Nathan

Journal Article Assessment

 In his article, “‘I Don’t See Color’: Challenging Assumptions about Discussing Race with Young Children,” Terry Husband Jr. argues for, “the integration of anti-racist education in early childhood” (Husband 2011). His five point argument consists of his concerns of, “when and how children develop racial attitudes, the difficulty of alerting long-standing stereotypes, student empowerment, critical teacher reflections, and issues of standardization” (Husband 2011). In addition, Husband concludes his article with several bits of information and warning for teachers who may want to implement his techniques. Husband provides an interesting and persuasive argument for such integration in schools and provides many external sources of information throughout his work.  The issue of integrating any type of diversifying curriculum is of the utmost importance in, “early childhood classrooms in the US, [which] continue to become increasingly diverse” (Husband 2011) as Terry Husband wrote in his article. However, this type of diversity in the classroom connects to ED 205 for several reasons. First of all, this article clearly and definitely addresses the issue of teaching with “racial color-blindness” which was recently brought up in class. Secondly, it provides not only the author’s insights and opinions on the issue, but this article also makes claims that are concretely and factually supported by external documentation and sources. Lastly, This article provided educators— who may want to incorporate anti-racist curriculum into their own classroom— with examples of how one would most effectively do so and what things to be aware of while teaching an anti-racist curriculum. Therefore, this article not only firmly connects to ED 205, but it also connects to every student within that class because every one could possibly incorporate its findings in their own classrooms.

 In my own teaching career, I may choose to use this article as a tool to support the diversifying techniques that I will implement within my own classroom. I found that many of the insights and hints are applicable to many facets of education, they could benefit my students in many different ways, even beyond diversity. All in all, I would highly recommend this article to any teacher who may wish to reach a higher level of understanding of the issues surrounding diversity and who wish to teach all of their students without being blind to their colors, but rather see them for their full educational potential.

The powerful documentary //BULLIED//, follows the heart-wrenching story of Jamie Nabozny— a gay man who faced unimaginable discrimination, abuse, and persecution throughout his grade school and high school years. As if the violently homophobic torment that Jamie suffered at the hands of his classmates was not enough, his many pleas for assistance to school officials consistently went unanswered. School officials blatantly disregarded and ignored Jamie's numerous complaints of constant discrimination, and intern, Jamie sued the school district for failing to provide him refuge from this abuse. Jamie was awarded an unprecedented amount of almost $1,000,000 for his suffering and provided thousands of gay children nationwide with a new sense of hope and perseverance.

While I watched this film, I was moved to anger when Jamie vividly described his accounts of being physically, sexually, and verbally abused while he attended school. However, though these recollections of abuse upset me, hearing Jamie discuss the inaction and impotence of his school officials— people who are there not only as role models, but also as guardians to the students they are in charge of— deeply troubled me. I realized that, as a teacher, it will be my responsibility and duty to aid my students in any way they may require it; whether it be supportive or protective, friendly or fatherly; I pray that I may be there for them.

This film also made me acutely aware of the differences that exist between students. No two students are exactly alike, and no matter what metaphor is used to conceptualize these differences, it is of the utmost importance that these differences are recognized and responded to. This film has changed and reinforced my perceptions of the students that I will one day be teaching. I now know that I cannot make assumptions about my students. Contrastingly, I must be objective and open-minded with them. I must also be aware of the vastly varying cultural differences that will be present in my classroom. Just as I observed in the “Cultural Autobiography” assignment, this film demonstrated the truth that each and every student that I will teach will have their own cultural background— a unique identity to which I will have to be aware of and cooperative with as to provide the best education possible.

Finally, I found this film to be extremely relevant to not only me as a teacher, but also to the classroom community as a whole. This is because it teaches very important lessons about the ill-effects of discrimination and bullying within the classroom as well as raising awareness to these issues and how to prevent them from plaguing a school district. Therefore, I wold highly recommend this documentary to others, and I would also use it as an informative tool within my own classroom. In fact, the DVD of this film is packaged with a teaching guide in which the producers map out, in detail, how to best use this film as a device for teaching. Discussion topics and other activities are also included. In addition, the fast-paced progression, manageable length, and unique camera movements/angles would engage and maintain the attention of my students. I throughly enjoyed this film for the issues that it brought to light and for the important lessons it taught me. //BULLIED// is a must see for any teacher, teaching in today's diverse classrooms.