Great blogs last week. Although I may not always add to the discussion, I do read every word you write. Be sure to remember to go back to this site and dialogue with your colleagues.
Now, on to Chapters 1 and 2 in the book and start the coin activity. This blog will be due next Monday, September 7.
I will need to post about chapters 1 and 2 later since I left my book at school.
Coins? Love them! I not only have a jar I throw my change into but I have a special decorated container that I keep coins from other countries in. My friends and family have brought me coins from places I have not been. I love how each country is unique in designing their coins. Talk about exposing your culture!
I think I use coins quite a bit. Since I am a non-smoker I use the ashtray of my car from misc coins. These coins are handy for washing the car or misc. expenses as I drive around town. When my daughter loses a tooth the "tooth fairy" brings her 5 one dollar bills and 1 golden dollar for her to save. I also have the jar of change. This jar is raided a few times during the year when my daughter's school is doing pennies for patients, dimes for diabetes and so on.
It is amazing with the amount of coins we end up with though. While watching the food network (of all places) I learned when and why the penny was invented. The penny was almost like a marketing tool to buy gum/candy at the register. A smaller currency than the nickel was needed. So now we have odd prices on things and encourage a nation of "change".
Chapter 1 talks about understanding ourselves and others. This relates to the first video because the children are learning about death and seeing it every day. They mimic shooting guns, say they want to be suicide bombers, and adults volunteer to die. Since the war has been going on for so long the Palestinians feel that this is thier culture and this is what they are supposed to do. The second video had students that were Asian-Americans telling about thier culture and views. Some of them said that they had to define who they were as a political identity others said it was a combination of thier values and they had a great difficulty with this.
Chapter 2 talked about understanding prejudice and its causes. I felt like in the second video the students knew what was causing the predjudice against asians as a whole and they were creating a video to make people aware that they were americans too. Many of them born and raised in American with a combination of values. They also talked about many people segregated themselves from the other asian groups based on color or country of origin. They felt as if their culture as asian-americans were politically uninvolved eventhough, they were all american citizens. In the book it also talked about "white fight". This is when white families are asked to moved to urban and suburban areas to de-segregate schools. This seems to be taking place in Wichita and other large cities in Kansas since they have stopped the desegregation for bussing. Students may not want to attend thier neighborhood schools because there are too many people from another race and parents feel as if thier children are not going to get a good education so they move to another area so that they can be with more white students. It is very sad, but I see it a lot in the schools.
Coins As a society we use coins to purchase things or it is the money that we receive back when we pay cash for something and don't have change. Some people collect coins and it seems as if when something happens in the United States, whether it be something good or bad the government or someone makes a commemorative coin. Some examples of this are: President Obama getting elected, September 11, space shuttle missions, and so on.
At my house we have a piggy bank in my son's bedroom and we have another container in the kitchen. We empty all of the change from our pockets and sort it out. My son gets the quarters and the dimes, the rest goes into the container. When they both get full, we take them to the bank and cash them in. With my son's coins we buy him a new toy or something special. The coins in our kitchen go to "date night" or a special event for us.
I also have coins that I have collected from other countries or really old coins in a special place so that they can get looked at, but never spent. Like Karin, the ashtrays in our vehicles are also full of coins. I tend to use the coins in my car to get a soda or something cool to drink after work. Matt tends to use the coins in the truck for snacks or sometimes gas. The other day Matt was stripping out a car to build for demolition derby and he found many coins under the carpet in the back and the trunk. He also found an Apollo 11 collector's coin. We have been trying to research to find the value of this coin, but at this time, we have been unable to find a coin just like that one on the internet so we will have to do some deeper investigations.
