Social Justice Event - Reflection

For my social justice event, I watched the Matthew Shepard movie. 



Matthew Shepard was from Casper, Wyoming. He lived with his mother, father, and younger brother. His family was very accepting to finding out Matthew was gay. Both the mother and father seemed to try really hard to make their son feel loved and accepted.

On October 7th, 1998, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson lured Matthew out of a local pub, and brought him to a nearby field where they violently beat him and left him in the cold to die.

On October 12th, 1998, 21 year old Matthew Shepard unfortunately passed.

"As long as people continue to believe it is okay to hate, these crimes will keep happening", said Matthews mother to the public after his funeral.

Through out the movie, you see a glimpse at what life as Matthew was like. As a young gay, he was often targeted because of his sexuality. Almost everyday he feared for showing his true self, because it could risk his life. He would hear very negative comments from strangers, even his neighbors that would leave hateful notes on his door. He couldn't show love for his boyfriend without being stared at, or even assaulted. After his murder, the movie displayed the struggle Matthew's parents faced as the life of their son's murder was in their hands. Initially, the parents wanted Aaron McKinney to face the death penalty. However their feelings changed when Aaron McKinney was sentenced to two life sentences guilty of the murder.

What was really striking to see, was the hateful signs that people would hold outside of Matthews funeral, as well as the trials. These signs displayed disgusting sayings along the lines of "God hates gays", or, "F*gs must die".  Initially, Aaron and Russell said that Matthew was "asking" for it, and that their actions were because of "gay panic", which they later changed to robbery. These scenes made me think of the article, 11 and Gender Fluid by Erin Zelle. The article covers how important self expression is and how to over come hate, and be more accepting to what may seem out of the norm. Throughout the movie, you see the hate that swallows the LGBT community. Rather, what is most important between both the article and the movie, is to just be respectful.

Another article that this movie reminded me of was White Privilege, Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by McIntosh. The quote "Much of oppressiveness is unconscious" is more powerful than you think. Throughout the article, she mentions many statements beginning with the words "I can". Being a young gay male is a sin compared to the ever so perfect white heterosexual. Some statements that were contradicted in the movie included being able to walk around alone at night, being able to express themselves without judgment, etc. There is a major difference is the way Matthew would have to live his life just to keep himself safe. What is unfortunate is that Matthew was minding his own business in the bathroom, where he was approached by their murders. They told Matthew that they too were also gay, seeming very nice and friendly. Although when he took on the offer of them bringing him home, things took the worst turn possible. Though you should never get into a car with strangers, I do believe that Matthew used his best judgment. All lives matter.

This movie also can be related to Johnson's article where he argues the importance of talking about privilege, power, and difference to work towards a more respectful society. Unfortunately in the late 90's, the LGBT community was not as respected as it is today. Matthew did have a hard time finding the right group of people to surround himself with. He had serious anxiety because he was struggling to find friends and others that were in his position. Although when he did, many people continued to look down upon his group of friends. This is because people still had hatred towards this community and had no respect for them. I feel as though in this time period, the LGBT community had a limited voice that would be silenced from those around them.

Empowering Education

"In a classroom where participation is meager, the low performance of students is routinely misjudged as low achievement. But the actual cognitive levels of students are hard to measure in teacher-centered classrooms where students participate minimally... in a participatory process, where students codevelop the course, teachers can learn better the actual cognitive levels of students from which to design forward development."

Empowering Education by Ira Shor was definitely worth the read. I decided to pick this quote to talk about, because I feel like this concept is often looked over in the classroom. For early childhood educators, meaning teaching grades pre-k through second, this may seem like a difficult process. How can a teacher partner with three, four, and five year olds? How can a teacher go about this process without creating chaos in the classroom? Considering Early Childhood Education is my major, I have thought of a few examples I think might work for the younger ones.

