Reading Response

The article "How to Interrupt Oppressive Behavior" by Mary McClintock helped me look even further into the impact people can have on others because of their actions. She talks about her own experiences as a camper and staff at a camp with discrimination. Even though this discrimination is in a camp, it is similar to the issues you would face in a classroom. You are dealing with children and the identity characteristics that they are experiencing in a new environment.

McClintock heavily motivates people to be aware of what is going on around you and make a point to say something to stop the oppression. She clearly shows how people work against it and how others help to stop it and move towards social justice. If someone is working against social justice by laughing at the joke being made or just not saying anything at all then they are just motivating others to join in with this opression. On the other hand you can educate yourself about how to work towards social justice and be able to interrupt the behavior and stop any hurtful words or actions.

I think it is good to focus on this topic because many people will just go along with whatever joke or comment is being made that is discriminating against someone else. As a teacher I will be encountering this at various times and will need to be able and willing to step up and push for social justice. If the students do not have anyone to look up to that sets a positive example then they will continue with their bad behavior.

The author also states different ways to get students to initiate a positive response to the discrimination. She suggests setting up events that help the students to focus on the understanding of discrimination and to value yourself and others. Also organizing a meeting with other teachers (or staff) to discuss how to work with students of different races and cultures. Since the world is becoming a more diverse place it is important for not only the students but teachers to understand social justice and to work toward equality inside the classroom.

Reading Response

The article "The American High School Has Failed It's Missions" by David F. Labaree discusses what issues today's high school may be having and why they could possibly failing teaching their curriculum correctly. Many think that the modern American high school is being falsely portrayed in media, such as movies. The author explains how in specific movies from the nineties shows how school is a boring place and students try everything to rebell against the rules, like skipping school for the day.

Not only is the schooling portrayed in a negative light, it also shows that everyone will graduate. This gives schools in today's society the idea that they will expect everyone to graduate and if you do not then you are a high school drop out. Schools are being put under much stress to push for all their students to graduate. With this in mind, school administrators and teachers will do anything to get their students not to fail. One technique used was easy grading allowing students to be able to receive a diploma without trying hard at all but basically just attending school.

The author also digs into the fact that out schooling is soley based on helping students prepare for the workforce. There are different types of schooling that will teach you how to do a certain job. For example, vocational studies usually prepares one for auto mechanic work or to become a beautician while academic work prepares you for admission to colleges and eventually receiving a job at a major company.

The purpose of schooling and the view of how school is being presented to the public is different for everyone. Some use the media to base their opinions on school and others use their experience. Whichever way they choose, school is provided for everyone to be able to learn the steps for their career in the future.

Reading Response

The article "Public Law 94-142: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" is an overview of the education system regarding students with disabilities. This law indicates that every student, with or without a disability, has the opportunity for a free education in public school systems. Each student will receive their education based on their unique needs and skill qualifications for learning.

It is stated that this law is set for children ages three to twenty one who are in need of these services because of their disability. School districts find out these levels of each student based on a general test that is in no way discriminating against race, culture or gender. This evaluation is made by a multidisciplinary team which includes education realted people from different fields such as teachers, physical therapists and psychologists. If a parent of a student is not satisfied with the results of the evaluation they are able to have an outside evaluation done to have a second opinion.

The author then proceeds to discuss the meaning of free education provided to students. Education is provided to students at no cost to the parents regardless of how much funding the school district is receiving from the state. This is not only for education but education related purposes such as "transportation, speech therapy, audiological or hearing services, psychological services for diagnosis and evaluation, augmentative or assistive devices considered necessary, and counseling and/or medical services."

Also, disabled students are provided with IEP or Individualized Education Program which is a legal document describing the specific education needed for each student. The purpose of this program is to find an appropriate program that identifies the goals set for each disabled student. It is also vital for parents to keep up with the students educational needs in order to help place their child in the correct educational program.

