Standardization

NCLB=CONTROL. I understand the point of it all, but I don't agree with any of it. If there is a school in trouble, BRING IN TEACHERS. Send more federal aid to assist theses schools. I think there is so much more a government could do to help failing schools. Nurturing students to create a progressive school is more important.

Race

"Only White people say race doesn't matter." p. 475 This is something that I never truly thought about. I am quite the advocate for not using race for anything, whether it be an application for a job or just a word in a discussion. But after thinking about it....maybe it is true. It doesn't matter to me because I'm white....yet I don't agree. I hate the creation and use of race in our country. It has become a construction for injustice that has been used for hundreds of years. Yet it is important to TEACH about the contruction of race and the injustice it has caused over years to hopefully one day prevent the continuation of injustice.

Pedagogy

We live in a social world, therefore the knowledge that is taught in the classroom is heavily based upon the social culture. "Critical pedagogy asks how and why knowledge gets constructed the way it does, and how and why some constructions of reality are legitimated and celebrated by the dominant culture while others clearly are not. Critical pedagogy asks how our everyday commonsense understandings-our social constructions or "subjectives"-get produced and lived out." (p. 409) It is the socioculture dimension of the schooling process.

Respect For All Students

Self-recognition of gay and lesbian adolescents is typically met with intense conflicts with their social environment, many times in the school environment. Yet even though these conflicts arise, those who hide their sexual orientation spend a tremendous amount of energy restricting their interactions with others. If a school were to restrict an adolescent from coming out, this could cause great damage to the adolescent. Recognition and respect towards all individuals is necessary to maintain social dynamics with the student body.

Our country's culture is very diverse, whether it be regarding sexual orientation or the many different languages citizens speak. Our education system needs to be accomadating in every way. Bilingual programs need to be offered in every school. We spend more money keeping people in jail than in educating students. Education conducted in English only limits many from getting the education they deserve in our country. The education of students helps to create better citizens, and shouldn't everyone be given that chance?

Bad Boys

This article shows how students are placed into certain categories in schools. They are educated in coordinance with their categories they are placed in. African American males are victim to this categorization of being trouble makers. Horror stories precede students into the clasroom and create reputations that may not fit the student. These boys are more likely to be singled out and punished than other students. School personnel argue whether these boys should be given access to the special programs which are designed for those who are failing in school.

I think there are problems with these ideas, already preceding these students into school and creating a stigma against African American boys. This is creating a reputations and preparing teachers to treate students in a certain way.

Identity

Identity during adolescence is one of the most important steps to go through. This is the stage where we determine who we are and what our place in the world is. "In the social jungle of human existence there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity." (p. 253) I can remember my claim to identity starting in 8th grade and branching all through the 4 years of high shool. I moved to a new school, made new friends, and somehow fit in with them. I came to school wearing a Silverchair t-shirt, hoping that someone liked them as much as I did. I found a group of girls that also wore band t-shirts similar to what I wore. They were very welcoming, and we became immediate friends. I can remember after becoming friends with these girls that the other girls who wore Tommy Hilfiger or Old Navy t-shirts, or whatever was popular at that time in the 90's, making fun of me for the "skater" clothes I wore. I didn't care though, because I had found my identity and had made friends. As I entered high school I continued to dress the way I did, but noticed that I didn't necessarily attract too many boys. The few I dated were friends that we already hung out with, and I didn't find an attraction to them as much as I did to other boys. I also became more environmentally aware and branched my music tastes to that of my parents, such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, etc. I started having a more mature taste in clothing, chosing a nice figure-fitting pair of cords rather than a baggy, men's-size pair of cords, and form-fitting shirts and sweaters. I chose colors that were more neutral and reflecting my love for the natural world around us. Blacks, greens, greys, tans versus the rocker-skater black and red with band t-shirts I used to wear. I started to talk to more than just "my group of friends" in my classes, and ended up making many friends. By the time senior year of high school ended, I was definitely labeled a "hippy chick" (minus dreads). There were many rough patches with finding my identity during these years, but I did find my true identity. I stopped copying the identities of others and branched into what I thought was my "own." I now feel completely comfortable with who I am and will always stand by my beliefs.

Group Projects

One item that I will be bringing to the attention of the class during our group is the book Make Me Wanna Holler by Nathan McCall. It is an amazing book I read years ago for an intro sociology class. I believe it pertains to our subject of self-esteem, drugs, gang activities, and growing beyond these distractions as a young adult. The author goes through all these troubles as a young adult and grows up to become an author and a writer for the Washington Post.

Importance of Middle School

"The National Middle School Association believes that: Successful schools for young adolescents are characterized by a culture that includes: 1) educators who value working with this age group and are prepared to do so, 2) courageous, collaborative leadership, 3) a shared vision that guides decisions, 4) an inviting, supportive, and safe environment, 5) high expectations for every member of the learning community, 6) students and teachers engaged in active learning, 7) an adult advocate for every student, and 8) school-initiated family and community partnerships.

