Final reflection of 311

I started on this journey of Education 311 only a few short months ago, and this week it is coming to a close as the semester ends. The class was an area for me to absorb crucial information in order to become an educator, as well as build my critical thinking skills, and lastly, my writing skills by creating this blog. I was very lucky in that the classroom space was influenced mostly by the students, grounded in our readings and discussed further to better understand the different objectives of the articles and books we read. For me personally, there are a few different areas that I found to stick out more than others. Some of these areas include literacy knowledge and previous backgrounds of a student, the reading gap and conversation gap. Moreover, ideals that are expressed through Lisa Delpit and Allen Johnson, dealing with classism and racism. Whether society wants to acknowledge these privileges and oppressions on stereotypes or not, they are still very much in existence. 

My favorite article of the semester was one written by author Victoria Purcell-Gates, entitled "...As soon as she opened her mouth!" The article explains how the literacy knowledge, or lack there of, effects children that are in poorer areas of the country. Reading is considered to be second nature for most us after about third grade, but for Donny and his mother Jenny, that wasn't the case. Jenny grew up in the Appalachians and was a high school drop out, along with her husband, in which neither one of them never learned to read. So presumably, their son Donny was put in the same positions because Jenny simply did not have the language or skills to do so. What Donny lacked going into first grade was language concepts- relationships between letters, words, reading, writing and speaking. The mothers lack of education puts Donny in a position that he cannot be exposed to language concepts, and therefor struggled when entering the school system. Early exposure to language concepts are very important in toddlers so that they can start to construct a vocabulary and mimic actions of speaking and interacting with those around them. 

From my own personal experiences, my mother and father read to me every night before bed, and it really constructed the building blocks necessary for me to continue on in school. Donny didn't get that, so what happened to Donny? As most teachers do, they just passed him on to the next grade level without recognizing the fact that he couldn't read or write by third grade. Not only was Donny blindly pass around, but the administration was not taking action to help Donny. Donny was already put in the system as an illiterate child because his mother and father were considered to be illiterate. The best part about this article, however, is that Jenny fully recognized the fact that Donny still didn't have reading or writing skills, and it seemed that she was the only one who noticed. She seemed to be the smartest person in this whole situation because she saw that Donny was being put on a path for him to drop out in the future. A path where he would not learn basic skills, and just fall into the work force within the lower class and even poverty class. 

Throughout the passing of Donny from first grade to third grade, Jenny had tried her best to express to the administration that he was not at a third grade level in education, even though he was put in a third grade class. Jenny kept receiving letters in the mail from the school, even after she had told them not to send them to her (it's been established that she can't read!!!). What really made an impact for change was when the author, Victoria Purcell-Gates, came to talk to the administration. Funny how someone in a position of power is listened to very openly, when on the other hand, Jenny simply said that she did not want letters sent home and they blatantly disregarded her. It was at that time, when Purcell-Gates interjected, that Donny was moved back down to second grade. Although Jenny lacked the experience and education compared to the author, she should not have been ignored by the administration as a credible source. Being Donny's own mother, she was able to see first hand that he was headed down the same path she had gone, not Purcell-Gates, but Donny's mother. So why is it that when a complete stranger steps into the picture with a degree, she is given credit without any question? 

Classism affects children in additional ways, which includes the reading gap, role model gap, and conversation gap. These ideals rely heavily on the parents of the students. It is said that kids with wealthier parents are read to more often than kids whose family live in poverty. This is in part to the fact that a parent is uneducated and can't read (such as Jenny), but also, the parent in a poor family is said to have more than one job, or a job that requires shifts that are not the typical 9am-5pm. When a parent is away working, they aren't able to spend as much time with their children and read to them, as opposed to a wealthier parent. Parents need to be role models for their children, so that the child can see their parent engaging in actions of conversation, reading, and writing. Toddlers are so absorbent and pick up on signs and routines of the parent/parents in daily life; sort of like a monkey see, monkey do. 