In conclusion, this disability law enables every individual student to be placed in the correct program to fit their educational needs. This will allow every student whether disabled or not to be able to learn at their own pace and fit their needs.

Media Analysis Summary

From the two magazine ads and the commercial I found there were similarities and differences in each. The first thing that was similar was the fact that they were each gender directed towards women and how to make them feel more like women. The makeup fixes all your flaws on your skin and the hair extensions make your hair longer if you are not satisfied with the way it looks right now.

These types of ads can be helpful to women in the way that they are directing each woman to a certain type of beauty product they may want or need for everyday use or even a special occasion. This is what is initially thought of these ads but if you dig deeper into them you see that they are also having negative affects on certain women.

Beauty product ads make women and girls feel that it is necessary to have these products to make themelves more beautiful to the outside world. Without these things they will not be able to have the flawless skin or shiny, long hair as portrayed in ads, on television or on the celebrities used in each beauty product ad. Females, especially adolescents, begin to question themselves and bring out their insecurities because they are not as pretty as the models or celebrities in these ads causing them to go out and buy the product.

Some may say that this is just the way that the company has to make these ads in order to get business but they are stooping as low and making women feel degraded or discriminated against. Although this may not be intentional it is happening all the time and women all over are being affected by it in a negative way. If every women in society felt one hundred percent happy with the way they looked they would not be going out and buying these beauty products.

Luckily, today's ads have become more diverse such as the commercial I found. The companies still direct their products to women but are realizing that women of a different colored skin are "needing" to buy these products as well. It may be positively directed to diversity but these ads are still feeding on the insecurities of women everyday.

Each ad I found had similarities and differences but in the end they all were directed in a negative way to the female gender. I'm sure these companies will continue to use their specific tactics in product selling for many more years because of the business they are receiving as of right now.

Link for Media Analysis 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrdX3PEcBLc&feature=related

Media Analysis 3

The first thing I noticed in the commercial for Revlon Color Stay makeup was that Shania Twain's song "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" was playing. This instantly drew me in because I knew this commercial would be directed towards me, a woman, just because of the main song. This also indicates that the product about to be shown in the commercial will make you feel like a woman if you use it. If the song was not a good enough clue for me it would be the several different women shown in the commercial and the first woman being Shania Twain herself.

Each woman shown had flawless looking skin with big smiles on their faces making me think that they were very happy while wearing this color stay makeup. Women of all ages watching this commercial may think that they will be as content with the makeup as the women in the commercial motivating them to want to go out and buy this perticular makeup brand.

Typical commercials and ads I have seen in the past usually direct towards one gender, social class or race but in this commercial they had women of different races to represent their product. I believe this was done in order to create equality in their product and if women see that this makeup is available for women of different races they would be more appreciative to the fact that they were not discriminating against any certain race and want to buy the makeup. Not only were the women in this commercial of different races but the makeup bottles were shown in each shade provided for these different skin colors.

As girls are growing into women they will be seeing this commercial and begin wondering if they should go out and get this product to make their complexion as flawless as the women in the commercial. This results in adolescent girls questioning their sexual identity and insecurities in themselves. On the other hand, it can give these girls a good look at racial differences and see that just because someone has a different color skin from them does not mean they do not get the same benefits in things like makeup as they do.

Althought this commercial fits most stereotypes in a makeup commercial with flawlessness from the product it gives women a positive look on diversity.

Reading Response

A section in Chapter 13 of "Educational Equality for Students with Disablilities" by William L. Heward and Rodney A Cavanaugh discusses the term disablility and what makes a child disabled. They first compare higher skilled students with the lower ones and use the term "exponential", saying that it would be for either gifted students or lower level students.

Disability is said to be the loss of function in parts of one's body or organ. It is the impairment in these parts of a human that make them disabled. Many confuse a disability with a handicap but it is only considered a handicap if it has to do with educational or social purposes. The example Heward and Cavanaugh use is if a student has one arm and can still function well with their studies in school without support, they are not considered handicap.

