" teacher talking to my regular Teacher and did not thing anything about it. At the end of the school day, my teacher at the end of classes, my stopped me and asked me why was I talking to Daisy? I said because she was sad and pretty, and nice and we were now friends. I also showed her a blue ribbon that she had given me because it was the exact color of her eyes. My Teacher said that we were in different classes and we would not see each other pretty soon. I said because of the school year ending? She said Yes. I said that is ok I am going to go over to her house and surprise her. My teacher got this real weird look and walked away. That day I stayed at school later than usual and I waited until she boarded her "special bus" to take her home. Since she lived the closest to the school, she was dropped off first, so I only had to run ten blocks. I got to her house out of breathe, just as her Mom was closing the door to their pretty little white house with a small picket hence all around the house. I held my breathe as I pushed the doorbell with its own special musical chimes. I was later told that the music was, "be it ever so simple there is no place like home."
A beautiful women came to the door, and she was the exact replica of her daughter Daisy, blue eyes and blonde hair and skin that seemed so thin and translucent. She seemed a little mad and said, "Yes, what do you want?" I said, "I am Fred" like it should have some very special meaning. Oddly enough, she said, "Oh you are Daisy's little friend?" I said, "Little? I am taller than she is?" A second later I heard Daisy call out to her Mom, "Mom, Fred is my friend, let him in." Her Mom was not happy, but she led me into Daisy's home where she was on an oxygen mask, lying on the couch, watching cartoons on television. I stopped short at the door
to the living room when I saw Daisy hooked up to machines. I said, "What is wrong with you?" All she said was I am sick and need to have oxygen before and after school and take these medicines." All I said was, "Oh, OK, I understand" But I really did not understand.
Her mother, Grace said, "I am glad that I got a chance to meet you. Daisy keeps talking about her friend Fred at school, and it has made a big difference in her since you two have become friends" I said I do not understand what you are saying?" She said, "Since Daisy has met you, she seems to be getting better?" I said, "OK, Great" So Daisy and I sat on the couch and had chocolate milk and chocolate chip cookies and all was right in the world. I started to come over to Daisy's house after school and the bus driver let me ride the bus to Daisy's house. Daisy's mom now encouraged me to come to her house as much as I wanted, because she said it made Daisy sparkle.
I asked Daisy where her Dad was, and she got a sad look on her face and said, "When I got sick he and My Mom split up?" I thought was pretty strange, but I was told never to question adults.
Well in summer, my family and I went to our Summer home in Warwick Neck, Rhode Island called Rocky Point Park. We owned the home, but leased the land. It was so big, that three of my aunts
and uncles and their children all had their own sections of the beach house. It was great. Daisy and I were allowed to talk daily. Towards the end of the Summer, Daisy had to go to the Boston Children's hospital and I did not hear from her for a week. My Mom and Dad were waiting for me when I got back from the beach and said that the three of us were going back to the city for an event and I had to put my Sunday suit on. I said without question OK.
So after I showered and put on my best Sunday suit, the three of us went to Heroux's Funeral Home only about five blocks from my house. I was accustomed to Aunt's and Uncle's that I never knew that died so this was not unusual for me. When we got out of the car, and I asked, "Mom who died? She only said, "Daisy is here?"
I said, "Great, I have not seen her all summer and have so much to tell her." She yelled for me to stop, but I just ran in and looked around to find Daisy? I then found her mother, Grace and a tall man standing next to her with a bunch of old people standing in a line. I asked Grace's mom, "Where is Daisy?" She turned her head to the right, and in a small white coffin, was Daisy, in her favorite blue dress with her gloved hands folded over her. All of the wind went out of me, and my Mom and Dad caught up with me just as I started to slide to the floor. They half held and half carried me to the thing that you kneel on before the coffin, and while my parents prayed, I took the blue ribbon that Daisy gave me, and put it across her forehead, where I kissed her good-bye. I heard her Mom yell, "Daisy" and along with just about everybody in the room they all started crying and screaming. I ran from the room and never went back into that Funeral Home again. Children of Special needs should be included and not segregated by themselves.
I always felt a bit sad when the special students would be at recess, but in another part of the school year with an extra fence around it at Broad Street School, in Central Falls, where I grew up. I always remember that there was a little girl who would spend her entire recess standing next to the fence between her "special recess area" and my recess area looking longingly into our much larger recess yard and looking at all of the other kids who would not talk to her.
One day I walked over to the fence and started talking to her, and she was startled when I started to talk to her asking her name. At first, she did not talk to me and I thought that this was her special disability. After a minute or two, she blinked and said that her name was Daisy, and why was I talking to her, that she was very different from me? I said, "You are not so different because you have two eyes, two legs, and arms, and two hands like me?" She
said she had some sort of a disease that made her older than me? I still did not understand since she was the same age as me. We started talking everyday at recess time and we would share apples and oranges and I noticed that her sadness seemed to melt away. Daisy had blonde hair, and blue eyes always with a ribbon in her hair that matched her outfit. I do not know why, but I always felt happy when I saw her in the recess schoolyard, even though we were separated by Society and with a fence. My friends also were not happy to lose one of their team mates and said why are you talking to a retard? I put him in a headlock until he admitted that she was not retarded, but just special and then he went away.
One day I saw her "Special Ed" teacher talking to my regular Teacher and did not thing anything about it. At the end of the school day, my teacher at the end of classes, my stopped me and asked me why was I talking to Daisy? I said because she was sad and pretty, and nice and we were now friends. I also showed her a blue ribbon that she had given me because it was the exact color of her eyes. My Teacher said that we were in different classes and we would not see each other pretty soon. I said because of the school year ending? She said Yes. I said that is ok I am going to go over to her house and surprise her. My teacher got this real weird look and walked away. That day I stayed at school later than usual and I waited until she boarded her "special bus" to take her home. Since she lived the closest to the school, she was dropped off first, so I only had to run ten blocks. I got to her house out of breathe, just as her Mom was closing the door to their pretty little white house with a small picket hence all around the house. I held my breathe as I pushed the doorbell with its own special musical chimes. I was later told that the music was, "be it ever so simple there is no place like home."
A beautiful women came to the door, and she was the exact replica of her daughter Daisy, blue eyes and blonde hair and skin that seemed so thin and translucent. She seemed a little mad and said, "Yes, what do you want?" I said, "I am Fred" like it should have some very special meaning. Oddly enough, she said, "Oh you are Daisy's little friend?" I said, "Little? I am taller than she is?" A second later I heard Daisy call out to her Mom, "Mom, Fred is my friend, let him in." Her Mom was not happy, but she led me into Daisy's home where she was on an oxygen mask, lying on the couch, watching cartoons on television. I stopped short at the door
to the living room when I saw Daisy hooked up to machines. I said, "What is wrong with you?" All she said was I am sick and need to have oxygen before and after school and take these medicines." All I said was, "Oh, OK, I understand" But I really did not understand.
Her mother, Grace said, "I am glad that I got a chance to meet you. Daisy keeps talking about her friend Fred at school, and it has made a big difference in her since you two have become friends" I said I do not understand what you are saying?" She said, "Since Daisy has met you, she seems to be getting better?" I said, "OK, Great" So Daisy and I sat on the couch and had chocolate milk and chocolate chip cookies and all was right in the world. I started to come over to Daisy's house after school and the bus driver let me ride the bus to Daisy's house. Daisy's mom now encouraged me to come to her house as much as I wanted, because she said it made Daisy sparkle.
I asked Daisy where her Dad was, and she got a sad look on her face and said, "When I got sick he and My Mom split up?" I thought was pretty strange, but I was told never to question adults.
Well in summer, my family and I went to our Summer home in Warwick Neck, Rhode Island called Rocky Point Park. We owned the home, but leased the land. It was so big, that three of my aunts
and uncles and their children all had their own sections of the beach house. It was great. Daisy and I were allowed to talk daily. Towards the end of the Summer, Daisy had to go to the Boston Children's hospital and I did not hear from her for a week. My Mom and Dad were waiting for me when I got back from the beach and said that the three of us were going back to the city for an event and I had to put my Sunday suit on. I said without question OK.
So after I showered and put on my best Sunday suit, the three of us went to Heroux's Funeral Home only about five blocks from my house. I was accustomed to Aunt's and Uncle's that I never knew that died so this was not unusual for me. When we got out of the car, and I asked, "Mom who died? She only said, "Daisy is here?"