This is when the reading gap starts to become prominent, due to the fact that a child's previous experience is going to be different for each individual child (Rothstein). Some children could be read to every night, practice building vocabulary, or even learning to write. On the other end of the spectrum, there are children that have had none or very little experience. It is the schools job to recognize that all children learn differently and come into a school with specific previous knowledge that is not aligned with another child.

This reminds me greatly of a picture I saw on the internet a while back..

Lisa Delpit also expresses that children in schools need to be taught how to act white in order to gain the same privileges bestowed upon Caucasian students. People of middle-class or higher, receive a better education due to their dominate power over other classes. Society views a white, middle-class student as more of a priority over students that are in poorer areas and/or of a different skin color. Delpit is a black woman herself, and she has to continually justify what she says because as a black female she gets questioned as to whether or not she can be viewed as credible. Why does society find it appropriate to water down all different races and ethnicities so that the white, middle-class privilege still remains? 

A multicultural education was also highlighted during this Spring semester. Multicultural curriculum includes race studies as well as its history so that students can get a better understanding of who they are and where they came from. For example, there was a documentary showing students in a Tuscon, Arizona high school that were forced to let go of their Mexican American program. The program was pushed to extinction because the class was believed to encourage the students to hate America, resulting in the government saying the class is now illegal. But of course, guess who was behind the workings of trying to shut the Mexican American studies program down? You got it, a white, middle-class male.The superintendent of the high school pushed for these classes to be shut down, however, he did not make any actions towards the African American studies. Although the superintendent never went to visit the classroom first hand, he gather information purely by hearsay, making him believe that the program was promoting students to be anti-American. 

Statistics showed that the students enrolled in the program raised their grades and created an overall higher percentage of graduating Mexican Americans. To me, that sounds like a great program to incorporate in the school due to its effectiveness on the students. The students stated that they felt more accepted by the school as well as feeling more comfortable with which they form a better understanding of their cultural history. Granted, this would not be the same case for schools up north or maybe in the mid-west, but implementing programs for race and cultural studies seem to be positive for the most part. 

The Arizona school created curriculum that was geared towards their students specifically, much as early childhood educators do with their children coming into the system with all different levels of predisposed knowledge. I think that is one of the most important thing a school can do- adjust to their students and community so that every person has a sense of involvement. Tailoring education to individual needs of the student’s steps outside of that "cookie-cutter" education. No two people learn the same way, or at the same exact rate. 

This class taught me a lot of different perspectives relating to an education system, that before hand, I would have had no idea related. Ideals of hierarchy, privilege, politics, multicultural education, gaps, and of course, our 'isms,' are all linked to education in some way or another. Recognizing positions of power and privilege is the first step; the next step is to actually make changes accordingly. Changes are necessary so that we don't have students like Donny being passed on to each grade if they truly aren't learning anything. If our education system is truly setting the students up to only achieve what their parents achieved, then isn't it time that we create school systems that DOESN'T perpetuate the system? There isn't one end-all-be-all answer to these issues, but there are actions that can be taken in order to help bring about change. A student should be oppressed because he or she comes from a poorer family, is black, or lacks previous experience compared to others. That's why the role of a teacher is so crucial in co-creating students that will be prepared to be influential, powerful members of society. 

Most are probably under the impression that "we should treat everyone equally," but on the contrary, it is not that at all. Treat each student as an individual, not just another face in the crowd, not just another name in the roster, not just another low-grade student to pass on to someone else. Being a teacher, for me anyways, is a position that goes above and beyond for the child so that they can become writers, readers, speakers, and then further down the road- critical thinkers. I am an early childhood education major, so for me I see that as the building block years. If I am not doing my job right, then it will only get harder for the student and teachers down the line. As we discussed in class- no one claims that they want to be "an ordinary teacher." The real challenge is actually following through with that claim. So five, ten, or even fifteen years down the line, the teacher could give up on that, but I don't want to be that educator. I hope that I can take all of what I learned from Education 311 and carry it with me every year, until I retire even! 

