High school is a beautiful thing. I never saw this until i graduated. I walked the halls confident because i was a all year around athlete. Never was picked on my entire life, not even for the color of my skin. I walked into high school with NO FEAR. Now with that being said, with my narcissistic mentality at the time i never stop to think about someone else waking up, ready to throw up because they have to go to school. Why, because of fear. Fear of being picked on, fear of not fitting in, the fear of someone finding out that you are different.
The GLSEN ( Gay Lesbian and Straight Education) reported that two thirds (65%) of teens have been harassed or assaulted for their appearance, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, race/ethnicity or religion. This scary statistic is unbelievable. I feel horrible knowing that someone i know, people i associate with where criticized for being themselves. This class hopefully does not make me go into a depression lol. 33% of students which is one third are crudely harassed because they "look" like they are gay, lesbian or bisexual. 22% of actual gay and lesbian students do not even feel safe in their schools compared to 7% of people that are not gay or lesbian feeling safe at school. Not feeling safe at SCHOOL! It blows my mind, how a place where you need to be at for almost a quarter of your life you do not feel safe at. At 90% of (LGBT) students have actually been harassed for their sexual orientation, and 62% of students who are not (LGBT) have been harassed for be considered homosexual. SMH! This type of torment leads to exactly what the definition states, "to afflict with great bodily or mental suffering." There should be no pain in a place where education should be the pain of the mind.
Where are we? I say we because on day this will be us, hearing these rude comments by our future students. Most teachers 85% of high school teachers say that they "believe" they are ensuring a safe learning environment. 68 % of students say their school has a snit harassment policy. HOWEVER, only 48% of all students say their school has policy that specifies sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. Most of students who experience harassment in school (57%) never report these incidents to teacher other personnel, because most teachers report that they would feel comfortable intervening if they saw the harassment. REALLY?!?!?.... This is bothers my terribly because that is when most of the bullying doesn't happen. Most of it is on myspace, face book, text messages, it is everywhere. Students should feel comfortable to talk to SOMEONE when they are getting tortured. One out of ten students don't do anything because they feel what the teacher might do is powerless to improve the situation. This our my future career, and we are supposed to work these students, we will see some of these children more than their own parents. My children should not have fear in talking to someone that is supposed to educate and guide them REGARDLESS of the situaiton.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Aria
Quotes...
"What i needed to learn in school was that i had the right and the obligation to speak the public language of los gringos."
This quote is at the beggining of the article, what he needed to learn was that he had the right and obligation to speak the publice language. After reading the couple pages, i thought to myself there wasnt any rights or any obligations for him. He didnt even have the choice to learn english. It was thrown at him, like here learn this, and learn this fast. In school, his nuns not understanding what it is like to not feel comfortable with a forengin lanugage, telling him to "stand up", "dont look at the floor" "stop mumbling". He was very shy about being in public, and he felt better speaking spanish in school. It was a trumatic experience for him to go through this. Having is teachers come to the house and tell his own flesh and blood that it would be better if the family started speaking english around the house. That allow changed his views on life at such a young age. He started speaking less to his family, because he did not feel that love when the family was speaking english. He didnt like the words, ma, papa, dad, mom. He wanted the spanish speaking diolouge. Richards father even loss spark in life, when he was around other spanish speaking men that Richard notice his father come alive again, his voice would spark, flicker alive with sounds. Silence took over there own home, and he felt anger when his parents only spoke english to him. At the dinner table instead of laughter of trying to speak "gringo" and sharing stories, it became noisy with knives and forks against dishes. He no longer bothered to listen to the family speak, he became careless to the public language he was supposed to be obligated to learn in the first place.
