Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

"Many students do not want to believe they have been manipulated by children's media or advertising. No one wants to admit that they've been handled by the media." I think that because Disney movies and cartoon movies were so much of our child hoods we set that as the standard for what we wanted to be. I know I'm not the only girl that dressed up as Cinderella almost every year for Halloween. Then as I grew up, I would start dressing like Snow White because I realized I looked the most like her-- because she had dark hair. (Great comparison I know) They had what we wanted as a young age, they had long beautiful hair that never looked messy, a beautiful prince just waiting to kiss them and change their world, and a huge palace in which they would live once they lived "happily every after." We also learned a lesson that I never put a lot of thought into, you can never trust "old, ugly, and scary looking women." Isn't that horrible? We always saw the villain as an older women who was never as beautiful to us as the princess, and us as children feared them. Princesses were predominantly white, never until recently did we see a princess of color. (I mean unless you count Princess Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan).

It is said in the reading that, "The impact of racism begins early. We are exposed to misinformation about people different from ourselves." Which is very true, I grew up watching mainly white people on TV and in movies. I did not think it was bad, I just thought that they all looked like I did. The world is changing. They are making a lot of remakes of older movies and shaking things up. I know this Christmas Eve I took my little cousins to see the new Annie that came out. I saw the older one and of course she was a young white girl. In the remake, she was African American and I thought the movie was great! Many people are creatures of habit and did not like the fact that they changed the original story line. Everyone watches these old movies or television shows, so I think it is necessary to make changes and show a different take on things. I know Disney is planning on making many changes in the upcoming years to show a different race in one of their princesses! Yay! Not only is this just with the princesses, it is with all Disney characters in all movies, parks, and television shows.

The media is a huge thing for children as they are growing up. I would watch things like that all the time and I know when I was younger, my cousin who was adopted would constantly wonder why none of the princesses looked like her or were from where she was from? What could we have told her to make her feel better while teaching her a lesson? I would love to know what some of you think we should have said?

Speaking the Unspeakable:

I think this day in age this is a topic that people are more open to talk about in a public setting, even school. I know when I was going throughout school, we always had assemblies and weeks when we spoke of what the school called "diversity". We had speakers come in from all over the state and talk about their stories whether they were gay, straight, lesbian, transgender, or bisexual. My parents are not as open to talk about these types of things as my friends and I are. They have been somewhat sheltered from it all because it was something that was NOT discussed in their day (both of them going to catholic schools of course). I think it is important to talk about things that are different from your "norm" because not talking about sexuality that is different from your own creates phobias of others.

In the article it states that, "it can be argued that teachers should take the responsibility for helping pupils to recognize sexuality and thereby work towards a greater social justice." The way that the first teacher handled coming out to her classroom of young students could not have been better. It is not something that you can just tell students and expect them to understand. You need to teach them all the different ways that people can be together. But on the other hand of it, teachers are scared for their own safety if they DO come out to the classroom because not everyone is understand like we hope for them to be. It is sometimes the easier way out to stay in their "private space- or in the closet."

Teachers within the "No Outsiders" project have displayed fears of discussing sexuality inside the classroom. They were unsure of how to properly address the topic of "sexuality as a classroom subject". The article said that these fears came from within a notion that schools are a place for child's innocence and a place to shelter and protect them from the outside world. But in reality not talking about it with children shelters them in a bad way and they will not know what actually goes on in the outside world.

I think that talking about sexuality in the classroom when children are ready for the topic is best for the teachers and the students. I believe that when children do not know of certain situations they begin to fear them and will never truly learn about them but only form negative thoughts to go along with the situation. Children are very understanding and a lot smarter than we give them credit for. Children need to learn differences and understand what it is to accept them.

This video is a GREAT way to show how much the world has changed and how much more accepting the world as a whole is becoming and it is starting with CHILDREN: Children Reacting To Gay Marriage

"But the children love the books..."

Terry Meier said it best in, "Why can't she remember that?" by stating that children need to be more engaged in reading stories rather than just memorizing what they see on a page day after day. Children pick up easily on things that they see every day so it is not a surprising thing when children can read a book word for word after seeing it for a while. It is important in todays society that children are engaged in the books and actually understand what they are reading out loud. Schools are constantly testing their students on reading comprehension and it has even become apart of the state requirements in many states and schools. It shows in schools just like it does in the reading that children that are constantly read to at home of course can read at a higher level than children that may not exactly be able to afford books do not get that one on one time at home.

