The Test

Obama vs. Romney - Education

          There is no question why education is an important topic for me, in the election.  In addition to currently attending college as an education candidate, I also truly feel that students are the future, and they need to be educated to the best of our ability.  I feel that students who are less fortunate should still have access to great education, and that there should be funded programs, grants, or scholarships for those students who can not afford to pay for college. 

          I have found an article from The Washington Post that explains both Obama's and Romney's positions on various subjects in education.  What really surprised me was before the article gets into the positions, the author included a statistic that 1% of voters (according to a poll on ABC News) cite education as the most important deciding factor in the election.  I can understand that fixing the economy, and getting out of the war are more important topics at this moment, but I thought that the percentage would be a little higher. (I am in no way suggesting that education should be the most important topic)  I feel like students need to be educated so that they can take on powerful positions in the future.  

Vouchers

          According to the article, Obama is opposed to vouchers, meaning opposed to using public tax money to pay tuition at private schools.  To defend this point, he explains that giving money to private schools drains the resources that public schools would be gaining.

          In opposition, Romney, supports the use of taxes to pay for tuition at private schools.  He also "wants to take federal tax money that is sent to public schools to help educate poor and disabled children and instead reroute that money, allowing it to follow the students to private schools if they choose to attend them"(2).

          Personally, I am undecided on this issue.  It seems wrong to use public money for private funding, but if a low income student needed to get out of their neighborhood to have a better life, they deserve that opportunity.  At the same time, if the money was given to public schools, the students would not need to go to private schools to get a "better" education, instead the public schools would be a great source of education for them.  I feel like (with every issue), there are some people that this could truly help, but there are other people that may take advantage of it.  

No Child Left Behind

          The article states that Obama supports, "the requirement that states test children; break down the scores by racial group, income and disabilities; and make those scores public" (2).  But at the same time, Obama acknowledges that states were "watering down their academic standards to make it appear that students were performing better than they were"(2).  

          Romney also supports aspects of No Child Left Behind, and has, "increasingly been calling for a smaller federal role in K-12 education"(3).  He also supports the "emphasis on testing and accountability" from the legislation.

          It is clear that both candidates want to make changes to No Child Left Behind.  I feel like academic standards should be held to the highest standard, and every school should teach their students to do great.  At the same time, I think that the test should serve as a checkpoint for schools that are not passing.  Instead of instantly saying they are a bad school, or the teachers don't do their job, the school should be evaluated, while people try to find the reason that test scores are low.  Perhaps, the school needs funding for text books, or the population of the school speaks a different language, and can't understand the questions.  In other words, I think everyone is quick to judge that the teachers are always at fault, and there may be other factors that are not clear on the federal or state levels.  

          Just researching these two topics, I found out how intense the election will be.  There are points that I agree with, from both candidates, and the ideal candidate would be a mixture of the two.  I agree that the schools should be funded more on the state level, because they will know what schools need help, and what needs to be done.  On the federal level, I feel like there is a huge distance from the people in the school and those who are funding specific things.  If the federal government is simply looking at test scores, they are not seeing the whole picture, and I feel like the state government sees a larger picture, and can individualize their education reform.  

What do you think about these (or other) topics in education?

How do you feel about the stances and what the candidates plan to do?

What topic(s) are really important to you?

      

Spend Some Time

In the Service of What? - Kahne Westheimer (Extended Comments)

          For this post, I chose to comment about Vanessa's blog post. 

Vanessa's first quote is about the educational experience that service learning can allow students to have.  If the students "engage in critical thinking", they will be able to have a strong sense of themselves and can appreciate those who are less fortunate.  I feel like this quote also explains the reasons that we reflect on our service learning project, which allows us to critically observe what works and what doesn't in our own experience.  

The second quote is about the benefits that service learning can have on individuals.  As Vanessa points out, it is important to acknowledge the reasons and motivations that students have when completing service learning.  It would be a useless project, if the students only did what they were told, rather than wanting to help their community, and make connections with those people they help.  While no student should expect to literally rewarded (ex. money), it is important to learn the process of getting your name out, and that the people you help may be willing to do you a favor in the future.  

Vanessa's last quote shows the way that educators feel about service learning.  These educators have brought service learning into their classrooms, and have witnessed the inspiring experiences. In our own service learning project, it is clear to see how we are impacting students who need extra attention in the classroom.  This is where we are putting our names out there and gaining resources that may help us in the future.  This project is also allowing us to experience our future occupation, and gain important experiences for our future endeavors.  The bottom line is that service learning projects are important for the students who participate as well as those who benefit in the community.  It is great to have the sense of accomplishment and knowing that you are making a difference in your community.   

