Don't Ask Don't Tell

I always knew about don't ask, don't tell but never fully understood the extent of it until recently. Lady Gaga was at the VMA's and she brought with her several members that were discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation. I did not know up to this point that you could be released for that, I thought they didn't want you talking, but not that you would be released. I think it is important to repeal don't ask, don't tell because if somebody feels passionate enough about defending our country, who are we to tell them no because they are gay. Their partner should receive their military benefits as well because many of them want to start a family just like the rest of the straight servicemen and women. Many gay couples adopt children and start their own families. If something were to happen to their spouse, they should receive benefits so that they are able to still raise their family. I think that repealing don't ask, don't tell would be a huge step in a positive direction for acceptance between the gay and straight community.

Globalization

I always thought that "Americanization of the World" would be good actually. I thought that it would create commonalities among the world so it would make the world a smaller place. When everybody has the same ideals, I feel that there is less conflict, however, those opinions are changing. I like that people are different because it makes the world more interesting. I knew that there were people wearing American clothing around the world because I have friends that go back to their home countries often and will wear their American clothing, however, I didn't know it was so widespread. I feel that it is ruining the world for American's because we will not be able to experience anything new, if they lose their own sense of culture.

McDonaldization is the fact that the McDonald's Chain is spreading across the world everywhere. However, it is bigger than that. It is a change of lifestyle for many people. McDonalds is not a healthy choice when it comes to eating, but it is fast and cheap, so people buy it. This extremely unhealthy lifestyle that has taken over many people's lives in the U.S.A. is going to continue to spread causing an unhealthy and obese world.

Pessimistic Hyperglobalizers are people who do not want globalization to spread anymore. Their views are that instead of having some commonalities, we are all becoming the exact same person, and that a sense of individual culture will be lost to Americanization. Optimistic Hyperglobalizers also believe that globalization is making the world become the same but that it is good because it is creating American values of democracy, and creating a sense of equality among the world.

Multigenre Plans

I think the genre that would work best for my topic is a movie. I feel that I could incorporate a variety of information this way. I will hopefully include recorded interviews, direct quotations, and statistics that I have found. I will also incorporate pictures, videos, graphs, and music.

Social Wealth and Classism

3 Racial Differences in Wealth Accumulation:
Racialization of State Policy
Economic Detour
Sedimentation of Racial Inequality

He interviewed Kevin who is a 75 year old retired homeowner

A main theme that I found was the job acquisition differences between whites and blacks. This causes problems for their children because parents want to provide their children with all the advantages they can, but it comes down to how much money you have. These differ among race because as he said from the interviews black families ten d to have less money.

I think that a way to fix this problem is by ending racism. I know this seems general, but people need to get the hatred out of their hearts and promote equality. Also, although we have affirmative action there is not enough being done to promote it. Everyone deserves an equal opportunity.

My story of coming to college is that I wanted to either go to culinary school or teach, and I decided on teaching. I knew that ISU was a great school for teaching so I really wanted to come here. My biggest incentive to coming to ISU was that it was best for my major. Also, I knew that going to college would greatly benefit me in the long run. My biggest obstical was choosing between culinary school and teaching. It was a very hard decision to make, but I figured I could always go back to culinary school since most are only 2 year programs. Besides that I have not faced any economical obsticles, thankfully. The biggest challenge I've faced in college is being judged. I feel that a lot of time, people judge me by the cover and not what is inside, but I feel that the people that get to know me generally like me, I hope.

Social Class

From the interview I received,this person appears to be from the middle class. According to Stew his family earns an average amount of money and lives in an average neighborhood. His parents have good jobs, his dad being a water Reclamation Utility Man, and mom being a Secretary of an Elementary school. His family has very good values, such as helping others and being happy with what they have, which is very important. According to Stew his extended family is not perfect and there are some issues and this has caused them to have different values than Stew's immediate family. This goes to show that you will develop different values depending on where you grow up. He is very happy growing up in the middle class because he has met many great friends and has not found any struggles with being middle class. When asked about what struggles he might face being middle class he responded "Nothing, I really like middle class." He thinks that being middle class is better than upper class because they always have a good time, and has learned that he can make stable money with a high desire of work.

