Social Justice event

For my social justice event I went to "gay bingo". I didn't plan on using it for my social justice event when I went in February, but it definitely fits! The third Thursday of every month gay bingo is held in Cranston by AIDS Project RI and Aids care Ocean State. I originally went because my mother and grandmother talked me into going with them. They had never been before, and neither of them is gay, but they had heard that you could win more money there than at regular bingo.....lol. So I went with them, not knowing what to expect. I was uncomfortable with the idea of going at first, because I am not gay, and I thought everyone there would think I was gay. I'm not sure why I would even care if people thought I was gay, but it definitely opened my eyes to the fact that even though I tell myself I look at all people equally regardless of sexual orientation, obviously I thought people are treated differently if they are gay and did not want to be seen as "one of them". I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was surprised by the host of the bingo, a cross dresser (transvestite?) named Miss Kitty Litter. She (not sure which pronoun to use here) was very outrageous and entertaining, and told many crude (but somewhat funny) jokes, and seemed well loved by everybody there. With the exception of the time when we first walked in, everything went smoothly. When we first walked in my grandmother and her senior citizen friends saw a basket with free stuff (they love free stuff, doesn't matter what it is!) They thought it was matchbooks and started grabbing a bunch of them. You should have seen how red their faces got when we pointed out that they were condoms! I was proud that my mother and grandmother and her friends were open minded enough to go to the gay bingo, especially considering how outrageous it was at times. I was a little surprised, however, that with the exceptions of some pamphlets when you first walked in, you would never have known that the intention was to raise money for AIDS awareness. Nobody spoke about AIDS. But I guess the point was more to raise money than to raise awareness at this particular event. I think the money would be used to raise awareness about AIDS, but that wasn't the focus of the evening. The fact that it was so outrageous, (for example, some of the things the bingo players would yell out when certain numbers were called made ME blush), makes me think about Dennis Carlson. At first, I saw this event as the LGBTQ community marginalizing themselves, which isn't a very good thing, but as I thought more about it I changed my mind and know I think they were actually doing what Carlson would have wanted them to do, fighting erasure and invisibility. Especially the host, who was proudly proclaiming her gender identity and making no excuses for it. This also connects to Johnson, because these people certainly weren'y shy about "saying the words"! All in all, it was a fun experience. I'm not sure if I would go again, but it was definitely interesting!

Talking point 10

Ira Shor - Empowering education

This article seemed very long and dry to me when I read it, but when we discussed it in class it really made it more interesting for me. As a parent, I realize the huge influence teachers have in our children's lives. During the week, my children spend more time awake with their teachers than they do with me! It is extremely important that teacher's realize the impact they have on children's lives, beyond teaching them reading and math. I think complacency is the enemy here, and teacher's have to be extremely aware and vigilant about falling into the lecture and worksheet routine with their students because it would be very easy to because that is what we were brought up on and it is easy and familiar. I really liked Dr. Bogad's analogy about the river, because that described exactly how I was thinking about this issue.

"The teacher is the person who mediates the relationship between outside authorities, formal knowledge, and individual students in the classroom"
This quote helps to show the huge power and responsibility a teacher has with students. We must always keep in mind the impact of things we say and do, or choose NOT to say and do with our students.

"People begin life as motivated learners, not as passive beings"
This quote stood out to be because I am continously surprised at the love for learning I experience in my son's first grade classroom. Yet, as you observe older and older students, you can see that eagerness turn into apathy in many students. Something is happening to dismantle this natural love of learning, and it is very destructive.

"In traditional classrooms, negative emotions are provoked in students by teacher-centered politics"
This quote supports the last quote I chose, and goes a step furthur - it puts the blame of the negative feelings towards education onto the teacher. While I agree that that is where the blame should lie, I don't believe that it is lack of caring or dedication on part of the teacher. We are just stuck in a cycle of what we learned wnd what is familiar, and it is going to take a lot of insight and vigilance to make any kind of change