Talking Points # 5 on Feruson

Bad Boys: Public SChools in the Making of Black Masculinity-Don't believe the hype
Ann Arnett Ferguson

I really enjoyed reading this article-it provided a lot of good incite and evidence that many people merely overlook when going by in their day to day lives. I understand that Ferguson believes that from her study it became clear to her that school labeling and isolating the black male youth in disciplinary spaces has “criminally inclined.” She went around to different individuals and interviewed them to try and find the reasons behind the punishment of these youths. When she went to evaluate at Rosa Parks Elementary school she began working for a new intervention program known as PALS-Partners at learning skills..she found out that 90% of the children in PALS were males.
She quotes in the article-“No one at the school seemed surprised that the vast majority of children defined as at risk of failing academically of being future school dropouts were mostly black and males.”
When she interviewed the children they pointed out that she would learn nothing about his peers and himself if she didn’t listen to their music. I agree with this that music says a lot about what a person believes and feels.
She states on page 12 going into page 13 a quote that she gives her view on this topic-They were natural subjects whose behavior I would interpret, rather then having to elicit interpretations from the kids themselves. I could observe them in depth almost as if they were animals in the labatory or make sense of what I perceived. They were somehow more accessible because they were less social, more biologically determined. THEY WERE NOT TOTALLY HUMAN BUT WERE HUMANS IN THE MAKING. It was me not them who was wise. -
She states that is it important to understand human culture differently and not as a set of immutable characteristics that seem to be transmitted through the genes but as a practical, active, creative response to special social and historical conditions.”

There were just some words that I didn’t understand-delineates on pg 7. and on pg 12 contravened.

This article reminds me of the Tricia Rose article called a style nobody can deal with-politics, style and the postindustrial city in hip hop. Since it is all about trying to figure out why kids act the way they do and one of the kids in this article tells her to listen to their music it will tell them a lot about who they are.

Interesting that she took on this type of evaluation and her findings are interesting. It makes a lot of sense know that I have read the article about why people are so bias about males in certain school districts and why many resort to the punishing room.

Movie

I really did enjoy watching that movie in class yesterday. It was a very awaring video that really caught my attention especially since I do listen to a lot of hip hop.

Talking Points # 4 on Tricia Rose

Tricia Rose A style nobody can deal with: politics, style and the postindustrial city in hip hop

Some things that I understood from the article was that hip hop was started in the Hispanic and Black communities where they didn’t have a lot of money.
It also states in the text, “Hip hop remains a never ending battle for status, prestige, and group adoration which is always in formation, always contested and never fully achieved.” This defiantly is still happening in some areas around the world. It reminds me of the movie with Eminem in it…I forgot the name but hopefully it will come to me..*lol it just came to me..8 mile!
I also understood that many rappers and DJs come up with their names to represent their personalities and they choose their turn and local status by developing their own style or persona. A lot of the fashion trends that were popular back in the 80’s are coming back into style. For instance many people still wear baggy jeans, and big bling. The only part that is different is that it most likely is not fake to many of the well known rappers and DJs out there.
The beginning of the article completely lost me and I had a hard time focusing on what the authors main points were. Some things that I did not understand were the terms diasporic on pg 403 and postindustrial conditions on the same page. I also did not know what they meant but the term social rupture on pg 411. Some other words that I got stuck on were astutely on pg 412.
Teenagers are often seen as these monsters who want to ruin everyone else’s lives. I thought that this article about hip hop thought the same in the early 80s when it first becoming popular. Some of the phrases in the text make you think that hip hop is often seen as something bad. When in reality its how different music artists express themselves. On pg 408 some phrases that support this reason..portable ghetto blasters..symbolic street battles. Hip hop is very competitive and confrontational…
While I was reading this article a lot of the terms reminded me of things that I am used to. For instance, when they were talking about the break dancers and how they made the street theaters friendly I thought of the movie step up. On pg 409 when they were talking about the large plastic alarm clocks in style I thought of Flavor Flav and how he always has a different alarm clock to match his outfit. Also when they were talking about the break dancer moves and about how popping and locking are moves in which the joints are snapped abruptly into angular positions. I thought of the song Pop Lock & drop it.

