Gender Social Injustice Event Blog

Gender: A Restorative Way of Thinking

When you are bullied in school based on gender, you feel unsafe to be in this community and feel too shy to tell someone. If that is the case, then one productive action to take would be to come and visit one of gender studies’s powerful seminar hosted by a powerful speaker who really has a strong understanding on how to solve gender and social inequalities in schools. 

For example, on October 17th, I went to visit a lecture on Preventing Gender Based Violence through Restorative Justice hosted by a powerful woman named Kiara from Pawtucket, RI. This lecture talks about how people with different genders are bullied and provides some solutions on how we shall prevent others from bullying. This can be involved and take place at home, school, and/or any other location. As she talked about the basics of gender bullying, Kiara talked about how we should use restorative justice (such as talking to others and discussing how can we solve this issue) rather than retributive and punitive justice. For example, if gender bullying happens at school, I believe that there is a guidance counselor or possibly a school principal that we should talk to in order to get restorative justice instead of just being punished by rules. Gender is a voice, a voice where you speak up for yourself and not be shy or too afraid of the bully. Despite this example, I found three articles from Johnson, Delpit, and August.

Connection 1: Johnson’s Article

My social justice event connects to the first article from Allan Johnson’s article, Privilege, Power, and Difference. From this article, Johnson argues about how important it is to talk explicitly about issues of privilege, power, and difference and work towards a more just and respectful world. One quote that I found that connects Johnson’s argument to my gender social justice event really exhibits a powerful message that says, “WE CAN’T TALK ABOUT IT IF WE CAN’T USE THE WORDS” (Johnson 11). This powerful message teaches gender-based students how to speak up when being bullied and be an advocate for yourself. Additionally, let’s talk about another author that argues about power and what rules and codes we shall teach to the kids in line with the message of the social justice event.

Connection 2: Delpit’s Article

My social justice event connects to a second article: Lisa Delpit’s article, The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children. From this article, Delpit argues that other teachers explicitly need to teach the rules and codes of power to students who haven’t learned it at home. These rules are explained as Delpit Moments because they “are a reflection of the rules for the culture of those who have power” (Delpit 24). This means that teachers can have the authority to teach students how to speak up for yourself and not feel like you are left alone and being miscommunicated. This message reflects the same message about teaching students to speak and stand up for themselves as it is portrayed in the social justice event.

Connection 3: August’s Article

My social justice event connects to the third and final article from Gerri August’s article, Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth. From this article, August argues that people can’t learn if they don’t feel safe and makes a suggestion that schools need to work on how students can express feelings about themselves whether they have a gender problem or not. While doing this, August targets any teachers who really want to help students feel safe by saying, “any adult interested in creating safe spaces for LGBT youth needs to consider the impact of schooling on the social and psychological development of young people” (August 84). This means that you can bring discussions into the table for students to listen and learn how to solve solutions while standing up to someone who is bullying those particular gender-based students.

In conclusion, my social justice event connects to many different arguments on how we should solve a gender-based bullying problem. All of the three ladies above show we can use a restorative way of thinking rather than punitive and retributive ways of thinking for all teachers. They all explain differently, but agree on a direct solution to stop gender-based bullying in schools. To learn more about restorative justice and to stop gender-based bullying, visit some of the hyperlink articles below. Thank you!!

Hyperlinks:

1. https://www.weareteachers.com/restorative-justice/
2. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/restorative-justice-overview/
3. https://chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2019/01/04/the-first-gold-standard-study-of-restorative-justice-is-out-heres-what-it-tells-us/

Shor Blog

Education is a term of not just academic or social aspects, it is about politics. 

Ira Shor's article, "Empowering Education Critical Teaching for Social Change", is definitely an example of politics in education. Ira Shor writes and publishes this article to explain why teachers disagree on what curriculum they should follow by their school district. He offers a strong pedagogy for teachers. It also exhibits suggestions for teachers on how to transform approaches toward critical thinkings.






As I would like to talk a little bit about Shor's Article, I will extensively comment on Shaelyn's arguments about the article.

