Final Reading Response

While reading the "Cycle of Liberation" from RDSJ I had a hard time understanding what really was going on. It seemed very hard for me to follow. The author's definition of liberation "critical transformation" did not help me at all (Harro 463). However, after doing some research online and according to Wikipedia the definition of liberation is simply just the condition in which the individual has the ability to act to his or her own will (Wikipedia 1). The figure "The Cycle of Socialization" was also hard to follow and very confusing. However, this important with all the different phases they are showing us with the transitions used from one phase to the next. On the other hand, I liked how the author said you can enter the cycle at any stage. Furthermore, one can repeat or stay in the same cycle because oppression does last forever (Harro 464). To me the core was the easiest part of the cycle to understand, it just seemed like all of those things really belonged ex: love, balance, joy, support, etc. The core also seems like the most important part you really do need a strong core to build on the rest of the stages.

Reading Response

I found "The Construction of the Ghetto" article to be very informative. I never really understood ghettos very well. Such as: where it originated and when it started, but after reading this article I feel like I have a better understanding on explaining the color line and can go more in depth on the topic. I had no idea that ghettos went way back to the turn of the century. Something that I found helpful was the table,(Isolation Indices By Year). This was rather shocking to me because I had no idea how low the black neighborhood percentages were starting out with the majority living in white areas. Almost every city started out with a low black percentage and then significantly increased. Take Chicago, which once started out at 8% black in the 1890's and then boomed to well over 70% by the 1930's. Most cities were like this except Minneapolis and San Francisco both saw the black ghettos stay about the same. The author made a good point while stating that blacks started mainly out in the north, ex: like Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, etc. However, they made there way down to the south within that forty year period.

# 6 Service Learning

My sixth service learning journal was my final tenth visit. I found this challenging because it was my last day and I did not want to say goodbye. Especially after the class invited me on a field trip with them to Greenfield Village. This was a normal late morning session that I had attended. We started off with recess optional outdoors/indoors the majority stayed inside and played board games while a few went outside all bundled up to play soccer in thirty-five degree weather. Following recess it was time for Art, so I walked the class down to art and watched the half hour session. The Art teacher was an African American fellow who had immigrated many years ago from Africa his name was Jesse Jay Washington (Mr. Washington). At first I thought he was rather strict, but he then let the students take over and have their freedom while they were sculpting their clay pots. I was amazed at some of the work these kids were capable of doing. One child had coils around the whole pot with a very neat design on top. In class, I found out that two children's mothers were artists.
After Art, the class quietly walked back to class and the teacher had set apples out for everyone including myself. They then started on a jumpstart which is similar to ours in teaching class. It is like a lead in to the next assignment or task. The jumpstart is only for English (grammar corrections) and it is a grade everyday. Many students find this challenging because the jumpstarts can often be tricky. The jumpstart has two grades one for participation and completing the assignment and the other is right and wrong. After the jumpstart I had announced to everybody that this was my last session at Red Cedar. The majority were disappointed that I was leaving so soon and others said that I should come back. To me this was like a pat on the back and I felt proud. For the rest of the day Ms. Byrd-good basically made me a teacher's aide. There was a lot of work that needed to be done. Such as copying papers and future lesson plans, grading tests, setting up the calendars, and cutting out construction paper for activities.
Towards the end of my service learning the teacher aide Ms. Velasquez had quit due to a fallout with the teacher. This made the workload much heavier for me and unfortunately I was unable to work with the class as much. This was one of the most disappointing this for me at Red Cedar. Other than that I cannot complain on how fair everybody was to me from the principle to the teachers and staff to the students. This was something I will remember forever. It also helped influence me on becoming a teacher one day. I was always curious and continued to ask myself is teaching enjoyable will I like it? I had found the answer at Red Cedar this was the deciding factor. Finally before I walked out I told the teacher that I will be coming back in the winter and spring at least several times a month to help be part of Red Cedar. As I walked out I told her how passionate I am about wanting to teach now and how that she and her class deserve all the credit for making their class a comfortable learning environment.

