Kahne and Westheimer

In The Service Of What? The Politics of Service Learning

The values of Service Learning help students realize the importance of charity. Having Service Learning projects within the curriculum can help students become activists in their community. Service Learning can teach responsibility, good morals, gratefulness, and create connections. Not only that, but Service Learning can help students develop specific skills they need in order to be successful in the future, For example, public speaking and working with other people. Reflections of these projects can ensure stronger critical thinking. A quote in the article explaining this topic states, "To be critical thinkers, students must be able to consider arguments that justify conclusions that conflict with their own predispositions and self-interest. Structured, informed, and systematic analysis of service experiences from a variety of ideological positions will not ensure critical thinking in the strong sense, but such reflection should make that outcome more common." Upon reflecting their service experience, students realize the morals and issues that some people face and grow a stronger sense of critical thinking when discussing ways to resolve some of the worlds problems. I believe Service Learning projects are eye opening and give students a chance to give back to their community.

For my senior project in high school, we were required to conduct 20 hours of community service. I thought this was beneficial and it allowed me to see from another point of view. I worked in the food pantry at my church stocking shelves as well as handing out food to the people of Pawtucket. The community service gave me a sense of pride as well as taught me to be grateful. I was very pleased and happy to be helping others and it made me feel good about myself. It also showed me that it is important to give back to the community. It seems now a days, all we do is take and never give. The community service that I experienced helped me realize that. That is why I believe Service Learning is highly important for students.

This video describes the importance of community service and what it is. I thought it was very educational and inspiring.

Service Learning Ideas - Article that shares some service learning ideas.

Questions

 1) Do you think if Service Learning wasn't required, students would take the initiative to conduct it themselves?

2) Since some high schools require community service in order to graduate, do you think students are not as engaged because they are "forced" to do it?

Same Sex Marriage

Question: Do you support the legalization of same sex marriage?

Liberal
67% Yes

Reasons Why:
>Take the government out of relationships.
>It is discrimination
>Human Equality

Conservative
33% No

Reasons Why:
>Allow civil unions but do not call it marriage.
>Marriage is strictly between a man and a women.
>Children should have a father figure.
>Family structure matters.
>Adults shouldn't feed into their desires for the sake of the child.
>Religion

Conservative: Homosexuality Is Worse Than Genocide

Results from: https://www.isidewith.com/poll/965633

Jill Soloway and Stacy Abrums

How does this election teach us about gender?

Jill Soloway Talks Donald Trump, Locker Rooms and Toxic Masculinity

After reading this article, the main point that Soloway discusses is men are viewed as the dominant gender versus all other genders. Therefore, some men objectify women because according to society, they are the top gender so they feel they have the right to say whatever they want to say. Soloway says, "White cis able-bodied educated males from the ruling class are at the top, holding nearly all of the planet." The election proves just that. A white cis able-bodied educated male won the presidential election for 2016. This same person quoted, "grab her by the p***y" which you wouldn't expect from our US President. As you can see, his morals make him unfit to be president but because he categorizes with society's standards, it doesn't matter what he says or does. In this way, that is how our election teaches us about gender. You must be a well rounded white male in order to have power and succeed.

Stacy Abrams Didn't Play It Safe. Neither Do These Female Candidates

Female candidates oppose a threat to male candidates. Some people might think that women are not qualified to run for government positions. It is only now that women are defying against the odds and running for positions that are normally occupied by men. Women have come such a long way in politics. We can see this in the 2016 election where Hilary Clinton ran as the Democratic Representative against Donald Trump who was the Republican Representative. Unfortunately, Hilary did not win, but still is a role model for women everywhere.

Connections

The readings that can be connected to these articles are "White Privilege" by Peggy McIntosh and "11 and Gender Fluid" by Erin Zelle.

I'll start off with McIntosh's article. The reason why I believe this article connects well to these readings is because both discuss how the white male is powerful in society. The reason why they are powerful is because of the privilege they withhold. Their social ranking is based off of their characteristics as white cis males which grant them the power and privilege they need in order to be at the top.

The second article that can be connected to the readings is Zelle's, "11 and Gender Fluid." This discusses another type of gender identity which does not follow the regular heterosexual, white male or female. I believe this can be connected more to Soloway. The reason why is because Soloway discusses if you are not the typical white, straight, male, then you will not amount to anything. It is believed that they are the preferred gender in society. This ruling out any other genders including gender fluidity.