Stay beautiful 

It's a Man's World

In this blog, I will start to discuss a portion of a broad topic that is privilege, power and difference. My focus today is going to be geared toward gender roles we have in society, and how women are oppressed due to this perpetuating system. Yes, I am getting into gender today, so get ready. Anyways, I understand this can be a touchy subject but I am just beginning in this journey that is Allen Johnson. There is much I want to go over so I am just going to dive right in.

I really want to hit on the topic of patriarchy, and the ideals that are surrounded by a male being in an assumed position of power over a female. So a male is the dominant one, in all settings, including a work setting. Even though this is a bit disappointing, it is true. Why is it though, that men automatically get this privilege, but women are assumed to be lass than? Allan Johnson says that powerful women are open to being called bitches or lesbians as a way to discredit their power. Although this is direct, and let's face it, hurtful to women, it is pretty true in most situations. Just because you are a women in a position of power does not automatically connect you to the roll of a lesbian or a bitch OR mean that you are below a male.

For example, the book refers to a college professor that is a female, and compares her to a male professor. The female college professor get's asked if she is a professor, and when she says yes the follow up question is, "well, do you have your doctorate?" and when she answers yes to that question, the person responded with "at least you're educated." This is automatically putting that educator in a position that is lower than a male, and discrediting her knowledge solely on the fact that she is a female.

The way I feel, is that I never need to explain myself to anyone. If I say something about myself, you should take that for face value and not negate my experience for the sheer fact that I am female. Yes, I will admit a lot of times I feel like I do need to explain myself, and I'm willing to bet that most other women feel the same. Why is it that when a man states something he doesn't get questioned as to whether or not that is correct, but a women must give evidence as to why what she is saying, is true? It's our patriarchy system that we live in, in which male dominate and women are oppressed. 

If you're a male reading this I would really like you to think about what I'm saying. First, I want you to think about if you agree with all of this or not. Then I want you to think about why you do or don't agree with me. If you don't agree with what I'm saying is it because I am female? Men can't understand what it is truly like to be in a female's shoes simply because they will never get that first hand experience, just as I will never know what it is like to be a man.

Something else that we, as a society, really need to critically think about is why we live in a system like this, and how can it be changed? A good analogy that is used for trying to change this system is a leaf in comparison to a tree. One leaf of a tree won't provide protection, but thousands will. So if we ever want these ideals to change then we must all come together to do something about it.

That brings out the problem of pointing the finger at just one person. No one person is responsible for the oppression of women, but it takes one person to be able to stand up and do something about it. A lot of times, no one wants to be that person because they don't want to be ostracize and/or bullied. I challenge you to stand up for something the next time you witness this happening (sexism).

I would also like to think of a time when you automatically gave a label to someone based on their actions. Like when people see someone being a bad driver, it is mostly assumed to be a female! These stereotypes are the exact things that are keeping groups oppressed.

One of my favorite (not favorite in a good way) things that Johnson says is that men are the cultural standard for humanity, and women are just women.We live in a world where men are in these positions of power that is purely a social construct, and only continue because of the ever-lasting participation in this system.

When digging in deeper to dominance and privilege, it can be greatly connected to what society stresses as "normal." So, because of these social constructs that we label as normal, a male is in that position of power- to be male is to be normal. Such as being white, able-bodied, and middle class. When someone is outside of these norms, or acts in such a way that we view as not normal, that person is likely to get written off, or even scrutinized for it.

Dominance is an unequal balance of power. So, when I think about this, I can relate it to our government. Very few women are in congressional positions, so where does the power lie? That's right, in the men that are mostly running political jobs. A great example Johnson gives is part of our American history, that is "America the Beautiful." One of the lines in the song is "and crown thy good with brotherhood," and then someone suggesting that it be changed to sisterhood. I have to admit, even I find that it sounds a little weird. That's just it, I have been conditioned to think like this. I am in a society where thinking of things like that is just unfathomable due to these social constructs.

