Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming the LGBT Youth. Connections Piece

While reading Safe Spaces by Annemarie Vaccaro, Gerri August, and Megan S. Kennedy, I found that I agreed with everything they had to say. The main message of this chapter of their book was to show teachers and others that they need to integrate the idea of LGBT youth into not just their curriculum, but their everyday lives. It should be seen as a normal, wonderful thing to students of any sexual preference that LGBT people are a natural part of this world. I loved their idea of "classrooms being seen as "mirrors and windows" for all students-mirrors in which youth see themselves in the curriculum and recognize their place in the group; windows through which youth see beyond themselves to experiences connected with, but not identical to, their own" (88). As crazy as this may sound when you hear this, I was thinking a lot about Rodriguez and Collier after reflecting on Safe Spaces. I thought a lot about their overall messages throughout their stories, and I wanted to talk about them in relation to the LGBT community and Safe Space's idea of integrating positive messages through school curriculum and developing a public vs. private identity in life.

First off, I would like to speak about Rodriguez's message of public and private individualities. Rodriguez stated in Aria that in order to create a public identity that society will approve of, you need to lose your private identity. For Rodriguez, his private identity was his Spanish culture that he embraced at home with his family. His school stated he would not get ahead in their classroom if he only spoke Spanish, so he began becoming an English only speaker. Therefore, he concluded that in order to become a prominent English speaker and develop an individual identity, he needed to stop speaking Spanish as a whole. So, speaking about the topic of LGBT, I feel that this idea of creating a public identity they are proud of is very important to them. Privately, they are confident in what they like, and who they are. But publically, it is not always for them to express exactly who they are; especially in the classroom setting. People, meaning students, teachers, or anyone else, are judgmental. They may only see things "one-way". They may not have the same beliefs or values other people have. So more often times then not, it is hard for students to be open about who they are and what they love. However, Safe Spaces gave plenty of scenarios in classrooms where teachers connected the idea of being LGBT as a normal, great thing to be or to be connected to. The book proved that a public identity can be made if the topic of LGBT is integrated into the everyday lives of a teacher's students. I wish Rodriguez could have seen things this way when he wrote Aria, realizing he could still hold his Spanish heritage close and make it a part of his public individuality.

I also wanted to talk about Collier. Collier believed that as a teacher, you should integrate the fact that students are bilingual into the normal classroom setting. She believed that the only way to teach a student something new is to integrate what they are already comfortable with and used to. I personally think this lesson hold true for the LGBT community, and how it should be seen as a comfortable lesson to speak about in the classroom. (No matter what age the child is). The authors of this book want teachers to be "constructive and instructive instead of destructive and provocative" (99) towards the topic of being LGBT. They want teachers to "publicly commit to creating a classroom climate of inclusivity and respect with the pledged cooperation of all students" (99). I am positive Collier would agree with the authors of Safe Spaces, and their ideas of instituting topics like these in the classroom all the time, for the sake of giving the students the background knowledge they need and should be comfortable with talking about and thinking about.



To speak about in class:
So, I hope my connections to Rodriguez and Collier are much clearer to all of you now; being that their overall message is to develop a public identity and integrate the ideas of individuality into the classroom experience.


Below is a video I found on Youtube of kids reacting to gay marriage proposals. They all have different reactions, and it is great to watch and hear about. They have more knowledge and ideologies than the average adult. (but that is just my personal opinion :)) After they watch these proposals, they are asked many relevant questions about the topic of LGBT. What they have to say is great. They are accepting, they fight for being LGBT and their rights, and they enjoy hearing about what it means to be LGBT. For some of the children, it is their first time seeing this type of love. For others, it is not, and they are completely supportive. It is a great video and completely inspiring!