I said, "Great, I have not seen her all summer and have so much to tell her." She yelled for me to stop, but I just ran in and looked around to find Daisy? I then found her mother, Grace and a tall man standing next to her with a bunch of old people standing in a line. I asked Grace's mom, "Where is Daisy?" She turned her head to the right, and in a small white coffin, was Daisy, in her favorite blue dress with her gloved hands folded over her. All of the wind went out of me, and my Mom and Dad caught up with me just as I started to slide to the floor. They half held and half carried me to the thing that you kneel on before the coffin, and while my parents prayed, I took the blue ribbon that Daisy gave me, and put it across her forehead, where I kissed her good-bye. I heard her Mom yell, "Daisy" and along with just about everybody in the room they all started crying and screaming. I ran from the room and never went back into that Funeral Home again. Children of Special needs should be included and not segregated by themselves.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Tutoring at the MET School on November 20, 2014, By Fred Issa
Once again doing my Service Learning in the Inspiring Minds Program at the Met School on November 20, 2014. This weeks main occupation is to review Trimester Exhibitions that each Student must do. Today I reviewed two sophomore students give their presentations to their peer group, teachers, and staff members, as well as in front of their parents.
The first young female sophomore student to gave her presentation was home schooled until high school, so being around a lot of other students at a time was fairly new to her up until only last year. Her name is Ruth, and she just got back from the United Kingdom, where the family was on vacation, and where her Dad was born and raised. Ruth is a very busy young lady, as she takes classes in plastic welding and grinding, as well as doing an Internship in working with younger children in using clay to produce clay doves, as well as putting together plays in a local youth community center, besides coming to school four days a week. She has a good record of being in school almost every day and being on time.
While the presentation was forty minutes long and her powerpoint was basic and well done, and more than enough content and data in her documentation, she was a little nervous as this was her first time ever doing a presentation in front of an audience, she did well. If I were to make some constructive suggestions, I would tell her to initiate eye contact, as well as speak louder and slower. She did have Public Speaking, so she was more confident than any of the other students I have seen speak so far. This is definitely a girl to be going to College after high school to become a teacher.
The second young lady to give her presentation was also a first time sophomore presenter, but she did not yet have Public Speaking training yet. Her name is Naida and she gave Powerpoint and good data documentation in her presentation. Her voice was too low and I was in the last row and could not hear a lot of the presentation. She will definitely benefit from a Public Speaking course, or a very similar Carnegie Course. This young lady also loves children and will also be headed to college to become a Elementary School Teacher. I now have 25.8 hours of Service Learning at the Met, and will continue on until the end of the school semester. I like Tim Shannon's teaching style of firm but fair, and he was a gentle touch with his students in his class and in other classes as well. He does not embarrass his students, but takes them outside of viewing and hearing range of the other students and talks softly while gently admonishing them, looking to correct any negative behavior. He has a lot of patience, more like a parent than a teacher. I intend to return to the Met School next semester if there are opportunities.
Fred Issa
The first young female sophomore student to gave her presentation was home schooled until high school, so being around a lot of other students at a time was fairly new to her up until only last year. Her name is Ruth, and she just got back from the United Kingdom, where the family was on vacation, and where her Dad was born and raised. Ruth is a very busy young lady, as she takes classes in plastic welding and grinding, as well as doing an Internship in working with younger children in using clay to produce clay doves, as well as putting together plays in a local youth community center, besides coming to school four days a week. She has a good record of being in school almost every day and being on time.
While the presentation was forty minutes long and her powerpoint was basic and well done, and more than enough content and data in her documentation, she was a little nervous as this was her first time ever doing a presentation in front of an audience, she did well. If I were to make some constructive suggestions, I would tell her to initiate eye contact, as well as speak louder and slower. She did have Public Speaking, so she was more confident than any of the other students I have seen speak so far. This is definitely a girl to be going to College after high school to become a teacher.
The second young lady to give her presentation was also a first time sophomore presenter, but she did not yet have Public Speaking training yet. Her name is Naida and she gave Powerpoint and good data documentation in her presentation. Her voice was too low and I was in the last row and could not hear a lot of the presentation. She will definitely benefit from a Public Speaking course, or a very similar Carnegie Course. This young lady also loves children and will also be headed to college to become a Elementary School Teacher. I now have 25.8 hours of Service Learning at the Met, and will continue on until the end of the school semester. I like Tim Shannon's teaching style of firm but fair, and he was a gentle touch with his students in his class and in other classes as well. He does not embarrass his students, but takes them outside of viewing and hearing range of the other students and talks softly while gently admonishing them, looking to correct any negative behavior. He has a lot of patience, more like a parent than a teacher. I intend to return to the Met School next semester if there are opportunities.
Fred Issa
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route, By Jeanne Oakes
Tracking by itself is obviously discriminatory. Tracking could and would work one of two ways. Once low-ability students are identified, the process should not end there. The low-ability students should not be shuffled off away from the rest of the class, into being labelled as slow learners, but immediately resources must be applied to these students, so that they can be brought back up to the level that the rest of the class of students are currently operating at.
Once that you have "labelled" someone as low-ability and it then becomes common knowledge if and when they are moved, you have unfairly stigmatized these students among their peer groups. There may be a certain amount of teasing when this happens as kids can be cruel to one another, and may not even be aware of the harm that is caused. This was during the fifties and early sixties.
I referred to a childhood friend of mine, who had ADHD and was wrongly classified as mildly retarded. This immediately "marked" him with the neighborhood kids, and they started calling him retard. The sad thing is that while he was slightly slower in comprehension and the poor school system of Central Falls could not afford to give him one-on-one counseling, he was a pretty good athlete, and read the Daily Providence Journal from cover to cover. He was in many ways far smarter than most of the strictly book learning students and had a great memory for football statistics.
Once Dennis was "classified" and put into a class where the other kids had all kinds of physical and mental handicaps, the real damage was done. He was ashamed in front of his parents, and his grandmother who lived with his family. Worst yet, his Baby Brother Bruce went on to become the Central Falls High School Principal, and then later in Lincoln, RI, he became the School Superintendent.
Had any remedial resources been applied, life for Dennis would have been much more satisfying and he could have gone on to college, like his brother. In a poor school system like C.F., there is little or no resources, and very little pity, and very few do overs. My friend Dennis was pigeon-holed unfairly and it followed him the rest of his life. He settled into a job as a janitor in a local nearby school system, in a nearby city of North Providence, and he met a really wonderful girl and married. But because of his being wrongly "stigmatized" as slow and put into a class of very slow and handicapped Students, he decided never to have any children.
The state of Rhode Island years later took over the running of the C.F. School System and has for many years tried to right the wrongs of being wrongly classified such as Dennis. This is WHY I am very much against this type of Tracking. Left to its own devices, without the added resources required, but unavailable, the school system fails the student in a really big and damaging way. The opportunities are few and far in between once this tracking yields its results, with no way to redeem themselves and to be retested. You are pushed into a corner, and basically ignored and marginalized for life.
I know that there has to be some sore of tracking and classifying, but there must be retesting and resources made available to correct any learning deficit. I like the Team Method or Group Learning method and I see it work twice a week at the Met School. We need to replicate what the Met School is doing and change the paradigm for teaching. Fred Issa
Once that you have "labelled" someone as low-ability and it then becomes common knowledge if and when they are moved, you have unfairly stigmatized these students among their peer groups. There may be a certain amount of teasing when this happens as kids can be cruel to one another, and may not even be aware of the harm that is caused. This was during the fifties and early sixties.
I referred to a childhood friend of mine, who had ADHD and was wrongly classified as mildly retarded. This immediately "marked" him with the neighborhood kids, and they started calling him retard. The sad thing is that while he was slightly slower in comprehension and the poor school system of Central Falls could not afford to give him one-on-one counseling, he was a pretty good athlete, and read the Daily Providence Journal from cover to cover. He was in many ways far smarter than most of the strictly book learning students and had a great memory for football statistics.
Once Dennis was "classified" and put into a class where the other kids had all kinds of physical and mental handicaps, the real damage was done. He was ashamed in front of his parents, and his grandmother who lived with his family. Worst yet, his Baby Brother Bruce went on to become the Central Falls High School Principal, and then later in Lincoln, RI, he became the School Superintendent.
Had any remedial resources been applied, life for Dennis would have been much more satisfying and he could have gone on to college, like his brother. In a poor school system like C.F., there is little or no resources, and very little pity, and very few do overs. My friend Dennis was pigeon-holed unfairly and it followed him the rest of his life. He settled into a job as a janitor in a local nearby school system, in a nearby city of North Providence, and he met a really wonderful girl and married. But because of his being wrongly "stigmatized" as slow and put into a class of very slow and handicapped Students, he decided never to have any children.
The state of Rhode Island years later took over the running of the C.F. School System and has for many years tried to right the wrongs of being wrongly classified such as Dennis. This is WHY I am very much against this type of Tracking. Left to its own devices, without the added resources required, but unavailable, the school system fails the student in a really big and damaging way. The opportunities are few and far in between once this tracking yields its results, with no way to redeem themselves and to be retested. You are pushed into a corner, and basically ignored and marginalized for life.