We also have these terms such as masculine, and feminine. Male are masculine, and females are feminine. Although, when we step outside of these ideals, what happens? It is sort of like these huge expectations that every single person must meet within their gender to be considered as normal, or even accepted for that matter. A man is embarrassed when a women will tell him off, but if a man were to do that to a female then it seems to be more expected. Just as a man is presumed to be in a higher position, such as a boss, and the women are below the male.

Privilege is not something that is earned, rather it is a an advantaged bestowed on one specific person/group. More importantly, it is something that a person in that position doesn't have to think about, almost as if it doesn't exist. A male is likely to get a job over a female because he is considered to be smarter, stronger, and of course, more powerful.

Johnson says that men receive the majority of attention in school at every level of education (103). Just as men are expected to be in the "harder" classes like math and science, and females are just to be in art or maybe a creative writing class. Again, this is because the standards that are upheld for men versus women. Men do the hard work, and women do the easier stuff. I suppose that is why the role of a stay-at-home mom is considered normal, and the father is the bread winner of the family.

Luckily, for our generation these social constructs are changing, and mostly for the better. Women's suffrage was first being recognized in the early 1900's and the 19th Amendment came into play in the 1920's that granted women the right to vote. That was almost a century ago, and we are still having issues such as unequal pay for women. Yes, great strides have been made but I think it is safe to say that women's oppression is still very much alive.

If you can think back to any Disney movie that you watched, these are exactly the type of examples that are teaching society (children more specifically) what to think, how to act, how to dress, and what to play with. For instance, The Little Mermaid. She falls in love with a man after only seeing him and changes her whole life for him. She leaves the sea, gains legs, and forgets about her family. For what? For one man who she has seen a couple times. Women are taught to give everything up for a man, who will protect us and take care of us. There is one song particularly that Ursula sings and she says, "You'll have your looks, your pretty face. And don't underestimate the importance of body language." Later in the song she says, "They think a girl who gossips is a bore! Yet, on land it's much preferred for ladies not to say a word....come on they're not impressed with conversation. True gentlemen avoid it when they can, but they dote and swoon and fawn on a lady who's withdrawn. It's she who holds her tongue who get's the man."

This is the image that girls at a young age are taught. Barely any clothing, skinny, big boobs, and long flowing hair. Anything that were to step outside of this would not be considered as a normal woman.

Gender roles and social constructs are just perpetuating the system, and continuing these practices will just make it continue as long as everyone let's it. I am a female, and I have to recognize this because I am not in a position of privilege as a male is. Men don't have to think about it, because they don't feel the affects of it. Privilege is not something earned, it is something that is given to us, and as long as we let it, the system will continue to be just that.

Stay Beautiful

What I'm really trying to say

Okay first of all, I just now realized that I can have one link (kneveland.blogger.com) and just have my separate blogs as like subtitles sort of. I'm still new to this so don't judge me, but at least this way I will be able to coordinate my different blogs in sub-categories if you will.

I'm pretty glad that I figured that out, because now it will be easier for my teacher to view all my blogs that are geared for the class and then my more personal blogs can be totally separate. Like my last blog was about sex and relationships and we can all be sure that education and sex are pretty separate.

I really wanted to write this extra blog along with the last one because I honestly didn't like the work I did. I felt like it was too jumbled and just all over the place. I was trying to squeeze so much into one blog, make it educational, while also trying to make it interesting. So on this blog I am writing, I want to put it more like my views and how I truly feel in my heart towards the education system. Rather then me throwing quotes at you, or names of people that you have no clue who they are, this one is something that I think everyone can relate to or just freely read. Capeesh?

I always like to state this, but I will do it again. This is MY BLOG, some personal, some not so personal. If you don't like what I write then don't read it, but I definitely appreciate comments and feedback, even if you disagree with me or find flaws in how I think/what I write.

That being said, I just want to get into the nitty gritty of it. When I think about my own education that I received, for example. I am from a small town, that really is able to sustain through the college that is there. If there was no college, my town would be much much smaller. My graduating class was about two hundred-ish and quite frankly, I only talk to about 5 people from my graduating class. That's okay though I'm not really worried about it. My dad always says it's a great place to be FROM.

