Teaching Tolerance Website

Blog Post 10

The Teaching Tolerance website has a lot of useful information on it. Under the classroom activities section, there are pages and pages of different lessons that relate to bullying, race and ethnicity, diversity, religion, sexual orientation, and more. All of these lessons are creative and have a different approach than just lecturing. Some of the lessons are specific to one age group while others have a lesson for multiple age groups just adjusted to the age that is being taught. I see a lot of these lessons being useful to me as a future educator. It gives a different approach to teaching. Each lesson has its objectives listed along with essential questions, materials needed, and guidelines. 

Under the Film Kits tab, there are a handful of kits and subscriptions that are free to teachers. Most of these relate to the age group of 6th to 8th grade, but some can also be for high schoolers. This section does not relate to my journey as an educator because of the level grade level for each of the subscriptions. The good thing about these subscriptions is that they not only have the magazine, but they include other things. For example, the America’s Civil Rights Movement: A Time for Justice is a subscription that includes a film, a teacher’s guide with standard aligned lesson plans, and a poster relating to the topic (Teaching Tolerance, Film Kits). 

The tab called Publications is a road map for anti-bias education at every grade level. The learning outcomes are divided into four main domains- identity, diversity, justice, and action (IDJA). states, “The standards provide a common language and organizational structure: Teachers can use them to guide curriculum development, and administrators can use them to make schools more just, equitable and safe. The ABF is leveled for every stage of K-12 education and includes school-based scenarios to show what anti-bias attitudes and behavior may look like in the classroom” (Anti-bias Framework). I feel like this is also a great tool for teachers. It deals a lot with prejudice and social justice. These things can be taught, and need to be taught, to every age. 

Works Cited

"Anti-bias Framework." Teaching Tolerance. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

"Film Kits." Teaching Tolerance. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

Risk Factors for Youth

Blog Post 9

When you look at how the world is today, there are many drastic changes in the way our society is. There are a few things I believe are great risk factors for today’s youth. The first is the amount of violence shown in movies, television shows, and video games. I was watching television with a couple friends one day. As we were flipping through the channels, we noticed that almost every show had some sort of violence incorporated. One key example of this is the crime show Law and Order SVU. While this show is entertaining, they also provide insight to way criminals think. Violence has not only become a problem in the streets of any city, but it is becoming a major problem in schools. There have always been fights in school, but it is becoming more serious. When kids are bullied, they think the acceptable way to get back at the kids picking on them is to bring a gun to shoot the bullies or themselves. In certain areas, gangs can be a problems and cause more violence. This just depends on where the school is located. Students who attend the schools are not the only problem to worry about. In the past couple of years, there have been outsiders come in and have shootings. A perfect example of this is the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December of 2012. In a perspective article called “After Newtown- Public Opinion on Gun Policy and Mental Illness,” the author states, “These four events share two common characteristics: all four shooters were apparently mentally ill, and all four used guns with large-capacity magazines, allowing them to fire multiple rounds of ammunition without reloading (Barry, 2013). 

Another great risk factor is bullying. This can be an issue in many ways including: gender, gender orientation, social status, and many more. We have talked a lot about gender orientation in class, and I think this is one of the most common ways bullying occurs. Bullying relates to violence. Especially as people get older, you hear cases of suicide. While the reasons are sometimes unknown, there are many cases of people feeling worthless and different. There are many risk factors, but violence and bullying are the two I think are the greatest. Both of these things effect my journey as an educator, because I will witness and have to deal with bullying and violence in one extreme or another. While of course I hope it is not the worst extreme, I have to be prepared to deal with anything thrown at hand. For instance, the six adults who were killed in the shooting at Sandy Hill Elementary saw it as their responsibility to protect those kids. 

