This past weekend I went home to NY for my friend Sam’s birthday. My friends and I decided that we were going to something different for Sam’s birthday. We decided we were going to take her into the City for dinner. We found this place called Lips, it’s located in the heart of the west village. This wasn’t just some ordinary restaurant it was a Drag restaurant. The idea just seemed fun. I never would have thought I would be able to make this my diversity event until we sat down to eat. When we arrived at Lips we were seated and it just seemed like any restaurant in the city. I was nice, colorful, and looked like a really awesome place. Our waitress came over and asked us what we wanted to eat and we all ordered. Next thing we knew, lights dimmed down music came on and was fun and energetic and then the Drags came out, they were walking around, dancing and singing. It was awesome. All of a sudden My FNED class popped in my head and I thought this would be a great event to write about.
All of a sudden thoughts were just running through my mind, the type of thoughts that we would probably discuss in class. I was wondering if a man dresses like a women or vice versa which would they prefer to be called, the sex they were born, or the sex they dress up as. I also thought of the “codes of power”, and how I was unfamiliar with the codes of being gay or transgender. I was the minority in this event. This definitely was a Delpit moment for me. So while I was analyzing the performance my friends were like “Nik.. What are you doing come dance with us”, of course I told them to hold on because I was really into picking apart the show. I also thought, what if I was gay or transgender?, how would my friends and family react?, what would they call me?, would they treat me any different?, what would I be like?, how would I dress?, how would I act and talk? My mind was swarming with questions. I honestly just felt like asking one of the performers if I could interview them I was so amazed and curious.
I decided to stop analyzing everything for a little while and go enjoy my friend’s birthday with her. So I got up and danced and some of the drags came over and danced with us. It was a lot of fun. Then the song Beautiful by Christina Aguilera came on and we all lined up put our arms around each other and sang it with all of the Drags. The lyrics are so true in that song, “You are beautiful no matter what they say, Words can't bring you down, you are beautiful in every single way, yes, words can't bring you down”. I feel that everybody has the right to chose who and what they want to be and who is anyone to say anything about it. The men that were dressed as women really were beautiful and you couldn’t even tell that they were men. That’s the amazing part in this whole thing for me you, you don’t know and you don’t judge but the min you find out there different and actually men people start to judge, it’s like why.. You accepted them when you had no idea now you know something and you have a lot to say, REDICULOUSE! The performers were so fun and energetic but then I thought maybe that how they are here because people come her knowing what to expect, but what about on the outside of work, I wondered how they felt. Did they feel lesser of themselves outside of work or proud to be who they are. All I know is that these people were friendly and kind and accepting of me being straight, so all I knew was that I was accepting of them being who they are as a transgender.
Being gay or transgender really doesn’t bother me. I honestly have no problem excepting people for who they are or what they look like. I feel that we are all the same no matter what and that people should respect everyone, everyone has a heart just if their views or values or morals are any different.. it doesn’t make them any different
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Citizenship In School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome
By: Christopher Kliewer
Authors Argument:
Kliewer is arguing that people with disabilities, Down Syndrome especially should not be cast away from the average student in school settings. They should be able to learn at the same level as the other students who do not have disabilities because it alters their learning and deprives them from the full academic experience.
Quotes:
1) "It's about all of us working together, playing together, being together, and that's what learning is. Don't tell me any of these kids are being set up to fail."
I picked this quote because I have felt very strongly for awhile of why special education students are shunned off. They are usually put into their own wing of the building interacting with the same people all the time and through much of their academic career. Life is really no like that, there isn't a bubble to protect them always. If we are trying to involve handicapped people in every day life and want to make it normal, their should be equal involvement in the other classrooms. Students should be together, if special help is needed then that is understandable, but segregating them is not doing anything but teaching more and more that they are different so they don't belong.
2) "They didn't think it was realistic, that she could handle it, that she could handle the job. Here they have her educating America's future, but they're scare to let her work at a movie place."This just shows because a person has special needs or has some handicaps does not mean they are going to sit on a couch for the rest of their lives waiting for people to wait on them hand and foot. These people have brains, and talents, and understandings of the world and how things work. I love the fact that someone with special needs can come back and show up by teaching when they doubted their abilities to work at a movie store. Goes to show to never underestimate people.