Therefore, successful school for young adolescents provide:
1)Curriculum that is relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory, 2) multiple learning and teaching approaches that repsond to their diversity, 3) assessment and evaluation programs that promote quality learning, 4) organizational strucutres that support meaningful relationships and learning, 5) school-wide efforts and policies that foster health, wellness, and safety, and 6) multifaceted guidance and support services. (National Middle School Association, 2003, p7)" (Brown p. 152)

With these guildelines, a middle school teacher is trying to create an intellectual person, a person to create meaningful work, a good citizen, a caring and ethical individual, and a healthy person. Good self esteem and healthy habits are created at this time, and it is up to a teacher to help provide the knowledge for this creation.

Nymphet Fantasies

American society has it's fair share of unique issues, one being child beauty pageants. Personal opinion: not such an attractive facet to put your young child into. Let your children play in the mud, not become some poster child "nymphet" that some weirdos have photos posted of in their bathrooms. Yet when these young girls are murdered or missing, they are still posted all over the media. I believe that these pageants are some form of child abuse. Yes, I'm sure some girls enjoy pageants and mothers are careful to respect their child's wishes, but it seems most of the time these children are forced to dress up and walk around on stage when they would rather be playing outside with friends. Isn't there some show on t.v. now called Tiara Toddlers or something? The commercials showed the poor little girl crying because she didn't want lipstick on. I was forced to play the piano my entire adolescent life, and I know many times I did NOT want to play recitals or competitions. I just wanted to play with my friends. Not the same thing, but I can relate to the possible feelings.

Bashing Youth

Most of the article on Bashing Youth and Wild In Deceit was reporting statistics from media sources on problems being caused my adolescents in our society. The media focuses on what the youth in our society are doing wrong, whether it be STDs, violence, and unplanned pregnancies. The media isn't seperating adult behavior from youth behavior. These articles that are reporting these youth myths do suggest how media responsibility could halt today's political assault on youth and heal spreading among the generational hostility.

Journalists continue to add fuel to the fire with their articles on youth agression. Statistics seem to be reported on the rise with violence among youth. Their articles mask the real issues. The articles only publicize the tough measures that will be taken to improve youht agression, such as prison time for younger ages, instead of programs that are designed to help these youth. Articles will talk about how to "treat" a problem, instead of the facts, such as most of the youth that are "causing" poverty were already born into poverty.

Objectivity by V.N. Parillo

When we are talking about people, usually those who differ from us, we commonly offer our own assumptions and opinions more readily than when we are discussing some other area, such as statistics or biology. But if we are to undertake a sociological study of ethnicity, we must question our assumptions and opinions-everything we have always believed without question. How can we scientifically investigate a problem if we have already reached a conclusion?

Sociologists attempt to examine group relationships objectively, but it is impossible to exclude their own subjectivity altogether. All human beings have values-socially shared conceptions of what is good, desirable, and proper, or bad, undesirable, and improper. Because we are human, we cannot be completely objective, since these values influence our orientations, actions, reactions and interpretations. For example, selecting intergroup relations as an area of interest and concern, emphasizing the sociological perspective of this subject, and organizing the material in this book thematically all represent value judgements regarding priorities.

In fact, value neutrality may be impossible to attain, since we are all members of groups and have been infulenced by many others in our perceptions and experiences. It is nevertheless important to try conscientiously to maintain an open mind in order to examine this subject as objectively as possible. You must be aware of your own strong feelings about these matters and be willing to examine new concepts, even if they challenge previously held beliefs. To study this subject properly, you should attempt to be a stranger in your familiar world. Look at everything as if you were seeing it for the first time, trying to understnad how and why it is rather than just taking it for granted. In addition, you should recognize that all of us are members of groups; consequently, the debate about and study of inter-group relations is itself part of what we are studying. As part of an ingroup, we find all other outgroup members unlike our reference group; for this reason, our judgements about these "outsiders" are not as fully informed as the ones we make about known "insiders." Because many individuals have a strong tendency to tune out disagreeable information, you must make a continual effort to remain open-minded and receptive to new data.

Anti-Oppressive Education

Educators need to use an objective view when working with students in the classroom. Social oppression will exist in society forever. Students should come into a classroom with a reduced amount of social oppression to have a better learning environment.

People, including students, look at the "other" and begin to create assumptions and expectations about the "other." Harmful treatment is created when approached with somone that is different than others. Some researchers suggest that assimilation is the key to prevent problems that may go on in society.

Students may react to oppression in many ways. They may overcompensate and hyperperform in academic, extracurricular, and social activities. These students may succeed academically while still maintaining a connection to their culture or community. Other students may turn to drugs, starving/scarring themselves, or attempting/commiting suicide. These students may appear to fail and drop out of school. All of these students experience oppression.

Schools and educators need to provide seperate spaces and supportive spaces to respect the individuality of every student. Teachers need to embrace the individuality of every race, gender, and sexuality of students. Teachers that are culturally aware and respectable should empower these ideas in classroom settings.