Barbie Girl

Cinderella Ate My Daughter - Orenstein (Connections)

          "We know what we do, we often know why we do what we do.  But what we often don't know is what we do, does." - Michel Foucault 

          I know this not directly an article that we have looked at in class, but I think this quote has become a big part of our recent discussions.  For me, this quote directly relates to the business industry as described by  Orenstein in the article.  We get a real view of how the business mind works in the section about pink and blue baseball bats.  

"If you make a pink baseball bat, parents will buy one for their daughter"(true story, I used to play softball)  "Then, if they subsequently have a son, they'll have to buy a second bat in a different color.  Or if they have a boy first and then a daughter, they'll want to buy a pink one for their precious little girl.  Either way, you double your sales." (43)

This quote (as told by a female marketing executive) explains what I feel is the thought process behind all of the pink toys.  If you have a boy and a girl, the parents will want to give their daughter something for themselves, rather than a hand-me-down from their brother.  By pinkifying toys with no clear gender target, (for example Monopoly, baseball  bats, etc...) the companies are doubling their profits.  For me, this was the exact use of the Foucault quote.  These industries know that they are making two (or more) versions of the same toy, they are doing it because they are going to double their sales, but they don't understand the social and internal impacts that "gendered" toys have on children and society as a whole.  The reason that I found it necessary to state that the marketing executive was female, was that I don't feel like she is a bad woman for selling pink toys.  Even the female workers do not realize the impact that their smart financial decisions might not be a lucrative for society.  I feel like this woman would not purposely cause girls to feel inferior to boys, or take part in the physical issues that girls face.  In other words, this woman is strictly thinking about her job, making a profit, and impressing her boss, she does not realize that simply the color pink could have such a tremendous effect on children.    



         This article also revisits Delpit's "culture of power", in the sense that dolls represent different cultures, but their success depends on the culture of power.  "It turned out that [American Doll] Kaya, like Disney's Pocahontas, did not inspire a lot in the way of outfits or accessories."  This quote, for me, is explaining that the industries put out dolls that represent different cultures, in this case Native American heritage, but the dolls are not equal to the dolls that fit the culture of power.  It is almost like they are trying to lure kids away from the different cultured dolls, and encourage them to succumb to the stereotypical white Barbie dolls.  In a way, its like saying "here's the Native American doll" or "here's the African American doll", but all the accessories and clothing is the white Barbie's property.  "She has more, so you should buy her."  Of course all Barbie dolls (and probably all American Dolls and Bratz dolls...) can fit in the same clothing, but sometimes, because of the culture of power, it is clear which doll should be wearing which clothes.  There are of course different cultures of Barbies (specifically), for example these Barbies of the World.           

But would they "fit in" by wearing Americanized clothing?  At the same time, should they wear Americanized clothing, rather than their own cultural designs?  These are just some things to think about, in the sense of pride in ones culture, and accepting others as they are, not trying to change them.  At the same time, what use is a Barbie that can't change clothes?  When these dolls are played with at home (provided the child's parents aren't collectors like mine, who still won't let me take them out of the package) there is almost a guarantee that the dolls will be wearing clothes that are not from their culture.  There should be more clothing options to reflect Barbies (or other dolls) of different cultures, so that children learn to accept and understand differences.     

Do you think that Barbies of difference cultures are equal to the original white Barbie?

Did you (or your sisters) have Barbies of different cultures growing up?

Do you blame the industry for the issues of insecurity in girls?

If you don't think that Barbie actually impacts girls (of course not EVERY girl) watch this video about a "Real Life Barbie" who is considered "the most beautiful woman" and think about how society judges beauty.

Hey Princess

Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us - Christensen (Quotes)

"When we read children's books, we aren't just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated"

          This quote sets the stage for the rest of the article.  It is clear that the author's focus is on the importance of societal dependence on media, and how it influences the people living in society.  When a child reads a book, they don't realize that they are exposed to the codes of power that are held in the society, instead they think they are reading a "cute book".  This form of educating people about their place in society clearly works perfectly, because it is only when a teacher brings up this process, that the students start to realize it.  In other words, we are easily taught the rules and codes of power, without doubting it, until someone shows us differently.  If no one brought up the process, would students pick up on the racism, sexism, or other forms of discrimination?  How would society be different if everyone ignored the stereotypes in pop culture? 