We as people do not understand the way children learn things so easily and can relate them to their own personal situations. Children read books that appeal to them linguistically and emotionally. We as educators need to introduce books into children's lives that we know they will be able to connect with on levels we cannot understand. I know when I was young, reading books about family really got to me because I was very close with mine. It is important to make books pop out of the page and come alive to students reading it. No one wants to read something that is boring and is not introduced as exciting. When I was in the first grade, my teacher used to bring in costumes for us and have us dress up as the characters and read lines from the books in front of the class. It was so exciting for me and for the class to get up and share something that we spent so much time practicing. Not only did it help my classmates and I read much better, but helped us understand what exactly we were reading.

https://www.earlymoments.com/Promoting-Literacy-and-a-Love-of-Reading/Why-Reading-to-Children-is-Important/

Cultural Conflict in the Classroom

When reading "The Silenced Dialogue" by Lisa Delpit many things crossed my mind. Did different teaching styles really impact children of different races and cultural backgrounds? These are things you never really think about while you are sitting in a classroom listening to the teacher, but they are things you need to think about when you are standing at the front of a classroom teaching other students. The term the "silenced dialogue" refers to how white people in the education field do not always listen to those of the African American culture. It states the fact that we silence the people that realize something is different for certain children and they need to do something to fix the issue at hand. Every day there are classrooms full of students of mixed races and some children may not be getting the attention and respect that they deserve from teachers.

In the first day of my internship at a Providence Elementary School, I have seen teachers that give their all to children 6 hours a day 5 days a week and it was so good and heart warming to see. Teachers more so now a days are placing their children in groups based on knowledge of certain materials and have a teacher or teaching aid with them going over material that they need to know in order to move on in their education. The classrooms that I will be in and very mixed and it is something I have not been used to and accustomed to. I grew up in a neighborhood where every house looked the same, all the families were white, and we all did the same things each and every day.

The few things that really stood out to me were when the author said, " It is not they, the children, who must change, but the schools. To push children to do anything else is repressive and reactionary." I think it is very easy to put the blame on people when we are not in the situation. It is easy to silence people when they say things that we as people do not want to hear. We put a stop to them and block them out so we can go on living life they way we want, in denial. Teachers are the ones that are in charge of changing the racism and teaching tactics in the classroom.

White Privilege

McIntosh's "White Privilege" was a reading that spoke about how white individuals do not even realize that they are stuck in an oppressive mindset because it is like second nature to them. In school all I ever learned about was the hardships other races and cultures were faced with and I always thought to myself, Why them? Why not me? But I was taught to look at everyone as equal and that no one truly had it better than anyone else. As I am growing up, I have realized that this may not always be true. Every day, I do not have to face the same things that people of another race do. Because I am white, and I have the "privilege" of being that way. This is 2015, shouldn't everyone be equal? Haven't times changed enough for people to realize that privilege may not always be a gift.

The list written in the article really hit me hard because it lists a lot of things I had NEVER even thought to think about. Bandaids? Who thinks about bandaids. "26. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin." I do now. I can not remember a time that I have been on an aisle and seen a bandaid in a different skin tone. Always light, or even see-through. I know bandaids isn't on the list of things to change for 2015, but shouldn't it start at the little things. This just really jumped out at me. 

I read something that said, "If you don't believe in white privilege then congratulations you're the one enjoying the benefits from it." After reading this article I was blindly living my life thinking we are all the same and things like this do not exist anymore. It is true, I can do things that others cannot. I can go to a mall on my own and not be in fear. Things can never change unless you are open to changing them yourself. I am not saying I am privileged and it's so great for me, I believe that people aren't doing this to be hurtful. I think that this has been going on for so long and it is what we have all been brought up wit, that it is as if we are doing it subconsciously. After reading something like this you can't help but think about all of those who do not have the advantages that you as a person may have had. This really opened my eyes and showed me that things like this have not gone away in our world.

About Me

My name is Rachel Ferrara, I am 19 years old and a sophomore here at Rhode Island College. I am a Youth Development Major and love working with children. So far this semester is going great; I finally get to take classes that will be useful to me later in life and later on in my career. I am excited to be apart of a new major, since I have recently changed mine from Elementary Education. I have been a dancer since the age of 7 and I do not know where I would be today if it wasn't for my studio. I have been able to travel and share my love of dance in and outside of the country. Outside of the classroom I am a dance teacher and have been for about 4 years now. I love working with children in different and exciting ways and look forward to seeing them every day I can. I have had the same group of friends since about sixth grade and I am so thankful for them being in my life. I have a boyfriend that I have been dating for almost 2 years and luckily he is my best friend. I am looking forward to this semester and cannot wait to see what this year brings me.