#1: Shaelyn's argument on "teacher and student" mutual respect

I believe that Shaelyn did a really nice job with arguing on how school classrooms should be places where you would get involved in a discussion with a teacher about your education. I think this a good thing because it should allow students to have more of a say in what they are learning. Students would have more of an interest in going to school and to learn. To back this up, I chose a quote from page 24 on Shor's article saying, "The authoritarian traditional curriculum itself generates bad feelings which lead many students to resist or sabotage the lessons." This quote shows how students act out when they don't agree with a teacher's bad curriculum. This quote goes to show that giving students more of a say shall avoid negative feelings toward the teacher and the curriculum

#2: Shaelyn's memory on her past education (Pre-College Memories)

I also believe that Shaelyn did a really nice job on her past education memories in her talking points section. This made me think of a memory of when I had struggled through certain academics like English and Writing. If I were to have a bigger voice, then I would've had more of an interest in those classes. This compares to Shaelyn's memory because we both have educational experiences where we wish we had more of a say in what we are learning.

In conclusion, I really liked Shaelyn's post overall because I liked comparing educational memories with hers. I also liked how her blog made me think about how teachers and students should have mutual respect for each other. For the article, I liked how Shor's argument toward a good education for students and how we should allow students to be in an open discussion with teachers. To wrap this up, I believe that both Shaelyn and Shor did a really nice job at making their arguments about education.

Brown V. Board of Education Blog

Brown V. Board Case: A Message of Inclusion

Segregation? Is that a good word for our schools? A good word to say in front of other Americans based on race? I must say, ABSOLUTELY NOT because I will tell you a brief history of what segregation means in the United States!!! 

From the early 1900s, the United States America was under a group of horrible racial laws called the Jim Crow Laws. These laws segregated all whites and African Americans from going to places equally during the first half of 1900s. On the education side of things, in the early 1950s, many African Americans were sick and tired of getting separate educational studies from other individuals.



All of this history led to the most ambiguous 1954 Supreme Court case called the Brown V. Board of Education. This will be the topic of discussion through quotes in this blog.

Quote 1: 

"Expectations regarding student achievement are frequently much lower, and there are lower levels of parental involvement. These, of course, are the very schools in which so many black and Hispanic children are enrolled."

This quote came from the first page of Herbert's Opinionated Article, "Separate and Unequal". I chose this quote because it shows the expectation of how minority students don't perform as well as whites do academically. Meanwhile, the 1954 Brown v. Board case targets better educational opportunities for all disregarding race and wealth. Because of this, there is absolutely no defense for rampant racism in public schools.

Quote 2: 

“Ninety-five percent of education reform is about trying to make separate schools for rich and poor work, but there is very little evidence that you can have success when you pack all the low-income students into one particular school.”

This quote came from the second page of Herbert's Opinionated Article, "Separate and Unequal". I  chose this quote because it shows how people are trying to create schools for the rich and schools for the poor. However, this can absolutely never work because the Brown V. Board Case tells that being separate is very unequal for all people who pursue the right education for success.

Quote 3: 

“So we're not talking about the Normandy School District losing their accreditation because of their buildings, or their structures, or their teachers. We are talking about violent behavior that is coming in with my first-grader, my third-grader, and my middle schooler that I'm very worried about” (Cirami).

This quote came from an Anti-Normandy protestor named Beth Cirami. For those who don't know, I believe that an Anti-Normandy protestor is something that you do not like about the Normandy School District. Anyways, back to explaining the third and final quote, I chose this quote because it is showing that they are ignoring and violating the 1954 Brown V. Board of Education by separating students by race. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT RIGHT FOR OUR SCHOOLS!!!!!




In conclusion, we know that Brown V. Board Case tells us that we can make a difference for all who pursue the right educational needs no matter what status and background they may have. The first two quotes represent right answers, but incorrect ways of thinking. The final quote tells that Normandy is a place that has had previous Brown V. Board violations. Although, over 50 years later, people are still violating this case as a matter of justice. But guess what guys, IT'S ABSOLUTELY NOT OK TO VIOLATE THIS INSPIRATIONAL AND POWERFUL CASE OF INCLUSION AND EQUALITY.

Hyperlinks:

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/segregation-united-states

https://www.landmarkcases.org/cases/brown-v-board-of-education

Kahne and Westheimer Blog #6

SERVICE LEARNING BLOG

Service Learning... What does that mean to have service learning? One answer is Volunteering!!!! Kahne & Westheimer's article, "In The Service Of What? The Politics of Service Learning" summarizes the idea of learning and improving skills on how to become a Youth Development (YDEV) Worker or a teacher. From the political optimism of U.S. Presidents JFK and Ronald Reagan, education became a reemergence in forms of service learning because there are lots of volunteers who want to teach kids how to become better educators.