A Sense of Identity: An Arugmental Piece

     This author, Richard Rodriguez, from the reading Aria, argues that when people who are bilingual gain their public identity and acceptance in society due to the fact that they are comfortable with the English language, they lose their private identity as a traditional and family oriented Spanish speaker. As we all got a sneak peek into what Rodriguez's life was like as a child, as he broke down his English language barriers in order to please his teachers in school; I can honestly say I felt for him. I have never ever thought of a bilingual student in this way, that they lose the sense of closeness in their families because as time goes on and they learn more English, they have less to connect with their older relatives about. Rodriguez shows us this first hand. He points out that he always thought that Spanish was indeed a "private language" for him, where only he and his family could communicate and really feel every word they exchanged with each other. But, even as a child, Rodriguez realized that he would not be able to get ahead in his schooling if he did not learn the English language fully and confidently. So, he and his family began to speak English around each other. He explained and made his readers see that as they spoke less and less Spanish together, they lost the true connections they had with each other as a family. Rodriguez makes it feel like this was not just his family, but what commonly happens to other bilingual families when they are trying to allow their children to transition to the English language that is all around them; especially at school. I truly feel for Rodriguez hen he says "Matching the silence I started hearing in public was a new quiet at home" (37). He spoke about how he and his family no longer rushed home after school to talk about their day and be with their parents. He spoke about how dinner became quiet, along with his father, who wasn't always this way. He felt that he could not even develop a normal conversation with his mother; or even refer to his parents by what he would have liked to call them, mama and papa. That is tragic, and Rodriguez knows that by telling his readers this about his life that we will be able to conclude that many other bilingual families can understand and experience what he went through as a child. Rodriguez constantly showed us that even though he learned the English language well, he felt like he completely had to shut out the Spanish language as he knew it. He even says, "Her voice, like so many of the Spanish voice I'd hear in public, recalled the golden age of my youth" (38). The golden age. The time period where he felt like he had a true VOICE. Yes, he can speak fluent English now, but can he fully communicate with his family members in the way he would like to? No. The sense of being and individuality for Rodriguez is completely lost, and that is his main point for writing everything he does.

To speak about in class: Towards the end of this reading, Rodriguez speaks about bilingual educators and their take on the transition bilingual students go through as they become familiarized with English. However, he makes the final statement that "...they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private identity by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public identity" (39). This is the main message he broadcasted to his readers throughout explaining to us what his childhood was like, which is that although he became accepted in the public eye for speaking and understanding English, he lost the private, comfortable, connected relationship he had with his family because he lost his true love for speaking the Spanish language.

How many English speaking people see it:

 

How everyone should see it:

 


Now, this is a short article, but it explains the being bilingual is a BENEFIT to the mind.

article


Here is another one proving this theory from the NY Times.
article

"It is impossible to create a model for the good teacher without taking issues of culture and community into account". Quote post

"The teacher's role is to maintain the full attention of the group by continuous questioning, eye contact, finger snaps...and by eliciting choral responses and initiating  some sort of award system" (27). The Distar method. What Alfie Kohn would have approved of in his perfect classroom setting. Yes, these things should be happening. But Lisa Delpit, author of Other People's Children, questions and allows us to think about the cultural barriers that have a tendency to lessen the value of just how much children learn. How can I stand in front of a classroom and speak about what it is like to the zoo if a child has never been? That is a very simple example, but the same type of scenarios can be made for various situations. If a child has not been to the zoo, they may not understand the words being used to describe the areas where the animals live, the names of the animals, etc. It could go on and on for days.
But do not think that because this child has not been to the zoo that they do not have much. Do not think that because this child has not been to the zoo that they will not be able to learn from your lesson. They will, but with explanations that will get their imagination going, get them really into what you're doing, get them working with others, and explaining all that they DO know. Creating scenarios like this for children in classrooms will allow us to stay away from the "silenced dialogue", or the approaches in teaching that lack true comprehension for the children.

One great point Delpit brought up throughout her book was about actual experiences she has talking to students where they feel as though they were not given everything they needed to become knowledgeable about what they were learning in their classes. "The teacher cannot be the only expert in the classroom"(32). Someone standing in front of a group of students and not allowing them to have any input is wrong. Class becomes boring for students, and they begin to develop negative attitudes towards it. With this, nothing can truly be learned. Instead it is all isolated knowledge, or knowledge that is retained but not comprehended. In my eyes, something is not truly learned until you have full understanding and can apply it to your everyday life.

