Dennis Carlson

Premise-

gay
lesbian
straightness
gayness
homosexual
heterosexual
gender
culture
children
public schools
sexual preference
race
sex
different cultrures
different lifestyles

Argument:
Carlson argues that sexual orientation should not be silenced it should be recognized because it is not going away whether you like it or not, so schools should not ignore it.

Evidence:
“In what follows, I not only want to point to some of the ways gay people and “gayness” have been “kept in their place” in the school community; more importantly I want to argue that these practices are increasingly hard to sustain.”
-basically it is difficult to be gay in america becuase of the thoughts of others

“Abuses get tolerated because gay teachers and students operate in an environment where they feel afraid to stand up for themselves, and because any discussion of gay people continues to be absent in the curriculum so that homophobia is not interrogated."
-people should not be asahmed of what their prefernece is, but in public and private schools it is looked down on to be gay and people are afraid to stand up for what they believe in

"Gay people have been for the most part been made absent, invisible, and silent within this community and at the same time represented as the deviant and pathological ‘other’"
-gay people feel like they cannot be themselves around others and they shut themselves out of the world to avoid conflict.

Conclusion:
It seems as though gay people are afraid to be themselves because of what others think of them. This article was very hard to read it didnt make much sense to me but after reading a while i started to understand. Basically if we ignore a problem then it is never going to go away. people will be gay no matter what avoiding it isnt going to make it better. it is better to face the facts, just like racism still exists so we cant ignore it we have to face it.

Richard Rodriguez- Aria

Premise:
-Different languages such as classroom language
-language used at home
-outside of school language
-Advantage-ness of the english language
-disadvantages of non english languages
-teachers
-students
-priviledge
-kids becoming mute from not knowing the english language

Argument:
-Rodriguez argues that even though being an American you should speak the 'American' way which is English, bilingual children should never forget their backround and they should still keep with the spanish or whatever language to keep their heritage in their genes and pass it on to their kids. It's part of who they are so they should not lose that.

Evidence:
-Because i wrongly imagined that English was intrinsically a public language and Spanish an intrinsically private one, I easily noted the difference between classroom language and the language of of home. At school, words were directed to a general audience of listeners. Words were meaningfully ordered. And the point was not self-expression alone but to make oneself understood by many others" (34). There is a difference between language at home and language at school but if children arent taught the proper english at a young enough age, then they are going to be lost once they go to school.

-“I did not realize that they were talking in Spanish however until, at the moment they saw me I heard their voices change to speak English. Those gringo sounds they uttered startled me."
The Spanish language is unfamiliar to english speaking people because it can be intimidating to others who are not familiar with the language.

- "My mother! My father! After English became my primary language, I no longer knew what words to use when addressing my parents”. Being that both parents speak both spanish and english it can probably get frustrating not knowing the primary language at home.


Comments:
I think that if someone is a spanish speaking person, they should definetly learn how to speak english because when they go to school it will be alot easier to talk to other kids and teachers and better learning opportunites, However they should never forget their original roots and never stop speaking the spanish language becuse its part of who they are.

This makes me think of the kids i teach at the prov. school because 95% of them can speak both english and spanish and they speak english at school and sometimes at home, but they never forget their original roots.

Kozol and Goldberg

Premises:
- Whites against Black
-Poverty
-Illness
-Drug Abuse
-Opportunities
-Success/Failure
-Religion
-Sex
-Depression
-Enemies/Friends
-Issues in the classroom
-Racism
-Jobs
-Hungry/Starvation
-Home Life


Argument:

Both Kozol and Goldberg argue that poverty, sickness, and wealthy-ness are big issues in society. If you are rich then you get a higher education compared to someone who is living in poverty because they are surrounded by filth in their enviorment. When someone is sick, they have to wait days in the waiting room, compared to someone who is wealthy they will be seen asap. If a child has all distractions such as family issues and poverty and illness, they are not going to be focused on their school work, leading them to do poorly in school.

Evidence:

"There are children in the poorest, most abandoned places who, despite the miseries and poisons in the world has pumped into their lives, seem, when you first meet them, to be cheerful anyway." (6)

-This quote really fasicnated me because it seems as though people who are living in these conditions are used to living this way, and they know things really suck so they try to make the best out of their life. They are happy that they are even alive. This is the attitude is the way everyone should be and there would be no hate in the world.

"Why are the bears in the tree i ask. he doesnt answer me but he smiles at the bears affectonetly. I saw a boy get shot in the head over there he says a moment later, in a voice that does not sounds particualary sad. Then looks up at me and asks if i want a choc. chip cookie" (6)

-This is shocking because it seems as though this boy is not bothered by the horrors in the world because he has seen the worst compared to people in a higher soceity they do not see these things, they simply hear them on the news. It is just amazing how people can live in a world like that.

My first post

My names Marissa, im in my second semester @ RIC, im majoring in Eled. with a concentration in Sped. (mild moderate). Im very excited to be in this class and start volunteering because it is a very good experience to see what im getting myself into haha. School can get overwhemling but i try not to let it get the best of me. I think thats all for now!

--Marissa--