Multicultural Education and Art

Before entering this class I really did not know a lot about multiculturalism, particularly about what strategies to use in the classroom that could promote the acceptance of different cultures. I had learned some about it in my first art education course last semester, but no more than knowing how art disciplines can support a multicultural education. Otherwise I thought that it was aimed towards teaching students about the cultural practices of a wide variety of people by studying “past” cultures or ethnicities of people; their religions, languages, values, clothing and so on. My definition was not wrong, but it is limiting and excludes a wide range other groups or “types” of people that should be studied within a “multicultural” education. In an article by James A. Banks, titled Multicultural Education: Goals, Possibilities and Challenges, he described multicultural education as a “meta-discipline,” and that the agreement “among specialists centers around a primary goal for multicultural education, which is to increase educational equality for both gender groups, for students from diverse ethnic, cultural, and language groups, and for exceptional students” (Diaz, 2001, 12). I had not considered these other characteristics of types of people as being part multiculturalism, but in fact they are. In order to fulfill the main goal of multicultural education and equality for ALL students, our school systems need to be totally “reconstructed” and the gaps between rich schools and “low-income schools” needs to be filled (Diaz, 2001, 12). Upon reading this article, I decided to refer back to one of my textbooks from my Introduction to Art Education class last semester. There are many similarities between the article by Banks and one of the introductory chapters of my art education book by Stephan Mark Dobbs, titled Learning In and Through Art; A guide to Discipline-Based Art Education. I have scanned in a couple quotes from this book by Dobbs that discuss the idea of multicultural curriculums and how one can incorporate them into art education, which I definitely plan to do once I have my own art classroom one day.

The Story of My Body...

The Story of my Body was a very touching article for me, not because I necessarily know how she, the author Judith Ortitz Cofer felt, but because I too was always very self conscience about my looks throughout my childhood. I have also always felt awful for others who were ridiculed because of their appearance. I now know that I had no reason to be self conscience and have changed my attitude about the importance of looks in the overall big picture of life. But still, I felt a certain connection to Judith’s story because as I was growing up starting during middle school, I always seemed concerned with how I looked at school particularly, frequently “fixing” myself in between classes. I had no reason to feel insecure, in that unlike the girl in this story, my mother and father always told me how beautiful I was and to be myself regardless of what others thought. My mother also did not criticize me when I started experimenting with make-up around 12 years old and never once told me to wash it off or change how I looked. Looking at the pictures now, I apparently thought that eyeliner was used to draw thick black outlines around my eyes and concealer was meant to totally conceal my actual skin. However, as ridiculous as I looked or whatever strange clothes I chose to wear, my parents let me express myself as I pleased…probably excusing it as some sort of phase I would get over (which I did thank goodness!-).



I think that perhaps being a single child could have had something to do with my self-consciousness, because once I started going to school, I wanted nothing more than to have kids to play with and to be liked by everyone. Somehow I had equated having friends with being “pretty” because I thought that all the popular girls were typically “pretty.” I was not an ugly child by any means but I did have very fair skin, lots of freckles and sort-of reddish tinted hair, which I thought of as not the ideal definition of beauty. I had plenty of friends also, regardless of what I did or didn’t look like so I am still not sure where my insecurities stemmed from and why I felt the need to dress up every day. Maybe it was because I noticed that the kids with zits or weight problems were the ones who got picked on in much the same way as Judith did in this story. I did not want to be the outcast or “that girl” that had no one to play with on the playground. Though I felt sorry for these students, I would continue to hang out with the kids that usually made fun of them even though I knew it was wrong. I would try to stay out of it and laugh it off because I did not “really” want to hurt their feelings and only wanted to be accepted too.