"Actual writing for real audiences and real purposes is a vital element of helping students to understand that they have an important voice in their own learning processes"(33).  Lessons should not only be centered around "what standards a teacher needs to cover before the end of the year", or "what they SHOULD know" but more about what students HAVE to know in order to become established, educated people in this world where you can only get ahead if you have a head on your shoulders. I believe, as Delpit, that students should read and learn from various types of writing and scenarios, and take what they can from it about life and how they can apply it to theirs. This means student-centered group work, peer editing and conferencing, etc. So students will get the opinions of others mixed in with theirs.
Therefore, there is no question that the student lacked the cultural beliefs of another student. There is no question that they are hearing more than the facts said by their teachers. There is no question that they will be able to develop their own opinions and ideology's toward what they have learned, and take something valuable from it.

 

 

 

Finally, the last point that really stood out to me throughout Delpit's book was the idea of how the way a child is spoken to at home affects the way they learn at school.  "...working class mothers use more directives to their children than do  and upper-class parents" (34). Therefore, it is easy for a child who is used to more direct approaches to expect authority from a teacher, to experience personal emotions and connections with the person they are learning from. Some students might be scared off by authority, if they are used to being questioned on what they want to do at home. Ex) "What do you want to do after dinner? Homework, or help me clean the dishes?"

Other children may be used to authority, understanding that they have to listen to anyone who has authority over them.

Ex) "After dinner, clean the dishes and do your homework".

Therefore, every teacher should have a good balance of questioning and authority; creating their own voice. In my opinion, if a teacher is confident her voice is something a student can understand and relate to, the student will be more apt to want to learn and to positively respond to what goes on based upon the atmosphere of the classroom.

 

 

So, as whole, I agree with Lisa Delpit. I agree when she says that, "Educators must open themselves to, and allow themselves to be affected by these alternative voices". I agree that every good teacher must listen, not just hear what their students have to say.

 

 

To speak about in class:A good teacher must take into consideration the cultures of his or her students. They must realize that students have great ideas and experiences that can positively apply to their classrooms. If all of this is taken into consideration, I believe, like Delpit, that a great classroom environment can be created. (No matter what grade, age group, or size of class you are working with. ) All students and teachers should speak out for what they believe in, and get each other talking about it. And in my opinion, the only way this can be done is if a teacher allows the students in their classes to feel comfortable enough to say what they feel and learn from it.

 

 

 I found an interesting article from the New York Times titled "The Science and Art of Listening", about how actually listening is becoming something people in this world do less and less as technology expands along with the amount of information we consume per day.

 

article

"Our children start to mourn themselves before their time". Reflection Piece

       Mott haven, New York. A part of the South Bronx. A place where people basically count down the minutes until they reach their breaking points. Whether it be the time until they contract AIDS, the time they or someone they know becomes a drug addict or prostitute, the time until they actually get in a hospital room after waiting three days, or the time until they simply die. Mott Haven should have a personal stop watch for all of these people. In a way, as creepy or scary as this might sound for me to say, I wish they would know the exact times any of these occurrences could happen to them or someone they love so they could truly prepare. Whether it be to say their last goodbyes, to simply enjoy themselves while they can, or to just take one last look around at what they have, what they don't, what they need, what they love, what they wish they could have experienced in their lives, and anything else you could possibly think of. The people that live in this area deserve at least that.
       In Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol, he takes an inside look at Mott Haven, analyzing each and every detail of the people and area. He finds out some scary and sad information about these people, but it is something all of the public should be aware of. People should know that these people are suffering. That they need so much more than what they have. That they are not any less of good people compared to the rest of us, but the demographic of where they live affects the decisions they make that they believe will help them survive in their area. Yes, Mott Haven may be apart of the South Bronx in New York, but Kozol shows us as readers that this area is like a world separate from all the rest. People's attitudes and lifestyles are so different. The people responded to Kozol's questions with other questions, like "What can I say/do?".  Someone who truly won me over was the 7 year old boy, Cliffie, that Kozol took a walk with and learned about. For someone who has worked one on one with elementary schoolers before, Cliffie's mindset really intrigued me. Although he knows there is a lot of hardships all around him, he is cheerful. He is able to smile, to speak with knowledge about the world around him. He knows so many people, he values God, he values the idea of respect and kindness. I am not saying other 7 year olds do not act as Cliffie does in Amazing Grace, but no 7 year olds I have ever been in contact with have ever acted so mature around someone they barely even know, like Kozol. He feels the need to show Kozol that Mott Haven could be a good place, filled with some good people. Like when he walks across the street.

