I was supposed to Blog for Last week’s class however, we did not have class all week due to Frankenstein, Four Freedom’s, and other great events. I will try to catch up what we have been up to in class however, I don’t want to step on any shoes or ruin someone’s blog so I am going to shift directions. I want to open this Blog up to all who want to share their thoughts or stories. Hopefully, we can get some good thoughts and maybe build off from one another but if not, it’s worth a shot (you have to risk failure in education ).
The topic is wide open, however you feel, want to say, ask questions, whatever you choose but I want to go in the direction of Four Freedom’s week. We were posed with big questions during that week such as: race, SES, housing, crime, legislation, and so on and on. I want to share my experience in my school as a means to making things better and contributing to make this place we call Earth, better. Four Freedoms week has encouraged me to do something whether it is reading more world news, voting, or even just on a small-level, being more active in the school. I want you guys to share what struck you about Four Freedom’s week if any, and how we can make the world better and “save” it from this path of global warming and poverty it is on. I know its a big topic but always fun to write about!
November 14, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I know Global Warming and poverty are big topics, but what I am trying to do more consciously is talk to more kids when I’m at my school and really try to get on a personal level.
November 15, 2007 at 4:51 pm
I know what you mean, by talking to more of the students at are schools we will be able to understand more differences in our cultures and theirs. As for global warming, its definitely a huge issue which is why I like to carpool as much as possible, including school observations!
November 18, 2007 at 7:19 pm
While reading the education section of the New York Times I have encountered several articles regarding school systems who have gone “green.” These schools are utilizing solar power, recycling, non-chemical cleaning supplies, and promote planting flowers and trees around the school grounds. The teachers educate the students about the school policies so they understand and participate in the schools efforts. Teachers can promote student participation in the students’ homes and communities– to pass on the knowledge about how living “green” is valuable to the environment and crucial to keeping themselves healthy as well.
In the case of poverty, it is something that will always exist in our society. However, students can learn to get involved in programs and charities which help to tackle some of the factors barring people from rising out of poverty. The issue of unequal funding of public schools is one of those factors. The only way to tackle this issue would be to educate each other and our students on how to get informed and involved in political issues. We need to voice our opinions and demand change unanimously. As Dr. Liles always says, let’s stop paying attention to Paris and Lindsey Lohan and instead be engaged in conversation about our schools and bigger issues!
Racism can only be overcome when stereotyping (grouping people and identifying them by race) is eliminated. Students need to learn how to keep an open mind to differences and explore people based on their personalities, values, and intentions in life. If we can teach empathy, (by putting students in the shoes of others) I believe we can bring down racism. If we study “the racists” by trying to pinpoint their insecurities, upbringings, miseducation, and past experiences which have led them to associate a group of people with one definition, (and express hate toward them), we can try to counter their negative experiences. We need to help them realize that race is a social construction, not a scientific one. We need to educate ourselves by studying many cultures, the reasons behind the cultures’ traditions, and avoiding generalizations about the cultures. In order to be able to teach our students to be open-minded people we need to continue our education of race as it effects society.
November 18, 2007 at 10:24 pm
I think the schools going green idea is really amazing, and something that I have never heard of before, but what a great way to get students to encounter the issue of global warming. This really shows students how to take an active role in problems such as these in our society and hopefully the effect will be encouraging students to do the same.
As far as the race issue, it makes me really sad to know that schools have been more segregated now than they ever have been…. it’s almost as if we are regressing instead of making progress in becoming united as a country. I have heard really amazing things about various forms of the “mix it up days” activities that we talked about in class and I think that those should definetly be implemented in schools just to get the ball rolling in mixing cultures and races. It might encourage kids to talk to people they normally wouldn’t have and break down some barriers. I know that there are even groups you can hire that specialze in these types of events that can come in and run the day at school which might be good if your school has never done it before.
