FNED 502 Social Issues in Education

June 19, 2018

Mighty Times: The Children's March

A Documentary Film by by Hudson and Houston

This documentary tells the story of how young African AMerican people of Birmingham braved arrest, fire hoses, and police dogs in 1963 and brought segregation to its knees. In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama, was the “do-or-die” battleground for the Civil Rights Movement. Heavy intimidation by Birmingham authorities left the Movement Struggling.

Because African American Lives was so restricted in the South leaders used a word-of-mouth system to organized a group of about 4, 000 African American school-aged children. They did this under secrecy .The radio was used to spread secret messages about meetings for D-Day. The radio was used a a vehicle to spread awareness of what the current situation in Alabama. The children were invited to desert classrooms at exactly 11 a.m. on “D-Day,” May 2, 1963, touching off a week of mass demonstrations and rioting that shocked the nation. Police tried to stop them. Yet, the children prevailed.

More than 100 eyewitnesses contributed to the storytelling. Other notable participants and organizers like James Orange, Gwendolyn Webb, James Bevel, Harry Belafonte, Dick Gregory, and Andrew Young became part of this group. Their hope and goal was to inspire young children to march to take stands on vital human issues which were affecting their communities and their lives. Racism was a result of the devastating impact of discrimination upon our society.

Dr. King wanted freedom. He wanted to end segregation, he wanted racial equality for all citizens not only in the South, but also across the nation. He decided to go to jail hoping that many protesters would followed his footsteps. Unfortunately his plan did not work. Due to the fact that african american citizens did not have the right to a peaceful life, one without fear of what will happen to them once they stepped out of their houses.  

Children were fed up and were ready to jump in and help change history. They volunteered to be Martin Luther King’s messengers. Once students united, lft their classrooms and started to come in from all over the city, people got excited and started to follow the children. They were headed to Birmingham with a purpose to get arrested. Children movement was growing by the minute. Children packed 16th Street Baptist Church. Children recognized the power people have when they come together for a just cause and they took this upon them and did something.

Children came in by the dozens. The government sent police to take them out to the Streets . “When the police arrested us, they thought we were going to be afraid and start to cry” “They had strange looks to see that people were happy and singing and happy to be arrested” About 973 children were arrested by the end of day 1. Day 2 1922 were arrested. Parents were worried and asked Dr.King what are we going to do my child in in jail. Dr. King calmly told the worried parents not no hold them back from doing what they were doing. The children will be alright. Let them go to jail as they are doing a job for all American and for all mankind. While in jail children kept on singing songs as a way of demonstrating that they were not afraid of being in jail. The children were willing to get water sprayed. All they wanted was equal right. The rights to be a free person just like everybody else.

The City of Birmingham long battle to end injustice, mistreatment against its black citizens came to an end. The City and the white people of Birmingham agreed to integrate. The President Kennedy addresses the Nation And put and end to Segregation.  “all American be afforded to have equal rights” The government was defeated by the Children. The government agencies were not prepare to see children to become the voice that would stand up against injustice. They did not expect children to be the driving force of what became a movement. Children marched for equality and prevailed.

After watching this This documentary I realized  that it was the children who were greatly responsible for integrating Birmingham. This documentary show how communities which are positive about having a bright future  come together to have their voices heard. I am so proud of the children who participated in the march  for doing the right thing. Shame on the local law enforcement who did nothing to end discrimination. They were abusing power and thought they could erase the existence of  many African Americans from the face of the earth. The children kept of singing “freedom” and they got it. People and children of Birmingham Alabama could now benefit from the same rights white people enjoyed. Unfortunately, lives were lost on the process, but the survivors could now walk freely without feeling fear for their life.

People being sprayed with water to stop them from marching.

School- aged children were put in jail just because they wanted to be free.

Children Marched and led the way to social justice and racial equality!