Work Cited

Barry, Colleen L., Emma E. McGinty, Jon S. Vernick, and Daniel W. Webster. "Public Opinion on Gun Policy and Mental Illness." The New England Journal of Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

Geographical Loaction

Blog Post 8

I have lived in two different areas in my life. I grew up in Woodstock, Georgia. While it is not a big city or a country town, it is somewhere in between. I grew up in a pretty big neighborhood where I learned a lot about community. You had your neighbors and then the people who lived on the same street. From what I remember, everyone got along. No one was hesitant to lend a helping hand. If we needed something we were able to ask our neighbors, but if they didn’t have it or it was more than an egg or a cup of milk, the store was no more than five to eight minutes away. Not only was it close, but there were many options. Shopping malls and other things like that were not to far away. 

When I got older, my family moved to Canton, Georgia. All I knew was that I was now living in the middle of two cow pastures. Don’t get me wrong, the landscape was beautiful but way different than what I was used to. The neighborhood I moved in two was a lot smaller than the one we moved from, but there was not as much of a sense of community. The people who lived in there were stuck up and loved being in your business. Other than my neighborhood, people were really nice. It was a small town so everyone basically knew everyone if you grew up there. My friend’s dad would tell us stories all the time about all of the work he would have to do in the summer. Another one of my friends actually lived on a farm, and she would talk about all the things they had to do. I thought doing yard work was bad. There was not a whole lot to do in that area. Even though we had a grocery store down the road from our house, everything was pretty distant. The closest Target was about forty-five minutes away. The longer we lived out there, the busier the area got. A lot of the open land was cleared and turned in to something. 

I think both of the places I have lived have impacted me to be the person I am today. I feel like the move to Canton, was something my whole family needed. Although we went through some rough times, I know it happened for a reason. Through it, we meant many wonderful people, learned many lessons, and grew closer as a family. It gave us a new perspective on how people were raised and how they do things. 

Mormon Church Experience

Blog Post 7

This past Sunday, I went with two classmates to a Mormon church in Dahlonega. Growing up, when my family went to church, we went to a Catholic church. We did not attend regularly, but when I got older we started going to a non-denominational church. Before going to the Mormon church, I was honestly nervous because I don’t know much about what they believe or if we would be welcome. I had never known a Mormon, but I got to talking about it with a friend who is. This is why we chose to go there. When we got there, I was surprised how nice everyone was. I was worried that they would ask if I came from a different religious background, and one girl did. I was surprised that she didn’t care. She was super nice, and offered to answer any questions we had when the ward was dismissed. 

When we arrived, I noticed some similarities but also many differences. I have been to many Baptist churches. Some similarities I saw were how the people dress. Men wore suites and women worn proper dresses or skirts. This differs from my church because you can literally wear pajamas and no one would care. Even though people don’t actually do that, people wear jeans all the time. Another difference I noticed between my church is that the Mormon church calls their services a ward. The one we went to was about an hour long. Before it was over, they mentioned that after there were other meetings. I asked my friend what that meant, and she told me that they are normally there for three or four hours every Sunday. My church is about an hour and a half every Sunday.

There were many things that happened that I was not positive on what was going on. They did a lot of voting as a church on members of different councils. This is a small thing but I noticed how when they prayed and talked, sometimes, they would use words like “thou” and “thee.” I have seen these words used in the Bible, but the pastor at my church and other leaders do not use that language. The main difference was how they have the Book of Mormon. I am still not positive on what it is, but one guy shared his testimony and referred to it a lot. 