November 19, 2007 at 5:23 pm
This is a great idea for us to do. We have learned so much from Four Freedoms Week, more than I have attending events at Four Freedoms previous years. The big topic that struck me was hate speech and racism in general. After attending the discussion on hate speech I realized that our school is no exception. Students have been victims of hate speech even here on campus and although I had not realized that this was happening, I knew our campus wasn’t perfect. I am now more cautious to sign of hate speech and racism in general. I totally agree with what Nikki was saying. We as educators have another duty (other than teaching students content area and literacy strategies) we have to help educate them on the mixture of races of the world. Learning about the multicultural world we live in can only benefit our students. They will learn to be more openminded about others opinions and beliefs with is an ideal moral value. As teachers, we will probably have to teach students that may have difficult beliefs than we do and we need to be openminded about those also, not just their peers.
November 19, 2007 at 10:15 pm
For my PHIL 230 course, we are having a debate about homework. In Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Educational Issues, there are some strong arguments supporting and going against homework in schools. Although I agree with some points made in ridding homework, including family time, overwhelming amounts of work, and purpose of homework, I cannot see how this outweighs the benefits of homework. For one, homework is way for students to explore and become interested in their learning. Also, homework allows students to practice their new skills of a subject. This allows for student achievement and a sense of accomplishment. To add to that, there are a lot of evidence showing that homework raises student grade point averages, which obviously means that when students are doing homework, they are retaining more knowledge and are being well educated within that subject. Just thought this idea of no homework would spark some interest and thoughts because I couldn’t see schools without some form of homework.
November 20, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Four Freedoms Week seemed to spark a lot of controversy about education and what we can do to improve our schools. Homework is definitely a big issue. Bob, that sounds like it would have been a very interesting debate. I agree with you in that I think homework reinforces the concepts taught in class. The more students practice what they learn, the more comfortable they will become with the material. I also think that with the limited time teachers have to spend with their students and the amount of new information they have to squeeze into that time frame, homework becomes inevitable for students to retain any information. If I learned a new concept every day in my classes that met once or twice a week and did no work in between those time frames, I think I would be completely lost. On the flipside, I think too much homework can be just as bad as no homework at all. Overloadoading kids with homework will lead to anxiety and disinterestedness. Teachers need to find a happy medium in which homework reinforces concepts, but does not overwhelm students.
November 20, 2007 at 12:58 pm
I am not a big fan of homework. I think small amount of homework is necesary sometimes. I strongly dislike it when teachers just give out homework to give homework. Some students might not have the time to do homework due to part time jobs or other responsibilities. Also written homework can use alot of paper which kills trees and ruins our environment. We need to give homework in moderation and use discretion.
November 20, 2007 at 3:24 pm
The most impacting event in 4 freedoms week was “Shut -Up” by Bruce Jacobs. He was really “in your face” with his messages about our American society and what is it sliding into. He means to spark attention and change. The most shocking idea was the comparison of our economy & media being similar to that of Germany just before Nazism took hold. I don’t think We are going to become Nazis, but every day the Government does some pretty right reducing things, like the patriot acts, or the instilation of cameras all over citys. We just have to wake up as a nation and educate ourselves, find common ground to better and care about each other, and remove media figures like Rush Limbaugh who are stunting American Minds.
November 21, 2007 at 8:09 pm
I agree with the person who posted above me that one of the most impacting events of four freedoms week was “Shut-Up” by Bruce Jacobs. Something that he touched upon that I found interesting was the topic of present-day journalism. He talked about how news outlets are becoming seen as more of a way to make money, by big corporations that own them, instead of doing their duty to actually try and report real news. This touched me because I like to read the newspaper when I am home and sometimes flip on the news and all I ever see is all of the bad things that are happening in the area. There seems to be a lack of investigative reporting of “real news,” which costs a lot, and just reporting on bad things that will sell papers or get ratings.