Once I went to high school, I continued to try to hold this image and strived to be “pretty,” probably for no other reason than to fit in. I went to a high school where none of my friends from middle school went, so I was considered a “new kid” among the students there. Still, I had met a couple of the “pretty” girls in my science class and thought that I was “in there” with this group, so I had begun sitting with them every day at lunch. I remember one day during the first few weeks of high school, I went to go sit with “the group,” which I thought I had been accepted into. They were those kids whom were considered “the cool kids” and they always sat at the “cool peoples’ table”. This particular day was different though. I walked up to the table and for some reason, everyone started laughing and looking at me like all the sudden I should not be sitting there. I felt uncomfortable because I did not know why they were all looking at me so strangely, considering as I said before, I thought I was “in there” for sure. Come to find out later that day, one of the” really cute” boys, which I actually did know from middle school was making fun, of how white and “pasty” I was according to him. I had never been so embarrassed in my life and did not understand why a white boy would be making fun of a white girl for being white?? I thought how ironic? How could that be? I was devastated at the time and immediately began shopping for fake tanners and applying them daily, even though the streaky orange color looked horrible and was very noticeable.


It is funny now looking back on it, but it definetely had some impact on me because I still remember it so clearly. I continued to be friends with these girls after that and now they are some of my very best friends. Even the “cute” boy, whom I have reminded of this incident several times since, I am also still friends with today. But the fact that this little incident has stuck with me to this day has helped me realize how others must feel who get made fun of on a daily basis. How I felt that day cannot even compare to how these kids might feel who really have skin or weight problems. It is no surprise that so many of them remain negative towards others and have low confidence levels for the rest of their lives, considering the treatment they have gone through. And even worse many of them hurt themselves or even commit suicide because of bullying like this. After reading Judith’s story and reminiscing about my childhood insecurities, I have also come to realize the importance of teaching our students to be kind to one another and that looks are NOT everything. As teachers we need to recognize issues like this that go on among our students and nip the problem in the bud during their early years of schooling!

Disney movies and Sex?? WHAT?...

Disney movies and Sex?? WHAT?...you are probably thinking to yourself, “What in the world could these two things have in common?” Well… I thought the same thing. A paper written by Jamie Rosier, explains just that and how these animated films by Disney Productions do in fact include many hidden messages and sexual content. Her findings were especially intriguing to me because I too remember my classmates in middle school talking about the how the word S-E-X was written in the clouds during a scene from The Lion King. We tried for hours to find it and see if the rumors were true. Immature? ...



YES, but we were not allowed to view such material, or at least I wasn’t, and were shocked to see that the rumors were true. My mother always steered me away from watching MTV and other shows or movies that she considered inappropriate for my age. I do not think I even saw a PG- rated movie until I was in middle school. At the time, these restrictions on what I could watch made me very angry because I did not understand why most of my friends were allowed to watch them, but I wasn’t. Little did my mother or I know that the Disney films I had been watching since I was at least 1 year old, were filled with sexual connotations and obscene hidden innuendos. Of course I did not notice them, considering I was so young, nor would I have known their meanings if I did, the fact that there were still there, right in front of me, is mind-boggling. And for WHAT reason??


This paper, Hidden Sexual Messages Found in Disney Movies, explains some examples of how Disney films have snuck in the hidden messages in order to boost the sales of their children’s films. This seems rather ironic to me because I thought that Disney’s target audience was definitely young children and not pervert teens or even adults for that matter. In the movie Aladdin for example, viewers began to speculate that during one of the scenes, Aladdin says a dirty phrase to Jasmine. Apparently the rumors were true, after researchers read the closed captioning of the film and found the remark that Aladdin made. I believe that there are in fact obscene messages in the films from the proof given in the movies themselves and the research that has been done on this issue. BUT, I pose several questions here.


1. Why would Disney do this and risk losing all of their devoted viewers?


2. Did the creators of this movie just think it would be some sort of funny joke or that no one would notice? And, if the creators of Disney simply did not know these messages were there, was their no one reviewing or censoring the films before they published?


3. Were these messages placed here for a laugh or did adding the messages or images really boost movie sales that much to be worth ruining the reputation of the company as a whole?


