Gayness, Multicultural Education, and comunity

"normal"- white, middle class male, heterosexual

"abnormal"- black, working, sick, lacking intelligence, female, homosexual.

Those two terms really sum up our society. People fit into either the normal category or the abnormal category. However, if you are part of the abnormal category you are not privileged like those who belong to the normal category.

"if students in the school community can be kept shielded from "bad influences" and provided only "positive" representations of community life, that they can be molded into "good", "well adjusted" citizens and workers".

In my opinion this statement is really saying that they want to keep the students from learning about being gay or a lesbian. They think by doing this it will help them but I think it will hurt them because you can not shelter them from these issues forever. The more the students learn about being gay or a lesbian the more they will accept it.

In society we are told to "be yourself". However, we cannnot always do that because people are always going to be constantly judging you for it. For example if you are gay it is hard to be yourself especially around people who are not willing to accept who you really are.

I can really relate to this whole article because I have three gay cousins and I have seen how hard it is for them. It was only a few years back that they came out about being gay. All three of them are in their thirties and it took them so long to finally come out and say they were gay. We all had a idea that they were but we would never ask. Even when they came out we did not love them any less or refuse to accept them anymore. They were the same three men that I always knew and loved. The fact that they were gay did not change anything. However by coming out they faced many hardships. The three boys owned a greenhouse together. Once people found out they were gay someone graffied the whole greenhouse. They took this as a hate act and it was reported to the police. Unfortuneately nothing could be done and the people who did it were never caught. Their story makes me think of this article because I feel so bad for people who have to go through what my cousins went through. People should not have to be punished for being gay. I think the schools should teach more about gayness in the classrooms because therefore it will make people better understand it and also learn to accept it in our society.

Mier "Why can't she remember that"

All children have their own language in culturally specific ways. One of the first main things that made me think was on the first page when the study was done that showed how african american children told more stories than european students. I thought that was surprising because from elementary school I always noticed that the african american students would alway be shy and did not like to talk as much as the rest so that was a surprise for me. Also, I also thought it was a good thing that the little girl Lindsey always has books read to her because when you read to a child it helps them with vocabulary and also helps them absorb cultural lessons about gender roles, family relationships, and friendship. However for children like Marisa and Lem, reading books in not part of their culture so they learn their cultrual lessons through interactions with others. As we can see children learn their cultrual lessons in many different ways. All cultures are different and that is why they learn in different ways. I agree with the section that says choose a book that relates to the children's lives. If a teacher did this many children would better understand what the book was about so then they could relate to it better than if it were a book that did not relate to them at all. Also, making books come alive can better help the students understand what the books are about. When the students see puppets acting out the book or pictures it can help them remember what the book is about. When the students see things coming alive and moving it will also help them to concentrate more so that they can retain more information. Finally using all the techniques such as making the book come alive and relating it to the child's life can really help the students remember the book. I know that when I use to read to my little cousin I used to add excitement to the book and would use pictures and stuff animals to help tell the stories. This would help him remember the story better and always help him comprehend what was really going on. Children who can see have pictures to look at or stuff animals for acting out parts will better understand what the story is really about and also be able to understand the main idea of it.

Talking point #1 on McIntosh

I have to say that while reading this article on white privilege I could really understand it. This could be because I took women studies last semester and we learned all about white male privilege. When I was reading through this article I realized that we were all taught about racism but we were never taught how whites were at a advantage. Alot of the things under the daily effects of white privilege did not surprise me, however some did stick out to me. #4 which is about going shopping and when white you are sure not to be harrassed makes me think on how when i go out i never get bothered in a store. If anything when I am in a store people are always trying to help. Something like this makes me think of how different a colored person is treated from a white person. In my eyes it is not fair.  Also, number 13 is another completely true statement. If you are a white person who is speaking out in a crowd so many people will listen to you, but if you were a colored person speaking out not as many people will listen because some people view you as not privileged and therefore feel as though they do not have to answer. Privilege means dominance of one's race or sex. No one sees themself as being racist because we are all taught that racism is when a  individual does an act of meaness toward a person who is not privileged. Finally I agree with one of the lasts points about being taught that racism could end if everyone changed their attitude. We are all taught this but in reality in order for racism to end, doors need to be open to people of color and not just white people.

About me

Hi my name is Sara. I am a freshman at rhode island college. I am majoring in elementary Ed and special Ed. I am a very outgoing person and get along with almost anyone =].