EDUC 2120 Blog #4

In theory raising a child in a genderless environment would work, but unfortunately in reality I do not think it is completely possible. I understand wanting to not restrict your child to the gender stereotypes, but in my opinion it is more trouble than it is worth. I think it is entirely possible to raise a child and not have other people hold them to the gender roles society places on us. There are many children in my class whose parents let them play with a wide variety of toys, regardless of which gender those toys "belong in." One of the points in the article I agreed with was that when the parents make a big deal about there being no gender influences on the child, the parents are making a big deal about gender in general, which is what they are trying to avoid. I definitely don't think that a child will be confused about who they are if they grow up in a genderless environment. Your sex does not determine who you are as a person and what gender you will identify with. A child who is born a male could easily grow up feeling as if he is a female, even if his parents pushed society's gender roles on him. If parents want their child to grow up without the pressure of the stereotypical gender roles there are other ways to do it. For example, buy toys for the child that go with both genders, like blocks and an art set. This helps the child decide for themselves who they want to be without anyone, even the parents, deciding for them.

EDUC 2120 Blog #3

Privilege, in my words, is getting to enjoy opportunities that others cannot because of a certain reason, like wealth, race, etc. Because I grew up in a middle class family and I am also white, I was able to experience more than some of my friends. Because I am a white woman growing up in the conservative South I never really had to worry about not being treated unfairly because of my race. However, being a woman who was raised in the conservative religious South, I was often looked down upon and seen as unequal to men. I remember certain times when I would talk about my future plans of being a lawyer, preacher, doctor, etc. and I was told that was not what God's plan was for my future. Because of my religion I was expected to marry young and stay in the home. Still to this day my grandmother points out that if I continue being as independent as I am I will not find a Godly man.

Even though I grew up in mostly conservative religious towns, my parents made sure that my brothers and I would realize that we are privileged so we can be aware of others situations and help if any way possible. In my group of friends in high school I was the most wealthy, and in reality we weren't all that rich, and that helped me realize just how fortunate I am. Because my parents made me open my eyes and see the world around me for what it really was, I am already able to be unbiased.

EDUC 2120 Blog #2

We can choose to be active in our influence of children's attitudes towards anything. With a certain amount of encouragement from adults, children will begin to process and develop their beliefs about ethnicity, religion, and race. Without our encouragement and openness they are unlikely to ask the prominent hard questions without or prompting. It is definitely up to us to take the initiative to start the hard conversations. Children care about all the injustices that adults do, but we don't see them as important as they do. While they go through the fighting about sharing toys and problems with cliques as they get older, they take more interest in social issues. But listening without judgement and talking openly with them we can learn about the concerns of today's world and we can begin to help them find the connection between their own life experiences and bigger social life issues. But they will never make the connection and work through their "stereotypes" if they do not feel safe enough to ask and explore. I think that incorporating multicultural lesson plans in the classroom will help of awareness. Maybe every few weeks introduce a new ethnic group or talk about a specific race group and what they have done for society. Being able to teach students what people of their race accomplished in the past helps them be more proud of who they are and might motivate them to work harder and succeed in life. As far as initiating conversations about race, watching the types of videos that we have been watching in class is helpful. Race is a broad topic and sometimes people don't know where to begin when trying to initiate conversations about it. It's uncomfortable and they are afraid of offending someone. But the specific issues in the videos help students respond easier than a broad introduction of race.