1. "Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom. I would have felt much less afraid. I would have trusted them and responded with ease."
This quote reminded me of class. It reminded me of the day we were talking about how when a person who does not fit the scwaamp categories, scans a room when they first walk in, trying to find somewhere they feel will be comforting to sit. It reminded me of this because people scan a room, looking for people who are like them; gay, lesbian, black, latino, etc. It would make it alot easier for these people to walk into a classroom if the majority of people in it fit their category rather than the white persons. I could understand how Richard would have felt way more comfortable if he walked into class and his teacher was speaking Spanish, because that is was he was used to and that was his "comfort zone".
2. "At last, seven years old, I came to believe what had been technically true since my birth: I was an american citizen".
In this quote Richard tells how it took seven years of living in America to finally feel like an American citizen. His story that leads up to this tells that he didn't feel like one because he didn't speak the primary language. He spoke his private language at his house and that was the only language he was comfortable speaking. He shows that learning the American language, which is also white-based, is the only way he felt like a citizen. Even though he should of felt like one for seven years prior, because he technically was one because he was born in the U.S.
3. "They do not seem to realize that there are two ways a person is individualized. So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individually by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality".
Richard is explaining that in order to achieve public individuality; become an individual within the American society, you have to loose your private individuality. He states that some people may think that publically and privatly individualized is the same thing, when really you can be one of two ways. And they don't realize that someone is suffering giving up their private identity to become and individual in society.
I really enjoyed reading Richard Rodriguez's story. It was an easier read out of many that we have read and it was easy to relate to. I thinked he way of telling about his life rather than just stating facts about it. He included some specific days that clearified some of the ideas he was talking about. I also could relate some of his words to stuff that we have talked about in class and some of the other stories we have read this semester. I really think this article helps in trying to understand how a bilingual student might feel while they are younger and some of the complications they might go through that teachers might not necessarily see.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Edit McIntosh post
I had to edit my McIntosh post because I didn't do the assignment correctly the first time I posted. I forgot to do the quotes. So I added them in. Hope you like it :)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Think Points #1 McIntosh
1. "As a white person, i realized i had been taughtabout racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white priviledge, which puts me at an advantage".
This quote is really important to the text. It sets basis that white people are most definatley priviledged, but we are taught not to see it or acknowledge it. It is not taugh in schools or at home to see that because you are white you have certain rights in society. Now the type of rights like a law, more like "control of power" rights. Like that we are able to be around white people if we wanted to be. Everywhere I go, I know there will be a white person there. Eeven places you expect there would not be very many white people, im sure you could find atleast one. So though we are priviledge, we are not taught to see it or even really talk about it.
2. " I have often noticed men's unwillingness to grant that they are overpriviledged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged".
This quote grabbed my attention because of a discussion i have had in one of my classes in high school. Men defiantley notice and acknowledge that women are at a disadvantage and are willing to have conversations about it. But if the guys are said to be the ones that are priviledged, they try to deny it. They will not accept that they do have an advantage over women. They know that it is easier to get a job if you are a high class white male, they know that we have only had male leaders in our government, but they are reluctant to admit that they are priviledged. I think that this ignoring of a priviledge is a good fact in why whites are still at a priviledge. Even though we know that other cultures and races in our society are underpriviledged, we don't look at ourselves as priviledged. We see problems in our life just like everyone else does, so that doesn't make us seem priviledged at all. But when you truley think about it and look at McIntosh's bulleted points in her text you do notice the priviledges white people have.
3. "I have come to see white priviledge as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which was "meant" to remain oblivious."
I like that McIntosh used this example of what she sees white priviledge as. She is absolutley right about the "unearned" part. Because we did not earn the rights we have as whites. What makes me earn the right to be stopped less times than a black male or female would be? I didn't do anything special to earn that right. I wasn't able to choose my race, and therefore I shouldn't be more priviledged because i was born the same race as the "rule-makers". And these priviledges aren't used by whites at special times, they are in our everyday lives, just like McIntosh states in her piece. All the bullets she states are mostly things she has an advantage in through her everyday life. Just with her sitting down and writing them down she named 26 of them. I'm sure if she actually sat down longer and with more people, they would be able to come up with more than that.
I like that she started out talking about how males don't acknowledge the priviledge they have over women and then ended up tying that into how we, as white people don't acknowledge that we are priviledged over african americans. The bulleted points she made were well used to clearify exactly what she was talking about being white priviledged. While i was reading it, i was saying, "oh yeah, i never thought about that as being a priviledge".
