Blog #2

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Last week we started to discuss about reading strategies. We all had different reading strategies, and we have learned them from our previous courses. However, it was a good reminder to learn more effective reading strategies. I liked to hear different voices, and find out the best strategies for effective reading. Highlighting the words that we do not know was very interesting for me because I usually do that and check the words right a way from dictionary or internet. I always thought that I am the only one who highlights the words because English is my third language and sometimes understanding some words or phrases is not easy for me, but it seems that other students highlight the words and phrases that they do not know. After discussing about reading strategies, we had very interesting activity. I liked that activity very much because it showed that how diverse and different we were. I was one of the students who was in the back line, and I was very proud of myself to be a first generation to go to college. It was very important for me to start from zero and made a progress everyday in my life. Although some of us might stood in the same line, but we all had different experiences. Those different experiences made us a unique persons in this small world, and be proud of who we are. I felt very good and honest about myself and sharing my part to just be a different person. As I mentioned in the class, the world is neither black nor white, it is just  grey, and we are neither good nor bad; we are just different and unique persons.

The nature of discrimination varies from country to country. In a countries, like Bangladesh or India, use a cast system which certain people or group have opportunities to have certain jobs or go certain schools. In other countries, specific quotas do not exist, instead, some other minorities are give certain preferences or selections. In the U.S, affirmative action refers to equal opportunity of employment and education for everybody. However, it seems that some people do not have equal opportunity to study, especially, minorities. Having equal opportunity, specifically, higher education for all Americans  has had a long history. African-Americans and Latinos are among the minorities who have given less opportunity for higher education. Many actions have taken to make sure that every body has equal opportunity in society, and make sure that inequality dose not exist in society. However, it seems that all those actions were not useful and inequality steel exists in our society. Taking actions such as “affirmative action” has not been enough and has been attacked from begging, especially by Supreme Court. In many cases, the Supreme Court of U.S, tried to eliminate inequality, especially in higher education, but the Supreme Court was not successful for many reasons. The main reason, in my point of view, is that some organizations that have power, systematically and implicitly advocate inequality because of social status quo. They do not want any changes because they do not see any problems. They blame and put the responsibility to the Federal government or other systems. Therefore, in my opinion, we have a long battle to eliminate inequality and discrimination in higher education.

 

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Rebecca Prieto Blog 2 Diversity Imperative

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Last Friday we discussed the different ways we take notes while we read and Julian presented us with different strategies we could consider using the next time we read. I found this extremely useful even though I did not particularly agree with all of the choices. I really enjoyed when everyone shared their different types of strategies and and actually applied it to my art class. I color coded in one color for key terms and a different color for main ideas. I found that this really helped while I was reading because my thoughts were more organized. We also went outside for a class activity where we linked pinkies and had to step forward and back depending on your answer to the questions. To the two people I was linked with we eventually had to let go because we could not stretch far enough to stay linked. I think for myself it affected me because it felt like being left behind. Compared to most of the class I was in the middle and the questions made me remember a lot of the struggles my family and I had to go through. When the class went back inside and people started sharing what they were feeling on where they were standing at the end I realized that all of us have struggled to get where we are. They may have not been the same struggles but we have all overcome them to be here and that is what counts.

After the activity we talked about the K-12 Pipeline and how it impacted education equality. The statistics on the PowerPoint slides to me were not really shocking to see because in school they would always show us the statistics and how Latinos were almost always ranked at the bottom. Usually my teachers would encourage us to work hard and get out of the percentile that was always at the bottom. Then there are other teachers that just do not want to “deal” with the students that are never going to succeed because of these statistics. It was saddening to see that some people never make it out because if you start behind you stay behind according to statistics. The in class activity showed how some students are being treated with little to no praise and that affects their motivation to continue in their education. We also spoke about the articles on White Privilege and it was sad to read about the discrimination that still exists today. When we talked about how people usually tend to live in neighborhoods with people of the same or similar background of their own and socioeconomic status I agreed because that is exactly how my family is living right now. Therefore, people in low income areas do not receive as much funding.