Kahne and Westheimer's powerful essay on Service Learning connects to the readings of Kozol and  Johnson along with  my first service learning visit back in end of September.

Connection #1: Kozol's Amazing Grace

The first connection to Kahne and Westheimer's article is from Jonathan Kozol's Article Amazing Grace. In this article, Kozol is trying to lead a discussion of what's happening in the world right now by comparing social injustice problems to a rat infestation. By doing this, Kozol is attacking against Social injustice "rats" by saying, "Rats, like injustice, are a constant threat to the people in this community" (Kozol 5). Kozol is trying to make this point as a lesson to all because it is getting away from teaching or working with youth as a YDEV worker.

Connection #2: Johnson's Privilege, Power and Difference

The second connection to Kahne and Westheimer's article is from Allan Johnson's Article Privilege, Power, and Difference. When we talk about service learning as a whole, it is to learn that community service is to work for a privilege. For example, Johnson said that, “privilege exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply […] because of anything they’ve done or failed to do” (Johnson 23). When he discusses about service learning as a privilege, we talk about how we can question ourselves after doing the service learning provided. These questions can be asked by yourself like "What did you learn from this experience?" "Are you ready/capable of teaching young people as a whole?" As educators or youth developers, we have to be aware and understand privilege is important for service learning.

Connection #3: My First Service Learning Visit

As we connected Kahne and Westheimer's article to the two articles from Kozol and Johnson, I would like to tell some stories from my service learning visits. Once I walked into the Robert Kennedy School where my service learning project takes place, I saw the building comes from the old days before education reforms in the 1990s. The significance of this moment is the differences between the old days where you handwrite papers and notes and the modern days where technologies played a major role in reforming education. I am saying this because the Service Learning article talks about how this is the moment where you compare educators who demonstrate the power of all students' learning levels to the old days where basic level of education happens.

In closing, there are many things that we can understand about service learning and how can we let other new educators make a difference to society as a whole. Basically, when we connected the service learning article to the two articles from Johnson and Kozol, we summarize how social injustice in the education system is a rat infestation that has to stop immediately and to question the role of service learning. Also, when connected to my first service learning visit, I compared the student levels at Robert Kennedy School from modern days to the old days. As we close up this blog, question yourself immediately about your experience in service learning and its importance to education/youth development programs.

August Reading (Blog #5)

A Reflection of LGBT Community Struggles

An LGBT community struggles through academic and social aspects. In consideration, Gerri August wrote an essay to discuss how LGBT students and teens were harmed by adults and other students because they were not socially fit for the classroom. Suddenly, lots of teachers decide to create seminars and open discussions to express how the LGBT communities feel today and what can we improve on. If I was someone who is part of the LGBT communities, I would feel the same as them because I would feel lonely up till being included in a classroom discussion. I would feel this way because I would be afraid of how people would react to how I am a part of the LGBT community in the first place.

Another point to this discussion would be that LGBT Communities are affected by psychological and social developments. According to the article, one quote that I feel is the most important for this blog is that, "schools are 'outcubators' -- places that introduce new ways of thinking and behaving" (August 84). If I was an administrator worried about the LGBT community, I would feel that it is time to make a change by bringing in-school discussions to shape and include the LGBT to our school communities. I would feel this way because 1) we can communicate more with the LGBT  culture and 2) I believe that inclusion is the best for all schools and communities.

Connection: After reading all of this article, I decided to connect this piece to Lisa Delpit's "Silenced Dialogue" essay and from one of my blogs on Mr. Jonathan Kozol and Mrs. Peggy Mcintosh. First, Lisa Delpit's "The Silenced Dialogue" explains that "there are code or rules for participating in power, that is there is a 'culture of power'". It explains that communication through culture of power is important for all schools to learn more about what is happening with the LGBT communities Second, I connected to Kozol and Mcintosh because (similar to the August article) they want to make sure that inclusion is best for all students whether in or out of the classroom.

In conclusion, LGBT communities at first were struggling, but now they feel more included in many schools. Thanks to the help of many teachers, authors connecting to August's article, and many other students, I believe that the LGBT communities feel much more safer now that classroom discussions and seminars come abroad in public broads. This is a big improvement which all school should keep doing while working with the LGBT communities.