FNED 502 Social Issues in Education
 June 19, 2018

                           Stay Woke: the Black Lives Matter Documentary 2016
                                      By Peabody and Laurens Grant

In this documentary “Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement,” the well-respected actor and activist encourage others to be more aware of America’s (poor) treatment of black lives by exploring the evolution of a movement that is committed to the same mission.This documentary features voices of athletes, protesters, actors, musicians, local activists, scholars, educators,  civil rights leaders, celebrities like Jesse Williams, Michaela Angela Davis, Brittany Packnett as well as other leaders. The leaders united and were standing up against injustice towards minority people. The movement wanted to demonstrate its solidarity towards injustice and violence that the African American community was sufferenting from the people who were supposed to protect them (the police). The Black Lives Matter movement moved from social media to the streets across America (the movement was looking for justice). The demand of the movement was to bring justice to the people who lost their lives in the hands of police. Social media transformed the black lives matter.

The black live matter movement “stands on the shoulders of folks who stand on the shoulders of previous movements”. This movement fights for the freedom and justice of black people in a world where these basic rights weren’t afforded to men and women like Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray and countless others whose lives were taken away by police brutality.

“The black community has been in a state of emergency and crisis and pervasive traumatic stress disorder since 1619”  

“The black community has been in a state of emergency and crisis and pervasive traumatic stress disorder since 1619. There hasn’t been a week in the history of this country where innocent, well-meaning human beings haven’t been treated as subhuman by state agents,” Williams said. “We have been conditioned to believe that black people are subhuman... and are told all of these intrinsically destructive tropes, which are flagrantly dishonest.”

Activism by those like Williams highlights the need for an important and immediate call for change.  Jesse Williams wants people to awake and to stay woke. . He invites people to unite, to stand up and speak out on social issues. Regarding justice and social equality Jesse Williams asks, It is ok to break the law or not? Because cops breaking the law left and right. You do not own us anymore. We all have the same inalienable rights or we don’t.

One of the first steps to being “woke” is understanding the depth of these dangerous myths and how societal constructs impede on the lives of marginalized people. In one emotional moment in the documentary, Williams says “no matter what we do, we’re late”.

This comment stroke me because it clearly stresses the requirement for resolution and represents the urgent need to get woke, stay woke and better the state of  black lives in The United States. Just like Jesse Williams I also believe that the struggle is real, social injustice is real and it hurts affects different communities. Racism still exists, sadly and if people do not unite and become an informed, educated team social and racial injustice will be a “big elephant in the room” that people in power keep on ignoring.  Unfortunately minorities, especially African American Communities will still be oppressed. We must become part of the change. We must define the change in America. We must tirelessly seek for justice for all and must not give up until we reach social equality.

According to the film Black Lives Matter became a national movement. Media played a big part as it showed the world what was going on in America.  Just like the documentary mentioned, the question we must ask ourselves is, where does this movement go from here?  What does this movement needs in order to progress and guaranteed that it will continue to condemn injustice and fight for social justice and equality?

Jesse believes that African American are late “no matter what we do we are late” Jesse urges people to get it together, get informed and keep fighting for reform in the government. Leaders have to make sure the movement evolves, that it does not stop like other movements did. The movement is welcoming and guiding leaders to come forward and join the fight against social inequality. Social media is important for the movement as it became a platform which the leaders took and made it work for them Social media such as Black Twitter took their fight to another level. Now Leaders of the Black Lives Movement are now known by millions of people. This generation is not going to let them be nameless.

The following educational (TED Women) video show and interview with the founders of the Black Lives Matterhttps://www.ted.com/talks/alicia_garza_patrisse_cullors_and_opal_tometi_an_interview_with_the_founders_of_black_lives_matter Founders. They talk about how different topics which affect mostly minority people. They state that minority people, especially black people  are subject to all sorts of disparities. These disparities range from natural disasters (climate change) to racial inequality (racism).They state that the world more than ever needs a human race movement that challenges systemic racism in every single context.

