i heard this song on the radio and it made me think of FNED

What's wrong with the world, mama
People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love
The love, the love

It just ain't the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insane
If love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations droppin' bombs
Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin'
in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the love, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love
The love, the love

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin'
Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead in spreading love we spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'

Where is the love (Love)

Talking Point #10 - - Privilege, Power, and Difference: What Can We Do?

Talking Point #10 - - Privilege, Power, and Difference: What Can We Do?
By Allan Johnson


Premise:

• change
• discrimination
• problems--solutions
• responsibility
• power
• oppression
• acknowledgment
  
• difference
• learning
• listening
• attitudes
• solutions
  

Author's Argument:
Johnson argues that there needs to be a change in our society where people become more aware of the problems that deal with privilege and power. We can change as long as we can be aware and take the responsibility that there needs to be changes made.

Evidence:

1. "Once we can see and talk about what's going on, we can analyze how it works as a system. We can identify point of leverage where change can begin" (126).
2. "...We need to clarify for ourselves how our choices matter and how they don't" (132).
3. "Listen to what is being said. Take it seriously. Assume for the time being that it's true, because given the power of paths of least resistance, it probably is. And then take the responsibility to do something about it" (140).
4. " Make noise, be seen" (144).
5. "Start where you are and work from there" (153).
6. "Taking responsibility doesn't have to involve guilt and blame, letting someone off the hook, or being on the hook yourself. It simply means acknowledging an obligation to make a contribution to finding a way out of the trouble we're all in and to finding constructive ways to act on that obligation" (153).

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
I already liked the piece that we read at the beginning semester about Johnson so this easily caught my attention. What I like about Johnson is he is very straight forward and real. I think his argument is correct, we need to become more aware and get other people aware so that we can solve the problem together, two is better than one. I like how he organizes his reading by myths and other subtitles, for example "Learn to Listen" because they capture my attention.

I also wanted to add (since this is our last blog) how much I enjoyed being in this class. FNED has opened my mind to the problems and solutions of our society and school systems. I know it will definitely help me become a better teacher and even a better person.

Thursday in Class

Class went really well. Everyone in my group
was there and we got a lot done.
I am glad we got to have a class
with just doing the project.

Talking Point #9--"School Girls"

Talking Point #9--"School Girls"
-- by Peggy Orenstein

Premise:

• gender
• equality
• education
• collecting data
• women
• family's
  
• teachers
• statistics
  
• fairness
• racism, sexism, classism, victimization
  

Argument:
Orenstein argues that teachers and educators need to pay more attention to the hidden curriculum that is undermining girls' senses of self-worth and self-esteem because schools are a proving a position for the truth of what girls are taught about themselves.

Evidence:

1. "... The Gender Equality Education Act, which should be implemented in 1995 includes provisions for improved data gathering, for the development of teacher training programs, for programs to encourage girl sin math and science, and for programs to better meet the needs of girls of color."
2. 2. "Curriculum should be both a window and a mirror for students , that they should be able to look into other's worlds, but also see the experiences of their own race, gender, and class reflected in what they learn."
3. " Feminist teaching is not about allowing a win/ lose situation to develop between boys and girls."
4. “My older brother had Ms. Logan,” she says. “And he said all she ever talked about was women, women, women. He didn’t like her.” I guess its because all the other teachers ignore women….”
5. "As the girls talk, I recall what a teacher at Weston once told me, that "boys perceive equality as a loss." Apparently, girls are uneasy with it, too. Even these girls, whose parents have placed them in this class in part because of Ms. Logan's sensitivity to gender issues, have already become used to taking up less space, to feeling less worthy of attention than boys."

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
I thought that this article was very interesting and easy to read because of the examples used. This article made me realize how much we are not used to being taught about females who have done many accomplishments throughout history. Until i read this I never really thought of making the curriculum in my classroom more female based, not making it the more dominant gender, but making it equal to the male gender. I think that it is crucial to have a classroom that recognizes gender equality and fairness for all.