The textbook along with the videos helped me to identify my own misconceptions, stereotypes and prejudices about other cultures. The title of the first video makes you jump to conclusions right away: ISLAM: Brainwashing Palestinian Children, yet Islam is not mentioned more than 2 times in the video. Our book talked about how positive and negative stereotypes hurt our perceptions of people as individuals. As I was watching the video, I kept thinking of negative stereotypes I have of people in the Middle East that have no real source (such as friends from the Middle East) except for the media. Then the newscaster asks the man he is interviewing about how many children he has. He says he has 4 wives and 54 children. That helps this news clip to create more prejudices, which promotes its cause. I was thinking who can keep track of all of those children and how do you be a “real” dad in that culture? However it is very judgmental and wrong to think that I have the right values and he doesn’t because I don’t even know him. Plus maybe not everyone in that culture believes the same way he does. These derisive labels I have created in my own mind are negative. I can see how people form negative views of the US because it occurs readily here through the media about other countries and people of different ethnicities. I do admit that it is very sad the children in the Palestinian city are prone to seeing gun violence what seemed to be on a daily basis. It also saddened me when innocent civilians, not a part of the Islamic group, were pictured with guns and placed on posters promoting the violence when they became a martyr. I think that should be a family’s choice to let their loved ones be or not be on the posters. The news clip was there to inform others, but I have to be aware of the misconceptions, stereotypes, and prejudices that it is revealing in me. The second video was about Asian Americans at Columbia University. Again as I watched this, I was unveiling some stereotypes and prejudices that I have held towards a group of people. This sounds really bad and I apologize, but I never realized how there are so many different Asian Americans. I knew Asia was a big place, but I didn’t realize that there were so many countries there. That shows how I am really bad with geography. As a teacher, when I have an Asian or Asian American student in class, I assume that they will be shy and good at science (because it is intertwined with math concepts). The video exposed that stereotype as being a myth. Once again, we can’t stereotype people because that leads to prejudice which leads to action or inaction. As the book stated, “although prejudice is only an attitude, negative attitudes often lead to negative actions against an individual or a group” (Koppelman, 12). There was another good example in the book of a group trying to overcome their circumstances. It was the scenario where some women business leaders weren’t as effective as their male colleagues. They knew it was because the men had more time away from their families to discuss work (Koppelman, 36). They used that information to benefit themselves instead of being derisive towards the men for their success. They planned monthly times to get together, where childcare was provided so that they could “create advantage for themselves” (Koppelman, 36). Knowledge of prejudices and privilege can help us to create solutions that are peaceful for all.
Karen, I liked your comment about the pennies for buying gum at cash registers. I never knew that! Leasa, I'm glad you've mentioned the concept of "white flight" from the book. I think that has destroyed some cities and why the real estate in some places is not at the price in which it should be in comparison with similar homes. When Andy and I were buying our first home, we almost bought a home in a diverse neighborhood. In the back of my mind I was actually thinking, if we buy this house, will we be able to sell it when we move away? It's very sad that people have to question that when we are all humans, no one is perfect and we should treat each other equally.
Becky, I just wanted to say I really appreciate your honesty. I had the same reaction about the dad having 54 kids and didn’t even realize that I was judging him that second. I like to think I’m not quick to judge, but just like that quote from Edward Murrow says (page 36), “Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices-just recognize them.”
The Islam video reminded me of the first chapter that discusses how forming beliefs leads to attitudes, which then leads to our choices. These children are learning from a young age what to believe which creates their negative attitudes and causes them to want to become suicide bombers. It makes me wonder if these kids actually decide on their own beliefs when they grow up or if the way they are taught stays with them for life.
What I remember from my first multicultural class is that everyone is a person first and a something else second. So, I can say I have a friend that is handicapped, but not say a handicapped friend. I found this example on page 18 where the first paragraph does it incorrectly, but does it right the rest of the page. I thought it was funny how the word “handicapped” was lobbied to be removed from common bureaucratic usage. I feel like this word will be removed to be replaced by another word that will eventually mean the same thing. Then they’ll lobby to have that word removed. I understand it may have a negative connotation, even though I’ve never thought it meant a person who couldn’t take care of themselves, but it does mean what it’s suppose to; a physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of daily living more difficult. How do we know the next word they choose won’t end up the same way? Instead of lobby to have it removed, why not help change how the word is used?
