the off-hand comments...

When thinking back on the clubs that were found in my high school, I can honestly say that there was nothing that was supportive or even took notice of anything like the LGBT clubs that I have noticed more on campus. It is so frustrating to me how many students are so permanently upset or hurt because of the hateful comments that people can make in reference to sexual orientation. I think that it’s important that students also see how off-hand comments are also necessary to watch closely. I cannot even begin to say how many times I have heard the expression “that’s so gay…” and after learning so much about the topic of gender, it continues to be frustrating. Another comment that has always bothered me a lot is when students, or people in general say that something is “retarded.” One summer I got to work with campers, some of whom were mentally retarded and that saying really bothers me a lot. I feel like the more that I look at things from the eyes of a future teacher, they are opened to how hurtful comments and discussions can be for students. How can we be openly more accepting of students who face this kind of persistent abuse? I know that I have heard both of those comments multiple times a day since I was in the seventh grade. It’s hurtful, and honestly, those comments also make a student feel uncomfortable in the school environment, which should be a safe haven in my opinion. If students do not feel like their personal lives are protected, how can we expect them to want to learn the material that we are teaching them? I know for me, even a bad fight with my mom made my entire school day difficult to endure. So what about those kids who constantly hear in a derogatory manner, that their sexual orientation is not accepted?

cycle of poverty

When students do not have the needed facilities or equipment it really inhibits them from achieving to their utmost potential. If students walk into a school that cannot completely give them the supplies they need to learn even to the basic standards, it lowers their chances of getting into a college and that in and of itself can lower their chances of getting higher paying jobs. For example, if a junior in high school walks into his or her chemistry class but the classroom is not equipped with beakers or Bunsen burners, how is it that the students can accurately perform experiments, which is the core of chemistry? This only continues the cycle of poverty that people become ensnared in everyday. Another way that the facilities that are housing the students can become a weapon against their own education is if the building is falling apart, how can the student be expected to concentrate on what is being taught? If it is just as cold inside as it is outside during the winter months, how can they take in any sort of information? I know that it would be ridiculously difficult for me in that situation. But if the schools are located in counties with low socio-economic statuses, how can they be expected to pay for such outrageous changes that NEED to be made to these schools? They can’t. They cannot pay for fixing the situation, or changing buildings completely, and in the movie, Corridors of Shame, there was a statement made that any of the money that was coming into those schools could not cover basically anything that was necessary. I can totally see how poverty is a cycle that people are trapped in. School systems all around America are falling into these places as well. So how can we stop this? How can we stop hundreds of kids from worrying about the safety of the school that they will be stepping into every single school day for hours on end? Is this one of those projects that will take one school at a time to fix, or is there a way to help all of the schools in one piece of legislature? I’m glad that the state of South Carolina has at least recognized the need to change. But it is about time that they step up to the plate and act.

obesity in the U.S.

My roommate and I have recently been watching “The Biggest Loser” on television and so I have learned a lot about obesity and the physical effects that it has on people and it breaks my heart that children are being sucked into this lifestyle at such a young age. It is truly a cycle that is very difficult to break, and as I have been watching on “The Biggest Loser” the emotional baggage that accompanies the weight that many of these people put on is huge. The ridicule that most of them went through as kids (because many of them have been overweight all their life) among many other things that they have had to deal with is incredibly sad. To think that children in elementary school are facing this dilemma is terrifying.

So, when we read the article on obesity this week, I saw if from a different perspective because I had just heard stories of some people who have battled their weight for their entire lives, and they shared some of the impacts that it had on them. While I can understand how the percentages are broken down in the article, it makes sense, especially the part about how lower socio-economic level homes have a more difficult time accessing healthier foods because they are more expensive. It was still shocking to see the numbers of just how many children were overweight or obese. I was glad to see that so many states are taking action to fight this luxury disease that is hitting the United States. I was particularly happy to see that the school system as a whole was part of the plan to change this. For so many children who are part of the lower socio-economic status the healthy food that they can access at school may be the only healthy food they get. And while that is frightening, I think it is definitely a step in the right direction.

the biology behind it all.

I really enjoyed the Biology teaching that was done on Friday. I had no idea that race was not overwhelmingly apparent if anyone were to look at our DNA strands. I also thought it was interesting when in the video they mentioned the Human Genome Project that was done in 2000. Its funny and disappointing at the same time how I tend to overlook the impacts that studies like the Human Genome Project actually have on society. I know that I totally take for granted that my generation has access to all of this new information. It’s a matter of fact that so much research has been done on the human gene and how that contributes to race—and I also realize that so much is yet to be discovered, but still. Wow. How will this difference in knowledge affect me in the classroom? Will it become a thing of the past that race is mentioned at all? I thought it was also good that the group that presented mentioned the better option, which is to concentrate more on ethnic background rather than race. When thinking about this, I know that for me, I’d rather be known as an American than just a white female. I think that when it comes to this point we should be able to not only be more accepting of other cultures, but I also think that we will be able to really have a grasp on how to teach multicultural education. If I can appreciate other ethnic backgrounds and cultures, I think I can better equip my own students who have grown up in an accepting environment to other cultures as a whole. Race in and of itself is such a sticky topic because it has to be handled with care, especially in a classroom, but if people began to look at people from an ethnicity perspective, maybe some of the negative connotations that go along with race could be eradicated as well.