Talking Point #9

School Girls

Peggy Orenstein

Premise:

• 
  
  Sexism


• 
  
  Female


• 
  
  Male


• 
  
  Roles


• 
  
  Society


• 
  
  School


• 
  
  Curriculum


• 
  
  African America


• 
  
  Education


• 
  
  Sexual Harassment

Author's Argument

Peggy Orenstein argues that there is a hidden curriculum where there is huge gap between women and men. She argues that schools should develop a curriculum that is fair for every gender in every subject and that this change should be taught in their early childhood. She also mentions that this "ideal curriculum" is helpful for students to see and try to make changes on issues like sexual harassment and gender inequality that surrounds them.

Evidence

• "The hidden curriculum is all the things teachers don't say, but that you learn in class anyway...the hidden curriculum is what you learn the most. Sexual harassment is part of the hidden curriculum for girls...boys...because they learn whether is has anything to do with them or not."
• Because it's not just a female job to change it, but a male job as well...maybe people need more education and we can provide some of that..."
• "...if you start a course...with something that connects to the student's experience...they can relate it to their own experience."

Comments

I really enjoyed reading this article because I felt that I was able to relate to it. I agree with Peggy's argument because in order to make everything work in this society we need both sexes. If we need both sexes then we need to make an equality curriculum where both boys and girls can feel comfortable with. There were girls' quote where they stated that they were glad that Mrs Logan did these women studies where girls were not discriminated. I even understood the reason why some of the girls in the classroom felt that they were not learning because they weren't talking about men and they felt that it wasn't right. These girls felt this way because they were not use to being in classroom where women are the dominate. I felt this way when I was in school because my teachers concentrated more on famous men rather than women. I also like the way Mrs. Logan had all of her students come up with monologue on famous women. The way she manage to get the boys to act out a women role was an effective way to get the boys to feel the discrimination that women fell in their everyday life.

Talking Point #8

Citizenship in School: "Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome"

PREMISE:

• Students


• Disable


• Stereotype


• Opportunities


• Democratic


• Social Place


• Citizenship


• Community


• Integration


• Participation


• Teachers

Author's Argument:

Kilewer argues that in the American schools there is this barrier that prevents children with disabilities to interact with others by placing them in a special educational classroom. Kilewer believes that this barrier must be broken to make school a better place to learn. He thinks that by integration disable and able students will create this social environment that will not discriminate the disable students. Each students should be looked individuality so that they can be able to participate in the classroom.

Evidence:

"...like a lot of people in Mendocino he's accepted for what he is, not what he isn't..."(pg 208).

Kilewer tells this story about a boy who's life changed when he moved to Mendicino, California. When he moved there he felt that people accepted his disable condition. He knew that he could concentrate on what he was able to do without worrying about what others will say or criticize what he cant do. He felt like an individual who was accepted to be part of the community..

"School citizenship requires that students not be categorized and separated based on presumed defect" (pg 207).

Kilewer is referring that teachers should see their students as individual in order to show them how much they valued them. Students shouldn't be judged by any health problems they might have. Teachers should see past that and focus more on the ability of every child. They shouldn't separate students based on their health problems also because that is like taking them out of the community they are living in.

"The challenge is to erase negative attitudes [and] get rid of the stereotypes and break the barriers for people with disabilities" (pg 200).

This statement pretty much supports his argument. He knows that getting rid of stereotype, braking any barriers and erasing negative attitudes towards disable people is challenge in this society where "able people" are dominate. Even though it is a challenge schools across America should find solutions because every citizen has a right to learn and speak even if they are disabled.

Comments:

I think that this article was a strong article. When reading this I felt anger because it is not fair that people who are disabled should be treated the way they are being treated in this society. Not letting them be part of the community is a tremendous error that a school can do. Not integrating them with other "able students" is like making them feel that they are not part of the community. It creates this silence that as years progress will keep growing. Stereotyping them is ignorant because they don't choose to be like that.

Talking Point #6

Tracking: Why schools need to take another Route

By: Jeannie Oakes

About:

• tracking
• stereotype
• low-class students
• high-class students
• differences
• classes
• uneven opportunities
• alternatives to tracking
• students left behind
• curriculum
• discipline
• behavior


• evaluation

Argument:

Jeannie Oakes argues that schools should find an alternative method of teaching instead of the tracking method that most school follow. She believes that tracking is not the best way to teach because it creates a separation between students. They should find an alternative method that brings all the students together.

Evidences:

"...tracking can and often does work well for top students. Start by providing the best teachers, a concentration of the most successful students and sometimes even the lowest class size...parent support group..." (Page 179)

This quote simply states top students do well in tracking rather then low students. It is an example of how not every students do well. Also it states the reason why these students do well in tracking and the example that is given I can conclude that they are barely or not found in a school where there is diversity.

"...school professionals and parents oppose tracking because they believe it locks most students into classes where they are stereotyped as less able, and where they have fewer opportunities." (page. 178).

Yet another reason why tracking should be taken out of school system. Even parents and teachers know that tracking creates a separation between students and it creates a lot of stereotypes in school. Another reason why an alternative method needs to be use so that every child have an opportunity in learning.

