So, it has been many years since I have voiced my opinion on the internet. I don't know why I stopped, but I feel the need for an outlet for my feeling, views on literature, the arts, politics, education, and so forth.
First let me say that I did finish, Dream Keeper... Unfortunately, many administrators do not have the ability to just changes the school to gender based learning. Many teachers are not willing to give up their lunches to have that time with students. The commitment it takes to be a dream keeper is one that takes away from your personal time at home. To me, it's about exposure and real word education.
I really have not taken the time to read a book that was not required in language arts since last summer or before. Therefore, to increase my ability to read and concentrate on what I'm reading, I checked out a bunch of books I've already read to get my mind focused.
Left Behind (LaHaye)
Left Behind: Tribulation Force (LaHaye)
The Talisman (King/Strauss)
Monster (Dekker)
Then I am reading and completing the daily journal for:
Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be: A 90 Day Guide to Living the Proverbs 31 Life
(Partow)
As far as movies go, I have only seen a few, but here are the ones worth the money to rent or buy:
Black Panthener
A Quiet Place
Happy Death Day (Not to be confused with Before I Fall - which put me to sleep literally in 13 min)
Annihilation
Atomic Blonde
War for the Planet of the Apes
Girls Trip
Alien Covenant
Get Out
Life (scary like the original Alient)
Television:
Cloak and Dagger (FreeForm)
So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
The Four (NBC)
World of Dance (NBC)
The Originals (CW/Netflix)
Shades of Blue (NBC)
Lost in Space (Netflix)
The Rain (Netflix)
There it is lonely hearts. The lists of what to do what to do when you have 1000+ channels that just seem to repeat themselves (how many NBCs or HBOs do I really need to have). Hopefully next time I will have something a little more heated to debate. In the meantime, peace & soul!!!😄
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Most people do not enjoy filling out an application. There are all these questions which are redundant: name, previous employment, references, race, etc.
Race?
What is race? It's a verb when teaching language arts. I have never thought about it before reading and examining my own views, thoughts, and experiences.
How do I treat my African American students? Do I respect that they come from a different background from me? Do I try to incorporate their own background experiences into my classroom? How do I relate what they know to the current curriculum?
I think that without knowing it, I have done many of these things although I've been ostracised for it. I've taken students home and to church. I've take them out to eat at Red Lobster and Oliver Garden. I've spoken with them candidly about issues in life. One of the most important things that a curriculum coordinator told me after my first year teaching was that the students had to feel that I was on their side and that I really cared about them and understood where they came from and their neighborhood.
I drove through the projects. I stopped and talked to them. I went by the visit them when they were not at school. I bought them shirts, shoes, pantyhose, and ties for church. I was tough, but I loved them all.
This year, some of my favorite students graduated from high school. It was a graduating class where I had taught at least 85% and had been rather mean and tough with them. I loved them so much and have spoken of them often over the years. I went to the rehearsal and walked and they called out my name and came to hug me. I could not believe that those short seventh graders where now taller than me and loved me enough to step out of line to hug me. I made many of them want to cry. That's what a true teacher of African Americans does.
He/she is a mother. They are taught but the students realize the teacher cares about them. They may hate the teacher when they are in the classroom, but many years down the line they will tell you how much they love you.
African American students truly have a rich culture that is under developed in our classrooms. We, as educators, need to look at them as individuals who may never be 'assimilated' into mainstream 'white' culture.
Why should they? White children who spike their hair, have multiple tattoos, or piercing in places that are deemed inappropriate are said to be 'expressing themselves' and it is violation of their rights to tell them or treat them differently. Yet a student with braids or a hair cut that has designs in it is called ghetto or discouraged in our schools and mainstream culture.
"What Does Culture Mean" and "Seeing Culture not Color" are powerful chapters.
I know that I see color when I go to school. We all do. If we say that we don't see color we are lying to ourselves. What we need to do is see the color and respect the differences. Learn about the students and bring their previous knowledge into the classroom. Make them feel as if they are teaching the class, as well as learning. Encourage classroom discussions and utilize wait time, that means they are thinking.
Janet Jackson has a line someone on the album, "Rhythm Nation" where she says that we are all the same in the darkness and that only the light shows us we are different. How beautiful to see the difference in our cultures (even within our own race), embrace them, and learn from them.
In my opinion, African Americans have a rich culture that can only enhance a teacher's educational experiences.
Race?
What is race? It's a verb when teaching language arts. I have never thought about it before reading and examining my own views, thoughts, and experiences.
How do I treat my African American students? Do I respect that they come from a different background from me? Do I try to incorporate their own background experiences into my classroom? How do I relate what they know to the current curriculum?