The second video reminded me of chapter 2, discussing why stereotypes cause prejudice due to uncertainty. We tend to believe stereotypes because of our lack of knowledge. They used quite a few examples of people thinking why the lower classes was there, because they didn’t try hard enough and it’s there own fault for staying there. I know some may disagree with me, but I feel that some people use this stereotype in opposition to the healthcare policy we keep hearing about today. Due to people’s lack of knowledge of others in the lower classes, they tend to believe this stereotype instead of getting to know the people. At the same time, I thought the phrase “where’s there’s a will, there’s a way” was taken too far out of context. It’s supposed to be motivating for people and not used as a scapegoat.
I also thought it was funny that they asked “how would you identify yourself” in the video and not “where are you from,” “what box do you check for ethnicity,” etc.
I find coins useful for the little things. It’s the change I get back after buying a burger. It’s used for that piece of gum in the vending machine. I get a quick game of Pac-Man in before dinner. While shopping, I keep the little kids happy by buying them a ride in a helicopter or with Snoopy. I’ve never thrown away pennies, but if I get too much to keep in my pocket, I stash it in my jar to later be surprised how much I’ve saved. I collected coins and stamps when I was a kid. I still have them stored away somewhere. I remember keeping my Dad’s penny book when he wanted to get rid of it. I also money from other countries I’ve visited, but that’s just Canada and Mexico.
Pinky, you have a good point about the word for handicapped when you said, "Instead of lobby to have it removed, why not help change how the word is used?". I totally agree that a new term would eventually have to be changed as well. Also, when you said the phrase "when there's a will there's a way" was taken out of context, I was thinking the same thing.
The video of the Palestinian kids was eye opening. It is hard to watch this and think things such as “how can they raise their kids to hate like that” or “oh my, we are going to have more killing on our hands because of this”. These kids live in an area where it takes everything you have to survive but that is second to defeating their enemies. I cannot imagine raising my child in a war zone such as this one. I will say that try to understand the culture. When possible I try to read fiction and non-fiction stories relating to this culture. Having a frame of reference I think helps to ensure that there are fewer stereotypes and prejudice. The second video about the Asian-American culture was interesting. Here is a group that is so vast that it cannot be truly defined. I mean, seriously, look at all the countries Asia encompasses. I see the conflict though in that these students do not want to lose their heritage. These students want to be proud of their culture and heritage and are wary of others that they may not understand. In chapter 1, clarifying the difference between race, ethnicity and nationality was helpful. I find myself trying to use the correct term and see that often I am way off the mark.
Chapter 2
The video of the Asian students perspective I thought was interesting. I can say that I have had the occasion to prejudice myself. I have had many Asian-American students in class and tend to always see them as highly intelligent and good in school overall. Becky mentioned something along these lines as well. What I see in most of the Asian-American families I have worked with though is that the family dynamics is such to highly value education. Perhaps if other cultures did the same this would not be a prejudice. Reading through Chapter 2 I could not help but notice that our country has had its fair share of prejudice and discrimination. I found myself nodding when reading about female and racial discrimination. The part on the book that discussed how prejudice is fostered was interesting. Being raised in a large Hispanic area, I have vague memories of prejudice comments. The only term that comes to mind was “wet-back” and then even people of Hispanic descent used this as a way of separating themselves from the migrant workers. It is an interesting conundrum.
Pinky said... The Islam video reminded me of the first chapter that discusses how forming beliefs leads to attitudes, which then leads to our choices. These children are learning from a young age what to believe which creates their negative attitudes and causes them to want to become suicide bombers. It makes me wonder if these kids actually decide on their own beliefs when they grow up or if the way they are taught stays with them for life.
I have to agree with this.. its scary to see just how much influence on children can affect society.
Great blogs last week. Although I may not always add to the discussion, I do read every word you write. Be sure to remember to go back to this site and dialogue with your colleagues.