3) "Don't think, she said, 'that those special needs kids drain anything. That class would not be half what it is if any one of those kids got segregated. We are all in this together.'"I hope that my classroom when I become a teacher is like this. I feel that special needs children being so much more, more innocence, imagination, and creativity, just because things don't look the same to them as to us doesn't mean its wrong, it means its different and wonderful and full of life. And who wouldn't want a classroom full of life. And thats what they bring life to a whole new meaning.
Comments:
I really enjoyed reading the descriptions of the children and of Shayne. The technical stuff got annoying and I tended to skip over it, but I enjoyed learning about a new portion of special needs. I plan on getting my special education credits and I hope one day I can be a teacher with a classroom with mixed children and it won't matter to me because they are all students willing to learn and I'll embrace it all.
By: Christopher Kliewer
Authors Argument:
Kliewer is arguing that people with disabilities, Down Syndrome especially should not be cast away from the average student in school settings. They should be able to learn at the same level as the other students who do not have disabilities because it alters their learning and deprives them from the full academic experience.
Quotes:
1) "It's about all of us working together, playing together, being together, and that's what learning is. Don't tell me any of these kids are being set up to fail."
I picked this quote because I have felt very strongly for awhile of why special education students are shunned off. They are usually put into their own wing of the building interacting with the same people all the time and through much of their academic career. Life is really no like that, there isn't a bubble to protect them always. If we are trying to involve handicapped people in every day life and want to make it normal, their should be equal involvement in the other classrooms. Students should be together, if special help is needed then that is understandable, but segregating them is not doing anything but teaching more and more that they are different so they don't belong.
2) "They didn't think it was realistic, that she could handle it, that she could handle the job. Here they have her educating America's future, but they're scare to let her work at a movie place."This just shows because a person has special needs or has some handicaps does not mean they are going to sit on a couch for the rest of their lives waiting for people to wait on them hand and foot. These people have brains, and talents, and understandings of the world and how things work. I love the fact that someone with special needs can come back and show up by teaching when they doubted their abilities to work at a movie store. Goes to show to never underestimate people.
3) "Don't think, she said, 'that those special needs kids drain anything. That class would not be half what it is if any one of those kids got segregated. We are all in this together.'"I hope that my classroom when I become a teacher is like this. I feel that special needs children being so much more, more innocence, imagination, and creativity, just because things don't look the same to them as to us doesn't mean its wrong, it means its different and wonderful and full of life. And who wouldn't want a classroom full of life. And thats what they bring life to a whole new meaning.
Comments:
I really enjoyed reading the descriptions of the children and of Shayne. The technical stuff got annoying and I tended to skip over it, but I enjoyed learning about a new portion of special needs. I plan on getting my special education credits and I hope one day I can be a teacher with a classroom with mixed children and it won't matter to me because they are all students willing to learn and I'll embrace it all.
Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Schooling
By: Jean Anyon
Author's Argument:
During this article, Anyon argues that students based on economic backgrounds are being schooled to be ready for certain jobs and professions. The "working class" students are being prepared to grow up to also have "blue collar" jobs and the executive elite school studnets were being prepared to have white collar jobs, such as lawyers and doctors.
Quotes:
1) "One teacher explained to me, 'Simple punctuation is all they'll ever use.'"
This quote is saying working class people only need to know the basics because they won't need any of the in-depth stuff because they won't use it. While higher class schools emphasize the importance of the complex language of English.
2) "The teacher's attempt to control the class involves constant negotiation. She does not give direct orders unless she is angry because the children have been too noisy. Normally, she tries to get them to foresee the consequences of their actions and to decide accordingly."
This is pretty interesting he is changing the way kids think that they don't have a voice in the classroom. When the teacher attempts to negotiate with his/ her students shows the kids that they are trying to work on the communication with teacher's. That gives the students a great feeling of belongingness.
3)"The four 5th grade teachers observed in the working class schools attempted to control classroom time and space by making decisions without consulting the children and without explaining the basis for their decision."
I'm not sure what author it is that we got the quote from in class, but its is something like we do the things we do but do we know why we do what we do. The school being lower class, the teachers don't really care about the students learning and becoming successful in society.
Comments:
This was an interesting article. I felt it was pretty easy to read and had a lot of true, but eye-opening information. Its one of those things you know goes on and you think about it, but you never really expect it. Being form a public school I always talk crap about private schools just because I don't like the whole idea of paying to get a "better" education.