4. Or even stranger to think about… were there really sick people out there renting Disney movies for sexual pleasure? GROSS!


This paper by Rosier did seem rather bias and claimed that Disney knew about the messages and did indeed add them on purpose. This may be true but I just find it hard to believe that Disney would intentionally put these images in their movies, unless the cartoonist or writers of the films were trying to get the company in trouble. It is just shocking to me that a major company such as this, designed to make films for children would jeopardize their image for a few random pictures of penises? I still struggle with this idea and the reason for why these messages were put in the films. WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON IT? Read this article or watch the films and you be the judge.

"Tired of Playing Monopoly?" by Donna Langston

When reading the article, Tired of Playing Monopoly, I was met with conflicting opinions on whether I agreed with all of the views the author had or not. I understood and fully accept the arguments in primarily the whole first half of the article; the definition of class and classism and how one’s class is based on more than just the amount of money they make. Your “class” is also formed by one’s cultural background because it can affect the educational opportunities you are more likely to have if you are one race or another…where you will typically eat and shop, and even where you work or the positions you are likely to hold in that job. One sentence that I felt particularly summed up the definition of class nicely was the following:



           As a result of the class you are born into and raised in, class is your understanding of the world
           and where you fit in; it’s composed of ideas, behavior, attitudes, values and language; class is how
           you think, feel, act, look, dress, talk, move, walk; class is what stores you shop at, restaurants you
           eat in; class is the schools you attend, the education you attain; class is the very jobs you will work at
           throughout your adult life ( Langston, 2007, p.1).


I also believe that accepting the titles of class that society has put on you, whether a good or bad label, only further emphasizes classism. Those who are considered “low class” individuals must not settle for what they get or blame themselves for the economic positions they are in, unless of course your unemployment and lack of incoming funds is due to something you have directly done. (For instance, an excessive drug problem or doing other illegal things that has caused you to be viewed as unemployable to most companies. You cannot blame society or others for your own poor judgment.) I also believe that if we keep believing, as a society that is, that the current economic distribution is unchangeable, we are only increasing the chances of classism and widening the gap between the wealthy and the poor.


My main disagreement with the author, Donna Langston, in this article begins on page 103. The author described the “working class” as having distinctions within it, the “white” working class and then everyone else, people of color, female-headed households, and so on. The author does not consider the “white guys in overalls” to really be part of that working class, even though they could be working just as hard and receiving the same low pay and lack of benefits. I feel the author is semi biased here, because I do not think that every working class white man is necessarily living the life of luxury. Not that the author says this but she seems to feel there is a great distinction between the two. There are in fact many white men that suffer the same classist stereotypes as others simply because they work in these low paying less desirable jobs. How are these people’s privileges any different, when they are also working all hours of the night away from their families and getting the same benefits from their jobs? Outside of work, things could be different, but if the author is speaking specifically about this type of working conditions, I do not think it is fair to place them in a different “working class” altogether solely based on their color. I could be wrong, but this is how I feel.

Taking the "Cultural Plunge"...

       I found the idea of a “cultural plunge” experience, to be a very fascinating one. Participating in a cultural or social experience outside of your comfort zone is an ideal way to learn about people unlike you, looking through their eyes instead our cultural blinding sunglasses. Jean Piaget, a biologist who studied the patterns of learning and cognitive development in children, found that psychological development “including the development of knowledge about self and society,” comes from the constant cycle of understanding and interpreting new experiences by relating it to previous knowledge. When I was asked to participate in my own “cultural plunge” experience, I was slightly timid at first. I came up with many ideas for my plunge, ranging from going out to a Homosexual bar to visiting a strict black church on “the other side of town.”   
        Discussing the experiment with my parents and friends opened my eyes to just how prejudice we are, almost unconsciously, when we are talking about other groups of people. Upon analyzing each idea, I thought about what the people might think of me or how they may or may not include me in their activities. Each of my concerns stemmed from some preconceived notion I had about that “type” of people. Though I find racism and all other forms of prejudice unacceptable and flat out WRONG, I too was judging and stereotyping these groups of people before I even knew them, only relating them to my previous assumptions. I believe these assumptions primarily developed from the images I have seen in the media. (Also my family, friends, educational systems…pretty much all things one comes in contact with living in the United States.) From this realization, I felt eager to participate in the “cultural plunge” assignment and try to learn why I and so many others have developed these preconceived ideas about groups of people that are different from us. I was reminded of a song by Everlast, which speaks about stepping into another person’s shoes, and seeing what their life is like from the other side of things. Maybe if we were able to step into “other” peoples’ shoes for at least a few minutes every day, we would begin to understand them for who they really are and appreciate all people regardless of our differences…Some of the Lyrics from “What It’s Like,” by the band Everlast:



We've all seen the man at the liquor store beggin' for your change


The hair on his face is dirty, dreadlocked and full of mange


He ask the man for what he could spare with shame in his eyes


Get a job you f&*%in' slob's all he replied






[CHORUS]


God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes


'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the blues


Then you really might know what it's like [x4]






Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom who said he was in love


He said don't worry about a thing baby doll I'm the man you've been dreamin' of


But three months later he said he won't date her or return her call


….


And then she heads for the clinic and she gets some static walkin' through the doors


They call her a killer, and they call her a sinner, and they call her a whore






[CHORUS]


God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes


'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to choose


Then you really might know what it's like [x4]






I've seen a rich man beg


I've seen a good man sin


I've seen a tough man cry


I've seen a loser win


And a sad man grin


I heard an honest man lie


I've seen the good side of bad


And the down side of up


And everything between


I licked the silver spoon


Drank from the golden cup


Smoked the finest green


I stroked the fattest dimes at least a couple of times


Before I broke their heart


You know where it ends


Yo, it usually depends on where you start






I knew this kid named Max


He used to get fat stacks out on the corner with drugs


He liked to hang out late at night


Liked to get shit faced


And keep pace with thugs


Until late one night there was a big gun fight


Max lost his head


He pulled out his chrome .45


Talked some shit


And wound up dead


Now his wife and his kids are caught in the midst of all of his pain


You know it crumbles that way


At least that's what they say when you play the game






[CHORUS]


God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news


'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to lose


Then you really might know what it's like [x3]






To have to lose...

"Oppression," by Marilyn Frye

       Before reading this article by Marilyn Frye titled, Oppression, I realized that I didn’t really know the definition of the word “Oppression.”  I am not sure what I thought oppression meant, but I knew it was a negative thing and was something that happened to people when others discriminated them against.  Frye begins the article by defining oppression according to what she thinks it is.  Frye states that when “the stresses and frustrations of being a man are cited as evidence that oppressors are oppressed by their oppressing, the word “oppression” is being stretched to meaninglessness; it is treated as though its scope includes any and all human experience of limitation or suffering no matter the cause, degree, or consequence” (Frye, 2007, p. 1).  Also she exclaims that its consequences hurt the “oppressor” as much as the “oppressie”.  Frye then describes some acts that could be considered oppressive, by giving examples of ways in which members of our society are “oppressed” perhaps without even noticing.  I did not consider these situations as examples of oppression before I heard her aspect on the issue.  One example that I found interesting was the way in which women are constantly criticized for participating in promiscuous behaviors.  At the same time they are labeled as “uptight” or a “cock tease” if they do not give in to a man’s advances.  Another example is the accusations made about women based on how they are dressed or do not dress.  If a woman dresses a certain way she is usually judged as looking either “slutty” or “unfeminine,” giving way to other stereotypes in relation to her sexuality.  It is a no win situation for the women in this case.

