“School Girls: Young Women, Self-Esteem and the Confidence Gap” By Peggy Orenstein
This article is about:
Gender
Equality
Society
Women
Rights
History
Lesser
Male
Female
Education
Gender-fair classrooms
Male dominance
Author's Arguments:
Peggy Orenstein argues that there should be gender equality within the curriculum giving students the opportunity to study both men and women which will allow the students to open their eyes to both genders being of equal importance.
“‘It disturbed me that although girls were willing to see men as heroes, none of the boys would see women that way.’” pg 5
“‘I think that it’s the resentment of losing their place. In our other classes, the teachers just focus on men, but the boys don’t complain that that’s sexist.’” pg 11.
“‘Because I include women, I’m seen as extreme. If I took those lessons out and concentrated only on men’s experience for a whole year, that would be ‘normal’’” pg 14.
As a girl I never really thought of making the curriculum in my classroom more female based, not making it the more dominant gender, but making it equal to the male gender. I think how Ms. Logan did it in her class was interesting making all of the boys do their projects on a female and all of the girls do it on a male. For a girl, to do a project on a male and to dress up like them isn’t a big deal because it happens all the time. When a group of girls have to do a project and one has to dress up like the boy, it isn’t a big deal. But if a group of all boys has to do a project and one has to dress up like a girl, they change the project all around. But since Ms. Logan made it necessary for all of the boys to do a monologue of a woman in history, it wasn’t as big as an issue as it could have been.
I think that it is so funny how much this society has gone backwards when it comes to sexuality and gender. In the ancient Greece, homosexuality was a normal thing, and everyone did it, and it wasn’t as huge of an issue as it is today. Some people shun others who are gay, when it used to be the normal way of life. The same goes for the theatre, who do you think played the women in all of Shakespeare’s plays? That’s right, men! Now when we have to talk about women in history and when these kids had to dress up like them and become the person, it wasn’t considered to be normal. I think that it is a way to teach the struggle that women had and that these young boys can help change the way women are treated. I would defiantly do an exercise like this in my class. It might not be considered normal, or well received by the parents, but at the end of the day if the students learn something from it, nothing else will matter.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Talking Points #8
"Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome" by Christopher Kliewer
This article is about…
Downs syndrome
Community
Citizenship
Disabilities
Democracy
Equality
Individuality
Creativity
Unique
Opportunity
Author’s Argument:
Christopher Kliewer argues that through citizenship people with Down syndrome can be recognized as creative and thinking individuals that can add something unique to the learning community.
“Acknowledge students with Down syndrome as thoughtful, creative, and interesting learners with personal identities that distinguish them from all other people suggests an individual value that enhances any context containing the child.” pg 208
“They’re different in terms of what their bodies are like, how they best communicate, what they’re like socially, their interests… it would be hard to say ‘this is how you should teach kids with Down syndrome.’ They are not at all alike.” pg 207
“To eliminate a single person through any form of banishment, no matter how benevolent the logic, reduces the web and makes the community a less democratic and less rich place.” pg 212
When I was started to read this article I didn’t know what to expect. I knew that I would be interested because I am a special education major, but I didn’t know what point they were trying to make when I began to read. But as I continued all I could think of was tracking and how much this article relates to Jeannie Oakes’s article that we read a couple of weeks ago. I was amazed how quickly I made that connection and to be completely honest, I was very proud of myself. What I think Kliewer is arguing is that we need have children with Down syndrome in our classrooms because we can not exclude them from their education just because we think that they cannot learn the material. Just because they cannot express themselves as we can in everyway, they have different ways of expression and they can bring a unique way of learning to the classroom.
I have wanted to be a special education teacher since I can remember and I have volunteered and observed in many classrooms. I have never thought about having students with Down syndrome in a mainstream classroom. I know that people with Down syndrome are loving and friendly and they would be great for a mainstream classroom, but it is the reception of the other students I would be worried about. Some people don’t feel comfortable around people with disabilities, but if the interaction happened at an early age I think everyone could benefit by the collaboration. I have never thought about this before and I think if it is done properly could really help everyone involved.
This article is about…
Downs syndrome
Community
Citizenship
Disabilities
Democracy
Equality
Individuality
Creativity
Unique
Opportunity
Author’s Argument:
Christopher Kliewer argues that through citizenship people with Down syndrome can be recognized as creative and thinking individuals that can add something unique to the learning community.
