Blog #7

 Aria

Richard Rodriguez

Samantha Marsella

Hyperlink

        In the text Rodriguez writes about going to school as a child not knowing much English. He was brought up on speaking Spanish and went to a school where it was English based. His teachers even go to his home and talks to his parents telling them to start speaking English at home. Because whenever he is called on in school no one understands his broken English and that he isn't comfortable speaking in front of the class. The issue I see in this reading that is discussed is that Richard's teachers were making him speak English and not his native language. I find this a big problem because children are brought up on their culture and their language is a part of that. When you take that away you are taking away part of their identity.

        Below is a link on some pros and cons of bilingual education. Some pros are that it makes it easier to learn more languages once you learn one. Another thing is that it creates an opportunity for early diversity and gives children future opportunities to learn. Some cons are that it can be expensive and inconsistent. And there are fewer qualified teachers that are able to provide this education to the students that want to learn.

14 Pros and Cons of Bilingual Education – Vittana.org

        Did you ever have someone in your class that spoke another language and how did you feel? I feel some people hate that other people speak a different language and others don't care. The reason that they hate it is because they can't understand it themselves, so they don't want that person speaking it. It is not right to tell someone they can't speak their native language because you don't like it. Have you ever thought about when you go to another country and you speak in English, how those people felt?

Entry #6 Finn

Literacy with an Attitude

Patrick J. Finn

Samantha Marsella 

Connections

            We have read quite a few pieces from different authors and in this post, I am going to write about some connections I found from this reading and the other ones we read. The first connection is about Rose talking about how structural racism works and how we can find it in education. In the reading by Finn, he writes that when rich students get an empowering education nothing changes. But when you give the working-class students empowering education you get literacy with an attitude. In the working class schools the teachers would make the students follow their steps without telling them what they are doing. They skip pages in the books, and they think they are extras and don't need to be used. In the rich class schools, the teachers taught them everything grammar, vocab, math, etc. They even taught them how to make relationships with the economy, authority, and work. You can obviously see that the more privileged children didn't have to worry about getting a good education. 

        In the NY Times article Still Separate, Still Unequal it talks about how there is segregation in schools. I find that this reading is similar because the rich children go to one school and the working-class children go to another. I feel this makes segregation a part because why can't these children all go to the same schools. They were all pretty much white and read from the same books and all located in Northern New Jersey. The only differences were how much their parents made and their social class.

Honestly, I feel people and schools are still like that today. Private schools tend to be for children that have more money, and public schools tend to be for children that are in the working-class. Below is a link about the benefits of private and public schools and how much people have to make to afford it.

Private School vs. Public School – Cost & Comparison (moneycrashers.com)

Entry #5 Rose

How Structural Racism Works

Tricia Rose 

Samantha Marsella

Reflection

        I chose to do a reflection because I still have personal connections even though I am not someone of color. But first I want to talk about some key points that stood out from the video. Structural racism in a brief definition is when people of color have poor or chronic outcomes while white people receive advantages. For example, white people are more likely to get a house because of their skin color or because they are willing to pay more for the home. People of color are more likely to be shut down when getting a job as well. Another thing is that 80% of people don't see that racism is a problem or think we are moving on from it. Lastly, there are five key areas where racism can take place and those are in media, wealth, criminal justice, education, and housing. With all these areas being stated there is no safe space for people and that is just not right.

In my own life, I didn't recognize racism at such a young age, but that doesn't mean it wasn't happening around me. Racism doesn't just have to be about the color of people's skin but it could also be about how someone identifies themself as. The one story that I always talk about and can relate to was my grandmother. I had a friend of a different color skin and she told me to stay away from him. She told me that "black people are no good". I understand that she is old school and there were a lot of problems with people back then but it is a different time. I got pretty upset with her and told her that times are different and not all people are bad. I told her I could be friends with whoever I wanted to be friends with and just because he is someone of color doesn't mean he's bad. I knew he was nice and smart and a really good kid and I understand that she didn't know him but you can't make assumptions.

That brings me to my next point about making assumptions. Assumptions are made every day whether you realize it or not. Honestly, I never realized I had done it until this class, and could actually think of a time when I've done it. The first time was when I was in school and I looked at someone and thought to myself, "She's popular" or "he's a nerd" without even knowing these people. I have even done it on the softball field when we played a team and I either thought there was no way we are winning because they are really good or that they suck. Making assumptions is the first step at making racism happen because if you think something about someone you aren't going to give them a chance.

Below is a link that explains some laws and rules about structural racism.

Bing Videos

Do you think that racism is ever not going to be a thing? Do you think at least it will get better or worse? I know there is no true answer to these questions but everyone has a different opinion so I want to know other people's thoughts or maybe even some actions that can be taken to stop racism.

Video Analysis

Classroom Tour

Precious Knowledge

Teach Us All

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XQ5j2fdvxyxbYN7j82LF69HQ-n8SD7Sog8pxz3AKnTU/edit?usp=sharing