Choice Assignment Number 1..Juno Paper...Curiosity can lead to an indescribable Journey

Curiosity can lead to an indescribable Journey

The movie Juno is about a teenager rocker chic girl who gets pregnant the first time that she has sex with her best friend and first love bleaker. They obviously did not use any protection or cautions because like many other teenagers they thought it would never happen to them. When she first finds out Juno takes at least three pregnancy tests and all the results were the same. Her first instinct was to call her best friend who was the total opposite of Juno and was a cheerleader; their decision to get rid of the baby and not to tell her parents, so Juno calls the abortion clinic and schedules an appointment. On her way into the clinic Juno sees a girl from her school protesting outside the clinic and all Juno could remember while she was in the waiting room filling out the papers was what the girl said about the baby having fingernails. Juno does not go through with the abortion because she realizes that there is a baby inside of her. Juno and her friends next idea was to look through adoption adds to see if there were any suitable parents that Juno would want to give her baby too. They finally find a rich suburban couple who would be perfect. Juno eventually gets the courage to tell her parents and her father tells her that he will go with her to meet the adoption parents. When they meet the parents Juno and the new father instantly click and have a bond formed through their music likes. Throughout the movie it shows how Juno will drive over and hour to go visit the new parents showing them pictures of the baby and whatnot. The couple ends up getting a divorce because he states that he has just fallen out of love with his wife. The movie implies that he has a sort of crush on Juno but we don’t have any other reason to believe that he did. The couple ends up getting a divorce and this devastates Juno but she leaves a note on their doorstep and tells them that if Vanessa who is the wife still wants to have the baby Juno is still in. In the end, Vanessa adopts the baby boy but after Juno is done giving birth she finally lets her emotions out and cries while bleaker holds her.
I found two examples from the movie that show analysis that teenagers are looked down upon when they become pregnant. The first was when the secretary is writing Juno a late slip for school and Juno is at least eight months pregnant. The lady just stared at her belly while she is writing her late slip. It kind of shows the difference in age of these two women and that the older woman was thinking that it is a sin to get pregnant at such a young age. The second example of discrimination against Juno was when she was getting her ultra sound and she was in the room with her step mom and best friend and the doctor basically told her that she was not ready to raise a baby and that she was glad she was giving it up for adoption.
I came up with two lessons that I got from watching the movie about how teenagers are looked down upon getting pregnant. The first is the simple fact that who is anyone to judge what type of mother a teenager is going to be. The doctor was wrong to judge Juno and tell her that she was not ready to raise a baby, but if a teenager is ready to have sex then they should be ready to take on the responsibilities that come along with it. The second lesson that I got from the movie is at the end when they show Juno finally letting all her emotion out and how she was crying after she gave birth to the baby and bleaker holding her. This made me think that obviously Juno is going to have an attachment with the baby inside of her since she has been carrying it for nine months. I think that sometimes people overlook the mere fact that even though Juno is just a 16 year old teenager she still has feelings and grows bonds towards things. So before people point their fingers they should make sure that they understand the situation and make sure that they hands are clean as well.
In the first few weeks of class we read an article called The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager by Thomas Hines. I found two specific quotes in that article that describe the message about teenagers in general. The first quote is found on page 8, “And inevitably, the teenager is a disappointment, whose combination of adult capacities and juvenile irresponsibility sows personal heartbreak and social chaos.” This completely describes the way that Juno was looked at by everyone that she encountered about her pregnancy except her family, and few friends. The second quote was found on page 9, “For seven centuries, “Teen” meant a source of anger, irritation, or anxiety, an often apt description of one’s offspring.” I think that the movie was based on this sole depiction of what a teenager is and that because they got pregnant on the first try they are irresponsible angry teens. When everyone makes mistakes but some mistakes are worth the journey.

In the end Juno actually learned a few lessons about herself that in the movie didn't really show. Juno learned that she did care a lot about this baby and hoped that it would be well taken care of; and how its easier said then done to not want anything to do with the baby after it is born. Sometimes even the simplest mistake can lead to an indescribable journey.

Talking Points # 3 Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants..By Marc Prensky

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants By Marc Prensky

I agree with this article when it says that if Digital Immigrant educators really want to teach digital natives they will have to change...by this just changing the curriculum and the way to present new topics to students in a language that they understand. I understand that Marc talks about how digital immigrants lives rely soley on technology and in order to get through to them digital natives need to start talking in their language. They finally did change some things with the video games for instance, monkey wrench which helps get young people interested in certain software also helps teach them how to build tools, fix weapons, and defeat traps.

There really wasn't a particular part of the article that I didn't understand, I think that because I would be known as a digital immigrant I understand completely where this article is coming from and agree that teachers have to learn to communicate in the language and style of their students.

There were some parts in the article where I could completly agree and an example that reminded me of things my mom says to my brother and I. For instance, "Digital Immigrants don't believe their students can learn successfully while watching TV or listening to music because they can't. When I was in HS my mom would always yell at me to go up in my room and do my hw she didnt understand how i could concentrate with all the noise downstairs.
Another quote from the article that made an example come to my mind was, "Computer games, email, the internet, cell phones, and instant messaging, are integral parts of their lives." My first year of college I went to Framingham State in Framingham MA. We were required as freshmen to buy these dell laptops because the campus was wireless and many of the teachers would teach through them. Its amazing how when my mom went to school and now how different the ways of presenting and teaching were and are used.

