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1) 5

2) 5

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4) Participating in the blogs made me stronger in voicing my thoughts and opinions about that weeks topic.

5) By being more in depth, in my blogs every week shows that I understand the topics and I can define them within the game.

6) I liked how I got to see other people’s opinions and ideas.

7) I did not like that some weeks didn’t fit the topic of that particular week’s lesson

8) I prefer doing these survive blogs and make sure that you define and connect the definitions to the show.

Blog#9

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Last week in class we first discussed our experiences in the Tunnel of Oppression. It seemed we all had similar experiences that the experience left a bit of a sad feeling on us. I think it was an accurate display of reality, but that many of us do not see this kind of treatment toward others on an up close basis. I know that I have not experienced the amount of, or all the different types of oppression I witnessed, albeit pretend, but I have been oppressed in some ways and to some lower level of degrees.  The sheer magnitude of it all, and the feelings I felt as I put myself in the shoes of the oppressed actors  put me in a sad mood.  We also discussed the article Lipsticks and Labcoats during class. I agree this is an issue that should, and is, being addressed. However, great strides are being made in the STEM fields by women and I personally have faith that the numbers will even out before long. I believe that early childhood stereotypes about what a scientist looks like needs to be addressed as well. Girls/women need to feel comfortable pursuing a career in the STEM fields and not as if they are an underdog. Toward the end of class we discussed our thoughts on the homeless articles we read. I mentioned that the most important thing I learned from the reading was that many homeless or financially disadvantaged youths feel as though the  higher education life is like a whole other world to them and that they would not fit in. Also, I learned, that many of these same youths do not have enough support around them to help them  through the necessary steps to become accepted by a higher education learning facility.

The reading this week on liberating ones self from oppression by Bobbi Harro was interesting in how she uses the cycle to show how we can get to the core of liberation. The cycle is quite different than her cycle of socialization in that this is a good cycle and that to join this cycle one needs to take such initial steps as to “wake up”  and to make inter and intra personal changes. I appreciate how Harro has taken upon herself to do more than teach social justice to people but to also help entire groups of people understand what it will take to make system-level changes. I like how she encourages groups to work together and in coalitions “we may organize, plan actions, lobby, do fund raising, educate and motivate members of the uninvolved public. We coalesce and discover that we have more power as a coalition. This gives us encouragement and confidence” (Harro, p.467). The suggestions given by Mary McClintock in her article on interrupting oppressive behavior were similar to the messages we heard at the tunnel of oppression exhibit. McClintock also believes that speaking up against and not accepting oppressive behavior is crucial in eliminating this from our society. I agree that if vast majority of us educated ourselves on this issue, such as the tunnel of oppression did, and Univ.349 class does, and we step up more often and interrupt the behavior, as well as support others who interrupt oppressive behaviors, we can get much closer to a civilized society that treats each other with equal respect.

Blog #9

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In last class we discussed our thoughts of the Tunnel of Oppression experience. I learned that we all had similar thoughts and feelings about it. It was interesting to hear that a lot of us were deeply impacted by the experience in both positive and negative ways. On the positive note, I personally believe that this experience will stay with me for the rest of my life because it taught me that words are very powerful and it is essential not to be in any way an oppressor because the consequences for the victims are dreadful. This experience impacted a few of us in a negative way. I recall a couple of us sharing how we felt when undesirable words were whispered to us. Although it was an unpleasant experience, it sent out a powerful message that we will never forget. Then we moved on to discussing the article Lip stick and Lab coats. We got in small groups and discussed why there are less women in STEM fields. I was surprised to see that nobody in our class is in a STEM field. Three decades ago it was improbable to believe that women would one day surpass men in higher education. But we did. That is why I am pretty sure a day will come when women exceed men in STEM fields.

 

In chapter 92, How to Interrupt Oppressive Behavior, Mary McClintock, discusses many ways to stop social injustice when we see it happen. She believes that we have to confront all forms of social injustice in order to work for social justice around the world. She discusses 5 actions one must take when we are confronted towards an oppressive behavior. The 5 actions to take are: educate oneself, interrupt the behavior, interrupt and educate, support others’ proactive response, and initiate proactive responses. After reading the article I realized that an action I usually take is “Interrupt and Educate.” I feel like this action is the most effective in any situation because you provide an explanation to why the behavior is oppressive along with your disapproval of the behavior. When a person laughs at a racist joke or a joke about a particular minority group, often that person does not realize that laughing to the joke is considered to be actively joining in on an oppressive behavior and that they are supporting the oppressive behavior by laughing. I see this kind of oppressive behavior on a regular basis. That is why it is important to educate them about the consequences of their behavior.

In chapter 86, The Cycle of Liberation, Bobbie Harro, describes the model of the Cycle of Liberation. He also describes the process to liberation from oppression. The cycle of liberation begins with “waking up,” that is when a person begins to experience herself/himself differently in the world than s/he has in the past. In other words, there is a shift on our worldviews. Harro then talks about the Interpersonal phase. I found this particularly important because the interpersonal phase of liberation process is marked by a change in how we value others and interact with them and see the world. It is important to communicate with those who are different from ourselves to gain an understanding and knowledge about them.

Both of the articles had many great ideas on how to end oppression but in order for this to happen we must educate students about these ideas from a very young age throughout K-12. For example, I have never read or been exposed to the process of ending oppression until college. I hope that one day the K-12 system will incorporate a Diversity course for younger adults. In incorporating a Diversity class in all high schools, in every state, is the next step we must take to reach social justice and end oppression. 

 

Blog #9

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We begun last weeks class with everyone sharing their views and our personal experiences that we had at the Tunnel of Oppression. It was great to hear how everyone was affected by the tunnel. I myself feel like the tunnel was a great experience, it really opened my eyes of how much oppression is out in the world and in our daily lives. Its great that Jaimie had it as a requirement for our class, it definitely  was a unique experience. The other part of the class consisted of us talking about the article that dealt with the lack of women in the STEM fields. The statistics and main ideas that were shared between our assigned groups helped to refresh the material of how women are looked down upon in these specific majors. It makes sense that women don’t choose to work towards those these STEM majors, as they fear to be looked down upon and be treated unfairly just because they are told they do not “fit in”. After we concluded the review of the article, we then moved on to talk about our readings for that week. We focused on the topic of homelessness and how students who are not in a stable home deal with completing their educational journey. It was amazing to see that although they did not have a home, they took any matter necessary in order to complete their education.

This weeks readings consisted of the cycle of liberation, and what actions to take in order to try to end oppressive behavior. In the first readings it talks about the cycle socialization and how it can be transformed into the cycle of liberation. It stresses how one particular event that an individual goes through in a way forces them to go against the status quo. The readings used very go examples from a white woman adopting a child of a different ethnicity, a individual working with a gay coworker and a woman dealing with the negative judgement that comes with receiving welfare. These individuals go through the steps of the circle of liberation like where their wrong beliefs like stereotyping, discrimination, etc are rid of. Then having to reach out and looking outside the box in order to get different experiences and perspectives for themselves, after this a community may be built where people who have gone through similar experiences are brought in and the ideas are shared upon a safe community of people. The other reading talked about how interrupting oppressive behavior can be accomplished. It is stressed that working towards social justice should always be the approach to any type of oppressive behavior. This can be done by educating yourself, stopping oppressive behavior when you see it happening and trying to educate the individuals who are taking part in the behavior itself. Although change may not come easy, it is very important to not give up on the idea that we can all be treated equally, it just takes that effort on everyone’s part.