"Low ability classes were likely to have little contact with the knowledge skills that would allow them to make it into high classes or to successful..." (Page 178)

Another fact that by tracking or dividing students into different groups limits a student's knowledge. This is important because if a student is being limited to an education then they are not going to be successful in the future.

Comment:

I strongly agree with the author because I went through tracking in middle and high school. In middle school we were all divided into different group. For instance I was in the DREAM team. We were the team known for having ESL classroom and mainstream. After reading this article and thinking back I think that we were labeled as Dreamers. There was also the ALPHA team and they were placed alone in the third floor. Alpha is referred as the first so that makes it seem like that team was the #1 team in the school and since that was the case they needed to have their own floor. In high school we also had tracking and I was placed into Honors classes. Many students in that school thought that those classes were ONLY FOR SMART STUDENTS and many of them thought that they were unable to attend those classes. With this life experiences I can say that we need to find ways to include everyone not just a group of students. I also believe that having a classroom with of mixture of all different types of students makes the classroom stronger because it makes a learning environment. EVERY students has the opportunity in learning as much as the "higher" students. The moral of this article is that EVERY STUDENT SHOULD HAVE AN EQUAL LEARING OPPORTUNITY.

Talking Point #5

Teaching to change the world

By: Jeannie Oakes and Martin Lipton

Premises

• Children
• Schools
• Myths
• Education
• Teaching
• Privileges
• ideologies
• diversity
• equal

Argument:

Oakes and Lipton both argue that the American Schooling system have this myth of how the system needs to look like in order for children to be successful. However, that myth doesn't apply to every child especially for students who's second language is English. We need to find alternative to change the school curriculum so that every child is included and beneficial for every students. The solution for that problem is a more democratic society.

Evidence:

"...those students who have the resources, opportunities, and connections that come with privilege, the more ambitious and hardworking may well go farther than those who simply do okay in school." (page 19)

This quote just shows how privilege student are the only ones that apply to the educational myths.

"Family background seemed to determine how well students do at school" (page 24)

Since family is very important for the success of a child the myth of the school curriculum is not going to work with every child. This quote makes is clear that since every student comes from different background the American school system doesn't apply for every students and for that reason the curriculum should be change so that every child is included.

"We must be sure the conditions exist so that everyone can participate fully. Democratic schooling is one of these conditions because of its unique capacity to keep track, solicit, channel, alleviate, and project a future." (Page 33)

Comments:

This article was okay in my opinion. I mean it does gives a reader good information about how a democratic school helps every students. I can relate to this article because when I go to my service learning project I attend a classroom where not every student speak English or understand English. However, these students shouldn't be left out just because they don't understand the dominate society. In fact the teacher always try methods to include every child because she knows that most of her students don't understand the American curriculum. The first evidence that I found in the article I can say that the students in my SLP they don't have the advantages then those student who are considered as the privilege students in this school society.

Talking Point #7

"One More River to Cross"-Recognizing the Real Injury in Brown: A Prerequisite to Shaping New Remedies

by Charles Lawrence

Premises:

• Brown v. Board of Education
• Segregation
• Desegregation
• Race
• School system
• Power
• Privileges

Argument:

Charles Lawrence argues that the Brown v. Board of Education was not the ending to segregation in America. Even there was a law passed stating that all school had to integrated, there are still schools in America who are segregated. He also argues that Brown v. Board of Education was based more towards the south not north as much.

Evidence:

"...where Brown has left us...where we stand so that we may better chart the course to our ultimate goal." (Page 53)

Where Brown has left us is what we have to be thinking about. Instead of just saying "oh Brown v. board of education was successful because now EVERYONE CAN GO TO ANY SCHOOL THEY WANT", We have to think is it REALLY TRUE??????? Of course not because even though schools are required to integrate many schools are not because

"It could be argued that the Northern and Southern cases are distinguishable on the basis of state action; in the South, state action is present because state laws required the operation of dual school systems, while in the North, state action is absent because segregated schools occurred as the result of segregated housing patterns." (Page 57).

"The court's refusal to recognize and articulate the real nature of segregation in Brown and its progeny has fostered an attitude approach to the elimination of segregation that necessarily be unsuccessful." (Page 58)

Comments:

Where Brown has left us is what we have to be thinking about. Instead of saying that Brown was so successful we have to think WAS IT REALLY SUCCESSFUL? If it was really that successful WHY ARE THERE STILL SEGREGATED SCHOOLS IN AMERICA? For instance, the city that I am from has a high poverty rate. Most of the schools in the city are very diverse however, the percentage of white people is very low. Now if I was to compare the school in my city to the schools in Barrington we can pretty much predict that the majority of students in Barrignton are white and the majority of students in Central Falls School District are Hispanics. See there is no 50-50 in the race population in school. So whenever this situation changes so that all of the schools are 50-50 that's when I can say that the Brown V. Board of Education was successful. Until then, we can only see it as a step. I also want to conclude that in order to make a change in this world we all need to keep on working on it every minute of our lifes. I do not believe that one event like this one will completely end the problem. The problems are never going to be resolved completely if we stop working on it. Problems like this one we all need to think of it as "there would always be one more river to cross".