Talking Points (#3)

Gayness, Multicultural Educational and Community
By: Dennis Carlson

Carlson argues that as teachers we need to accept everyone as individuals and also teach that to our students. Public school needs to be more open and accepting of people who are gay, bisexual trans gender, or whatever they might be. He also says that public schools need to make it OK by talking about it and making it a more comfortable topic to talk about.

"Throughout much of this century, the dominant idea of community in America was represented by what I will call the normalizing community." We are so used to our ideas being normal that when a different idea comes along we don't accept it like we should. This is how we think of people who are gay or lesbian, we know what it is know however were are not completely accepting of that lifestyle. I agree with this quote that "normalizing community" is what we are used to and when things change it is not ok because it is not whats "normal."


"gay people have for the most part been made absent, invisible, and silent ..."
I decided to pick this quote because I really agree with what he is saying. I agree with what he says about gay people being absent, invisible, and silent. This is true however, day by day this issue not not accepting people is getting better. Many years ago gay people could not come out because it was not acceptable to anyone, today it is more acceptable for a gay person to come out and live their life the way they want to. I feel like we need to be OK with the fact that someone we know or a family member is gay. It has been such a sensitive topic for so long, its time we get over this. Gay, Lesbian, Trans Gender people are human beings too and we need to treat them the way we would want to be treated.


"Within normalizing communities, some individuals and subject positions (i.c., white, middle class, male, heterosexual, etc.) get privileged and represented as 'normal' while other individuals and subjects positions (i.e. black, working class, female, homosexual, etc.) are dis-empowered and represented as deviant, sick, neurotic, criminal, lazy, lacking, in intelligence, and in other ways 'abnormal'."


I this this is a very strong quote. I would agree with him when he says that white, middle class, heterosexual, men is what is privileged in the world today. I feel like he has a really good point when he says this. I agree with with what he is saying although I don't feel it is right. I agree when he says that blacking working class, homosexual, females are the kinds of people that do not get privileged like they should, they are all people to and its not right for them to be treated differently! thats not right! and its not fair!!




I'm gonna be honest, I didn't like reading this article. It was interesting information and I learned a lot by reading it, But it was long, and I really couldn't get into it. I had to go back and re-read some paragraphs because some of them were just to confusing! Some of the vocab was though too! But anyway- i agreed with a lot of what he was saying and i understand his points. Even though it was not the most interesting article, it had tons of information and opinions in it!

Talking Points (#2)

Aria
By: Richard Rodriguez
Rodriguez argues that learning a new language can be an emotional step for some children. Its not always easy to be thrown into an English speaking school when you don't understand English very well. He also argues that it can be very emotional and challenging when the one place you feel most comfortable, which is at home, completely changes the language that is usually spoken.


"Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom. I would have felt much less afraid. I would have trusted them and responded with ease." Even though English is the only language Ive really ever spoken, I seem to understand his point. I really felt bad for him. It must be such a bad feeling to walk into a classroom and feel afraid or scared. You must feel completely out of place and lost. I feel like this quote really says a lot. If the teachers just said good morning to him in Spanish it would have made him just a little more comfortable. But this poor little boy gets called on all the time and is to afraid to say anything because he knows the class wont be able to understand him. And he says in the article that the point of answering in class is so the students can understand what you are trying to say. When he says, "I would have trusted them" I think that's really true because it would make him just a little more comfortable and it would make it a little more personal for him. I think part of the reason why he is shy is because he feels different than all the other students. If the teachers would just treat him like all the other students maybe Richard would have had a little easier time speaking in front of the class.



"At last, seven years old, I came to believe what had been technically true since my birth; I was an American citizen" I picked this quote because I feel like it is once of the more meaningful quotes in the story. I feel like this was a life-changing day for Richard. This was when he decided he was an American so he needed to learn how to speak the American language. I feel like this is what made him work as hard as he did. He realized that learning English was something that he needed to do and he needed to put his mind to it because it wasn't going to get any easier.