"See that? They let us cross" (Kozol 10).

Cliffie makes sure Kozol notices this. He makes sure Kozol sees "his store", and sees that he knows and is kind to many people. Not because he wants to show off, but because he really is invested in being a good person, even at 7. One part of this story that really got to me was when Cliffie's mother says, 

"Our children start to mourn themselves before their time"  (Kozol 11). The words in this quote itself make me shiver. This quote is the main theme of this story in my eyes, because it is not just the children that mourn their lives, it is the adults and the caregivers who have to watch everyone they love crash and burn in life just like they will. Take Alice Washington's son, David, who watches his mother who has AIDS. He is not able to work towards a better life for himself or his mother, because he has nearly nothing. Even the local hospitals cannot help him save his mother, because they do not get to patients right away and do not take proper care of anyone. It is sad, but true. And there is nothing poor David, Washington, or Kozol can do about it as he spends his time with them. I'm sure that is painful for Kozol, as it is painful for me as a bystander within this whole story.

"City don't have the money for the living. I guess they think: Why waste it on the dead?" (Kozol 21).

 To speak about in class:The city of Mott Haven as a whole, simply cannot afford the little things they have around them, never mind the big things, like proper medical care, a proper burial, food, shelter, etc.  If no one is prospering, no one can save Mott Haven and make it a better place, even Kozol, who is clearly moved by the people of the area. But, by the name he chose for this story, Amazing Grace,  it is clear to see that he finds peace within the values and morals a good amount of people in Mott Haven possess. Give back to others. Trust God's plan for you. Do the best with what you have. Help one another. Think of everyone else before yourself. Mott Haven may be poverty stricken, full of people with STD's, on drugs, working as prostitutes, and used as the place New York puts everything they do not want in their more prosperous cities (the landfill or the incinerator), but it does not mean that there are not people who wish they could better their lives or help the people around them. Of course they want to save their loved ones. Of course they want to be able to afford food and clothes and make sure they all receive proper care. But sometimes in life, that is not the case. So you do the best with what you have, and you base your attitude off of it. What I learned from Mott Haven is that you're dying anyways. So you can choose to pause your stop watch  of life and upset yourself over what is going on around you, or you can become stronger because of it. Not only because you want to, but because you have to. And that is pretty important.

     Here are some pictures of Mott Haven, including the layout of the areas in which people live, the places (like some mentioned in Amazing Grace... ex) the coconut ice in cups) that people go to, and a true reflection of how the people of Mott Haven fight for what they believe in.

 

I also found a website called the "Mott Haven Herald" with news all about the area. Some articles I personally found interesting are listed below. The first is about one of the hospitals mentioned in Kozol's story, Lincoln Hospital. It is about the expansion of their psychiatric area of the hospital and how they are working to fix the time people wait in the hospital to get taken care of. The second is about an organization that is working to make a complex for all people who have been incarcerated, and how they are working to show them that they can live in this society without committing crimes, as good people.  

 

mott haven article

 

First blog post ever!

Hey everyone! My name is Alex :) I am 18 years old and it's a little bit surreal to me that after all the years I spent as a kid pretending to be a teacher that I am taking classes and getting ready to work with children in real life situations. I am a freshman at RIC and my major is Elementary Education. I spent my summer working at a preschool with toddlers, which I loved, but I got a new job at Hallmark in Garden City a few months ago! Every day I go in there people who shop there tell me the craziest stories about their lives literally I am convinced that the Hallmark stores are seen as a therapy session to anyone over 50.
ANYWAYS, I am taking this class because of my major and because I really think it is a great experience that we will be able to work at a Providence school and get a completely different experience as upcoming teachers. It is a completely different atmosphere, and for some of us, it is completely out of our comfort zones and I find that really exciting. Dr. Bogad is a great teacher and she makes me really excited for my future and gives me confidence that I will be prepared when college is over and I get a head start on my career.
When I'm not in school I am definitely working, napping, eating, (um...) hanging out with friends, and spending time with my family! I am so excited for this semester and I really like everyone in our FNED class. I feel like we all really connect with one another!

Well...that's just a little bit about me :)