Talking Points #7

"ANITA HILL IS A BOY"
TALES FROM A
GENDER-FAIR CLASSROOM

By: Peggy Orenstein

In this piece, Peggy Orenstein argues that she does not want gender byism in the classroom. She wants to bring more females into a "male-dominated" curriculum.

1.) "Women are one-half of the world's people; they do two-thirds of the world's work; they earn one-tenth of the world's income; they own one one-hundredth of the world's property."

This quote states that even though the women make up half of us and do most of the work, that they are not respected enough to earn as much as males in this society.

2.) This is a classroom that's gone through the gender looking glass. It is the mirror opposite
of most classrooms that girls will enter, which are adorned with masculine role models; with male heroes, with books by and about men-- classrooms in which the female self is, at best, an afterthought.

This quote tells us that in history, we learn about heroes in history, but they are all about males. We do have our female heroes, but they are all mentioned and then moved on. We need to spend more time.

3.) "I don't see what the big deal is about women," he says, and I prepare to
hear him say that he's tired of Ms. Logan's unfair focus on the female sex.
But I've judged Jeremy too quickly. "I mean, as long as they're interesting,
what's the difference if they're women? Women are people, too, you know?"

This quote came at the end of the year when one of the kids confronted Ms. Logan about the project. Now after all the work with women, you would think that he was complaining, but it was the exact opposite.

Well I don't think that this is out of the question that this was a litlle heavy on the women side. I remember learning about plenty of women in history. Women have alot more to do with recent history, than past history, and this is because women are alot more involved now. I did think it was easier to read, and it did point out the fact that we need to give women more respect.

I think that this relates to christenson in the fact that Ms. Logan is fighting back but in a respectful and correct manner. Not necessarily exactly what christenson is getting at, but I think it is the closest author.

Do you guys really think that we have such a male dominated curriculum in schools?

Talking Points #6

"One More River to Cross"Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown:
A Prerequisite to Shaping New Remedies
By: Charles Lawrence

In this piece, Charles Lawrence does not necessarily argue a point as much as he states facts as to how the Brown vs. the Board of Education court case influenced our nation.

1.) "In short, segregation American-style, like South African apartheid, has only one purpose: to create and maintain a permanent lower class or subcaste defined as race."

So, our early Americans just wanted to feel like they were above somebody. Whether it was because of all the years of tyranny that our forefathers endured back in Europe, or the just the plain fear of an uproar I don't know but what kind of logic is this. Just think how it would feel to be treated barely one step above an animal.

2.) "The small cadre of lawyers who formulated and implemented the BTCYWIl strategy were well aware that the desegregation of schools would not be a panacea. Their ultimate goal was full political and civil equality for Blacks; they knew that this could not be achieved until the entire system of segregation had been destroyed."

This court case did not completely solve the problem of segregation, but it did shock the world and have alot of influence on the overall outcome of segregation. I think that this is what we should do with major problems today. I think that just because we will not get immediate results, that we are afraid to tackle these issues.

3.) "In Washington v. Davis, the fact that blacks did less well on a standardized test was a direct result of the fact that Washington, D.C., and environs had maintained a school system segregated by law until 1954 (Bolling v. Sharp)" and had perpetuated that segregated system by using an only slightly more sophisticated system of classroom segregation through tracking until 1967 (Hobson v. Hansen)."

This does not show that black kids were dumber than white kids, but it did show that our government spent less attention to the school system provided for blacks. If you want equal results, you haveto teach equally.

This was a little hard to read at the because of all the law jargon, but I acquired a basic gist from the meaning of sentences. I have also learned about the Brown vs. The Board of Education case before, so I knew somewhat to expect. This relates to other racial topics that we have talked about in class before, but this is more about the history. This is where it all started. If folks had not made concious decisions to make statements we would not be as comfortable with race as we are today. Granted we are not perfect now, but we have come a very long way.

Again, I think that if we are going to tackle issues like global warming and world hunger, we are going to haveto make a statement. It has worked for what seemed to be an issue that would never be solved, why can it not work for these issues. Just a thought to bring this issue into our world today.

Talking Points #5

"In The Service Of What?
The Politics of Service Learning"
By Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

In this article Kahne and Westheimer argue that service learning helps all aspects of the idea. It helps the student as well as the person or people or place that they are helping.

1.) "Service learning makes students active participants in service projects that aim to respond to the needs of the community while furthering the academic goals of students."

This quote supports the authors' argument. Service learning doesn't even have a negative to it. It is positive all the way around.

2.) "For Thanksgiving this year my stepmother and I helped serve the seniors their Thanksgiving dinner. This was a very rewarding experience helping others in need. It seemed that the dinner was something special to them; it was a chance for them to get together with their peers. Many don't have fumilies in the area and are all alone for the holidays."

And for most of us, this is why we have chosen this career path. I personally am willing to give up some of the salary just to see the smile on someone's face when I have tagutht them something valuable. It makes you feel good.

3.) "Efforts to integrate service learning activities into the curriculum have great potential and deserve the support they are now receiving. To date. however, little attention has been given to sorting out the goals and motivations that underlie the spectrum of service learning projects emerging in schools throughout the country. Is it beneficial to point out such differences and risk creating some opposition to service learning? We think so. Clarifying different goals provides educators with an opportunity to consider systematically a range of possible priorities (including some they might otherwise not consider) and the relation of these to their practice. "

Service learning is like any other goal in life. You haveto get to your goal the right way. Do not try to take shortcuts, because it will catch up to you in the end. For example if I went to VIPS every Friday and just tried to stay quiet and get through it each day, it would get me through the day, but in the end I would fail. I haveto stay focussed on my goal of teaching the kids I work with something everytime I go there.

This is a different piece, but a good change in pace. It was easy to read, and it gives me some ideas for the next time that I go to VIPS. It does not directly relate to what we have been reading as far as subject matter, but just as teaching strategies go with diversity, this has some teaching strategies to use at your individual student learning.

Question: What specific strategies can we use to succeed in our individual student learning projects, and give Service Learning projects across the country a good reputation?