Talking Point #8--"Whites Swim in Racial Preference"

Talking Point #8--"Whites Swim in Racial Preference"
-- by Tim Wise


Premise:

• racial preference
  
• whites
• America
• segregation
• laws
• families
• equality
• privileged
  
• history
  
• generation
• opportunity
• unfair
  

Argument:

Wise argues that racial preference has shaped our laws, molded our public policy, and aided in creating inequalities that we are still faced with living in todays privileged society.

Evidence:

1. "Ask a fish what water is and you'll get no answer. Even if fish were capable of speech, they would likely have no explanation for the element they swim in every minute of every day of their lives. Water simply is. Fish take it for granted" 1. This is a simple metaphor describing the way fish take water for granted as people take racial preference and culture for granted.

2. "We strike the pose of self-sufficiency while ignoring the advantages we have been afforded in every realm of activity: housing, education, etc... We ignore the fact that at almost every turn, our hard work has been met with access to an opportunity structure denied to millions of others. Privilege, to us, is like water to the fish: invisible precisely because we cannot imagine life without it" (2). Wise is saying that Americans take privilege for granted that we cannot even imagine what we would do without it, its almost like a lifestyle.

3."So long as these privileges remain firmly in place and the preferential treatment that flows from those privileges continues to work to the benefit of whites, all talk of ending affirmative action is not only premature but a slap in the face to those who have fought, and died, for equal opportunity" (3). In other words, privilege is only working for whites and its such a disgrace to any other colored person because people have fought and died for equal opportunity.

Comments/ Questions/ Points to Share:
I really enjoyed reading this article because it was very easily understandable. The author uses many metaphors and other techniques to view the situation of racial preference and privilege. I also like how he uses many facts and quite a humorous or sarcastic approach. The author definitely gets the main idea across. I agree with what he argues also; white Americans are so privileged that they take it for granted.

Talking Point #7--One More River to Cross

Talking Point #7--"One More River to Cross"--Recognizing the
Real Injury in Brown: A Prerequisite to Shaping New Remedies
-- by Charles Lawrence

Premise:

• Schooling
• Brown vs. Board of Education
• equality
• segregation
• laws
• privilege
  
• students
• race
• power
• society
• labeling
• recognition
• Southern-de jure/Northern-de facto
  

Argument:
Lawrence argues that "the Supreme Court's reasoning in striking down an interdistrict desegregation order in Detroit was flawed in that it misunderstood the true nature of the institution of segregation." He believes that this case was unsuccessful because no one recognized the actual issues of racism and inequality in the United States.

Evidence:

1. "Segregation violates the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment not because there is no rational relationship between the classification and the purpose-it is a supremely rational system-but because its purpose is illegitimate" (282). Here he backs up his statements by using the protection of the fourteenth amendment -- All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
2. "If one views the Brown case narrowly, as a case intended to desegregate the nation's schools, history has proven it a clear failure" (281). Lawrence clearly states his arguement here, that Brown was not an unsuccessful case.
3. "Where does this analysis of what the court has chosen to ignore about segregation leave us with respect to our initial query concerning whether we have won or lost Brown and where we must proceed from here?" (286). Lawrence is implying that the Court refused to recognize the real nature of segregation thus making the elimination of segregation ineffective.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
This article was a little long for me (I don't really enjoy reading) but overall it wasn't too too bad. This article also reminded me of my Political Science class because next book we have to read is Brown vs. Board of Education. I agree what Lawrence is arguing because we still definitely see these segregation problems today. All we can do is "say the words" and try to fix the problems.

Talking Point #6--Why Schools Need to Take Another Route

Talking Point #6--Why Schools Need to Take Another Route

Jeannie Oakes

Premise:

• teachers
• students
• parents
• tracking
• ability
  
• less able/more able
• opportunity
• encouragement
• alternatives
• privileges
  

Author's Argument:
Oakes argues that "less able" students are having fewer opportunities to learn so we must alter the tracking system so that all students can learn and have the same opportunities. Oakes thinks that their are many reasons why the tracking of students in schools is penal for students that are considered low-ability to average.

