Blog #10 Comparing semester literature to placement

This year has been extremely enlightening when it comes to learning about social justice in the school setting. We were all placed in an urban setting Lisa Delpit: The Culture of power is created by the teacher. At my placement the teacher is the absolute leader of the class. She has created an environment for the bilingual students to also be leaders in the class. By placing them in the middle of the class with the other students around them. They will go assist during both math and reading lessons to translate and actually teach the lessons tot the other students. Jonathan Kozol: There are two students that openly talk about their parent partying at their home and always wreaking of marijuana. When I put myself in their shoes, I try and be compassionate to them and show them empathy for their situation. But the students seem to like that their parents openly do this. They have become conditioned to this behavior of their parent. Aria (Rodriguez): The teacher allows the students to speak in their native language to answer questions. She has the bilingual students translate. The teeadcher encourages the students to be able to carry on during lessons because they are more comfortable and come to better conclusions.

Understanding the importance of gender identity Blog 10

In watching "Woke read alouds" it brought me back to my youth when my mother was a professional dancer on Broadway. I was a young boy between the ages of 9 and 12 when I would visit her in New York City. Most of her friends were non-binary. I would sit around with them and try to understand what they were saying, but the words (queer, gay, bi-sexual) would go straight over my head. Most of the terms they used then are no longer accepted, but they did teach me how to respect the feelings of all. I feel like these encounters as a young man have helped me in my nursing career today. While my verbage has improved over the years to be more politically correct. I have always respected all people and their personal preferences. I find it alarming when I hear stories of violence and hate crimes towards LGBTQ. All people have the right to express themselves or love anyone they feel love for. I do not understand why people feel the need to cast their beliefs on others. In watching Woke Read alouds, the importance of understanding gender identity is eloquently presented. I feel like it makes sense to refer to a person by the name they want to be called and the gender they identify with.

Ableism Blog 9

Ableism is the cowardly act of discrimination against people with disabilities. When a person that does not have a disability feels lika a person with a disbility is "less than" you have ableism. In this writers opinion, society is afraid of what is not considered "normal behaviors or actions". So people with disabilities of any type are treated differently from the moment they are born. They are looked at differently as babies, toddlers, children, and adults. Put in special classrooms at school. Told they will not be able to succeed at life. Where does all this negativity towards people with disabilities begin. I can not help to think of this story when thinking about ableism. I have been a little league baseball coach for children in the age group of 9 to 12 for almost 30 years. There was a person (For name purposes I will use AA) that lived right next to the baseball field my all star team practiced at every summer. AA had numerous physical and mental disabilities. AA would come out to watch practice every single day. Retrieve all the balls that went over the fenceand cheer for the players whether they did something right or wrong on the field. One day at the end of practice one of the players from my all star team asked me to throw a few pitches to AA. What I witnessed from the players was truly inspirational. The whole all star team took the field to play defense. As I am throwing pitches AA is making contact, albeit soft contact and my team is rooting him on like he was Babe Ruth. I yell out last pitch run this one out. AA hit the ball and began to make way around the bases. The whole team was yelling and cheering AA all the way around the bases until AA touched home base, where the team mobbed AA like they had just won the championship. Every kid had humongous smiles, laughing and chanting AA's name. I was literally moved to tears by the diplay of affection they had shown AA. From that day forward for the next 4 to 5 years AA would show up at every practice with the same outcome at the end of pratice. Was this a form of ableism? I do not believe so. I believe it was an act of kindness and gratitude towards a person that would retrieve balls and root the ballplayers on. Yes all the ballplayers knew that AA had numerous disabilities, but they were children making another child feel great.