Talking Points #10 - What Can We Do? - Becoming Part of the Solution

by Allan G. Johnson

Johnson argues that privilege and oppression are problems that exist within our society, and we all need to educate ourselves and others about these issues before we can begin to make changes within our lives and our communities. Johnson says that if we all make small changes, we will eventually create a new and oppression-free society together.

• "The problem of privilege and oppression is deep and wide, and to work with it we have to be able to see it clearly so that we can talk about it in useful ways."

Before we can discuss the subject of oppression, we must have the dialogue for it. We must become aware of the issues of oppression and privilege and the vast problems they cause. Until we see these problems for what they are and who and how badly they hurt, we cannot begin to work at creating a new way of thinking and behaving in our society.

• "To shake off the paralyzing myth that we cannot, individually, be effective, we have to alter how we see ourselves in relation to a long-term, complex process of change. This begins by altering how we relate to time...we can't use the human life span as a significant standard against which to measure progress."

It is easy to say that we do not, as individuals, have the power to impact how our society operates, but actually, it is not true. We ALL hold the power. For example, imagine every person in the city of Newport held a single bulb intended for the town's holiday tree. If one person puts his or her one bulb on a branch, it will not light the tree much, however, if everyone puts their one bulb on it, the tree will shine bright. Now, as a society working for change, we need to focus more on the holidays in the years to come, rather than our immediate future. After all, the world wasn't created in a day! We need to have faith in where we, as a society, are going.

• "It's one thing to become aware and quite another to stay that way. The greatest challenge when we first become aware of a critical perspective on the world is simply to hang on to it."

One of the paths of least resistance Johnson mentions is that once we are educated on an issue, it is very easy to loose sight of the issue quickly. Johnson advises that in order to keep the problems of privilege and oppressions in our minds is to read literature on the subject and to discuss it with others. We also need to bring awareness to others so that they too can help to make a difference in the system of oppression and privilege.

I enjoyed this piece, although it was repetitive, because it discussed the issues of privilege and oppression and how we can all work to make a difference in the system, although we may not actually be around so witness it. This, more than the others, gave a lot of insight as to what we, as individuals, can do in order to produce such a change. In some of the other articles, the reader is made to ponder in depth how they might be able to see themselves successful in making a difference. But Johnson gives specific suggestions as to how to get the job done. I see now how I, as one person among many, can begin to do my part in creating a new society without oppression.

I found a site for teaching strategies for students with Down Syndrome. It has a lot of info about the condition itself, and has many of the same ideas presented in Kliewer's article. It was nice to skim over it and notice many similarities with what we had already discussed and read about!

Talking Points # 8 - Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome

by Christopher Kliewer

The author argues that all children can learn and be a part of the community, but only when they are seen as the people they are, and not their disability, and are then accepted into that community. This requires the listener to actually pay attention to what the child says he or she needs, and also to acknowledge that the reciprocity is important as well.

• "Success in life requires an ability to form relationships with others who make up the web of community."

In order to be successful, we must be able to communicate with others, regardless of the job we hold. Children who are segregated from non-disabled students will have trouble forming any relationship with them. School is an institution that is designed to not only educate students, but also to prepare them for life, and segregation is in no way doing that for them.

• "So what if you don't fit exactly what you're supposed to? You know, it's not like I fit many people's idea of what a teacher's supposed to be like," Shayne Robbins had said of her students.

When children seem to fall short when measured against high expectations, these students are labeled disabled. Shayne had not thought of her students' idiosyncrasies as an unfortunate result of their genetic defect, rather, she recognizes it as "natural human diversity," Teachers should recognize the individual values of students instead of simply concentrating on the obstacles they may face.

• "To eliminate a single person through any form of banishment, no matter how benevolent the logic, reduces the web and makes the community a less democratic and less rich place."

Class membership views diversity to be the norm and views all children as equals. Community is made up of a "web" of all individuals who constantly change and develop, but all interact and benefit from the relationships that result with communication and acceptance. Community is only reached when all human beings are accepted, regardless of status or disability.

This was a good read. I really enjoyed reading about the individual students and their experiences in the classroom and the community. But it made me sad when Shayne Robbins was describing her experience with the transition committee regarding Anne's work site. She had wanted to work with movies, and not children, but they were all but insisting upon it. What really stopped me in my tracks while reading was when she had stated that they thought the movie store job was unrealistic for her, that it was above her ability level. A movie rental store? And they wanted her to teach children? "Here they have her educating America's future, but they're scared to let her work at a movie place," Shayne had said. People just don't think sometimes!

