I really liked this article, and think it has a lot to do with what I want to write about in my final paper. Looking at the stereotypes that were mentioned, I realized how present these really are in society today. Especially the on about the Asian girl named Caty, and how the teacher just assumped that she was smart becuase she was asian, little did she know that Caty had not gotten her math figures correct. I just really think this article got me to think a little more about sterotypes that I really had never really given much thought to but when thinking about being a teacher I should really take more consideration in. I think their are things that white teachers don't even realize they are stereotyping until they are really pointed out, becuase it has just been something that they have grown up with.

I feel that the world we live in today is much more accepting of personal difference then in the past. Schools are filled with children from all different racial and cultural backgrounds. Among these differences there is also social class and religion. I feel that in schools today it is important for teachers to really know their students on an individual bases and not judge them according to a class that they may fall into. In the past people were raised to dislike certain groups of people and these images are still brushed off on our children today. I feel that it is a teacher’s responsibility to have the same goals and expectations for each student, and assess them on their own differences rather then making assumptions. For cultural competence, I believe that the teacher needs to be very aware of what children she or he is teaching. The teacher should find out things about these other cultures other then their own and try to display this in his/her teachings. Trying to incorporate other nationalities and cultures in the classroom are important. I feel this would help children feel comfortable and also allow for them to be proud of what they have come from; it would give them the opportunity to express themselves and not be ashamed.Sociopolitical consciousness is also important in the classroom. In order to teach children, I think that a teacher needs to be aware of the world around, it is important that they are knowledgeable about social justice and social matters to demonstrate this in their teaching.

What exactly does Diversity mean today in schools?

"today, notions of diversity are broader and more complex. Not only are the students more likely to be multiractial or mulitethnic but they are also likely to be diverse along linguistic, religious, ability, and economic lines that matter in today's schools"
This is different from the olden days, teachers today have to teach children who represent an incredible range of diveristy. Not only are student of different races and ethnicities but there are students whose parents are incarcerated or drug-addicted, whose parents have never held a steady job. These issues can pose problems with dealing with these children. Children are now labeled with varies disabilites and have to struggle with these lables. Diverisity is not just a race issue anymore. Children come into classrooms with money issues also, you can have an extremely rich, and on the other end extremely poor child in the same room. It will be the teachers responsiblity to make sure that both of these students are treated equally and fairly when at this mutal place. That is what I think Ladson-Billings is trying to say when talking about diversity today. That it is much different then in the past, yet we still need to treat all these issues equally and fairly so that all students feel free and welcome.

Blog 4

Why was literacy and education so important for Enslaved Africans in America?


Literacy and Education were very important for the slaves to receive because with the power of oral or written language they had more opportunities to escape to freedom and have more rights. When the first slaves were brought to America from Africa they had little to no oral language, they were stripped of their names and given new names. They were placed on plantations were “plantation owners were in constant fear of slave revolts and, consequently, denied their workers any form of education”, it was said that “there was a general fear that literacy would expose the slaves to abolition”. As a result a law was passed that it was a crime to educate slaves. This is why slaves struggled to reach equality. It was important for them to learn to read and write because with this power they were able to understand more things and in some cases they were then able to purchase their own freedom. Even after they were “freed” they still had to struggle with things such as “in various northern colonies, free blacks were barred from voting, attending the militia, sitting on juries”. Education was hard for the free blacks to obtain; they were segregated from the white schools and given very little funding. Without this funding and being segregated, education was a fight for these people. Through time and effort the black people eventually were granted the choice of attending white schools and were given many more rights.

Blog 3

I found that both of these articles were very interesting to read. Growing up in school I was never really taught about the hardships that these Native American Indians had really gone through. I thought Zinn’s article had a lot of sentiment and emotion, he was very forward and flat out told of the struggles, and massacres that these Indians really had gone through. He told of the harshness and brutal ways these people were treated, he did not beat around the bush rather painted a vivid picture of the hardships these Indians went through to fight for equality. Throughout my life I had believed that Christopher Columbus was this good guy would found America; little did I realize he wasn’t that great of a man. I thought the National Museum of the American Indian was a lot subtler in their descriptions of what went on, but I feel that is necessary and more appropriate for a high school text. It was a lot less disturbing and easier to read then Zinn’s article, even though they were talking about the same thing. This was interesting considering the historiography was factual in both readings, but Zinn went about it with a much more brutal description which would be more appropriate for older readers. I thought the National Museum of the American Indian was a very important read for high school students…it brings up a lot of good points and has good facts that are important for students to learn.

Letter of Thomas L. McKenny

Native Americans: Deculturalization, schooling, and Globalization.

I am going to choose the character of Thomas L. McKenny.

For many years I have been trying to culturally transform the schooling of Native Americans. I feel that the creation of tribal school systems operated by white missionary teacher would culturally transform Native Americans in one generation. I strongly feel that this is the key. I have been trying to pass the Civilization Fund Act and have succeeded, this act will provide money to help support schools amoung Indian tribes. A downfall to my efforts to support this act is, I have negelected to consider that some tribal members may resent this attempt for cultural transformation. My hopes in introducting this act is that Native American children will be instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic. Through my efforts the government has agreed to provide $10,000 dollars to be used to fund the formation of these schools. I feel it is necessary that these indian schools be distributed thought the country, were it will be equal for all children to be instructed in reading, writing and arithmetic, mechanics and the arts. I hope my efforts will aid in the improvment of deculturazation and assist in the development of these Indian children.
Thomas L. McKenny

I thought this was a very interesting reading and beneficial to me in learning how education got brought up into some cultures such as Native Americans.

Solidarity, courage and heart

Solidarity, courage and heart: what teacher educators can learn from a new generation of teachers. By Sonia Nieto


At first I really didn't like this article, I thought it was kinda boring but as I read more I really felt the author brought up some really good points and questions about how to improve both teacher education and classroom practices. I liked when she said " good teachers make the single greatest difference in promoting or deterring student achievement" I feel this is so true. If a teacher is boring and does not really respect their students why would the students want to learn more. But if the teacher is respectful and encourages the students to learn by providing them with fun hands on activities they are more likely to be willing to learn more.

I really liked some of the personal stories that she wrote in the paper. I always feel more inspired when I read something that happened in real life. I think hearing personal stories are more influentinal in learning to become a good teacher, because its not going to be a walk in the park, and problems will arise and its nice to see how others may go about dealing with situations. I also liked in the paper that she was not trying to say that this is the correct way to teach and that everyone should follow what she says...she was just giving ideas. I liked the checklist she posted at the end about what she thought were good things that schools should consider to make a more diverse environment and how it could better student learning with intergration.