4 I's of Oppression- Ava Perry

Quote: "A common feature in many ideological oppressions is biologism–interpreting the value of human life from a strictly biological viewpoint". 

Explanation: The whole point of ideology oppression tends to get lost in big words; to understand more clearly, it is your typical 'boy' 'girl' stereotypes we have been accentuating since in the womb. A couple has a girl, what color will they paint the room? Most likely pink. Boys receive monster trucks as toys, and if they want a Barbie doll, he will be questioned by classmates or even family. Luna Malbroux mentions that no matter the age, 5 years old or 85 years old, when ask to determine the connections between what makes a 'real boy' and 'real girl', both ages would come up with similar things because that is how we were shaped. 

Quote: "In white dominant societies, internalized oppression often expresses itself for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color through a strong drive to over-achieve in order to feel valued, or in self-doubt and hesitancy when pursing opportunities for which they are demonstrably qualified".

Explanation: The purpose behind internalized oppression is that the racism does not have to be direct; Malbroux makes multiple good points about that exclusion is a prime example. A student may realize that they are sitting alone at the lunch table and oversee their classmates huddled in the distance. They may not be saying "this is why im excluding you" but it implies it and as Malbroux says, it does not make it any less real. Another good example of indirect internalized oppression is microaggressions.  A comment that may seem non harmful, but underneath has other meaning. 

Quote: "As a policy and practice, test scores inequitably keep low income—particularly Black, Indigenous, or other people of color—students from accessing educational credentials and related job opportunities".

Explanation: Institutional oppression generally consists larger community of people; schools, neighborhoods, laws, making other folks feel separate. I have grown up in Woonsocket where the white families are in the nicer houses on the quiet side streets with nice roads, but the hispanic people all live in subsidized housing. The colored people live on the busy streets because they have businesses and corner stores. Our neighborhoods segregate in certain areas, and schools are also funded differently than others. Woonsocket is majority colored and hispanic, and a big problem over the past several years is how differently Woonsocket gets funded in comparison to Cumberland, the next city over.  Grand Rapids CC 4 I's

Ethnic Studies- Sleeter

If we are going to be honest, I myself I have not experienced the same inequities as some of my fellow classmates and friends have experienced. Something so complicated cannot be understood and as stated by Sleeter, "educators, more specifically white educators, assume that publishers "took care" of most forms of biased and whites always appear to receive the most attention". However, the paragraph itself made me realize what not to do in my classroom. Along with the inequities they face, I believe it that there is a certain level/demeter people of color or different ethnicity are also held to. White people general stereotype based ethnic background; for example, Asian students always have straight A's or hispanic people rarely graduate. I have witnessed from high school, my principal gathering my senior class because lets face it, 80% of us were about to not graduate. He specifically called out the hispanic population (I grew up in Woonsocket, so there were more hispanics/ other ethnic groups then there are white people, so I am completely comfortable with being friends with anyone), stating that they are the reasoning for our graduation rate being so low. I swear it was like you could hear a pin drop in there; no one knew whether to cry or scream, and I felt horrible. At that moment, I knew that even my principal looked past them being human and just saw them as numbers weighing him down. His point came across horribly, although maybe he did not even mean it the way he said it, but everyone felt it; including me. Even studies as recent as 2007 in the passage that ''text(books) rarely emphasize racism, racial issues, or race relation''. This passage made me think about how racism is often perceived as something from the past and Sleeter used the word "divorced" from other historical issues. Whenever you mention the phrase 'racism' to people, the first thought is what they did to stop slavery/racism in the past, but never mention the current day problem that yet to be resolved. I also did not know Horace Mann was a real person haha that is so cool. Massachusetts school laws

Delpit- Handout

 (I am so sorry this is late)- In 1988, Lisa Delpit published her seminal article, “The Silenced Dialogue,” referring to the lack of communication dividing Black and White educators and educators-of-educators when it comes to issues of race. White supremacy has been an ongoing occurrence through various years. She brings up many points that I found important. More particularly, one was the misinterpretation of directions due to cultural differences. Pointing out how black children might end up getting in trouble more because they seem to disobey white teacher’s directives, when in fact they followed the orders exactly as stated, was incredibly interesting. The point that we need to listen to our black educators about how to educate our black students seems obvious. These educators feel like they have to been silenced and the parents of black students also go unheard. People of color and white educators tend to bring a lot of good ideas to the table regarding their ideas in classroom, but when it comes down to working together they cannot seem to compromise. Listening to the community is key to all of this. My high school in particular had a graduating class in 2022 of almost 500 and over 75% of the students were hispanic or of color. They would have never been able to graduate if it was not for the ESL teachers supporting them throughout the way. In the text, Delpit says by seeking out by those who differ helps give complete attention towards issues. Having different perspectives on things is okay, but learning to use your fundaments of power in a positive way rather than negative way. Students that are from non privileged areas are often expected to know things they may not because individuals expect them to learn at home, but when you do not have the fundaments to learn at home, you can't. diversity statistics 2023

Privilege Power and Difference- Alan Johnson

 

Reflection: Students from around the world are constantly judged by individuals based on their sexual orientation, race, and even gender. We however, are the problem in this modern day society. I feel as though as the human race evolves more, the older generation has a harder time keeping up with our changes, and do not respect it in the slightest bit, especially white males as mentioned in the text. I always hear older individuals say how back in the day, kids are not like how they were, like of course we aren't! Roots for racism and stereotyping often run so deep that people do not even realize that it is hurting students. There is no change in these stereotypical ways because whenever the discussion of "change" pops up, everyone's first reaction is to get defensive. Instead of saying "How am I connected to this issue and how can we change it", it's "I am not the problem", and the world goes on without a change in actions. But defensive feelings are okay, and I never honestly thought of it from Alan's perspective. He brought to light it gives a "common ground" to work towards that change. As Alan said, we literally cannot get along, and "the problem of the color line" remains in modern day society. I personally do not take offense or feel some type of way whenever "white privilege" is mentioned because I see that there is a problem in society, and I am not afraid to run from it. Truth is, us as humans have the ability to adapt and learn in so many ways; we literally grow humans and teach them how to adapt on their own (if that is not hard then I do not know what is) but cannot change our feelings towards students with different sexual orientations, race, gender, etc. It is so unreasonable why a student goes to school and feels judges by not only their students because Lord knows how brutal kids are, but their superiors as well. A world where students have to watch their every move and wonder if judgment will be passed behind their backs. A world where being white is considered a privilege. fighting systems racism k-12

My First Post!

Hi! My name is Ava and I am a secondary education major with an English concentration. I currently am employed at Texas Roadhouse as a server, and spend a majority of my time there. My money, however, goes to my lover, Target. I love hanging out with my two younger sisters and boyfriend, we play nerf guns and eat different food together. I watch the Celtics and Dance Moms far too often, and consume lots of doctor pepper and free employee caesar salads. 

I love my cat so much.