In this weeks reading Chapter 6 and Chapter 8 focused on affirmative action and how it effects the admissions to colleges. Chapter 6 was difficult to understand because there was a lot of information to digest and understand.  Both the article and Chapter 6 talked a lot about Supreme Court decisions that have been passed in the past. Chapter 8 was easier to follow and complimented the statistics shown in class. I remember reading about affirmative action in my Political Science class and it was similar to both the readings and articles where they talked about  minorities being accepted into universities even though they were not as qualified as others to be accepted. Chapter 8 expressed that once minority students are in college they need to help them stay in college and earn a degree. All in all the two chapters and the article were very informative just a little hard to understand but after reading everything and letting it sink in the information was understandable.

Sydney Phillips Blog#2: Reflection & Diversity Imperative

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I had my first DIG meeting last Thursday and was able to express concerns I had in class, one of which was taking in all of the assigned reading each week. As a result of the group’s concern’s Julian designed an activity around writing tips. It was important to be able to hear other student’s ideas for what works for them and what doesn’t, as well as gaining tips to better my own reading. Before we engaged in our class discussion we went outside and participated in activity to better prepare us. I was skeptical at first but I honestly enjoyed linking fingers with classmates and seeing the ways each of us have been privileged or not. I discovered many ways of being privileged that I wasn’t previously aware, such as my family owning a house, having a house full of books, and a parent who graduated college. I ended up being one of the only few close to the front and it made me feel uneasy, however, with proper respect for others I know that doesn’t make me any better.

 

After we took part in the activity we discussed K-12 Pipeline and its impacts on educational equity. Although I read chapter 2 and 3 it was still eye opening to see the statistics presented on the slides. I was shocked my how many more whites score higher on the SAT than African Americans or Latinos. It became apparent to me that our K-12 school system is not equal for everyone and each student and school is not given a fair chance. What is sad is that those who start in the lowest quartile almost never have the ability to catch up. Teachers are not as prepared and schools are not given enough resources to effectively teach students. It was hard to accept the glaring inequities because I wish they didn’t exist, but through class discussion and experience I am aware that they do. We then discussed the other various articles on white privilege and I was again saddened by the covert discrimination that still exists today. People of similar backgrounds and socioeconomic status’ tend in the same neighborhoods, therefore, those living in low income areas don’t receive as much funding. Less expectation and praise may be given to those students, as demonstrated through the quick in-class activity. Mostly, I was stunned and troubled by the statistics.

 

This week we read Chapter 6 and 8 in Diversity in American Higher Education. Chapter 6 on the Diversity Rationale contained a lot information, most of which I hadn’t previously been aware of. The Diversity Rational is an interpretation that stemmed from a Supreme Court decision and says that race may be used as a selective factor in college admissions as long as racial quotas are not being endorsed. I found chapter 6 somewhat hard to follow. It contained a lot of information and terms that I wasn’t familiar with until I looked up the terms. I felt that chapter 8 complimented the statistics that were in class last Friday. Due to the socioeconomic status of many African Americans in the 1940s, many received poor education compared to that of White’s. I felt as though chapter 8 was easier to understand and presented ways, such as affirmative action, to help solve the problem of underrepresentation of minorities in college. The third assigned reading was an article that related to chapter 6 and included various Supreme Court decisions regarding race and education throughout history. It contained facts on specific cases and how it still impacts educational equity to this day. Overall, the reading was difficult to digest upon first glance but became easier to understand as I researched terms and read over things more than once.

Blog#2

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In the previous class meeting I really liked the activity we did outside of the classroom. I liked how  I was linked to a classmate throughout the whole activity. That made me feel like I was not the only one going through hardships in my personal life and my career as a college student. However, this activity made me realize that I am proud of who I am and where I come from because no one can take that away from me. I also know that achieving things on my own will make me feel ten times better because I did it despite having the odds against me. Some of my classmates were in front of the line most of the time, my hats off to them because they’re parents worked really hard to give them a better life. I owe my life journey and achievements to my mother because without her I wouldn’t be where I am today. She has worked extra hard not only to keep in me school, but she has taught me that no matter how hard life can be, if you believe in yourself you can overcome anything and everything.