On the other hand, handicap does refer to the the challenges these disabled students face in everyday situations. The example of the student with one arm shows that they may be handicap in an outside game but not necessarily in the classroom with their studies. Some students also experience these handicaps because of distractions in the classroom with other students. This prevents them from being able to accomplish their goals in school.

It is also explained that some children may be "at risk" of becoming handicap. This happens because of bad experiences with birth or the home environment. Doctors have been able to determine whether a mother is going to have a disabled child and labels it either "at risk" or "high risk". Not only does this happen with younger children but can happen as students get older and begin having a difficult time learning in school. The handicap placed on these students requires them to take special education classes to help get them to skill level necessary for their age group.

Whether a student is disabled or not, if they are getting the appropriate education they will be able to progress in the world with their studies. This handicap can be helped as long as the education is taught properly.

Service Learning Journal 3

After a challenging second day at service learning I was ready for anything on my third day. As I walked into the classroom things were going smoothly as they always have with Mrs. Berry finishing up her lesson. For recess we were able to join the kids outside. A kindergardener wanted me to play with him at recess and we ended up running all over the playground and going down each slide. I was fun to be able to have fun and run around with the students because it could take away some of the stress from the day.

I was starting to grow even more closer to this class because I was getting to the know the kids even more that before. Some students were starting to get in trouble and I think some part of it comes with the fact that they are getting more comfortable around the other service learning student and me. They are also starting to talk back to us which is a new challenge to face. One student kept joking around with me when I told him to keep writing. He just laughed and kept goofing off until I finally explained to him that he would get in trouble if he did not sit and work on his writing.

During their usual Friday spelling test I walked around observing each student's test. I was surprised to see some of the students had a hard time with the simplest words. It makes you wonder what it is that makes these students fall behind other students. On the other hand I saw students who seemed too smart for their age. After their test was over the students could draw on the back of their test. One student was drawing the home page of the google website and drew the bottom a of a computer screen with the start button on it. The first thing I thought was that when I was his age I was drawing flowers and animals not the google web page.

After their test was over they got to sit on the big rug in the front of the class and listen to Ms. Carmen read a story to them. She did an excellent job of getting the students involved in the story. The first thing she had them do was determine what the story would be about just by looking at the cover. Many of the students just looked at different objects on the cover and assumed the story would be about that until one student said that you cannot judge a book by its cover. Ms. Carmen asked them questions throughout the book and each student was so eager to answer even if it may have not been the right answer.

The last thing of the day was the learning workshop again. They had the same groups and same activities to participate in. I was in charge of the poetry again but with a different group. This group of students did not struggle that much with their reading skills but had a problem paying attention. I wanted each student to follow along while one read but as I helped a student with a word I would look up to find another student looking in the opposite direction or closing their booklet. It was a struggle to keep each student focused but I managed to have them all following along and reading with the group.

I find myself being tested each week in this second grade classroom but it is building up my patience and helping me learn the proper way to discipline. It is hard for me to be stern with children because I just want to laugh along with them but being a teacher comes with certain responsibilities that I am quickly picking up and understanding each day in this class.

Service Learning Journal 2

I was excited to get into my second day of service learning after the positive experience I had with the first day. I was starting to get to know the kids better and had a feel for how the classroom ran each day. When I got there Mrs. Berry was in the middle of a lesson and then the students went to recess again. Instead of going outside with the students, we stayed inside and got the classroom ready for their learning workshop later in the day.

Once the students were back inside and done eating their snack, they were to take a spelling test. I had to walk around during the test and make sure everyone was on track and were doing the right thing. Everyone seemed to be fine until I glanced at a table away from the other students and two students were working together on their test. I wondered why Mrs. Berry would do this since both students would most likely be copying each others work since they were sitting right next to each other. Although I wanted to, I did not question why this was happening.