Hyperlink:

https://www.latimes.com/fashion/la-ig-new-gender-fluidity-essay-20160815-snap-story.html

Unlearning Myths by Christiensen

Cartoons! What does truly define cartoons? Well, I got one answer for you...Learning and Satirical HUMOR!!!!! Have you ever watched a cartoon as a child? It depends!!




The reason why these 2 words define a cartoon is because of a powerful essay from a solid writer. That article with the author is Linda Christensen's Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us. This essay is meant to target how cartoons can be connected to a mind of a child or a mind of an elementary school student through academic learning and satirical humor.




Although cartoons can overwhelm you by absorbing so much TV time or spending most time indoors, I do agree that cartoons can give so much academic help and teachers can basically educate children good aspects from old and/or modern cartoons.

Cartoons can give so much academic help because it can bring "secret education" or tutoring to children who need better understanding of the cartoon. According to this essay, Christensen exhibits Dorfman's work by saying that cartoons, or, "Industrially produced fiction[,] has been one of the primary shapers of our emotions and our intellect" (Christensen 128). This quote is definitely an example of how cartoons give academic help because there is something that many students have to analyze and understand the cartoon itself. For example, there are some political cartoons that children can learn about in a Social Studies or a History Class.

Next, Cartoons can help academically because teachers can basically educate children good aspects from old and/or modern cartoons. For example, Christensen exhibits a difference between old and new cartoons by saying that New cartoons "are subtler [than old cartoons] and take more sophistication to see through. But if the students warm up on the old ones, they can pierce the surface of the new ones as well" (Christensen 130). These cartoons can give educational aspects from Christensen's quote to other children because it can show how much creativity they put in the cartoon back to the old days compared to the new days. They can also write essays while critiquing cartoons which will encourage many other kids to watch and take notes.

Below is an image of comparing Tom and Jerry Cartoons back in the 1930s/40s-ish to new T + J cartoons on Present Day:

Although cartoons help children get good aspects from teachers and as a "secret education" tutoring, many kids absorb too much T.V. time or spend most of the day indoors which overpowers their education from videos and lead to academic downfalls. For example, Christensen exhibits three other students' graded essays from three cartoons, "Duck Tales -- Grade: C-", "Teenage Mutant Ninjas Turtles  -- Grade: D", and "Popeye -- Grade: F" (Christensen 136). Not only they have such bad grades based on poor understanding and judgement of these cartoons, but students also are getting behind on their work because they spent most TV or Indoor Time rather than finishing homework and/or going outside on a beautiful day.

In closing, we know that cartoons tend to overpower academics, but can also help understand what political issues are going on in the real world. We discussed that cartoons can show academic help and can tutor you on the stuff going on in the real world which can be solved by other kids pursuing their futures. Cartoons are powerful and helpful to others in a sense of learning and SATIRICAL HUMOR.

https://www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/unlearning-the-myths-that-bind-us

Aria Richard Rodriguez

Reflection of Rodriguez

This powerful essay is a story about how a young man's life has changed through the power of language. 

A young Mexican immigrant, Richard Rodriguez, is the person whose language translated to English is very difficult to him. Despite his struggles in speaking the right language, he could not speak up in front of the classroom and was on danger of failing his academics. This all changes in the moment of practicing the English language at home. One time in that moment, Rodriguez's teachers came in to his family home and talked to Rodriguez's parents about starting to practice speaking English at home. Once Rodriguez and his siblings learned a lot about speaking English, there was understandably a division between the Rodriguez kids and their parents.

If I was Rodriguez, I would feel shocked of how power of language can destroy a family's relationship. For example, I think that the struggling concept of Rodriguez speaking English is a main target for the downfall of his family's heritage. This quote I chose from Rodriguez's essay is the part that he is describing "special feeling of closeness at home [which] was diminished by then" (Rodriguez 36). I feel that this quote chosen by me is the start of dividing a family based on power of language. Rodriguez's parents still don't understand how to speak English as much as the kids and Rodriguez himself. This is a good example chosen by me because of the way how families can sometimes split due to the power of language.




Connecting to how I feel about Rodriguez, I chose this cartoon of the person trying to understand cat language while the cat is still not understanding his language.









In conclusion, my feelings toward Rodriguez are shocking and interesting because Rodriguez's language translated to English as a Mexican-American is a story. Although Rodriguez is still alive at 75 years old, he can still tell childhood stories that connects to the power of language. To sum this reflection up, I advise people to understand more about speaking english rather than speaking at home.