#5 Service Learning

For my fifth service learning session I wanted try something new. So, I came after school on a Monday to the Writing Club which runs from 3:30-5:30. The writing club consisted of half of Ms. Byrd-good's class and the other half comes from the rest of the other third graders. This program is optional, but highly recommended for those who are foreign and struggling with writing. On the other hand, it can also be taken as an aftercare.
My job was to set the room up for the afternoon session. I helped pass out snacks and read a story to the class. Then when the class started writing I helped along with the teacher by answering any question or helping those who were troubled by getting them started. My goal was not to give anything away, but make them work without being puzzled. The topic was what is your favorite place to visit and why? A few kids did struggle at early on in the class. However, after awhile the majority wrote some very good papers. What surprised me even more was how the whole class volunteered all fifteen students! I remember when I was in these types of situations back in fifth grade and even today sometimes how I just tighten up and not share my thoughts. Another thing that really impressed me about this class is how everybody was cooperating by being well-behaved and actually thinking which can be challenging for many students at the end of a long day. During the last five minutes nobody packed up or stopped working. To me I find if students like these are having fun learning and are understanding what is taking place then that is a successful day for them and as well me too.
The teacher was so proud that she wanted to reward everybody the next time by bringing in a movie. She had told me that the writing club had been a struggle in the past. Before she had a problem with students refusing to work, which really puts her on the spot. Thankfully, now those students have finally changed for the better and have come along nicely. Another major problem that occurred earlier and that has now been rectified is that there were some behavior problems. The teacher was not even controlling the class due to the lack of respect the students had. Now for the most part it looks that the majority of third graders are enjoying learning and are either getting back on track or some are above par with the extra learning time. Ms. Byrd-good was commenting on how there has usually been one or two kids that have to be retained every year, but as of now there were no students that were involved in that situation.
As we wrapped up the writing session everybody walked out to meet there parents with a grimace on there face. Several students took the bus home which surprised me that they would have an activity bus this late in the day for this small of a school. That day really helped build up my confidence(teaching wise). Before I felt uncomfortable getting in front of a class with 20+ students. My biggest fear was stumbling while reading or giving the wrong advice and somebody trying to embarrass me. However, this was cured after seeing how respectful everybody was of each other and themselves.

Journal #4

While attending my fourth service learning session I finally began to see the dark side of my third grade teacher. Ms. Byrd-good was very unfair and rather nasty during a spelling test. She refused to repeat a word on the test twice. I found this surprising because this was like a middle school thing for me and here this class was being kicked around by the teacher. In the end, it turned out about eight out of the 20 students absolutely bombed the test. This even seemed unfair to me because there are eight foreign kids in the class and they have a hard enough time speaking English well as is. On the other hand, I was not about to speak up in front of the class and confront the teacher. While grading their tests which was very painful Ms.Byrd Good said "show no mercy" while grading their tests meaning do not even give them the benefit of the doubt. This was probably one of the grumpiest moods that I have ever seen a teacher in throughout my fourteen years in school. I just wanted to know why she was so hard on them that day? From my point of view I believe that she was in a bad mood because the class was behaving very poorly the day before or possibly she is trying to get them ready for fourth grade and has no idea how far overboard she is going. Another concern I had about this is the parents that would most likely complain after seeing their child's test scores. Especially after the top student in the class only received an 84.
Sure enough the parent complaints came in and Ms. Byrd-good apologized to everyone and discarded the tests. She said the reason she toughened up so much was because of the lack of respect for the teacher and other classmates. It turns out two children in the same class were involved in a fight (John K. and Brandon W.). This really got the teacher riled up and changed her mood significantly. The next day she was back to her usual self smiling away and telling funny jokes, which is doing what she does best by making everyone feel comfortable and putting a smile on everybody's face including myself. After the Pledge, she announced that Michigan may be switching to only healthy snacks in the nearby future and that the school policy was already 100% agreeing with possible law. So, she was informing everybody to start bringing healthy snacks only from now on otherwise, you will be unable to eat. While at lunch duty later that day I noticed the price of lunch and was shell-shocked at $2.25. That much money for just a slice of pizza or a corn dog and your choice of a small salad or fruit. This is just ridiculous with the whole state of Michigan's economy struggling and many families on the border of poverty line at our school they still charge $2.25. I came from an average area in Florida (middle class) but the standard lunch was a $1.50. Still too much! I chatted with a few students who were waiting in line about the high price of lunch. They even seemed a little concerned on child said he is scared to ask his parents for lunch money because they always give him a mean look because money is very precious in his family. He also told me there are days where he is money-less and how painful it is to go without eating lunch. I then told him about my experience back home in Florida about how some students had reduced lunch of 40 cents and others had free lunch depending on the child's parents financial background. I was curious and asked if they had something like this here?
He was clueless and said maybe I should look into seeing if they have something similar. This made me happy that I had potentially solved a child's need for lunch. After all, without lunch how can a growing seven year old boy make it?

