Edad 701 Reflection

The author of this letter is Russlynn Ali. She is the assistant secretary for civil rights, us department of education.

Looking back at the first couple days in ENC 1101 I was absolutely overwhelmed and stressed about the amount of essay’s that were going to be done. I looked at the syllabus which provided all the work that was going to be done and I wanted to jump of a bridge. Not being fully prepared in high school didn’t help me with my panic. I truly felt in the beginning that it was going to be too hard and I was not going to make it. Through the class I learned many things, the first paper was a minor headache but it really helped me with thoughts, how an essay supposed to flow, and the style of a paper. Once I received a grade for the first paper, I was actually stunned and motivated. Being on the right track opened up my mind and I felt confident going

In the mid 1800s, the question of whether slavery was ethical or not was a particularly contentious matter. Slaves struggled to withstand the harsh treatments from their master’s, along with getting an education, until 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment formally abolished slavery. Although slavery was no longer tolerated, the racial bigotry did not end. Fast forward to the 1950s, and racial inequality is still prevalent in society. Segregation existed in almost every aspect of life ranging from miniscule topics such as where one can sit on the bus, to more serious topics such as quality of education one child receives. This discrimination was fought through protests in the civil rights movement throughout the 1950s and 1960s. As an American high school student in a country still plagued with racial discrimination today, it is imperative to remember the true value of a quality education. While James Baldwin’s “A Talk to Teachers” and Frederick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write” both emphasize the need for racial equality in education, Baldwin’s forceful and angry tone ultimately make his speech the more rhetorically effective of the two.

As kids grow up into adults, they go from learning arithmetic, alphabet, and handwriting in elementary schools to learning the principles of the science, social science, humanities, and arts in colleges, school education always performs a role to teach students the comprehensive knowledge and develop their skills and desires for lifelong learning. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, my friend Tiana is an Africa-American graduated from New York University (NYU) with a major in Gender and Sexuality Studies in 2012. Her four years of studying race, gender, and sexuality in American history gave her a profound understanding of minority groups and feminism and prepared her to be a responsible woman who holds a deep respect for racial differences and works for women’s rights.

In James Baldwin’s article “A Talk to Teachers” he utilizes paradox, tone, and anecdote to persuade the audience that an educational system where students are taught the true meaning of American history and identity must be established in order to create a society where people of all races contribute their ideals to society.

Thinking about the struggle that lead to the emergence of Black studies departments in America, with help from students and teachers, to understanding today based on past failures what the right kind of education looks like, feels like and the outcomes it produces, it becomes clear that the legacy of educating Black people to have white minds is still in play. Additionally, after all that Black studies departments have accomplished, a return back to communal involvement/community service as a requirement for students within these departments, keeps the legacy of what fostered Black Student Unions and departments to form in the first place, this particularly being valuing intellectual growth

I am the founder and president of the SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) Chapter at my school, and I've helped create SADD chapters at other middle and high schools in multiple school districts. Currently, there are about 40 students in my SADD chapter. I started my SADD group my freshman year, so I have been involved with my SADD group for almost three years now.

Until quite recently, education in the United States has been more of a privilege than a human right. Slaves were deprived of reading and writing, and schools were not integrated until the Civil Rights Movement in the twentieth century. Even then, African-American students continued to face the harsh realities of discrimination and inferior opportunities to white students. Still today, while education has become mandatory for all children through law, many students are not provided with the proper information and resources to become successful adults. We often take education for granted, but for many young students, the idea of lifelong knowledge is somewhat of a liberating factor. Through often difficult yet inevitable situations, however,

The class COM 231 overall has helped me in many different ways throughout. I personally feel like I’ve learned many new things as well. Going into the class I thought I was going to have to surmount a big conflict because public speaking isn’t one of my strongest suits. I do always recommend this class to all of my peers because indeed it does help with public speaking. Through the class I have improved skills, learned new ones, and even had some tough moments.