A major point that I will take away from this is that teachers must learn to look past the label of Down Syndrome, and other disabilities, and look at the student him/herself. Only then will the condition shrink back down to size and his/her true light will be able to shine through, and the student will be seen and appreciated by others. "Only then will we find ourselves able to see and receive the variety and richness of possible gifts." (Van der Klift and Kunc)

Talking Points #7 - "One More River to Cross" -- Recognixing the Real Injury in Brown: A Prerequisite to Shaping New Remedies

by Charles Lawrence

The author argues that the Brown decision blinded many Americans from the existence of racism in our country. The only way to remedy the situation, is by first, recognizing this fact; only then can we begin to make this ruling as effective as it should have been decades ago.

• "The mere placement of black and white children in the same school does not remove the brand imprinted by years of segregation."

Because the physical separation was never the cause of the harm inflicted upon black school children, integrating whites with blacks would not be the solution. Due to the fact that it was the label of inferiority experienced by black students that was the major source of hurt and discomfort, a solution cannot be found without the removal of the label.

• "Once it is understood that segregation functions as a systemic labeling device, it should be clear that any state action that results in the maintenance of the segregated system is a direct and proximate cause of the injuries suffered by black children in segregated schools and is in violation of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment."

Not only is segregation in the schools a violation to this amendment, but zoning practices and segregated housing as well. While experiencing this discrimination, blacks are being labeled, "not fit to live with," and "not fit to go to school with," but they are all ways of blatantly labeling blacks as inferior.

• "The injury inflicted by a segregated school system is inseparable from the injury inflicted by segregated housing or public accommodations because each reinforces the other and because the removal of one will not heal the injury without the removal of the others."

It is the segregation within the school system that initiates the feeling of inferiority among black students, but there is more. They also feel it when they realize that they can only live in certain parts of town or can only use one bathroom or sit in the "colored" train car in public. All of these individual acts help to make black children feel inferior, and so all must be remedied in order to reverse the affect.

Schooling, for the most part, is preparation for a child's future, a means for teaching a child how to be a successful and active participant in society. But segregation was a means for labeling a black child, or person, as inferior, therefore denying them access to equal opportunities in society. Because of the inadequate education they received, as well as the poor cultural backgrounds they experienced due to housing segregation, their ability to be a successful and contributing member of society is limited, therefore, living up to the feeling, and the label, of inferiority. However, to integrate schools, to raise more funds or to change the curriculum is not enough. Those with the power of privilege raise and prepare their own children to assume similar roles of power in society. However, black students will always be perceived as being "less qualified" until there are more black teachers preparing them, and until some of the positions the students are being prepared for are filled with black people.

This article was a bit tedious for me to read, but it was filled with some interesting points and I am glad that I read it. I really liked a quote toward the end of the article and thought that it helped to sum up some of Lawrence's thoughts.

• "It will not be enough that we are more articulate and imaginative in our pleadings and prayers for relief. The oppressor's understanding of his oppression is limited by self-interest, and ultimately we must find ways to make our oppression operate against the self-interest of those in power."

Talking Points # 6 - Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route

by Jeanne Oakes

The author argues that tracking in our schools, which groups low-ability students together and high-ability students together, may be helping the latter group, but does little for low-ability students, therefore, an alternative to tracking needs to be implemented.

• "Since so much of importance was omitted from the curriculum, students in the low-ability classes were likely to have little contact with the knowledge and skills that would allow them to move into higher classes or to be successful if they got there."

Low-track students receive less quality instruction and very little is expected of them by their teachers. They are often expected to simply memorize and repeat information, without being challenged. More class time is often spent on discipline than on instruction. They are viewed as being "less-able" and are given fewer opportunities to learn, therefore, few students improve.

• "The achievement gaps we observe among students of differing abilities are exacerbated by the failure of classrooms to provide all students with the time, opportunities, and resources they need to learn."

High-ability students seem to have more resources available to them, and more often, they have more attentive and more enthusiastic teachers than low-ability students. This contributes to the inevitable cycle: those students who need more help seem to get less, those who are more independent and self-sufficient, have an abundance resources at their disposal.

• "To be successful, heterogeneous classrooms probably need to lean toward placing students more in charge of their own evaluation--checking their own understanding and asking for and providing feedback."

When evaluating their students, teachers should ask "What did she learn?" instead of "How did she compare with others?" The teacher should compare the knowledge of the student before and after instruction, grades should then be based on the student's overall improvement, rather than how she compares with her classmates.