By: Jean Anyon
Author's Argument:
During this article, Anyon argues that students based on economic backgrounds are being schooled to be ready for certain jobs and professions. The "working class" students are being prepared to grow up to also have "blue collar" jobs and the executive elite school studnets were being prepared to have white collar jobs, such as lawyers and doctors.
Quotes:
1) "One teacher explained to me, 'Simple punctuation is all they'll ever use.'"
This quote is saying working class people only need to know the basics because they won't need any of the in-depth stuff because they won't use it. While higher class schools emphasize the importance of the complex language of English.
2) "The teacher's attempt to control the class involves constant negotiation. She does not give direct orders unless she is angry because the children have been too noisy. Normally, she tries to get them to foresee the consequences of their actions and to decide accordingly."
This is pretty interesting he is changing the way kids think that they don't have a voice in the classroom. When the teacher attempts to negotiate with his/ her students shows the kids that they are trying to work on the communication with teacher's. That gives the students a great feeling of belongingness.
3)"The four 5th grade teachers observed in the working class schools attempted to control classroom time and space by making decisions without consulting the children and without explaining the basis for their decision."
I'm not sure what author it is that we got the quote from in class, but its is something like we do the things we do but do we know why we do what we do. The school being lower class, the teachers don't really care about the students learning and becoming successful in society.
Comments:
This was an interesting article. I felt it was pretty easy to read and had a lot of true, but eye-opening information. Its one of those things you know goes on and you think about it, but you never really expect it. Being form a public school I always talk crap about private schools just because I don't like the whole idea of paying to get a "better" education.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
In the Service of What?
The Politics of Service Learning
by: Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer
Authors Argument:
In this article the authors argue that service learning helps ideas come to life and expand. It helps everything and everyone who are involved in whatever the issue may be. Students benefit from the ideas and so do the surroundings they are in.
Quotes:
1) "For Thanksgiving this year my stepmother and I helped serve the seniors their Thanksgiving dinner. This was a very rewarding experience helping others in need. It seemed that the dinner was something special to them; it was a chance for them to get together with their peers. Many don't have families in the area and are all alone for the holidays." This quote shows that a little help can go a long. Doing something so small for people and the outcome putting a smile on some ones face is worth it to me. This quote also proves to me that majoring in education was the right choice for me. I want to teach children and make a difference in their lives and see them happy when they understand things.
2) "The experimental and interpersonal components of service learning activities can achieve the first crucial step toward diminishing the sense of "otherness" that often separates students--particularly privileged students--from those in need." I believe this statement to be true. I feel as if I am in the position of those of the privileged. I speak the social language and am white and I am comfortable in class and out of class. Most of the time the otherness is shown In the class room, but that’s not the case in many classes I have been in.
3) "Service learning makes students active participants in service projects that aim to respond to the needs of the community while furthering the academic goals of students."
This quote proves that service learning can only help the students in a positive way. Students will learn from the service learning and help better their future.
Questions/Comments:
This reading was an ok kind of reading for me . This piece just really broaden my knowledge to the importance of service learning in the community and to the students. It ends up helping a lot of people in the long run. I just thought that this reading was very interesting and also the statistics it shown with students and there progression was interesting.
The Politics of Service Learning
by: Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer
Authors Argument:
In this article the authors argue that service learning helps ideas come to life and expand. It helps everything and everyone who are involved in whatever the issue may be. Students benefit from the ideas and so do the surroundings they are in.
Quotes:
1) "For Thanksgiving this year my stepmother and I helped serve the seniors their Thanksgiving dinner. This was a very rewarding experience helping others in need. It seemed that the dinner was something special to them; it was a chance for them to get together with their peers. Many don't have families in the area and are all alone for the holidays." This quote shows that a little help can go a long. Doing something so small for people and the outcome putting a smile on some ones face is worth it to me. This quote also proves to me that majoring in education was the right choice for me. I want to teach children and make a difference in their lives and see them happy when they understand things.
2) "The experimental and interpersonal components of service learning activities can achieve the first crucial step toward diminishing the sense of "otherness" that often separates students--particularly privileged students--from those in need." I believe this statement to be true. I feel as if I am in the position of those of the privileged. I speak the social language and am white and I am comfortable in class and out of class. Most of the time the otherness is shown In the class room, but that’s not the case in many classes I have been in.
3) "Service learning makes students active participants in service projects that aim to respond to the needs of the community while furthering the academic goals of students."
