Gayness , Multicultural Education, and the Community

Dennis Carlson

Gayness , Multicultural Education, and the Community

Jen

1. "In 1993, the gay rights movement claimed a major victory in the signing into law of a Minnesota bill that makes it illegal to discriminate against lesbians and gay men in employment and housing. Yet what got ignored in all the celebrating was a provision in the bill that prohibits teaching about homosexuality in the public schools"

  1) The first line of this quote is a very good step to moving in the right directions.  People that are gay are human, they should be able to work at what job they want and live where they want just like straight people can.

   2) The second sentence of this quote means that it is something that can not be talked about in school.  Students should hear about the riots to prevent gays from doing things that they want. Children should hear other people talk about it, not just their parents.  If children only hear their parents talk about gay and lesbian rights then they might grow up not having their own thoughts about it.

2."Be yourself no matter who or what you are."

  1) I believe that this quote is very important.  No matter who someone is, what their background is or if they are gay or straight, they should always act themselves because everyone is unique.

   2) If more people understood this quote then i feel like the world could be a better place.  No one can help the background they come from, or if they are gay or straight.  It is something that no one can change and people need to understand and accept it.

3." A male substitute teacher was greeted by one of the students as she shouted across her english classroom, that man is a faggot right?  Look at how he talks." ....." One young man remembers " when i was changing classes i had all the books in my hands looking down and walking up.  I'd hear someone mutter faggot and have my books knocked down.

   1) This is one quote that made me angry when i read it.  No one should be treated like this just because they are not straight.

    2)  My cousin who i went to high school with is gay.  I watched many students call her names and bump into her while walking in the hall.  Bullying someone that is gay is a serious problem and it effects how many people live their life.  Some students are afraid to come to school because they are called a faggot everyday.  Bullies are one reason that the quote "Be yourself no matter who or what you are" is very hard to live by.

This reading was one of the best ones we have read.  The author had very good points.  It is sad that people are treated very badly for things that they can not control.

Meier

Terry Meier
"Why can't she remember that?"


Jen


1) " In doing so, this preschooler demonstrates not only her already considerable knowledge about books but also her awareness of how important book knowledge is to the adults in her life.  Where do her knowledge and awareness come from? As Wolf and Heath documented, Lindsey, like many other mainstream preschoolers, has spent countless hours being read to by adults."
1.  This quote makes me feel more strongly about children being read to when they are little.  I think it is one very important thing that parents do.
2. Reading can help a child learn more words and it can also teach them lessons.


2) "While Gabriela seldom responded to her teacher's storybook questions and typically sat quietly when books were being read, other children who have not had the experience of being read to at home may participate vociferously in story reading sessions, though not always in ways their teachers approve."
1. This quote makes it more obvious that children need to be read to when they are at home.
2. The author also stated how Gabriela knew the answer to her teachers question and didn't understand why the teacher kept asking how many mittens there were.  The author stated how since Gabriela did not answer the question that the teacher may think that she does not understand the question.  This could cause a problem for Gabriela because the teacher then could think that Gabriela needed more simplified instructions.




3) " Despite their diverse backgrounds, all children bring to school rick linguistic abilities acquired through social interaction in their homes and communities."
1. I think this quote is completely true.  All students comes from different families and backgrounds, they are brought up differently and a lot of students could learn from each other and make themselves better people.
2. I feel that if some teachers thought about this quote more then some of them wouldn't be disrespectful to students who work at a slower pace than others.  Each student has a strength and each student has a weakness, which makes them unique.




I liked this article, it was easy to understand and it also showed how students should be read to when they are young because it can help them in different ways.  Also i liked how the article stated how each child is unique and brings something different to the school.

McIntosh

Jen
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
By Peggy McIntosh




1) "Through work to  bring materials  from Women’s Studies into the  rest  of the curriculum,  I have often noticed men’s unwillingness to grant that they are over privileged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged.   They may say they will work to improve women’s status, in the society, the university, or the curriculum, but they can’t or won’t support the idea of lessening men’s.  Denials, which amount  to  taboos,  surround  the  subject  of  advantages,  which  men  gain  from  women’s  disadvantages. These denials protect male privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened or ended"
1. I feel like this is exactly how the situation is with white privileges.  Most people are aware of it to some degree, but when it comes time to changing it, then nothing happens.
2.I feel like nothing happens because like McIntosh stated that the men will not fix the problem because then they will not have as much power, if whites try to fix the problem, then they will not have as much power.


2)"I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male  privilege.   So  I  have  begun in an  untutored way to ask what it is like to  have white privilege.   I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets which I can
count on cashing in each day, but about which I was ‘meant’ to remain oblivious.  White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes,tools and blank check"
1. When the author states that she thinks whites are taught not to recognize white privilege like males are taught not to recognize male privilege, it makes it a lot easier to understand why sometimes privilege is not recognized.
2. Privilege not being recognized is an issue that needs to be fixed.  White privilege needs to be brought to everyones attention, because if it isn't then it will not be fixed.


3)“As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something which puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege which puts me at an advantage.”
1. This quote helped me understand the difference between racism and privilege. People only recognize racism, they ignore white privilege. If white privilege is never mentioned then there is no way that it will be recognized.


This article made me think more about racism, white privilege and male privilege. The example about how males will not give away any of their power but they will recognize that they have the power over women made me think that that could happen if more people recognized white privilege. They would not act on it to fix it.