Current Conversations about Race in America

Per our conversation in class today, here is the youtube clip of excerpts from Attorney General Eric Holder's speech from Feb. 18th.




Comments welcomed!!

Equal s. Equitable

Just a little note about our discussion today in class....

Many people say that they want classes to be EQUAL, that they want all kids to be treated the SAME.

But others suggest that we need a model of EQUITY instead. Because all kids don't need the same thing, we should seek out ways so that everyone gets what they need, even if it is not the same as everyone else.

I need glasses to see. You don't. In an equity model, I could have my glasses, even though you don't have them. That is fair. In an equality model, it would be considered fair to either give everyone glasses or no one at all.

How do the author's we are reading strive to make schools more EQUITABLE?

Delpit's Argument and Context

Hey there,

Here is the work we did last week on Delpit...

Further, as you work on Kozol and McIntosh this week, don't lose track of Johnson (see my last post) or of Delpit's Rules and Codes of Power that we started to talk about in class. What would Johnson say about Kozol's Mott Haven? What would Delpit think of the idea of "white privilege?" In fact, if you think of her RCofP #5 as you read Kozol and McIntosh, it might help you stay focused...

• "#5: Those with power are frequently least aware of (or least willing to acknowledge) its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of it existence."

What does this have to do with Kozol's story of the South Bronx or McIntosh's experience with "white privilege"???? Comment here is you have thooughts, or post with this in mind on your blog this week.

See you on Tuesday!

LB :)

Some key thoughts on Johnson

Here are some of the notes we took in class on JOHNSON:

• Don't get defensive
• We need to change how we think
• Just Say It!
• Work on better communication -- use taboo words
• Be aware
• We must make change from the top down

And I will add that Johnson also warns us of the "luxury of obliviousness" -- the ability for people in power to be completely unaware of things that people without power expereince int he world.

Do you see connections to Lisa Delpit's claims here? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

Reading Delpit

I know that some of you have been feeling frustrated reading Delpit this week. And others of you have LOVED it because it speaks to the experiences you had in school and feels very familiar!!!

Remember that Johnson says that the first step in trying to address the issues of privilege, power and difference is to LISTEN to one another, and try not to GET DEFENSIVE. Try to really hear what Delpit says. What is she asking for? What is she naming as the problem? Find specific quotes so that you respond to her actual words and not just her tone.

And if this resonates with you, bring the parts that felt most real to you. Why does this feel so right?

We have to learn to say the words. Silence will not get us anywhere. We need to take risks and try to talk about the issues. "The collective house is burning down..." We can't be afraid to say, fire!

So come ready to talk Tuesday morning... it will feel a little scary. But you can do it!!!

Looking forward to our discussion!

LB :)

Some Visions of Democracy

Here is some of our WORDLE-play from the activity we did in class...

Obama's Vision of the Current State
(in your words)









Obama's Vision of the Future
(in your words)








Your Vision of a Democracy
(in your words)

Welcome to FNED 346!

Welcome to this FNED 346 blogging adventure! Sometime before Tuesday, February 10, you will set up your own blog to use this semester for all of your Talking Points assignments, and to keep track of your thoughts about any of the issues we cover.

A blog is your very own, personal online journal. It is public, in that I and your classmates can read it and comment on it, but it is your space and you can control most everything about it. (If you want to make it private so that *only* members of this class can read it, I can show you how to do so).

In the context of this course, your blog has two purposes:

1) Your blog will provide a space for you to keep all of your Talking Points assignments over the course of our semester together. You will not hand in written assignments to me each week; rather you will post them on your blog. In this sense, your blog is merely your assignment notebook that you will use as you read and prepare for class each week. You will also be posting any additional thoughts you have: responses to class discussion, after thoughts, things you forgot to say in class, relevant experiences you have, etc.

2) Creating your own blog will also introduce you to the blogisphere if you don't know this place already. I hope that you will discover creative educational uses for this online medium. You will see how easy it is to use blogger.com, and perhaps it will inspire you to bring blogs into your own classroom someday.

To start your own blog, you will go to:

www.blogger.com



The big orange arrow at the bottom right of the page will direct you to creating your own blog on a site called blogspot.com. Follow the instructions to open up a free account. Don't forget your Username and Password!! You will need them to login everytime.

As you fill in the info, you will be asked to name your blog. This title will appear at the top of your blog. (Mine is called "FNED 346 — Spring 2009")

Then, you need to choose an address:

http://_______.blogspot.com

This will be the web address associated with your site. you can call it anything you like. Be clever or simple (or both) -- it is up to you.

You will also need to choose a design template for your blog. Look through the options listed and see what appeals to you. You can change this later and can even find fun, creative templates at sites like PYZAM.

Once you have the account set up, you can start posting. A “posting” is an entry on your blog. (For clarification, you have one blog, but many postings). Give the post a title and then compose as you would any journal entry. When you are finished, hit the button at the bottom that says Publish Post. It will not appear on your blog until you publish it. You can always go back and edit old posts and create new ones.

Your First Post:
Your first post should be a short introduction to you: who are you, how your semester is going so far, what do you do when you are not in class, etc. (Just a short paragraph — no big deal). You will post the rest of the entries as they are due (see course syllabus for dates), or whenever you have something to say!

When you are done creating your site and posting your first entry, please come back to this blog and post a comment at the end of my first posting (scroll down) that includes your blog address so that I can post it in the link list to the right.

Some Tips and Helpful Hints:

• Once you are in your blog, look at the top right corner of the screen. If you click on the word CUSTOMIZE, you will be able to make design changes, create new posts, edit old posts, etc.
• Once you are in the CUSTOMIZE screen, you can do all kinds of things to make your blog a bit more interesting. Change your fonts and colors, edit a post, change your settings. See the tabs at the top of the screen for all kinds of options.
• Poke around online and make a list of websites related to education, diversity, social justice or anything else relevant and post them on your blog. You can add all kinds of things by ADDING A GADGET from your LAYOUT tab.
  
• Just do the best you can with this. If you get stuck, don't fret... I am happy to help you anytime as you work on getting this started. Send me an email, come see me in office hours, or grab me after class. And remember: you can't break it. It is just a blog. Everything can be changed if need be!

Good luck!!

LB :)