For generations African Americans have been disadvantaged in America and effects of these injustices have made a lasting impression. Education is one of the leading problems in the black community. Though there have many reforms in education over the years, racial injustices still exist because no attention in placed on how legislature affects people of color. I was raised in a middle-class family of educators. My entire life I’ve been told to “stay in school, get an education, and work hard so that you can beat the system.” Recognizing the structural forces in my life has helped me understand my place in society. Being able to “understand everyday life, not through personal circumstances but through the broader historical forces that

“At the end of the 20th century, when identity formation is increasingly mediated by technological media, who learns what, and how is it learned?” (Ibrahim, pg. 349) “How do differently raced, gendered, sexualized, abled, and classed social identities enter the process of learning a second language?” (Ibrahim, pg. 349) “In a postcolonial era when postcolonial subjects are constituting part of the Metropolitan ‘centers’, what is the ‘critical pedagogy’ required in order not to repeat the colonial history embedded in the classroom relationship between white teachers and students of color?” (Ibrahim, pg. 349) “At a time when the North American blackness is governed by how it is negatively located in a race conscious society, what does it mean for a Black ESL learner to ‘take up’ and acquire Black English as a Second Language (BESL)?” (Ibrahim, pg. 349) “In other words, what symbolic, cultural, pedagogical, and identity investments would a learner have in locating oneself politically and racially at the ‘margin’ of representation?” (Ibrahim, pg. 349-350) “In the case of African youths, whose

He uses Grant, a teacher at a coloured school in an extremely segregated society in Louisiana, to do this. Grant questions his role in society and contemplates whether he “should act like the teacher that [he] was, or like the nigger [he] was supposed to be” (47). It is important to note that the school he taught at was deprived of the necessary resources to run a class— chalk, textbooks, and wood were all too expensive. In an attempt to take action, Grant tells Dr. Joseph, the school’s superintendent, that he does not have all the books, paper, chalk, and pencils he needs. In an attempt to dodge the issue at hand, Joseph blatantly lies and says that “the white schools [have] just as much as the coloured schools” (57). He then shamelessly goes on to insult Grant's student’s abilities by saying that that picking cotton, gathering potatoes, pulling onions, and working in the garden was good work for the young body —what kind of a deviant would have the nerve to speak so recklessly? School is for empowering students to make a difference in the world, not to provide a path to servicing their Caucasian oppressors. Undoubtedly, the setting of Grant’s classroom as well as Joseph’s attitude toward the situation are direct reflections of the consideration and care for coloured students. These individuals full of so much potential were being immorally ignored—absolutely treated like animals—and given substantially insufficient supplies to work with, ultimately lowering their standard of education . Upon this, these students were forced to work on plantations to feed their families, and in turn limiting their potential in their professional lives. How can a society that is so separating, demoralizing, and subjecting, progress forward? For these reasons, Grant’s classroom setting demonstrates that racism is undoubtedly a detriment to a

The United States has a history of denying people of color, women, immigrants, and indigenous people an equal and equitable access to the civil rights and liberties bestowed upon other citizens of this country. This sentiment rings especially true, as it relates to education, as these groups have all been disadvantaged and disenfranchised at different points in American history. The disservice that the United States has constructed against the success and progression of African-Americans, should be more duly noted, as they are the diversity group the most in need of pedagogical attention. Consistent with the structure which exist in the political, economic, and social systems of the United States, African-Americans, continue to have the

Before I began this course I thought that I was a really good writer and that I would strive in ENC 1101 with ease. I assumed this because I was always getting good grades in my previous English courses in high school. Most of my papers in high school I had got a high B or an A. But I got a big awakening when I turned in my first paper in ENC 1101. This is because I had assumed that I was going to get a good grade because I thought I had answered all the things that were listed on the rubric that you handed us. When I received my first paper back I was on the borderline tears that I had got a C. At first I did not understand what I had did wrong. After going back and looking at my teacher's comments I realized that I needed to provided more

Despite the adversity they faced, our two authors, Richard Rodriguez and Sherman Alexie, are held high in regard for their respective works on minority education. Richard Rodriguez is the author of the novel The Hunger of Memory, his personal autobiography. In this unique and emotional work, Rodriguez explains how his education brought him success, but created a large rift between his Mexican heritage and culture and himself. On the other hand, Sherman Alexie is a Native American author who wrote the essay “Superman and Me.” In the essay, Alexie explains how his love of books began his education, how hardships that follow being an intelligent Native American forced him to persevere, and how his education has brought meaning to his life. To both of these authors, the most important subject in these literary works is their education as minorities, and the success resulting from this education. In The Hunger of Memory, Rodriguez focuses on themes of how education can be beneficial, but at the same time can cause separation from one’s original identity. “Superman and Me” visits themes of caring for others and how success is achievable by anyone. Each author sheds a different light on the education of minorities, but they share similar thoughts in theory. Education can bring an individual great success, but with this enlightenment comes the responsibility of understanding what the world truly contains.