Evidence:
1. "One fact about tracking is unequivocal: Tracking Leads to substantial differences in the day-to-day learning experiences students have at school" (178).
-- This immediately proves that tracking does not really work; students in higher groups have more access to richer schooling experiences rather then the low group or average groups.

2. "These differences in learning opportunities point to fundamental and ironic school inequities. Students who need more time to learn appear to get less; those who have the most difficulty learning seem to have fewer of the best teachers" (179).
--Again this demonstrates the consequences of being considered a lower ability type of student. It is unfair that the people who need to most education get the least and are not able to get the better teachers.

3. “Compared to teachers in high-ability classes, they seem to be more concerned about getting students to follow directions, be on time, and sit quietly. Students in lower-ability classes more often feel excluded from class activities and tend to find their classmates unfriendly” (179).
--This shows that students feel excluded or even invisible (Carlson) that maybe they may be in the wrong state of mind to want to learn.

4. "The kinds of changes likely to promote high-quality learning for all students in heterogeneous classrooms go far beyond mere fine tuning of correct practice. These changes also require fundamental changes in the structure of schooling and teachers' work" (181).
--Oakes shows that these tracking problems will take a while to make correct and they require changes in the schools and teachers work.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
This article was a little bit confusing to me because there were a lot of points and arguments so I'm not sure if I found the correct one. Other than that, I believe in a learning environment where children will educate each other through positive interaction and modeling. It can be fostered through clear expectations, enforcing the expectations, and respecting one another. I like the idea of an inclusive classroom because students will not feel left out or labeled. Oakes points out some great ideas on how to organize your classroom (page 180). I also liked how she pointed out that the "rich get richer and poor get poorer" .. meaning those who are less fortunate in life and those with a lower ability in schools do not get the advantages or benefits as the rich or high ability.

Talking Point #5--In The Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning

Talking Point #5--In The Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning

Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

Premise:

• education
• American Schools
• politics
• service Learning
• caring
• experience
• community
• teachers/students
• classrooms
• promote self esteem
• reality

Author’s Argument:
Kahne and Westheimer argue that it is important to acknowledge that service learning has political dimensions that focuses on the community and helping others not as a charity but to gain experience.

Evidence:

1. "The idea that educators should foster a volunteer ethic and encourage youths to give something back to their school or community currently receives widespread support" (7).
2. "We try to consider the life and disposition of those for whom we are caring...in so doing, we create opportunities for changing our understanding of the other and the context within which he or she lives" (5).
3. "Maybe this [community service] is what citizenship is all about, acting in a decent way toward people who live where we live. Citizenship in a democratic community requires more than kindness and decency; it requires engagement in complex social and institutional endeavors" (9).
4. "Moreover, when asked what they gained from the experience, many students said simply that it taught them 'that people can be different' from what you expect" (12).
5. "Moreover, it is important to acknowledge that the choice of service learning activities--like the choice of any curricular activity--has political dimensions" (12).

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
When I first started reading this article I felt a little bit confused but as I kept on reading I wasn't lost. The article seemed a little repetitive but it definitely got the point across of how different experience is from charity. I liked how the authors included personal experiences from people when they volunteered. This article was a great one to read for this class because we are participating in service learning right now. Another thing that I thought of when I read this was my own personal experiences. When I was in 11th and 12th grade I helped teach CCD at my church just for an experience for my future plans on becoming a teacher. I really agree that all types of service learning and volunteer work is great experience, forms social bonds, and creates an understanding of all kinds of people.

The 9 Most Racist Disney Characters

CLICK HERE





..

Talking Point #4--Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

Linda Christensen: Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

Premise:

• culture of power
• racism
• media
• education
• minorities
  
• stereotypes
  
• Disney
• discomfort
• gender
• accepted knowledge

Author's Argument:

Christensen argues that authors and producers in the media need to depict their works with social equality and that people need to be more critical and eye opening towards the way that these stereotypical genre's are portrayed. Children's media influence the way they act, live, and dream. Individuals need to learn about the "secret education" and "unlearning myths."