. Ask the children how they are enjoying a certain assignment, and keep track of what activities are successful/unsuccessful
. Encourage talking stations (Have certain pictures the children can pick from [animals, food, etc]. What is happening in the image? Do you like the picture? Have you seen something like this before?) This is a great activity for cognitive and social development.
. Ask the children what they think before giving the answer. (Sometimes it is easier, and faster, to give the answer right away, which is something you want to avoid)
. Encourage that "thinking time". A lot of these concepts are new to these children, let them take a minute or two to try and solve a problem. Work with them and ask them to share their thought process, rather than point to the answer right away.
. Sit back, and watch! Sometimes it is better to just let the kids run the show and to observe. Let the students solve problems on their own, and work things out without your guidance.

Here is an idea for cognitive development that can be useful for younger children;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEoNHp6IYfs

With all that being said, "In a curriculum that encourages student questioning, the teacher avoids a unilateral transfer of knowledge. She or he helps students develop their intellectual and emotional powers to examine their learning in school, their everyday experience, and the conditions in society".

Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome - Quotes

Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome by Christopher Kliewer explains some of the issues facing the disabled community. These include issues in the school system, in the community, in judgment, and in relationships. This article is outdated in 1998, so many of the issues mentioned may have (hopefully) improved over the last decade.

Quote #1
"I started to notice that I didn't like the classes I was taking called special education. I had to go through special ed. almost all my life. I wanted to take other classes that interested me. I had never felt so mad, I wanted to cry."
This heartbreaking quote is from a student who was in the Special Education department at her school. Clearly, you can see that she feels as though her disabilities are limiting her to her academic ability, as well as what she can participate in during the school day. Disability does not mean incapable. I understand that many of these students do need more attention than others in order to get their needs met, but no student should ever feel this way because of struggles they face on a daily basis.  Although this article is a bit outdated, when I was in high school, many of the students in the Special Education department were in the same electives as all of the other students. Even though some of the students needed teacher assistance, they were still able to participate in the activities and classes they wanted to be in.

Quote #2
"How absurd to be judged by others at all, especially by those who have never experienced a disability or who are unwillingly providing us with support or who don't listen to the voices we have".
This is a very powerful quote that mentions the judgments that people with disabilities face. On a more general/cliché note, who are you to judge? You never know what someone may be going through in their life. What bothers me the most, and I am sure we have all seen it at one point in our lives, is someone being judged over something they have no control over. Who are you to judge someone based on their struggles or looks. This negative attitude really is absurd and disrespectful. Empathy does not mean endorsement. It is not that hard to be kind, or to try and understand someone else's situation before making assumptions about them. It is not our place to do otherwise.

Quote #3
"[Community] requires a willingness to see people as they are- different perhaps in their minds and in their bodies, but not different in their spirits or in their willingness and ability to contribute to the mosaic of society. It requires the "helper" to have the humility to listen for what the person says he or she needs. Also, the "helper" must see that the interaction "helps" both ways".
If you are to take away one quote from this article, I believe this should be the one. Throw all ignorance and judgment aside. We are all human. This is such a basic concept that for some reason people still do no understand. We are all human. Ones disability does not define them- sure it may cause certain struggles that they have to deal with- but who are you to be nothing but understanding for their situation.


Personal Story;
This might be kind of random, but when I was younger, I went to Story Land in New Hampshire. I was probably around the age of 8 or 9. While I was waiting in line for the bathroom, I noticed two girls slightly older than me laughing at a girl with dwarfism. They were making comments along the lines of "Look how short she is! I bet she won't go on any rides!", and that is the only thing I remember from that day. It made me feel awful, even though I was not the one who made the comment. I won't even justify their actions for their age, because at 11 or 12 I knew not to be that rude or disrespectful to others. I went up to the girl they were laughing at, and complimented her shirt. She seems surprised that I had even talked to her. Long story short, I really do believe a little bit of kindness goes a long way.

