FNED 546 Weekly Blog Assignment #12 – Class Reflection
There are several pieces of FNED 546 that stand out to me as
meaningful. Here are three standouts from my perspective – they are in no
particular order except that the best one is first.
1.
THE CARD GAME: Our first round went pretty well
– Corey was the first winner to “graduate” to a second group, and I followed
him a little later. He had figured out at least part of the game by the time I
arrived in the new group, and when a designated “winning” card didn’t win the
game and no one else batted an eye – the look on my face must have been
hysterical – he cracked up laughing at me. Once it was explained to us, I
thought it was an impressive exercise to show everyone (even a straight, white,
male guy like me) what it can be like to try and progress and function in a
culture that’s new to you.
2. LISA DELPIT’S “SILENCED DIALOGUE”: I learned a lot from Lisa Delpit’s writing, especially her “five aspects of power.” The aspect that resonated with me the most was “Those with power are frequently less aware of – or least willing to acknowledge – its existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence.” It’s not a revolutionary point or a total breakthrough, more like a truth we all understand that hardly anyone actually writes out or speaks aloud.
3.
PRECIOUS KNOWLEDGE VIDEO: One of my most vivid
memories from this class was the anger and frustration I felt listening to the Arizona
State Supervisor of Public Instruction John Horne rail against the Raza Studies
program in Tucson lecturing about “classic American values” when he was born in
Canada. State Representative John Huppenthal was a dim bulb too, saying things
like “We all need to stomp out balkanization. No Spanish radio stations, no
Spanish billboards, no Spanish tv stations, no Spanish newspapers. This is
America, speak English. [...] I don't mind them selling Mexican food as long as
the menus are mostly in English. And, I'm not being humorous or racist. A lot
is at stake here.” I was pleased to learn that Huppenthal’s racist posts
like this (under assumed names online) ended his political career.
Hey Mark! Boy was that a stressful card game. Your face reminded me of Brian Cashman on the phone at every trade deadline. Who would of thought that a game would have such a strong connect across the whole class.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, thanks for sharing. It seems some topics resonate the same with us both. The movies(s) that we watched were very eye opening and Delpit's five aspects of power. It made me think more critically about how these dynamics play out in classrooms and why Ethnic Studies are so important for students to feel seen and understood
ReplyDeleteHi Mark! I really enjoyed reading about what you enjoyed this semester. I completely agree with all the things you said will stick with you. The movies were a big hit for me, so I can completely relate to Precious Knowledge. I also like that you included the card game. It was so funny to see everyone's reactions!
ReplyDeleteHi Mark... Thank you for your blog. I loved listening to how to connect everything to your real life experiences. The card game was great, I had no idea what was happening. I really enjoyed the movies as well. It's one thing to read about these things but to actually see it and see how impactful it was for those students.. it was eye opening.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark! I enjoyed reading your blog. I also really enjoyed the card game- it was interesting to see how everyone reacted. I remember thinking it was hilarious and not feeling frustrated by the rules, but I think it is because of my time traveling overseas and often not understanding what is going on
ReplyDelete