Reading Response

After reading "The American High School Has Failed Its Missions" I feel the younger generation has turned high school into what they want it to be. High school students are starting to take charge now in pretty much everything they do. At the same time they kind of set the tone for the rest of the students like their followers. Many do not care if they are learning, but when they get to college they really do regret it. The study habits you develop in high school are usually what one uses in college and it is very challenging to break the bad habits. The author mentioned a very good point which I strongly agree with in that students in high schools need to be motivated if they want to progress and learn (Labaree)otherwise it is basically a waste of time. Another statement that I agreed with the author is that high schools are under lots of pressure to push the students towards graduation with a combination of easy grading and automatic promotion (Labaree). Something has really gone wrong with our high school and the problem needs to be changed immediately so that the younger students in the nearby future can continue to develop their minds. Furthermore, if we keep slacking off in high school and continue unchallenged it will show. The gap between the United States and some of the other intelligent countries such as China and Japan will continue to widen. How will they solve this problem? Will it be solved anytime soon?

I found the "School Inclusion and Multicultural Issues in Special Education" article to be quite informative. I am completely against the law that was passed by Congress back in 1975. I find it hard to believe that they actually dismiss children with disabilities who were not performing with the rest of the students who are similar in age. This seems unfair when you dismiss them what do you leave them with? Many families cannot afford private schools and do not have time to teach their kids(home school) because they are busy working. I am very thankful that the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) changed everything significantly. It just seems unfair to leave a child behind these days because without an education it is almost impossible to succeed in today's society. I feel without the IDEA I could have been affected and left behind so this was a great decision and I am glad people rethought this idea because it affects many people throughout our country each year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC6acGUnqXM&feature=related
I chose to critically analyze a Delta Airlines commercial from 1994. It makes one want to fly after watching the commercial. It sure inspired me to want to fly! This commercial does a good job by using pristine backgrounds and destinations such as the crystal clear waters with the dolphins swimming. They also use beautiful snow-topped mountains. This is one great way to lure the norm into traveling with Delta Airlines. Delta makes you feel privileged when you fly with them. They use an attractive white stewardess who is busy retrieving dinner requests from the guest. Now who would not want to fly after seeing all of these great things? It seems almost to good to be true, like a luxury. To me it appears Delta is sending us a message that if you fly with us you will never regret it and will comeback as a customer forever. It will be a memorable trip and experience when you fly Delta.
They use white planes with black noses which is a nice contrast to the blue sky and the puffy, white clouds. The planes look as if they are always ascending or turning to one side or another in this ad. Towards the end of the commercial when landing they show the passengers looking at their watches to help explain how punctuate Delta is. This is great for people who have important meetings or connecting flights. These passengers can truly rest assure that they will be on time whether they fly across the country or across the continent, which is a great feeling to lie on Delta's dependability. The calm and soothing French music(Adieus)also is very accommodating. They show plane after plane to send us a message on how many flights they have operating overseas and around the country. We can take in that they are one of the nation's more popular airlines. This commercial is trying so show us how Delta revolves around the world. The captain is also shown waving with a grimace on his face. Delta's staff does a very good job of comforting guests and making them feel like they are at home. On top of that, they are always smiling and willing to help. In the end, it shows the crew and its passengers arriving at the terminal in the concourse with a smile as they meet with their family members. After all, their slogan is "you'll love the way we fly".
This ad was well developed and is great for influencing those who like to travel or even those who do not travel much. It clearly gets you thinking Delta in the future after watching this commercial and I know that would come to many people's minds at first when considering what airline to fly on their next trip.