Once the tests were done I was asked to collect each paper from the students. When I walked up to the table with these two and asked for their papers. The boy just kept coloring on the back of his test. I was so confused why he wasn't giving me his test and just figured that he was being stubborn so I figured I would come back. Then the little girl who was sitting next to him came up to me and told me that he does not understand English. Instantly it made sense why he did not listen to me. I was a little shocked to know this and wasn't sure how I could handle this. I asked the girl if she could get his paper for me and she did. I'm sure I could have handled this situation better but that was the first thing that came to my mind.

After their spelling test they had learning workshop. The students were in groups of abotu four and went to different stations such as listening to a story on tape, reading big paged books, working on the computers, writing some more, or reading poetry. I was in charge of reading poetry with that group. We went around the circle and each student would read a poem from their October poem booklet. The first student read it very clear and fast but the next student had a harder time reading hers even tho she chose a shorter poem. I tried to have her sound out the words she did not know but she couldn't even sound the words out. I felt so bad and did not want to just give her the word so I helped her out with sounding out the words. I had to be very patient with her but in the end she got through the poem.

This day in service learning, my patience was tested. Whether it was sounding out the words in a poem with a student or finding a good way to ask a student who did not speak English for their spelling test. I know it is good for me to face these challenges because later on I will be experiencing even more difficult challenges that I need to be ready to handle.

Service Learning Journal 1

The first thing I noticed as I stepped into Mrs. Berry's second grade class was that she had help already from a student teacher. Ms Carmen was walking around the classroom helping students understand what Mrs. Berry was talking about at the time. It was a bit intimidating at first walking into her classroom because I did not know what to expect, but they made me feel right at home once I put my purse down in the back room. As soon as I looked down at the eager, warm, smiling faces on each second grader I became very excited to help out with this class.

I then noticed both teachers using what seemed to be microphones but were hanging around their necks. At first I wondered why a teacher would have something like that in their classroom. As I thought about it, I realized that it is a good way for the students to be able to hear her clearer since some of them may not speak English well. I glanced around the classroom while waiting for Mrs. Berry to finish her lesson to see if there were any international students who may not speak English. There were only a few students who looked like they were not from America but surpringly almost all the students spoke English.

Right away they had recess. The other service learning student (Marla) and I went outside with the students. One student in our class was eager to show me the playground and explain every little detail about it. I was floored by each detail he was giving because I did not realize how smart kids are now.

Once reces was over the students headed back inside and got right back into their writing workshops. I had to walk around and make sure the students came up with ideas to write about and were actually writing about them. I sat by one student and asked him to explain his idea to me that he was writing about and he read me what he had written already. When I looked at his paper I saw that he had capital letters in the middle of sentences and started a few sentences with lowercase letters. I asked him what type of letters you are supposed to start sentences with and he said capital letters and fixed his mistake. Then I asked him if there are supposed to be capital letters in the middle of sentences and he said no and fixed his mistake. As he continued to write, if he made another mistake, he realized it right away and fixed it. I felt really good about being able to help him determine his mistakes and be able to fix them.

My first day of service learning was a bit of a challenge but as I eased into the classroom I felt more and more at home. Mrs. Berry and Ms. Carmen told us exactly what to do and Marla and I were able to help out without any issues.

Reading Response

In the article "How Homophobia Hurts Everyone" by Warren J. Blumenfeld, he describes how being homosexual can affect not just that person but the other people in his life. Blumenfeld begins by telling his story of how he used to get teased and mocked when he was in school. This resulted in a separation from his younger sister socially. She could not handle the fact that he was gay and people would also make jokes to her about it.

We do not realize how much homosexuals and their family and friends are hurt and what we can do to prevent it. Blumenfeld's sister just went along with the rest of the students after a while because it seemed to make things easier for her but always ened up hurting her brother in the end. The author makes us think about the different types of homophobia people have and how we might be able to prevent it in the future.

