talking point. Barrack and a hard place

This speech was very interesting. Like everyone else's blog i reviewed, i too was unaware of the this White Privilege Conference. The quotes i chose were

"allows us often times to view criminals of the dominant group as mere individuals while too often viewing black and brown folk through the lens of a group pathology whenever one of 'theirs' violates our legal and moral norms"

I like this quote because i feel it really ties into one of our other reading. The dominant group referred to is whites, who would we could also call the "Culture of Power." What he's saying is that when a white commits and illegal act, we only look at them as a white person. When a person who isn't white commits the same act, we look at their entire race as a whole. I never really understood why this happened, but it is nice to see someone else is thinking the same thing.

"the past affects everything, that what comes before shapes us in ways more profound than any of us would probably like to acknowledge"

I also liked this quote, and feel it really jumped out as i watched the video. Looking at the best and all the unfair treatment minority races recieved, and looking now and seeing that they still aren't treated fairly really makes me wonder. If the military can look back and realize what tactical mistakes they made, and change their approach, white can't whites realize that their "tactics" or treatment of minorities is a mistake still being made and why can't we change it.

check out this video on white privilege

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

visits 4-5

March 17

This Wednesday was my fourth trip to the Subterranean Tree Fort, and I was looking forward to getting started on the new materials with the kids, and get their attention back to where it was the second week and beginning of the third. We settled in and got to work on the new stuff. The kids were all having a slight problem paying attention, but I feel it was because the classroom temperature was very warm. I know from experience that a really warm classroom creates a sometimes difficult learning environment. Aside from the slight lack of attention, the kids were doing very well working our way through the new stuff. Again they were disappointed when the session was over.

March 24

This Wednesday was probably the best day at my Subterranean Tree Fort. I had two kids leave the group permanently because they are back on grades and no longer require the extra help. They were sad to not be part of the group anymore, but at least they were able to extract something out of the weekly group work. The new kids that were assigned to my group were also not white, making the ten children I’ve worked with thus far all non-white. The session went well and we got lots of materials covered. The teacher informed me that every child in my group was ascending in grade levels since I started working with them.

School Visits 1-3

Feb. 4

Today was my first visit to Subterranean Tree Fort. I was excited to get in and start helping these young kids. While I was waiting in the office there a third grade student waiting for his father to come get him and start his suspension from school. However this didn’t make me worried about the kids in my class. When I got settled down the kids were all well behaved and very attentive. It made giving them the extra work they need easier. It was also interesting to notice that there were only a few white children in the class, and none of them required the extra help the others did.

March 3

Today was my second visit to the Subterranean Tree Fort. I was looking to forward to getting in and getting right to work. The children’s positive attitudes toward this extra learning made it very easy to get together and get started. The kids all settled in and cooperated and we were able to cover everything that was assigned without any problems. I could tell that the kids really did want to get this extra help, and it was amazing how much they would settle down to receive it.

March 10

Today was my third visit to the Subterranean Tree Fort. The kids were all excited to sit down and get to work. We worked on the same materials as the previous work, and made it through with even fewer difficulties than before. The kids were showing great progress and we finished everything and they even appeared to be disappointed when we ran out of materials to cover. I could tell they were getting sick of repeating the same stuff, and becoming less attentive. On my way out of the school I asked the reading coach to add some new games and activities to help keep the kids interested.

talking points five

Josh Wainwright

"The experiential 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 feel this quote is important for several reasons. First it should help motivate many other people to step up and get involved in these kinds of projects. Everyone should want help get rid of that sense of "otherness" because it will be a large step forward towards allowing everyone to feel equal.

“Just as the difference between change and charity may provide an important conceptual distinction for those analyzing service learning curricula, it is helpful to distinguish the moral, political, and intellectual goals that motivate those who support service learning.”

i chose this quote because i feel it helps spread the word about service learning. The way this quote is worded helps ignite a sense of interest to learn more about the topic and how to get involved. once people understand all parts of service learning projects, it will help increase the amount of participants.

"Service learning activities seek to promote students' self-esteem, to develop higher-order thinking skills, to make use of multiple abilities, and to provide authentic learning experiences."

I chose this final quote because i feel it really sums up the entire article and enables everyone to . It helps people to develop a true understanding of all the benefits associated with service learning projects. Hopefully it will catch peoples attention and more people will get involved, and service learning projects turn into a very common part of everyday life, making our communities that much more friendly to be a part of.

carlson

Josh Wainwright

Dr. Joyce Stevos

Carlson Talking Points

1. "The official policy in most school districts is in fact identical to that of the U.S. military, namely: "Don't ask, don't tell."

I chose this quote because I found it particularly interesting. First off the military has not always allowed gays in the military. Standard questions asked before signing included questions about one’s personal sexual orientation and if they were in fact a homosexual. This policy has gone on force homosexuals to lie about their sexual backgrounds in order to join. There has always been and always will be homosexuals enlisted in the military, and it shouldn’t matter either way. I feel I had already recognized that most schools are don’t ask don’t tell as well though. In high school when ever classmates would have a teacher about their significant others, they would either be open to discussing it, or sometimes say it’s not an appropriate topic for class. I personally don’t feel it’s necessary to know a teachers sexual orientation, so long as that teacher doesn’t let it affect their ability to act professional.

2. "Throughout this century, one of one primary means of ensuring that gayness was an invisible presence in the school was through the dismissal of teachers who were found out to be homosexuals. Early in this century, the dismissal of gay teachers was legitimated as a way of keeping young people from being exposed to improper role models, lechery, and child molestation"

I chose this quote because it kind of goes along with my first one. If these teachers were fired just because someone went through the trouble of discovering their sexual backgrounds, than they were wrongly terminated and deserve compensation. However if they were allowing their sexual orientation to affect their level of professionalism and acting inappropriate than they were rightly terminated for the sake and safety of the children.

3. "Nevertheless, normalizing texts systematically exclude and neglect the culture of those outside the norm for the purpose of ratifying or legitimating the dominant culture as the only significant culture worth studying."

I chose this quote because I feel it’s really important. Now a days I feel it is very important for people of all ages and especially school children to learn about many other cultures. If texts are normalized then children are going to miss out on many great learning opportunities, plus grow up neglectful of other people and their cultural backgrounds.