Evidence:

1. "Children's cartoons, movies, and literature are perhaps the most influential genre "read" (127).

1. "Many students don't want to believe that they have been manipulated by children's media or advertising. No one wants to admit that they've been 'handled' by the media" (128).
   
2. Daffy Duck--"'This is just a dumb little cartoon with some ducks running around in clothes' Then students start to notice patterns-like the absence of female characters in many of the older cartoons. When women do appear, they look like Jessica Rabbit or Playboy centerfolds--even in many new and 'improved' children's movies" (130).
   
3. "During a class discussion Sabrina said: 'I realized these problems weren't just in cartoons. They were in everything -- every magazine I picked up, every television show I watched, every billboard I passed by on the street'" (134).
4. "They were fueled by the opportunity to convince some parents of the long-lasting effects cartoons impose on their children, or to enlighten their peers about the roots of some of their insecurities" (137).

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:

Christensen's article was very easy and fun to read. It is also easy to relate to because everyone has watched Disney movies or cartoon shows such as Popeye. The thing is, no one really realizes how stereotypical these shows are. Until now I didn't even realize it myself, but it is very true. After I read this I thought about the activity that we did in class, SWAAMP. I related it to the "whiteness" category and how we do not have a black Santa, etc. I also remembered reading articles about how many Cinderella stories there are: Chinese, Native American, Black, etc. I also found that the activity the students did on writing essays critiquing cartoons was very interesting. This activity provides an eye opening of the kind of media out there; maybe this can help save future generations of media.

Talking Point #3--Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community

Dennis Carlson: Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community

Premise:

• gay
• lesbian
  
• silent
• American culture
• invisible
• dominant ideas
• "normal"-straight
• struggle
• respect
• education
• democracy
  
• stereotypes
• maturity
  

Authors Argument:
Carlson argues that teachers need to engage young people in making a democratic society with respect for gay people and that public schools should build a new democratic community recognizing differences in gender, race, and sexual identity.

Evidence:
1. "Homosexual is an ostensibly neutral category, one designed by scientists; and yet is usage may involve a scientific distancing from the homosexual object of study and a refusal to see the political and cultural elements of sexual identity. 'Gay' and 'lesbian'../ are the most 'politically correct' labels, although their usage tends to further divide and separate men and women when in fact homophobia and oppression are directed against homosexuals as a group"(235). -- This quote states that people use these types of words to stereotype others without knowledge of what the words really mean.

2. "At the level of state educational policy, it is noteworthy that no state currently recognizes gay and lesbians as legitimate minority or cultural groups to be considered in textbook adoption or to be included in multicultural education; and a number of states explicitly prohibit teaching about homosexuality" (236). --This quote bothers me because if we are teaching in a democratic society, in that case, "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

3. "These abuses get tolerated because gay teacher and students operate in an environment where they feel afraid to stand up for themselves, and because any discussion of gay people continues to be absent in the curriculum so that homophobia is not interrogated" (239). -- Students need to be taught respect for everyone, it is hard to believe that people can be so harsh and arrogant. At the same time I feel horrible for teachers or students that are afraid to stand up for themselves and are intimidated by other people's beliefs.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
This article was very interesting and like all the other class readings, very eye opening. I liked how the author used specific examples, such as the male substitute teacher who was called "Mr. Faggot" and the student changing classes who dropped his books and then another student kicked them around. It bothers me that people who are homosexual have to go through struggles such as this (so does people of color, handicapped, etc.). Another thing that came to my mind when reading this article was the word "fag." In school a few years ago (I don't remember what class or when), a teacher was talking about the word "fag" and how it is used incorrectly. The word "fag" refers too a type of cigarette, I don't get how those two are connected!! In conclusion, I agree with Carlson, since we live in a democratic society teachers need to teach that we have to respect EVERYONE.

