Reflection on Racial Identity

Racial identity is crucial to a person's overall framework. without racial identity one has a very hard time connecting with their roots. If you can't connect with your racial identity then you end up feeling very empty inside. Yet, one can be criticized or even judge for what race you are. Unfortunately prejudice still exists in our country weather we want to face it or not. You can choose to ignore the negative attitudes toward certain races, or you can choose to be respectful of them and realize that all races have their similarities and differences. No race is better than another. And each race takes pride in their culture and customs.

I myself am a caucasian woman. i take pride in my racial identity. This year I attended a seminar at the Multicultural Center here at Marquette University. The seminar was called "Walking in her Shoes." it was a night dedicated to empowering women. What I never realized was that women in general are a minority group. While I do not feel very much prejudice as a caucasian woman it was fascinating listening to the Muslim, African American, and Asian women share their stories struggle in society today. I never realized all the little things that one could be judged on because of their race. For example some of the Muslim women in the room said their mothers did not want them to go to college. Instead their mothers wanted them to meet and marry a Muslim man. After they were married they would then tend to their household and eventually the children. The Muslim women were clearly not happy with this idea because they had a different life plan set for themselves. They felt like they could embrace their culture in different ways and still attend college and become and educated member of society. It was stories like this that made me grateful for my culture, and that I have accepting parents that support my life decisions.

As far as racial identity and schooling goes, I feel that your racial identity is something that you should never lose sight of. Especially in your high school years. Kids in their early teen years can be brutal. We've all seen these behaviors first hand. While some racial jokes can be brushed off, sometimes teens don't realize that they might actually be offending their classmates and friends. Sometimes a dominant culture feels like it is acceptable to poke fun at a dominated culture because they feel like they are superior. This trait can be seen quite easily in high school settings. The important thing to realize is that this behavior can be hurtful if taken in the wrong context, therefore we should do our best to end it if we can. Educators should be decent enough to stop racial jokes from going too far. The sooner we can end racial prejudice the easier all races can coexist in society. Schools are a great place for racial identity to be embraced. The sooner children learn the accept all races and all cultures the more they are able to recognize that all races are unique in their own respect.

Reflection on White Privilege

White privilege is a topic that has obviously caused a lot of controversy in the past few years. It is a topic that most people would rather avoid in conversation, because it is a cultural taboo that could make people feel uncomfortable.

White privilege is not always a positive aspect to society. Being white, myself, I feel that it is a factor that people just assume all white people accept. Weather or not they want to. I myself do not feel the pressure of white privilege, while I do not ignore the fact that it exists. 

Last week in class we did an activity where we listed some activities we do daily. Such as: going to class, going to the gym, getting lunch with friends, and studying (just to name a few). Then we had to go through the activities and talk about how we thought they would be different if we were a different race. It wasn't until this activity did I realize how prevalent white privilege is in our society. Even in just day to day activities. Non-white races are looked at differently on the streets, they are regarded as not as civilized as white people, and even looked at negatively in some ways. Clearly these ideas are so completely farfetched. 

The idea that another race is not as civilized or looked at in a negative light because they aren't white is such an outdated idea. It dates back to the idea of segregation in civil war times. This idea is literally preposterous. When we think about the fact that white people oppressed African Americans because of the color of their skin makes me feel so incredibly unsettled. This is why I feel so unsettled when I see white privilege taking place in our society. Therefore the best thing we can do is treat everyone with the respect they deserve. It may be cheesy to say but I really do believe that the golden rule is one of the best rules to live by. 

Service Learning Reflection

Service learning has been a whole new experience for me. Yes, I did plenty of volunteer work in high school, but service learning is just a whole different ball game. 

I chose to do my service learning at Bruce Guadalupe Middle School in Milwaukee, through the YES Project. The volunteers essentially are tutors for the middle school students. We tutor them in basically every subject. Some of the volunteers are part of the PT/Exercise Science program at Marquette so they create a "physical fitness" workout for the kids for part of the time we are there. This seems to be the kids' favorite part of the day.

The tutoring portion of the day seems to be a little more difficult for the student volunteers. The difficult part is connecting with the students. Some of the volunteers have been tutoring the kids since first semester. This makes it a little more difficult for the volunteers (including myself) to create a relationship with the kids. The kids at this school are mostly of Hispanic decent. They come from all different walks of life, and it seems important that they have positive role models in their life. I feel that it is more than likely that any of the volunteers at the YES Project could be positive role models for these kids. The hardest part is creating and developing a relationship with the kids.