Quote 2:
"At first, it seemed a kind of game. After dinner each night, the family gathered to pratice our english"
This quote my not be to big of a deal, but for Richard i can feel this. At first being with is family speaking his native tounge where he felt comfortable at ease being home. He used to run home just to be home with his family where he felt most comfortable, where he could speak with ease. Starting it off almost as a game, miss prouncing words, and they laughed about it. Adding spanish sounds that was familiar to them while trying to pronouce english words, but they knew it was cheating. They were more or less having fun with it, because they were not strong with the"public language" themselves. But then it slowly started to change to straight english. He walked in on his parents speaking spanish then in a moments change, they started to speak english. This is when he felt it changed for the worst. It scared him, he felt pushed away so he just walked away.
Quote 3:
"The silence at home, hoever, was finally more than a literal silence."
That is really scary to hear, more than a literal silence. Silence in a home when it was once filled with laugher and joy then changed to something that had no right being there is scary. There is a time and place for everything, being forced feed something that did not have to envole the home. It would help it the family helped with english games like the did at the table, but no to the point when it was complet english. That is like my family telling me to stop acting black, how can i do that. That is me, that is my background. Eliminating something that who are, you start to lose your sense of self as Richard did. He began to not feel like himself anymore in his own home. Home is where you make it, if there is not one place in the world where you should be happy, and free from this cold place should be your home. For Richards part he had that for a short while, until he was not performing in the "culture of power" to the point where NUNS came to his home and changed that. I am sure they had good intentions, but withouth them realizing that it would be determental to do that. They let there own privilidge get the best of them and change something that had no right to be changed. They conviced Richards own flesh and blood his own higher power to do something, because of what he was doing in school. His public idenentiy would of came out at a later age, not at 7 years old, he was a child, and they thought it should be sooner or later.
"What i needed to learn in school was that i had the right and the obligation to speak the public language of los gringos."
This quote is at the beggining of the article, what he needed to learn was that he had the right and obligation to speak the publice language. After reading the couple pages, i thought to myself there wasnt any rights or any obligations for him. He didnt even have the choice to learn english. It was thrown at him, like here learn this, and learn this fast. In school, his nuns not understanding what it is like to not feel comfortable with a forengin lanugage, telling him to "stand up", "dont look at the floor" "stop mumbling". He was very shy about being in public, and he felt better speaking spanish in school. It was a trumatic experience for him to go through this. Having is teachers come to the house and tell his own flesh and blood that it would be better if the family started speaking english around the house. That allow changed his views on life at such a young age. He started speaking less to his family, because he did not feel that love when the family was speaking english. He didnt like the words, ma, papa, dad, mom. He wanted the spanish speaking diolouge. Richards father even loss spark in life, when he was around other spanish speaking men that Richard notice his father come alive again, his voice would spark, flicker alive with sounds. Silence took over there own home, and he felt anger when his parents only spoke english to him. At the dinner table instead of laughter of trying to speak "gringo" and sharing stories, it became noisy with knives and forks against dishes. He no longer bothered to listen to the family speak, he became careless to the public language he was supposed to be obligated to learn in the first place.
Quote 2:
"At first, it seemed a kind of game. After dinner each night, the family gathered to pratice our english"
This quote my not be to big of a deal, but for Richard i can feel this. At first being with is family speaking his native tounge where he felt comfortable at ease being home. He used to run home just to be home with his family where he felt most comfortable, where he could speak with ease. Starting it off almost as a game, miss prouncing words, and they laughed about it. Adding spanish sounds that was familiar to them while trying to pronouce english words, but they knew it was cheating. They were more or less having fun with it, because they were not strong with the"public language" themselves. But then it slowly started to change to straight english. He walked in on his parents speaking spanish then in a moments change, they started to speak english. This is when he felt it changed for the worst. It scared him, he felt pushed away so he just walked away.
Quote 3:
"The silence at home, hoever, was finally more than a literal silence."