November 25, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I think that poverty and segregation of the poor is the biggest blight on our society. If different groups of people were mixed up in neighborhoods, a lot of racism would be gone. Rochester is really segregated. Henrietta is somewhat mixed, but that is one of the only places in the greater Rochester area. Some cities have just one school district for the whole city and surrounding suburbs. People in this setup are mixed up a lot more. It leads to a better economy and people hanging out in the city in their free time. In Rochester, the segregation of African Americans and Latino people in the city and white people in the suburbs leads to a natural fear of the unknown which can be the seeds of racism for all people. I don’t believe our city and surrounding area will ever be mixed. Our economy will continue to drop, and racism will become stronger as the poor react further to their worsening plight. As the middle class shakes their heads and starts thinking how bad poor people are, racism will invade. You will hear many people who say, “I am not a racist, but…” It is depressing.
The cities where the school district is consolidated all had a law that said if the city schools go bankrupt, the suburban schools would take over, and that is what happened. We don’t have that law in Rochester. If you get your chance, you shoud advocate for this arrangement. Some politicians are talking about it, but it gets a lot of resistance from people who want their schools to reflect the neighborhood where they live, and don’t want to support others. You can’t really blame them, but the solution can’t be painless. It is a really complex and difficult problem.
November 25, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Dr. Bruce Jacobs inspired me to pick up his book and start reading it. I like how he said the future was up to us and that if there was going to be change our generation was going to be the ones that have to do it
November 26, 2007 at 1:50 pm
I am a big believer in that people need to be open-minded and love one another for who they are. It is very hard though, I feel, to find that balance between being open-minded and being so worried about open-mindedness that you begin to put people back in boxes. In my adolescent class we talked about this idea of being boxed. The thought is that when you sit down and are asked questions like what race are you? What is your heritage? and where do you live? is putting people in these boxes like checking a box on a college application saying you are this. Yes, it is important to understand where one comes from, but you should never let that dictate where one is going. Often I think, especially on this campus devoted to “diversity” I feel that we put these boxes around people saying oh your Latino you belong to this group, your white you belong here or your catholic so here is your place. Sometimes we spend so much time being worried about the politically correctness of things that we stop seeing people as people and begin to see people as these boxed commodities. And is that not where we come up with these biases? Our country was founded on the ideas that we wanted religious freedom and where is the freedom if we all have to click boxes that say who we are? Why can’t we just live and exist, that’s all I think most of us want, this utopian idea that we can all run around in our buff being unashamed of our sexuality, race and religious beliefs.
What would happen if the corporate world no longer was allowed to put boxes on things saying what race and sex you were? They would finally have to look at your credentials to see who is best fit for the job. It used to be so that the minorities were excluded now you see businesses that look for the minority and chose them not based on their actual abilities but that they are filling this diversity quota that they need to fit! Where is the fairness, the freedom in that? I realized this strange flip when my brother went to try out for a ballet school and they asked him if he had any list of minorities. My mother was dumbfounded what they were saying is that he would be more marketable for them if his background was a minority of some sort. This is a sad fact of reality.
I think that it is great that we have these scholarships for people and I know that we are trying to accommodate for the learning gap. I understand this and it is important to reach out a hand to those in need. I just wish that there was another way to do it then saying well you’re a minority so you are going to need more money to go to college. I just feel that we are subconsciously telling people that you belong to this box so you need these things. Our country is supposed to be a place of freedoms where people can be who they want, but is this stress on diversity really promoting this idea?
November 26, 2007 at 2:13 pm
I thought the most influential part of Four Freedoms Week was the talk given by Dr. Bruce Jacobs. Dr. Jacobs talked about many things in our society including racism and socioeconomic differences that exist. The thing that struck the deepest chord with me was when Dr. Jacobs said that open dialogue is needed between races in order to eliminate racism. When we encounter someone of a different race, we should feel comfortable enough to ask them about things that we do not understand about their customs etc. When we can do this, we can get a deeper understanding about them and eventually racism will be a thing of the past. This change has to occur at some point, so our generation should start this dialogue.
