Carlson argues that LGBTQ students as well as students of color and female students are underrepresented in the classroom and the curriculum and are made invisible.
Carlson's main ideas are that:
● A “norm” is set, and gayness is considered to be outside the “norm.” People who are considered a part of the “normal” community are white, middle class, male, heterosexuals and anyone who doesn't meet that criteria is disempowered for it and made invisible
● Gayness is usually not represented in schools. LGBTQ teachers are not always allowed to express their sexual orientation
● People who support the idea of a homogeneous community resent people who are different because they interfere with the idea that everyone should try to be “normal”
● Some students are valued more than others in the classroom. Certain qualities are taught to be more valuable than others (whiteness, maleness, heterosexism, wealth, physical and mental ability)
● Diversity in the classroom gives every student a stronger sense of self importance and confidence
● Gayness is not included in curriculum and LGBTQ teachers have been discriminated against and sometimes removed from the classroom, leaving LGBTQ students even more underrepresented
● We are given most of what we identify ourselves as (gender, religion, race, social class) and both society and our personal choices effect what we can do with what we're given. Not everyone has equal opportunities
● Teachers are still allowed (in some situations) to let personal beliefs influence the way they behave towards gayness in their classrooms. Something that teachers who have racial or sexist prejudices are not allowed to do so plainly
Quote: Carlson Pg 239
"Public schools have attempted to be "total institutions" in that everything students do during the school day and are exposed to in the curriculum is controllable." Like communist Slates,they have been based on the presumption that if students in the school community can be kept shielded from "bad influences" and provided only "positive" representations of community life, that they can be molded into "good," "well-adjusted" citizens and workers."
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In my service learning classroom my teacher does a good job creating a diverse environment for students to learn in. The books that she keeps sorted by category represent a broad range of cultures. Most of the students in the classroom are people of color. There are only a few white students in the classroom, and they are not treated differently from what I have seen. I have seen both students of color and white students scolded and rewarded equally. There are high expectations for all the students in the classroom to behave well.
ReplyDeleteI did not see as many books about different life styles as I did books about different cultures and places, so I think that could be a way for the teacher to expand her library.
The classroom itself is diverse as well. By letting students draw their own pictures and hanging them up, the students can see themselves, their families, their race, and their interests represented in the classroom.
I think it's important for students to feel valued and included in their classroom. I've noticed that one way the teacher does this is by treating the classroom and the materials in it as the property of the entire class instead of just her property. The students ask permission to use things, but they respect the class materials and take care when using them.
For reading week at the school I read an Asian fairy tale to the class. The teacher really enjoyed the book and liked that I was trying to introduce her class to new things. The students were very receptive to a different type of story. I think the attitude that the teacher has is the most important part of trying to keep students from being invisible. She tries to give every student a voice.
I agree with Carlson that invisibility in the curriculum is something that should be fought at all costs. There is no reason why any group should have to be marginalized or put down, either literally, or simply by omitting the fact that they exist altogether. The Lesbian gay Bisexual Transgender Queer and Questioning students are no exception. My example does not come from the curriculum that is prescribed by the district but the hidden curriculum within the classroom, not from the mentor teacher whose job is to restore order and promote tolerance but from me, the active observer. A seventh grade female Latino student entered the room before the bell had sounded and started screaming at her (friend?) in the hallway, calling them a “faggot”, not to “be a sissy”, among other obscenities. The hidden curriculum could have been to do nothing and teach her that this kind of language is acceptable, and that degrading the LGBTQ community in the process of normal conversation was not reprimandable or out of the ordinary, but I was not content with this. By immediately moving towards her and firmly and loudly telling her these kinds of words are not acceptable in or out of the classroom, I am sending the message that I do not agree with her behavior. It could have been an opportunity to go deeper, and Johnson would say that by not naming “faggot” as the word that most upset me that she may not take the message as intended and so I may as well have been reprimanding for “god damn” or “fucking”. In any case, the fact that I would not let that go unspoken to is a demonstration of standing up and crushing the use of such derogatory language within the classroom, and is one way to directly end the silence, invisibility, and hate, that has be integrated in the everyway verbiage against LGBTQ people.
ReplyDeleteOutside the classroom, I work to eliminate the hate by being an outspoken activist for the LGBTQ community, helping to organize, promote, and run multicultural events and activities that will raise awareness, create understanding, promote a dialogue, and move towards tolerance if not acceptance. My dream is that Gayness as a whole will not continue to be marginalized and that, as teachers we can take this with us into the classroom and into life and spread the word that no group can afford to be lost in a sea of disgrace and belittling. Identities are not things that will go away no matter how hard we try, and they are not things to be ashamed of but to have pride it. I think Carlson agrees that vocalization is the first step in the journey.
"Community gets redefined in a noninelusive
ReplyDeletemanner so that we are unable to articulate a common or "public" interest.
A second emergent discourse on community in America is that associated with thenewrightandcultural neoconservatism.Thisisa discourseaboutrecapturing
a romanticized lost American community, a "Father Knows Best" community where authority was respected, everybody "knew their places," and culture was homogenous." pg 234
The idea of being aware of other student's backgrounds and culture is essential. The Met does a wonderful job talking about key issues that are happening in all parts of the world. Student's diversity is celebrated with specific celebratory nights where families of all different cultures come and tell stories, serve food from their culture, and have presentations that are related to teaching students about areas in the world that are sometimes forgotten about in other schools with very "white curriculum".
ReplyDeleteMy biggest concern is even though there is a big focus on tolerance at The Met towards race, class, religion, and sexual orientation in the cirriculum; i had to call out a few students who would openly use the "fag" or "gay" to degrade something or someone. I cannot blame the school for this, have to blame the looseness of the word in pop culture, friend circles, and the media. This is an issue that even though The Met is addressing the issues of unity and equality, there's a lot that needs to be done on an overall American value system.
Strong stories to support your claim here, folks. I like the theme of activism that permeates... Dave, a few more details would make this even stronger.
ReplyDelete