I know that there has to be some sore of tracking and classifying, but there must be retesting and resources made available to correct any learning deficit. I like the Team Method or Group Learning method and I see it work twice a week at the Met School. We need to replicate what the Met School is doing and change the paradigm for teaching. Fred Issa
Tutoring at the MET School and Observing Student Trimester Projects on November 18, 2014
MET SCHOOL on Thursday, was a good day, as I got to see some of the Main Interests of the Students in other classes than Tim Shannon. For the reader, the Students of the Met School are required to do a Personal Project every trimester. If that was not pressure enough, your parents must be there, as well as your peer group, several Instructors and anyone else that has an interest to attend. During the interview while the Student is giving a Powerpoint Presentation, he is being graded on the content, context, delivery, quality of the presentation by all of the people listening to his / her speech.
Yesterday I was privileged to watch a young man who has been taking a Manufacturing Class at nearby Providence Campus of CCRI, where he has been taking a class twice a week on various types of welding and grinding of metals, plastics, PVC pipes, and other types of Manufacturing Processes. Not only does this person have to keep up his school grades, and the CCRI school grades, but on Fridays he was an Internship Job that may or may not pay him any money for his work. He is getting credit for his Internship Project as well as getting Early College Credit for his twice a week classes, plus the invaluable work experience that is so desired as a prerequisite before you can be employed.
I was very impressed by this young man whom we will call Jorge. His young blue-collar, working class parents were very proud and they listened to their son's presentation, as well as to praise being heaped upon Jorge by not only his Peer Group, by his Teachers, Instructors, and other Staff Members of the MET SCHOOL. I got a little teary-eyed watching the happy working class parents leaving the school a little while later, when they were wishing their son well and told him that they loved him. This is one young man who has his head on straight, staying away from the street corner and gangs of any stripe, and is headed for a successful career, and not for a life of crime and incarceration in jail.
These Personal Trimester Projects alone impressed me, not only by the immense amount of added work that is needed by the Student in attending additional training classes and getting an Internship Co-Operative position, and having to keep up his grades in various classes of the Met School as well.
If that were not impressive enough in one day, two students were preparing for their presentations by taking apart their computers to make them better? Clearly these Students are being positively engaged by their Teachers, Instructors, Resource Officers, and Staff of the Met School. Nowhere was there any discord, nowhere were any shouting or angry voices, but only the happy sound of Students from many different diverse backgrounds calling out to their friends of different races, colors, and creeds, and hugging them or giving each other high fives. How very different from the other Public High Schools in the City and the State of Rhode Island, where there is a Police Officer in every building, and fights and yelling and shouting seems to be the order of the day. It reminds me about the movie we recently viewed called, "Freedom Writers" where one first year teacher white teacher from affluent Newport Beach, California, goes to teach in a racially mixed, working-poor school system where there are four main tribes of students who cling together by ethnic origin and have nothing but hostility towards each of the "other tribes." By the end of the movie, Mrs. G has not only not written them off as losers, but took two part time jobs in order to buy reading materials from her own pocket, that they school would allow her to have for "those" students. By the end of the movie she has greatly improved their reading and comprehension scores, but have united them as a single Mrs. G's Tribe. She was also allowed to continue on as their Primary Teacher in the Junior and Senior years. The Met School reminds me of the net result of Mrs. G spending the time and her own money to make sure that her Students have a successful future, and not one of Drugs, Gang Violence, and the girls getting pregnant by age 15 or 16 years old. There seems to be no discipline problems at the Met School, only love and mutual respect of one another, to the point where everyone protects each other.
Fred Issa, 11-19-2014
Yesterday I was privileged to watch a young man who has been taking a Manufacturing Class at nearby Providence Campus of CCRI, where he has been taking a class twice a week on various types of welding and grinding of metals, plastics, PVC pipes, and other types of Manufacturing Processes. Not only does this person have to keep up his school grades, and the CCRI school grades, but on Fridays he was an Internship Job that may or may not pay him any money for his work. He is getting credit for his Internship Project as well as getting Early College Credit for his twice a week classes, plus the invaluable work experience that is so desired as a prerequisite before you can be employed.
I was very impressed by this young man whom we will call Jorge. His young blue-collar, working class parents were very proud and they listened to their son's presentation, as well as to praise being heaped upon Jorge by not only his Peer Group, by his Teachers, Instructors, and other Staff Members of the MET SCHOOL. I got a little teary-eyed watching the happy working class parents leaving the school a little while later, when they were wishing their son well and told him that they loved him. This is one young man who has his head on straight, staying away from the street corner and gangs of any stripe, and is headed for a successful career, and not for a life of crime and incarceration in jail.
These Personal Trimester Projects alone impressed me, not only by the immense amount of added work that is needed by the Student in attending additional training classes and getting an Internship Co-Operative position, and having to keep up his grades in various classes of the Met School as well.
If that were not impressive enough in one day, two students were preparing for their presentations by taking apart their computers to make them better? Clearly these Students are being positively engaged by their Teachers, Instructors, Resource Officers, and Staff of the Met School. Nowhere was there any discord, nowhere were any shouting or angry voices, but only the happy sound of Students from many different diverse backgrounds calling out to their friends of different races, colors, and creeds, and hugging them or giving each other high fives. How very different from the other Public High Schools in the City and the State of Rhode Island, where there is a Police Officer in every building, and fights and yelling and shouting seems to be the order of the day. It reminds me about the movie we recently viewed called, "Freedom Writers" where one first year teacher white teacher from affluent Newport Beach, California, goes to teach in a racially mixed, working-poor school system where there are four main tribes of students who cling together by ethnic origin and have nothing but hostility towards each of the "other tribes." By the end of the movie, Mrs. G has not only not written them off as losers, but took two part time jobs in order to buy reading materials from her own pocket, that they school would allow her to have for "those" students. By the end of the movie she has greatly improved their reading and comprehension scores, but have united them as a single Mrs. G's Tribe. She was also allowed to continue on as their Primary Teacher in the Junior and Senior years. The Met School reminds me of the net result of Mrs. G spending the time and her own money to make sure that her Students have a successful future, and not one of Drugs, Gang Violence, and the girls getting pregnant by age 15 or 16 years old. There seems to be no discipline problems at the Met School, only love and mutual respect of one another, to the point where everyone protects each other.
Fred Issa, 11-19-2014
Monday, November 17, 2014
Literacy with an ATTITUDE, Educating Working-Class Children in Their Own Self-Interest, By Patrick J Finn
I liked this article for two reasons, One) That this study reveals what I believed all along; That Teachers working within the same school district, and from the same textbook, teach Affluent Students differently from Middle-Class Students, as well as from Working-Poor Students. Two) That some teachers who have lost their Love of Teaching, revert back to Strict Discipline in classes, when they feel that they can no longer hold the interest of the majority of their classes.
I know that not every teacher can keep the enthusiasm for teaching like Hilary Swank's role in Freedom Writers. I have teachers in my own family, who are different stages of their careers. I even have a who is suffering teacher burnout, and fully recognizes that it is time to either change careers, or to just retire. When they talk at the table, they all start sharing their success stories about classes where they have achieved amazing results with working-poor students, or students from transient homes. After they have exhausted their successes, they will slowly start talking about their bitter disappointments, such as a favorite student who has come so far, to be shot in a senseless drive-by shooting or suddenly have to move away without explanation, or a gifted and talented 16 year old become pregnant and drop out of school, and not know how she later fared in life.
I like how Finn as a new teacher followed History in England over a hundred years after the printing press was invented, when it was illegal to teach people below the rank of yeoman to read the Bible. I am sure that they "thought" that they had a good reason for holding people back way back when, but this would be a criminal act against humanity if this were to be attempted today. Somehow it was considered dangerous to society to teach someone below their station in life the ability to read to keep the working classes in their place. I am glad that we are living in an age of enlightenment, where we are all obligated by law to continue our education at least up to the age of majority or 18 years old.
I enjoyed how Finn discussed how during the American Labor Movement during FDR's New Deal, that the "Labor Organizer" was the first one on the scene to help working people realize, organize, and harness, and use their power. [This was when we were also changing from an agrarian society to an Industrial one] Later, after WW II, the "Community Organizer" appeared on the scene, as the more affluent Americans fled the cities, leaving the poorest among us behind. This is when the Community Organizers started helping the working-classes adults and students see that literacy and school knowledge could be a potent weapon in their struggle for a better deal in life for them and their families. I like to compare these articles to situations in my own life with members of my family. In this case, my Mom always resented that she was a good student and liked school, but at age 16 had to quit so she could go to work in a sewing factory to help support their immigrant family of eight, of which she was part of. Similarly my Dad had to quit after the sixth grade for the same reason to help support his immigrant family seven people. Those were tough times and I asked why they never did return to school later on in life? They both answered that the war started and went from the factory into a branch of the service, and after the service got married and all quickly had families of their own. I can understand their situation during those times, My Mom was born shortly after My Grandmom got off of a ship from Sicily, on June 29, 1929, which was four months to the day before the Wall Street Crash and the beginning of the Great Depression, which some say lasted ten years, but for immigrant families lasted until World War II actually broke out. My Dad was born three years earlier, but he tried to sign up for the Draft using his older brothers birth certificate on December 8th, 1941. The recruiting officer called over the other officers at the Induction Center and said this young man is so patriotic that he has signed up for the Army twice today? They sent my Dad home after they asked why he wanted to get into the war so bad? All of my brothers have signed up and I am left at home with my baby sister. I want the fight the Japs like my three brothers. That was a different time and while I understand it, I like the times that we are living in today, specially for getting an Education at any age, not based on color, race, creed, but opportunities available for everyone.