You know what the really interesting thing about a small town is? People want so badly to become something more than just the small, farm town kid they were raised to be. I can vouch for that too, because I wanted more than anything to get out of the town. So I did, and came to college here in Carbondale. However,  I have a friend that does't seem to think that education beyond high school is necessary. Okay, so that may or may not be possible but we always hear how you have to have a degree now a days to do anything. Did you know, that only about 30% of all citizens in America have a degree? A lot smaller than I originally thought, especially because there is so much pressure for us to go to school. Why is that?

In one reading from my class, it talked about President Bush visiting a middle school, of prodominately black students. When he asked the class who thought they wanted to go to college, every single student raised their hand. That was eighth grade. In high school, the dropout rate increases, and by the time the hit that last year, if they even get to the last year, the percentage that still wants to attend college is quite the contrary. Am I the only one that is deeply saddened about this? Like really, isn't that sad to think that kids (at some point in time) are really interested in going to college but then that falls through.

We are taught our whole lives that if you can dream it, you can achieve it. Chase your dreams right? Anything is possible! So are our schools setting us up for failure? No, I don't think that's the point but the harsh reality of it all is that our system is just one big cycle. The top stay on the top and the bottom stay on the bottom. If you can't afford a private school does that mean your education should be compromised? Not one bit. If you live in an area, inner-city for example, and you don't have the equipment, safety, supplies and everything necessary for everyday schooling then there's really not much you can do. Resources are rationed in a way that is unjust and flat out not right.

Public education should not be swept under the rug, and if you want my personal opinion I think the No Child Left Behind Act was just a blanket resolution. It's like "hey, look at us we care about our education because we signed a piece of paper that says we care about education, so we are good to go!" Nonetheless, it's up to all of us to care about our children and their school conditions, as well as the education they are receiving.

Here's a couple random pictures of my favorite men in my life. My brothers and my dad are always here for me and I love them so much for that. 

Back to what I said earlier about my friend thinking he doesn't need college. That's fine and dandy and all, but why sell yourself short like that. I know we have all taken a few classes where we are like "Why the hell do I need this, I am never going to use this in real life." What I can tell you, from my own college experience thus far, is that it is always a great idea to take things like that in stride. Even if you don't ever use it in your life, at least you can have that knowledge because you never know when it will come up in conversation or be essential to something in your life.

Here's the thing guys, college isn't just about read this, memorize it, then regurgitate. College is to make you a scholar who is well rounded, prepared for the real world, and is a critical thinker as well as a problem solver. Although, I will say that some classes really are just memorizing things even if it's just temporary. That's what I'm getting at though, education should not be like that. It should be engaging you in real life, to empower you, to embrace the tools you have and what you are good at. Taking your talents, mixing it with knowledge and learning things related to that to further your set of skills.

The coolest thing for me as a college student, is to have my classes and the material connect. Honestly, it's like having a light bulb go off in your head. Then you think, man look at me all smart and edumacated. I know that even if my future doesn't hold what I think it does, then I will be prepared to for whatever else is thrown at me. In my perfect world, I want to go abroad and teach, or really just help in some kind of way. If I die knowing that I have helped at least one person in my life, then I will die happy.

Enough about college though, let's talk about our youth. You know how it goes, build from the bottom up. It's the same with our kids. A child's brain is so absorbent and learns so quickly, which is part of the reason why I chose early childhood education as my major. Birth to around age 5 is the most crucial point in our lives. Now with that being said, why do people seem so incredibly unaware of the fact that they can't spell? I am not the best speller, which is something I need to work on if I want to be a teacher, but I mean come on people!!1

There is a difference between TO, TWO, and TOO. There is a difference between THEIR, THERE, and THEY'RE! I learned this in second grade and it has stuck with me ever since. So when I get on Facebook and see people spelling simple things like that wrong it makes me wonder what happened. Education is like building blocks. If you miss the first two rungs of the latter, then the next few steps become incredibly hard. It's SHOULD/WOULD/COULD  HAVE, not should of.
Sorry… unnecessary rant.