Personal homophobia is when someone personally prejudices against homosexuals and feels they are powerless, should be hated, disturbed and defected. Interpersonal homophobia is when the prejudice begins to affect relationships because of name calling or jokes. This is the case between Blumefeld and his sister. Institutional homophobia is when the government, businesses or education systems intentionally are against this sexual identity. They make their laws and rules specifically against homosexuals so they are unable to get schooling or work in these specific places. This will also affect different relationships between people.

Blumenfeld also discussed affects on heterosexuals that are homophobic. Homophobia can make people unable to have close relationships with others of the same sex. Usually after adolescent years they are encouraged by parents, peers and media to become close with those of the opposite sex. This can also lead heterosexuals to stay within their stereotyped gender. The females cannot be masculine and males cannot be feminine because if there is a slight bit of change they may encounter harrassment. Since heterosexuals may feel this way it will push them to do the harrassing as well.

Throughout this article I have been able to see both sides of how homophobia affects people. It does not have a positive affect on either homosexuals or heterosexuals. Someone is always afraid of being judged or harrassed. If we can overcome the ideal stereotypes then individuals in societies will not have to worry about having to fit in based on their sexual identitiy.

TE 250: Reading Response

The article "Pornography and Men's Consciousness" by Jackson Katz discusses the issues of how pornography affects women and men with self esteem and relationship problems. Jackson begins by saying how difficult it is for people discuss pornography openly because it will offend other people, especially women. He explains how this exploitation of women can lead to men using women or taking advantage of them. This then leads to the downward spiral of women's self esteem.

Men think that the consumption of pornography will have a short term affect on them meaning they will get their pleasure for the time being and move on with their lives. What they do not realize is that their relationships may be affected by this. Most of these women in pornographies were sexually abused, raped or abused as children and have known all their lives that men have that power over them. By watching these films men can get that extra edge over women that they may have not realized they had before. These images have a more powerful affect on how men can relate to women than expected therefore they continue to watch pornography.

It is unfair for women to have to carry around these personal scars and burdens in life. The fact that women are lower than men in society makes women feel like they will never get ahead of men. Women feel that they can gain respect from men by doing these pornographies or magazines but really it is making men lose any respect they had for women in the first place.

Katz notes that men are not biologically born feeling this way about women, but pick up the fascination of pornography from the media. They see shows and ads in the media about different celebrities in pornography or hear other men celebrities saying they wactch and think that it is okay because others are doing it too.

Although celebrities are taking part in this industry it is still not okay for women's self esteem. It will all lead to women comparing themselves to famous celebrities and wanting to have that perfect body because then they will know that men will want to see them without clothing. Men need to start thinking about the younger viewers and how pornography will affect boys and girls as they are growing up.

Media Analysis 2

My second media analysis comes again from Cosmopolitan magazine and is an ad about Jessica Simpson's hair extension collection. The first thing that drew my attention to this page was the fact that it is mostly pink. The back ground, Jessica's outfits, the chairs she is sitting in and even her hair stylist's out fit is pink. Like me, viewers who love the color pink would instantly be drawn to this ad. The color pink makes you feel girly, cute and fun giving the impression that if you have these hair extensions you will feel girly, cute and fun.

Once the viewer looks past the pink in the article they notice Jessica Simpson who is a very famous celebrity and known for being glamorous and beautiful all the time. With such a well known celebrity promoting her very own line of hair extensions makes the viewer want these specific extensions and not just some no name brand because they will feel or look like Jessica. It also says at the top of the page in white letters that these extensions were inspired by Jessica Simpson. The font is in white making it stand out so viewers know these hair extensions are just like Jessica Simpson's natural hair.

Jessica is also very dressed up in her magazine add. In all three poses of Jessica, in this ad, she is wearing a dress, a nice shirt with a skirt and heels on her feet. This could make the viewer feel that they need to be dressed up in order to wear these hair extensions and cannot wear sweat pants or jeans. If Jessica Simspson is not dressed down then the viewer may not know if they can be dressed down while wearing the hair extensions.