This quote proves that service learning can only help the students in a positive way. Students will learn from the service learning and help better their future.
Questions/Comments:
This reading was an ok kind of reading for me . This piece just really broaden my knowledge to the importance of service learning in the community and to the students. It ends up helping a lot of people in the long run. I just thought that this reading was very interesting and also the statistics it shown with students and there progression was interesting.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Talking points #4
"Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us"
By: Linda Christensen
Linda Christenson argues that we have to go live our lives the way we want to and not the way we are “supposed” to according to society’s rules. There is no right or wrong way to live your life. Linda Christensen wants us to pick apart all of the cartoons that we see on TV and what we see in the movies that kids watch to find out where the discrimination, sexism, racism, and the jesters towards the rich and poor.
1 - "We look at the roles women, men, people of color, and poor people play in cartoons." In the cartoons from way back in the day, there are not a lot of women movie stats or even roles for women. When women were first introduced to movies and films, they would be all dolled up. Looking beautiful, better than the average. All young girls and even women looked up to the female characters on TV and in movies. This is when stereotyping was born. This was the jester that told all women what the ideal character looks like to attract men and to get whatever they want in life.
2 - “When we read children’s books we aren’t just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated”. Little kids don’t really pay too much attention to the messages in the stories or the morals at the end of the stories; they just pick up on things they are interested in. When I used to work at a day camp one of my kids, Joey, knew how to read a Thomas the Train book all by himself. He was only 3. He would even hold the book upside down, but once he flipped that page and recognized the picture he knew exactly what words went with it. Today I watch cartoons and movies and I see a lot of hidden messages I have never seen before. Some or very sexual messages and some or even suicidal messages, like in the Wizard of OZ, one of the guys who auditioned to be one of the characters didn’t get the part, and in the back of a scene he hangs himself. I do not believe that this is right for kids to be seeing.
3 - “I’m not taking my kids to see any Walt Disney movies until they have a black woman playing the leading role”. It’s so hard to explain to a child why there aren’t any black women with leading roles. It’s just like telling a child why there aren’t too many black dolls to play with. My little cousin Joia, is half African American and Italian, as she was growing up we always tried to give a mix selection of colored dolls. One day she asked why there were whiter baby dolls then black baby dolls. All I could say to her was that the new black baby dolls haven’t arrived yet. I don’t see why film producers don’t take into consideration that this is a multicultural society and a multiracial world, and that it’s ok to mix race in characters.
I liked reading this article. It made me see that not everyone does see or except that we are a multiracial and multicultural society. Children are not exposed to diversity very much in the media. They always see the same thing. A white doll, or a white movie star, and we wonder why children aren’t familiar with different races and cultures it’s because society does not allow them to be familiar with such things.
"Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us"
By: Linda Christensen
Linda Christenson argues that we have to go live our lives the way we want to and not the way we are “supposed” to according to society’s rules. There is no right or wrong way to live your life. Linda Christensen wants us to pick apart all of the cartoons that we see on TV and what we see in the movies that kids watch to find out where the discrimination, sexism, racism, and the jesters towards the rich and poor.
1 - "We look at the roles women, men, people of color, and poor people play in cartoons." In the cartoons from way back in the day, there are not a lot of women movie stats or even roles for women. When women were first introduced to movies and films, they would be all dolled up. Looking beautiful, better than the average. All young girls and even women looked up to the female characters on TV and in movies. This is when stereotyping was born. This was the jester that told all women what the ideal character looks like to attract men and to get whatever they want in life.
2 - “When we read children’s books we aren’t just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated”. Little kids don’t really pay too much attention to the messages in the stories or the morals at the end of the stories; they just pick up on things they are interested in. When I used to work at a day camp one of my kids, Joey, knew how to read a Thomas the Train book all by himself. He was only 3. He would even hold the book upside down, but once he flipped that page and recognized the picture he knew exactly what words went with it. Today I watch cartoons and movies and I see a lot of hidden messages I have never seen before. Some or very sexual messages and some or even suicidal messages, like in the Wizard of OZ, one of the guys who auditioned to be one of the characters didn’t get the part, and in the back of a scene he hangs himself. I do not believe that this is right for kids to be seeing.