       After reading Frye’s debate over what oppression actually is, I understood that situations such as these are indeed oppressive and I too had been oppressed in many ways.  I felt that overall this article pointed out some valid points surrounding the issue of oppression, but I also felt that her views seems rather bias.  I would have appreciated more examples of how other types of people are oppressed based on their differences and how they too get stuck between this limbo of what is considered “right” or wrong” according to the society we live in.  The last section discusses how some people think the act of a man holding the door for a woman is an oppressive act.  I agree to an extent but I personally think that it is nice when a guy holds the door for me.  Whether than an expression of control or dominance over the woman, I believe that it has just become more of a common practice that people engage in daily and could even be considered a sign of respect for the woman.  I see her point, but I think that these people and Frye are simply over-analyzing the situation, almost searching for ways to say men oppress them.  I know that I too hold the door for others, regardless of their race, gender, or any other characteristic of the individual.  It is like saying, “thank you” or “excuse me” in that it has simply become a habit among the “gentlemen” of our society and something they just do without thinking.  Sometimes I feel that people internalize the ways that they “think” they are oppressed, causing them to assume or create ideas about others that may not be true.  Isn’t this technically oppression too?  You be the judge…    

"Defining Racism," by B.D. Tatum

“Defining Racism” is a difficult task especially because oftentimes examples of it are either not recognized or simply ignored by those in the so-called “superior” white race, so much so that they fail to acknowledge they are indeed a part of it. The author B.D. Tatum wrote a book titled, “Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?; and Other Conversations about Race,” explains her definition of racism and why the issues surrounding racism must be incorporated in the education of our students and society as a whole. Tatum explains that when discussing issues of race with others during her research and career, she has found that there is always someone who thinks racism is no longer a problem in our country. These people are ignorant to the prejudices, stereotypes, and disadvantages within our culture and according to Tatum, and furthermore these are the ones that have flat out not been “paying attention to issues of race” (Tatum, 1997, 3). I found her studies with young children to be an excellent way to show how our culture places stereotypes and bias on “people of color” even in children as young as 3 and 4 years old. Movies and children’s books supply images and ideals about different types of people, not all of which are negative or intentional. For instance, when the children were asked to draw an Indian, the majority of the class drew a dark skinned person with a feather and/or a weapon of some type. Without knowing any actual information about Native Americans or Indians they all drew what they had seen before through the media. At this age they are not knowledgeable enough to understand what certain types of people might REALLY be like or even have the opportunity to interact with and get to know them. This adds validity to the argument that our culture almost subconsciously displays pictures of certain types of people that teach our children a certain stereotyped view of what these people may be like. Because the young children are technically neutral minds at this point and have only had their families and the media around them to build their assumptions and opinions about people, it becomes obvious that these are very influential sources on their ideas about others. “Cultural racism” has formed in America through our social, economic, and political systems teaches children that there is an “assumed superiority of white’s and an assumed inferiority of people of color” (Tatum, 1997, 6). I DO NOT support this “system” of racism that has formed in our country and hope that one day I can actively participate in reversing this problem and how we teach children about others.

Brown vs. Board of Education Article

The article, "Landing on the Wrong Note; The Price We Payed for Brown" by Gloria Ladson-Billings, was very informational for me because I do not know a great deal about the judicial cases surrounding American education or the how these cases have affected our school systems. Though the content was interesting, I had a hard time pushing myself to finish the article because I am not one to spend a lot of time studying or being actively involved in political matters. I did although find it particularly disturbing that so many African-Americans had in the tried to fight for their rights to equal educational opportunities in court before Brown vs. Education in 1954, but their attempts failed most likely because of their race. HOW UNFAIR!! I know that times have changed substantially since these cases were brought to trial, but still were our court systems not always “supposed” to be “fair and just” to ALL, regardless of race, religion, or any other differences???...(Even back then?) Isn’t our country supposed to be built on a “democracy”?? According to Encarta Dictionary online “democracy” means,” the free and equal right of every person to participate in a system of government, often practiced by electing representatives of the people by the majority of the people.” When I looked at synonyms for the word democracy, I came across the term Egalitarian, meaning “maintaining, relating to, or based on a belief that all people are, in principle, equal and should enjoy equal social, political, and economic rights and opportunities.” It made me wonder if our country is just now starting to realize the meaning of and purpose for our constitution. Although we have a better appreciation and understanding of our governing laws and values, I am still not sure we properly enforce them!