I guess what I am saying is that we need to raise our standards so that we can create these students who are resourceful, thoughtful, intelligent, well rounded people that can be an enhancement to our world. Part of what I mentioned in my lost blog is what our instructor asked us.. what is 'becoming'? What is 'having become'?

As I said, I will let you ponder that for yourself.

In my perfect world everyone would have access to the same education, where it is equal. Which is part of what a democratic school system consists of. Unfortunately, that's not the case. It takes everyone to care and put in the effort, not just the educators. I feel like people view school as a place to drop your kid off at, and they learn there and then just go home and that's it. It's not like that. Not at all. It takes parents and community members to further a students studies, to push them into learning more and doing more.

For example, when I was interning with a third grade class there was one student in particular who told me that his mother did not read to him, or was too busy to help him with his homework. Because of this he really struggled to do his school work and really didn't have much drive to put the effort in. It was heart breaking to see a young child with so much potential give up for no reason. Is that how it goes though? I mean I didn't know his home life. Maybe his mom works two jobs and doesn't have time for him. Maybe she really just doesn't care.
That's the thing though, education goes beyond the walls of a school. It goes so much further than that, and quite honestly he was being set up for failure. Sure he has just as good of a chance to escape that as any other kid, but he is also already in the cycle. He sees what his mom does and maybe thinks that he will just do the same. He was a really special student and had the biggest heart of any 10 year old I had ever met, not to mention a great sense of humor. Getting to know those kids and spending a whole year with them was the best thing I've done with my life so far.
I could go on and on about that third grade class and my experience. It did open my eyes to a lot of things I would not have known, had I not taken the internship.
Mr. Frances was my teacher, neighbor, mentor and really like a father figure to me. I appreciate him and all of his help, and really I aspire to become a teacher like him some day.

I don't know if I'm allowed to post these pictures, but I suppose I will take the risk. This was the wonderful 3rd grade class of Mr. Francis. This was my senior year. 

This was my buddy when I did the pre-school program offered through our high school. My junior year.    

Needless to say, I spent the whole last day crying and reading letters that they wrote. It was really touching to know that I effected these students lives so much, and that they appreciated me. The appreciated me not only as a teacher, but a friend. I know for sure that this is what I want to do with my life.
 

In this picture, you can't really tell but we were crying and hugging and then immediately had to turn on a bright happy smile.

So anyways, I will end my blog on that note. If you read this all I really appreciate it and hope you leave comments or feedback! Ps sorry that the pictures are staggered all weird, like I said I'm still learning.

Stay beautiful

Democratic Education

Hello to my readers,
First I would just like to thank everyone for the positive support and feedback I have been getting about my blogs. It is pretty cool to have people read something you write, especially because some of this blog is personal.

Here's an adorable picture of me and my brothers, because why not? Thought I'd spice this blog up a bit.

Anyways, I have some awesome news to share. I discussed my blog with one of my instructors (and this is someone that I have a lot of respect for and really appreciate the fact that I have him). He and I talked about me creating blogs that relate to the class. How cool? If you know me, even if it's only a little bit, you would know how passionate I am about education, and when I have a few "apple ciders" in me, I will just not shut up about everything I have been learning in my class. I'm going to leave out the dirty details but just know that some of the information I will share with you is so important to me, and some of if will also be really specific towards something you may not agree with at all. But as I always say in every blog I write.. it's mine, so if you don't like it or don't agree that is completely fine with me. I would really appreciate comments made on this as well because I would love to hear what you think after reading any of my blogs.

Real quick I want to share with you some things about my instructor. Not only did he help me arrive at this idea of a blog series for my final project, but he encouraged me to do so. Of course I am going to jump at the opportunity, and now I can share some (I think to be) important and necessary information about education. I won't say my instructors name, because quite frankly I don't feel that I am in a position to call him out in such a public way. Just wanted to say that he is great teacher. He challenges us as students to think in ways that we probably would not have originally, and he pushes us into finding answers that may or may not be concrete but are able to critically think about. I told him he is like the annoying 4 year old that asks "Why?" to everything you say. It's sometimes frustrating but I know that he does it for a reason.
Warning: Don't ever say "I don't know" in front of him, he will say "yes you do"and make you regret even uttering those words. He does it from a good place, however, and only has our best interest.