Creating a relationship with the kids in the program has proved to be a little more difficult than I thought it would be. Some of the issues are that we only see the kids once a week for two hours at a time. This is hardly enough time to get to know someone, especially a middle school kid, who may already feel awkward around college students. Another issue is that most of the conversation topics are focused around school work. Because we are there to tutor the kids, we are asked to help them start (and hopefully finish) most of their homework. This is because some of the kids may not have the best home environment where they can stay focused and finish their school work. If and when we help them finish their homework can we have a personal conversation with the kids. 

While connecting with the kids has been more difficult than I imagined, I will not give up on creating a positive relationship with a few of the students. I feel that I just have to continue being open to the students, and hopefully they will feel comfortable with me. Last week I had a conversation with one of the girls (her name was Kenya, which I thought was the prettiest name ever) about Justin Bieber. I thought this was one small step on the way to being a positive role model for these kids. So if I have to talk about tween things for a couple hours a week, in order to create relationships the kids, I don't mind doing so. Every week gets a little better, so hopefully I will see more progress this week!

Reflection on Power and Control of Public School Choice

When thinking about when choosing a school for your children a parent must take a lot of factors into consideration. They must think about location, is the school you want to send your kids to in a good area? Do you have adequate transportation to this school? Are the teachers at this school equipped to teach your child? Will you be able to afford this school? Each of these questions will effect a students learning at a particular school. So after considering all these things (plus many more factors), a parent will be able to choose a school fit for their child.

I feel biased when talking about choosing a school, considering I attended public school my entire life. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in public schools. I always felt like my teachers were more than just authority figures at the front of a classroom telling me what to do for 45-50 minutes everyday. Especially in middle school and high school  I felt as if my teachers were also guiding me in more than just school work. I always knew I could talk to them concerning other issues not related to school. Knowing this was an extremely comforting fact. While I did have a few teachers that probably were not the best educators of all time, a majority of them were quite good at their job. I got plenty of opportunities, and knew I could pursue anything in school and somebody would support my decisions.

On the flip side, in my hometown there is a private Catholic school, that has grades K-8. Growing up I did know a few kids who attended this school. I did feel like their were taught in a completely different way than my friends who attended public school. Teachers were much more of authority figures, and were more authoritative. The children were much more disciplined (not that we weren't disciplined in public school, it was just a more extreme type of discipline at the Catholic school), and were also more sheltered than my friends who attended public school. I sometimes compare this level of "sheltered-ness" with being home schooled. The kids who attended this private Catholic school really did not know a lot of people outside of the school. This is also a common issue with home schooled children. These children develop different social skills than children raised in a public school system. This simply means that when attending high school and in college these kids will have to work on developing their social skills.

Finally, I have recently been able to experience the charter school. I am doing my service learning at Bruce Guadalupe Middle School. The children are required to wear some type of uniform (navy pants, and a white collared shirt). They are all required to participate in some form of activity at the school (our tutoring group being one of the activities). And from what I gather they are held at a higher standard than other middle school students. Bruce Guadalupe is not in the best area of Milwaukee, but I can tell that it is like a safe haven for the kids. They feel comfortable at school, and enjoy being there. While some of the kids don't like doing their homework, they are all generally smart students. The teachers at this school do not put up with poor behavior from the students, which I think really helps condition the children for later on in life.

Comparing all these different types of schools, should give a person some perspective on what different schools offer a family and their children. Yet honestly, if I had a child right now I don't know where I would send them to school. I don't think I would ever home school my child, because I feel like they should develop social skills from interaction at school. But there are still a lot of other factors that go into school choice. You just have to decide what method of schooling fits you!

First Reflection on "Warriors Don't Cry"

The story Melba is telling in her book Warriors Don't Cry, is quite powerful. Even by the first line in the first paragraph she has you hooked, "In 1957, while most teenage girls were listening to Buddy Holly's 'Peggy Sue,' watching Elvis gyrate, and collecting crinoline slips, I was escaping the hanging rope of a lynch mob..." these words are quite powerful. They convey just how incredibly violent communities like Little Rock, Arkansas were in the 1950s.

What really astounds me is Melba's courage and strength. Even though I have only read up through the 6th chapter, it is already quite clear that Melba knows what she wants out of life, and will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. She is partly this way because she has strong people to back her up. In particular, her grandmother. In the second chapter Melba's grandmother tells her, "Be patient, and one day, God willing, you'll see inside that school, I promise." Her grandmother is extremely religious which some might think is too much for a young girl. Yet for Melba, I feel it is comforting because it teaches her to be strong, because Melba is going to face quite a bit of adversity in her life, and the worst of it hasn't even started yet.

So far, I have been enjoying this novel. As I stated before the begging of the novel had me hooked from the start. It's powerful language, and engaging plot line makes for a unique story. I am very curious as to see what happens with Melba and the rest of the Little Rock 9.