Talking Point #2 - -Toungue Tied

Richard Rodriguez: Aria, Tongue Tied

Premise:
family
tradition
language
bilingual
embarrassment
resisted
English
Spanish
silence
shyness
public society
private society


Author's Argument:
Richard Rodriguez argues that teachers need to recognize that their are two ways a person is individualized, privately and publicly; and teachers also need to realize that a child maybe silenced or shy because of the difference of language used in the classroom and at home.

Evidence:
1. ".. there are two ways a person is individualized. So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality" (39). Rodriguez is showing that teachers need to recognize that children are different in public/private situations.

2. "We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed. No longer so close; no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of our public separateness" (36). This quote reveals the changes of his family and how the English language impacted the family also. The loss of their language is like losing their individuality and tradition.

3. "Because I wrongly imagined that English was intrinsically a public language and Spanish an intrinsically private one, I easily noted the difference between classroom language and the language of of home. At school, words were directed to a general audience of listeners. Words were meaningfully ordered. And the point was not self-expression alone but to make oneself understood by many others" (34). Here Rodriguez identifies the difference between the two settings public-private and how the language at school is directed to a general audience.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
I really liked reading this article, I thought it was really easy to read and it was eye opening. It helped me recognize what I need to be aware of when becoming a teacher. I think it is upsetting that teachers can be intimidating to children that seem shy or timid, when they don't really know the specific reason. Teachers need to recognize that children are brought up around the language that is most spoken at home and it can be hard to change what they are so used to. Teachers must be aware of the different cultures that make up their students and try not to ruin their private individuality. At the same time teachers should try to make possible the achievement of public individuality.

Talking Point #1 - - Amazing Grace/100 People Who Are Screwing Up America

Johnathan Kozol: Amazing Grace and
Bernard Goldberg: 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America

Premise:
race
income
poor
drug abuse
sexually transmitted disease
depression
homicide
hope
religion
children
starvation
friendliness
getting used to circumstances
handicapped
hungry
society
strength
prejudice
desperate
sickness
death
rationality
love of country
fascist
brainwashed
classroom
traditional learning
enemies

Author's Argument:
Kozol and Goldberg argue that children living in a poorer environment are not receiving the correct education because they are surrounded by a corrupt society filled with drugs, violence, and disease.

Evidence:
1. Kozol-- "What is it like for children to grow up here? What do they think the world has done to them? Do they believe that they are being shunned or hidden by society? If so, do they think that they deserve this? What is that enables some of them to pray? When they pray, what do they say to God?" (5)

2. Kozol--"There are children in the poorest, most abandoned place who despite the miseries and poisons that the world has pumped into their lives, seem, when you first meet them, to be cheerful anyway." (6) This shows the corrupt society that children in certain areas are living in. They are exposed to the worst circumstances but always seem to have high hopes.

3. Kozol--"I believe that what the rich have done to the poor people in this city is something that a preacher could call evil. Somebody has power. Pretending they don;t so they don't need to use it to help people--that is my idea of evil." (23) This quote also connects to Lisa Delpit piece saying that "People with power are frequently least aware of - or least willing to acknowledge -its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence."

4. Goldberg--"There are a number of way that the American education system has broken down over the years. Far too many of today's schools are violent and far too many are filled with kids who don't care much about learning." (294) This shows that because of today's corrupt society, maybe parents are not enforcing the importance of education as much as they should so children don't care about it.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
I really enjoyed reading Kozol's Amazing Grace. It brought to my attention the horrible environments that children are forced to live in. Its hard for me to believe or even think about these situations. I would never want a child to live in a place where their was use of drugs, homicide, violence, and hunger. These circumstances allow children to become depressed, fearful, and suffer from anxiety. I was also surprised at the amount of people suffering from STDs/AIDs or dying because of overdose. I cannot imagine living like that, reading this article makes me realize how lucky I am to live in a good neighborhood and city (for the most part).
Kozol's piece was a lot easier to read then Goldberg's. I was a little confused with what Goldberg's main argument was. I also found Kozol's piece as a more visual image type of writing because it contained a lot of detail.

FNED

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