After completing these three media analysis's I have learned how far one can go in depth on explaining just a simple image or commercial. It is very important to state the obvious and then take it to the next level. By that, I mean look for clues that the ad may be hiding or hinting that something may be happening soon. One can really critically analyze from the background of an image. The background can often set the tone of a commercial, which I found very helpful. This also helps the viewer understand the theme better. Another thing I learned is in each ad, each company whether it was Delta Airlines, Acura, or the credit card company they all had their catchy scheme to trap the audience into buying their product and if you do how you will never regret it.

Reading Response "Ableism"

After reading the "Ableism" article I now understand the many different types of disabilities. I never clearly understood how many disabilities are out there I always thought mentally, walking, seeing, and hearing when I thought of the term disability. The author agrees with this and furthermore states performing manual tasks, working, and even reproducing (Peters). An interesting point the author brings up is how ableism is like a form of oppression that focuses on an individual, cultural, and institutional levels (Peters). As the author stated before the 1990's many Americans with disabilities were not sure if they were capable of receiving the federal services. This must have been frightening for many people. I believe that today we still need to come up with more of these acts similar to the ADA to better situate those who suffer from disabilities.

Reading Response

After reading "How Homophobia Hurts Everyone" I have learned how homophobia can hurt one at any age. The author used a first or second grader as an example and I can not believe the words they would call him. They were calling him words like "sissy, queer, and fag". These are the terms we discussed the other day in class and I really understand now how someone can take a hit. I felt like it was important to know a few of the important types of homophobia to help understand this section better. The first one is personal homophobia which is like a negative type of impression (applies usually to heterosexuals). Another is interpersonal homophobia which could best be described by the author as transforming prejudice into its active component, an example would be name calling (Blumenfeld 269). Next is institutional homophobia this is when governments, schools, and businesses discriminate on sexual orientation or one's identity (Blumenfled 269). What I don't seem to understand is why people to continue to tell people who they are or how they are defined as ex:heterosexual, homosexual, transgender, etc. The next thing you know you are being harassed upon because they told what they are. Why don't they think before they speak?

Reading Response: Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is bound to happen where ever you are. It is something that we will never be able to get rid of, so we need to be prepared. One can be prepared by taking the advice, knowing how to deal with sexual harassment (who to approach), and by being alert. A concept that I strongly agree with the author is when he states that a major problem in school today is that kids are sexually harassed all of the time and they are scared to tell somebody. What they need to do is just tell an adult in the school (ex: teacher or administrator) or even parents. However, many do not and the problem continues leaving the victim feeling uncomfortable and miserable. On the other hand, if you are an adult and dealing with these problems you should take it up with the Manager immediately or tell the person right out JUST STOP! Another thing I agreed with the author was how often the words sexual harassment and flirting are used interchangeably. I have used these terms myself the wrong way. To sum it up, sexual harassment can't be prevented, but it can be stopped. Therefore, we need to be ready for it by having our words and explanations ready ahead of time to make sexual harassment come to a halt.