Analyzing Results

1) Surveys were sent to 200 participants to teachers in Urban Areas of the U.S.A., however only 118 were returned. So the final sample was 118 urban school teachers, special ed and general ed.

2)This section begins by explaining why they are even doing this study, and explain what they are trying to find out. I think that it is very helpful because you know right away what the basis of their research is.

3) The findings are discussed by each section to which there were four sections total of the surveys.

4) A main theme that occurred is that more general education teachers believed that there was cooperative learning taking place in their schools, however more Special Education teachers said that they actually integrated cooperative learning themselves. Another section found that more General Education teachers use cooperative learning less in more areas, but special education teachers use cooperative learning in more in less areas of study.

5) To support these claims they used statistical data from their research.

6) What stood out to me is how factual it was, but still really easy to understand. I thought it was written very well and encompasses very great research.


http://rse.sagepub.com/content/30/4/234.full.pdf+html

Urban Elementary School Teachers' Perspectives Regarding Collaborative Teaching Practices.

Social Action Project

So far I have my interviews set up, however, they have not taken place yet, but will most likely next week. I have my surveys printed out and I am going next week to go door to door in the neighboring areas. From there I am going to make many comparative graphs.

Job Description

The job that I found appealing is a reading specialist position at Hoover Middle School. What I fing appealing is that it is close to my hometown. It's pay is similar to the rest of the state, although I'm not really going into teaching for the money. Over the past three years the school's standardized testing scores have showed a steady climb. My major is the major that they are seeking, and I have the qualities that they are seeking. And like all public schools, they offer a pension plan.

What can I do with this major?

I recently changed my major to middle level education where my main areas of focus are social science and reading, with an English minor. With this major I will be able to teach from grades 1-9. However, there is a more emphasis on grades 5-9 which is the level that I would like to teach. I will be able to work as a history, reading, and English teacher.

Educational Equality

1) There are many things wrong with the quotation said by her boss. The first thing is that every disability can be drastically different. A person that may have previously worked there may not have have had low vision, but not to the point that Sally did. Also, because she was hired by this company, it is their responsibility to make sure that she receives all the help she needs so that she can be successful at her job.

2) In my opinion, I feel that she starts off in a positive tone, but by the end seems defeated. She discusses being on and Equal Opportunity Board, and even there she cannot get her point across. Also, at the end she talks about going back to being blunt and rude to get the help she needs, which to me seems much more defeated than the begining.

3) A main reason that a minority student may be placed in a special education class is because of the language barrier. They may be the brightest student, but obviously, if they cannot use the language properly they will have some trouble, but that is not an excuse for putting them into special education.

4) This has changed how Americans look at disabilities in a positive manor, however, I feel that there is still more to be done. The American Disabilities Act, has in recent times, greatly improved the work force. Many companies are helping to assist their workers with task aids. The IDEA has also greatly improved education for students in schools so that they are getting a more equal education, although it is not completely equal.

Homophobia Responses

The fisrt article was the one that I thought was the most awakening. It is sad that people will hide who they are because they are afraid of not being accepted. Hate crimes against homosexuals is wrong, and it doesn't make sense to me how someone can hold so much hate towords a person just because they are "different". Homosexuals should not have to hide who they are.

I found the second article to be mostly about acceptance. Bell Hooks became a transgendered woman because he was not compfortable in the body that he was in. Although to me that seems almost kind of weird, I would not judge a person for something like that. People need to respect eachother for their differences, because our differences is what makes the world a wonderful place.

I used to feel the same way that Burn did about the openly gay communities that would hold pride parades and be in your face about their sexuality. I just was one of those people who didn't want to know about people's sex lives whether they were gay or straight. I found it sad though when the boy was to afraid to go to the police because he was gay and didn't think that they would take him seriously. Heterosexuals would never have to worry about something like that. So I think it is important for gays to have their own community so that they can recieve support from people that understand them.

The last article I also found to be sad. It is impostant that families stick by eachother's sides even no matter what. It was good that her mother was so accepting, but it was sad that even though her mother was accepting she lost contact with her family. It also opened my eyes to the struggle that she is going through being a lesbien and being a minority.

