Social Justice Event

For my Social Justice Event, I decided to watch the movie "Philadelphia."

Tom Hanks stars as Andrew Beckett, a homosexual who works at a powerful law firm in Philadelphia. After developing HIV, Andrew keeps his sexuality and disease to himself, in fear that it would ruin his career. After a colleague discovers a lesion on Beckett, his secret is out and he is immediately fired because of his condition and sexuality. Angered, Beckett wants to sue his firm for wrongful termination and discrimination. Denied by each lawyer he brings his case to, Beckett decides to take the case on his own. After viewing his struggle,  Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) who already denied Beckett once, finally comes around and takes his case.

"Philadelphia" was created in 1993 and is one of the first Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality, and homophobia. This film does an amazing job demonstrating discrimination in the workplace as well as in society. When the epidemic of HIV/AIDS first accumulated, gay men were discriminated immediately. Stigma and discrimination became apparent. Negative attitudes, prejudice and abuse would direct the people living with the disease. Whoever was most at risk depended on people's health status, race, socioeconomic status, age, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. People faced discrimination in health care settings, educational/work settings, as well as from their families, peers, and community.

The events that take place in the movie can be compared to attorney Geoffrey Bowers and Clarence B. Cain.

In 1987, Bowers sued the law firm Baker McKenzie for wrongful termination in one of the first AIDS discrimination cases.

In 1990, Cain was an attorney for Hyatt Legal Services who was fired after his employer found out he had AIDS. Right before his death, he won the case.

"Philadelphia" is a great PSA for HIV/AIDS stigma and showcasing the discrimination people with HIV/AIDS face.

"Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome" - Kliewer

Kliewer discusses the segregation of students with down syndrome and other special needs from regular classrooms. He points out that special needs students are marginalized. This marginalization includes students with disabilities to be viewed as unteachable, useless, and a threat to the learning of students without disabilities. Because some schools segregate special needs students from regular classrooms, this only increases the stigma even more. Kliewer goes on to explain if we integrated students and have a diverse classroom, this can advance the educational community and improve the lives of students as well as raise their self esteem. This is what we want for our students. We don't want to make them feel any less compared to others within the school. 

I want to create an extended comment for Emily's post on this piece. I believe her connection between the reading and her life shows the reality of working with special needs students. She points out that it can be difficult teaching students who are not at the same learning level as she is. Her description of her experiences creates a great framework for Kliewer's writing. I also agree with Emily when she discusses the stereotype surrounding people with down syndrome. Like her, I have also given in to that stereotype. However, I realize that not everyone with down syndrome is the same and it would be unfair to treat them any different. 

All students should have the right to equal education opportunities no matter who they are. It's unfair to treat a child any differently whether they have a disability or not. If a child has down syndrome, I believe they should be integrated into regular classrooms. If we start integrating students with down syndrome into regular classrooms, this can help stop the stereotype that has been created. We shouldn't limit students because of a disability. 

Inclusion  - This video talks about inclusion classrooms for special needs students. Inclusion secures opportunities for students with disabilities to learn alongside their non-disabled peers in general education classrooms.

Question: Do you think that integrating special needs students into a regular classroom is a good idea? Why or why not?

Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route - Jeannie Oakes

Jeannie Oakes discusses the negative effects regarding tracking and grouping students based on their ability. In her writing, she explains the consequences and uneven opportunities this system might have on students. Oakes calls it "unequivocal" and compares the high-ability group versus the low-ability group saying the high-ability students receive more advantages and a better learning experience compared to those who are not as advance. She uses an example from John Goodlad's national study of school, reported in the book A Place Called School where students in high-ability English classes were reading modern literature, learning expository writing, and vocabulary that would help increase their scores on college entrance exams. In these courses, critical thinking and problem solving skills were evident from the content being taught. Whereas in a low-ability course, students were learning basic reading skills, memorizing, and repetition. Because of the content taught in these courses, students were not exposed to skills that would help them move into higher classes. Tracking and grouping students only displays the unfairness within the system. High-ability students are receiving better instruction, more material to work with, and a positive learning environment. Students who are low-ability are receiving the opposite. Oakes recommends some alternatives to tracking. Some alternatives are creating a meaningful curriculum that is complex, challenging, and relates to real life, evaluation that supports learning, and student evaluation. All of these are a positive and superior substitute compared to tracking.

I agree with Oakes. Tracking only segregates and creates a stigma for each type of group and it is definitely unfair. For example, high-ability students are focused on more because of their capability and smarts, whereas low-ability students receive little to nothing because of their skill level. This shows that students who are smarter can amount to anything and students who are not as smart are pushed enough to get by. Educators need to present the same attitude towards every student no matter what their skill level is. It's their job to help each student become successful.

My question for the class would be aside from Oakes alternatives, what other ways could we give each student an equal learning opportunity in order to help them become successful?

TED Talk - Allen Chen - This TED Talk presented by Allen Chen discusses why student tracking should come to an end. Within his reasoning, he compares three students: one who is highly intelligent, another who is average, and one who is below average.