Now, to get down to why I'm really writing this. As I pondered a title for this thing, I was thinking really hard about how to make it general and geared toward everyone, rather than a specific type of audience. How does one make the study of education sound appealing for every kind of person? Do you think you have to be a parent to care about the education system?

I want to share with you guys what I have been reading, and discussing in this class for the past nearly 8 weeks. What I would really like to stress in this blog, is the argument over democratic schools. No, I am not referring to politics when I say democratic, I am however talking about school settings and whether or not they are democratic. By this, I am talking about a range of things schools do to be democratic in their own way, but essentially part of this blanket theory of a democratic school is that we come together as students, educators, parents, and a community in order to make our schools the best place to teach our young learners how to critically think about things, and apply those to their real world situations (preparing us for the real, cruel world we live in).

James A. Beane and Michael W. Apple are the two authors of this book I will mostly be referring to, Democratic Schools, Lessons in Powerful Education. Now, I will tell you guys that I have already written a 7 page paper on this book and the implications of what it means to have a democratic school, but I will try and water it down as much as possible so that you aren't stuck reading all that (it is only a blog after all, and I don't want to lose your attention).
 If we were to just talk about the word democracy itself, you would make the assumption that it has no place in a school setting, but really it has everything to do with how school systems function. As far as Apple and Beane are concerned, a democratic school is one that is a process, and quite frankly it doesn't just have one definition. "...But beyond them lies the possibility for young people, professional educators, and citizens to work together in creating more democratic schools that serve the common good of at the whole community" (Apple and Beane 2007). As far as the curriculum is concerned, it is to be considered "hidden" in which the students learn lessons about justice, power, dignity and self-worth.

Here's a snap chat my friend sent me once, just trying to make sure you're still paying attention!!!!!!!

HERE'S THE BIG PICTURE GUYS
I know some of this seems like a lot, especially for someone that has no experience or knowledge in this specific topic, but what it's all about is preparing our children for the current state of our world, and to raise them so that they can be productive and influential citizens. Do you want to just be stuck in a cycle where the poor stay poor and the rich get richer? I mean, I can't be the only one that feels this way right? The way our system is set up is so that the bottom stay at the bottom and the top stay at the top. Is that what we want in our society? Should we just teach our kids that if they don't have the access to a good education, a safe building, books that are in one piece, school supplies that are actually usable- that that's all they will ever amount to and there is nothing they can do to change that?

Let me ask you this- do you feel you were given the best education you could have received? Maybe you weren't able to go to a private school that cost thousands of dollars each semester, so does that mean your education is less valued? Why would anyone deserve anything but the best, just based on their social class? For example, in one of the chapters of this book, there is in example of a school where in one particular classroom the teacher was able to co-create curriculum with the students in order to bring about change to their school. How you ask? Well I shall tell you..

It is called Byrd Community Academy, and these 5th grade students had horrible circumstance as far as their environment was concerned. I'm talking huge problems, problems they couldn't even fit all on one letter. Things like restrooms that we so filthy they weren't usable, broken sinks, bugs, leaks, no hot water, and temperatures so cold the students had to wear their coats in the classroom, and their gym was across the street. ACROSS THE FREAKIN STREET PEOPLE! Hello, let's never take PE for granted again, and that wasn't even a gym that belonged to the school. Man doesn't that just make your blood boil? That we, as American citizens- Land of the free and the home of the brave, but screw our schools! This is unacceptable, and it's not just this one school, this happens all around us.