ReplyDeleteNow, on to Chapters 1 and 2 in the book and start the coin activity. This blog will be due next Monday, September 7.
I will need to post about chapters 1 and 2 later since I left my book at school.
ReplyDeleteCoins? Love them! I not only have a jar I throw my change into but I have a special decorated container that I keep coins from other countries in. My friends and family have brought me coins from places I have not been. I love how each country is unique in designing their coins. Talk about exposing your culture!
I think I use coins quite a bit. Since I am a non-smoker I use the ashtray of my car from misc coins. These coins are handy for washing the car or misc. expenses as I drive around town. When my daughter loses a tooth the "tooth fairy" brings her 5 one dollar bills and 1 golden dollar for her to save. I also have the jar of change. This jar is raided a few times during the year when my daughter's school is doing pennies for patients, dimes for diabetes and so on.
It is amazing with the amount of coins we end up with though. While watching the food network (of all places) I learned when and why the penny was invented. The penny was almost like a marketing tool to buy gum/candy at the register. A smaller currency than the nickel was needed. So now we have odd prices on things and encourage a nation of "change".
Chapter 1 talks about understanding ourselves and others. This relates to the first video because the children are learning about death and seeing it every day. They mimic shooting guns, say they want to be suicide bombers, and adults volunteer to die. Since the war has been going on for so long the Palestinians feel that this is thier culture and this is what they are supposed to do. The second video had students that were Asian-Americans telling about thier culture and views. Some of them said that they had to define who they were as a political identity others said it was a combination of thier values and they had a great difficulty with this.
ReplyDeleteChapter 2 talked about understanding prejudice and its causes. I felt like in the second video the students knew what was causing the predjudice against asians as a whole and they were creating a video to make people aware that they were americans too. Many of them born and raised in American with a combination of values. They also talked about many people segregated themselves from the other asian groups based on color or country of origin. They felt as if their culture as asian-americans were politically uninvolved eventhough, they were all american citizens.
In the book it also talked about "white fight". This is when white families are asked to moved to urban and suburban areas to de-segregate schools. This seems to be taking place in Wichita and other large cities in Kansas since they have stopped the desegregation for bussing. Students may not want to attend thier neighborhood schools because there are too many people from another race and parents feel as if thier children are not going to get a good education so they move to another area so that they can be with more white students. It is very sad, but I see it a lot in the schools.
Coins
As a society we use coins to purchase things or it is the money that we receive back when we pay cash for something and don't have change. Some people collect coins and it seems as if when something happens in the United States, whether it be something good or bad the government or someone makes a commemorative coin. Some examples of this are: President Obama getting elected, September 11, space shuttle missions, and so on.
At my house we have a piggy bank in my son's bedroom and we have another container in the kitchen. We empty all of the change from our pockets and sort it out. My son gets the quarters and the dimes, the rest goes into the container. When they both get full, we take them to the bank and cash them in. With my son's coins we buy him a new toy or something special. The coins in our kitchen go to "date night" or a special event for us.
I also have coins that I have collected from other countries or really old coins in a special place so that they can get looked at, but never spent. Like Karin, the ashtrays in our vehicles are also full of coins. I tend to use the coins in my car to get a soda or something cool to drink after work. Matt tends to use the coins in the truck for snacks or sometimes gas.
The other day Matt was stripping out a car to build for demolition derby and he found many coins under the carpet in the back and the trunk. He also found an Apollo 11 collector's coin. We have been trying to research to find the value of this coin, but at this time, we have been unable to find a coin just like that one on the internet so we will have to do some deeper investigations.