Accessibility

Blog Post 6

I never really thought about it before, but there are too many times when I take for granted my ability to not only come and go as I please but to have access to any place I wish to go. I live on campus. While this campus is small compared to schools like UGA, it is still big enough to cause limitations for students with disabilities. The school has done its best, in my opinion, to make the buildings accessible to people who are handicap. There are a lot of stairs, but they do have an elevator for handicap students. I would say that everywhere on campus seems accessible to people with disabilities. Even though this is true, I think that this campus is a tough one. Everything is pretty close together, but there are a lot of hills. I think this can limit their participation in activities that I could participate in. If I want to, I am able to go run around the drill field, participate in inter-murals, and be a part of the basketball team. While these people can play on the drill field or play inter-murals, it is harder for them to do so because there are no teams/sports set up for this. It’s not the fact that the areas are inaccessible to the students, it’s that the fact that the schools lacks opportunities for these people to get involved. 
I decided to research limitations of handicap. Kenneth Jernigan is the author, and he states, “By definition a characteristic—any characteristic—is a limitation” (p.1). One example of handicap he used was blindness. The example that he used to describe this is picking teams to play a game of baseball. Who is more likely to be picked? The blind person is very limited on what he can do. Those limitations cause the blind person to be left out or are limited in their participation. 

Works Cited

"Blindness— Handicap or Characteristic." Handicap. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Gender Identity

        In my opinion, girls should be feminine and men should masculine. This is not to say that girls cannot be tomboys and guys cannot be interested in things that may be on the feminine side. There is a balance. Also, I believe that girls should date guys and vice versa. If someone is gay, I do not have a problem with it. I have friends that are. As long as they do not force it upon me, I do not mind. There have been instances when I have been out with friends, and I have seen them showing affection to their significant other or trying to encourage someone to try being with someone of the same sex. I hate that it has to be this way, but I am not ok with this. I am not a fan of PDA as it is. 
I had a discussion the other day with a friend. We were talking about how most lesbians have had more experience with guys than most of the single, straight girls. I feel like most of these people have been through a traumatizing situation with the opposite sex whether they were cheated on, raped, or even lied to. I feel like men suffer the most from behaving like the opposite sex. Men are supposed to be big, strong, and manly. When men are interested in or partake in things seen as feminine, they are looked down up. This is not to say lesbians are not looked down up, because they are. It is just more socially acceptable for girls to be a tomboy. 

I would say my family has had an impact on my gender identity. My parents are happily married, and I have always wanted a relationship like theirs. My older sister dated a lot of guys and has found her match. My whole family is “normal” when it comes to that aspect. Even throughout middle and high school, every sport team I was on was full of straight girls. This is of course someone was to afraid to tell us otherwise. It was not until my freshman year of college where I started to meet people who were gay. I also spent a lot of time with some because they were on my team. As long as you made it known that you were straight, they left you alone and you were friends. Now that I am friends with some gay people, my eyes have been opened to things they go through because of it. I have talked about it with some of my straight friends. We agreed that we are not ok with people being gay, but we will not judge. 

Good? Bad? Possible?

Blog Post Four

The social norm, when it comes to raising a child, is to distinguish whether the baby is a boy or a girl. People do this by they way they talk, what they say, how they are dressed, and more. After reading the articles assigned, I am shocked that people raise their children i a genderless environment. I never would have thought about it. In one article, it talks about how their children were exposed to many gender stereotypes in school. It would be impossible to keep your kids away from them. Radge said, “They tried some of them out, adopted some, discarded others” (2011, Bouzane). It is said to have had no effect on the children or the way they interact with others. From reading these articles, I feel like it is not possible for you to raise your child in a genderless environment. In my opinion, once they are exposed to gender stereotypes, it would make it harder for them to understand why boys are one way while girls act, dress, and display themselves differently. One family who decided to raise their child like this kept the gender a secret from everyone except for the immediate family and certain others. The parents of this child said, “Instead of dolls for girls and trucks for boys,” they decided that “anything goes” (2011, Koplewicz). They believe it is great for the children to express their gender creatively. This article raises one point I agree with, and “the fact is that gender differences are not all socially invented, and they’re not all chosen.” It is known that there is a difference in the way girls brains develop compared to boys. This can be confusing for a child and lead to other problems. Because of their choice in the way they dress and portray themselves, this can cause many problems due to what society thinks and believes. This is when it is up to the parent to decide what is best for their child. 