So you know what those kids did? They wrote a letter, with the help of their teacher, and sent it to the State Senator of Illinois. Not only did they do this, but the students themselves created a plan of action that was actually sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago, and the name for their plan- Project Citizen. There is no reason that we should leave these problems up to our government, rather it is a concern of every single person out there- you, me, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, neighbors, cousins, coaches, colleagues etc. "By embracing this meaningful problem, the curriculum became a catalyst for authentic, natural, and integrated learning to occur" (Brian D. Schultz, 2007)
THIS--------->is what I mean by democratic. Students coming together with their teachers, community, and government to create a project that directly impacts them, and think of a plan that will change this for the better. See what I'm saying now?

Here's a picture of my cat, just incase I was starting to lose your attention ;)

Another thing I would like to touch on is the vocational education side of it all, and by this I mean really gearing the curriculum in the field they are going into after they are expected to graduate. Apple and Beane state that most vocational education is preparation for an enhanced model of active citizenship in which all people are empowered to make important decisions. However, it's not just teaching future workers the flexible job skills supposedly needed for the twenty-first century, because unfortunately it is shown that a large portion of our modern jobs are creating low-skilled, part-time, and poorly paid (Apple 1996). This does not happen by chance, it is between the work of the schools, students, educators, and the community to come together for a common good and help teach our youth how to be important members of society when they grow up. Sometimes this work can be exhausting and honestly it is pretty harshly criticized because it isn't what we are used to. I could go on and on about this but my blog is already extremely long.

I recently talked to a friend who told me that he felt he didn't need education, especially for the field he is interested in. UHM WHAT? That's like saying, I'm done learning "I'm good for the rest of my life, check ya later bro" I was stunned and of course had my own little argument but really I don't think we should ever be done learning. We should never be done becoming a better person, which brings me to my next point.. This idea of becoming.

Our instructor asked us to think about the difference between 'becoming' and 'have become' like what a generally question. Think about it though….. take a few minutes and think of what it means to be 'becoming' verses 'having become' and just think as hard as your brain will go without blowing up. I'm sure you need a few minutes to absorb all you have read so far so I'll wait………

Okay, so it's been a few minutes now right? What do you think? (this is a part where you can make comments to me at the bottom on the page if you would like). What I took out of this was that we are always becoming, we are always learning, we are always evolving, we are always changing, but more importantly on a greater scale. Our WORLD is always changing, evolving, and growing, so it is up to the human race to take it and run with it right? Which is why we need educators to teach students how to do this developmental process. Kind of cool to think about in the grand scheme of things right? The saying "the children are our future" although incredibly cheesy, it is incredibly true. I'm sure there are exceptions to my feelings about education (such as Steve Jobs and other successful college dropouts), but we have to prepare the next generation so they are ready and knowledgeable of how to improve on what we left behind for them and so on.

So, by now I'm sure you are probably thinking…..

and if you have made it this far I really appreciate you taking the time to read it and it means a lot to me (even though I'm sure most of my readers are just my family, hi Nana and Grandpa Mike)

The last thing I want to touch on is a specific person that is incredibly significant to the education field, and that man is John Dewey, here's a picture of him..

What a little cutie right? He was very important to the education field and part of the reason we are where we are today. He was sort of the father for this idea of a democratic school system (not to mention a genius philosopher and psychologist. Part of what he believes is that rather shoving information into a students brain and expecting them to regurgitate it in a form of a test, is just really not very accurate or helpful in a child's learning. Dewey says that we cannot just feed them this information, rather that we will use all the tools from one student and use those to the full capacity when society if ready. So from "My Pedagogic Creed" there are 5 articles that are: 1. What Edication is 2. What the School is 3. The Subject-matter of education 4.The Nature of Method 5. The School and Social Progress (School Journal vol. 54, January 1897) I really wish that I could go into further depth about this, and because of that I have decided to hold off until my next blog to talk about Dewey because really I can't just chalk everything up into one paragraph. 

Next blog, I want to discuss something that might be a little touchy, but necessary, and that is segregation, and privilege. I will also discuss the No Child Left Behind Act, because again guys, I just have way too much to say on that and I feel like I have already exhausted this blog.

Thanks for reading and please comment or give me some kind of feedback!!!!!!! 

Stay Beautiful