"Why can't she remember that?" by Terry Meier Kayla Brown
Quotes:
1) "Book knowledge becomes, in essence, part of these children's sense of identity in the world."
-Basically saying that if the children are read to and are familiar with books, they will be more likely to succeed in the classroom and on.
2) "Even children as verbally sophisticated as Lem are in danger of eventual school failure if their teachers are unable to help them extend their love of the spoken word to an equally passionate engagement with the written word."
-Writing is an essential asset in life and if a child starts out from a young age not being able to connect a verbal story to paper and create a written story, then that child is at a great disadvantage with his/her education.
3) "It is difficult to overstate the importance of choosing books that connect to children's lives."
-At such a young age, it is very important for the teacher to choose material that the kids can connect to so they develop a deeper understanding and connection to the literature.
Comments:
This reading really opened my eyes to something that I hadn't really thought of before, but Meier makes lots of great points. I think it is really important for the teacher to choose stories that reflect the students in the class. If there are mostly African American kids in the class, obviously the teacher should read books that contain African American families for the majority, and vise versa. Little kids like what they can relate to and if they cannot relate to a story because the people in it are not "like them" then they are not going to enjoy the story. I also liked Meier's point that if the class is diverse, then the teacher should also try to pick out books that contain parts of two languages, to let the bilingual students see that both of their languages are important and should be heard about. It was also interesting to see the different ways kids of different ethnicities got out of trouble. I thought it was funny how one little boy made up a poem, that rhymed, right on the spot. It just goes to show that children are all being raised differently and that the teachers need to try to incorporate as much diversity into their lessons, especially those dealing with literacy.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Privilege of Paleness
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
by Peggy McIntosh Kayla Brown
Quotes:
1) "White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, code books, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks."
-This quote struck me because it makes sense to me; being white is not thought of as a privilege to a white, yet we have all these secret little hints and helpings through life that non whites do not always receive. The thing is, we do not even think of these tips and helpings nor do we consciously recognize them; instead we just think of them as a part of our lives, not something special or additional, even though they actually are.
2) "I was taught to see myself as an individual whose moral state depended on her individual moral will."
-I liked this quote because it shows that whites do not recognize themselves as having privilege in life; rather, we feel we need to put in time and hard work to made any advances or make any accomplishments.
3) "I was taught to think that racism could end if white individuals changed their attitudes. (But) a "white" skin in the United States opens many doors for whites whether or not we approve of the way dominance has been conferred on us. Individual acts can palliate, but cannot end, these problems.
- This quote really made me think about the big picture and it kind of made me sad to think that there is not a way for us as a society to fix this issue of white privilege because the individual acts are not enough. I am a little more ambitious than McIntosh in thinking that there is definitely a chance for change and that one day there will no longer be a privilege of one color in this country. How long that is going to take, however, is a totally different discussion.
Comments:
The McIntosh reading really opened my eyes to the idea of white privilege that apparently not many others recognize either. It is not something I wake up in the morning knowing I possess. Rather, it is more of an idea rooted deeply into the society of this country and it is sort of understated in the sense that it is not a tangible privilege, but more like a birth given and not spoken of privilege. I do not like the idea of one race holding special privileges above any other, but the society is so deeply set in its ways that it is hard to completely uproot something that is burrowed so far into this lifestyle. I would like to disagree with McIntosh when she says that there is no way for us as individuals to change the way society is because this country has already come a long way and the new and upcoming generations have different mindsets than those that are currently in control. I do believe that eventually, one day done this very long and winding road of race privileges that people of all colors can be evaluated on the same playing field. Just by not believing we can change, is already making this journey more difficult. People need to be more open to new things and more accepting of others. As soon as we can do that, we can begin to chip away at this large boulder blocking the road to equality.
by Peggy McIntosh Kayla Brown
Quotes:
1) "White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, code books, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks."
-This quote struck me because it makes sense to me; being white is not thought of as a privilege to a white, yet we have all these secret little hints and helpings through life that non whites do not always receive. The thing is, we do not even think of these tips and helpings nor do we consciously recognize them; instead we just think of them as a part of our lives, not something special or additional, even though they actually are.
2) "I was taught to see myself as an individual whose moral state depended on her individual moral will."
-I liked this quote because it shows that whites do not recognize themselves as having privilege in life; rather, we feel we need to put in time and hard work to made any advances or make any accomplishments.
3) "I was taught to think that racism could end if white individuals changed their attitudes. (But) a "white" skin in the United States opens many doors for whites whether or not we approve of the way dominance has been conferred on us. Individual acts can palliate, but cannot end, these problems.
- This quote really made me think about the big picture and it kind of made me sad to think that there is not a way for us as a society to fix this issue of white privilege because the individual acts are not enough. I am a little more ambitious than McIntosh in thinking that there is definitely a chance for change and that one day there will no longer be a privilege of one color in this country. How long that is going to take, however, is a totally different discussion.
Comments:
The McIntosh reading really opened my eyes to the idea of white privilege that apparently not many others recognize either. It is not something I wake up in the morning knowing I possess. Rather, it is more of an idea rooted deeply into the society of this country and it is sort of understated in the sense that it is not a tangible privilege, but more like a birth given and not spoken of privilege. I do not like the idea of one race holding special privileges above any other, but the society is so deeply set in its ways that it is hard to completely uproot something that is burrowed so far into this lifestyle. I would like to disagree with McIntosh when she says that there is no way for us as individuals to change the way society is because this country has already come a long way and the new and upcoming generations have different mindsets than those that are currently in control. I do believe that eventually, one day done this very long and winding road of race privileges that people of all colors can be evaluated on the same playing field. Just by not believing we can change, is already making this journey more difficult. People need to be more open to new things and more accepting of others. As soon as we can do that, we can begin to chip away at this large boulder blocking the road to equality.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
My first blog!
Hello! My name is Kayla and I am a sophomore at RIC majoring in Secondary Education with a concentration in English. I'm a full time student and work part time as a manager at Yankee Candle and I also do some part time babysitting on the side. I love anything adventurous, although I haven't done anything really crazy just yet. I love traveling and go on as many vacations as I can each year. I love to swim, play sports, and go ice skating in the winter. I like to stay busy with school and work, but enjoy a lazy day off every now and then. I can't wait to get started in the VIPS program this semester and am really looking forward to this class! :)
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