I particularly liked the statements made by Charles Lawrence in this article relating to a major flaw of Brown and how the courts promoted a “way of thinking about segregation” that tolerated the political and social systems to ignore the “reality of race in America” (Ladson-Billings, 2004, 3). The author of this article, then goes on to explain how Lawrence felt we should combat the problem of segregation beyond our classroom. I could not agree with Lawrence more when he says that desegregation of schools cannot be the entire solution to the problem and that we need to start to thinking of ways to desegregate SOCIETY as a whole. When our students leave their school each day they are still walking into a world where they are separated by or disadvantaged because of their race. Brown was definitely a step in the right direction, but there are so many other issues within our now “desegregated” educational systems and the daily lives of our students that need to be dealt with further!! After reading this article I would agree that the case of Brown vs. Board of Education came with many costs, but without it the a change in our education systems in terms of facing prejudices in school may never have begun!

A MUST Read for all teachers and teachers to-be...“Turnaround Teachers and Schools,” by Bonnie Benard

The article “Turnaround Teachers and Schools,” by Bonnie Benard was by far the most inspiration article I feel we have read all semester long!! I agreed with many points made in the article and was intrigued by so many of Benard’s arguments I do not know where to begin. The article discusses the issue of “closing the achievement gap” and uses several cases about real-life teachers and schools as examples of those that go above and beyond in the quality of teaching, with aims of reaching out to all students regardless of their background or struggles in school. These “Turnaround Teachers and Schools” provide beneficial educational strategies and programs that are built on “resilience,” providing 3 basic “protective factors” (as called in this article), that are “critical to healthy development and school success: caring relationships, high expectations, and opportunities for participation/contribution” (Benard, 1991, 1996). I could not agree more that these three factors can “turnaround” almost any struggling student! Reading this encouraging article has contributed to several additions I will be making to my own teaching philosophy. I am a firm believer that once you show someone you care about their lives and treat them with genuine respect they will feel equal to you in value and importance. Through the process of creating these caring relationships with your students you can encourage them to excel when they are feeling doubtful of themselves. Oftentimes children do not have the support they need from someone at home or even have the necessities to live healthy lives, especially those living in poor conditions and low-income areas. As teachers to these “at-risk” students, we often do not realize how strong a leader we can become in their lives or the impact we can have upon them. This is the “POWER OF A TEACHER” that Benard talks about. I thought further about how my teachers have impacted me in my life also. Other than my close family and friends, my teachers have been the people who have shaped who I am today and believed in my abilities as an artist and a student, in and outside of school. I thought about how in our teacher (Ms. Boyer;-)), told us how much she cared about us and how comfortable she felt being around us and teaching us. She also explained that she does not view us as merely her students, but as if we are equal to her and that she learned just as much from us as we did from her! This is a perfect example of how a teacher can show compassion for her students and express that she enjoys actively listening and getting to know them as people.

Personally, if I know my teacher truly cares about my success in their class and beyond, I cannot help but want to do well. I cannot explain it, but I almost feel that I must do well in these teachers’ classes because I know they have invested their time and personal energy into helping and guiding me. I think that a teachers’ compassion for her students makes a huge difference in a student’s success because it motivates them to do their best and try to prove what they are capable of. My favorite quote from this text related to how “turnaround teachers” use lessons that are “student-centered” and focus on the understanding the “whole child” in all of their facets, moving beyond cognitive skills. Benard then states that these special teachers “also understand that student motivation is driven by needs of love and belonging, respect, autonomy/power, mastery, challenge, fun, and meaning, and that successful learning experiences are designed to meet as many of these needs as possible…”. I feel this is very important because I too want to be a teacher that tries to fulfill the needs of my students to the best of my ability, becoming more than just their teacher who teaches them information.



