Blog Post 4

 For our FNED class this week we had to read a research review called “The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies” written by Christine Sleeter. It was a very captivating reading. She starts off by introducing us to Carlos. Carlos graduated high school but never found school interesting. After being in the military for a while he came home and heard about a Chicano course his friend was taking. He looked more into this and found it very interesting, he even was so inspired that he went back to school. The author uses this story to hook the readers into her argument on how ethnic studies are important. The first important example she talks about are the books that are used to teach K-12. In these books there is a huge bias towards white people's stories. When African Americans are mentioned in these books its very limited and only talks about them in relation to slavery. Other races are also barely mentioned, including Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos. The books also rarely mention racism, and when they do its focused on only in past tense. Sleeter says how teachers add details to the information that the students already know from their own lives. However, it doesn’t change their “interpretive framework, which derived from their experiences outside school”. This means that the way students live their lives affects how they perceive what they're being taught. Then she goes on to say how some students of races other than white don’t feel inspired to learn or bored because they aren’t learning about history that applies to them, only white people history. This I can definitely understand because I know for me, I take more interest in history when it's something I can relate to, like womans history. She concludes her paper how ethnic studies are needed to undo the harm that mainstream curriculum that focuses solely on the Euro-American storyline. I think it is very important to do anything we can to fix some of the damage that was done to the stories of so many people. In the future when I am a teacher, I hope that there will be more diverse books able for me to teach. 

Blog Post 3

  This week for class we had to read about the four I’s of Oppression. We also watched a video of Luna Malbroux going through them. There are Ideological, Interpersonal, Institutional and Internalized. First, she explains Ideological. This is the idea that one group is better than another and has more rights to privileges. The dominant group thinks very highly of themselves and how their better than everyone else. They also think how other people are below them and are worse than them. This shapes the way people view the world and how they are guided through life is affected. Then she talks about Institutional Oppression. This is when those ideals about certain groups of people being better than others are taken and embedded in institutions. This could be like when certain schools have more funding than others. Also, when women get paid less than men when they are doing the same amount of work at the same job. Also, this institutional oppression is not even always intentional. Most people in one way or another have been treated differently because of some part of who they are. Then there is Interpersonal Oppression. This is when people disrespect or are rude to the oppressed group. This could be from little comments, stereotypes, or even harassment. This can be directed at all different types of people who are not a white rich straight man. When an oppressed group defends themselves, they are often the ones to get in trouble, that's why “The oppressed group, therefore, does not have the power to enforce its prejudices, unlike the dominant group.” (1). Finally, there's Internalized Oppression. This is when oppressed people internalize the idea that they are inferior to other groups of people. The result of this is they don’t take their feelings out on the dominant group; they instead take them out on oneself and people of their same group. The four I’s always affect one another. 

Blog Post 2

This week for my FNED 246 class I had to read an article called “Other Peoples Children” and it was written by Lisa Delpit. It was a very interesting and complex reading. The author explains how there is a power difference between teachers who are white and teachers who are black. She goes on to explain how she believes this is such a big issue and she even names it “the culture of power” (page 24). There are five key points that go along with this. First is that there is a power issue in classrooms, also that there are rules for participating in power. Also, that the culture being taught is that of the person in power. Another is that when you are told the rules of the culture of power you get power easier. Finally, the last one is that those with power are mostly unaware of it. One of the solutions that Delpit says is “I suggest that schools must provide there children the content that other families from a different cultural orientation provide at home” (page 30). This way no students feel left out because of things they can not control. After that the author goes on to say how teachers who are white do not have to be as assertive as teachers who are black. She then connects that to how students who are black are more used to authority figures being authoritative. “Black children expect an authority figure to act with authority. When the teacher instead acts as a chum, the message sent is that this adult has no authority, and the children react accordingly.” (Page 35). One solution the author gives is for teachers who are white to be authoritative, so they get better control over the classroom. Finally, the last topic the author talks about is how people normally talk versus how formal English is taught. She says how it is important for students to embrace how they talk, but to know how to use formal English. She concludes by saying how teachers should support students and their own experiences.  

Blog Post 1

      This week for my FNED 246 class we had to read the first three chapters of Allen Johnsons book called, “Privilege Power and Difference”. In my blog post I am going to be reflecting on what I read. In his writing he talks about racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, and how privilege effects people. Right at the start Johnson states how he is a white straight middleclass man. He explains how he can only talk about his experiences; he cannot talk like someone who he is not. However, he can get a better understanding of privilege, power, and difference because of facts and research. The problem of privilege can only be solved when we talk about everyone, not just certain groups of people. Johnson then goes on to support that statement by saying how minorities do not have the power to make a change all by themselves. Thats why we need people to be informed so we can all work together to make a change. However, part of the problem is that people with privilege can get overly defensive on the topic and think they're being attacked, when instead they need to understand that they have privilege and then work to lessen the gap between people. Johnson states how denying that privilege exists is a barrier to change. Johnsons writing also relates to Leslie Grinners idea of S.C.W.A.A.M.P. This stands for how straightness, Christianity, whiteness, American-ness, able-bodieness, maleness, and property ownership are valued in our culture. Grinner says how people are not even aware of all these all the time, which also relates to what Johnson was saying. After doing all of these readings I can reflect that sometimes I can be ignorant about the privileges I have. Yet, learning more about it from Johnson shows how there are things that I can do to help, not just hide from the truth. 

https://blackboard.ric.edu/ultra/courses/_103177_1/outline/file/_4389792_1 - First source 

https://blackboard.ric.edu/ultra/courses/_103177_1/outline/file/_4389791_1 - Second source