The textbook along with the videos helped me to identify my own misconceptions, stereotypes and prejudices about other cultures. The title of the first video makes you jump to conclusions right away: ISLAM: Brainwashing Palestinian Children, yet Islam is not mentioned more than 2 times in the video. Our book talked about how positive and negative stereotypes hurt our perceptions of people as individuals. As I was watching the video, I kept thinking of negative stereotypes I have of people in the Middle East that have no real source (such as friends from the Middle East) except for the media. Then the newscaster asks the man he is interviewing about how many children he has. He says he has 4 wives and 54 children. That helps this news clip to create more prejudices, which promotes its cause. I was thinking who can keep track of all of those children and how do you be a “real” dad in that culture? However it is very judgmental and wrong to think that I have the right values and he doesn’t because I don’t even know him. Plus maybe not everyone in that culture believes the same way he does. These derisive labels I have created in my own mind are negative. I can see how people form negative views of the US because it occurs readily here through the media about other countries and people of different ethnicities. I do admit that it is very sad the children in the Palestinian city are prone to seeing gun violence what seemed to be on a daily basis. It also saddened me when innocent civilians, not a part of the Islamic group, were pictured with guns and placed on posters promoting the violence when they became a martyr. I think that should be a family’s choice to let their loved ones be or not be on the posters. The news clip was there to inform others, but I have to be aware of the misconceptions, stereotypes, and prejudices that it is revealing in me.
ReplyDeleteThe second video was about Asian Americans at Columbia University. Again as I watched this, I was unveiling some stereotypes and prejudices that I have held towards a group of people. This sounds really bad and I apologize, but I never realized how there are so many different Asian Americans. I knew Asia was a big place, but I didn’t realize that there were so many countries there. That shows how I am really bad with geography. As a teacher, when I have an Asian or Asian American student in class, I assume that they will be shy and good at science (because it is intertwined with math concepts). The video exposed that stereotype as being a myth. Once again, we can’t stereotype people because that leads to prejudice which leads to action or inaction. As the book stated, “although prejudice is only an attitude, negative attitudes often lead to negative actions against an individual or a group” (Koppelman, 12). There was another good example in the book of a group trying to overcome their circumstances. It was the scenario where some women business leaders weren’t as effective as their male colleagues. They knew it was because the men had more time away from their families to discuss work (Koppelman, 36). They used that information to benefit themselves instead of being derisive towards the men for their success. They planned monthly times to get together, where childcare was provided so that they could “create advantage for themselves” (Koppelman, 36). Knowledge of prejudices and privilege can help us to create solutions that are peaceful for all.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I liked your comment about the pennies for buying gum at cash registers. I never knew that!
ReplyDeleteLeasa, I'm glad you've mentioned the concept of "white flight" from the book. I think that has destroyed some cities and why the real estate in some places is not at the price in which it should be in comparison with similar homes. When Andy and I were buying our first home, we almost bought a home in a diverse neighborhood. In the back of my mind I was actually thinking, if we buy this house, will we be able to sell it when we move away? It's very sad that people have to question that when we are all humans, no one is perfect and we should treat each other equally.
Becky, I just wanted to say I really appreciate your honesty. I had the same reaction about the dad having 54 kids and didn’t even realize that I was judging him that second. I like to think I’m not quick to judge, but just like that quote from Edward Murrow says (page 36), “Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices-just recognize them.”
ReplyDeleteThe Islam video reminded me of the first chapter that discusses how forming beliefs leads to attitudes, which then leads to our choices. These children are learning from a young age what to believe which creates their negative attitudes and causes them to want to become suicide bombers. It makes me wonder if these kids actually decide on their own beliefs when they grow up or if the way they are taught stays with them for life.
ReplyDeleteWhat I remember from my first multicultural class is that everyone is a person first and a something else second. So, I can say I have a friend that is handicapped, but not say a handicapped friend. I found this example on page 18 where the first paragraph does it incorrectly, but does it right the rest of the page. I thought it was funny how the word “handicapped” was lobbied to be removed from common bureaucratic usage. I feel like this word will be removed to be replaced by another word that will eventually mean the same thing. Then they’ll lobby to have that word removed. I understand it may have a negative connotation, even though I’ve never thought it meant a person who couldn’t take care of themselves, but it does mean what it’s suppose to; a physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of daily living more difficult. How do we know the next word they choose won’t end up the same way? Instead of lobby to have it removed, why not help change how the word is used?