I truly believe that in order to see changes in society, we must make changes to our current laws. We need to press from the outside to see positive things happening. People must organize people and act. They have to make use social media as leverage to become aware and expose government mistreatment towards minority communities. If we get united and organized and make sure we do not stay quiet, our voices will be heard. We must make sure we protest against injustice, but we have to do it in a peaceful way. We have to make sure authorities are listening to our concerns.

FNED 502 Social Issues in education

June 14, 2018

Disability Studies in Education: The Need for a Plurality of Perspectives on Disability

Written by Susan Baglieri, Jan W. Valle, David J. Connor, and Deborah J. Gallagher

This journal article argues that the field of special education, historically founded on conceptions of disability originating within scientific, psychological, and medical frameworks, will benefit from acknowledging broader understandings of disability. For many individuals, disability is primarily best understood within social, cultural, and historical contexts. As career-long educators, the authors of the article describe the emergence of Disability Studies in Education.  Since the passage of the Pl 94-142 and the growth of the Disability Rights Movement, The meaning of “disability” have expanded an evolved. This is no longer attributed to the deficit-based medical model.  

When classifying/diagnosing a child as having a disability, in most cases the limitations placed on the student(s) can directly come from different factors. The child/children who have health issues, children of low socio-economic status will also be more like to be classify/diagnosed as having an educational disability.    

This “classification label” negatively affects children who will exhibit low self-esteem once they are labeled.  “Students who are identified as students with disabilities may doubt themselves, feel that they are not as smart as others and create a sense of learned helplessness. These students may feel that they cannot do well in school or are not smart. As educators all personnel involved in the special education program(s) must be open and willing to dialogue. We must recognized and welcome the perspectives about the nature of disability and what it entitles.

The article presents two groups which have different ideas about what the nature of disability is. The Instrumentalists and the Reconceptualists. The position of both sides poses a genuine threat to the well-being of the special education field. Even though both parties have different views, they can still be open for dialogue. It is possible for both sides to come to a consensus of the nature of disability and educational practices/policies that surrounds the phenomenon of disability.   

All sides must be open and willing to agree on a system that will benefit all students including those identified with a disability. We must find ways to help students succeed socially and educationally, by eliminating the big label that puts a limit limits on their performance. Students will prosper once they are trained to become successful. Teachers and families must have high expectations, which will help them acknowledge their capabilities. We must provide students with a school environment where love, high expectations, believe are welcome. In return, student’s self-esteem will rise and they will excel in school and in life.  

Agreeing on different issues/ideas/concepts can be difficult task for different agencies as everyone forms their own idea/thought about education and about the policies that need to be implemented. Educators must advocate for our students, especially for our special population students. People’s perception about children with disabilities is that they cannot and will not do well in school and in life. They are convinced that they have the truth and will not accept anyone else’s ideas/thoughts as being valid and accurate.  

If we want to work together to help our students succeed, we must be willing to communicate with people that may not share the same opinion. Making sure student’s classroom environment is one where positivism, caring, diversity, love, collaboration is welcome and accepted will promote safe environment to learn.  We must learn to accept other’s opinions even if we think they are wrong. We must allow them to tell their stories. We must make sure that we do not exclude the voices of people with disabilities. Allowing students to tell their stories, and share their goals and aspirations in a judgement free environment, will empower them. They will achieve as they fell included. They will also feel dignified. People with disabilities must feel dignified and honor, they deserve to be treated just as a non-disabled person would.

FNED 502 Social Issues in education

June 14, 2018

 

Dis/ability critical race studies (DisCrit): theorizing at the intersections of race and dis/ability
Written by Subini Ancy Annamma, David Connor, and Beth Ferri

 

In the article, Connor and Ferri used the term "dis/ability," as a way "to counter the emphasis on having a whole person be represented by what he or she cannot do, rather than what he or she can.  The article also discusses how disrupt notions of the fixity and permanency of the concept of disability analyzes the entire context in which a person functions" DisCrit focuses on ways that the forces of racism and ableism circulate interdependently, often in neutralized and invisible ways, to uphold notions of normality.  Regarding minority children and education, the article explains how in the United Kingdom, Racism negatively affects education of many minority students.