November 26, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I think it is important for our students to understand Global Warming and the effects of it on their lives. I know when I was in high school, Global warming was never mentioned to me. I only heard about it through listening to news stories or my parents talking about it. I think it is important for the generations that are coming into this world to be aware of the impact that global warming is having on our economy. Cars are now being made to reduce global warming and i think that is a very good start. I think it students are educated on the matter more, then they are more likely to change their ways of life to reduce it as well. I also think that students need to be aware of the poverty rate in our country. We are supposed to be the wealthiest country, yet we have poverty stricken neighborhoods everywhere. Money is one of the central issues in any debate that you listen to- and it is the central matter in everything we do. Without money we can’t run schools, jobs, live in homes, etc. I think it is important to educate our students young so they have a new and better appreciation for the lives they live and maybe, possibly, want to influence or change that.
November 26, 2007 at 2:26 pm
What really struck me during Four Freedoms week was the discourse that took part about race. It seems now more than ever in our society the topic of race is all around us. Whether it be in affirmative action in the work place, or the events in Jena, Louisiana, race relations have become more prevalent in our society. During the hate speech seminar at Four Freedoms week, I listened to a speaker who talked about the KKK littering the campus of the University of Louisville with white supremacist literature and holding events on campus in support of of Aryan race only a few years ago. Honestly, it disgusts me that people can still be so ignorant and hate filled towards a group of people even in this century. Also, an African American girl shared a story of how as a freshman here at Fisher someone wrote the N-word on her door. This severely affected her experience here at Fisher because the administration did little about the situation. The campus’ response was to cover up the word with a piece of paper later that day. However, the word was still there and could be seen when the paper was uncovered. I was appalled to think that in a small town like Pittsford, NY, events like this were still taking place. Honestly, Four Freedoms week changed my life and the way that I view race relations in the United States. It makes me sad that there is still so much hatred in the world today and especially when I thought we had made so many strides as a country towards equal rights for all.
November 26, 2007 at 2:50 pm
For me, the most impacting part of Four Freedom’s week was the presentation of the School Without Walls students’ utopian artwork because it was an assignment that not only allowed the students to be creative, but, more importantly, it challenged them to think critically about serious societal issues and strategize ways to make improvements. I think that these kinds of assignments and activities are more beneficial for students than anything else. They make students focus on real world issues and let their natural curiousity lead them to developing ideas for change. Empowering students in this manner is the best thing we can do as educators and if we give them these types of excercises in the classroom, they will be more apt to go out and make real change once they leave high school. We can’t expect students to be agents of change unless we train them to be inquisitive, active citizens instead of passive learners.
November 26, 2007 at 3:50 pm
I would say that the whole week of four freedoms week was incredible. It was amazing to see the students artwork and how well they were able to mesh their ideas together, work together as a team, and come out with incredible pieces of art. I was also very interested in the movie we watched for the fact that I live maybe 30 minutes away from Rochester(now in Rochester) and I never knew or heard about the riots that had gone on here. It was a very cool but also kind of disturbing thing to see/watch.
November 26, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I think that it is very interesting that someone is taking the initiative and actually putting a blog together that our community can benefit from. The thing that I found important from the four freedoms week was the July 64′ presentation. Civil rights is always a huge topic and still cannot seem to be completely fixed. While browsing the web I came across the rock and roll hall of fame website http://www.rockhall.com and I found that there is a section there just for teachers. It posts lesson plans that teachers have done which include music and one that I saw was based on teaching civil rights using music. I immediately thought of July 64′ and I think that the website can be very beneficial for teachers of all subjects.
November 26, 2007 at 6:13 pm
During Four Freedoms week I attended the STANYS Conference (Science Teachers Association of New York State). One of the seminars that I attended was about Evolution and the text book that caused a controversy in the south. Many schools in the south wanted a warning label placed in the text book sayint that the book had contents about evolution and that it should be read with an open mind and caution. The point at the conference was made saying that shouldnt everything in science be looked at with an open mind? I felt that the use of these labels was strange to be happening in this day and age. Maybe a few decades ago it would have made sence to have labels in books about Evolution, but you would think that people all around the world would have an open mind to evolution and creationism. They are not saying that they are facts, but a way to look at the world and your surroundings.