The second video reminded me of chapter 2, discussing why stereotypes cause prejudice due to uncertainty. We tend to believe stereotypes because of our lack of knowledge. They used quite a few examples of people thinking why the lower classes was there, because they didn’t try hard enough and it’s there own fault for staying there. I know some may disagree with me, but I feel that some people use this stereotype in opposition to the healthcare policy we keep hearing about today. Due to people’s lack of knowledge of others in the lower classes, they tend to believe this stereotype instead of getting to know the people. At the same time, I thought the phrase “where’s there’s a will, there’s a way” was taken too far out of context. It’s supposed to be motivating for people and not used as a scapegoat.
I also thought it was funny that they asked “how would you identify yourself” in the video and not “where are you from,” “what box do you check for ethnicity,” etc.
I find coins useful for the little things. It’s the change I get back after buying a burger. It’s used for that piece of gum in the vending machine. I get a quick game of Pac-Man in before dinner. While shopping, I keep the little kids happy by buying them a ride in a helicopter or with Snoopy. I’ve never thrown away pennies, but if I get too much to keep in my pocket, I stash it in my jar to later be surprised how much I’ve saved. I collected coins and stamps when I was a kid. I still have them stored away somewhere. I remember keeping my Dad’s penny book when he wanted to get rid of it. I also money from other countries I’ve visited, but that’s just Canada and Mexico.
Pinky, you have a good point about the word for handicapped when you said, "Instead of lobby to have it removed, why not help change how the word is used?". I totally agree that a new term would eventually have to be changed as well. Also, when you said the phrase "when there's a will there's a way" was taken out of context, I was thinking the same thing.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1
ReplyDeleteThe video of the Palestinian kids was eye opening. It is hard to watch this and think things such as “how can they raise their kids to hate like that” or “oh my, we are going to have more killing on our hands because of this”. These kids live in an area where it takes everything you have to survive but that is second to defeating their enemies. I cannot imagine raising my child in a war zone such as this one. I will say that try to understand the culture. When possible I try to read fiction and non-fiction stories relating to this culture. Having a frame of reference I think helps to ensure that there are fewer stereotypes and prejudice. The second video about the Asian-American culture was interesting. Here is a group that is so vast that it cannot be truly defined. I mean, seriously, look at all the countries Asia encompasses. I see the conflict though in that these students do not want to lose their heritage. These students want to be proud of their culture and heritage and are wary of others that they may not understand. In chapter 1, clarifying the difference between race, ethnicity and nationality was helpful. I find myself trying to use the correct term and see that often I am way off the mark.
Chapter 2
The video of the Asian students perspective I thought was interesting. I can say that I have had the occasion to prejudice myself. I have had many Asian-American students in class and tend to always see them as highly intelligent and good in school overall. Becky mentioned something along these lines as well. What I see in most of the Asian-American families I have worked with though is that the family dynamics is such to highly value education. Perhaps if other cultures did the same this would not be a prejudice. Reading through Chapter 2 I could not help but notice that our country has had its fair share of prejudice and discrimination. I found myself nodding when reading about female and racial discrimination. The part on the book that discussed how prejudice is fostered was interesting. Being raised in a large Hispanic area, I have vague memories of prejudice comments. The only term that comes to mind was “wet-back” and then even people of Hispanic descent used this as a way of separating themselves from the migrant workers. It is an interesting conundrum.
Pinky said...
ReplyDeleteThe Islam video reminded me of the first chapter that discusses how forming beliefs leads to attitudes, which then leads to our choices. These children are learning from a young age what to believe which creates their negative attitudes and causes them to want to become suicide bombers. It makes me wonder if these kids actually decide on their own beliefs when they grow up or if the way they are taught stays with them for life.
I have to agree with this.. its scary to see just how much influence on children can affect society.