"We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed." This is a very powerful quote for me. I feel like he is saying this like he wished it never happened. I don't think it was easy for the children to stop speaking Spanish at home because that's what made their home feel like "home." I feel like that's where the children could be themselves and let their guard down. Speaking Spanish is what made them so comfortable together because it was something they all had in common. I think that changing their language to English changed a many things for them. It made them feel the same way they did in school, lost, confused, and uncomfortable. I think that if I was their parents, I would have tried to somehow speak both languages at home.



Honestly, I really enjoyed this article. I really found this story interesting even though I can't really relate to it very much. I didn't realize how hard it would be to completely change languages until I read this. It seemed like this was a very difficult process for the family to go through. I'm not sure I would be as strong as this family was if I had to go through that. I really learned a lot from this story. I like reading this because it was written on a very personal level.

Talking Points (#1)

Data show racial bias persists in America
Salim Muwakkil
Muwakkil argues that racism is still a problem in today's world even though not everyone is still seeing it. She uses many interesting studies in her article which really proves her point about how racism still exists.
"Racism is over, let's move on" After reading this quote I would agree with what Muwakkil is trying to argue. I don't feel that racism isn't a problem anymore because it still is. We wouldn't have all these issues between blacks and white if it wasn't still a problem. If racism wasn't still around people wouldn't make such a big deal about it like they still do today. So, after reading this article I understand where Muwakkil is coming from and she has some really good data to back up her argument.
"For us, the most surprising and disheartening result is seeing that applicants with African-American names were not rewarded for having better resumes." I think this is pretty insane, I honestly don't think it should matter if your black, white, or any other race. The person who is best qualified for the job should be the person who get its. It shouldn't matter what your name is or what color you are, everyone should have a equal chance. This is what went on in our country years ago and it should not be like this now. Every human being deserves an equal chance and that's how it should always be.
"White applicants with prison records were still more likely to be hired than black men without them" In my opinion, this is crazy. How could this be? You would rather have a white criminal than an innocent black person. It doesn't make sense to me. Why should a black person be turned down just because of their color? This is so wrong. I really don't understand how this could be true. It doesn't seem right to me to turn down a qualified black person just because they are colored and to hire a white person who has been in trouble with the law. I just don't think that is fair at all.
I really like reading this article, although it was a real eye opener to me. All the data this was stated in this article really surprised me. I've always known racism is a big issue in the country but i never realized that it could stop a more qualified black person from getting a job. I also didn't realize that your name had such a big impact on your life. Anyway.. it was a really interesting article to read and I did learn a lot from it.

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
Peggy McIntosh
McIntosh argues that we are taught our privileges from day one. And we don't even stop and think about their real meaning. We take them for granted and think that everyone lives the same life. Which is so not true.
"I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privileges" I think this is a very strong quote. It says a lot in just a few words. I also think it there is a reason why it is right in the first page of the article. This basically says that we don't even realize what we have or what our privileges are. We don't ever stop and think about them because that's all we know.We don't know anything else. We are taught our privileges and don't ever think about them again. I think that if we want change of any kind we need to realize our privileges before any change can happen.
"If unpacking this invisible knapsack of white privilege, I have listed conditions of daily experience that I once took for granted" I really like this quote because it shows how we all take things for granted. Everyone takes something for granted however, it may not all be the same. This quote also shows that McIntosh realized something was wrong and took the time to write down all the things she took for granted. She realized that is was wrong. I think everyone should do this. I'm sure it would make this world a happier place. If everyone could take the time to stop and think of everything we take for granted, i feel as if we would see a big change.
"Individual acts can palliate but cannot end, these problems." I completely agree with this quote. Yes, we as individuals can make some changes, that's how changes happen. But we as country need to make the changes. This is how were really going to see a difference. There are way to many people in the United States to work as individuals however, it's a good place to start. It we will not see the changes that are going on until we all work together.
I though this was a interesting article to read. It was different than I though it was going to be but it brought up a good point that I had never really though about before.

About Mee!

Heyy.. my name is Amanda Perry. I'm in my second year at RIC. I live on campus in New Hall. I'm an El Ed, Special Ed major. I'm from Bristol, RI. I teach dance. Ive been dancing for 16 years. I work at Coach in the providence place mall. I love to hang out with my friends. When i'm not in class i'm either dancing or hanging out with friends.. thats pretty much it :)