I know that not every teacher can keep the enthusiasm for teaching like Hilary Swank's role in Freedom Writers. I have teachers in my own family, who are different stages of their careers. I even have a who is suffering teacher burnout, and fully recognizes that it is time to either change careers, or to just retire. When they talk at the table, they all start sharing their success stories about classes where they have achieved amazing results with working-poor students, or students from transient homes. After they have exhausted their successes, they will slowly start talking about their bitter disappointments, such as a favorite student who has come so far, to be shot in a senseless drive-by shooting or suddenly have to move away without explanation, or a gifted and talented 16 year old become pregnant and drop out of school, and not know how she later fared in life.
I like how Finn as a new teacher followed History in England over a hundred years after the printing press was invented, when it was illegal to teach people below the rank of yeoman to read the Bible. I am sure that they "thought" that they had a good reason for holding people back way back when, but this would be a criminal act against humanity if this were to be attempted today. Somehow it was considered dangerous to society to teach someone below their station in life the ability to read to keep the working classes in their place. I am glad that we are living in an age of enlightenment, where we are all obligated by law to continue our education at least up to the age of majority or 18 years old.
I enjoyed how Finn discussed how during the American Labor Movement during FDR's New Deal, that the "Labor Organizer" was the first one on the scene to help working people realize, organize, and harness, and use their power. [This was when we were also changing from an agrarian society to an Industrial one] Later, after WW II, the "Community Organizer" appeared on the scene, as the more affluent Americans fled the cities, leaving the poorest among us behind. This is when the Community Organizers started helping the working-classes adults and students see that literacy and school knowledge could be a potent weapon in their struggle for a better deal in life for them and their families. I like to compare these articles to situations in my own life with members of my family. In this case, my Mom always resented that she was a good student and liked school, but at age 16 had to quit so she could go to work in a sewing factory to help support their immigrant family of eight, of which she was part of. Similarly my Dad had to quit after the sixth grade for the same reason to help support his immigrant family seven people. Those were tough times and I asked why they never did return to school later on in life? They both answered that the war started and went from the factory into a branch of the service, and after the service got married and all quickly had families of their own. I can understand their situation during those times, My Mom was born shortly after My Grandmom got off of a ship from Sicily, on June 29, 1929, which was four months to the day before the Wall Street Crash and the beginning of the Great Depression, which some say lasted ten years, but for immigrant families lasted until World War II actually broke out. My Dad was born three years earlier, but he tried to sign up for the Draft using his older brothers birth certificate on December 8th, 1941. The recruiting officer called over the other officers at the Induction Center and said this young man is so patriotic that he has signed up for the Army twice today? They sent my Dad home after they asked why he wanted to get into the war so bad? All of my brothers have signed up and I am left at home with my baby sister. I want the fight the Japs like my three brothers. That was a different time and while I understand it, I like the times that we are living in today, specially for getting an Education at any age, not based on color, race, creed, but opportunities available for everyone.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Becoming something diferent: Learning from Esme, By Colleen M. Fairbanks, Penny Mason Crooks, and Mary Arial
I think that this case study of Esme Martinez, a Spanish-speaking Latina, being studied from the sixth grade to the eleventh grade, is a good opportunity to see the unequal system of evaluations that exist in the same school system, and the unequal way in which Esme is classified within this same system.
Let us start with how in the sixth grade, Esme had academic difficulties in her studies as a result of inadequate academic help. She further talks about social and academic changes in which she starts to develop a new set of friends in a new environment, having lost most of her support system who had helped both socially and in her school work. By her own words, she felt like she was more American and less Mexican, which was her parents cultural identity. What is key in her learning is the not so much consistent level of practices that varied from one grade / school to another. I think this is a Key Area of the problem, the apparent inconsistency in dealing with students from one grade to the next higher grade in a different school but in the same system, and it seemed to be a systemic problem with latina students in the district according to the three authors of the article.
Truthfully, much of this article is written in Educationese, and not easily digestible. It reads like a typical case study and then evolves into a Scientific Jargonese. I graduated Cum Laude and Honors Program from BCC and still had trouble understanding parts of this article. One issue was clearly written that English Learning Students and bilingual students, were pushed away from mainstream of learning based on the misconceptions of these students real needs. It further stated that at the intersection of language, literacy, and school practices is especially salient for ELLS. This, to me is deeply troubling and definitely shows a systemic failure of a school system to properly adapt to the specific needs of a large part of our school students needs. This reminds me of the movie that we viewed in class, called Freedom Writers, in that the school system was guilty of writing off an entire segment of the working-poor part of the Latino, Asian, African-American population saying that most of them will not even make it to graduation. These kids have no chance of being successful adults if we "write them off" as students when we do not even try to help them with their problems.
Let us start with how in the sixth grade, Esme had academic difficulties in her studies as a result of inadequate academic help. She further talks about social and academic changes in which she starts to develop a new set of friends in a new environment, having lost most of her support system who had helped both socially and in her school work. By her own words, she felt like she was more American and less Mexican, which was her parents cultural identity. What is key in her learning is the not so much consistent level of practices that varied from one grade / school to another. I think this is a Key Area of the problem, the apparent inconsistency in dealing with students from one grade to the next higher grade in a different school but in the same system, and it seemed to be a systemic problem with latina students in the district according to the three authors of the article.
Truthfully, much of this article is written in Educationese, and not easily digestible. It reads like a typical case study and then evolves into a Scientific Jargonese. I graduated Cum Laude and Honors Program from BCC and still had trouble understanding parts of this article. One issue was clearly written that English Learning Students and bilingual students, were pushed away from mainstream of learning based on the misconceptions of these students real needs. It further stated that at the intersection of language, literacy, and school practices is especially salient for ELLS. This, to me is deeply troubling and definitely shows a systemic failure of a school system to properly adapt to the specific needs of a large part of our school students needs. This reminds me of the movie that we viewed in class, called Freedom Writers, in that the school system was guilty of writing off an entire segment of the working-poor part of the Latino, Asian, African-American population saying that most of them will not even make it to graduation. These kids have no chance of being successful adults if we "write them off" as students when we do not even try to help them with their problems.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning, By Joesph Kahne & Joel Westheimer
This paper was not the usual type of Educational Learning that we have become accustomed to in this class, but still just as important in its message and content. In the opening message the question is asked, "In the service of what?" this is an issue that does merit the attention of teachers, policy makers, and academics, who take seriously the idea that learning and service reinforce each other and should come together in America's schools, as suggested by the authors of this article.
To begin with, I like how first we defined the three type of service learning;
A] Community Service - when you do something it makes you feel good.
B] Service Learning - applying academic learning to the real world
C] Advocacy - The highest level of Community Service.
I personally have engaged in Community Service in several areas;
A] On every Earth Day, I work with other volunteers and clean up parks,
river banks, and anywhere else we need to clean up trash and discarded tires.
C] I work with different Veteran's groups, both with time and money on a
regular basis. I attend and financially support all of their efforts with one of my
brothers, Senator Dan Issa, both Wounded Warriors, Operation Stand Down.
We do this, in part, to give back to the organizations that helped my nephew
who came back in 2004 from Iraq, where he served with the 115th Military
Police, and had one of the worst cases of PTSD that they had ever seen.
B] Now in class and from our Inspiring Minds tutoring, we are learning about
the third type of Service Learning, in that we apply the lessons in class and
from our readings and discussions on applying this academic knowledge into
the real day by day world. Since we are volunteering our time, it not only makes
us all feel good about ourselves, but pays us back in real life experiences with
the students that we are tutoring and interacting with. I agree that this is the top
level of the three types Service. I have enjoyed and learned more than I taught.
The Moral, Political, and Intellectual Domain
Just as the difference between change and charity may provide an important conceptual
distinction for those analyzing service learning curricula, it is helpful to distinguish the moral, political, and intellectual goals that motivate those who support service learning. Those goals below;
MORAL POLITICAL INTELLECTUAL
CHARITY GIVING CIVIC DUTY ADDITIVE EXPERIENCE
CHANGE CARING SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TRANSFORMATIVE
EXPERIENCE
========================================================================
The above Moral shown differentiates between the two types of relationships. Giving, which is charity is simply the donation of money. I personally give to Crossroads, St. Jude's for Children, Disables American Veteran's, MS, and several others due to distance from their headquarters and events.
The second type shown is caring; in where the relationships that you form are closer, as you are not just writing a check, but giving a more important commodity; your time and your heart. I have done various Walks for Cancer, Bike Rides, and helped man the Exhibits for 5K Runs for Events. This is the most important thing that you can do. With me it is all about the Veteran's. I have seen it in my own Family and it affected me deeply. Now I both donate money for these causes and if locally held I will also attend and help out in the various booths. This has impacted me deeply until the day I die.
