Reaction to Group 2's Teach

The issue of social justice in todays classroom is a big issue to handle. By making activities open and free it allows students to have an atmosphere that allows them to see what stereotypes are and how we can recognize them, so we can prevent ourselves from believe them. Todays classrooms are becoming more and more diverse and it is up to the teacher to teach everyone one in his or her class the importance of equality and embracing differences good and bad. If a teacher is successful in doing this they can change the world for many students who have been discriminated and brought down because of their differences.
In witnessing their teach, I have encountered many new ways of handling social justice issues in the classroom and I hope to practice these activities in my future classroom. it seems like they tackled a lot of issues that are present for students in society and it is an important aspect of teaching that is often overlooked.

Letter to Disney

Dear Disney Motion Pictures,

After viewing many of you're movies with my children I have found that you have stereotyped various minority groups within the stories of the films. I find this to be very inappropriate for movies that are geared for younger viewers. These stereotypes of African Americans, Native Americans, as well as Arab Americans can not stand in a country as diverse as ours. These stereotypes demean women, show native Americans as the color "red" and stereotype broken English. In the movie Dumbo, african american's were portrayed as slaves and impersonal by not showing their faces. I demand that you change these stereotypes in order for my children to grow up with an equal view of all people no matter their race or ethnic background. These movies should be made to embrace differences not to make them a focal point of humor. Disney I say to you, please rewrite you're scripts and scenes to show equality of the races and everyone sharing in experiences, so that my children can see the value of a country that views differences as a good thing and not a means of stereotyping.

Sincerely,

An angry Parent of misled children!

Reflection on Social Justice Activities

The activities of group three's teaching were very important for teachers and students to experience and learn from. The activities showed how everyone in the classroom is affected by stereotypes and that as a teacher your teaching might be affected by this social issue. After seeing how the media impacts students, I feel that as a teacher we must try and combat those stereotypes and issues by changing our methods of teaching. This could be in the form of a lot of interesting lessons and texts that break down stereotypes. Introducing texts that have main characters that aren't popular, jocks, or similar to this. Students have to see that everyone in the classroom has things in common and can work together and can even be friends. Many people have a world view today that states if you play sports or wear nice clothes or are smarter than other people you are better than them. This just can not stand in the classroom and as a teacher I feel it is your job to eliminate this belief.

Stereotypes in the Classroom

As a future teacher teaching in a middle school or high school, it is important to look at stereotypes that students face in and outside the classroom. To be an effective teacher in todays classroom I feel that you must know your students in order to reach them. Knowing interests of the students in your classroom and how they interact with each other is very important. Students are impacted by their peers to a great extent, this is very important for a teacher to know when forming class discussions and assignments. Questions for a teacher to think about would be, "How do I impact everyone from all different cliques in class discussion?" or "Do your teaching methods change with different groups of students?" Stereotypes would be a great lesson to teach students in writing because it is a great way for students to think about how similarities in groups make everyone different but can also cause groups of students to side with each other. With the class uniting, it will become a lot easier for your students to work together and embrace each others differences and similarities.

Advertisements I Find Appealing!

While thinking about Group 3's assignment in which I had to find and reflect on an advertisement that I found appealing, I found out a lot about what I value and look for in a products ad campaign. While looking through many magazines adds and commercials on TV I found out that adds that are funny or eye catching definitly appeal to me and make me feel like I have to buy their product. While driving in my car, i heard a lot of comercials, but one in particular struck me as a very appealing ad. I have heard this kind of add before but, it has always appealed to me when considering a beverage choice. The Bud Light adds that start out with "Real Men of Genius..." are by far the greatest adds i've heard. They are funny and appeal to every day people and situations that people can relate to. The one in particular that I heard was "We salute you Mr. Humongous Pumpkin Grower Guy," this commercial pretty much has nothing to do with the product it is advertising, but it is funny and you can remember it.