Jill: Social Issues

"A Critically Compassionate Pedagogy for Latino Youth" Julio Cammarota and Augustine Romero "Building on Strength with Education, Respect and Trust" Ana Celia Zentella "Precious Knowledge" Ari Palos and Eren Isabel McGinnis (filmmakers) While reading these two articles and watching the film, many emotions hit me. Sadness, pride in students, and anger are the three that stand out the most. Throughout history oppression of minorities has existed. And it continues into today's world. It would be ignorant to say that we are all individuals and race, nor gender, nor age, nor class play a part in the lives we live. The articles and film focus on Mexican American students in classes that aim to develop critical thinkers and academic leaders. When I say "academic leaders," I mean students who take charge of their own learning and go out in the community to make a difference.  It saddens me to think about the marginalization of Latino an...

"Deculturalization and the Claim of Racial and Cultural Superiority of by Anglo-Americans"  by: Joel Spring  Spring argues that European leaders invaded Native American lands with the attitude that the Native American culture was inferior to their own. The Native Americans were stripped of their culture through the education system put in place by Anglo-Americans so that they would willingly sell their land.  "The Indian Boarding Schools"  by: Michele Bollinger  In her text, Bollinger focuses on the Indian Boarding Schools from the 1870's to the 1960's. She argues that the Indians endured treacherous conditions in these boarding schools from very young ages.  Torture of the Native American Culture These two texts emphasize the torture that was done to Native Americans and their culture by the Anglo-Americans. The Anglo-Americans were hungry for land and power and they took advantage of a culture that did not emphasize land and wealth. The...

What "Counts" as Educational Policy Jean Anyon argues that in order to solve the problems in urban schools there must be a reform of public policies. The most recent policies to improve education are based on increased academic standards and requirements, standardized testing, and professional development for teachers. However, these policies do not get to the base of the problem. The neighborhood poverty is not addressed in these solutions.  Therefore, the intended reform fails. Anyon states that income affects cognitive development, family economic pressure and achievement on assessments of academics, health and positive behavior.  Policies that would positively contribute to school reform include, "a raise in the minimum wage...paying women the same amount men are paid for comparable work... requiring employers to hire without discriminating again Blacks and Latinos." Although these policies do not directly link to the school environment, they would have positi...

Unnatural Causes: In Sickness and In Wealth Director: Larry Adelman This film argues that life expectancy is determined by economic status. As the film goes through the lives of individuals in Louisville, Kentucky, it describes how the place where one grows up and develops affects health. In the more affluent communities towards the east, the life expectancy is higher than the poorer communities in the west. In fact, there seems to be a direct correlation between wealth and health. Life expectancy increases as health increases throughout communities. When speaking of research on people's employment, Sir Michael Marmot stated, "the lower the grade of employment the higher the risk of heart disease." He also goes on to say that there is also higher risk of every major cause of death. This means that people with high paying and high-power careers will live longer that people with low paying, low power jobs. I would have thought that people with high power c...

My name is Jillian Sevigny and I am a fourth grade teacher at Times 2 Academy in Providence. I am in my third year as a fourth grade teacher, but I previously taught fifth grade and sixth through eighth grade math. I am in the Master of Reading program at Rhode Island College and I am currently taking my second class. I am also starting classes for an ESL certification in the next summer session. As for my spare time, I play softball and I love to read. I also recently got engaged and bought a house, so I have a lot of planning in my future!