Pecha Kacha

Sex Positivity, Feminism and Health Implications- By: Deirdre O'Donnell

I attended a lecture held at the RIC dining hall. The speaker was Deirdre O'Donnell, a 2013 RIC graduate. She received her degree in Women's Studies. She is continuing school at BU currently for her masters degree. She has experience working with suicide prevention, sexual health, and the pleasure institution.

The main issues that Deirdre addressed included...
 Feminism: social, political, economical, and equal aspects of sexes
Intersectionality
Social Justice
Libertarianism vs. Interventionalist Politics
Health Policy & Law- the ACA- Affordable Care Act
Sex Positivity

Public Health Research

Deirdre brought up facts and statistics about the United States that I never heard before, actually she brought up many things I had never heard before that I found pretty interesting. I learned many new things from O'Donnell but I also was able to make connections to many of the authors we have discussed in FNED.

One of the authors that O'Donnell's ideas reflected was Grinner and her term SCWAAMP. SCWAAMP is a model that represents all of of the ideal norms and values in society. For example, some favored norms in our society are straightness- and maleness, which O'Donnell addressed. After the connection I made with Grinner I realized the similarities that August has to the topic. O'Donnell's ideas relate to August because she introduced the term LGBT and emphasized the significance of understanding the term. She also discussed the issue that are present in society because people do not understand the term LGBT. Lastly, Lisa Delpit can be compared to Deirdre O'Donnell's discussion. O'Donnell brought up women's rights and the issue of society's perception of  women's roles. Her arguments were spot on, they were extremely relevant to Delpit's "rules and codes of power". In society males are seen as having the most power. O'Donnell pointed out that too often in society women are being disrespected.

Comments/ Points to Share: I really enjoyed this lecture it addressed topics that I find really important especially as a woman. These topics are sometimes uncomfortable to talk about but Deirdre made it fun and interesting. She had a great sense of humor I would definitely recommend her lecture!

Education is Politics- By: Ira Shor

Hyperlinks: 

Ira Shor efficently explains the significance of socialization in education. He supports his ideas with the rich experiences that children will encounter as a result socialization in their education. Too many times education consist of an, as Shor describes it a, "one way street" of teacher-student talk. Socialization in education involves, teacher and student dialogue. As an effective teacher it is important to acknowledge the difference between talking and dialogue. Through dialogue students and teachers have the opportunity to exchange thought and ask questions, and overall receive a more valuable education. Bettleheim also points out that by asking the students questions, proves to them that you trust them and believe that they are intelligent. This idea reminded me specifically of Finn and Oakes' ideas on education. Bettleheim's thoughts also made me think of Lisa Delpit.  As Lisa Delpit describes, there is a "culture of power" and those who are not already a participant, must learn the rules and expectations of the culture of power specifically in the educational setting. Yes, I agree it is necessary to teach these rules and codes of society in school. However, I believe that it is equally as important for students to question, "Why?" "Why do we have these expectations?" "Where did they come from?" as Bettleheim believed in Shor's article. Children would benefit greatly from being taught the importance of school and why education is valued. As a future teacher, I am always looking for suggestions on what to include in my classroom and useful tools and techniques to incorporate. This article from Middle Web outlines the characteristics observed in both non-effective classrooms and most effective classrooms. The characteristics of the most effective classrooms reflect the beliefs of Shor and Bettleheim. 

Functions of School Socialization, Cultural Innovation, Integration & Latent Functions 
I felt like this video was relevant to Shor's article because it introduces the term Hidden Curriculum . The term
hidden curriculum relates to the importance of socialization in education because instead of ignoring the hidden curriculum, we must acknowledge it, and inform our students of it in order to encourage students curiosity and questioning as Shor explains. 

Comments/ Points to Share?: If socialization were more incorporated into lower class schools, would more learning take place? Would more students graduate and continue to attend college?

Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome By: Christopher Kliewer

Connections: 

I found this article to be the most interesting one that I have read this semester. Special education is something that I have considered getting my degree in. I hadn't considered that before this semester maybe because I wasn't yet familiar with it and what it really was. After this semester, with my service learning experience being in an inclusion classroom and SPED 300 I have really taken an interest in it. I have learned the importance of placing my attention on what the individual with a disability CAN do rather than focus on their disabilities. 

This week I chose to do my blog based on connections to other text we have read. While reading Kliewer's article I thought of so many of the other topics we have discussed from other texts. I found it especially interesting because at first the title kind of threw me off...Citizenship and Down Syndrome, what the heck do they have in common? But once I started reading and got into it I thought about August, TAL,  and SCWAAMP.

August- In "Safe Spaces" August discusses the issue of acknowledging the LBGT community. She emphasized the importance of including and accepting differing sexualities and making the classroom a safe place for students who are not secure with their sexual identities rather than alienating them. This relates to Kliewer when Shayne Robbins explains, " Its not like they come here to be labeled, or to believe the label." Just like or LGBT community, our disabled community just wants to be included without being looked at and treated differently. 

TAL- "All Lives Matter" discussed the need for the integration of races in schools. The story highlights the need to give all lives despite their race equal values, specifically when it comes to education. The value of of whites is significantly greater then that of blacks. The whites get the more qualified teachers and nicer schools while the blacks get the poor schools with the less qualified teachers. The article also pointed out that having integrated schools with black and white students results in many more learning opportunities not only for black students but for white as well. Kliewer's article reminded me of "All Lives Matter" because the author argues the need for integration of disabled and non- disabled peers in schools. If all of our students with disabilities are segregated, they are being deprived of such rich learning experiences. Not only would our children with disabilities have rich learning experiences but so would our non- disabled students. 

SCWAAMP- Leslie Grinner argues that there are certain categories in society that are valued in society over others. One of categories she identifies as highly valued by society is able-bodiedness. This connects to Kliewer because he addresses the fact that society presents a negative attitude towards individuals with disabilities, and in a way look down on them. 

Connections/ Comments to Share: I think that it is important to acknowledge the progress that society has made when it comes to the inclusion of children with disabilities in the regular education classroom, but there is definitely more improvements to be made. It is so important for young children especially to learn how to interact with their disabled peers and get to know them. It will better prepare them for later encounters in community and society in the future. 

Map the Authors

Service Learning Connections