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Archive for date: September 17th, 2014
Blog Post #1 Presentation reflections and K-12 System reflections
In the previous class we had to present our “Who Am I?” presentations. We had to select one element of our identity and discuss how it has shaped our life in a day to day basis, our educational journey, future goals and overall our life as a whole. I enjoyed hearing my classmates’ presentations because I learned that I have a lot in common with most of my peers. It made me feel more at ease as well as connected with them. I also learned that a couple of my colleagues are the big sister in their family so I can empathize with them a lot since I am also the big sister in my family. A couple of students talked about how they wanted to make their parents proud by getting a degree and have a good career. I can relate a lot to them because not only is being a role model for my siblings my biggest motivator to succeed, but also to make my parents proud of me for my accomplishments. I thought it was interesting to hear how the majority of my peers want to get a college degree to set an example for the people they love and for their benefit. Overall, I feel privileged to have learned an element of their identity.
In chapter, Inside the K-12 Pipeline for Black and Latino Students, I was not shocked to learn that Blacks and Latinos have a huge disadvantage in the K-12 school system. While reading this chapter I recalled my own experience in middle and high school. In my high school about 10 percent of my peers were white and the majority of the teachers were white. I witness how teachers had more expectations from the white students than nonwhite students. I believe this inequality is the reason why some of my non-white peers felt discouraged. I felt the same until the school hired an American-Mexican history teacher in my sophomore year. It was her first year teaching and she shared with the class that she was a Stanford graduate. She talked about her own struggles and how she managed to beat the system by working hard to overcome many obstacles. She inspired me to continue my education after high school and beat the system even though it’s working against us Latinos. The chapter, Testing, No Child Left Behind, and Educational Equity, was an eye-opener for me because after reading I realized that there is a vicious cycle in the K-12 system that will continue on unless the federal government steps in and increases public school funds. I thought a good example of these two chapters is the movie Freedom Writers. The other four articles I read were about White privilege. Although I do not relate to the articles I enjoyed reading them especially, 6 Things White Parents can do to raise Racially Conscious Children, because I believe we can all apply most of the ‘6 things’ when it comes to raising our children.
Blog post #1
In our previous class on september 12, i felt was a pleasant way to start the semester it kinda broke the ice between me and other students in the course.It was interesting not only learning about our classmates but being a able to connect with each other on a real life level. Knowing that we have gone through similar scenarios really made me feel comfortable knowing i was not only the only person feeling nervous about the presentation, but also in life in general. At the beggining i was very anxious to present my presentation because i have always had stage fright but i have to say i have progressed in the last couple of semesters and i feel more confident. Overall i like the way the class is being adressed i feel i have learned more about myself in the last couple of days, topics i never really thought about have me thinking more about my identity for example.Even though i feel i have found my identity at times i feel misplaced in my thoughs and feelings, not knowing how to maybe fix how i feel the past readings made reflect more on this matter of my life. Learning more about myself and others has really reflected on my daily routines and has encouraged me to make changes that not only affect me but the people around me on a daily basis. As the semester goes by i hope i am prosperous in my goals, specially with myself in order to succeed and help others.
The reading assigment for this week were very contraversial they not only open your eyes to reality but go deep into the consequenses. As a minority myself i felt the connection to the readings and i couldn’t help to bethink that all of this had effected me personally in my education .Chapter 2 and 3 in the book was surprising information that i myself have no idea why i didndt even bother looking into being a subject in both the k-12 system and the No child left behind act. I now know why as a minority not only as a women but also hispanic the school district failed me when it came to my education. I know i am fortunate to be here today but, now for a fact i know the k-12 system i went through lacked classes effective and challenging enough for more basic skills and had sadly to say less expirienced teachers that even today i recall considered watching movies and preparing for testing more important than preparing us for college. I guess it was like the article how we fund our school? stated depending on the property wealth of a community depends the funds they will receive. Also the aricle by perry Mcintosh was a harsh reality that like she said can only be changed if the white starts being conceous about the privileges some of us dont have. But most importantly bringing up white children that dont grow up hating the minority groups because they are different but instead helping them succedd.
