Talking Point 3

Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community

Dennis Carlson

 “…I not only want to point to some of the ways gay people and “gayness” has been “kept in their place” in the school community…”

This quote reminds me a lot of my senior year at my high school. Many of my fellow students were coming out and confirming that they were gay. Even though most of us were excepting of these facts there was still unspoken boundaries. Such as gay couples were less likely to kiss or show affection in public because this was still an uncomfortable sight for the rest of us. Then when it came to our school “dress up” week, the school would not allow us to dress up as those of the opposite sex. As the year progressed there were these new unspoken and unseen rules that had to be followed.

“Popular culture may represent identity, but identity also is represented in corporeal form, as individuals actively “live” their identities and makes these identities visible in their everyday relations with others.”  

A person’s identity is expressed through the way that they live their lives and react to certain situations. I think that the hardest obstacle for any homosexual is “coming out”. Some of my closest friends are gay or lesbians and they have told me that the most difficult thing for them to do was to reveal their sexuality. But sometimes society isn’t the hardest to reveal too. At my old high school there was a majority of us who just took it in stride and accepted others easily or in an un-harmful way kept their judgments to themselves. The hardest people to reveal themselves to were mostly their parents and immediate family.

Alright I don’t have a quote for this but I just want to speak about it. At my old school we were fortunate to have a GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) club. At first the club started off with very few people but then it quickly expanded. The teacher who led the group was gay himself and that just seemed to help the group even more. Now, I’m not sure whether the group has continued or if has ended. Last year they started it up again without much support from the school. I think that it easier for teens and kids to accept others who are homosexuals but adults tend to have a harder time.

Talking Point #2

Meier, "Why Can't She Remember That?"

Sam

Feb 18 2011 

Quotes:

1.     “…Lindsey tried again to enlist her mother’s assistance, this time by adopting the language and intonation patters of the book…”  (243). They way that Lindsey achieved what she wanted by referring to entertainment, in this case a book that she had read, reminded me a lot of the antics that I would do as a child. Whenever I wanted my dad to repeat something for me or do something for me I would firmly exclaim, “Do it again, do it again.” Referring to a scene in the movie The Lion King, my dad would promptly laugh and do as I wanted.

2.     “…It was not surprising that Colette started to develop other favorites among the books her teacher and I read. All of her favorites had “brown people” in them” (247). This quote brought me back to the previous reading by McIntosh. McIntosh wrote out a list with all the privileges that many whites don’t realize that they have. When I read this quote I came to the sudden realization that many of the fairy tales and books that I read as a child were all centered on white people and white culture. I rarely ever read a book that contained someone of a different color. Could this have been a personal preference of mine or the unknown reinforcement that society enforces?

3.     “…Characters who reappear in a series present particularly rich possibilities for children to form a strong attachment to text” (249). Here is a quote that I know everyone can relate to. As a child there is always that one character that we become “best friends” with. Mine, was Clifford and Curious George.     

Questions/Comments/Points to Share:

Just last year, as a senior, I helped out at my school’s playschool. Working there with the kids I can now notice some of the events that Meier mentions in the reading stated above. The children reacted to story time in many different ways. Some of them called out answers and spoke to those sitting beside them. And there were others who sat quietly and didn’t speak much. Most of the children could not sit still but were still in their own way captivated with the story. I still see a lot of these various differences between children at my work place.

Talking Point #1

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

By: Peggy McIntosh                                                                                                                                        Sam Medeiros

Quotes:

1.       “As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something which puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege which puts me at an advantage”  (1).  I can really relate to this quote especially since it is the same way that I was taught about racism. I was always told that others were at a disadvantage but even though we should help them most of us don’t want or don’t even think about losing some of what we have in order to help others.  We completely avoided the topic of how we are more privileged then others.

2.        “I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented” (2). Just the other day when my friends and I were going home we talked about this point that McIntosh brings up. We started to discuss how Disney Channel’s actors are not wide ranged when it comes to race. Off the top of our heads we could name less than a handful of African Americans that we knew are actors on that particular channel. Unless it is brought forth we don’t really notice that most channels do not broadcast a wide range of races.

3.       “(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” (3). This statement brings the answer to what many of us are searching for. Although most of us believe that all of this can be fixed by us coming forth and helping it isn’t enough. It will not all go away at the wave of a wand. No it is going to take a lot more work than just that.

Questions/Comments/Points to Share

This article really answered a lot of what we have been discussing in class. Whites don’t realize that we are given so many privileges and advantages just because of the color of our skin. And most of us think that we can level the playing field by removing offense language in books or by performing small acts of kindness but that won’t work. There is so much that we have to do and everyone needs to come to terms that in order to win this fight many of us are going to lose some of our advantages and common privileges in order for others to gain what the rightfully deserve.

Hello My Name Is...

Hi, my name is Sam.
I am a freshmen now starting my second semester. Lets see, what to say? I am of Portuguese descent and speak the language at home, a lot. So far this semester has been going well. Luckily I have friends in my classes or have made new friends. At first I can be kind of shy but once I really know someone I become really open. I never stop talking and am always fooling around. I spend a lot of my free time either working, at home or just hanging out with my friends. Right now I work at the elementary schools in Bristol with their COZ program. In simple terms it is almost like daycare before and after school. At home, I am always fooling around and playing pranks on my family members and friends. We usually all try to spend a lot of time together whether watching tv, playing video games, watching movies or playing board games. Sometimes we all just sit around and read for a couple of hours. We also spend our Sundays supporting my brother's soccer team. He normally plays defense and although he is small he is never afraid of the taller kids. Whenever I can I like to spend time with my friends. A group of us still get together and have sleepovers whenever we can. I have been going to more sleepovers now then I ever did in elementary and middle school. I have three pets; a bird, a cat and a dog. And yes, it is as hectic as it sounds. Yet, my cat is the one who rules the household. She is very possesive and all my friends are afraid of her. Even my 6 foot tall uncle. My dog is a cuddler and tends to be my blanket most nights. The bird is very quiet at times but loves to sing. I think that pretty much wraps it up. Thanks for reading!!

Until next time, Sam