 

Black Middle Class student’s educational and social experiences in the United Kingdom. Families of whose children receive should/need special education services and supports are denied such services and support simply because of their race. Families of the participant children are denied access to services typically granted to Whites. The authors of this study findings powerfully demonstrate that dis/ability continues to operate as a racialized barrier to equity in English schools.  

 

Race, poverty, and interpreting overrepresentation in special education. In the United States data firmly establish that Blacks and Latinos are disproportionately under-represented. Many students are being labeled as disabled students. When identifying students as in need of specialized services, the family’s socioeconomic status is added to the equation. There has been a significant increase in the rate of childhood disability over the past fourteen years. The impact of the home, school, and family factors (e.g., income, parent education, language background, and cultural diversity) are found in many educational systems across the country.  In many cases children are identifies as a child with a disability simply because these children are affected by poor nutrition, stress, elevated blood lead level, exposure to environmental toxins. Poor families are more likely to live near hazardous waste sites and that exposure influences overly affects poor these children and children of color.

Speaking of how unadjusted disproportionality reflects more than educational practices I would say this: Even if schools treated all students the same, special education identification rates would likely differ across racial and ethnic groups. The disproportionality fact(s) consistently records that children’s outcomes are causally affected by out-of-school factors.  Unfortunately, the exposure to all the above factors are a true prevalence of disability; which may be higher for these students. The impact of poverty on these student’s quality of life is alarming as low levels of achievement are clearly linked to poverty. One in four high school dropouts is unemployed. Today’s youth in poverty, who need skills to match the rapidly changing directions of our society, are failing academically.

 

What can we do as a nation to help the disadvantage children succeed?  We need more comprehensive social policy in order to help our disadvantage children succeed in school. We need to work towards better identification practices in special education. We also need to help states and districts collect and report race- and ethnicity-specific rates. I also know that forcing states to establish uniform standards is dangerously inconsistent with the IDEA mandate of a free and appropriate public education for all.  When identifying another student pushes a district over a risk ratio threshold, the district faces a clear incentive to under identify—that is, to withhold services from—children who already face a broad array of systemic disadvantages. So, instead, we should focus on building a better safety net and reducing child poverty.

We must make sure policymakers work diligently on getting the following policies in order to include and benefit all students.  Expand income support for families, they must reduce food insecurity while improving maternal health and birth outcomes through a robust SNAP program. They have to work hard on maintaining secure children’s access to Medicaid. They must continue to work towards improving the equity and quality of general education in the United States. We all have to work together to encourage school schools and districts to avoid “disproportionality”. We also have to be aware of the fact that schools cannot do this alone. We must not ignore the harsh realities of racial disparities outside of school is likely to hurt those very children advocates seek to protect.

FNED 502 Social Issues in Education

June 11^th, 2018

How to Become Batman

Podcast by Lulu Miller and Alix Spiegel

In their Podcast, Invisibilia hosts Alix Spiegel and Rosin examine the invisible stuff that shapes us.  Both authors argue that when people are positive and have high expectations towards life and others, success is possible as positive thoughts influence how people interact with each other. Could your thoughts influence a rat going through a maze? It’s not telepathy. Its expectancy effects, and how we perceive others’ abilities can actually tweak how they behave, whether they be rat or human. The article also highlights how negativity directly stops us from seeing/achieving success in life. When people try to begin/embark/ take on a new adventure and new activity, people are quick to say, no it is dangerous, you should not do it. You will not SUCCEED. I experienced this many times. People do not want you to be successful. Sometimes I understand where they come from, but I believe in letting people explore and experience new things; which may lead them to become successful.

