Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us: Linda Christensen

1.) "Our society's culture industry colonizes their minds and teaches them how to act, live, and dream. This indoctrination hits young children especially hard. The 'secret education,' as Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman dubs it, delivered by children's books and movies, instructs young people to accept the world as it is portrayed in these social blueprints. And often that would depicts the domination of one sex, one race, or one country over a weaker counterpart." (pg 127)

I chose this quote because it shows how movies distort peoples views of a perfect life. It is true that our society has been, as Dorfman put it, "secretly educated." We watch movies, read magazines and listen to songs that portray people as what we have come to think of as perfect. Not only that but we live in societies depending on our race or nationality or social status and rarely see outside of them. Similar to what Kozol stated in his article, Christensen says that we have limited opportunities to interact with people who are different than us. This is calling our small community diverse. These books and movies we are exposed to at a young age stick in our minds until we are taught different. These forms of education are powerful but go unnoticed.


2.) "Personally, handling the dissection of dreams has been a major cause of depression for me. Not so much dissecting- but how i react to what is found as a result of the operation. It can be overwhelming and discouraging to find out my whole self image has been formed mostly by others or underneath my worries about what I look like after years (17 of them) of being exposed to TV images of girls and their set roles given to them by TV and the media. It's painful to deal with. The idea of not being completely responsible for how I feel about things today is scary. So why dissect the dreams? Why not stay ignorant about them and happy?" (page 128)

This quote is from a student named Justine. She is talking about how she realized that what she has been taught previously, and what she based her dreams on was images set by movies and books. To her looking deeper into her dreams in class and realizing this she did not take it lightly, is caused her depression. She realized "what is found is a result of the operation" meaning that movie producers and book authors know hot to manipulate children at a young age causing their dreams and aspirations to be based upon what they create. She realized that after 17 years of dreaming, her dreams were based on others through television. I agree with how this could be painful because what the media depicts as perfect, it almost impossible to achieve, but once it has been a dream for years, it is hard to realize that. I often find myself wishing for what others have and it is still hard to realize it will never happen. Maybe I do realize it but I will never be able to accept it. She says that she is not completely responsible for the way she feels because how she feels is based upon others she sees in movies or reads about in books. 

3.) "Catkin wanted to publish her piece in a magazine for young women so they would begin to question the origin of the standards by which they judge themselves. Most students wrote articles for local and national newspapers or magazines. Some published in neighborhood papers, some in church newsletters. The writing of these articles was tighter and cleaner than for-the-teacher essays because it had the potential for a real audience beyond the classroom walls." (page 137)

Some of the students spoken about in this article have come to feel so passionate about this topic their reflections are much better than their other work. One student wanted her article to be in a magazine to raise awareness. I think this would be a good source for other young women to read because it is coming from someone around the same age that has done research. The students knew their papers could have a chance of being published in some greater place. This, i think, for any student would be a huge incentive to write a stronger piece. I think the topic they were reflecting on is something so real to them that even that would help their paper become stronger.        

Dennis Carlson: Gayness, Munticultural Education and Community

"While Public schools have long been viewed by progressive educators as embryonic communities that should engage young people in building a democratic community of mutual support and respect, gay people have for the most part been made absent, invisible, and silent within this community and at the same time represented as the deviant and pathological 'Other'."
I chose this quote because I think it is important to realize that gay people are not recognized in certain communities. They may not stand out in a bad way but they do not stand out in a good way either, they are just simply over looked. They are in a way silenced like in Lisa Delpit's article. Thy are not supported or respected like they should be in their educational community. They are not accepted and are considered others almost putting them in a category apart from humans. I do not think this is fair when respect and support it promoted but not practiced.

"Aside from being an absence in the curriculum, gayness has been made visible in some various limited and marginalized contexts. To the extent that gayness is recognized in the curriculum, it is likely to be in the health curriculum, where it is associated with disease." 
I chose this quote because I thought it was interesting as well as upsetting. The only time gayness is recognized in school is when it is being taught for a bad reason, disease. This makes students think about gayness as a bad thing from the start if they learn of the illnesses it can cause. I think this is a bad way to teach students. If this is the only way gayness is made visible in school, i do not think it should be made visible at all. It teaches the opposite of what children have been taught "if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all." I think it would be better to keep them invisible than discuss their negatives.  

"These abuses get tolerated because because gay teachers and students operate in an environment where they feel afraid to stand up for themselves, and because any discussion of gay people continues to be absent in the curriculum so that homophobia is not interrogated."  
This quote really stood out to me because it is so awful. It is talking about how gay teachers and gay students are treated poorly and it is ignored. They are afraid to stand up for themselves so others behavior goes unnoticed. This quote also mentions that gayness in the curriculum is nonexistent silencing the gays once again. I think this quote is terrible because gay people should not feel ashamed or afraid to stand up for their rights. It is not alright that they are walked all over when they are not even acknowledged in their curriculum.  

Terry Meier

"From these book reading experiences, many children acquire an extensive book-based vocabulary and absorb important cultural lessons about things like gender roles, family relationships, and the nature of friendship. They also come to view book reading as a pleasurable and rewarding activity and to see books as an authoritative source of knowledge about the word." (page 244)

I think this quote is important because it talks about what students learn from reading books. Typically most students do not enjoy reading books but when they start at a young age and are not forced they enjoy reading. From reading students learn in a more affective way values that are hard to teach. this quote says they learn cultural lessons, gender roles and family relationships, things that are not easy to teach in another way. When students enjoy reading their knowledge is able to grow a great amount more than if they do not enjoy it.       