Under Political, I actually quit going to Bryant College in 1974, in order to help run the campaign of
my political science professor, Vincent "Buddy" Cianci. This was not based on any real "caring" but in a selfish motivation to see someone get elected whom I believed in and knew would transform the beaten down city landscape into a Renaissance City. We succeeded and I got a job as Special Assistant to the Mayor. But my motives were both civic and selfish, and not charity or caring. It is very interesting that the same person is running for mayor again, but for my own selfish reasons, this time I chose to sit this one out.
To begin with, I like how first we defined the three type of service learning;
A] Community Service - when you do something it makes you feel good.
B] Service Learning - applying academic learning to the real world
C] Advocacy - The highest level of Community Service.
I personally have engaged in Community Service in several areas;
A] On every Earth Day, I work with other volunteers and clean up parks,
river banks, and anywhere else we need to clean up trash and discarded tires.
C] I work with different Veteran's groups, both with time and money on a
regular basis. I attend and financially support all of their efforts with one of my
brothers, Senator Dan Issa, both Wounded Warriors, Operation Stand Down.
We do this, in part, to give back to the organizations that helped my nephew
who came back in 2004 from Iraq, where he served with the 115th Military
Police, and had one of the worst cases of PTSD that they had ever seen.
B] Now in class and from our Inspiring Minds tutoring, we are learning about
the third type of Service Learning, in that we apply the lessons in class and
from our readings and discussions on applying this academic knowledge into
the real day by day world. Since we are volunteering our time, it not only makes
us all feel good about ourselves, but pays us back in real life experiences with
the students that we are tutoring and interacting with. I agree that this is the top
level of the three types Service. I have enjoyed and learned more than I taught.
The Moral, Political, and Intellectual Domain
Just as the difference between change and charity may provide an important conceptual
distinction for those analyzing service learning curricula, it is helpful to distinguish the moral, political, and intellectual goals that motivate those who support service learning. Those goals below;
MORAL POLITICAL INTELLECTUAL
CHARITY GIVING CIVIC DUTY ADDITIVE EXPERIENCE
CHANGE CARING SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TRANSFORMATIVE
EXPERIENCE
========================================================================
The above Moral shown differentiates between the two types of relationships. Giving, which is charity is simply the donation of money. I personally give to Crossroads, St. Jude's for Children, Disables American Veteran's, MS, and several others due to distance from their headquarters and events.
The second type shown is caring; in where the relationships that you form are closer, as you are not just writing a check, but giving a more important commodity; your time and your heart. I have done various Walks for Cancer, Bike Rides, and helped man the Exhibits for 5K Runs for Events. This is the most important thing that you can do. With me it is all about the Veteran's. I have seen it in my own Family and it affected me deeply. Now I both donate money for these causes and if locally held I will also attend and help out in the various booths. This has impacted me deeply until the day I die.
Under Political, I actually quit going to Bryant College in 1974, in order to help run the campaign of
my political science professor, Vincent "Buddy" Cianci. This was not based on any real "caring" but in a selfish motivation to see someone get elected whom I believed in and knew would transform the beaten down city landscape into a Renaissance City. We succeeded and I got a job as Special Assistant to the Mayor. But my motives were both civic and selfish, and not charity or caring. It is very interesting that the same person is running for mayor again, but for my own selfish reasons, this time I chose to sit this one out.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Talking Points on Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us, By Linda Christensen
I have long wondered about the impact on children by cartoons. It never dawned on me growing up
as I was a Saturday Morning cartoon addict. My brothers and I would make a pact that whomever
woke up first would wake up the other two, and try not to wake up our hardworking parents. Mom was good-natured about us getting up early, but Dad was like a bear awoken early from hibernation.
Anyways, the author is spot on in her message that their message is one of racism, whether it is intentional or unintentional. I can remember not only the cartoons which were obvious, but also the Cowboy and Indian shows. The Lone Ranger apparently had the only good indian in the entire country at his side? Tonto who rode with the Lone Ranger seemed to help him kill his own people. If that is not out and out racism I do not know what is. It is not until we grow up and read about how the American Indians welcomed the Pilgrims and Puritans and all other white men and told these new settlers that there was plenty of land, fish, and game to sustain both of their people. The Plymouth tribes even helped the new settlers survive the first winter, when they would have otherwise starved. How did we pay them back? We almost totally killed off their various tribes and drove them off of their land. While I have gotten off target, you can see where I am going with this, from the cartoons that show the Indians are bad and the white man is good. All of the other cowboy shows had the same racist theme running through it, and we were none the wiser until we grew up.
Further; I agree with Dorfman, when he said that children receive a "secret education" in the media. I can remember that it seemed that these stories did more than entertain, but seemed to project a certain image as to how we should act to always be the hero, how women should look, and that they were the weaker of the species and that males had to rescue them from some bad people, which we the hero had to destroy. It is odd that this may have been the first time that we were encouraged to develop a racist attitude against indians or guys wearing black hats, which was a dead giveaway. Dorfman is also right when it seems that we were being told as how to dress, act, and whom to conquer. We were being manipulated and did not even know it.
I remember one incident when we were watching some show from an ancient fable, which portrayed people in Arab clothes, and my baby brother started crying. I looked at him and he said that we were half Syrian and they were being portrayed as the bad guys and he did not want to be the bad people. My Mom had to come in and say something to calm him down, and said that these people were not Catholic, but were from some "other religion" and did not believe in our God. He asked her how can you tell. She said the people who wear these robes were the ones who drove the Catholics out of the Middle East, and that was why you did not see any of the Catholics. She showed us a picture of her Grandmother and Grandfather from our Dad's side of the family dressed up in their Sunday Best and on-board a ship ready to sail to the United States. It was at this point that I started to question the love that I had for our Saturday morning cartoons.
It is the same way with children's books, where we thing that we are being told an entertaining little story, but in reality we are being manipulated into how we should act towards other groups racially. I had a African-American friend Gerald, and he and I used to walk to school together and I would share my lunch with him. Poor Gerald had no Dad at home and he was very poor. My Mom would let me give him and his family the old clothes of myself and my brothers. I remember that he and I were watching television in our home and it portrayed some people of color as the bad people. Gerald just sat there looking ashamed until he said, "I guess that he why my Daddy is in jail? We all be bad." My Mom always listening nearby came into the room and said, "Gerald, this is just a story, and not real. your people are not bad, you have not been given the same opportunity as other people." I had no idea what my Mom meant at the time, but I loved her for it. This is exactly what Dorfman and others were stating when they talked about young minds being manipulated by this and similar media. Years later, a Race Riot broke out in in Pawtucket at a Downtown Block Party, as we were coming out of the Ice Skating Rink and somehow my friends and I found ourselves surrounded by angry black people about to start tearing us apart. All I heard was a voice that said, Fred, what have you gotten yourself into now?' I turned and saw Gerald, who lead us out of the angry crown and said "get out of here now." I never saw him again and that was about fifty years ago. I never even thanked him.
The part about Charting Stereotypes is so blatant and obvious now, but we were clueless then. Who plays the lead in the story? White men. Who plays the bad person? Black people or indians or the Mexicans. Even beauty is manipulated and portrayed here as someone being good and in the right, while someone who is old or ugly is portrayed as being evil or bad. Even Indians in Looney-Tunes are depicted as being inferior human beings. Fat women were never the main characters of the story, nor were they good. The good characters of the story, men or women are always shapely, handsome, with sex appeal, with teeth so white as to have just come from a dentists office. The bad people were always dirty, in black, fat, with bad teeth and a bad attitude, trying to take advantage of the good white women. I am just surprised that no one at the time ever spoke up against this type of racism.
I liked the Black Cinderella story better than the original Cinderella Story, more for content and context, as well as for originality. Growing up I remember my little female relatives all had white dolls with blonde hair and blue eyes. Which by itself is interesting because most of both sides of my family had brown or black hair and brown eyes, and a very few like my grandmother had blonde hair and blue eyes. I once asked my Mom's Mom how come she had different colored hair and eyes then the rest of us? She said Sicily had many conquerer's and masters during its long history, like Italy. At the time I did not know what this meant, but years later I read about what she meant about the various invaders from many nations. The point of this story is that even the dolls were all white and had fair features. It was many years later that someone who was enlightened enough to realize a wide open market existed for dolls other than white. Maybe it was Hasbro, with the G.I. Joe doll series.
Taking Action. If we are all going to be level-headed teachers regardless of our color, race, creed, or sexual choices, we must present ourselves as not buying into these racial stereotypes and myths about others not being as good or smart as the white race. If we see something in books that speaks of a racial bias, or in some way putting down any other races, then we need to act. We need to point it out to our students, and explain "in detail" the error of the author in portraying people as they did. Further, we need to take it up with the principles, and point out that this book may not be appropriate for our students. If nothing else, we need to make sure to expose the myth of racial stereotypes in this book or article. Then at least we have taken the right road, and hope to further enlighten our students.