Privilege

Blog Post 3

A privilege is a right or an opportunity only enjoyed only by people with an advantage. It is something others may not be fortunate enough to get. When asked to define privilege, the first thing that came to mind would be all of the privileges I have been blessed with. I started playing basketball at an early age. Luckily, my athletic ability and love for the game has let me play up until now. Not only that, but I have had the support both financially and emotionally from my family. Basketball has allowed many privileges. While grades are not just handed to us, like many people may think, some teachers understand our situation and busy schedules. Therefore, they work with us when we have to travel or with everything else going on. In order to be a part of the team, there are certain requirements we have to uphold. As long as we do, we are granted these privileges. 

I also have had the privilege of not only being part of the basketball team, but I am also a part of a sorority. There are not a lot of people who are fortunate enough to be involved in both. Just like basketball, there are certain requirements you must uphold. For instance, you must maintain a certain GPA, volunteer fifteen hours of your time to community service with you philanthropy, and more. By doing all of these things, you are rewarded with a great group of friends, social opportunities, and great experiences. 

As a teacher, I know I will be understanding of student-athletes, but I do not want to make other students feel like the athletes get special treatment to the athletes. I think it is important for the teacher to be approachable when students who do not have certain privileges struggle and need help. As long as there is communication and a reasonable explanation, everyone should have the same attention. 

Racial Discussion

Blog Post 2

It is important to discuss issues that are seen as having racial dimension for a few reasons. The first reason is because racism plays a role in each and every school. Some schools have a more diverse population while others were scarcely diverse. Teachers will have to deal with the issue of racism on a daily basis. When kids are younger, they tend to see past the color of someone’s skin. As they begin to get older, this is when the topic of racism becomes more touchy. When I say touchy, I mean it is a very sensitive subject. Talking about racism can lead to many arguments, and there is a certain way to go about the topic. Some effective strategies for initiating and facilitating conversations about racism are being respectful, using appropriate language, and listening to what others have to say (even if you do not agree). Being respectful means not only listening to what others have to say, but you must also not criticize them for the way they think. You might say, “I understand your point of view, but I disagree because...” Using appropriate language also ties in to the respect aspect. While talking about another race, slang is not appropriate or even negative feedback to someone when you do not agree. Educators need to promote/encourage discussions that are influenced by race or ethnicity. Because society itself is becoming more diverse, people need to learn how to handle it and talk about it in a proper manner. When teachers have discussions, they need to see both sides of what people think and how they feel whether they agree or not. Like I said before, I believe the best way to talk about this topic is with respect and understanding of the other person’s point of view. 

Cultural Norm

Blog One 

When it comes to society, what does it mean to be normal? What may be normal to one person could be unusual to another. For this blog, we were told to break a social norm. My first thought was that it would be simple to think of something to do. When I began to ponder about what I would do, I realized it was harder than I thought. After some thought, I finally settled on the idea of walking through a drive-thru restaurant. I went with a group of three other girls from the class to Dairy Queen. When we got there, we walked through the line. We stood there waiting for them to take our order, but I assume we were not sensed. As we were standing there, a man in a car across the street rolled his window down and said, “Are you driving an invisible car?” Laughing it off, we decided to try to speak in to the speaker, but received no answer. We contemplated what to do, but we decided to walk around to the window. As we approached, a younger lady opened the window in a state of confusion. As we proceeded to ask her if we could place our order, an older woman walked over. She asked us if we could come inside to place our order. So, we did as she asked. When we walked inside, the younger lady came to the register to take our order. We told her what our intentions were with trying to order through the drive-thru. She laughed and told us she was going to go along with it. Thinking back to the whole situation, one of the ways we see a cultural difference is in age. While the older lady was more serious about the matter, the younger lady found it to be humorous. Although she was confused at first at what we were doing, she had a better attitude about the whole situation. I know for a fact workers do not see that happen everyday. This relates to what we discussed in class, because age, or anything else, and how we were raised influences our views of what is normal. The main thing we talked about that this relates to is the question on who decides what is normal.