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.

Talking Points #3

Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community

by Dennis Carlson

Carlson argues that sexual identity should be recognized within our schools and that gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people should no longer be viewed being something "other" than what is "normal."

• "This cleansing of gayness from the literary canon is often defended as an effort to maintain the reputation or 'good name' of authors by not 'outing' them."

I chose this quote because of the use of the word "cleansing." "Cleansing of gayness." Wow. The message Carlson is sending is quite strong. As if gay people need to clean themselves of the theoretical dirt that is gayness. Also, it is unnerving to think that the information that such people as Walt Witman and James Baldwin being gay is thought to be strong enough to actually ruin their "good name."

• "These abuses get tolerated 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."

Here is yet another strong word Carlson uses to make his point clear. "Abuses." Gay students and teachers are being abused because the schools are silent about their gayness. Students are not taught about homosexuality in the schools, and so their ignorance leads to persecution, all the while the educational system is tolerant of their "abuses" because to alleviate the problem is to confront the issue. And when the issue is gayness, they fall silent.

• "...a democratic multicultural education must become a dialogue in which all 'voices' are heard and all 'truths' are understood as partial and positioned."

I think what Carlson is saying here is that in our democratic and multicultural society, we need all 'voices' to be heard within our educational system. Our schools have got to accept the responsibility of educating our boys and girls about diversity (all kinds, not just ethnicity or social status but sexual identity as well) so that when they become young men and women, they will be more able to accept the world and all of the wonderfully different people in it, for who they really are.

This was sort of difficult for me to read compared to the previous readings. I found myself having to read and reread a paragraph over again to fully comprehend it at times. But I really liked how Carlson used those very strong words that seemed to have a message within a message for the reader to think about. It reminded me of how Johnson had argued that naming things as they are is vital to identifying, and ultimately solving, the problem the particular word is associated with. I also strongly agree with Carlson in his argument that homosexuality and other sexual identities should have a "voice" within the educational system to better inform students about the "truths" surrounding them, and to provide safety and understanding among gay students and teachers, so that they may feel comfortable enough to be themselves without fear of persecution.