I have long wondered about the impact on children by cartoons. It never dawned on me growing up
as I was a Saturday Morning cartoon addict. My brothers and I would make a pact that whomever
woke up first would wake up the other two, and try not to wake up our hardworking parents. Mom was good-natured about us getting up early, but Dad was like a bear awoken early from hibernation.
Anyways, the author is spot on in her message that their message is one of racism, whether it is intentional or unintentional. I can remember not only the cartoons which were obvious, but also the Cowboy and Indian shows. The Lone Ranger apparently had the only good indian in the entire country at his side? Tonto who rode with the Lone Ranger seemed to help him kill his own people. If that is not out and out racism I do not know what is. It is not until we grow up and read about how the American Indians welcomed the Pilgrims and Puritans and all other white men and told these new settlers that there was plenty of land, fish, and game to sustain both of their people. The Plymouth tribes even helped the new settlers survive the first winter, when they would have otherwise starved. How did we pay them back? We almost totally killed off their various tribes and drove them off of their land. While I have gotten off target, you can see where I am going with this, from the cartoons that show the Indians are bad and the white man is good. All of the other cowboy shows had the same racist theme running through it, and we were none the wiser until we grew up.
Further; I agree with Dorfman, when he said that children receive a "secret education" in the media. I can remember that it seemed that these stories did more than entertain, but seemed to project a certain image as to how we should act to always be the hero, how women should look, and that they were the weaker of the species and that males had to rescue them from some bad people, which we the hero had to destroy. It is odd that this may have been the first time that we were encouraged to develop a racist attitude against indians or guys wearing black hats, which was a dead giveaway. Dorfman is also right when it seems that we were being told as how to dress, act, and whom to conquer. We were being manipulated and did not even know it.
I remember one incident when we were watching some show from an ancient fable, which portrayed people in Arab clothes, and my baby brother started crying. I looked at him and he said that we were half Syrian and they were being portrayed as the bad guys and he did not want to be the bad people. My Mom had to come in and say something to calm him down, and said that these people were not Catholic, but were from some "other religion" and did not believe in our God. He asked her how can you tell. She said the people who wear these robes were the ones who drove the Catholics out of the Middle East, and that was why you did not see any of the Catholics. She showed us a picture of her Grandmother and Grandfather from our Dad's side of the family dressed up in their Sunday Best and on-board a ship ready to sail to the United States. It was at this point that I started to question the love that I had for our Saturday morning cartoons.
It is the same way with children's books, where we thing that we are being told an entertaining little story, but in reality we are being manipulated into how we should act towards other groups racially. I had a African-American friend Gerald, and he and I used to walk to school together and I would share my lunch with him. Poor Gerald had no Dad at home and he was very poor. My Mom would let me give him and his family the old clothes of myself and my brothers. I remember that he and I were watching television in our home and it portrayed some people of color as the bad people. Gerald just sat there looking ashamed until he said, "I guess that he why my Daddy is in jail? We all be bad." My Mom always listening nearby came into the room and said, "Gerald, this is just a story, and not real. your people are not bad, you have not been given the same opportunity as other people." I had no idea what my Mom meant at the time, but I loved her for it. This is exactly what Dorfman and others were stating when they talked about young minds being manipulated by this and similar media. Years later, a Race Riot broke out in in Pawtucket at a Downtown Block Party, as we were coming out of the Ice Skating Rink and somehow my friends and I found ourselves surrounded by angry black people about to start tearing us apart. All I heard was a voice that said, Fred, what have you gotten yourself into now?' I turned and saw Gerald, who lead us out of the angry crown and said "get out of here now." I never saw him again and that was about fifty years ago. I never even thanked him.
The part about Charting Stereotypes is so blatant and obvious now, but we were clueless then. Who plays the lead in the story? White men. Who plays the bad person? Black people or indians or the Mexicans. Even beauty is manipulated and portrayed here as someone being good and in the right, while someone who is old or ugly is portrayed as being evil or bad. Even Indians in Looney-Tunes are depicted as being inferior human beings. Fat women were never the main characters of the story, nor were they good. The good characters of the story, men or women are always shapely, handsome, with sex appeal, with teeth so white as to have just come from a dentists office. The bad people were always dirty, in black, fat, with bad teeth and a bad attitude, trying to take advantage of the good white women. I am just surprised that no one at the time ever spoke up against this type of racism.
I liked the Black Cinderella story better than the original Cinderella Story, more for content and context, as well as for originality. Growing up I remember my little female relatives all had white dolls with blonde hair and blue eyes. Which by itself is interesting because most of both sides of my family had brown or black hair and brown eyes, and a very few like my grandmother had blonde hair and blue eyes. I once asked my Mom's Mom how come she had different colored hair and eyes then the rest of us? She said Sicily had many conquerer's and masters during its long history, like Italy. At the time I did not know what this meant, but years later I read about what she meant about the various invaders from many nations. The point of this story is that even the dolls were all white and had fair features. It was many years later that someone who was enlightened enough to realize a wide open market existed for dolls other than white. Maybe it was Hasbro, with the G.I. Joe doll series.
Taking Action. If we are all going to be level-headed teachers regardless of our color, race, creed, or sexual choices, we must present ourselves as not buying into these racial stereotypes and myths about others not being as good or smart as the white race. If we see something in books that speaks of a racial bias, or in some way putting down any other races, then we need to act. We need to point it out to our students, and explain "in detail" the error of the author in portraying people as they did. Further, we need to take it up with the principles, and point out that this book may not be appropriate for our students. If nothing else, we need to make sure to expose the myth of racial stereotypes in this book or article. Then at least we have taken the right road, and hope to further enlighten our students.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Speaking the Unspeakable.......In forbidden places..........
Talking Points on Speaking the unspeakable in forbidden places: addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality in the primary school.
First I have to say to say that this really "blew me away." Once I got through the education-speak, I was able to decipher what was being done. I liked how they reintroduced the concept of Cinderella, with the story that I have never heard before of the "The Paper Bag Princess."
I feel that when difficult issues come up, the UK seems to find a way to take them on appropriately. In the new version of Cinderella, the kids are initially happy by the initial rejection of Prince Charming, by Cinderella, but did not understand why Cinderella would reject the wearing of beautiful dresses. I find that the kids may be reacting to Cinderella taking an antiestablishment line, when all of the kids have probably heard this story a hundred times. But none of the kids could understand why anyone would reject wearing nice clothes.
In the following exercise where the kids were asked, What advice would you give if you were the Paper Bag Princess to Cinderella? I found that the kids seemed to reject the concept of homosexuality and come up with "other reasons" why the Prince might not want to marry Cinderella. But came up with other reasons instead, like wanting to remain single, or avoid gold-diggers.
In the King and King, it seemed a similar reasoning. At the end of the story the Prince married another Prince, but all but 2 kids seemed to accept the outcome, but when the term lesbians was mentioned the kids seemed to laugh and say, Yuk? I liked the point at which hot-seated Cindy, by asking are you really Gay?
I do not know about others feelings, but mine are if you can not accept people from different sexual choices, than maybe you should not be a teacher. It must have been very hard for gays and lesbians during the sixties to express themselves. Coming out of the closet could not have been easy.
In the Central Falls High School we had two guys that were known to be gay. They were excused from some of the all guy activities. One guys name was Brian and he was huge, so no one picked on him. The other guy was Eddie and he was very feminine and unfortunately attracted bullies. Eddie was a straight A student and later on went on to become a doctor out-of-state. I think that the Bullying took its toll. Both of the Guys mentioned were one and two years ahead of me, but I would have not treated them any different then or now?
Our society has become both more and less tolerant. By more tolerant, I mean the courts have finally allowed people to marry the people that they love without fear of discrimination, or fear of reprisal. On the less tolerant side, we are still seeing some Gay Bashing of both men and women by people who must hate themselves if they can not accept people as they are, and not as they think that they should be.
I feel that our current Political and Societal feelings are more of general acceptance then ever before, not just based on legal decisions, but also based on people should be allowed to be protected when they chose to marry whatever partner they want and have the same legal protection under marriage as anyone else. We have openly gay and lesbian people holding public office and doing a damn fine job.
For myself, I had to explain to my 9 year old Grand daughter Ava, about people that were gay when I took her to the beach and two girls were kissing. I thought I did a pretty good job because her Mom called me later and thanked me for having to explain it to her.
This was an impressive study / experiment and only by continuing to do so will we be able to move further ahead as an enlightened society.
First I have to say to say that this really "blew me away." Once I got through the education-speak, I was able to decipher what was being done. I liked how they reintroduced the concept of Cinderella, with the story that I have never heard before of the "The Paper Bag Princess."
