Talking Point #7

"One More River to Cross" Charles Lawrence

Premise:

-labeling
-De facto vs. de jure segregation
-schooling
-society
-Brown vs. Board of Education
-recognition
-race
-segregation
-equality
-ignorance

Argument:
Lawrence argues that the Supreme Court’s reasoning in striking down an interdistrict desegregation order in Detroit was flawed in that it misunderstood the true nature of the institution of segregation. No one realized what is really happening with racism in the United States.

Evidence:
1. “Segregation’s only purpose is to label or define blacks as inferior and thus exclude them from full and equal participation in society.”

2."If one views the Brown case narrowly, as a case intended to desegregate the nation's schools, history has proven it a clear failure" (281)
-proving that he thinks Brown was a failure.

3."Once the state has effectively institutionalized racial segregation as a labeling device, only minimal maintenance is required". (286)


Comments:
It was not easy or enjoyable for me to read this piece by Charles Lawrence but I believe that he brings up things that no one wants to believe happens in society today. Many people think that segregation is a thing of the past. Although it may not be as extreme as it was many years ago, it still occurs. Until people realize and recognize what is occurring wtih segregation in society, nothing can be done to fix it.

Talking Point #6

Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route
-Jeannie Oakes

Premise:
Education
Tracking
Opportunities
class
experiene
teachers
students
abilities
privalege

Author's Argument:
Oakes argues that students should not be labeled at young ages because it gives certain students more opportunities than others and tracking should not take place in schools.

Evidence:
1. "Students who are placed in high-ability groups have access to far richer schooling experiences than other students." (178)

2."One fact about tracking is unequivocal: tracking leads to substantial differenes in the day-to-day learning experiences students have at school." (178)

3."Students who are placed in high-ability groups have access to far riched schooling experiences than other students." (178)

4. "Students who need more time to learn appear to get less; those who have the most difficulty learning seem to have fewer of the best teachers." (179)

Comments:
First of all I want to say it was really easy to read this - it got to the point quickly. I do not know exactly how I feel on the subject of tracking. I understand where Oakes is coming from when she says that tracking gives certain kids more opportunities than others. I do not agree with that aspect of it at all. I don't think it's fair that privaleged students are getting more attention and opportunities than less privaleged students. The other side of me thinks it is easier for kids to learn when they are with students who are on the same academic level as them. They feel less self conscious and are able to turn to other students with their problems. Students with higher abilities will not be set back by others who are less advanced than them. Students with higher abilities and students with less abilities should both have teachers with high enthusiasm and have the same opportunities. The only difference between them should be that one class may need to spend a little more time on a subject than the other class. I agree with Jeannie Oakes that tracking gives more opportunities to some students than other students but I feel that if they changed the way they pursued it in classrooms than it would be more successful.

Talking Points #5

Premise:

-service learning
-politics
-education
-students
-community
-experience
-opportunities
-compassion
-caring
-learning
-altruism

Argument:
Kahne and Westheimer argue that service learning should be incorporated in classrooms to help them learn more about the community and gain experience.

Evidence:
1. "Educators and legislators alike maintain that service learning can improve the community and invigorate the classroom, providing rich educaional experiences for students at all levels of schooling." (2)
2. "Service Learning makes students ative participants in service projects that aim to respond to the needs of the community while furthering the academic goals of students." (2)
3. These curriculum theorists and education reformers wanted studens to engage in service learning projecs so that they would recognize that their academic abililities and collective commitments could help them respond in a meaningful ways to a variety of social concerns." (4)
4. "We try to consider the life and disposition of those for whom we are caring...in so doing, we create opportunities for changing our understanding of the other and the context within which he or she lives" (5).
5."Efforts to integrate service learning activities into the curriculum have great potential and deserve the support they are now receiving." (12)

Questions/Comments:
This article was slightly confusing to me and I'm still not sure if I understand the point that Kahne and Westheimer were trying to make. I know that they approve of service learning activities but I think that they were saying that students should not do it as a charity. Students should perform service learning activities as a means of experience and gain knowledge about the activities they are performing. I think it is important to understand the background of the people that you are helping before you get close to them. In the article, I think that Ms. Adam's students were more successful then Mr. Johnson because they analyzed homelessness in detail before they helped them. This article is important for this class because we are currently doing service learning projects. I believe that Kahne and Westheimer would agree with the approach that we use in our classroom because we have discussed many different elements of public schools and students in the schools while we are physically working with them. All of the articles and discussions in class helped me to understand the children more and get an idea of what they go through.

Education in America

randomly found this video on youtube and thought it was interesting ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLBZqrzZvk8

Talking Points #4

Premise:
stereotypes
sex
race
class
children
cartoons
accepted knowledge
secret education
media
power
denial
ignorance
happiness
materialism
transformation
insecurities

Argument:
Christensen argues that society teaches people what is "normal" at a young age through cartoons and continue to influence people through television, schools, ads, etc.

Evidence:
1. " Our society's cutlure industry colonizes their minds and teaches them how to act, live, and dream." (126)

2."Industrially produced fiction has become one of the primary shapers of our emotions and our intellect...Although these stories are supposed to merely entertain us, the constantly give us a secret education. We are not only taught certain styles of violence, the latest fashions, and sex roles by TV, movies, magazines, and comic strips; we are also taught how to succeed, how to love, how to buy, how to conquer, how to forget the past and suppress the future. We are taught, more than anything else, how not to rebel." (128)

3. Children's cartoons, movies, and literature are perhaps the most influentional genre "read." Young people, unprotected by any intellectual armor, hear or watch these stories again and again, often from the warmth of thei mother's or father's lap. The messages, or "secret education," linked with the security of their homes, underscore the power these texts deliver. As Tatum's researh suggests, the stereotypes and worldview embedded in the stories become accepted knowledge." (127)

4. Early in the unit, I show a Popeye cartoon, "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves," that depicts all Arabs with the same face, same turban, same body --and they are all thieves swinging enormous swords. (130)

5. The young, prett ones only want to hook their man; the old, prett ones are mean because they are losing their looks. ..People of color and poor people are either absent or servants to the rich, white, pretty people. .. Roles of men are limited as well. Men must be virtile and wield power or be old and the object of "good-natured" humor...Overweight people were portraed as buffoons in episode after epidode...The absesnce of mothers, the wicedness of stepparents. (130-1)

(I could go on forever.....)


Comments
After reading this piece, I feel SAD. =( Thinking about all my favorite childhood movies and cartoons as sexist, racist, and brainwashing makes me feel like I'm losing everything that was important to me. This feeling of sadness proves Christensen's point. Childhood movies and cartoons are so important to a child that it is still a part of them when they become an adult. When I was young, I always wanted to dress up like my favorite cartoon characters when I was playing dress up or when I was going out for Halloween. I remember being Jasmine one year and my stomach showed in the costume. At that young of an age, I thought that was the coolest thing possible (my mom didn't feel the same). Children get so many ideas and fantasies about what they want to be and what everyone else in society is like from these cartoons. Although I agree with Christensen, I wish I never read this because I'd rather stay "ignorant and happy."

ps. I thought it was interesting that their was a website with the student's comments.
Here's the link if anyone wants to look at it... www.rethinkingschools.org/rsr
The website has ways to improve on public schools and better teaching strategies. It should be useful for everyone in the classroom since we all want to work in education!