Gayness, Multicultural Education and Community
By: Dennis Carlson
Premise:
- Gay = Ignored
- Sexual identity
- Privileged
- Homogenous
- Separate
- Marginalized
- Schools
- Silent spaces
- Normalizing
- Homophobia
- Text books
- Gay teachers/students
Author's Argument
- Carlson argues that people who are gay are "invisible" because the community, especially the schools systems, tries to pretend that "gayness" doesn't exist.
Evidence
- Carlson discusses how text books never actually touch on the subject of homosexuality or how it is never brought to peoples attention that some of the most famous authors in history were gay.
- People that are gay have had to form their own groups because they are ignored by the "normal" groups (Page 234).
- Teachers who have been found to be gay have been fired because the school officials think gayness is wrong and students should not be exposed to homosexuality.
Questions/Comments
- To be honest I did not like the article very much. I agree that Carlson made some good points but, it was hard to understand what he was trying to say. It took me forever to read the article. I kept getting lost in the words and I just could not follow. One situation that I thought was unfair was that gayness is typically associated with disease. Through my schooling experience I have found this to be true and I agree with Carlson that this is part of the problem of discrimination against people who are gay. I also agree with one of the remarks a teacher made about students. I agree with him that some children just are not mature enough to discuss homosexuality.
There were some parts of the article that I did not agree with. First of all I found it to be completely shocking that the student called the homosexual teacher a faggot. I could not believe that there are children who actually think it is okay to do that. I guess that's just the way they were brought up. One other part of the article that I did not agree with was the part about homosexuality being contagious. I do not exactly understand what Waller means by that but, I would definitely like to know more about why he thinks that and where he is getting his information from. For the most part the article was good, just hard to get through.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Talking Point # 2
Aria by, Richard Rodriguez
Premise
- Socially disadvantaged
- Wealth = better education
- Public/private language
- Teachers responsibility
- Lost identities
- English vs. Spanish
- Public acceptance
- Distanced family
- Individualism
- Loss of expression
- Loss of culture
- Public/private society
Argument
- Rodriguez argues that each person has two lives. They have their private individuality and their public individuality and each person must find a way to stay true to both lives.
Evidence
- Rogriguez states that he once loved to hear people speak Spanish, it used to bring him joy, but because he was forced to be part of the public language it no longer did.
- He says that teachers were unsentimental to his needs as a student and he decided that he needed to change because nobody would help him.
- He was disappointed that his parents changed who they were and began to speak English, forgetting who they were or where they came from.
Questions/Comments/Points to share
- I thought this article was very easy to read. The fact that it was a personal story made it more interesting and much easier to get through. I thought that this was a very sad story. At first it seemed as though Rodriguez had a really good idea of who he was and he was proud of that. I feel like the education system made him ashamed to be Hispanic and he began to forget who he was. I did not like that his parents had to change who they were and how they conducted themselves because their children did not receive the help they needed. The article just made me sad for that family and sad that they lost who they were because they felt like they had to be like everyone else.
Premise
- Socially disadvantaged
- Wealth = better education
- Public/private language
- Teachers responsibility
- Lost identities
- English vs. Spanish
- Public acceptance
- Distanced family
- Individualism
- Loss of expression
- Loss of culture
- Public/private society
Argument
- Rodriguez argues that each person has two lives. They have their private individuality and their public individuality and each person must find a way to stay true to both lives.
Evidence
- Rogriguez states that he once loved to hear people speak Spanish, it used to bring him joy, but because he was forced to be part of the public language it no longer did.
- He says that teachers were unsentimental to his needs as a student and he decided that he needed to change because nobody would help him.
- He was disappointed that his parents changed who they were and began to speak English, forgetting who they were or where they came from.
Questions/Comments/Points to share
- I thought this article was very easy to read. The fact that it was a personal story made it more interesting and much easier to get through. I thought that this was a very sad story. At first it seemed as though Rodriguez had a really good idea of who he was and he was proud of that. I feel like the education system made him ashamed to be Hispanic and he began to forget who he was. I did not like that his parents had to change who they were and how they conducted themselves because their children did not receive the help they needed. The article just made me sad for that family and sad that they lost who they were because they felt like they had to be like everyone else.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Talking Point #1
Amazing Grace
By: Jonathan Kozol
Premise:
-Poor
-People of color
-Drugs
-Heating issues
-Unclean homes
-Murders
-Religion helps
-Dirty neighborhoods
-Minorities
-Sick people
-AIDS
-Rape
-Drug Addiction
-Horrible living conditions
-Lack of medical care
Argument:
Kozol argues that a place like the South Bronx is not a good enviornment for a child to grow up and be educated in. He also argues that children of color do not deserve the horrible living conditions that they are subjected to.
Evidence
1. Kozol learns that children are forced to go play in the drug park at night while their parents do drugs or recieve free condoms and needles.
2. The only place that children have to go and play is St. Ann's Church. The streets that these children live on are so terrible that the church is the only safe place that the children have. It is also a place where a lot of children come to get food because their parents cannot provide food for them.
3. The young boy that Kozol talks to seems to be very grown up for his age. He has had to give up a childhood of joy and fun because of the place that he lives in. It is clear that when Kozol talks to the boy that he is not even effected by all the terrors of the Bronx because that is what he has gotten used to.
Questions/Comments
As far as the structure and organization of the aritcle I thought it was written very well and easy to understand. I think the stories were really sad to hear. I could not believe that some people have to actually live that way. I mean I have heard about people who have to live in places like the Bronx but reading some of the stories were shocking. I think that this article was a lot easier to read because it was personal stories of people who have really hard lives.
I think that it is very hard for children to grow up in a community like this. Between all the sickness, the danger and the horribe housing conditions I don't know how any child would be able to focus on their education. Even the educated people are poor because there are no jobs. I feel that it is really unfair for some children to be forced to live, learn and grow in a place like this. All in all the article was just depressing and it really made an impact on my view of the way that poor people live.
By: Jonathan Kozol
Premise:
-Poor
-People of color
-Drugs
-Heating issues
-Unclean homes
-Murders
-Religion helps
-Dirty neighborhoods
-Minorities
-Sick people
-AIDS
-Rape
-Drug Addiction
-Horrible living conditions
-Lack of medical care
Argument:
Kozol argues that a place like the South Bronx is not a good enviornment for a child to grow up and be educated in. He also argues that children of color do not deserve the horrible living conditions that they are subjected to.
Evidence
1. Kozol learns that children are forced to go play in the drug park at night while their parents do drugs or recieve free condoms and needles.
2. The only place that children have to go and play is St. Ann's Church. The streets that these children live on are so terrible that the church is the only safe place that the children have. It is also a place where a lot of children come to get food because their parents cannot provide food for them.
3. The young boy that Kozol talks to seems to be very grown up for his age. He has had to give up a childhood of joy and fun because of the place that he lives in. It is clear that when Kozol talks to the boy that he is not even effected by all the terrors of the Bronx because that is what he has gotten used to.
Questions/Comments
As far as the structure and organization of the aritcle I thought it was written very well and easy to understand. I think the stories were really sad to hear. I could not believe that some people have to actually live that way. I mean I have heard about people who have to live in places like the Bronx but reading some of the stories were shocking. I think that this article was a lot easier to read because it was personal stories of people who have really hard lives.
I think that it is very hard for children to grow up in a community like this. Between all the sickness, the danger and the horribe housing conditions I don't know how any child would be able to focus on their education. Even the educated people are poor because there are no jobs. I feel that it is really unfair for some children to be forced to live, learn and grow in a place like this. All in all the article was just depressing and it really made an impact on my view of the way that poor people live.
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