3 - “I’m not taking my kids to see any Walt Disney movies until they have a black woman playing the leading role”. It’s so hard to explain to a child why there aren’t any black women with leading roles. It’s just like telling a child why there aren’t too many black dolls to play with. My little cousin Joia, is half African American and Italian, as she was growing up we always tried to give a mix selection of colored dolls. One day she asked why there were whiter baby dolls then black baby dolls. All I could say to her was that the new black baby dolls haven’t arrived yet. I don’t see why film producers don’t take into consideration that this is a multicultural society and a multiracial world, and that it’s ok to mix race in characters.
I liked reading this article. It made me see that not everyone does see or except that we are a multiracial and multicultural society. Children are not exposed to diversity very much in the media. They always see the same thing. A white doll, or a white movie star, and we wonder why children aren’t familiar with different races and cultures it’s because society does not allow them to be familiar with such things.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community
By: Dennis Carlson
Authors Argument:
Denis Carlson seems to be arguing that schools along with the communities should consider teaching the people to realize that everyone is normal. categorizing people, normal, and abnormal do not exist we are all just regular people. Carlson also says that it is the job of the head leaders and teachers to set the example and to use the words "homosexual", "lesbian", "gay", and any other words people are afraid to say, because it isn't something to be ashamed of, it is just another aspect of life different from the norm.
Quotes:
1 - "The objective of classroom discourse is thus not so much to achieve consensus on "truth" or "objective" depiction of reality, but rather to clarify differences and agreements, work toward coalition-building across difference when possible, and build relationships based on caring and equity." I chose this quote because this shows our future and what we should be expecting. It shows future jobs, and shows what the future teachers need to strive for in order to make a difference. This quote made me realize that I do really want to be a teacher and i do actually want to make a difference in children lives and help them achieve a good education.
2) - "Gay people have for the most part been made absent, invisible, and silent within this community and at the same time represented as the deviant and pathological other." I chose this quote because I don’t think that way. I don’t believe in the hole “normal” theory. There is no such thing. What is normal to one person can be foreign to many others. I don’t think that people should ignore the fact that there are gay people in the world. They should look at all people similarly and not like they are from another planet or invisible.
3) - "(Black, working class, female, homosexual..)are disempowered and represented as deviant, sick, neurotic, criminal, lazy, lacking in intelligence, and in other ways abnormal." I do not like this quote at all. Because of someone's gender, sexual likings, or color of their skin, they are considered and looked upon to have a lack of intelligence or considered to be lazy or sick. I felt disgusted when I read this. I don’t even know where someone gets ideas like this. People are people. Just because they are a little different then you might be, does not mean they have any disadvantages.
Questions/Comments:
I didn’t like reading this article to much. I don't know if it was the language or just simply because it frustrated me. I think this is good that we are learning about gender and all its forms and I think it is great that we are learning techniques to include words like "homosexual", "lesbian", "gay", because teaching that to the students will let them know that it is ok to be gay or friends with gays, and also that it is ok to address the fact that there are gay people in the world and that its ok to except that.
By: Dennis Carlson
Authors Argument:
Denis Carlson seems to be arguing that schools along with the communities should consider teaching the people to realize that everyone is normal. categorizing people, normal, and abnormal do not exist we are all just regular people. Carlson also says that it is the job of the head leaders and teachers to set the example and to use the words "homosexual", "lesbian", "gay", and any other words people are afraid to say, because it isn't something to be ashamed of, it is just another aspect of life different from the norm.
Quotes:
1 - "The objective of classroom discourse is thus not so much to achieve consensus on "truth" or "objective" depiction of reality, but rather to clarify differences and agreements, work toward coalition-building across difference when possible, and build relationships based on caring and equity." I chose this quote because this shows our future and what we should be expecting. It shows future jobs, and shows what the future teachers need to strive for in order to make a difference. This quote made me realize that I do really want to be a teacher and i do actually want to make a difference in children lives and help them achieve a good education.
2) - "Gay people have for the most part been made absent, invisible, and silent within this community and at the same time represented as the deviant and pathological other." I chose this quote because I don’t think that way. I don’t believe in the hole “normal” theory. There is no such thing. What is normal to one person can be foreign to many others. I don’t think that people should ignore the fact that there are gay people in the world. They should look at all people similarly and not like they are from another planet or invisible.