I think that without knowing it, I have done many of these things although I've been ostracised for it. I've taken students home and to church. I've take them out to eat at Red Lobster and Oliver Garden. I've spoken with them candidly about issues in life. One of the most important things that a curriculum coordinator told me after my first year teaching was that the students had to feel that I was on their side and that I really cared about them and understood where they came from and their neighborhood.
I drove through the projects. I stopped and talked to them. I went by the visit them when they were not at school. I bought them shirts, shoes, pantyhose, and ties for church. I was tough, but I loved them all.
This year, some of my favorite students graduated from high school. It was a graduating class where I had taught at least 85% and had been rather mean and tough with them. I loved them so much and have spoken of them often over the years. I went to the rehearsal and walked and they called out my name and came to hug me. I could not believe that those short seventh graders where now taller than me and loved me enough to step out of line to hug me. I made many of them want to cry. That's what a true teacher of African Americans does.
He/she is a mother. They are taught but the students realize the teacher cares about them. They may hate the teacher when they are in the classroom, but many years down the line they will tell you how much they love you.
African American students truly have a rich culture that is under developed in our classrooms. We, as educators, need to look at them as individuals who may never be 'assimilated' into mainstream 'white' culture.
Why should they? White children who spike their hair, have multiple tattoos, or piercing in places that are deemed inappropriate are said to be 'expressing themselves' and it is violation of their rights to tell them or treat them differently. Yet a student with braids or a hair cut that has designs in it is called ghetto or discouraged in our schools and mainstream culture.
"What Does Culture Mean" and "Seeing Culture not Color" are powerful chapters.
I know that I see color when I go to school. We all do. If we say that we don't see color we are lying to ourselves. What we need to do is see the color and respect the differences. Learn about the students and bring their previous knowledge into the classroom. Make them feel as if they are teaching the class, as well as learning. Encourage classroom discussions and utilize wait time, that means they are thinking.
Janet Jackson has a line someone on the album, "Rhythm Nation" where she says that we are all the same in the darkness and that only the light shows us we are different. How beautiful to see the difference in our cultures (even within our own race), embrace them, and learn from them.
In my opinion, African Americans have a rich culture that can only enhance a teacher's educational experiences.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Has the dream been deferred?
"What happens to a dream deferred?
- Langston Hughes
What an interesting way to open this chapter. We all have dreams but when they are deferred, they are put off. Is that what is happening in our urban schools? Are the dreams of our African American students being deferred?
Are the teachers in the classroom expecting less of our (African American) children because they assume "they don't know any better"?
Are the children of other races, cultures, ethnic groups, or whatever you choose to refer to them as expected to act better than African Americans?
Are African American students being 'converted' into mainstream 'white' children? Who has decided that this is the way for all children to bein our society?
When a family who has come from an Asian country comes to American and lives among white children, they are not expected to act 'white' or children who are they are to become more like those around them. They are excepted as coming from another culture and treated with respect for their culture and upbringing. Yet when a child who has come from African comes to this country, they are expected to assemilate into the mainstream culture.
I have a perm to straighten my hair. I use correct grammer and try to stay away from slang terms. Does that make me any less 'black'? I don't think so.
But as a black teacher, what am I saying to my African American students when I don't appreciate where they come from and their culture?
I don't know, but this gives us something to think about as the book continues.
Not only am I looking at the book, but to truly internalize this piece of literature, I believe that I have to look at myself as a woman, mother, African American, and educator.
- Langston Hughes
What an interesting way to open this chapter. We all have dreams but when they are deferred, they are put off. Is that what is happening in our urban schools? Are the dreams of our African American students being deferred?
Are the teachers in the classroom expecting less of our (African American) children because they assume "they don't know any better"?
Are the children of other races, cultures, ethnic groups, or whatever you choose to refer to them as expected to act better than African Americans?
Are African American students being 'converted' into mainstream 'white' children? Who has decided that this is the way for all children to bein our society?
When a family who has come from an Asian country comes to American and lives among white children, they are not expected to act 'white' or children who are they are to become more like those around them. They are excepted as coming from another culture and treated with respect for their culture and upbringing. Yet when a child who has come from African comes to this country, they are expected to assemilate into the mainstream culture.
I have a perm to straighten my hair. I use correct grammer and try to stay away from slang terms. Does that make me any less 'black'? I don't think so.
But as a black teacher, what am I saying to my African American students when I don't appreciate where they come from and their culture?
I don't know, but this gives us something to think about as the book continues.
Not only am I looking at the book, but to truly internalize this piece of literature, I believe that I have to look at myself as a woman, mother, African American, and educator.
Preface
I normally find that the preface of a book is quite boring. But as my lead professor suggested this book, I red it to see what I was going to be reading.
The author sets the scene for controversay in the preface of The Dreamkeepers. She makes no apologies for what she's going to say.
She also lets the reader know that she's not going to tell you what to teach or how to teach African American children, as most books would. She is going to tell you what the research says about the people who are already in the classroom.