November 26, 2007 at 7:29 pm
One of my favorite aspects of Four Freedom Week is that it offers us a chance to experience something a little different and definitely worthwhile. Instead of lecture and textbook readings, it’s a really great thing that time is taken out to inspire discussion and to recognize something bigger and more important. Many of the events I attended made the point that before racism can decline discussion and recognition must take place. I have had many great discussions with classmates about the events and their ideas since then, I feel like it’s a step in the right direction, especially as future educators.
November 26, 2007 at 9:35 pm
I really enjoyed four freedoms week, going to this and having it on our campus is a step in the right direction. I wish we could do something each week like this. I was always aware that racism still is prevalent today. Its what we do today that can change it. Race should not be an issue anymore but unfortunately it is. I have found myself listening to the news more often. I am trying to keep up on the presidential debates and such. I want to vote for the right person, the person that will change issues like this.
November 26, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Four Freedoms week was a really awesome and eye-opening experience. I’m new to Fisher this year, and I think the fact that we have the opportunity to attend something like this is really something we shouldn’t take for granted- especially as future teachers. I went to as many of the events as I could, but I just want to comment on the required/recommended July’64 event. I think that was a good reminder that the issues of racism, poverty and SES are not somewhere “out there” but they are right here in our community, and at St. John Fisher. Also, it really makes you realize that living in this community we have almost a responsibility as people to try to make some kind of an impact, no matter how small, in the community and within ourselves. yep.
November 26, 2007 at 11:02 pm
We talked about our Four Freedoms experiences in class two weeks ago and somehow got onto the topic that even on our small college campus people don’t really mix much with other racial groups. We also aren’t overly friendly to each other. So for the past two weeks I’ve made it a point to look people in the eye, smile, and say hello when I pass them on campus. I think if more people did this it would be a much friendlier atmosphere.
November 26, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I think that Four Freedom’s Week is a great way to get the school involved and aware of various issues. I wasn’t able to make it to some of the events that I wanted to attend, but the ones I went to I enjoyed. I went to the Indian Mascots and Jena 6 presentations. These presentations discussed issues that Fisher and the School of Eudcation think are important. The events spoke out against racism and promoted diversity. These are two issues that I have been learning about in my education and history classes. I liked that I got to relate what I am learning to current issues. I think it is important for teachers to incorporate diversity into the classroom because students need to be aware of racism and diversity and ways to change society and future generations.
November 26, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Well, not much of what I want to say has been left unsaid, so I’ll just go ahead and say everything anyway.
I think that going green is a great way to get through to the students and involve them, but it works at a bigger chore: persuading a student that s/he CAN make a difference, though s/he may only be one person in a world of over six billion. With apathy continuing to become more evident (take a look at our rising rate of child obesity, for instance), it is paramount to convince kids that they may be one in a billion, but they can still change the world.
As far as poverty, SES, and racism…the presentations said it all. They need to be taken care of, though I can’t see it happening in the near future. I do, however, see the problems lessening if people can learn to “let it go” and reevaluate their stereotypes of others. I say reevaluate because I think that stereotypes are a natural response to an overwhelming amount of information (e.g. there are so many Asian people, I can’t get to know them all, so I’ll make a generalization based on my experience of a few). It is when the stereotypes become prejudices that humanity manages to run into perpetual problems.
Personally, I will try especially hard in my own tiny way to alleviate some issues within my sphere of influence – aka the Writing Center, where I more or less live.
November 26, 2007 at 11:53 pm
This is a great blog post. Four Freedoms Week definitley inspired me as well. I had never attended these events before and I am really glad I did. I especially like the 1964 ‘riots’ movie about Rochester. It honestly made me want to learn more about where I am living. I live in Buffalo but my home for much of the year is Rochester. I think its important to know the past and present issues the city is facing to get a feel for the way the city is, why it is this way and what I can do as a member of this society to have an impact or help this city. I want to become more invested and interested in local government especially in regards to children and education.
As for saving the world from poverty and golbal warming I believe people need to just start taking the issues the U.S. is facing seriously. It is so easy for many priveldged people to turn their heads to the serious issues our nation is facing because they do not see it, deal with it or even understand its effects day in and day out. I think greater public awarness through commericals, billboards etc. may help people realize the intense issues we need to face and fix.
