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The Growth of Our Future

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  I have enjoyed the readings for this class and I feel that we as professionals can practically take these concepts into the school system. I think my top takeaway was the importance of bringing hard conversations in the classroom, as an open and safe space, no matter the age. This is important for growing in sociological awareness and stripping down stereotypes to learn the truth. These conversations and inclusive activities can give students the opportunity to be enlightened by their peers, recognize the reality of oppression within race, ethnicity,  gender, and class, become self-aware, and practice critical thinking.  These ideas can all be tied to the importance of leaving space and creating opportunities for social education to take place in this way. Not only is it important to have conversations, but it is also vital for students to have a basic understanding of these words at an earlier age so that they can personally build off of their base knowledge. I believe introducing t
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Food Insecurity and the National School Lunch Act

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I created these posts to spread awareness of hunger and homelessness directly within our community. While we have been discussing the history of schooling, I thought they relate well and I wanted to dive into the details of how schools in our country are able to assist families and students in this regard.  In 1946 the United States Congress passed the National School Lunch Act, which created the National School Lunch Program. This program was signed by President Harry Truman and has the impact of providing low-cost or free meals to needy students; thru federal subsidies to schools. It provides nutritionally balanced meals to students each day. This program has continued to provide for students amidst the pandemic as families can pick up their lunches from the school.
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Engagement and Inclusion of Students

**Video submitted separately in Canvas Portal. File too large for blogger For chapters 8&9, I wanted to share my discussion board idea for my theoretical classroom. In addition, I wanted to share a video I created for my students at my internship to promote diversity.  My school was engaged in "Start with Hello" week. Weeks like these are to promote inclusion and to embrace diversity. For that week we had several activities and engagements revolving around the ideas of inclusion. I think it is a great idea to incorporate issues like racism into weeks like those!  I don't think there is an age too young to learn more about each other and our various experiences.  Discussion board idea: Since the population I work with is elementary students, I would want to start off simply by asking them to define their perception of terms in their own words. In addition, encourage them with other activities to get them thinking. I think it's so important to bring up difficult top
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Prejudice and Discrimination

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Starting with chapter 4, on Prejudice and Discrimination the following statement stuck out to me: “Many of us think that we don’t hold prejudicial thoughts against people. Because we think this, we see ourselves as free of prejudice. But the process is much more complicated. The reality is that no one can avoid prejudice because it is built into our socialization.” (Sensoy and DiAngelo, 53) The reason I chose these statements for the base of my connection to the meaning of prejudice, is because it describes my thinking prior to my college educatio n. I think this is so vital for being involved with social justice; the ability to recognize your own bias. Years ago, if someone had told me that I had prejudices I would've been in denial, thinking that this wasn't the case for me. Upon realizing that every individual has innate bias I came to know the concept of this reality of the prejudiced nature built into our socialization through each individual. This was a big pill to swall
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Internalized Dominance

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For chapters 6 and 7 in Sensoy and DiAngelo, I posed this question: If there are so many examples of oppression through sexism as we read, then why is this oppression of women understood as "invisible" in our society?  I think our society, in general, has a hard time facing issues that run so deep. Rather, we pretend there is not a problem and move forward. In a way, I think it roots in the fact that we don't always acknowledge sexism relating to our behavior. Sexism may be engrained within people's experiences being raised, in which case it is something they first have to acknowledge exists.   Sensoy and DeAngelo reference back to chapter 3 with the concept of a fish moving in a water current. If the water is moving with the fish towards its destination, it may seem effortless to him and he may not acknowledge how much further the flow of water is accelerating him. At the same time, a fish going against the current is going to be working much harder and still not get
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Identity Project Part 3&4

  I created this video to simply describe who I am. A lot of my identity is held within the roles that I have as an individual. I wanted to show myself in an authentic way, in order to demonstrate where I have come from and where I have been. So much about me has developed in new ways as I have grown as an adult. I wanted the main takeaway of this video to not only be a visual of who I am but an illustration of who I'm becoming. While my "home roots" have had an impact on who I am today, my further independent experiences as a student and professional have shaped my views of the world and have stripped my ignorance. I have been enlightened and I have developed into a more well-rounded person, in preparation for my future social, personal, and professional life. I wanted to title this video "Becoming" because while I do believe in staying true to who you are, I also want to push for active growth and improvement. I think it is so important to be self-reflective a
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Identity Project Part 1

  PART I - Close Reads:  The readings throughout this course will serve as the foundation to think critically and reflectively about your identity. (a) Where do you come from? Who are you? How has your identity changed? How do you figure out your identity? (Kirk &Okazawa-Ray, 2010)  I come from Thomasville, North Carolina. A small town with countryside and opportunity. I am a white heterosexual female. I have so many roles and responsibilities that play into who I am. Many factors of my identity entail a large amount of privilege. Part of myself that has changed would be my awareness and activity relating to social justice that I didn't always understand. Going forward I am choosing to recognize the parts of my identity that aren't in my control, but that gives me a running start from a socio-economic standpoint. For me now, it's a matter of taking this reality of my identity and using it for the empowerment and advocacy of others. (b) Which parts of your identity do y
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