In the midst of that she is going to be telling the reader about her own educational experiences being an African American student throughout her life.
She also is going to use the stories of three teachers who she used in her reseach.
I was not at all bored by this preface as many would be. I can't say that I found the bio of the author that interesting at this point, although most literature that I've read (mainly fiction) has given the bio at the end of the book, which tells you how important they are as well as their contributions to the literary world.
To me, the fact that the bio is in the front leads you to understand the importance of her previous works. It let's you know that she is qualified to say what she's saying and not a quack spitting out words to entice a school to use her book as a literature study or something to just add to your shelf. She is educated and motivated to let the readers know what is going on and gives options on what to do to make things teaching more effective.
The author sets the scene for controversay in the preface of The Dreamkeepers. She makes no apologies for what she's going to say.
She also lets the reader know that she's not going to tell you what to teach or how to teach African American children, as most books would. She is going to tell you what the research says about the people who are already in the classroom.
In the midst of that she is going to be telling the reader about her own educational experiences being an African American student throughout her life.
She also is going to use the stories of three teachers who she used in her reseach.
I was not at all bored by this preface as many would be. I can't say that I found the bio of the author that interesting at this point, although most literature that I've read (mainly fiction) has given the bio at the end of the book, which tells you how important they are as well as their contributions to the literary world.
To me, the fact that the bio is in the front leads you to understand the importance of her previous works. It let's you know that she is qualified to say what she's saying and not a quack spitting out words to entice a school to use her book as a literature study or something to just add to your shelf. She is educated and motivated to let the readers know what is going on and gives options on what to do to make things teaching more effective.
The Reflection
As I stand in front of this mirror
I’m almost afraid of what I see
This is a stranger in front of me
Whoever could this be
She has my favorite shirt on
She’s wearing my blue and gold suit
That’s quite a smart hairstyle she’s wearing
But that hairstyle just won’t do
She’s turning around in circles
And I can’t see the other side
I look to the left and I look to the right, but
She can’t get that flip just right
I don’t know who this person
I don’t recognize this face
I don’t know if I like this person
I think she’s such a fake
I’m looking in the mirror now & see this person is I
I’m seeing myself for who I am & thinking “Oh me, Oh My”
I’m working towards this goal called perfection
I’m trying my very best
To make the strides, changes, and demands that everyone else thinks are best
They think they know me
They want to change me
They don’t see the me inside
They see this woman in the mirror and think she all that abides
The reflection I see is more than I think and more than others will know
The reflection of me is more than just me, it’s who I want to be
Is it true
Is it false
Is it a funny mirror
The kind that transform as you move and the light changes around you
What is the lie
What is the farce
What is the true travesty
I sometimes rely on what’s in the mirror instead of what’s inside me
by Lady V
I’m almost afraid of what I see
This is a stranger in front of me
Whoever could this be
She has my favorite shirt on
She’s wearing my blue and gold suit
That’s quite a smart hairstyle she’s wearing
But that hairstyle just won’t do
She’s turning around in circles
And I can’t see the other side
I look to the left and I look to the right, but
She can’t get that flip just right
I don’t know who this person
I don’t recognize this face
I don’t know if I like this person
I think she’s such a fake
I’m looking in the mirror now & see this person is I
I’m seeing myself for who I am & thinking “Oh me, Oh My”
I’m working towards this goal called perfection
I’m trying my very best
To make the strides, changes, and demands that everyone else thinks are best
They think they know me
They want to change me
They don’t see the me inside
They see this woman in the mirror and think she all that abides
The reflection I see is more than I think and more than others will know
The reflection of me is more than just me, it’s who I want to be
Is it true
Is it false
Is it a funny mirror
The kind that transform as you move and the light changes around you
What is the lie
What is the farce
What is the true travesty
I sometimes rely on what’s in the mirror instead of what’s inside me
by Lady V
Disclaimer
I am writing these blogs to keep a running record of the book that I'm currently reading. It is called The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children. It was written by Gloria Ladson-Billings.
My insites are not necessarily that of others, but I want to reflect on what I've read and insite from others.
I am very opinionated. I do not consider myself to be prejudice or racist in the least. I would hate for someone to think this is an anti-white blog, but as an African American, I do look at things a little differently.
I am constantly in trouble for my open and frank comments to others regarding how I feel and what I'm thinking about.
Be as honest. Excuse any typos.
My insites are not necessarily that of others, but I want to reflect on what I've read and insite from others.
I am very opinionated. I do not consider myself to be prejudice or racist in the least. I would hate for someone to think this is an anti-white blog, but as an African American, I do look at things a little differently.
I am constantly in trouble for my open and frank comments to others regarding how I feel and what I'm thinking about.
Be as honest. Excuse any typos.
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