3) - "(Black, working class, female, homosexual..)are disempowered and represented as deviant, sick, neurotic, criminal, lazy, lacking in intelligence, and in other ways abnormal." I do not like this quote at all. Because of someone's gender, sexual likings, or color of their skin, they are considered and looked upon to have a lack of intelligence or considered to be lazy or sick. I felt disgusted when I read this. I don’t even know where someone gets ideas like this. People are people. Just because they are a little different then you might be, does not mean they have any disadvantages.
Questions/Comments:
I didn’t like reading this article to much. I don't know if it was the language or just simply because it frustrated me. I think this is good that we are learning about gender and all its forms and I think it is great that we are learning techniques to include words like "homosexual", "lesbian", "gay", because teaching that to the students will let them know that it is ok to be gay or friends with gays, and also that it is ok to address the fact that there are gay people in the world and that its ok to except that.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Aria
Richard Rodriguez
Authors Argument:
Rodriguez argues that people’s identities can be change in the culture and routines of their society. He also argues that there are personal family and traditional lifestyles that are being changed when they try to become a member and fit in with society and those of the culture of power. Rodriguez believes that a person should have pride in who they are as an individual and should now let the culture of power or their society change who they are or have an effect on their lives.
Quotes
1 - "That day I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier. The belief, the calming assurance that I belonged in public, had at last taken hold." For so long Rodriguez has been trying to keep a conversation going in the public language and trying to speak it well. When he finally became familiar with the English language and could hold a conversation he was so proud and happy. It’s kind of sad how “white” people take advantage of this language power they have and don’t realize the true meaning of being able to speak publicly.
2 - "But the special feelings of closeness at home was diminished by then. Gone was the desperate, urgent, intense feeling of being home; rare was the experience feeling myself individualized by family intimates. We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed. No longer so close; no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of our public separateness." This quote that I chose mad me upset. I couldn’t believe a family was getting diminished within a language barrier. Rodriguez expressed how tradition and family meant to him, and by losing all of it, he felt that he also lost his family. I believe a family should stick together with what they are comfortable with not what is expected of them. What good is it to be accepted by society if you lose your family trying to fit in with other people?
3 - "In an instant, they agreed to give up the language, the sounds that had revealed and accentuated our family's closeness." I chose this quote because it made me feel remorseful, not only for Rodriguez, but for all the people who speak different languages and have to change their traditions to be accepted into the society and culture of power. It's not fair for people to have to change who they are to be accepted by others around them. People should be able to speak their own language when they want to and should not be judged if their language is not what the majority of the people in the society are speaking.
Questions/Comments:
I really enjoyed reading this article. The author shows how people struggle to learn the public language but how it can destroy who they are as an individual and as a family. He also shows how people have to give things up like languages or who they are to fit in society and to actually be recognized. Although Rodriguez shows the down sides of having to only speak the “public language” like losing a personal identity he also states that there is an upside to this. He shows how people work hard and practice to accomplish these speaking skills and how people look at them and notice them differently and more respectively
Richard Rodriguez
Authors Argument:
Rodriguez argues that people’s identities can be change in the culture and routines of their society. He also argues that there are personal family and traditional lifestyles that are being changed when they try to become a member and fit in with society and those of the culture of power. Rodriguez believes that a person should have pride in who they are as an individual and should now let the culture of power or their society change who they are or have an effect on their lives.
Quotes
1 - "That day I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier. The belief, the calming assurance that I belonged in public, had at last taken hold." For so long Rodriguez has been trying to keep a conversation going in the public language and trying to speak it well. When he finally became familiar with the English language and could hold a conversation he was so proud and happy. It’s kind of sad how “white” people take advantage of this language power they have and don’t realize the true meaning of being able to speak publicly.
2 - "But the special feelings of closeness at home was diminished by then. Gone was the desperate, urgent, intense feeling of being home; rare was the experience feeling myself individualized by family intimates. We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed. No longer so close; no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of our public separateness." This quote that I chose mad me upset. I couldn’t believe a family was getting diminished within a language barrier. Rodriguez expressed how tradition and family meant to him, and by losing all of it, he felt that he also lost his family. I believe a family should stick together with what they are comfortable with not what is expected of them. What good is it to be accepted by society if you lose your family trying to fit in with other people?
3 - "In an instant, they agreed to give up the language, the sounds that had revealed and accentuated our family's closeness." I chose this quote because it made me feel remorseful, not only for Rodriguez, but for all the people who speak different languages and have to change their traditions to be accepted into the society and culture of power. It's not fair for people to have to change who they are to be accepted by others around them. People should be able to speak their own language when they want to and should not be judged if their language is not what the majority of the people in the society are speaking.