The last thing i noticed is that there is only blonde hair extensions shown in this ad. It's as if they forget about the viewers with brown, red, or black hair. If someone with a different color hair were to flip to this page they may completely overlook it because they do not think there is a shade for them because it is not in the ad. These viewers may feel that Jessica Simpson is discriminating against the viewers who do not have the same color hair as her making them not feel as good about themselves because a celebrity will not make a hair extension in their shade of hair color.

With these things in mind, there are different factors in this magazine ad that would either draw the attention of viewers or make them turn the page. Most viewers that would take a look at this article would probably be blondes who like Jessica Simpson because she is someone they look up to and know they are able to wear these extensions and feel girly, cute and fun. The viewers that would overlook this ad would not be fans of Jessica Simpson or feel discriminated against because she does not show shades of different color hair.

TE 250: Reading Response

The section "Night to His Day": The Social Construction of Gender by Judith Lorber explains how the gender process happens and how people in society view gender roles. We do not realize how much we talk or relate to gender acceptances and differences everyday.

The first thing we notice in gender is the symbols such as the color clothing you are wearing or accessories you have on. This happens right when babies are born. People view a child by whether they are wearing blue or pink, earings or no earings, long hair or short. These characteristics determine whether the baby is a boy or a girl in society's eyes. It is uncommon for a boy to wear pink or a girl to wear a baseball cap. Although these children do not realize what gender they are at first, as soon as they begin to speak and walk they call themselves by their gender and begin to realize who they are. with adults.

Although it is common with children, we see adults gendered as well. We would not normally see a father walking with a stroller or carrying a child in a baby sling. When the author observed this she saw a father putting a baseball cap on his child and assumed that the child was a boy but when she looked closer she saw earrings on the child and realized it was a girl. What is most common is for parents to dress their child according to how society would be able to determine whether they have a boy or a girl so there is no confusion.

Another thing that is gendered with adults is their job. Job titles with higher power or position would normally be given to men and the lower titles to women. The jobs of parents also reflect the experiences their children go through which can also help shape their gender role whether it is masculine or feminine. Each job places them in a social class and based on how you live in your social class will change or keep your gender role the same because of changing hormones and passed down genes.

Gender roles are different in each society and culture. In today's culture we have men and women and they are placed in these catagories because of the characteristics they posses. It is becoming more common for transexuals (people having sex changes) or berdaches, hijras and xaniths (men who dress, behave, work and are treated as women). The gender roles in society are changing everyday because of new environments and living situations.

TE 250: Reading Response

The article "Racism in the English Language" by Robert B. Moore explains how words people use or names used when describing a person of minority can be hurtful. Not only can these words and phrases be hurtful they can also have a major influence on students in the classroom. Children pick up this sort of language and behavior from parents, peers and teachers assuming it is okay to say and do not realize the affect it is going to have on others around them.

Moore discusses the symbolism in culture today. White is always good and black is always bad or "angels are white and devils are black" (Moore pg 166). Society feeds off of media for what is good or bad and right or wrong. In children's movies minorities usually have broken english or can barely speak it at all. This makes the dominant group look down on the minority group and the minority group feel down about themselves. They lose any self acceptance they once had.

In terms of slavery, Moore tries to get the reader to dig down deeper into the text by replacing the word slaver with phrases such as "African people held in captivity" or " Black people forced to work for no pay." By replacing slavery with a much more harsh phrase gives the reader a deeper sense of how badly these people are treated. Slavery is just a word but when u see the real meaning of it you are able to understand the level slaves were at during that time.

These slaves were never given credit for as well. Moore uses an example from Thomas Greenfield as he was on a tour in Monicello. While being given a tour, the tour guide began to discus the architecture in that area. Greenfield noted that "while speaking of the architectural acheivements of Jefferson in the active voice, she unfailingly shifted to (the) passive (voice) when speaking of the work performed by Negro slaves and skilled servants." These people were never given a chance to be greater than what they were because of their skin color and ethnic background. One labeled as a minority they were never given the opportunity to succeed like the dominant white group because they were shut down so badly by the dominant group.

