Author: Richard Rodriguez 

Article: Aria

Type of Blog: Reflection 

              I found this story to be very interesting. I only know one language myself, and I've always wanted to learn another one. Especially Spanish; my boyfriend's family is from Columbia and they came here when he was very young. He told me that he learned English very quickly by watching cartoons with his sister every morning, but they never stopped speaking Spanish at home. To this day, they only speak Spanish in the home, expect when I am over because I unfortunately, can't speak any. I feel like I was in another world when I was reading this, almost like I understood him better. He never makes a big deal about it, but I am sure coming here, having his whole life turned around was very difficult for him. I never really put much thought into everything people have to go through when they first come into another country. There is so much to learn, and by trying to fit into, its almost like they are giving up their roots. It broke my heart when I read the part when Rodriguez talked about how his family lost their closeness at home. His mother probably felt helpless with her children talking to her less and less. I, for one, am very close to my mom, I tell her everything, she is my best friend. I feel like that was taken away from them as they continued to loose that closeness. This article really opened my eyes to children who are dealing with similar situations, and when I become a teacher, no matter how old the student is, I want to be able to do all I can to make them feel more at home. I looked online and found this program called proenglish and it was pretty interesting, but I don't know if I completely agree with it. What they do is teach children math, science, and history in their native language while they are learning English, that way they do not fall behind. I like the idea of that but at the same time, they are separating these kids! I don't think that is the best thing for them and might make them feel isolated even more.

    

This is a comic I found online and it upsets me but it is the truth. Bilingual education is so important so that these kids do not get left behind. I hate saying that they have to learn the language but our school system is just not built really in any other way. :(

For class, I won't bring up my boyfriend and how similar their two stories are, but what I do want to bring up is the proenglish program that I found. I am very interested to know other peoples ideas on this. What do they think? Do they agree or not? I really like the idea of teaching them the regular courses in their native language, that way they ahead with their other classmates. But I do not think they should separate the kids, I honestly feel like that will make them feel segregated and it will make it harder to feel like they fit in.  

              

White Privilege by McIntosh

Article: White Privilege

Author: Peggy McIntosh

Type of Article: Quotes 

          Quote Number One: "I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege." 

                   

                   This quote directly helps tie the whole article together. It also goes along with what we've been talking about. People who have been going through life with these privileges do not even know that they have them. I think the only way they would be aware of what they have is if it would be taken away from them. Women have been fighting for years to have the same rights as men, and they have come a long way. Men of course like to pretend or like I said before, maybe they do not even know, but they think that already women are seen the same as men. Just like we talked about in class, this is not true. A woman could have better resume, more experience, and could be all around better for a job and just because the other candidate is male, he could get the job solely on that.

             Quote Number Two: "Disapproving of the system won't be enough to change them... Individual acts can palliate, but cannot end these problems."

     

                This quote really helps open my eyes to the real world. It is sad to think that these problems are going to be really hard to change. In my life, I have always liked to think if I work hard enough, I can do it, I can succeed. But in all honestly, I might not. It is hard to think about, but it will be harder to find a job than it will be for a male. Even when I do eventually find a job, promotions will be harder to come by, co-workers and even future students may not have as much respect for me as they do my male counter parts. It is a big problem that we all need to address. Not just male privilege, but white privilege as well. 

              Quote Number Three: "It seems to me that obliviousness about male advantage is kept strongly inculturated in the United States so as to maintain the myth of meritocracy, the myth that democratic choice is equally available to all." 

                This quote is another one that really speaks to me. It just seems so unfair to me that this is the way the world is. Unfortunately, it makes sense; like I talked about earlier, men do not realize the natural privilege that they have. If it were to suddenly be taken away from them, they would have an outrage. It their eyes, it would probably be like the world is crumbling. So of course those in charge would try to make sure that in everyday life this is seen as how the world is supposed to be. The world is rigged so the ones in charge stay in charge. I found this awesome article online that shows some of the ways males have it easier. 

     

I found this picture of a quote online and I thought it just spoke very loudly and clearly about what having privilege is like.

In this article, I really liked how it really dug deep into privileges and about all the privileges that people have and they do not even realize it. In class, I plan to bring up my feelings on how much I hate to admit to being a feminist, but reading things like this just make me mad! I strongly feel that everyone should have the same chances and should be seen the same no matter the gender or the color of an individual. Seeing all of the better opportunities that males have just for simply being male just really angers me. They do not have to worry about things the way women do, their lives are just simply easier. It is going to take a very long time for changes to be made, but we have to stay strong and we have to keep talking about it and trying to dig down so we can fix these problems.