We also discussed in class the K-12 educational system and I became dumfounded by the statistics and how the school systems put minorities at a disadvantage starting their first day of kindergarten. A simple comment such as “I don’t know if you can do it, but give it a try anyway” given to a student by a teacher can have a big impact of how the student sees himself in school. This example was acted out perfectly by our classmates. Its crucial for a student to get motivated by his or her teachers because they will achieve bigger and better things. On the other hand if negative comments are being told to a student it can lead to a school dropout or become affiliated with a gang.

In this weeks readings, the one that caught my attention the most was chapter 8, Trends in the Education of underrepresented  racial minority students. In reading this chapter I can see how earning a degree has become even more competitive nowadays. A lot of students are attaining higher degrees than just a BA because competition for certain jobs is increasing. Obtaining a higher degree can give you an opportunity to be economically and socially stable. It is also stated in the text that the representation for African-American and Latinos in higher education declines as the degree level increases. In other words, as more white folks attain higher degrees the minority population and its numbers decrease because it becomes harder for them to obtain the same degree. Not being financially stable can get in the way for minorities to obtain a higher education. Because the workplace is getting more competitive more and more people are pursuing higher educations because they want to have a higher chance of getting the job they desire. And obviously white folks are likely to get the jobs that they desire because minorities can not always keep up in the competition.

Blog Post #2

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Last week we had an interesting discussion in class. I really enjoyed when we spoke about white privilege. I didn’t realize some of the things that were in my “invisible knapsack” until I spoke about my personal experiences and some things just happen to come to light. It’s so funny how such a small thing can go without being seen by myself unless someone tells me. What really caught me by surprise was the activity we did together outside.  I never thought I would have ended up toward the front of the line. When we began I assumed I would end up somewhere in the middle. Since that day I have really been  thinking a lot a bout that. I feel blessed in some ways to have had the opportunities I have had thus far in my life, and I have a different outlook on my life. I feel very grateful for that experience in that activity because it truly was an eye opener for me. I hope we get to do more activities like that soon.  I think a lot of the class possibly experienced an awakening of some sort after that activity like I did.

We had some very interesting readings for this week. The first I honestly had to go back and forth a couple times to understand it better. Reading about the Diversity Rational and seeing how the Supreme Court ruled it was ok for Universities to use race as a deciding factor made me want to keep finding out more. When u look it up, funny enough a lot of the first articles that appear are about being white or a white male in universities. I read an article on nyulawreview.org called “White like Me” and it states “…the pursuit of diversity does not only benefit minority students who gain expanded access to elite institutions through affirmative action. Rather, diversity also benefits white students who grow through encounters with minority students, it contributes to social and intellectual life on campus, and it serves society at large by aiding the development of citizens equipped for employment and citizenship in an increasingly diverse country. ” Tying this to the second article, so my question is, why are white people still doing better in school?…(in lamest terms) as its stated in the second reading. I’m not sure why, I can’t seem to draw a good answer because I did go to mainly white schools and to be honest a lot of the people I knew that were hispanic as well, that went to other schools didn’t finish school. Why? I feel like there may be some sort of cultural factor. Seeing how easily it is to be pushed down by your color or your race I’m not surprised if people happen to be discouraged in the process of their education. I can say that I feel some societies believe being different that way is a stigma sadly. Answering a previous question on my last blog, I can relate to when the magnet program was almost taken out of my high school. The school I went to was primarily white, If you go visit you will see mainly white people on the banners outside of the school. You see absolutely no diversity there. The whole magnet was made up of minorities. In my group specifically we had mainly black and latino and we had all known each other since elementary so we were a pretty close group of people. I’m thankful the  magnet was never removed though, who knows where I would have end up.