Shitty First Drafts

I first read this article last year for my english class, and I found it very intersting and helpful. Before I read this article, I always felt that my first draft should be as good as my last draft because I was conciencous about my writing. However it is good to know that it is ok for my first draft to be bad. I know now that it is important to incorperate all of my ideas in the first draft, which Lamott calls the "child's draft". This way you can eliminate it if it is not relevant, but you still have the idea. Then with the second draft, the "up draft" you can fix up whatever was wrong with your first draft, where you can reorganize and eliminate. After writing those first 2 drafts, then it is time for the final draft, where you correct everything that you have been revising and editing in the first two drafts. I think that Lomott offers great insight as to how to make your paper the best possible.

Interview Activity

My participant for the interview activity was Hilary. Currently she is undecided for her major, but she would like to become a criminal justice major. When asked why she wants to become a criminal justice major she responded "I want to become a criminal justice major so that I can help other people". In order to make this possible her two short term goals are to do well in college by getting good grades and graduating. After graduating the area of criminal justice she would like to become a part of is a probation officer so that she can help those people. As for the distant future, she is not quite sure what she wants to be doing, but she knows that the only thing she wants for sure is to have a steady job. Although I got some good information from her I think that I need to add more depth to my questions so that I can get answers with more information, rather than a sentence or two.

Finding Your Own Voice

Defining my voice in writing is getting my point across, and making it known how I feel about a particular issue.  I would say that up until last year I would silence myself in my writing, however my english teacher changed that for me last year.  He told us to truly write how we felt and do not write what you think the teacher wants to hear.  It really helped me to find my voice because I now feel more comfortable voicing my opinion even though it might not always be the most popular answer, or the most politically correct answer.

I really like this quote and I noticed it while reading.  What I think Lamott is saying is that it is important to write something new because that way it is informative and people will want to read it.  Every student is always told how they should write throughout their school career, but it is important to voice your opinion even if somebody tells you that you shouldn't. Your individual voice is what makes your paper unique.

A Lesbian's Struggles Response

To be a visible minority there are a lot of that group. A good example is African American and Hispanics.  They are a minority, but there is still a good amount of them that they can still be with people of their same race.  An invisible minority is a minority that you cannot tell from looking at a person.  Such as a person who is gay, you may not be able to tell, but they are still a "minority".

To stick to your own kind means to hang out with people of your own race and not expanding your horizon.  I think some people stick with their own kind because it is easier.  They already have similarities, so it makes it easier for them to become friends.  Also, you wont feel like an outcast if you are with people of your same ethnicity. 

Her main identity struggle is that she doesn't feel like she belongs because she is the only person of her race in her school.  So she tries to fit in with the rest of the students and in a way she disowns her own heritage to became more assimilated.  But in the end, everyone thought that she should be proud of her culture, so she gives it a chance


I do not tone down any of my identity.  I am a mixture of many races and I think that my entire family has become a part of the "American Culture".  I am proud of who I am and where my family has come from so I don't feel the need to tone down any aspect of my life.

Sexism

I think that a lot of guys perpetuate sexism just by commenting about girls.  Many times if you are with your with your guy friends you'll be like that girl is hot, or that girls is gross, and it's not fair to just judge people like that.  Many times I will talk over women, to make myself heard over them.  Also something I do a lot is judge girls by gender roles.  Like if they are playing video games I'll say oh they're such a guy.  I plan on overcoming these sexist ways by being less judgmental.

American Dream

The Author's American dream was to become the president of the United States of America.  He believed that being gay would get in the way of having his dream come true.  He came from a very conservative family, and did not want to tell them that he was gay because he thought that they would not be accepting of him, so he didn't tell anyone for a long time.  He even tried to kill himself.  However, he realizes the most powerful thing, that by fighting for his rights he is living the American dream.