“Acknowledge students with Down syndrome as thoughtful, creative, and interesting learners with personal identities that distinguish them from all other people suggests an individual value that enhances any context containing the child.” pg 208
“They’re different in terms of what their bodies are like, how they best communicate, what they’re like socially, their interests… it would be hard to say ‘this is how you should teach kids with Down syndrome.’ They are not at all alike.” pg 207
“To eliminate a single person through any form of banishment, no matter how benevolent the logic, reduces the web and makes the community a less democratic and less rich place.” pg 212
When I was started to read this article I didn’t know what to expect. I knew that I would be interested because I am a special education major, but I didn’t know what point they were trying to make when I began to read. But as I continued all I could think of was tracking and how much this article relates to Jeannie Oakes’s article that we read a couple of weeks ago. I was amazed how quickly I made that connection and to be completely honest, I was very proud of myself. What I think Kliewer is arguing is that we need have children with Down syndrome in our classrooms because we can not exclude them from their education just because we think that they cannot learn the material. Just because they cannot express themselves as we can in everyway, they have different ways of expression and they can bring a unique way of learning to the classroom.
I have wanted to be a special education teacher since I can remember and I have volunteered and observed in many classrooms. I have never thought about having students with Down syndrome in a mainstream classroom. I know that people with Down syndrome are loving and friendly and they would be great for a mainstream classroom, but it is the reception of the other students I would be worried about. Some people don’t feel comfortable around people with disabilities, but if the interaction happened at an early age I think everyone could benefit by the collaboration. I have never thought about this before and I think if it is done properly could really help everyone involved.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Talking Points #7
“One More River to Cross”- Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown: A Prerequisite to Shaping New Remedies---By Charles Lawrence
This article is about…
Brown vs. the Board of Education
Segregation
Inferior
Superior
Education
Society
Community
Equality
Inequality
Government
Author’s Arguments:
Charles Lawrence argues that the decision of the court case Brown vs. the Board of Education established schools to desegregate; however it did not set a time frame as to when and how schools were to desegregate.
“Each step forward was just that, a step. There would always be ‘one more river to cross.’” 281
“Segregation violated the equal protection clause because of its empirically demonstrated discriminatory effect on the educational opportunity afforded blacks.” 283
“The Court’s refusal to recognize and articulate the real nature of segregation in Brown and its progeny has fostered an attitude and approach to the elimination of segregation that necessarily be unsuccessful.” 286
I completely agree with what Charles Lawrence is saying because the Brown case came to a close with the decision to desegregate schools in the United States; however it was an urgent decision because it wasn’t until years later that they really enforced the verdict. I learned about this case and the cases that followed this in one of my classes last year and the things that occurred from the time of the first decision to the time of Brown II was unacceptable. If they were going to pass a clause that stated that there was no longer going to be segregation then they should have enforced it more.
Finally when segregation no longer occurred in the school systems it didn’t stop what was going on in the real world because discrimination and racism was still taking place in many working environments and equal opportunity was not taking place. I don’t know what I would do if any of this would have happened to me. I think I would have been so angry because finally when the government did do something they didn’t enforce it because they didn’t want to come with a proper system to change what was going on. For the most part I think that I understood this article, however there were certain parts that could have been summarized and didn’t need to go into the detail that it did. And since I know about this particular court case I found it repetitive, but I did agree with the article. I guess I had mixed emotions.
This article is about…
Brown vs. the Board of Education
Segregation
Inferior
Superior
Education
Society
Community
Equality
Inequality
Government
Author’s Arguments:
Charles Lawrence argues that the decision of the court case Brown vs. the Board of Education established schools to desegregate; however it did not set a time frame as to when and how schools were to desegregate.
“Each step forward was just that, a step. There would always be ‘one more river to cross.’” 281
“Segregation violated the equal protection clause because of its empirically demonstrated discriminatory effect on the educational opportunity afforded blacks.” 283
“The Court’s refusal to recognize and articulate the real nature of segregation in Brown and its progeny has fostered an attitude and approach to the elimination of segregation that necessarily be unsuccessful.” 286
I completely agree with what Charles Lawrence is saying because the Brown case came to a close with the decision to desegregate schools in the United States; however it was an urgent decision because it wasn’t until years later that they really enforced the verdict. I learned about this case and the cases that followed this in one of my classes last year and the things that occurred from the time of the first decision to the time of Brown II was unacceptable. If they were going to pass a clause that stated that there was no longer going to be segregation then they should have enforced it more.
Finally when segregation no longer occurred in the school systems it didn’t stop what was going on in the real world because discrimination and racism was still taking place in many working environments and equal opportunity was not taking place. I don’t know what I would do if any of this would have happened to me. I think I would have been so angry because finally when the government did do something they didn’t enforce it because they didn’t want to come with a proper system to change what was going on. For the most part I think that I understood this article, however there were certain parts that could have been summarized and didn’t need to go into the detail that it did. And since I know about this particular court case I found it repetitive, but I did agree with the article. I guess I had mixed emotions.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Talking Points #6
“Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route” by Jeannie Oakes
This article is about…
Education
Tracking
High-level students
Low-level students
Unspecial students
Change
Separation
Learning
Enthusiastic/Unenthusiastic
Richer environment
Equality
Parents
Teachers
Administration
Author’s Argument:
Jeannie Oakes argues that the tracking system in schools needs to be taken out and replaced with a more beneficial system that will affect all students equally in order to help all students be successful.
