Blog Post # 3

School Violence

----- The following BBC video, similar to many other news outlets this past September, discusses a recent public service announcement created by Sandy Hook Promise.  As the name suggests, Sandy Hook Promise is a non-profit organization run by the parents and family members of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting.  The PSA is quite jarring and difficult to watch at times.  However, given the emotionally charged format, the video forces people to rethink the way we have normalized school violence, particularly gun violence.

---- Sandy Hook is particularly painful to think about as a future Elementary school teacher.  With all of the issues that students and teachers face, gun violence should not be one of them.  On their website Dignity in Schools, an organization working to "dismantle the school to prison pipeline" is a statement written by youth of color in response to school safety and gun violence.  The young authors note how "attempts to build public safety with security systems, armed police and prisons have failed", though these failing policies continue to be our only institutional solutions.

---- Students of color experience harsher and more frequent school punishments compared to their white counterparts.   Therefore increasing the number of guns in schools, like giving guns to teachers and administrators to combat school violence or potential school shootings, will likely increase the use of guns against students of color.  What furthers this issue is the majority white teacher and school leader population with a lack of training in race development, and hidden bias attempting to serve a multicultural student body.

                  

---- I agree with the young authors of color, that we should instead implement Positive Behavioral Interventions (PBIS) and Support as well as Restorative/Transformative Justice (RJ/TJ) in schools.  Programs such as PBIS and RJ/TJ use verbal conflict resolution and teach communication skills that can be used in and outside school.  Focusing on personal growth and improvement rather than punishment will help eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline.

Statement by Youth of Color on School Safety and Gun Violence

References

McMillan, J., Anderson, M., & Associated Press. (2019, September 20). Graphic Depictions of          Violence Bring Attention to School Shootings. Retrieved October 13, 2019, from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/09/20/shootings-and-shock-value-hoodies-psa_ap.html.

Sandy Hook shooting parents release haunting anti-violence ad - Bbc News. (2019). Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pungMxzA6U

Statement by Youth of Color on School Safety and Gun Violence. (2017). Retrieved October 13, 2019, from https://dignityinschools.org/resources/statement-by-youth-of-color-on-school-safety-and-gun-violence/.

Portrayal of LGBTQIA People in Media

            In 2018 Netflix debuted "Queer Eye", a rebirth of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" one of the only shows in the early 2000s featuring openly gay men, and positively at that.  Although comparatively, the 2004 "Queer Eye" was selling American audiences caricatures of gay men, forcing them into a narrow box, whereas 2018s "Queer Eye" is groundbreaking in its representation of queer people.
           The 2018 cast of "Queer Eye" is noticeably more diverse than the original, which featured all-white men with the exception of Jai Rodriguez.  The current cast includes Karamo Brown, an African American, Tan France, who is Pakistani, and Jonathan Van Ness who recently came out as non-binary.  In our heteronormative society "Queer Eye"'s diverse cast is anathema to the stereotypical gay man we were used to seeing in media; cowardly, effeminate, and usually the butt of the joke.
           Popular media holds a substantial amount of power over cultural perception, and we often believe what we see and read in media, whether it is substantiated or not.  Unfortunately, this means a lack of representation in popular media, specifically for LGBTQ people, signifies a lack of acceptance.  "Queer Eye" has created a space for queer people to be seen and heard, as individuals.
           Consequently, most intolerance, such as homophobia, stems from fear due to ignorance.  Accurate portrayals of LGBTQ people, like "Queer Eye", provide a face to what was once an unknown entity or an unbelievable character.  On the same note, "The Laramie Project" shows the horror of what can come from homophobia likely fueled by false media depictions of queer people.  Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson used homophobic stereotypes to defend their assault of Mathew Shepard, claiming that Matthew has come onto them.  Perhaps if McKinney and Henderson had been exposed to accurate representations of LGBTQ people they would have seen Matthew as a person and not an other.
            In addition to media changes, McCabe , Dragowski & Rubinson study "What Is Homophobic Bias Anyway? Defining and Recognizing Microaggressions and Harassment of LGBTQ Youth" uncovers the importance of monitoring school language for microaggressions.  The impact of homophobic language in schools is two-fold, affecting the aggressors' target, and negatively impacting the mental health of those who hear.  Unfortunately, McCabe, et al. argue that school climate is directly related to the wider community, where heteronormativity "allows for stigmatization and marginalization of those who are perceived as deviating from the norm of heterosexuality". 

2nd Blog Post

         I chose to read Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum's "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race" for the Book Review.  Tatum's years of experience jump off the page, and her relatable examples of racially charged situations are explained with such ease and simplicity.  In response to those who deny its existence, Tatum asserts that "if you are paying attention, the legacy of racism is not hard to see" and adding that "we are all affected by it".  Racism is often seen as a problem for people of color, but Tatum details how we have all been negatively impacted by the effects of systemic racism.
One of the reasons racism is so pervasive in American culture is the silencing stigma, which prevents dialogue and harbors ignorance.  As Tatum shows much of the ignorance and confusion surrounding race relations can be eliminated with cross-racial conversations.  Unfortunately, the fear of using incorrect verbiage and being perceived as racist stunts most racial dialogue, especially among white people.
         I am interested in focusing on her approach to teaching children about racial issues.  As a future elementary school educator, the idea of teaching young kids about slavery is daunting.  However, after reading Tatum's explanation to her young son I feel at ease.  She focused on being truthful, yet also emphasized hope, strength, and the power of choice in a painful, despondent history.  Highlighting the strength of the enslaved Africans, the resistance they put up against becoming slaves, the freedom they fought for and won, and the white allies that helped them achieve it; Tatum's retelling is a far cry from the white-washed history often told in American schools.