Blog Post # 7 - Between Barack and a Hard Place (Reflection)

          In his video "Between Barack and a Hard Place", Tim Wise talks about topics of white privilege and how schools give advantages to white people and not to African Americans. Several good points were made and made me realize that some statements such as "I don't need to talk about racism, I have many black friends." I used to think this was a completely valid statement, if you have African American friends then you couldn't be racist. But as Wise explains, most people would either lie about this statement or simply state that they had friends but they were really more acquaintances. This with his statistics of white and black people in America made me realize this statement was false.

           Wise also touched on how different professions will practice these racist thoughts and stereotypes. Doctors and brokers will not give the same treatment to black people they give to white people. This was similar to several readings we have read thus far, especially "White Privilege" by Peggy McIntosh. Different racial groups will receive different treatment than white people, for example black people will be more likely to be suspected of shoplifting than white people.

          One of my favorite parts of the speech was that Tim Wise admitted to having racist thoughts. Wise, someone who fights everyday for racial equality in America, still has racist thoughts because he is conditioned to this because of several different factors in society. I was glad that he openly admitted this, and when he talked of the other college in which he did this, several students started sharing different stories of racist experiences. I believe that the first step in order to stopping racism is first admitting that it is prevalent in everyday society. If this first step is accomplished, I believe that these ideas will slowly fade from existence.


This song by Nas talks about the struggles of being brought up in a black community and the struggles such as drugs, gangs, gun violence and several other topics. Warning, contains strong language.

Social Justice Event - Shirley Wilcher

           On March 18th, I attended a Social Justice Event which was hosted by Shirley Wilcher, Executive Director of the American Association for Access. She spoke of affirmative action and the "Age of Inclusion," a time we are living in as people of different ethnicity are attempting to obtain jobs held particularly by people that are white and mostly males. This reminded me of the first reading we had in class, "Privilege, Power and Difference" by Allan Johnson. I was reminded of the term "white privilege" and I felt it was very applicable here. Jobs that have been held by white males for years are now opening up to people of different color which is a great start. Wilcher touched on this subject, saying that  if a white person and a person of color both applied for the same job, chances are it would go to the white person simply based on appearance and not on background skills or talents. People on the street talk of white privilege in this video.

          Wilcher also commented on this Age of Inclusion not only includes people of color, but people with disabilities and the LGBT community as well. This reminds me of "Speaking the Unspeakable in Forbidden Places" by Allan et. all. This reading challenges the fact that many schools don't teach about gayness at a young age, causing unfair stigmas against gays at an older age. I feel this directly relates to Wilcher and The Age of Inclusion. Many of these people not hiring gays were not taught at a young age that they are equal to everyone else. I feel like if this topic was taught at a young age many gays would be more openly accepted into society and more likely to achieve positions of power within the jobs they wish to receive. This short film explores the idea if the world was primarily gay and that straight would be the minority.

           Another group that Wilcher spoke of that are now being accepted into jobs are women. Women have gone years without holding positions of power, and not until only recently have they received these jobs. They still hold positions that make less than men, but it is a good start nonetheless. This reminded me of a quote from "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh. "13. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial" (2). While this is more applicable to a non-white person, I felt that speaking to a group of powerful males was applicable to women in general. This is an advantage of white privilege and I found it related to what Wilcher was speaking of. I'm sure that many women are very nervous when it comes to these interviews. Wilcher also commented that one woman in particular applying for a powerful position was told that the job was "dirty" and "she wouldn't like it." Wilcher said in response to this that it was unfair for the male interviewer to say this to the female interviewee, claiming that it would be disheartening to hear this and that she was discouraged to pursue the job. This video explores the topic of gender equality.

Blog Post #6 - In The Service of What? (Quotes)

          In "In The Service of What?" by Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer, both authors compare different forms of service learning projects and their effect on the students and community they were helping. They look at two different perspectives one can have when they help others, and the two words they use to define this are "Giving" and "Caring." One quote that I found interesting was "Educators and legislators alike maintain that service learning can improve the community and invigorate the classroom, providing rich educational experiences for students at all levels of schooling" (1). I enjoyed this quote because I related to it personally. I am currently volunteering at The Met high school in Providence, and the students there are required to perform a service learning project. While theirs' is not exactly the same as the students in this article, the fact remains that Met students are going out into the world and having hands-on experiences in the field they wish to follow in life. This provides the students with "rich educational experiences" and allows them to see the day to day goings-on in a job which they would like to acquire some day.