"Both of these tales leave young women with two myths: Happiness means getting a man, and transformation from wretched conditions can be achieved thorough consumption" 

          Here, it is clear to note that it is not only one form of discrimination in the media, but rather a number of different aspects that are considered discriminatory.  In the Cinderella stories, it is not only the racial factor, but the blatant sexism that causes young readers to get the wrong message.  The children in the classroom noticed the "big picture", which was that Cinderella was always portrayed as white, and they recommended that there be princesses of different cultures.  They did not think about the other aspects of the story that are still discriminatory, like sexism and that a woman needs a man and marriage to be complete.  It is important to acknowledge all aspects of these media representations, noticing that there are more societal issues than what is noticed at first glance. 

"Our society's culture industry colonizes their minds and teaches them how to act, live, and dream."

          This is the most important quote from the article.  It sums up the entire article in one sentence, pointing out that society targets everyone, as early as childhood, to teach them the rules and codes of power. We are told how to act, live, and dream, based on the media that surrounds us.  Some parents may think of television as a way to calm a young (and hyper) child down, so the parent can get a little bit of down time, but it is so much more than that!  "Innocent" cartoons that so many people have grown up on have issues of racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination.  

        I found these videos on youtube that show specific examples of racism in cartoons and movies. The first one is a 10 min video (I know, its a little long) titled "Disney Racist Examples" that presents examples of racism and racial stereotypes in Disney movies.  It is filmed more like a documentary, with interjections of interviews with people of different cultures comment about how their race or ethnicity is portrayed in the media.  As you could imagine, many of the youtube comments are negatively responding to the video, but in a way that seems like they were not willing to realize the discrimination in these films they love.  The second video, entitled "Top 10 Racist Cartoon Moments" is a shorter video (3 min) that simply shows select racist scenes, without explanation.  It is a good eye-opener, and it might be surprising for people to see how racist certain parts of classic cartoons are.  It will at least open the door for discussion about discrimination in the media.  

First Video - Disney Racist Examples

Second Video - Top Ten Racist Cartoon Moments           

Streets of Gold

Where I'll Be Tonight!!!

                 

A Little's Enough

Censorship and Banned Books 

**all information is taken from the American Library Association** 

          Today in class we briefly talked about banned books, and I would like to provide a little more information.  First, lets look at some the terms (as defined by the American Library Association):

challenging a book- is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. (They are treating their values as the values of ALL people).

banning a book- is the actual act of removing a book from the curriculum or library, restricting others from accessing the book. 

Reasons that books are challenged:

• it is against the person or group's personal values
• not age appropriate
• adults are "protecting kids" from the content
• book is too frightening for kids
• thought provoking (not same ideas as society presents)
• religion
• racial issues
• the occult (witches, magic...)
• language (swearing...)
• drug use (alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes...)
• violence
• sex
• nudity
• homosexuality
• book is considered anti-family

         The most important thing to remember about censorship and banning books is that every parent has the right to prevent their children from reading something that they don't agree with BUT they do not have the right to restrict everyone's children, thinking they know whats best for everyone.  As we have explored in FNED, not everyone's values are the same, therefore one parent can not know how every child will react to the material.

         Also, it is important to realize that there is a good chance that the person/group who is trying to ban the book, might have not actually read it.  For example, they hear that there is a rape scene and therefore are against the novel... without actually reading it.  Another important thing to note is that a person/group might be challenging a book because they are afraid of it, or the topics in it.  For example, if a parent had experienced rape, they are afraid of revisiting that moment in their life and would try to ban the book using a different reason... because they are too afraid to admit why they are really against the book.  "I am banning this book for improper language and sexual content" rather than "I have experienced rape and reading the book evoked horrible memories that scared me". 

Here is a list of books that have been challenged/banned and the reasons:

•  TTYL, TTFN, L8R, G8R (series) - Myrcle                                                                                                   Reasons: language, religious view point, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
• The Hunger Games (trilogy) - Collins                                                                                          Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, insensitivity, offensive language, occult/satanic, violence
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Lee                                                                                                                Reasons: offensive language, racism
• My Sister's Keeper - Picoult                                                                                                        Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence

**Visit the ALA website to look at the 2010/2011 List, the Top 100 Challenged books in 2000/2009, and many more!** The books may surprise you! 

          These are just a few of the books that have been challenged in the last two years.  It is important as future teachers to realize that you never know what a parent might object to in a book that you plan to teach.  The easiest way to deal with censorship is to send out a list of the books you plan to cover at the beginning of the school year and invite the parents to come into the classroom to look over the books.  By doing this, you are putting the ball in their court, and if they try to challenge you, you can explain that they had the chance to look over the books.

How do you feel about censorship? Is it at any point a valid movement? 

What will you do to protect yourself from censorship challenges in the classroom?

Do you have any questions about censorship/banning books, or how to protect yourself?