I think that this is a very powerful quote.  Everyone needs to realize that a "true American" is not just a rich white man.  There is not one single right or wrong way to be a true American.  To me being an American means being diverse and different.  No one should ever have to change themselves for anyone because the only person you have to make happy is yourself.  Because everyone's American dream is Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

racism: white guilt

How I think that we can define and change white guilt:
Get information: Get to know people for who they really are. If people became more aware, then they would also become more understanding and really be able to get informed by people of different cultures.
Do something what: Get to actually know people, and don't judge a book by its cover.  Make friends with people from other cultures and backgrounds and you will feel more diverse and will be more understanding.
Listen: There are many guest speakers who talk openly about their ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. I once went and saw a speaker who was doing a speech about quanza.  I found it very interesting because it helped me see where that person came from.
Talk: Talk to anybody who feels compfortable telling you about themselves.  Also get to know people out of your normal group of friends. If you become friends with people of other cultures you will become wiser and more caring.
Back to the past: I think the easiest way to go back to the past is by research and reading.  Pick up books about different ethnicites and discover what they went through to become who they are today. I think that it would be a good way to learn about their traditions and customs, and also a good way to find out how those traditions came about.
Finding our heros and sheros: Heros can be different to anyone based upon their beliefs.  Personally, my parents are my heros because I think that growning up they taught me to be very accepting of everybody.  I think that they set a great example for me as to how to be accepting.

Paraphrase.

Many students overuse direct quotations when writing research papers. Only around 1/10 of the final paper should be direct quotations, so paraphrase when reading sources. (James, 1976).

Sex Trafficking In Cambodia Response

First of all this paper had a huge shock value to it.  It almost made me uncompfortable to read about because although I have heard about sex trafficking, I never realized how horrible it actually still is.  She did this by using many statistics and solid facts which emphasized her creadability for the subject.  What I found to be most disturbing was how parents will just sell their children to make a quick few bucks.  I just don't understand how a parent could do that to their child, especially knowing that they will never see them again.  I think that her greatest strengths were her ability to include statistics in a flowing manner and her passion for the subject.  They way she included statistics just flowed with the rest of the paper so it made it seem more sophisticated writing.  With her passion she really made me aware of why this is such a big deal.  I think that she had some action portions such as mentioning the organizations and just being informative, however, I think that it would have been good if she told us how we as individuals can get involved to stop sex trafficking. 

Reflection on Breaking The Code

I now feel much more confident about what I have to do to find the proper information that I am looking for to include in my social action project.  I thought that it would be much harder to analyze the articles that I have found but the questions you had us look for made it much simpler.  I definitely gained lots of confidence by doing this activity not only because I know how to analyze my sources, but that I have chosen good sources to analyze.  

Summary for 3.4

In this article the author discusses the differences between Serious music, such as Mozart, and Pop music, such as Madonna.  He suggests that serious music is of more musical value and that Pop music is generally aesthetically pleasing.  The author insists that serious music is timeless and that pop music is just a fad that is socially popular at the time and goes out of style.

Research Questions and Key Words

How can we ensure an equal opportunity education for all students with disabilities and special needs in the urban areas of the United States?

Education, Equality, Disabilities,  social class, North America.

Finding Sources

These are three good sources that I believe will help me narrow my research question.  I think that I am now leaning towards social class issues and their educational equality instead of special education.

Class and schools: using social economic and educational reform to close the achievement gap

 Higher education and social class: issues of exclusion and inclusion

 By Louise Archer, Merryn Hutchings, Alistair Ross

Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives

 By James A. Banks, Cherry A. McGee Banks

Is Google Making Us Stupid? : Response

First off, I never realized that Google is more than a search engine.  But besides that, I truly agree with what most of the article said.  Since Google has become an everyday stop on a person's web browsing experience it truly has changed the way that we read and process information.  I can honestly say that I was an avid reader before the search engine known as google came along with the rest of the internet "experience".  The internet is an extremely fast way to find information about almost anything.  When I find information on a website I generally do what the article said most people do, just skim through the information and read summaries.  It does make it much harder to read an entire article or story and retain all the information because our brains have changed.  We are used to going to Google and typing in a question and skimming for the answers, so full length articles now just look to intimidating most the time.   

I was not aware that Google was trying to build somewhat of an Artificial Intelligence.  To me that is kind of scary.  I didn't know that whenever I used Google they were basically trailing me and storing my information at "The Googleplex".  I am the type of person that is very weary about new technology, and this makes me somewhat anxious to use Google after reading this article.  I think that they are on the right track to make what they call a perfect search engine, however, at what cost?