Service Learning - Reflection

The article In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning by Joseph Kahne and Joel Wertheimer defines service learning as "Making students active participants in service projects that aim to respond to the needs of the community while furthering the academic goals of students". I choose to make this blog a reflection considering both of the service learning cases discussed in this article  essentially share the same goal, to give to the community and have the community give back to us in some sort of way. 

The first type of learning service is "Serving Those in Need" where students can choose the type of service learning they wish to participate in that engages in the community. 

Ms. Adams, a middle school teacher, took a different approach to service learning with her students. She had her students identify common issues in the community for her students to research and to be more knowledgable on these issues.

All of us in FNED are fortunate to be given the opportunity to take part in the service learning project in a public school, many of which experience issues such as poverty or minority. As I am speaking for myself here, but I feel like this service learning project has opened my eyes to many different things, some of which are internally and about my community. So far, this service learning opportunity has made me apart of something much bigger. Although that is what I plan to do in the future, it is nice to be able to feel this way while still being a student. I am able to see and pick up on things that I may wish to do when I am a teacher. By taking part in this project, I am able to help these students that do not have the best home life. Many of which I have already built connections and relationships with. There is a bittersweet feeling knowing that even though I only spend roughly two hours a week with these children, I am still making an impact in their lives. Relating this back to the article, I feel as though anyone interested in some sort of community service/ service learning can do research on their own about the issues that interest them. Actually going out into the community, making relationships, and physically trying to make a change can be more impactful on not only the community but on yourself as a volunteer. 

Questions/ Points

Does anyone else feel this way? Im not trying to get real deep about it, but I feel like there really is a difference when you actually put yourself out there and try and make a difference. Its a different type of reward. 

Does anyone else find themselves favoring one service learning case over the other?

Soloway and Abrams

Jill Soloway is an American television creator, show runner, director and writer. In her article, Soloway addresses the issues facing the way men tend to speak about woman. She paints the scenario in which she refers to as "locker room talk", which is when "Two or more men get together and play an alpha game in which they join their gaze upon any ol' chick, and let their inside-brain thoughts come out". According to Soloway, men tend to have the idea of woman split into two, the good and the bad, or the hard to get and the easy. These "good" woman would consist of wives or family members, where the "bad" would be any other woman outside those two categories.

How may a man perceive a woman as "easy to get"?

• Being single
• Being alone at a bar
• Wearing revealing clothing
• Being drunk
• Having a promiscuous history

Women should be respected, regardless. Relating this article back to Underlying Myths That Blind Us, humans have the tendency to judge, make assumptions, and label others wether we know the person or not. We make these judgments to feel better about ourselves in some sort of way. Some men tend to make these assumptions to make themselves feel "like a man", like they can have any girl they want if she's easy enough. It also brings me back to reading all of the statements that woman cannot do in comparison to the white man, such as not being able to walk on the street at night, not being able to walk alone, etc. I do not think this fair. A woman's outfit does not define her. A woman's history does not define her. Women need to be respected. 

Abrams article was about how woman are getting more involved in politics and what obstacles they may face when running for office. Her argument is that woman do face more challenges when running against the stereotypical white man considering there is this stigma that woman will not do as good of a job. One quote that really stuck out to me was "I feel this year we are seeing far more woman who woke up one morning, turned on the TV and said, if he can be president I can run for the state legislature, congress, or governor." I normally never express my opinion about politics outside of my close friends and sometimes family, but I agree entirely. Considering Donald Trump can become president, how could that not inspire woman to use their voice and try to run for some sort of congress? This had reminded me of the quote "Much oppressiveness is unconscious," as said in McIntosh's article. Men have been running the political world since the very beginning. I feel now more than ever woman have been using their voice for the better, and considering all of the issues our nation is facing in regard to politics, woman are choosing to not be silent any longer. 

Safe Spaces / 11 and Gender Fluid

11 and Gender Fluid: Suits, Ties and Other Staples From my Daughters Closet by Erin Zelle is a personal story of a mother and her daughters journey towards finding and expressing her true self. 