I feel that when difficult issues come up, the UK seems to find a way to take them on appropriately. In the new version of Cinderella, the kids are initially happy by the initial rejection of Prince Charming, by Cinderella, but did not understand why Cinderella would reject the wearing of beautiful dresses. I find that the kids may be reacting to Cinderella taking an antiestablishment line, when all of the kids have probably heard this story a hundred times. But none of the kids could understand why anyone would reject wearing nice clothes.
In the following exercise where the kids were asked, What advice would you give if you were the Paper Bag Princess to Cinderella? I found that the kids seemed to reject the concept of homosexuality and come up with "other reasons" why the Prince might not want to marry Cinderella. But came up with other reasons instead, like wanting to remain single, or avoid gold-diggers.
In the King and King, it seemed a similar reasoning. At the end of the story the Prince married another Prince, but all but 2 kids seemed to accept the outcome, but when the term lesbians was mentioned the kids seemed to laugh and say, Yuk? I liked the point at which hot-seated Cindy, by asking are you really Gay?
I do not know about others feelings, but mine are if you can not accept people from different sexual choices, than maybe you should not be a teacher. It must have been very hard for gays and lesbians during the sixties to express themselves. Coming out of the closet could not have been easy.
In the Central Falls High School we had two guys that were known to be gay. They were excused from some of the all guy activities. One guys name was Brian and he was huge, so no one picked on him. The other guy was Eddie and he was very feminine and unfortunately attracted bullies. Eddie was a straight A student and later on went on to become a doctor out-of-state. I think that the Bullying took its toll. Both of the Guys mentioned were one and two years ahead of me, but I would have not treated them any different then or now?
Our society has become both more and less tolerant. By more tolerant, I mean the courts have finally allowed people to marry the people that they love without fear of discrimination, or fear of reprisal. On the less tolerant side, we are still seeing some Gay Bashing of both men and women by people who must hate themselves if they can not accept people as they are, and not as they think that they should be.
I feel that our current Political and Societal feelings are more of general acceptance then ever before, not just based on legal decisions, but also based on people should be allowed to be protected when they chose to marry whatever partner they want and have the same legal protection under marriage as anyone else. We have openly gay and lesbian people holding public office and doing a damn fine job.
For myself, I had to explain to my 9 year old Grand daughter Ava, about people that were gay when I took her to the beach and two girls were kissing. I thought I did a pretty good job because her Mom called me later and thanked me for having to explain it to her.
This was an impressive study / experiment and only by continuing to do so will we be able to move further ahead as an enlightened society.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Orientation on October 3rd, 2014 at the MET School
Yesterday, I had my first opportunity to visit the MET School at 325 Public Street. Although I have heard a lot about the school and its Open Learning Programs, I had never had the chance to visit it.
First Impressions were very good with the quality of the open style of the buildings, upkeep and the maintenance of the grounds, and in general a peaceful learning environment right in the middle of an area that is challenged by economic and social issues. The lack of graffiti alone spoke volumes of the love of the school by its students. I have not seen any public or private school go through its lifetime without the usual senseless and destructive tagging by its students or outsiders in the neighborhood. We were served a quick lunch which was made by the students and staff of the MET, and not only was it tasty, but healthy as well.
Meeting Dennis the founder was itself an experience of almost going back through the sixties in manner of dress and language. I was extremely impressed by the man and by his message of education. His message really had an immediate impact upon me when he said that, "We build our education around the Individual Students." I think that Public School Educators should take a lesson from him. He referred to the Traditional Method of Education where you have an educational structure and then mold the students around the process. This is what I went through, and it was repressive, authoritarian, and more bent on discipline then on being a center for Open Education and Learning. Dennis'es message is more like an education built upon the strengths and weaknesses of the Individual Students, and not like forcing a round peg into an educational system built more like a square hole.
While my brothers and I made it out of the Central Falls School System alive, their were times when I asked the question, "Am I failing the School System, or is it failing to properly educate me?" I graduated with a B average because I rarely missed any classes, and my memory was pretty good. But even back then with a Principle that demanded that you conform to his Educational System or be run over by a cement truck, which he kind of resembled. All three of us have been successful in life if you measure it by the quality of our character, and willingness to give back to the community in time and in financial support. Measuring by the old method of success by accumulating wealth was not our primary goal in life, but we achieved that too.
I am glad that I made the choice to tutor in a Non Traditional Charter School, now that i have seen up close and personal the quality and dedication of the Teachers and its Students. Each of the Four Learning Centers is more of a close-knit family then of an Educational Learning Center. The success rate of 89% graduates and 11% drop-outs speaks for itself. I will have more to speak about in the coming semester year, but I wanted to share my first impressions with my fellow future teachers. So far there is Shay and myself from our FNED-346 Class, but there is another orientation with others from this same class. All in all I am excited and looking forward to learn and participate in this coming years tutoring in the Met School in 2014.
Yesterday, I had my first opportunity to visit the MET School at 325 Public Street. Although I have heard a lot about the school and its Open Learning Programs, I had never had the chance to visit it.
First Impressions were very good with the quality of the open style of the buildings, upkeep and the maintenance of the grounds, and in general a peaceful learning environment right in the middle of an area that is challenged by economic and social issues. The lack of graffiti alone spoke volumes of the love of the school by its students. I have not seen any public or private school go through its lifetime without the usual senseless and destructive tagging by its students or outsiders in the neighborhood. We were served a quick lunch which was made by the students and staff of the MET, and not only was it tasty, but healthy as well.
Meeting Dennis the founder was itself an experience of almost going back through the sixties in manner of dress and language. I was extremely impressed by the man and by his message of education. His message really had an immediate impact upon me when he said that, "We build our education around the Individual Students." I think that Public School Educators should take a lesson from him. He referred to the Traditional Method of Education where you have an educational structure and then mold the students around the process. This is what I went through, and it was repressive, authoritarian, and more bent on discipline then on being a center for Open Education and Learning. Dennis'es message is more like an education built upon the strengths and weaknesses of the Individual Students, and not like forcing a round peg into an educational system built more like a square hole.
While my brothers and I made it out of the Central Falls School System alive, their were times when I asked the question, "Am I failing the School System, or is it failing to properly educate me?" I graduated with a B average because I rarely missed any classes, and my memory was pretty good. But even back then with a Principle that demanded that you conform to his Educational System or be run over by a cement truck, which he kind of resembled. All three of us have been successful in life if you measure it by the quality of our character, and willingness to give back to the community in time and in financial support. Measuring by the old method of success by accumulating wealth was not our primary goal in life, but we achieved that too.
I am glad that I made the choice to tutor in a Non Traditional Charter School, now that i have seen up close and personal the quality and dedication of the Teachers and its Students. Each of the Four Learning Centers is more of a close-knit family then of an Educational Learning Center. The success rate of 89% graduates and 11% drop-outs speaks for itself. I will have more to speak about in the coming semester year, but I wanted to share my first impressions with my fellow future teachers. So far there is Shay and myself from our FNED-346 Class, but there is another orientation with others from this same class. All in all I am excited and looking forward to learn and participate in this coming years tutoring in the Met School in 2014.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Talking Points AGAIN on Lisa Delpit's, The Silenced Dialogue: Power & Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children.
I have always known about discrimination against African Americans and many other minorities, even though I too could be considered one as being of Sicilian and Syrian descent. However, my skin is white and I have also seen the White Male Christian Heterosexual Privilege up close and personal, and have in some cases enjoyed and used it to my favor. However, after 911, I could NOT get a job for two years, due to the fact that my last name is the Arab equivalent in 28 countries of Smith is in the US. But I am getting off target. Lisa Delpits article opened my eyes to the fact that even after Minority Teachers get a job in a white controlled school system that they are expected to follow the accepted White Textbooks and manner of teaching. And not only African Americans, but any minority where the white establishment calls the shots on what is and what is NOT to be taught to their students. Wow. So we are NOT REALLY A FREE SOCIETY? This blew me away. Maybe I am getting into the Wrong Profession of Teaching if we can ONLY teach a single side of History? When I was in High School, they talked about General George Armstrong Custer, and how he civilized the West and how the Dakota Sioux Indians slaughtered his men. The accepted story was all that I was taught. Only much later did I learn how Custer and his men killed old men, women, and children at the Wounded Knee. I spent an entire summer reading and researching Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. I guess that I was misguided when I thought once that you complete your degree program to teach and all of the testing and background tests that I would be free to teach True History as we come across New Data and New Evidence. For example we were taught about the largest of the dinosaurs that roamed the earth? This year New Evidence in the form on two new skeletons have been found, one was a new species of land mammal, and the other is a water based mammal. Is not History supposed to be the same way? If Lisa Delpit is correct, and I know these stories are true, that the White power structure may hide the truth as it is discovered? I have to think about future choices?