Focusing Question

Focus Question:

Why is equal education for special education students important for the youth of the United States?

Possible Sub Questions:

• Should there be more funding for public schools?
• Should private and public schools teach the same curriculum and have the same tools for success? 
• How is education different in suburbs vs inner city schools?
• Should state requirements for teachers become more difficult?
• Should each state have the same standards and curriclum? 
• Has educational equality become greater within the last 20 years?
• Should all schools include inclusion classes or should special education students have their own classrooms? 

Narrative on Social Diversity

Social diversity is very hard to define because it is such a broad spectrum.  To me social diversity includes differences in race, ethnicity, gender, age,  and sexual orientation among other things.  Multiculturalism is the way in which society can blend these social diversities together to better understand each other and build upon ourselves.  Social diversity was honestly not as important in my life as I know it should have been.  Growing up I just was not really exposed to different ethnicities because I have always lived in a predominantly white community where everyone was pretty similar.  However, I as have grown up my eyes have opened and I have come to see how many different social diversity issues there are.  The issue of "class" has been important to me because I am an education major and one of my biggest beliefs is that there should be an equal right to a proper education irregardless of your income or race.  Many areas in poverty do not receive a proper education, and that is something that should change. Another issue that has been important to me now is sexual orientation.  I recently found out that a friend from high school is gay.  It was something I would not have expected, but it has shown me not to judge people based on their sexual orientation. 

Where I grew up blinded me from social diversity when I was younger because everyone seemed just like me. However, as I said earlier, as I have grown up I now have my own perspectives on social diversity.  Once I got into High School I knew that I wanted that I wanted to teach, so educational equality has always been an interesting subject for me.  My junior year I went to New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity with my friend Nicole.  It was sad to see the damage that was done, but what affected me the most was when I found out how many of them were now unable to attend school now because they were without homes and money.  That is why it is so important for educational equality because those children need education because they deserve to have a chance to live a happy and successful life.  This also applies for many Chicago Public Schools.  There are many teachers who show up as baby sitters because they have given up on their students, but you can't give up because they deserve a chance too.  That is why everywhere should have equal quality teachers and you education should not suffer based on where you come from.  And as far as sexual orientation equality, I have recently been influenced by Lady Gaga.  I saw her in concert this summer and she was very inspirational.  She didn't judge anybody for anything and she wanted everyone to embrace their differences, which was really inspiring. 

The social issue I am most interested in is Education.  It's very important because it affects everybody.  Not only do teachers teach math science and social studies, but they also they also teach students how to be a good citizen.  Children are our future, what the next generation does will affect everybody, so we should make sure that everyone is equally educated so that we can continue to prosper as a nation.

Exercise 2

Left Page Stuff:

Favorite Line:

• It's hard not to admire these traits that give the birds such biological success, and yet somehow these evolutionary gifts seem unfair and unearned.

Outside Research Line:
     Like:

• Virginia Woolf compared the movement of the great flocks of starlings in the fall to the throwing of a net with "Thousands of black knots" expanding and then contracting as the birds settle on the tops of trees (Woolf 5).

   Dislike

• Most of the tactics recomended against pigeons, however, are intended to simply make life uncompfortable for them, methods that are more likely , as one combatant put it, to create "a good public relations Image" (Loven 3).

Main Idea:
To me the main idea was basically learning about the pros and cons of pigeons. What people like and dislike about them.  However, the way that it was written almost felt more like a narrative rather than a research paper, which I enjoyed.  By the end of the essay I feel as though I actually have learned more about pigeons including their lifestyle, intelligence, and eating habits.  Although, I was slightly confused in the beging, just because of the style, but it then grew on me.

Right Page Stuff:


I really like the way that they wrote the research paper as more of a narrative as I said before. It didn't seem like a boring old research paper.  A way that I can keep my paper more interesting is by not having a boring format such as a five paragraph essay.  If I keep the format different from a normal research paper then people will want to read my essay, I hope.

It definitely kept me more interested by the format that the author used, however, I did find it to be somewhat confusing.  The intro confused me because I thought that the pigeon was supposed to stand for something, like "To Kill A Mockingbird".  However, it then got into the information about the actual pigeons.  I also thought that there was some information that was irrelevant.