In conclusion, we are unable to completely stop this affect on the minority groups but there are ways to slow it down. Teachers, parents, and peers need to be able to see this affect and help students to stop using the language that is hurting other people.

TE 250: Reading Response

The article "An Indian Father's Plea" by Robert Lake (Medicine Grizzlybear) is about this man's desparate want and need to have his indian child fit in at school and yet still accept the culture he came from. He writes a letter to his son, Wind-Wolf's teacher explaining how the students have been negative to his son and how he wants Wind Wolf to be able to appreciate his culture instead of being embarrased by it. The father also wants to know why the teacher insists that his child is a slow learner at school.

It is incredibly sad to see that children at the age of six are already influenced by their parents to judge other people. Robert explains that when Wind-Wolf wanted to go play at his friend's house before dinner one day, the parent of the other child did not want their child playing with Wind-Wolf because he was not white. Wind-Wolf also had a hard time continuing to accept his identity because the children in his class laughed at his name and because his hair was long. In his culture it is considered masculine to have long hair and in the new culture at his school it is not. He came home and told his father and mother that he wanted to cut his hair regardless of the fact that it is apart of their culture.

Wind-Wolf has a hard time picking different concepts at school such as the language being spoke by his teacher and students and counting correctly. Robert tells the teacher how his son learned to count. He would listen to his aunts and grandmothers count as they sorted different materials for their native baskets. Wind-Wolf was also taught that there are thirteen full moons in a year and Robert wants the teacher to understand why Wind-Wolf may count the number of months wrong.

Based on what I have read in this article, it seems that teachers need to be more open about the diversity in their classes. They need to help their students understand that just because a student is different looking does not mean there is anything wrong with them and they need to be accepting of everyone. The teacher will hopefully see how much this parent wants his child to fit in at school yet still accept and love his original culture because of the effort he is making for his son with this letter.

Media Analysis 1

Media has an affect on many views we have and decisions we make. This varies from what types of people we associate ourselves with to the food or clothing we buy at the store. I found an add in a magazine for a make up product the company is trying to sell. By analyzing this magazine add I was able to find what things made this product stand out to customers and what type of people it was directed to.

My magazine add is a Revlon make up ad for foundation. The initial thing I observed was that a very famous celebrity was sponsoring this product. By having a certain celebrity sponser a product either makes or breaks the product. If you really like this celebrity you may read into the ad more then if you did not like the celebrity which might simply lead you to turning the page.

Also I noticed how flawless her skin is. This flawlessness leads the viewer to believe that the make up will make their skin look flawless as well. Towards the bottom of the ad it states " Naturally Glamorous, Never Overdone." This phrase enhances the fact that the make up will make you look flawless. If you are glamorous and never overdone, you must be flawless.
Although the product's brand name was not in the center of the page, my eyes were still drawn to it. In big letters at the bottom of the page reads "REVLON." Since the brand is in big and bold font, the readers eyes are instantly drawn to it and makes you remember the name because of how much space on the page it took up.

The last thing in this ad I noticed was the audience it was attempting to attract. The celebrity is of caucasion ethnicity and shows a bottle of the make up in her skin tone. There is no other indication of this make up being usable to those of darker skin colors. The only indicator would be that the ad says there are five different shades. This is deceiving to the reader because only one shade of the make up is shown.

As I have said before, media has a major affect on the decisions of what products we decide to buy in our daily lives. The examples I have given show how the Revlon make up ad I found in a magazine makes the product seem like a good buy and could also be directed to a certain group of people.

Reading Response 3

Social class has an affect on many things in our lives. When it comes to schooling many parents and teachers believe the social class of the student's parent has the biggest affect on how they succeed in school and how much help they are receiving at home with their school work. In chapter six of the book, Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education, Second Education, the author Annette Lareau goes into great detail regarding this factor of education.