Service Learning#3

This past Wednesday was my third visit to service learning at Red Cedar. When I walked into class and was told that I was going to be assisting the teacher in a lesson I was thrilled. It was a science lesson on the different seasons of the year and how to record times of the sun rising and setting. My job was to draw the diagrams on the board and the teacher, Ms. Byrd-good would explain what season had the shortest days and the longest days of the year. After that, we went into detail about the other continents and how their season differs from ours. I found this to be fairly challenging for third graders to know because I did not learn this material until fifth grade, but about half class knew that Australia was always the opposite season of North America.
Following the lesson, I walked several students over to get their vision and hearing checked. They were just frantically freaking out that they were going to fail the test and be forced to wear glasses. I had never seen anything like it before. However, a shy child named Brandon from our class did fail the vision test and I had to escort him to the office so they could contact his parents. When the class finally joined together again it was time for recess, but today there was something new at recess in the gym called jump club, which was run by our teacher. This was optional for third and fourth grade students and about 25% out of the 120 showed up for the opening debut. First, I witnessed jump club for about ten minutes and then moved outside for the last ten minutes. When the bell rang to come back inside the ground was rather slick from a misty rain and a third grade student from our class named Javan slid on the pavement when coming in because he was running within five feet of the building. I was the first to see this horrifying fall. His knees were completely skinned and bloody. So, I walked him over to the clinic for treatment and later his mom picked him up. At first he was in tears, but as he left his spirits were much improved.
During my final few minutes at the third service learning, I talked with my teacher as the students were eating lunch(had my lunch duty off today)in the classroom about the most effective ways to teach third graders. She was telling me how important it is to reinforce things. Another effective thing I learned is how she likes to distribute sticky or post its notes for third graders, which is something that I just learned this year. Her following comment was that you cannot teach them everything. Therefore, let them do some of the work on their own. Which I found interesting because I always had thought the opposite of that statement. We also created an agenda for next week and made some realistic goals for a few students that are struggling in the class. She said that holding kids back was one of her worst fears and is going to everything she can do to prevent that from happening.
This concludes my third visit and now I actually feel like a real teacher with a purpose. I learned a few new things today including how important it is to reinforce things in which students are having trouble with. Another is how important and helpful post its really are.

Serive Learning#2

My second service learning session started off with me leading the pledge of allegiance. To me this was a great site to see that they still showed respect for our country. Even those who could not speak English still stood up and respected the flag. Something that has really disappeared in the last few years at schools throughout the United States. After the pledge, I tested half the class out in the hall(one at a time)to see if they knew their times tables 1-10(they called buddy numbers). If they did not know them instantly I would come back to the ones they missed and made sure they corrected themselves before they left. I also gave them a post it note to take home with them for example: study 5X7.
The class as a whole did very well. My next task, was to test the other half of the class(that had not been tested earlier) on states and capitals. This was a little more complicated, but the students were motivated to do better and managed to stride forward. After this, I led the class out to recess on a cloudy, cool, crisp day. While I was outside some of the older kids constantly wanted me to play basketball, but I refused and decided to talk to a student in our third grade class named Mohammad. We actually began talking about global warming, which he knew a little about and we both agreed that it does not seem to be that important of a topic right now in the world. Especially after seeing record lows last year in the winter and what seemed like a fairly mild summer. After the global warming discussion Mohammad, a very sophisticated eight year old, from Pakistan told me how hard the last year had been for him. He moved from Pakistan, where he knew everybody in his small town to a city where he knows nobody. Kind of like big fish, little pond in Pakistan to the current little fish big pond here. Furthermore, he stated that it has been very difficult to make friends over here. Surprisingly, the child spoke English very well. Besides that he said that kids are more attentive and better behaved in class over here than in Pakistan. This was my first time ever chatting with somebody from another country and I really understood this kid's feelings and current position. After chatting with Mohammad, I then talked to several other students in our class about bullying around the school. They said it has been very minimal, which made me ecstatic because I had a heck of a time with bullies in the early grades because I was always one whole year younger then the youngest student.
Following recess it was lunch time and I was back to work making sure the cutting in the lunch lines was terminated. After lunch, we dropped in the library for pictures. The library was small, but very tidy, along with being nicely furnished, and well-equipped with the latest technology like smart boards and new apple computers. This summed up by second visit and as left the school I continued to feel great about Red Cedar, the class, and myself as I looked forward to my third visit even more.