November 27, 2007 at 12:12 am
Ths was the first time that I attended any of the events that took place during Four Freedoms Week. The first event that I went to was the viewing of “July ‘64″ which was a movie about the riots in Rochester in the Summer of 1964. I grew up only 30 minutes from Rochester and I had no idea that this event ever took place or the fact that Rochester was such a influentical place, calling Rochester the Silicone Valley of the 60’s I believe. So yeah, I was definitely inspired to research this city that I grew up around but truely never knew anything about.
To go along with what is being said about poverty and global warming, I would have to agree with Kelly, it’s about time that people start talking the issues that we have seriously. It really does sicken me to think that there are so many priveledged people out there that just ignore what is going on in their very own country, owh state, own city. I think that there does have to be more public awareness about these subjects so that something will hopefully be done.
November 27, 2007 at 12:47 am
Like Justin, this was also my first time attending any of the Four Freedom’s Week events. I found the Holocaust presentation most interesting. Upon from hearing the stories from the survivors, it made me realize how ignorant some people still are. I don’t know how anyone could deny the fact that the Holocaust actually happened especially with the statistics of the number of deaths we have from the time period. If we can’t admit that it happened, what is to stop something like this from happening again?
November 27, 2007 at 12:52 am
I thought that four freedoms week was great. It brought issues like global warming, political, social issues, and racial issues to the fore front of debate talks. I thought that the screening of July 64 was very educational. I never knew that there were racial riots in Rochester. I believe that these issues need to publisized more because you hear more about Paris Hilton then you hear about Global Warming. That says alot about us as a society.
November 27, 2007 at 1:01 am
Dr. Bruce Jacobs was the most interesting presentation I attended. I enjoyed his views on the media and how they are capable of shifting societies views. Entertainment news seems to be the hot topic these days. I’m personally sick of hearing about Britney Spears and her unfortunate disasters as a mother. The sad thing is, we can’t escape it. As far as poverty is concerned, this country is obviously in crisis. If I could help every starving child, I would.
November 27, 2007 at 4:55 am
First off, I have to say that this was a great idea.
I would like to talk about poverty. It is so often that we here politicians talking about poverty, how they want to eliminate poverty for all people. They want to help these people live healthy lives. How often is it we see these politicians back up their words however? Not too often.
I have a solution to poverty that I like to call, “the small things.” If you see a man who is cold on the street, find him a coat or a blanket, maybe even bring up him a cup of hot coffee or a warm soup. If you a see a man who is thirsty or hungry, share some food with him or buy him a drink. If you see a man struggling to move or breathe, help get him to a hospital or shelter.
Do the small things people. Be nice, be kind spirited.
November 27, 2007 at 7:44 am
I enjoyed four freedoms week and the events that I attended. The film July 64 was a powerful film and put the subject of riots on the centerstage and brought to life a subject that I knew nothing about. I also went to the talk with Mr. Jacobs who also shares my views about the mass media. Mr. Jacobs realy put how I feel about the media in to words and shared my opinions about the affects of limited views that now plegue our nation. I did enjoy the programs of four freedoms week and they made me think about our society and my part in it.
November 27, 2007 at 12:16 pm
I believe that July 64 is something that all Social Studies teachers should watch if they plan on teaching within the state. It is a shame that some teachers are so wrapped up in different standards that most of us didn’t even know that this happened right here in Rochester. It is crazy to think of something of this magnitude happened less than 100 miles from me and I never heard of it. I may not be from the city but I think that it should of been something I learned sometime within my schooling. Even in my Leadership Through Self Development class that I had to take due to my scholarship, we didn’t learn about it, yet we learned about all the other civil right movements.
November 27, 2007 at 2:13 pm
I am glad that St. John Fisher College has a Four Freedoms Week. It is excellent that the whole college community can participate in events and attend assemblies. I think Four Freedoms Week is important, and we should all celebrate diversity every day.