The two schools, Colton and Prescott, were used for comparison of each factor of social class in this chapter. The author first asks the school's principal and teachers why they think certain parents value their child's education more of less than other parents and how much involvement each parent makes in their child's learning. The principal at Colton revealed that many parents do not value their child's education because they never got any education themselves. He believed that the environment the students are living in has the biggest affect on how well they will succeed in their own education. For example, Colton's principal saw that if a parent did not attend parent-teacher conferences this meant they were not concerned with their child's education or how well they are doing at school, if not working at the time of conferences.

On the other hand, the parents at Prescott were more involved and it showed greatly to the staff. Prescott's principal also believes that it comes from the environment of the student but the environment of students at Prescott is much different than at Colton. Prescott's principal believes that if the student's parent thinks education is important then it will rub off on the student and they will think their education is important as well.

After observing what the faculty at each school had to say about parental involvement, the author went right to the main source and talked to the student's parents. It was shown by the parent's feedback that the amount of time they participated in school events or homework with their child did not reflect at all on how they valued education for their child. Parents whose childrent when to Colton strongly valued their child's education and wanted them to at least complete high school. There was no heavy push for college but definitely some interest in it ifor their child.

Again, on the other hand, Prescott parents had higher goals for their children. They wanted to see them attend colleges after high school and maybe even post graduate schooling. Studies are shown that higher social class children are more directed at college while the working class was pushed away from it towards working. Most of this is a result of whether they can afford to pay for their child's college or not.

Most parent's value of education was different from how the principals and teachers believed it would be. Just because the parents view may be higher on education does not mean their child will progress in this manner. From what I viewed of this article, if the parents show some interest in the child's learning this will give motivation to the student to progress higher in their studies. Children need that motivation and eagerness from their parents and peers in order to feel good about where they are headed in their education.

TE 250: Reading Response 2

As I read through the reading "Teaching for Social Justice, Diversity, and Citizenship in a Global World" by James A. Banks, the section "The Stages of Cultural Identity" stuck out to me. Right away I agreed with the first sentence in this section. Banks states "Self-acceptance is a prerequisite to the acceptance and valuing of others" (pg. 295). Banks wants all teachers to realize that you will encounter students dealing with stereotypes and negative feelings toward their own ethnicity regardless if they are minorities or in the dominant ethnicity.

The negative stereotypes/feelings are just a part of the first stage in Banks' Cultural Identity Typology. Each stage describes the pattern of becoming who you are and how you are unable to reach the next stage until you have completed the first. Once the student begins to accept who they are and the culture around them they are able to move up the stages to potentially having "a strong desire to function effectively in two cultures" (Banks pg. 295). This is called Biculturalism. By the final stage the person is able to identify with their own culture, surrounding cultures, the culture of their nation, and the global community.

I believe this is a strong goal to have and to push for because the more we accept ourselves and other nations can help to limit the amount of discrimination in the world.

TE 250: Reading Response 1

As I began to read the article “The Trouble We’re In: Privilege, Power, and Difference” by A.G. Johnson, I was caught off guard by the fact that people judge others based on what they don’t know or understand about other races, genders, or ethnicities compared to what they have learned througout the years growing up. We subconsciously judge because of the fear of difference. If someone is different from us either by race, gender, ethnicity, etc. we find ourselves wondering why that person is the way they are and why they are not like us. This fear also stops us from being able to get along with those of different race, gender, ethnicity, etc. because we do not know how they will act or treat us because that is not what we learned in our society growing up.
Johnson discusses a diversity wheel in his article with different discriptions of people inside it. He tells the reader to look at each group and see where you fit in. Johnson then continues to tell the reader to think what would happen if you woke up the next day in a completely different social group either by race, gender, ethnicity, etc. As I did this, it made me realize that if I was a different gender, race, or sexual orientation I would be privaleged in some areas but less and it would be uncomfortable for me to adjust to such a change because of how I was raised. It is not easy for a privaleged person (even if they are only privaleged in one area) to give that up for a less privaleged social group.