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.