"...these early book reading experiences also give children practice in expected book reading behaviors, such as listening quietly and attentively while the story is being read, raising one's hand to answer questions posed by the teacher, and holding on to (and remembering) one's own questions until the teacher signals the appropriate time to ask." (page 244)  

I chose this quote because it points out positive aspects of early reading that I would not usually think of. Early book reading experiences teach students discipline in raising their hand and listening and this allows them to focus more on the story. Often students raise their hand and want to speak so badly they get distracted and do not listen to the story. When students learn at an earlier age the knowledge is stronger. Reading at a early age teaches students not only themes in the stories but also how to pay attention when others are speaking. 

"...the sooner children forge a deep and authentic connection to books- the likelier it is that they will be successful in school. There is no more essential task for teachers in preschool and kindergarten classrooms than to help make books meaningful in children's lives." (page 246)

It is important to get students involved in reading but it can not be forced. Students need to enjoy reading at a young age otherwise it will hard for them to ever like it. Also forcing them to read when they do not want to will not benefit them. If students do not enjoy reading in the beginning of their education, it is important to find a way to get them involved, possibly through acting out stories. Once students enjoy reading their knowledge expands which allows them to be more successful.  

Still Separate, Still Unequal: America's Educational Apartheid By: Jonathon Kozol

"My attention was distracted by some whispering among the children to the right of me. The teacher's response to this distraction was immediate: his arm shot out and up in a diagonal in front of him, his hand straight up, his fingers flat. The young co-teacher did this, too. When they saw their teachers do this, all the children in the classroom did it, too. 'Zero noise,' the teacher said, but this instruction proved to be unneeded."
I think this quote shows how much power a teacher can have over students. Some teachers are unable to control their students. This teacher only had to raise a hand to gain control and attention of the students. I remember when I was in elementary school some of my teachers had hand gestures or claps to gain the students attention. The teachers in this school were trained to use this signal to get the students to be silent. I hope to have techniques such as this one to maintain a calm, well behaved classroom when I become a teacher.      

"Schools in which as few as 3 or 4 percent of students may be white or Southeast Asian or of Middle Eastern origin, for instance- and where every other child in the building is black or Hispanic- are referred to as 'diverse'."
This quote shows that there is still segregation in schools. Most of the white students attend private schools. Many of these schools are named after people such as Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks and this turns white parents away. They have a prejudice and do not think their students will get a good education so they send them to private schools. These schools are sometimes in middle class neighborhoods and the white students wait for the bus to their private school when they could walk to public school. This quote calls these schools diverse, when they are far from it. The meaning of the word diversity has changed for these people because the opportunity for diversity is avoided.

"...she was still afraid she would be criticized because she knew the pumpkin would not really help her children to achieve expected goals on state exams."
This quote was from a student teacher in California who wanted to bring a pumpkin into class around Halloween. She knew the teacher would not approve unless it was related to what they were learning about. The school she was teaching at had certain standards, most that aimed at teaching the students to the test. I chose this quote because I disagree with teaching to the test. I feel that all students gain from this is knowledge. If they are taught, not strictly to the test, they learn as well as form their personality. What they learn helps them become who they are as a person. Teaching to the test restricts their opportunity to grow as a learner and a person. 

The Silenced Dialogue: Lisa Delpit

"All of the white respondents, except me, have wished to talk more about the question of skills versus process approaches-to support or reject what they perceive to be my position. on the other hand, all of the nonwhite respondents have spoken passionately on being left out of the dialogue about how best to educate children of color."  (page 2)
I chose this quote because it shows how different people of different races think. It is showing how people responded after reading Delpit's article. It shows that the nonwhite people do not feel children of color are getting the best education they can. I believe this is because teachers are not open enough to different races. In this quote, the nonwhite people are upset because they seem to feel children of color are not being treated the same as the white students. The white respondents seem to want more information on what Delpit is saying. It seems as if they may be willing to work with the nonwhites to fix the problem. 


"The teachers role is to maintain the full attention of the group by continuous questioning, eye contact, finger snaps, hand claps, and other gestures, and by eliciting choral responses and initiating some sort of award system." (page 5)
I chose this quote because I think it is important to keep students attention, which is difficult when working with young students. The teacher at the school I go to for my service learning project uses some of these techniques. To get the students to be quiet she has a hand clap that the students obey. She has a reward system where if the students are behaving properly or give correct answers she gives them a ticket and puts it in a jar. If the students are misbehaving she has them write their name down on a clipboard. These techniques are very effective and keep the classroom in order.  

"My kids know how to be black- you all teach them how to be successful in the white man's world." (page 6)
I think this quote is important because it is important for teachers to understand different students backgrounds but not try to change them. Their job is to teach them and help them be successful in the future. I think teachers should realize that all students are different and come from different backgrounds even if they are the same race. The teacher needs to put the background aside and teach as if all the students are on the same level unless told otherwise. It is important to not have a prejudice against any student so they all receive the same education.