ReplyDeleteI have always known about discrimination against African Americans and many other minorities, even though I too could be considered one as being of Sicilian and Syrian descent. However, my skin is white and I have also seen the White Male Christian Heterosexual Privilege up close and personal, and have in some cases enjoyed and used it to my favor. However, after 911, I could NOT get a job for two years, due to the fact that my last name is the Arab equivalent in 28 countries of Smith is in the US. But I am getting off target. Lisa Delpits article opened my eyes to the fact that even after Minority Teachers get a job in a white controlled school system that they are expected to follow the accepted White Textbooks and manner of teaching. And not only African Americans, but any minority where the white establishment calls the shots on what is and what is NOT to be taught to their students. Wow. So we are NOT REALLY A FREE SOCIETY? This blew me away. Maybe I am getting into the Wrong Profession of Teaching if we can ONLY teach a single side of History? When I was in High School, they talked about General George Armstrong Custer, and how he civilized the West and how the Dakota Sioux Indians slaughtered his men. The accepted story was all that I was taught. Only much later did I learn how Custer and his men killed old men, women, and children at the Wounded Knee. I spent an entire summer reading and researching Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. I guess that I was misguided when I thought once that you complete your degree program to teach and all of the testing and background tests that I would be free to teach True History as we come across New Data and New Evidence. For example we were taught about the largest of the dinosaurs that roamed the earth? This year New Evidence in the form on two new skeletons have been found, one was a new species of land mammal, and the other is a water based mammal. Is not History supposed to be the same way? If Lisa Delpit is correct, and I know these stories are true, that the White power structure may hide the truth as it is discovered? I have to think about future choices?
Talking Points on Kozol's Fire in the Ashes;
Both the audio and written versions of the article listed above, left this reader with a deep sense of despair. You can not but help to put yourself into the position of the people in the declining cycle of abject poverty, drug abuse, neglect, discrimination, and sexual abuse. An uncaring Governmental System which when notified publicly sought not to correct or fix the problems, but to move it out of sight and into an equal or worst environment. I come from a family where my Mom went as far as graduating from Junior High School, and being from an immigrant family of a total of eight people, had to quit school and go to work in the Garment Industry. My Dad also had to quit at the end of the 6th grade, as he was part of an immigrant family of 6 people. My Mom and Dad always worked two jobs each, so that we had our own home with a back yard and woods behind us where we could explore. Reading this article taught me how little many people had in other cities and towns.
ReplyDeleteBoth the audio and written versions of the article listed above, left this reader with a deep sense of despair. You can not but help to put yourself into the position of the people in the declining cycle of abject poverty, drug abuse, neglect, discrimination, and sexual abuse. An uncaring Governmental System which when notified publicly sought not to correct or fix the problems, but to move it out of sight and into an equal or worst environment. I come from a family where my Mom went as far as graduating from Junior High School, and being from an immigrant family of a total of eight people, had to quit school and go to work in the Garment Industry. My Dad also had to quit at the end of the 6th grade, as he was part of an immigrant family of 6 people. My Mom and Dad always worked two jobs each, so that we had our own home with a back yard and woods behind us where we could explore. Reading this article taught me how little many people had in other cities and towns.
I
really liked the honesty of Peggy McIntosh's article. In it she not
only talks about how White, Male, Privilege has put her at a
disadvantage for placement, jobs, curriculum, but she does not stop
there. She further says that she in being a White Female, that she has
an advantage over Black Females. So she does not simply point her finger
at White Male privilege, but agrees that she also causes disadvantages
for her Black Female sisters.
I also got a kick out of her confronting White Males and while initially denying their is White Male privilege, she got them to state that they would aide her in overcoming her disadvantage that they inadvertently may have caused her. That is until the perception was that they would be unwilling to give up any of their White, Male Privilege power advantages.
I liked the way the author stated that most white male students in the US think that Racism does not affect them because they are not people of color, they do not see "whiteness" as a racial identity. In addition, since race and sex are not the only advantaging system at work, we need to look at "age advantage" or "ethnic advantage"
or "physical ability" or advantages related to nationality, sexual orientation, or religion.
ReplyDeleteI also got a kick out of her confronting White Males and while initially denying their is White Male privilege, she got them to state that they would aide her in overcoming her disadvantage that they inadvertently may have caused her. That is until the perception was that they would be unwilling to give up any of their White, Male Privilege power advantages.
I liked the way the author stated that most white male students in the US think that Racism does not affect them because they are not people of color, they do not see "whiteness" as a racial identity. In addition, since race and sex are not the only advantaging system at work, we need to look at "age advantage" or "ethnic advantage"
or "physical ability" or advantages related to nationality, sexual orientation, or religion.
My
name is Fred and my hobbies are Sailing, Scuba Diving, and
Spearfishing. While I like all seasons I am first and foremost a Summer
person. I love Narragansett Bay and the Ocean. For this reason I am a
strong believer in Environmental Protection of our bay and ocean. I have
two sons, Daryll and Scott, and along with my grand daughter Ava Marie
Kathleen McGarrity Issa, they are My Life. I have been fortunate to have
traveled to 47 countries in my life for My Career. Plus I love the
Caribbean for taking my vacations. Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St Thomas,
and St Maartan.
ReplyDeleteFriday, September 19, 2014
Fred the History Teacher's New Blog
Hello,
My name is Fred, which is not really important. I have already had two careers in my life, and my first real love was to teach History. Now is my time to finally follow my long lost dream and finally get to do what I wanted to do since I left High School. I have been all over the world and have seen what beauty the world has to offer. I have also seen ugliness, poverty, and cruelty and want to change that by proper education of our young people of this country. History is something that we must learn about, because if we do not learn of the mistakes of our past, we will be doomed to repeat them.
Further, we must learn by the good things that have happened through History and repeat them.
For instance, we have some good leaders in both the History of the USA and the World, and we have had some terrible leaders like Hitler and Stalin. By studying the speeches and actions of our leaders we can see the differences from say people who inspire us like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Malcom X, JFK, RFK, FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many more.
From studying the lessons of History and Political Science, we can appreciate the necessary changes that we need to make our country better, through the teaching of the next generations as they grow up. I am talking about teaching the TRUTH, not some varnished version that we were given as children. If nothing else we need to teach the other side to the current existing version of History, namely the flip side of our known History.
My name is Fred, which is not really important. I have already had two careers in my life, and my first real love was to teach History. Now is my time to finally follow my long lost dream and finally get to do what I wanted to do since I left High School. I have been all over the world and have seen what beauty the world has to offer. I have also seen ugliness, poverty, and cruelty and want to change that by proper education of our young people of this country. History is something that we must learn about, because if we do not learn of the mistakes of our past, we will be doomed to repeat them.
Further, we must learn by the good things that have happened through History and repeat them.
For instance, we have some good leaders in both the History of the USA and the World, and we have had some terrible leaders like Hitler and Stalin. By studying the speeches and actions of our leaders we can see the differences from say people who inspire us like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Malcom X, JFK, RFK, FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many more.
From studying the lessons of History and Political Science, we can appreciate the necessary changes that we need to make our country better, through the teaching of the next generations as they grow up. I am talking about teaching the TRUTH, not some varnished version that we were given as children. If nothing else we need to teach the other side to the current existing version of History, namely the flip side of our known History.
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"Railroad track
Train all big 'n' black
On dat track, on dat track, on dat track
Ain't no way I can't get back
Back from dat track
Back from dat track
Big 'n' black I be back
I found it fascinating how he diffused his Mother's anger by creating a poem on the spot and entertaining her at the same time, while acknowledging his misdeed. Lem was able to draw on his verbal abilities he had acquired in a language community that greatly values verbal improvisation and quick thinking and which he greatly showed at a preschool age.
How about little Gabriella, a young Puerto Rican four year old. Her teacher asked a question that he had repeated in two earlier classes, "How many mittens are there? Instead of answering the question, Gabriella chose to turn to an adult next to her and say, "Why can't she remember that?" Rather than Gabriella answering the question, she was piqued when she assumed that the teacher was asking the class because the teacher could not remember the answer? Of course because Gabriella did not answer the teacher, the teacher would have wrongly assumed that the child did not know the answer. This is definitely cause for reflection. This particular child had a history of not answering the questions of the teacher. Gabriella, who came to school with little experience of books, book reading was not shaping up to be a very pleasurable or intellectually stimulating activity, these students tend to become unruly and call out. This is not behavior that the teacher approves, but one that the teachers should try and rectify.
I liked the case of Colette, a five year old Haitian girl who was homeless and lived in a homeless shelter with her Mother. This child became engaged with the rest of the children in class, when the teacher brought in a new book called, "Leola and the Honeybears." This is an African American of Goldilocks and the three bears. Colette would happily and excitedly point to one of the illustrations in the book and say, "That's me." She identified with the main character in the book and as a result became fully engaged in the discussions of the book. Not only did she like the book, but also enjoyed the retelling of it over and over again. Laughing delightedly little Colette, would say, while paraphrasing the main character in the book, "But I don't think she would mind this time?" Children connect with books when there is either a central character that may bear a strong resemblance to them, or to someone or something in the book. Once this connection is made. The rest is easier to do.
Further,