I think its interesting that average college grads spend less time reading but 10,000 hours playing video games. Its kind of humerous when you find a 5th grader with a cell phone now a days. It was funny because in class the other day Deanna and I were talking about high school and cell phones came up and I said that I got one my freshmen year of high school because of sports and such, and she looked at me like when you were a frehsmen because of the couple years difference she didnt get a cellphone until years later and thats all because of the digital technoloy change.

Talking Points # 2 Unlearning the myths that bind us..By Linda Christensen

Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us
Linda Christensen

I agree with Linda when she states that children at the age of 3 already have a set of stereotypes in place. This is not only because of the cartoons they watch or the disney movies out there but because many people are influenced by this and impact others. By wanting to dress the way their favorite disney princess dresses and play hairdresser and make up make going out into the real world a bit hard. She goes on to saying that people have dreams that keep them from dealing with at times an unpleasant reality. I never realized that so many disney movies and cartoons were based on money, looks, boys, and conception. I guess if you are not really looking for it you won't see it.
I also agree with her when she talks about cinderella and cindy ellies tale of cinderella and how the two messages that viewers get from it are "Happiness means getting a man and transformation from wretched conditions can be acheived through consumption. The world in which we live in today is all about looks, cliques, and being able to buy things to make you feel better. I'm not saying that I am not one of those people who always has to look in the mirror and worry about what others think of me. At times im not going to lie I am, but usually I don't care what others think of me and that takes a lot for someone to get to the point of being happy about themselves even if they arent the barie size 0 that every guy in movies wants.

Some things that I didn't understand were two words
*Venner, on page129 which states, "She was beginning to peel back the veneer covering some of the injustice in our society and she was dismayed by what she discovered."
*Hone, on page 133.."Yes, they hone their arguements and seek the just-right examples from their viewing.

When she was talking about a black cinderella on page 131, I remember that the Roger and Hamersteins version of cinderella, Brandy played cinderella and their was an asian as the prince. I also remeber in the movie Ever After, Her stepsisters were not ugly and fat, One was extremely pretty and the other was a little heavy but not what they depict in the disney movie of Cinderella. So not every movie is based soley on whites that are skinny and pretty. But most of the movies I have seen have had all different races play the parts and they seem more real then the cartoon of Cinderella.

On page 136, At the bottom of the page I completly agree with what she says about tinerbell and girls locker rooms. "As Tinker bell inspects her tiny body in a mirror only to find that her minute hips are simply too huge. she shows us how to turn the mirror into an enemy..and this scenario is repeated in girls locker rooms all over the world." I do agree with this for many reasons one being that especially in middle schools if you are overwieght or are not wearing what is instyle, its sad to say but you are in many peoples eyes not cool. It's sad when children start at a very young age to develop and depict images of how their lives will be soley based on disney movies and cartoons only to find out when its to late that reality can sometimes be a rude awakening.

Thomas Hine-Talking points #1

The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager.. By: Thomas Hine

While I was reading this article written by Thomas Hine, I kind of got the assumption that he was sort of on the teenagers side but he also understood where all of the accusations and sayings about teenagers came from. Like when he says on page 2 about Anna Freud's theory and how there is a serious problem with this theory because survey upon survey have only pointed out that many teenagers are not miserable and in pain or turmoil. I agree with him when he says, "It's simply that we remember ourseleves as ourselves." That means that whatever we want to remember about ourselves we will remember. Thats why many people often forget what it was like to be a teenager because for some it was a time when life was confusing and for others it was a time when somehow everything seemed to make sense. The point is that not everyone is going to remember good things about themselves as teens but everyone will always have those cons that in time will get better.
Thomas Hine's also says that "After school is over teenagers in public are a suspet class, of particular interest to local plice and the security forces of shopping malls and private businesses."Its very sad when the world comes to look at individuals with this watchful eye just because they may dress differently or if they are not the same as others who may seem to come across as less threatning
It kind of got me upset when they were talking about the senior ball incident and how proms are looked at differently and about the girl being pregnant and not knowing. I firmly believe that if something is unknown to someone there is more of a chance that they are going to do it then if they were warned or told about it. Thats why it makes me mad when people just judge teenagers because there is more to a teen then their apperance and how they dress..maybe they dress that way to get attention.

Somethings that I didn't really understand were mainly just some big words that I have never even seen before..for instance, anachronistic.
I also don't really understand when he said on page 21, No part of the teenage mystique is more alluring and preplexing than sexuality. I guess I really don't understand what he means by that..


When we did that project last week in class it reminded me of something Thomas Hine said where he said, figuring out where they fit in-to the universe, the world, the economy, their social circle their family-is a project on which teenagers spend a lot of their time and energy. Just by doing that activity made me remember things and memories that quite often can be forgotten but its nice to remember things that shape up to the person we are today!

I already stated this before but I think that if a teenager is unaware of something for instance, sex there more opt to do it then if they learned about it in health class. It seems that when something is unknown teens are more willing to do it for the risk and adventure.