Kristoff Reading Reflection

        Article: U.S.A, Land of Limitations?
   Author: Nicholas Kristof
   Type of Post: Reflection

              This article I feel is very strongly related to me. I am from Pawtucket, Rhode Island and I am the first of my family to attend college. I feel as though they have very high hopes for me, which honestly stresses me out a lot, but I am focusing turning my dreams into goals and I will succeed. My grandparents grew up very poor and learned how to make the most of what they had. They lived by the phrase, "waste not, want not" and even though they are past though hard times, they still continue to live on these words today. My Mom wants so much for me, I think out of everyone she is the one who is pushing me the most. It is a very hard journey, I feel that most people that are in my shoes feel the pressure. The pressure of letting not just their families and their future children, or maybe even present children, but themselves as well. It is almost like the world is rooting for your failure but you have to prove it wrong. It is extremely tough, and I have friends who have more opportunity's than I have, offers to pay their children through school, and they do not take it. They stay at home with their family and have their parents just pay their way through everything. My mom would kill me, honestly. This text makes me think about how life is not fair and maybe there is a way that people who are in the lower class have a better chance of making it to the top. Everyone deserves an equal chance to succeed and it is not fair that, that is not the way of the world. If you check out my city's statistics, you will see that out of Pawtucket, only 17.6 percent of the people living here have earned a bachelors degree or higher. 

If you see in this image that I found, Rhode Island does not have the highest amount of college graduates. Maybe there is something we can do to help more students push through and succeed. 

  My points that I will discuss in the next class are one, are there any ways that we can help these statistics go up? How can we make it so people can move up the ladder? It truly is not fair how people do not go through life with the same opportunities. Second, I want to talk about how it is true how everyone goes through life differently. It is hard to understand why people do things when you can't see inside their heads. It is just like we read with Delpit, some people have power and just are better set up for success while others aren't as lucky. It really all has to do with who's family you are born into. White, black, rich, poor, it has everything to do with how you live with life and how you see the world around you. 

About Me

Hello! 

             This first blog is all about me, as you may have read in the title, haha. So I have picked a few pictures to show you a little bit about me. 

This first picture is my little sister and I. She has a twin, but I can never get her to take a picture with me. They are both six years old and are about to turn seven. Their names are Alexandra and Cassandra and the one pictured here with me is Alexandra, who we just call Alex for short. These girls mean a lot to mean and take up a lot of my time when I am not in school.

My Sister Alex and I

 This next picture is a picture of my boyfriend Richard and I skiing. We go every winter and I really cannot wait to do it again this winter. Most people hate this season, but I love it and all the things you can do during this time of year that you can't usually do. We go skiing at a lot of different mountains, but Richard taught me to ski at Wachusett. Skiing is by far one of my favorite hobbies.

My Boyfriend and I on a Ski Lift

         Coming up next, I'll talk about something or someone I hold dear and near to my heart, my cat. Yes, I am one of those girls that go on and  on about their cat. I can't help it though! He is just so cute! I rescued him at the Providence Center two years ago. He was a special needs cat due to being abused and left abandoned at his old home; which I do not know how anyone can abuse any animal never mind this cat. Not only is he absolutely adorable but he is the biggest love bug in the whole world.

My Cat Milo 

So the next thing I'll talk about is my two best friends in the entire world, Melissa and Eddie. I spent almost all of my summer with these two, beach trips, watching movies at the drive in, and just trying to enjoy the warm weather.

Eddie, Melissa, and I at the Beach

Lastly, I guess I will just some up and add a few last details about myself. By the way, it is very weird to sit here and write about myself, but I'm sure I am not the only one that feels that way. Anyways, I work at Target Mobile as a Mobile Representative, so if you need any help with your current phone or may be interested in getting a new phone, you can come talk to me. My favorite colors are blue and green, I can't decide which one I like better. My favorite band is The Beatles and my favorite TV show is American Horror Story. I am a huge medieval nerd and hit all of the medieval fairs including King Richard's Faire  that is coming up to Carver this month. If you have never been, I suggest you go, it is a lot of fun. I want to be a history teacher one day and eventually get my doctorate in the field to eventually become a college professor, but I do think that I would like to teach in a high school for a few years first. Well, I think that is it. So I hope you enjoyed reading my "about me".