“Students who are placed in high-quality groups have access to far richer experiences than other students.” pg 179
“Alternative strategies, while not simple to implement, promise to help schools reach their goal of providing high-quality, relevant education to all students.” pg 179
“If students of all abilities are to benefit from being taught together, classrooms will probably need to be organized far differently, providing a diversity of tasks and interactions with few “public” comparisons of students’ ability.” pg 181
When I was younger I had a reading problem, which required me to have extra help in reading, writing and comprehension. I think that if I had to completely go into a lower level class because of that I wouldn’t have been able to succeed. I don’t really like to talk about how hard school is for me and about everything that I had to do in order to be where I am today, but I am at the stage in my life where I feel it is okay to talk about my learning troubles and not be judged about it because I am in college. In elementary school I think because I was in a mainstream classroom I was able to improve my learning ability and the speed at which I learn because I had no other choice. But I also was able to learn from my peers by watching how they would approach a problem and how they learned. It made me work even harder because I wanted to be able to help some of my classmates the way they helped me. Maybe I am just naïve, but I feel like tracking didn’t occur as much in my elementary school. I was given the extra help and support when I needed it, but people weren’t put in separate classes in elementary school because of their learning levels, I see this occurring more in middle and high schools. It started in the eighth grade when you could take algebra or just regular math, then in high school with college prep classes or honors classes. I eventually made it to the honors classes, but it took a lot of hard work.
I think that the main thing that teachers have to do is know that every student does not learn the same way, and because of that they must teach each individual student and not the class as a whole. In order for every student to benefit the teacher must learn not to compare the learning speed of one child with the learning speed of another child because we are all different. If it comes down to teachers taking a different approach to a certain unit in order to help and benefit each individual better then that is what the teacher should do. If we are to separate the high-quality students from the low-quality students and teach them differently then we will have less successful students. Then if you have a separate category that has the “unspecial” students, or the average students, then they will not have the confidence in themselves to succeed because people consider them to be “unspecial.” Some of those average students grow up to be millionaires because they have different strengths, and that is because every student is different. Tracking need to be a thing of the past because what really matter is each individual student.
This article is about…
Education
Tracking
High-level students
Low-level students
Unspecial students
Change
Separation
Learning
Enthusiastic/Unenthusiastic
Richer environment
Equality
Parents
Teachers
Administration
Author’s Argument:
Jeannie Oakes argues that the tracking system in schools needs to be taken out and replaced with a more beneficial system that will affect all students equally in order to help all students be successful.
“Students who are placed in high-quality groups have access to far richer experiences than other students.” pg 179
“Alternative strategies, while not simple to implement, promise to help schools reach their goal of providing high-quality, relevant education to all students.” pg 179
“If students of all abilities are to benefit from being taught together, classrooms will probably need to be organized far differently, providing a diversity of tasks and interactions with few “public” comparisons of students’ ability.” pg 181
When I was younger I had a reading problem, which required me to have extra help in reading, writing and comprehension. I think that if I had to completely go into a lower level class because of that I wouldn’t have been able to succeed. I don’t really like to talk about how hard school is for me and about everything that I had to do in order to be where I am today, but I am at the stage in my life where I feel it is okay to talk about my learning troubles and not be judged about it because I am in college. In elementary school I think because I was in a mainstream classroom I was able to improve my learning ability and the speed at which I learn because I had no other choice. But I also was able to learn from my peers by watching how they would approach a problem and how they learned. It made me work even harder because I wanted to be able to help some of my classmates the way they helped me. Maybe I am just naïve, but I feel like tracking didn’t occur as much in my elementary school. I was given the extra help and support when I needed it, but people weren’t put in separate classes in elementary school because of their learning levels, I see this occurring more in middle and high schools. It started in the eighth grade when you could take algebra or just regular math, then in high school with college prep classes or honors classes. I eventually made it to the honors classes, but it took a lot of hard work.
I think that the main thing that teachers have to do is know that every student does not learn the same way, and because of that they must teach each individual student and not the class as a whole. In order for every student to benefit the teacher must learn not to compare the learning speed of one child with the learning speed of another child because we are all different. If it comes down to teachers taking a different approach to a certain unit in order to help and benefit each individual better then that is what the teacher should do. If we are to separate the high-quality students from the low-quality students and teach them differently then we will have less successful students. Then if you have a separate category that has the “unspecial” students, or the average students, then they will not have the confidence in themselves to succeed because people consider them to be “unspecial.” Some of those average students grow up to be millionaires because they have different strengths, and that is because every student is different. Tracking need to be a thing of the past because what really matter is each individual student.
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