In order to achieve success in life one must: “Surround ourselves with those who believe in us” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0l08ZpU69A. We must encourage and support (even if we may think it will be dangerous) those who attempt do something different in order to succeed. We must allowed people to freely choose to initiate and activity that will enjoy. Accidents will happen at any moment, but we do not need to freeze and be scared of accomplishing our goals just because we think something bad will happen to us. This podcast clearly show that when people are have dreams and are determined to accomplish their dreams/goals in life, anything will be possible. “Dreams do come try” of course researchers have provided plenty of evidence, which states that it comes to achieving success, people’s social economic status, age, religion, race, color do not matter as long as they are determined to become successful in life.      

 The podcast uses the story of a blind man named Daniel Kish to prove how perseveration, determination, braveness and believing in yourself delivers success.  Mr. Daniel Kish learned to see without his eyes: in short, he was a different kind of Batman. Mr. Kish was born with eye bilateral retinoblastoma (retinal cancer) at a young age (he was just a baby). Daniel Kish has been blind since he was 13 months old, but has learned to "see" using a form of echolocation.  Lulu Miller explains Mr. Daniel Kish clicks his tongue and sends out flashes of sound that bounce off surfaces in the environment and return to him. This helps him to construct an understanding of the space that surrounds him.

On the following Ted Talk 13:03 minute video Mr. Kish explains how he uses Sonar to navigate the World https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kish_how_i_use_sonar_to_navigate_the_world?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare.

In this presentation he talks about how its impressions about blindness that are more threatening to blind people than blindness itself. The thought of blindness terrifies people. Ignorance and fear being blind is incomprehensible for many people. People believe that blind people’s lives is doomed. Mr. Kish encourages people to see life from a different perspective. Blind people are just as capable of accomplishing life goals as someone who can see perfectly.  Mr. Kish explains how people who are blind have enhanced abilities in their other senses. Mr. Kish can hear everything that happens around him. Daniel trained himself to hear the light echoes and interpret their meaning.

Daniel’s mother did not treat her son as someone who was not capable of completing every day activities. She trusted her son’s abilities to figure out how to become a dependent boy. Mrs. Mr. Kish used his devises to figure out how to make things work for him so he could move around and get things done by himself.

Mr. Kish went on to college and became an expert in human echolocation and the President of World Access for the Blind (WAFTB), a California-registered nonprofit organization founded by Mr. Kish in 2000. This Non-profit organization facilitates "the self-directed achievement of people with all forms of blindness" and increase public awareness about their strengths and capabilities.

Daniel Kish and his organization have taught a form of echolocation to at least 500 blind children around the world.  Despite the fact that Daniel’s eyes had to be removed before he was 13 months, he is the first totally blind person to be a legally Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS). He was also the first blind person to hold a National Blindness Professional Certification (NOMC). He also holds master's degrees in developmental psychology and special education from University of California Riverside.accomplishments are a proof that blind people can do anything they set in their minds. They are as capable of accomplishing their social and educational goals as a person whose eyesight is good.  Mr. Kish has proven to us all that blind people are not limited, quite the contrary, blind people will perform and will excel.

Regarding students and learning, teachers need to allow students to become independent learners. We have to believe in them. We have to let them try to complete educational goals by themselves. I also know that this is process that would be a bit difficult at the beginning, but once they are trained and feel comfortable, they will perform and succeed.  Children who are actively engaged in their own education process will definitely become successful lifelong learners just like Mr. Daniel Kish. As caring educators, we must continue to believe, to have high expectations in our student’s potential to succeed. Students will learn to become independent learners and will use the knowledge obtained in class and also outside of class as they interact in life. If we do not believe and inspire them to believe in themselves, they will think they are not worthy of the chance to try.

We surely can help our students fulfill their potential and how do we do that? By having high expectations and by believing in them. Unlike what the Assistant Principal in Pedro Noguera’s article (he predicted that the student who was seating in front of his office future was doomed and dark) he did not believe and had high expectations for his students; therefore had false perceptions about the student’s capabilities to be successful.