Along with my comments on Benard’s article, I also wanted to try to empower others to do the same with their students. I challenge my classmates and other teachers to-be to REALLY consider the affect and impact you have on the children in your classroom. As teachers we not only impact their education, but their lives and the person they will become after they leave our classroom. It is a rather strange comparison to make but as I was driving back from school after reading this uplifting article, I began to think of the relationship between the effects we have as teachers on our students to that of the decisions we make while driving on the highway. The decisions we make while driving consciously and subconsciously (like the decision to let my mind wander away from the road right nowJ), effect all other drivers on the road. I can either choose to make reckless decisions or “thoughtful” decisions that will affect those around me whether I know it or not. Not concentrating on the job at hand (driving), could cause me to wreck, ruining someone’s life or my own. I can also choose which direction I want to go, leading me in either the right or wrong direction.


These decisions we make during driving are much the same as those we make when we are teaching. We are always influencing our students and setting examples for them whether we realize it or not; just as we make decisions on the road affecting the other cars around us to act accordingly (I.e. Changing lanes without noticing the car next to you causes the other driver to make a split-second decision also). As a teacher I can either decide to make “thoughtful” decisions about my teaching and my students or I can be uncaring and “reckless” with the way I teach them. A non-resilient teacher is a reckless one and can have negative effects on the students, just as our careless decisions can while driving. We must be aware of our students and try to predict how they may need help. This means being actively involved in our students’ lives and paying attention to their words and actions. Just as we should ideally be doing on the road…we should constantly be re-evaluating our surroundings and all other cars on the road. Lastly, when driving we can choose to go the “right” way on the road, similar to how we can also choose to lead our students in the right or wrong direction. Ignoring our students individual situations and the specific help they might need beyond academics, could only lead them in the wrong direction. If I could choose one thing that I wish for you all to take away from my comments here (and Benard’s article), it would be for all teachers to TRULY consider the impact you can and WILL have on your students and to NOT take it lightly! Helping your students to the best of your abilities and making them feel good about themselves can only in turn make you feel better about yourself also right??! It’s a win-win situation!!

History books...allll lies??

After reading the Christopher Columbus article by James Loewen, I began to question all the information I was taught in history classes I have taken and even other subjects too. It seems that many things we are taught in textbooks, are not the truth or actual facts we need to know, but instead a set of facts or ideas that “someone” or some group of people want us to know. Perhaps it is our govt. or educational leaders because they want us to grow up having certain similar values. I went through as I read the story about Christopher Columbus and wrote down thoughts or questions I had about why I thought our educators or govt. groups might do this....and for what reasons they believe it is their responsibility to do so. (instead of teaching the truth or other possibilities for what has happened throughout history). For one, books try to humanize Columbus in order to make his story more appealing to the public and less controversial. There are so many inconsistencies between books and also large amounts of information that disprove the accounts that are in our books, I find it incredible that we all believe anything that we read. It is almost as if schools or the govt…or whoever chooses to feed us these half true stories is out to trick us and force us to all believe as they do. Isn’t the point of education to teach us what is true…or how to determine the difference? Quite ironic isn’t it. It is also almost like the writers of textbooks are just too lazy to take the time to try to explain the facts, as unruly or shocking as they are. Not all of the true stories of history are that bad! They just need to be backed by substantial evidence in order to prove their relativeness and impact on our current society. I feel cheated though, thinking that there is probably soooo much more that I have been taught in school that is false or only half-true!