I learned some new things about pigeons, but I didn't really learn anything about myself.  I could relate in one way though.  My sophomore year of football a pigeon actually pooped on my head.  It was really embarrassing.

Exercise 1

My Five Statements:

• You need to follow a formal structure
• You cannot use the pronoun I
• You have to say something original
• You're writing mostly for the instructor
• You're supposed to use your own opinions

The reason that I chose these as my top 5 is because they are the top 5 things that I used to find difficult to be true or false.  I also think that other people struggle in these situations as well.

1) Although it is important in many situations to write in a formal structure, it doesn't always matter.  It is more important to have good content, information, or opinions rather than having bad information but in a structured way.  I think that many times I am more intrigued by something that isn't written as a five paragraph essay.  Content is much more important than structure.

2) It is okay to use the pronoun I.  Many times, especially when writing a persuasive essay, I can make a statement stronger rather than writing passively.  When a person over uses the pronoun I then it can get too repetitive, however, if used correctly, it can be very effective.

3) You do not always have to say something original.  You can simply just further a preexisting statement or research.  Many times  you use other peoples research to prove or persuade an idea, but that doesn't mean that it has to be an original thought.

4) You are writing mostly for the instructor.  This statement is completely false and it may sabotage your writing.  You need to write for yourself because if you don't, then what you are writing is not meaningful.  Also, you cannot be afraid to voice your opinion because your writing for your instructor.  When writing, you should feel confident about what you are writing, and that confidence will diminish if you are not writing for yourself.

5) You don't always have to use your opinion, you may use the opinion of somebody else as long as you site it correctly and give credit where credit is due. However, it is good to incorporate your own opinions as well.

Response: Thinking About Social Action Research Projects

I feel that writing is very important to my everyday life even though at times it seems as though it might not be.  Daily texts and emails come from my computer very often.  I feel lost when I don't have my phone on me because I hate not being able to communicate when somebody messages me. And like most college kids, I am addicted to Facebook. I am always writing on my friends walls or commenting on photos.  My friends from home and I even set up a message board on facebook so that we can keep in constant communication.  So to me writing is most in my personal life because it is writing that I enjoy doing. However, writing is also important academically and professionally.  Academically I take notes daily and have to write several papers for several classes. My senior year of high school I took part in a teaching internship class at my high school where I had to write several teaching philosophies and observations.  And now once again for my education classes I am doing the same thing, which I will then have to do again after that when I applied for a teaching position.

The most difficult part for my in writing is sentence structure.  I know how to make a sentence, however, I am not the best with variety.  I feel as though most of my sentence just go "sentence then verb then a period".  I would really like to improve this so that my writing is more interesting.

To be completely honest, the only reading I do non-academically is Harry Potter.  I just find it difficult for myself to just pick up a book and start reading.  The only book I can honestly say I liked besides Harry Potter was The Great Gatsby.

I really do not have many assumptions about research for this course.  Although I can sometimes find research to be difficult, I do not mind doing it because sometimes I really end up enjoying the topic. However there have been times where I disliked the topic even more after researching it.  I really do not think it will be an issue though.

I think that I want to research homophobia or educational equality.  I think that homophobia is a very controversial subject right now so it would be interesting to research and read different viewpoints.  However, my major is special education so educational equality is important to me.

I would conduct my research via the internet and by asking people their own personal opinions.  I would also use books to research, however, I do not know how effective it would be because I want the most current information.  So I think it would be better off using a magazine or the internet.  





 

About Me

My name is Brad Radzevich and I am a Sophomore. I am currently a math education major, however I am planning on switching to Special Education, and possibly an English minor, but we'll see how that works. I am from Orland Park, IL.  If you feel like you have met someone from Orland Park before, you probably have seeing as basically half of my high school went to ISU and that it was a HUGE school. I played football for 9 years and miss playing now.  One of my favorite things to do is go to concerts.  I went to about 10 or 12 this summer including Third Eye Blind, Cobra Starship, Goo Goo Dolls, 3OH!3, John Mayer, and best of all Lady Gaga. Not gonna lie, she was the best concert I have ever been to!