Media Analysis#2

http://www.studentplatinum.com/ (picture at top)
The ad that I chose to critically analyze is from a student credit card company website. The image shows a young and happy couple about to register for their credit card. They look white, middle class, and are probably used to seeing their parents charge everything on a credit card. Banks and credit card companies prey on unsuspecting and inexperienced students. Therefore, they will be more than happy to set a credit card up for you. They make it very easy to get started. All of this so, instead of one planning ahead accordingly for a purchase, they can have it now. Do they really understand how much interest they will be paying? Do they have jobs, so they can pay off the debt?
What people really do not understand is that credit cards are not cash. These cards must be paid back with big time interest. Many times the interests are written in small print and very difficult to understand. Especially for young people who do not realize how much they are charging. This is when they happy smiles start to fade and panic begins to set in when the large bills come in. By using both a boy and a girl in this picture it helps equalize their need. White middle class students may also have an easier time of securing credit because of where they live. On the other hand, minority students might have a lesser chance of securing a credit card, or their payment rates may be higher because their family does not have a high credit score. Everything is in the banks favor, they even know zip codes can indicate economic status.
After studying this well-constructed ad, I am interested to see if the number of young college students/people continue to apply for credit cards or if they will ever realize how dangerous they can be; therefore, the number sold tapers off. I am convinced now that a credit card is definitely not worth all the hassle. Especially if it traps you into debt and demolishes your credit score.

Service Learning Journal#1

On my first day, while I was walking over to Red Cedar Elementary, I did really not know what to expect of my first service learning session. I remembered on my previous trip to orientation that the school was very foreign. They had kids from over 20 different countries and to prove it, they had a flag for each country. A few kids spoke no English at all. When I finally arrived at my class I introduced myself first to the teacher Ms. Byrd-good and the teacher's aide Ms.Velasquez, who were both very pleasant people. Next, I introduced myself to the class as Mr. H. because it was too complicated for the twenty students to pronounce my last name. The class as a whole was about 70% American along with several African Americans, two Asians, and two Muslims.
While, I entered the classroom during reading time, I was absolutely shell-shocked of how quiet it was and I thought to myself what a wonderful learning environment. I had a flashback to third grade and I can clearly remember how challenging it was to concentrate because of the constant chatter in the class of 3o+ students. The thing that I found most impressive was for twenty students is that you had two teachers. Which means you could accomplish more in one day and if a student was having trouble they could get the extra attention that was required. What amazed me even me more was how students were able to make the transition from reading directly into math. This is something one would expect from fifth graders, but third graders! You could tell that the teacher was in complete control. I was assigned to go around and make sure every one was working independently and to help clarify any problems that they had. Very few questions were asked. Those that did ask questions were extremely well-mannered (raised hand and waited to be called upon). After that, it was time for recess so I decided to witness it. When we got out to the pavilion all of the swings were tangled up due to a teenage prank, so I helped the custodian untangle a few swings, which made the children very appreciative.
Following recess came lunch and I basically held the door open for half of the school. Once again everybody was saying thank you. In the lunch room, I made sure nobody was cutting and made small talk with a few students. They continually expressed to me that if I were to ever eat lunch at Red Cedar make sure and get the grilled chicken sandwich. This sums up my first service learning visit to Red Cedar Elementary, but as I was leaving I felt quite privileged to be part of the volunteering staff at a clean, well-kept, and up to date school. The more I thought about it Red Cedar did not seem like a school it seemed like heaven. Everything students could possibly want was there for them. From after care programs to clubs and activities to many recreational activities. Red Cedar has it all. This hyped me up for my next visit.