That is really scary to hear, more than a literal silence. Silence in a home when it was once filled with laugher and joy then changed to something that had no right being there is scary. There is a time and place for everything, being forced feed something that did not have to envole the home. It would help it the family helped with english games like the did at the table, but no to the point when it was complet english. That is like my family telling me to stop acting black, how can i do that. That is me, that is my background. Eliminating something that who are, you start to lose your sense of self as Richard did. He began to not feel like himself anymore in his own home. Home is where you make it, if there is not one place in the world where you should be happy, and free from this cold place should be your home. For Richards part he had that for a short while, until he was not performing in the "culture of power" to the point where NUNS came to his home and changed that. I am sure they had good intentions, but withouth them realizing that it would be determental to do that. They let there own privilidge get the best of them and change something that had no right to be changed. They conviced Richards own flesh and blood his own higher power to do something, because of what he was doing in school. His public idenentiy would of came out at a later age, not at 7 years old, he was a child, and they thought it should be sooner or later.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
To be or not to be is the question...
Argument, please no beef, i didn't bring the A1 sauce:
This author Peggy McIntosh argues that whites are taught by society not to recognize the white privilege they receive, in contrast to us males denying that males have privileges over women in today's cold world. I find it funny that we substituted one word out of white privileged, instead of privileged why isn't it white power? Isn't power and privileged the same thing? OH i know why, how stupid of me, then it would be racism. Peggy calls white privilege an "invisible weightless knapsack of social provisions, maps, passports, code books, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks." I couldn't agree with that more. Why because through out our lives, me being African American living in a town predominantly white, and I've learned the culture of power, because i was brought up in it. Now that doesn't mean i have the upper advantage, i was taught that i was. Being males is one but to a cetain cost. Being African American makes my invisible nap sack with all those goodies stated at top exchanged with rocks, and with one strap to carry. She call skin tone and unearned privilege. This allows you to freely criticize, or be oblivious to anything outside of dominant culture. Unearned privilege often gets confused with strength, because it gives the false sense of control, same goes for power. This brings me to my point that opened my eyes from looking at murky water, to crystal clear water when it comes to society. My brains almost hit climax reading the 25 conditions she does not have to worry about, not even being a female, but for being white. Some of these i never ever realized because i felt i didn't have to worry about because of my up bringing. I never had thoughts of in high school, reading about black history month, i was the first one picked on to give my thoughts. That shit really did happen. Or when walking down the street most people will stare at me with eyes WIDE open to make sure i am not going to do anything. As i am writing this i am geeking out, because all these 25 condition should be running through my mind all the time when only a couple do. Ive been so conditioned by a white society to myself thinking i have white privileged, but i was just foolish to see that i really don't have that much at all. I am glad i was condition in such a way, because it gives me less to think about, and it helps me not think that everyone is a racist. The funny thing about this is that while whites do not have to worry about any of those 25 conditions, and the reason is why because society taught people to only recognize racism as acts of cruel or meanness by members of the culture of power, or the main dominate race. Students across the country do not see that being white in this beautiful cold country as a racial identity, and do not think that racism doesn't affect them because they are not people of color. Peggy Mcintosh is a female if you already couldn't tell, and she recognizes that there is an unequal justice for being a female, also not being white. I truly believe she does realize she has more privileges being a white female.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Just a tid bit about myself.
Good morning, afternoon, or evening. My full name, William Edward Sherrill III, but i much rather you just call me Billy. I am 50% African American, 25% Italian, and 25% Irish. Tough to believe? Tell me something i don't know. Im 21 years young, and I live in North Providence, Rhode Island. I'm addicted to music, tattoo's, sports, and different types of beer. Well, i aquire the taste i wouldn't say addicted. But don't that let that fool you, I am also addicted to the gym.This could be one of the sole reasons why i strive to be a phys ed teacher. I currently double majoring, in physical education , and also in health education. I work as a waiter at the renaissance hotel in downtown providence. I love music, loving music is the thearpy for everything, but not everyone has found out yet. I love to write poetry, but i call it music cause i do with with headphones on, regardless what i talk/write/rap about. Me, not everyone understands cause i am a confusing person. Life is a big deal its scary. But i am not afraid by it, I take it day by day, and loving life. One day I will have students that will seek my guidence, and they will have a role model to follow, forever, today, and tomorrow....
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