          "By engaging in meaningful service—whether tutoring children for whom English is a second language, helping patients in a hospital, doing difficult chores for the elderly, or supervising younger children's recreational activities—students will have opportunities to experience what David Hornbeck, former Maryland state superintendent, referred to as "the joy of reaching out to others""(4). I found in intriguing that the article pointed out the differences between the two service learning projects. Mr. Johnson's class would work on the problem at hand, while Ms. Adams' class would try to understand and prevent the problem. I believe that Johnson's class having hands-on experience with the homeless for example would yield a much better experience and allow the students to see life through another person's eyes. What made this notion clear for me was from one of the students' journals that, along with his stepmother, helped veterans on Thanksgiving. "It seemed that the dinner was something special to them; it was a chance for them to get together with their peers. Many don't have families in the area and are all alone for the holidays. This made it a little less lonely, which feels great. Thank you for giving me the chance to help!" (7).

This video gives a clear definition and the importance of service learning.

Blog Post #5 - Unlearning The Myths That Bind Us (Reflection)

          In "Unlearning The Myths That Bind Us" by Linda Christensen, several points are brought up as to why feeding our children with racist cartoons, advertisements, and images of a "perfect" society is harmful. This article was interesting, I hadn't really thought about how racist old cartoons and TV shows actually are. I had always thought of them as favoring male characters by saving the "damsel in distress" for example, but hadn't really dug deeper than that. I enjoyed how this teacher made her children watch these old cartoons and enter information into a checklist when they thought something was racist or sexist. It's a great strategy to really analyze what our children are seeing and also does a good job showing why certain racial groups are looked down upon in society. No one likes talking about racism and sexism, but I'm sure it's the last thing on their mind as they're popping in a Disney movie for their young children to watch.

          Exposing children to these racist and sexist images at such a young age affects them greatly later on in life. Some don't even realize they are being fed racist material until they are in high school. That is a long period of time to be subjected to these messages. Females take a large hit too. If they are not the "perfect" body size and shape, Disney movies (along with advertisements, TV shows, magazine covers, essentially media as a whole) show them that they will not be happy. They are also fed that they need a "Prince Charming" which is also a falsehood. I am glad there are teachers that are trying to undo this brainwashing of young children's minds.

An example of a racist cartoon that is related to this article would be this one. It is a banned Daffy Duck cartoon, in which he portrays being a Nazi during World War II. It contains extremely racist portrayals of different racial groups as well as war propaganda.

Linda Christensen:

Blog Post #4 - Speaking the Unspeakable in Forbidden Places (Reflection)

          In "Speaking the Unspeakable in Forbidden Places: Addressing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender equality in the Primary School" authors Allan, Atkinson, Brace, DePalma, and Hemingway discuss what it is like for teachers who are "out" to teach young children and student's reactions to gay and lesbian discussion. I enjoyed this article because I agree with the notion that children should be exposed to gay and lesbian relationships early. This is important so they don't get the notion that being gay is "weird" or "strange." It's necessary for a child to learn there are gay and lesbian people in the world so that when they get older, it's not an uncomfortable and strange notion to them. It is these kinds of feelings of confusion that I believe lead to gay and lesbian students being bullied and labeled an outcast.

          I thought this article was similar to the articles we have read in the past about certain racial groups feeling like outcasts just because they were a different color or looked slightly different from the Caucasian race. In this case however, it is a person's sexual identity which makes them feel like an outsider, which is equally as ridiculous. Just like African Americans not being able to see their race being represented on TV commercials and in greeting cards, as are homosexuals not being represented in mainstream society. Most Disney stories are told through a heterosexual lens, with the feminine princess falling in love with the masculine prince. That is why the teacher in this article dressed up as a slightly more masculine Cinderella, dubbed "Cindy" donning a leather jacket and tutu. Similar to most articles we have read thus far, "Speaking the Unspeakable" made me realize there are many problems that teachers can solve slowly but surely within the walls of the school system.

If you want to witness how children react to gay marriage first-hand, this video will give you good insight.