Blog 2-Chapters 1, 4, and 12

I read these articles in the order that they were assigned meaning I read chapter 4 first, entitled, "Educational Vision," by Henry A. Giroux. The idea of a teacher's vision seems to be a common subject among my education and even art education classes here at UNCG. I enjoyed this article specifically because the author seems to realize that teacher's need visions to guide them in their teaching, but he focuses on what aspects of our educational systems, that hender us from doing so... even though ultimately our goals for educators are to be critical thinkers that "struggle for principles of equality, freedom, and justice"(Giroux, 2009, 30). Does this not seem like a contradiction? I felt that several issues the author discussed here related to our class discussions directly also! For instance, he talks about how our govt. cuts spending for public schools and how this directly effects the poorest of our societies and keeps those students behind.. often being the people that need help and education the most! He also discusses President Reagan's program,the "Reagan commitment," and how he implemented topics like patriotism using the "cold war ideology of military preparedness" and concentrating on indv. achievement for the greater good of all(Giroux, 2009, 30). I wanted to pose several questions for you all from this perspective. Because these implementations on our systems have obviously not led us into a nation of peace, Why don't we teach classes on peace rather then war...or the benefits of togetherness and working in groups to create positive impacts on our society? It seems more logical to me, but does not seem to the case. Giroux goes on to discuss the 1990s and how our educational programs should ultimately be responsible for creating a better workforce in our country, but what about everything else our students need to be equip to do in order to survive and think for themselves? I often wonder if our educational aims, are too centered around problems facing the country currently and not the bigger picture of what theses programs will do in the long run!

Blog One-01/27/2010

After reading," Why Go To School?", by Steven Wolk, I found very few thoughts that I did not agree with in terms of his overall opinion of what U.S. schools are NOT doing(or not enough), and SHOULD be doing. I often found myself saying YAH!!..THEY ARENT AND WHY NOT?? I also wonder with pieces of writings out there like this, why do they never seem to fall into the right hands of someone who could do something about it? Not saying I could not, or will not at least try to do my part to do something about it, but I mean NOW! Sooo many of his thoughts seem so obvious that it is silly they are not already crucial parts of our educational systems!! For example, why are so many of our young Americans not educated about current political issues ...especially when these generations are the ones that will soon be voteing for our future leaders. I sound ignorant in saying so, but I too have voted in not 1, or 2, but 3 elections, knowing little about the candidates I am voteing for. To be totally honest when I voted the first time, I voted on the premise that my dad was democratic and always supported them so it must be the right decision across the board..I marked straight democratic ticket...not even taking the time to weigh the options. Why first of all, if we want an educated youth ''politically,'' and to develope "better and more democratic citizens" with our school systems, are we not teaching them about these facts when the time comes for them to vote?? (Preferably before) If we ever want to start making some right decisions in this country...WE NEED TO START EDUCATING OUR STUDENTS ABOUT ISSUES SUCH AS THIS, THAT REALLY MATTER!!..like our environment for instance... one of the topics Wolk feels we exclude. Here I am speaking about the environment beyond the study of rocks and landforms which we do do, but about we how can start to change the environment before we kill our ozone and all fry to death. Yes.. we teach about conservation and pollution, but if I remember correctly, there might have been one chapter about conservation in my science books throughout my 12 years in school...and it was at the end mind you... Still now, the only effects that I feel our generation learned from this one chapter was to recycle and turn the lites out when you leave a room. it just doesnt make sense! Wolk names many other issues that are important, that we are just NOT including, or at least not enough. These included topics like peace, global awareness, and media literacy.
I also feel that our current school systems tend to use many instructional methods of assessment or "teaching" that can in some ways deter a child from learning rather then help. Some of these tools such as "fill-in the blank" worksheets, unrealisticly long reading assignments, and of course, the grueling copying of definitions are intended (I think at least)to engrain enormous amounts of information in our students heads. They are not challenging them to think and expand. Instead these processes are numbing our childrens minds and taking the fun out of learning. Taking away special activities like field-trips and interactive lessons...or furthermore whole programs, such as art and music, are simply causing our children to lose interest in going to school. This thought leads me into my next post, surrounding the article, "The Goals of Education, by Richard Rothstein and Rebecca Jacobson...to be continued...