Questions/Comments:
I really enjoyed reading this article. The author shows how people struggle to learn the public language but how it can destroy who they are as an individual and as a family. He also shows how people have to give things up like languages or who they are to fit in society and to actually be recognized. Although Rodriguez shows the down sides of having to only speak the “public language” like losing a personal identity he also states that there is an upside to this. He shows how people work hard and practice to accomplish these speaking skills and how people look at them and notice them differently and more respectively
Monday, February 15, 2010
talking points #1
Jonathan Kozol: Amazing Grace
Author's Arguments:
Kozol argues that people’s lives get ripped away from them when tragedy hits hard. He believes that no matter why a person is in the situation they are in; they deserve a better life or another chance to have an equal chance in life as the people who do deserve it from working hard. He also argues that even though people live in poor quality homes and towns, they deserve to have a good life, without the threat of tragic situations occurring.
Quotes:
1- "I am in hell and you are not and so I hate you and I have to try to bring you down to where I am. I feel pity for them and fear because they are lost." It seems as though Kozol feels the pain of these people and trying to put himself in their shoes to see how it feels and to know what they go through. I think that everyone can change how they act but sometimes people get sucked into their lives of poverty because of the chances they have missed and because they are just so used to the way things are change isn’t even an option for them.
2 - "When roaches crawl on virtually every surface of the houses in which many children live. Rats emerge from holes in bedroom walls, terrorizing infants in their cribs" when I read this I almost gagged. I live in New York and reading this made me sick. Children should not be living under these conditions it’s horrible. Children who have to sleep with jackets on to avoid getting sick should be better taken care of.
3 - "The $150 million spent to build the dazzling new structure..., is almost exactly the same as what the city spent in the same year to purchase the massive prison barge that it has moored at Hunts Point in the South Bronx, where it accommodates the graduates and dropouts of much less attracting high schools on six floating floors of prison cells."
This quote makes you think about how much money the cities and states waste on people who have screwed up and are in prison, instead of spending it on the people who can barely make it through the day and who can hardly afford to take care of their families.
Questions/Comments:
I enjoyed this article; because it made me think about people struggle to get through the day. I showed me how some people have it so easy and some have it so terrible. Kozol points out problems that really effect people in everyday life and why they may be in the situations they are in. He points out how some people have to change their whole lifestyle because of their living conditions and to support their families.
Author's Arguments:
Kozol argues that people’s lives get ripped away from them when tragedy hits hard. He believes that no matter why a person is in the situation they are in; they deserve a better life or another chance to have an equal chance in life as the people who do deserve it from working hard. He also argues that even though people live in poor quality homes and towns, they deserve to have a good life, without the threat of tragic situations occurring.
Quotes:
1- "I am in hell and you are not and so I hate you and I have to try to bring you down to where I am. I feel pity for them and fear because they are lost." It seems as though Kozol feels the pain of these people and trying to put himself in their shoes to see how it feels and to know what they go through. I think that everyone can change how they act but sometimes people get sucked into their lives of poverty because of the chances they have missed and because they are just so used to the way things are change isn’t even an option for them.
2 - "When roaches crawl on virtually every surface of the houses in which many children live. Rats emerge from holes in bedroom walls, terrorizing infants in their cribs" when I read this I almost gagged. I live in New York and reading this made me sick. Children should not be living under these conditions it’s horrible. Children who have to sleep with jackets on to avoid getting sick should be better taken care of.
3 - "The $150 million spent to build the dazzling new structure..., is almost exactly the same as what the city spent in the same year to purchase the massive prison barge that it has moored at Hunts Point in the South Bronx, where it accommodates the graduates and dropouts of much less attracting high schools on six floating floors of prison cells."
This quote makes you think about how much money the cities and states waste on people who have screwed up and are in prison, instead of spending it on the people who can barely make it through the day and who can hardly afford to take care of their families.
Questions/Comments:
I enjoyed this article; because it made me think about people struggle to get through the day. I showed me how some people have it so easy and some have it so terrible. Kozol points out problems that really effect people in everyday life and why they may be in the situations they are in. He points out how some people have to change their whole lifestyle because of their living conditions and to support their families.
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