G.I.N.A.S.F.S.

GLSEN's Educators' Guide to Ally Week  (reflection)

          In my high school, we had a GSA (gay-straight alliance), and I know we had "Ally Week", but the events were not really popular (at least I don't think so).  This guide really opened my eyes to the purpose of GSA and Ally Week, and how to make your classroom (and school) a safe place for people of any sexual orientation.  The statistics in the article really jumped out at me, 

"84.9% of LGBT students heard 'gay' used in a negative way" 

"71.3% heard homophobic remarks frequently or often at school"

"81.9% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed"

"38.3% reported being physically harassed"

"18.9% reported being physically assaulted at school"

and these are just a few of the facts!  I had always known that there were issues with sexual gender in society, but like the articles we had read before those in the culture of power don't notice the issues that arise out of the culture of power.  I feel like no matter what a person's stance is on LGBT rights, the should recognize the real problem, which is that, "school-based victimization denies students their rights to an education".  Regardless of gender, sexuality, races, ethnicity... all students should have the right to an education, and have the safety to attend school.

         This guide also explains that an ally is, "an individual who speaks out and stands up for a person or group that is targeted and/or discriminated against." It is also important to note that an ally is normally someone who does not identify themselves as LGBT, meaning that everyone can help, even if they don't identify directly with the person being discriminated.  Ally Week is a week dedicated to the awareness of discrimination towards LGBT, where students and teachers pledge to support LGBT individuals, and intervene (safely) when students are being harassed.  As the article explains, it is very important that a teacher pledges, and that they encourage their students to pledge as well.  At the same time, I would hope that teachers would not just sign their name, without understanding the responsibly they are taking on.  Signing the pledge is a way to show that the classroom is a safe place for LGBT students, and the teacher will support them and protect them in times of harassment.  

         The guide also has tips for teachers about how to celebrate Ally Week.  In addition to taking the pledge, teachers should open class discussions with questions like:

"Describe any anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying/harassment you have witnessed in our school"

"How safe do you think our school is for LGBT students?  How do you know?"

"Why do you think it's important to be an ally to LGBT students?"

"What can we do as Allies, to help make this school safe?"

These questions are open to all students in the class to answer, allowing them to open up and explain their experiences.  This could also offer a difference of opinion, where some students think the school is completely safe, but others have witnessed harassment.  The guide also suggests that teachers screen movies that deal with LGBT issues.  This can also open up discussions for students of any background to share what they believe, and how they can help.  As a teacher, it is important to show how important GSA and Ally Week should be, and even after Ally Week, they should be supporting their LGBT students when issues arise.  

• Did  your school have a GSA or Allied group?  If so, did other students understand the importance or was it just another club?
• Have you witnessed any LGBT harassment or bullying?  If so, how did you react?

On a side note, the song title I chose for this article fits perfectly, 

G.I.N.A.S.F.S. (Gay is not a synonym for shitty)

Has anyone heard this expression before? 

 

This is Who We Are

"Teaching Multilingual Children" - Virginia Collier (hyperlinks)

          While reading this article, I couldn't help but think that if children used a mix of English and Spanish (or whatever their first language is) in the classroom, it would hinder the learning process.  I thought that "code-switching", as Collier explained, would only bring forward the child's weakness and provide an easy way out for them to use the language they are most comfortable with.  For example, if they were trying to explain something in English and couldn't find the proper word they could just use the Spanish word rather than figuring out the word they needed in English.  This, for me, would result in the child having a gap where the word would never be understood in English.
          I decided, however, to do a little research because Collier was starting to convince me otherwise, but I wanted a second opinion as well.  I found an article from NBC that helped me to see things more clearly.  Before the learning process is even explained, the article presents the fact, "in 2008, less than a third of the students scored at or above proficient on the state English language arts test", and that in the most recent school year the scores "more than doubled to 62 percent".  These results were nothing to sneeze at, and instantly caught my attention.  The technique at this particular school is to teach students in Spanish for 90% of the day until they reach the 3rd grade level.  After that, they are taught more in English than in Spanish.  Another important part of the learning process, is that the class size is lower than 20 students, allowing for more one-on-one and small group time.  This article really helped me to understand the points that Collier was making in her article.
         Following the rule that Collier set forth, these teachers, "do not forbid students from code-switching in the classroom", which allows the students to understand both languages better.  Since the students start out with the language they are most comfortable, and are slowly introduced to the language they are learning, it helps them to relate the words of both languages and become proficient in both languages.  It also helps the students to be less overwhelmed than if they were just forced to learn English (not in the ESL sense, but in an ordinary classroom).
          These articles allowed me to understand the benefit of having a bilingual teacher to guide students into learning both languages.  But at the same time, not all ESL students speak Spanish.  There are many other languages in the world.  While it is great to have a teacher that can speak two languages fluently, there is also the underlying fact that a teacher can not learn every language, or teach a classroom full of students with different languages.  This process works best because the students all speak dialects of the same language, but this would be harder to use in a classroom if there were different languages.

Blinded By the Sun

"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" - McIntosh (argument)

     In think article, Peggy McIntosh argues that there is a white privilege, even if some people don't realize it exists.  McIntosh discovers, "men's unwillingness to grant that they are over privileged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged", or rather there are obvious disadvantages in society, but those who are not effected do not believe they are at a privilege either.  She also explains that she was taught that different races were at a disadvantage, but that she was never told that she had the privilege, or that she was part of the dominant group.  I have endured a similar upbringing, where I never realized that being white meant you were "above" the other races, in the sense that you had less hardships throughout your life.  Today, I can realize that, yes, people of other races do face problems that I do not have to face on a day-to-day basis, like speaking English fluently, or having people look at or treat you differently.  In this article, Peggy McIntosh is saying that we need to acknowledge that "white privilege" exists, and learn how to change the privilege to a cultural norm in society.  White people have to acknowledge their power, and learn to share this "power" with everyone else, because there is no reason for one race to be dominant over another.  I also discovered a website where the organization was designed to remove the "privilege" from white people.  The page that I have linked you to explains their goals and also how to take action in the process of dismantling privilege from society.  This group is exactly what McIntosh believes that society needs; people to understand that privilege exists and that we need to work to remove it.  

About a Girl

Warped Tour 2011 - Comcast Center, CT - The Venetia Fair

First and foremost: music is my life.  If you haven't noticed my blog name/link, and this post title are both song titles, its a trend I hope I can continue to follow.  I love going to concerts, and meeting bands with my friends.  One of my favorite concerts is Warped Tour, which I have attended 6 times over the last  5 years.  You can see me in the picture to the right, I am all the way to the right in the front, the second girl holding up a camera.

     

Reno, NV - Smithfield Sentinels - Junior Olympic Nationals 2008

I also love to run, although I haven't had alot of time to get myself back in shape.  I ran in middle and high school, and I was on a National Junior Olympic running team where my team made it to the National Championship in Reno, NV.  Unfortunatly, it was freezing cold (8 degrees, literally) and there were feet of snow during our race.  In this picture, I am to the right in the pink headband.  

  Now you know a little bit about me, so leave a comment so I can learn about you :) 

Jessica <3