Reading Response on Sexism

Frm redin da artcles out of de book I lerned hw imptnt sexism rlly is and hw it affects our lives. I alwys loked at sexism as just male or female hving pwer or beng fvred. Wht alwys cam to my mnd was sexual harassment but there is alt mor thn tht. Acding to de athr it cn del with de wy pple drs and spek. I als lerned hw jkes rlly ply an imtant rle in sexism such as when pple del wth de media and even for jbs. I fnd it hrd to belve hw fr bck sexism dtes. Tody it is one of de the most imptant isues out tere it is rght up tere wth racism. Fr exple witout wmns rghts hw mch mor trble wld thy be in tday? Is tht sexism tht we hve nver hd a President before? Whn will ths chnge and whn wil it bcome les of a major hedline trhot de wrld?

RDSJ Reading Responses

In this article I learned that the best way to fight racism is to become friends with somebody of the opposite race of oneself. This makes lots of sense to me, but I find this rather challenging to go out and make friends with somebody of the opposite race of myself especially coming from an area where there were very few people of another race. The author also discusses race and gender and he considers those as just words which I agree with. An example that the author used and really helped me understand this section on privilege better was with the thirteen year old girl wanting to become a professional baseball player. I guess it really does not matter how amazing you are, but if you are not a man then the chances of you becoming a professional baseball player are slim to none because it is a man sport. The author's example helped me understand privilege better, but still has me a little confused. Does this mean that I am privilged to be white? Besides that I am also curious am I racist for being white and having no other raced friends?

This article explains the history of education throughout the lives of Latino's in America, beginning five centuries ago. It also shows us how and where education developed and succeeded, along with where it failed. Education in the Spanish-Mexican Era was mainly for the Indian population. They were taught literacy, music, and Spanish manners. They were even taught to forget and destroy their previous beliefs and religions. In the early nineteenth century the Spanish people saw literacy reach a necessity for motivating purposes. This is when education switched from focusing on children to now everyone. Money played a pivotal role why only a few schools were established. During this era Indians responded to education in many different ways ranging from harsh battles(Pueblos over the southwest), to refusing it and questioning their own identity, and then some just welcomed it.
Another era from 1890-1960 known as Latinos and the Expansion of American Education, was one of the most important in Latino history. This was due to the fact that education was opened up for any gender, race, sex, and age. This helped influence a change in the Latino's life of diversity and opened new doors in the twentieth century for them. However, many Latinos still lacked power and were living well below the middle class. Latino schoolchildren were faced with a rather week curriculum in elementary and secondary school. Spanish was even discontinued in schools so they could just focus on English, but many Latinos were placed in slow learning groups leading to many dropouts as they progressed age wise (could not keep up with competition). The few that did not dropout were put into non academic and vocational courses due to the test scores. Overall Latino students did poorly, but a few achieved success in the academics.
Another important time period known as Latino Education in the Contemporary Period refers from 1960 to today. In the 1960's increased resources and academic courses were provided to the lower academic schools which really helped out Latinos by improving their graduation rates and helped by pushing a greater amount of Latinos into college than ever before. A problem for Latinos was inequality. They tried to get policies established for them by going after the federal, state, and local agencies. Latinos were trying to eliminate any discrimination against themselves at school so they could have a better education situation and become more acknowledged. After this they attempted by throwing lawsuits at the school of segregation for where they placed a designated classes for the"educationally mentally retarded".
In the end this article shows us how Latinos used education beginning in the sixteenth century. Those who started with education first were rather privileged and had an advantage. On the other hand, those who received it in the later centuries had trouble adapting to it and had to play catch up because many were slow learners. Overall, education brightened and influenced the lives of few Latinos, the majority of those succeeding are happening today. When will Latinos become more of a factor in succeeding in education? Will it be anytime soon?