Safe Spaces - Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth by Vaccaro, August, and Kennedy is an article covering and discussing ways that educators can validate the experiences of the LGBT youth.

Below are some quotes I have pulled from each article.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The quotes "My 11 year old daughter Sullivan's style is defined as gender fluid, which translates as a "fluid" shift between masculine and feminine, depending on how one feels. The first time Sullivan mentioned it, I'm embarrassed to admit, I had to google it", (11 and Gender Fluid), and "Powerful social messages are responsible for this noncritical allegiance to traditional perspectives, (Safe Spaces), seem to go hand in hand. 

The only way to get children knowledgeable about the LGBT community and different ways of expression is by communicating it with our youth. This, of course, means that adults need to be knowledgable as well. This includes both parents, and teachers. As a child, it may seem hard to speak about these feelings if they feel as though the people who care about them most will not understand. It is important that these role model figures become more open and willing to listen, wether they agree or not. 

Another quote I want to add is "... As her blond hair hit the ground in cascading clumps, I knew she was becoming more herself that she'd ever felt", (11 and Gender Fluid).

Self expression is important. As children grow, they are learning who they are, what their likes/dislikes are, what they want to be in the future, etc. It is important that we encourage children to be nothing but themselves and to express their uniqueness. Some may find this expression in art, fashion, writing, and more, but the overall point is there is no right or wrong way to express yourself. 

Here is a a great video featuring someone much more fabulous than myself explain their experience as gender fluid. This is a great video to watch to learn a little more about gender fluidity, and ways to respect this community. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYDhvocCpH4

Unlearning the Myths That Blind Us

My blog this week is an extension of my classmate Emily. Check out her blog post here; 
https://emilyvieira1527.blogspot.com/2018/10/blog-4-unlearning-myths-that-blind-us.html?showComment=1539134617022#c8796865585467683792

The reason why I had decided to do my extended comment blog on Emily's post was because I really like the quotes she had picked and I agree with the points she has raised.
"We are not only taught certain styles of violence, the latest fashions, and sex roles on TV, movies, magazines, and comic strips: we are also taught how to succeed, how to love, how to buy, how to conquer, how to forget the past and suppress the future. We are taught, more than anything else, how to not rebel," was one of the quotes Emily had picked. She had pointed out that this quotes represents how the media controls people in their everyday life, and I agree. Humans rely solely on group formation. To explain, many people do not like stepping outside of the norm. Many people choose to dress the same, listen to the same music, wear the same makeup, etc. Not many people like being an outsider. Although, when there are outsiders, people tend to judge, make assumptions, or label others. The media really tries to shape society into this lifestyle that most of the time, is not realistic.

Another quote that Emily had picked that really opened my eyes was “As TinkerBell inspects her tiny body in a mirror only to find that her minute hips are simply too huge, she shows us how to turn the mirror into the enemy.."

Here is a link to the video Emily provided;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0y76gV2LL4

After watching this, I am honestly SHOOK. Peter Pan was my all time favorite movie. I would watch it day and night until my parents had enough for the day. I totally forgot about this scene. In the video, it shows Tinker Bell passing by a mirror and grabbing her hips with disappointment. She has a face of shock once she looks at how "big" they are.

Let me break this down as a little girl who may look up to Tinker Bell after watching this movie;

"If Tinker Bell has big hips, and she doesn't like them, then that means I shouldn't like mine. I bet everyone doesn't like mine either."

This alone sets up a bad habit for girls as they look in the mirror. Even today, girls and woman are constantly comparing themselves to others on social media. Some getting frustrated that they do not look like the models that, most of the time, don't even look like that without photoshop or mass amounts of makeup. Woman need to appreciate having curves instead of hating them. There is no right or wrong body type. This will only stop if we begin to teach children that they should love themselves, and their bodies, for who they are.