When i was younger i used to always play with dolls. I had all sorts of dolls; big dolls, little dolls, barbie dolls, dolls that went to the bathroom and dolls that actually ate, but i never realized thats every single one of those dolls were white. When i thought about, when i was little i never even saw a doll that was colored. Even my hispanic and african american friends had white dolls. Now i go over my boyfriends house and his little sister has tons of african american dolls. She makes all of her characters different races on games. Her parents think its really weird that she does this, but i tell them its a good thing. She has been brought up throughout school and throughout her home life to think that everyone of different color skins are equal. She doesn't see color like most of our parents and grandparents generations do. But besides that, i never really thought of my toys being a priviledge when i was younger. It defiantley was easier to go into a store and find a white colored doll rather than a dark skinned doll.
I defiantley see white priviledge a little bit clearler now that i read her piece. She was helpful in explaining exactly what it is and gave examples of things in everyday life that i could relate to. She was an easy read but a very informative.
This quote is really important to the text. It sets basis that white people are most definatley priviledged, but we are taught not to see it or acknowledge it. It is not taugh in schools or at home to see that because you are white you have certain rights in society. Now the type of rights like a law, more like "control of power" rights. Like that we are able to be around white people if we wanted to be. Everywhere I go, I know there will be a white person there. Eeven places you expect there would not be very many white people, im sure you could find atleast one. So though we are priviledge, we are not taught to see it or even really talk about it.
2. " I have often noticed men's unwillingness to grant that they are overpriviledged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged".
This quote grabbed my attention because of a discussion i have had in one of my classes in high school. Men defiantley notice and acknowledge that women are at a disadvantage and are willing to have conversations about it. But if the guys are said to be the ones that are priviledged, they try to deny it. They will not accept that they do have an advantage over women. They know that it is easier to get a job if you are a high class white male, they know that we have only had male leaders in our government, but they are reluctant to admit that they are priviledged. I think that this ignoring of a priviledge is a good fact in why whites are still at a priviledge. Even though we know that other cultures and races in our society are underpriviledged, we don't look at ourselves as priviledged. We see problems in our life just like everyone else does, so that doesn't make us seem priviledged at all. But when you truley think about it and look at McIntosh's bulleted points in her text you do notice the priviledges white people have.
3. "I have come to see white priviledge as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which was "meant" to remain oblivious."
I like that McIntosh used this example of what she sees white priviledge as. She is absolutley right about the "unearned" part. Because we did not earn the rights we have as whites. What makes me earn the right to be stopped less times than a black male or female would be? I didn't do anything special to earn that right. I wasn't able to choose my race, and therefore I shouldn't be more priviledged because i was born the same race as the "rule-makers". And these priviledges aren't used by whites at special times, they are in our everyday lives, just like McIntosh states in her piece. All the bullets she states are mostly things she has an advantage in through her everyday life. Just with her sitting down and writing them down she named 26 of them. I'm sure if she actually sat down longer and with more people, they would be able to come up with more than that.
I like that she started out talking about how males don't acknowledge the priviledge they have over women and then ended up tying that into how we, as white people don't acknowledge that we are priviledged over african americans. The bulleted points she made were well used to clearify exactly what she was talking about being white priviledged. While i was reading it, i was saying, "oh yeah, i never thought about that as being a priviledge".
When i was younger i used to always play with dolls. I had all sorts of dolls; big dolls, little dolls, barbie dolls, dolls that went to the bathroom and dolls that actually ate, but i never realized thats every single one of those dolls were white. When i thought about, when i was little i never even saw a doll that was colored. Even my hispanic and african american friends had white dolls. Now i go over my boyfriends house and his little sister has tons of african american dolls. She makes all of her characters different races on games. Her parents think its really weird that she does this, but i tell them its a good thing. She has been brought up throughout school and throughout her home life to think that everyone of different color skins are equal. She doesn't see color like most of our parents and grandparents generations do. But besides that, i never really thought of my toys being a priviledge when i was younger. It defiantley was easier to go into a store and find a white colored doll rather than a dark skinned doll.
I defiantley see white priviledge a little bit clearler now that i read her piece. She was helpful in explaining exactly what it is and gave examples of things in everyday life that i could relate to. She was an easy read but a very informative.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
about me :)
My name i Tiffany Godbout. I am a sophmore at Rhode Island College. I am majoring in Phys. ed. Health ed. Since I was little I played soccer, softball and basketball. I cannot play for RIC because i don't have enough time in my schedule. I do play soccer on an indoor league on Thursday nights. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
