Impacts of Gender and Sexual Orientation

I really enjoyed the debate on issues related to sexual orientation from the book 'Is It a Choice?'. It brought some very serious issues to the forefront of discussion for the class. Some of the key points from the discussions were:

• gay adolescents can feel much more fear and isolation from society, 
• feelings of sexual attraction are innate, 
• physical behavior does not determine or change your sexual orientation, 
• more cases of molestation are from heterosexual males that are related to the child than from someone who is gay, 
• all parents have the same possibility of raising homosexual and heterosexual children, 
• parents of children who are homosexual should seek information to provide support for their children, 
• gay people can be positive role models for children in the same way that their colleagues can, 
• student learn most information about being gay informally and in a negative context, 
• Canada and Europe are the most open minded while the Middle East are very strict and threaten peoples lives

Perceptions of gender roles can be heavily influenced by the culture of the individual. There is a constant need for balance between teaching children about gender roles to be accepted into the society and trying to teach them the opposite gender roles to be unbiased. 

In Honor of President's Day...

Class and Socioeconomic Status in Schools

LARSQ is an acronym for developing the core communication skills that are essential in discussions dealing with differences of opinion. It stands for Listen, Acknowledge, Reframe, Summary, and Questions. Listening stands for attending, following, and authenticity shown while in the discussion.
Acknowledge can be displayed by attempting to understand the emotions of another person. Acknowledgement does not mean that you have to agree with the other person, but it does mean that you are trying to understand their point of view or values. Empathy can be shown in acknowledging by labeling the feeling and then connecting to the content being discussed. Reframe is the transition point from dealing with feelings in the conversation to dealing with the problem. Often the transition leads into a rational stage of thinking to deal with problem solving. It is important to make sure that there is no misunderstanding when you reframe the situation or problem. Summarize is when you reflect your own words of what the speaker has said. Summarizing is when the speakers can filter out the irrelevant issues of the problem. Lastly, questioning is used to fill-in important information. Questions can clarify facts, points of view, and intentions of the problem at hand. Use open-ended questions that require explanations.

Dr. Ruby Payne has lectured about socioeconomic status and its impact on education for numerous years. The following SlideShare was created by Deborah Crawford, Rhonda Gillett, Ronda Hamilton, and Karen Watkins. It explores the 'Puzzle of Poverty' a little further. 

The Puzzle of Povery

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I think that it is very important to be knowledgeable about the various socioeconomic statuses or classes of the students in your class. As Dr. Ruby Payne teaches, once you understand the class of the students you can better understand the mannerisms and values of their family. I created the following poll to allow the reader to share what dynamic is prevalent in their classroom. 

 

The customizable graphic on class by the New York Times was very helpful for myself to see how my self-perceptions of class compare to actual calculations of class according to the country's norms. It is interesting to see how factors such as employment and education are placed in the class system in the United States. 

What about Ethnicity and Race?

Social contracts can be beneficial to incorporate into the classroom at the beginning of the school year. They establish a foundation of what is acceptable within the course of the year. The two main questions to focus on when constructing the contract are: How will we treat each other (in respect to race and ethnicity during our class)? and How will we resolve conflict that may arise regarding cultural taboos and prejudice?

A fantastic website was introduced called UnderstandingRace.org. This website was produced as a project of the American Anthropological Association. It is a wealth of information about race, including the history of race since the 1600's, the genetics behind race, and personal accounts of race. I explored it a little further after class and found a section of the site created specifically for kids. There are games, quizzes, and movies. It would be very interesting to incorporate these activities into a computer center in the classroom.

In the following video, the California Science Center in Los Angeles interviews visitors to the exhibit they held on race. I thought that the assumptions and beliefs on races by the individuals was very interesting.

Foundations of Individuals

Culture provides the blueprint that determines the way we think, feel, and act. Manifestations can be a hello kiss, hug, or handshake. Cultural Relativism is walking in someone else's shoes. Ethnocentric is the opposite where you don't understand other cultures because you only think about your own culture. Mainstream culture is better to say than dominant culture. Dominant carries a negative connotation and feeling about culture.

According to Chartock (2010), the principles for being a culturally responsible teacher are communicating high expectations, utilizing diverse learning strategies, becoming a facilitator, having a positive perspective on parents and families of culturally diverse students, being culturally sensitive, redesigning the curriculum by creating culturally mediated instruction, and by having a student-centered, student-controlled classroom environments.

Patriotism being a school requirement is a controversial subject. While some teachers feel that it can build relationships to military service, provides a unified and common front in the school, and allow students to become more aware of own traditions and culture. Other teachers believe that it is militaristic, possibly imposes on their own personal culture, can create a conflict of culture within students, and can contradict religious beliefs. However, most teachers can agree that while students might not choose to say pledges or show patriotism within the school, they should still hold a certain amount of respect for the country which they live in.

Educators can obtain knowledge from their diverse student cultural populations.  This knowledge of difference cultures is necessary to understand students better. Teachers will come across numerous situations dealing with parents and families that might involve understanding of their culture. For example, gender roles and responsibilities within the family is much different in middle eastern cultures. I have personally experienced this during a parent conference where the father would respond to every question, even one directed toward the wife.

Cultural backgrounds can be difficult to address in the classroom however lessons can be flexible enough to always bring in cultural references that relate to students. Teachers can accomodate other cultures by modeling respect and understanding of other cultures. Introductions at the beginning of the school year allow students to share cultures as individuals rather than singling out specific culture differences during the school year. Parental involvement can bring in cultures too. It can be overwhelming at times. Embrace different cultures, build a community that is sensitive and accepting to others' differences.