Although tracking seems to work for the high-ability students, providing them with resources, attentive teachers, and a more challenging curriculum, this practice leaves the average and low-ability students behind in the dust. It often labels these low-track students as "less able" and therefore, they are not given the instruction or the resources they need to succeed. Tracking is both a reaction to the differences between high and low-ability students and a contribution to them, therefore an alternative to tracking is needed. Students cannot simply be mixed up, they need to be taught how to work well with groups. The type of knowledge they are expected to learn needs to change, and student evaluations should be implemented. But one more thing is crucial: unless educators believe in the abilities of their students to learn, they will most likely be unsuccessful in creating an environment in which the students themselves believe in their ability, and are willing to devote the effort needed to succeed.

Talking Points # 5 - In The Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning

by Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

Kahne and Westheimer argue that though all service learning projects give aid to the community, it is the caring projects that help to promote change and have a bigger impact on the well being of the community than does a charity project.

• "The experiential and interpersonal components of service learning activities can achieve the first crucial step toward diminishing the sense of 'otherness' that often separates students--particularly privileged students--from those in need. In so doing, the potential to develop caring relationships is created."

The students in the upper-middle class school who had visited and sang at an urban school learned a great deal about the students who attend the school and live in the area. These students' perspectives on the particular school and the children who attend there had dramatically changed. They began to see these students as real people, just like them, and no longer viewed them as an 'other.' This breaks down the wall between the two groups of people, creating the opportunity for these students to establish a caring relationship, while also making change.

• "For the most part, however, descriptions of reflective activities do not include the kind of critical analysis that might help students step outside dominant understandings to find new solutions."

It is not enough to simply give charity to a community, or person, in need, It is also important for teachers to have their students reflect upon what they have learned and observed, thus helping them to make a connection to the community, or person, they are helping. Once a connection is made, the student will care about the importance of finding a solution to the problems at hand, not just to put a so-called band-aid on the problem.

• "Citizenship in a democratic community requires more than kindness and decency; it requires engagement in complex social and institutional endeavors. Acts of civic duty cannot replace government programs or forms of collective social action. Citizen ship requires that individuals work to create, evaluate, criticize, and change public institutions and programs."

Being a good citizen does not simply mean that you hold a door open for a fellow shopper at a store, or just a smile at the coffee shop. Citizenship means to take an active roll in the public organizations and to help improve them.

Service learning projects within the schools is a wonderful way to engage our young adults in the betterment of the community. Providing them with a hands-on activity gives them the opportunity to create a caring relationship with the subject/s of their service learning project. Charity projects help the community, but it is the caring projects that help to make a change.

Talking Points #4 - Unlearning the Myths That Blind Us

by Linda Christensen

Christensen argues that even though educating our students on the importance of analyzing the hidden negative messages in the media is critical, it is not enough to simply be aware of them. We must teach our students the importance of sharing this knowledge with others, so that we may one day hope to make a change.

• "'When we read children's books, we aren't just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated,'" writes a student of Christensen.

With Christensen's guidance, her students discover much of the reasons for the way most of us tend to perceive ourselves and others. From early childhood we have been entertained by stories, most being racist or sexist or discriminating against one group or another, which alter dramatically our self-perception and our perception of others.

• "...it can be overwhelming and discouraging to find that our self-images have been formed by others, but if we don't dissect them, we will continue to be influenced by them."

It can absolutely be overwhelming and upsetting to discover that the way we see ourselves, has been taught to us by others. What I think the author is saying here, is that if we don't analyze them, we will not understand them. Our thoughts will continue to be shaped by them, we will unknowingly teach these racist, sexist, and discriminatory ways to our children, and the cycle will inevitably continue.

• "Instead of leaving students full of bile, standing around with their hands on their hips, shaking their heads about how bad the world is, I provided them the opportunity to make a difference."

It is not enough to teach our students that these discriminations exist within our world. We, as teachers, have a responsibility to show them how to make a change, otherwise they may be left filled with despair, not knowing what to do with this newly found knowledge.

My eyes were profoundly opened after having read this article. Like any child raised in the 80's, I watched Looney Toons and other cartoons frequently. Saturday mornings in my house were passed by watching Popeye and Bluto fight for the passive Olive Oyl's affections, or Tom trying to catch and eat Jerry. I have to admit, it was tough for me not to laugh when I read the section that described in detail a Popeye episode. In part because Popeye cartoons were among my favorites, probably because I have two older brothers who watched along with me, but also because I could recall so clearly in my mind that particular episode. But putting my affection for that particular cartoon aside, I am able to see and understand the racism and stereo-typical assumptions made within them. I can see how if a child has never had a personal experience with, for example, an Arab person, that after having watched this episode, it is difficult for that child not to assume that they are as they are portrayed. We, as teachers, have got to not only educate our students on how to spot these displays of racism and discrimination within the media and other forms, but also to encourage them to take a stand and make a change. They can begin by simply spreading the word themselves, as Christensen's students had done.