LGBTQ+ Terms - Serena, Mandi, Ley

Presentation on google slides.

LGBTQ+ Terms

11 and gender fluid: suits, ties and other staples from my daughter's closet - Erin Zelle

First off, I'd like to say how amazing and supportive Erin Zelle is of her daughter coming out as gender fluid. Some parents might call it a phase and say their child will grow out of it or maybe even shun them because of the way they want to express themselves. Other parents might ignore it. However, Erin Zelle acknowledged and was supportive of her daughter dressing up in masculine clothing. I love hearing stories that involve someone coming out and the parents being supportive of their child's choices. Though we have progressed within the LGBTQ+ community, there are still some people out there who cannot accept others for who they are. This is heartbreaking to me considering it's not the person's fault that they were born that way.

There was a line in the article that said Erin had to google what gender fluid meant because she didn't know what it was. It's not her fault that she was unfamiliar with the term but this just proves that not a lot of people are aware of the different identities and sexual orientations there are. Some might think that the different identities are made up and pointless. However, that is not the case. Everyone feels a certain way and the way that they feel should be expressed in the manner that they choose. Whether it's by clothing, body type, hair style, etc.

One of my closest friends came out as gender fluid and even changed their name to fit their identity. Their family wasn't all for it but in time, they learned to accept it cause that's just who they were. As you can see, I'm using pronouns like "they/their" because that's how they identify as someone who is gender fluid. They do not identify as female or male but both.

The three quotes that I found that were most fitting with the article are:

"My 11-year-old daughter Sullivan's style is defined as gender fluid, which translates as a 'fluid' shift between masculine and feminine, depending on how one feels."

-I like how Zelle incorporated the definition into her piece. This is good exposure to people who are unfamiliar with the term.

"Not all girls wear pink and not all boys wear blue."

-Another great way to explain gender fluid. It really captivates the whole meaning.

"I remind myself that kids fear whats unfamiliar."

-Kids are not exposed to difficult topics like this because it may be hard to understand or too inappropriate to introduce to a them at a young age. Likewise, I believe parents should address and educate their children on the matter if they encounter someone who identifies as something else. I think it's highly important that everyone, not just children, are aware so they don't have to fear and criticize others.

Gender Fluidity - This link leads to a video created by the youtuber, Seadresa who identifies as gender fluid and explains what gender fluidity is. For those of you who would like to learn more about gender fluidity, I highly recommend this video.

"Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us" - Linda Christensen

This has to be one of my favorite readings yet. The depiction that Christensen makes discussing race and gender roles in cartoons is true and mind opening. In her piece, "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us" Christensen has her students unravel the social stereotypes of gender and race in childhood cartoons. At a young age, the majority of information children receive is from the media. They are given a social structure based on stereotypes depicted in childhood cartoons. The cartoons that they watch teach them how to "act, live, and dream" (Christensen). This is something that Christensen wants to undo. A great example that Christensen uses are the Disney princesses. She focuses on their character and what they are really teaching young children. For example, Ariel changed from a mermaid to a human to get the man that she wanted. Same concept goes for Cinderella. She changed her hair and clothing attire to marry Prince Charming. In this instance, both of these stories are saying in order to get the man that you want, you must change who you are. Disney princesses are also teaching young girls that every women's goal and success comes from marrying a successful man. Not only does the princess stereotype teach young girls the success of having a man, but women of different race are angered about the lack of diversity within the princess franchise. Christensen quotes Kenya by reiterating, "Women who aren't white begin to feel left out and ugly because they never get to play the princess." Nowadays, Disney has made an effort including diverse princess roles like Moana and Tiana.

Christensen also mentions the stereotypes including obese people, step-parents, women, men, people of color, poor people, etc. and asks her students to observe how they are portrayed within cartoons.

I believe this is a well written response to the media and the character stereotypes it is portraying to young children. I think we need to work harder to install better content that help children become motivated for the future instead of negatively showcasing stereotypes that may have an impact on them. My question would be how can we advocate for better educational content in media, especially in cartoons?

 Cartoons Who Buck Stereotypes

This hyperlink leads to an article that gives 11 examples of cartoons that go against all stereotypes that are originally displayed. I think this is a good contrast when discussing the content in Christensen's writing.