Reading Analysis "An Indian Father's Plea"

In "An Indian Father's Plea" Wind Wolf, a slow learner has absolutely no confidence at all after being bullied by other kindergarten students about his culture and race. He has lots of trouble making friends and if he does make friends other children' s parents do not give their kids permission to play with him. On top of that, Wind Wolf is a slow learner and has trouble speaking fluently along with writing his name. His whole family ranging from aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, other family members, and relatives have all put in lots of time and effort with him trying to develop his mind by attempting to teach him math and colors. He is in a tough position because he does not know what to believe from his religion to his own cultures due to the fact that everybody bullies him. After being bullied he refuses to take part in his own religion because he is so confused. Do people understand how much trouble the poor child is in? This is that serious of a situation. Why not try to help him rather than criticize him at this early stage? This is definitely the most important time of Wind Wolf's life. If he can not succeed now how will he be able to succeed later?

Media Analysis #1

The ad that I chose to critically analyze was the new 2009 Acura RL. Acura, is known as a luxury, high performance, and intelligent vehicle (live traffic on navigation screen along with restauraunt ratings and phone numbers all connected to a hands free blue tooth system). In my opinion I find this image to be very flashy with the way the light shines down on the highly sophisticated Acura (made by Honda). Another way this ad is presented would be through the colors all black surrounding the red which make the finish seem rather glossy and shiny. The car looks rather zoomy in its current position, possibly ready to take off. In addition, the image only shows about 1/2 of the car, so they are probably trying to emphasize on how streamline and swoopy the design is.
Overall this ad was well structured and specifically designed catch the viewer's eyes. This car would probably appeal to mainly the younger and middle generations and or those with lots of money looking for a unique style.

Why Does Socail Class Influence Parent Involvemet

From my point of view, it seems like parents do not stress education enough today. Most of the reason is how they were brought up themselves. I think that explanation #1 values plays the most important role today. The majority of parents do not seem to understand how important their child's education is. It is a much different story for the most part from when they were in school twenty-thirty years ago. The result today will be education failures; therefore, more students will have to be held back because they just can not stay on or above par with the other students. Another reason why parents do not take education seriously enough is that some parents were able to work around education (years back) and have not put much thought into their children' s future probably thinking the same for them too. However, today an extremely small amount of people are able to succeed without education. It is like the key to success, a must have in today's society. There is no substitution for education.

Why are droves of unqualified

How can one get into Harvard with out being a pure genius? I am completely against this idea of just above average students being allowed to attend an Ivy league school just because their parents attended. Meanwhile, the valedictorians, who have been dreaming their whole lives of attending Harvard can not get in. This does not make any sense. Only the brightest students should be admitted to the Ivy league schools. Do not get me wrong an above average students deserves a good college, but not an Ivy league school. The reason that I disagree with this is that one just can not decide towards the last minute that they want an Ivy league school. An Ivy league school is where the most brilliant minds in the world are, not just above average students. Where does this leave the valedictorians to attend? Just an average college? Above average students should be smart enough to plan ahead accordingly where they want to go and if they are a great athlete, really into community service, volunteering, honor societies, etc. then that is fine to allow them into an Ivy league, as long as they are not cutting off the world's brightest students from having a chance to experience America's most prestige schools.

Ronnie's blog

The story "Two Women" could be classified as tragic with a bunch of mood swings involved. When the President of Chile turned the wealthy people into normal residents this made so much sense. It solved many problems from people dying of starvation and children not getting the proper nutrition. Now everybody would have the opportunity to live a healthy life. In addition to that, the peasants morale would also be significantly boosted. The wealthy should not complain about eating rice or only having beans. They should have been proud that they were saving lives and helping out their country. The wealthy need to look at everything besides the basics as privileges. Taking trips or vacations example: study abroad are great, but they are not a necessity ("Oppressed and Oppressor"112). Water, food, and medicine are what is necessary for the poor peasants to survive. Unfortunately, everything took a turn for the worst when the President was thrown overboard for trying to make everyone equal. This is when disaster struck and the two sides split again. Why could they not have kept this solution the wealth helping out the poor? What is wrong with that? I understand 50/50 is not possible, but saving lives is what is most important!