Dennis Carlson - Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community
This article was similiar to many of the articles we have read for this course, with many parallels between what the other authors have written. In this article Carlson frequently speaks of a dominant, "normalizing communtiy", which is very similiar to what Delpit called "culture of power". While I am not sure if some of the information in this article is current and applies today, there were a lot of interesting points raised in this piece.
"Normalizing texts systematically exclude and neglect the culture of those outside the norm for the purpose of ratifying or legitimatizing the dominant culture as the only significant culture worth studying"
A common theme that is beginning to emerge to me throughout all of the readings we have done is that the culture of power consistently reinforces it's power, not in outright ways, but by the exclusion of all else. The culture of power does not come outright and say it is preferable to be White, Male, Middle-class, Heterosexual, Christian, able-bodied, etc. because that would be unacceptable today, however it constantly reinforces these unspoken beliefs by exclusion of others.
"I have no comment, I'm not even going to get into this discussion. I'm going to keep my opinion to myself"
When a teacher uses this statement regarding gay issues in her classroom, it shows that gayness, as a cultural minority, still has a long way to go in this country. While I believe any teacher would feel comfortable discussing her personal viewpoints regarding race, gender, etc. the subject of homosexuality is still taboo in many ways, and unfortunately teachers are probably afraid to discuss the issue for fear of repercussions from the administrators, community, or parents.
"up to one-third of all adolescent suicide victims are gay"
This quote really shows how these adolescents are isolated and tortured by their peers because of their sexual orientation. Teenage years can be difficult enough for someone who belongs to the culture of power, but add confusion, humiliation, low self-confidence, and many other issues that are brought to many lgbtq teenagers these days and the poor kids don't stand a chance.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Aria by Richard Rodriguez
This was an interesting piece to read, it was nice to hear from the perspective of the student rather than the educator. Some quotes that stood out to me:
1. What I needed to learn in school was that I had the right- and the obligation- to speak the public language of los gringos.
This quote seems to reinforce what Delpit says about teaching students the codes of the culture of power, even a young child recognizes that to be accepted and allowed to participate in the culture of power, you must learn the rules and codes of power.
2. Following the dramatic Americanization of their children, even my parents grew more publicly confident.
This is another example of how assimiliating to the culture of power can open up a whole new world for someone, a world where they may have previously been denied admission because of their ignorance of the codes of the culture of power.
3. Matching the silence I started hearing in public was a new quiet at home.
I thought it was sad that while the author was equipped with a new language to help him in the culture of power, his first language had to get pushed to the side, and he lost the closeness he once had with his family.
1. What I needed to learn in school was that I had the right- and the obligation- to speak the public language of los gringos.
This quote seems to reinforce what Delpit says about teaching students the codes of the culture of power, even a young child recognizes that to be accepted and allowed to participate in the culture of power, you must learn the rules and codes of power.
2. Following the dramatic Americanization of their children, even my parents grew more publicly confident.
This is another example of how assimiliating to the culture of power can open up a whole new world for someone, a world where they may have previously been denied admission because of their ignorance of the codes of the culture of power.
3. Matching the silence I started hearing in public was a new quiet at home.
I thought it was sad that while the author was equipped with a new language to help him in the culture of power, his first language had to get pushed to the side, and he lost the closeness he once had with his family.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Talking Point 1
Jonathan Kozol - Amazing Grace
1. "It's a different world from where you live. What can I say?"
This quote exemplifies Alice Washington's feelings of resignation to her situation, and the facts as she sees them. Instead of feeling frustrated or angry to her situation, she is simply resigned to the fact that that is how it is in her neighborhood.
2. "Somebody has power. Pretending that they don't so they don't need to use it to help people - that is my idea of evil."
This quote from Alice's son is surprisingly profound. This simple statement sums up alot of what we have already seen in the previous readings for this class, and says a lot with few words. Ignoring situations because they don't directly affect you makes you part of the problem.
3. "I believe we were put here for a purpose, but these people in the streets can't see a purpose. ....... They're in a cage. They cannot see."
Alice's son is explaining how it is impossible for people to envision a world and future for themselves when this environment is all they've ever known, it is where they grew up, it it's almost like their "comfort zone". If they have never seen any other possibilities, what changes could they aspire to?
This reading was very eye opening to me. It offered a rare glimpse into another type of life. I myself have been guilty of thinking that most people living in situations such as those described in the reading were there because of concious decisions they made, and that in this country, if you were willing to work for it, you could improve your situation in life, but that is not always the case. Also, if you were born into this type of situation, how could you possibly attempt to change anything when you had no frame of reference for different ways of living? It saddens me to think about the huge imbalance of money and power in this country, where those who have a lot have a very very lot and those that have little have very very little.
I wanted to add this link to a great website, Care2Causes, which has a whole section on education. There are many articles dealing with subjects we have discussed in class.
www.care2.com/causes/education
1. "It's a different world from where you live. What can I say?"
This quote exemplifies Alice Washington's feelings of resignation to her situation, and the facts as she sees them. Instead of feeling frustrated or angry to her situation, she is simply resigned to the fact that that is how it is in her neighborhood.
2. "Somebody has power. Pretending that they don't so they don't need to use it to help people - that is my idea of evil."
This quote from Alice's son is surprisingly profound. This simple statement sums up alot of what we have already seen in the previous readings for this class, and says a lot with few words. Ignoring situations because they don't directly affect you makes you part of the problem.
3. "I believe we were put here for a purpose, but these people in the streets can't see a purpose. ....... They're in a cage. They cannot see."
Alice's son is explaining how it is impossible for people to envision a world and future for themselves when this environment is all they've ever known, it is where they grew up, it it's almost like their "comfort zone". If they have never seen any other possibilities, what changes could they aspire to?
This reading was very eye opening to me. It offered a rare glimpse into another type of life. I myself have been guilty of thinking that most people living in situations such as those described in the reading were there because of concious decisions they made, and that in this country, if you were willing to work for it, you could improve your situation in life, but that is not always the case. Also, if you were born into this type of situation, how could you possibly attempt to change anything when you had no frame of reference for different ways of living? It saddens me to think about the huge imbalance of money and power in this country, where those who have a lot have a very very lot and those that have little have very very little.
I wanted to add this link to a great website, Care2Causes, which has a whole section on education. There are many articles dealing with subjects we have discussed in class.
www.care2.com/causes/education
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