My favorite topics covered in class was deviance and panic, the copycat effect, and the crime and drug problem. I also really enjoyed the media role in suicide article as well as the free blog entries - though I sometimes found them difficult.
To me, deviance is a very interesting subject. I think that I have trouble wrapping my head around it and because of that, hearing other peoples thoughts on it made that class extremely thought provoking. I also liked the way Dr. Castle set up that class, where we had to think of things that were deviants and not crimes, and crimes but not deviants. That was difficult and I enjoyed that a lot.
The copycat effect was another one of my favorites for a similar reason. I don't know if I believe it to be true, or if i can understand just how far that can go. It was definitely helpful to learn some statistics as well as hear some stories of related crimes.
I think everyone enjoys learning about drug-related crimes. The heroine article was super fascinating and talking about the drug cartel in Columbia, in class, was really fun.
The media role in suicide article just seemed pertinent at the time, at least to my life. There had been many suicides in the media recently and I had been studying them in depth, as well as hate crimes, and I thought that article came at a good time. I was happy to go to class knowing we'd be discussing this issues.
Lastly, the free blogs were fun because I got to talk about whatever I wanted to, and often times that topic was myself. Everyone enjoys talking about themselves.
My least favorite topics were the Scopes Monkey Trial because I've learned and talked about them many, many times, and I can't pinpoint which topics these were but sometimes, perhaps even during a topic I found interesting, the discussion lagged. Either people made idiotic comments (and not in a joking manner) or the class just didn't seem interested. When no one is engaged, it's hard for me to remain engaged, as well. I also am torn with my feelings on the diamond discussion. I am extremely grateful that Dr. Castle showed it because now I am not going to buy diamonds but it really was a "buzzkill", if you will. The Sarah Mclachlin video was so sad. It was also frustrating because I realize a few people are not going to change it. I'd also like to point out that I'm a big advocator for inclusive language and it's not secret that I'm a big feminist so with that said... I feel that discussion was heteronormatively directed. Assumably, men are asking women for their hand in marriage. Women have husbands, men have wives. Men have to buy the diamonds. Men deal with the pressure of romanticizing the relationship - through diamond engagement rings. Well, not necessarily. But, anyways...
I would like to see the topics I enjoyed the most expanded. Makes sense, right? Also, as much as I hated the media fast, I'd like to see it expanded. We did it and I understand the point of it, but I think blogging about it wasn't enough. I don't feel like it was monitored enough (though I can't really figure out how it would be monitored) and we didn't discuss it that much in class. I think the topics I liked least can easily be limited. I'd have to really look into the course content as a whole, directed toward the big picture, before I decided if anything could actually be limited. Maybe I would discuss more mediums. One day we had a discussion about news channels and perhaps that is applicable to some students' lives but I, personally, don't watch the news if I have down-time. I never watch TV but if I have time to relax, news is not going to be the station I turn on. I hated that discussion.
I'm not sure I'd vary much from how Dr. Castle taught it but I have read some extremely interesting books on this subject and I think I would implement them, and then pull a few of the articles away. I think I'd open with the media fast and then broad subjects about media and justice and eventually get more specific. I would also keep the presentation. I'd probably also give a short paper on how media and justice affect one's life or something. Something simple, but something to give the students another grade. I guess this would be a mid-term. I'm not sure I'd keep the blogs. I'd have to think of something to replace them with first. They were helpful for the most-part. I'd also like to figure out a way to monitor class discussion. Dr. Castle, you are a very patient person, but I am not. I think if the discussion veered away from my point, I'd have to redirect it. Also, Dr. Castle, you leave your opinion out, often, so it's hard for me to determine what exactly you're looking to hear. I would definitely share my opinion with my students after discussion, or during, to push them in certain directions and so they could see all sides of the arguments.
My ideal course content would be focusing more on the mediums that I know students use. I would keep the content pretty similar to the one we had, though. I really enjoyed this class.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Freedom Writers
One of my favorite movies of all time is Freedom Writers. Haven't seen it? Do it. It'll change your life. It's one of those.
Here's a little background info: the main characters are Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, and Scott Glenn. They make a great case in this movie. Basically, a quick synopsis of this movie is that Hilary Swank, a white woman, becomes a teacher in a new school. The school used to be high-achieving but an integration program has just been put in place so now the students are predominantly black and hispanic. They are referred to as "unteachables." Generally, these students aren't well educated and seemingly so, they don't have bright futures. Most of the students are gang members, as well. Hilary Swank, that magical woman, is slightly discouraged because even the department head won't let the students have books because she is afraid they will be damaged. Of course, Hilary Swank gains the students' trust and eventually gets them composition books and they begin to come to class often and have the desire to learn and blahblahblah it ends on a happy note, like most movies do.
The justice issues are basically in the plot line. The gang affiliations and the racial segregation are the two biggest justice issues in this movie. There is also a drive by shooting in the movie and, because of this shooting, there is a court hearing. The education, or lackthereof, is a huge justice issue along with the department head not wanting to fund books. I don't know much about how funding books works in school but I do think it seems slightly unorthodox that if a school has the money for supplies, it CHOOSES not to get them. I'm not sure if department heads have that choice or not, but it seems like a justice issue to me.
Here's a little background info: the main characters are Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, and Scott Glenn. They make a great case in this movie. Basically, a quick synopsis of this movie is that Hilary Swank, a white woman, becomes a teacher in a new school. The school used to be high-achieving but an integration program has just been put in place so now the students are predominantly black and hispanic. They are referred to as "unteachables." Generally, these students aren't well educated and seemingly so, they don't have bright futures. Most of the students are gang members, as well. Hilary Swank, that magical woman, is slightly discouraged because even the department head won't let the students have books because she is afraid they will be damaged. Of course, Hilary Swank gains the students' trust and eventually gets them composition books and they begin to come to class often and have the desire to learn and blahblahblah it ends on a happy note, like most movies do.
The justice issues are basically in the plot line. The gang affiliations and the racial segregation are the two biggest justice issues in this movie. There is also a drive by shooting in the movie and, because of this shooting, there is a court hearing. The education, or lackthereof, is a huge justice issue along with the department head not wanting to fund books. I don't know much about how funding books works in school but I do think it seems slightly unorthodox that if a school has the money for supplies, it CHOOSES not to get them. I'm not sure if department heads have that choice or not, but it seems like a justice issue to me.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Dave Matthews Band: Cry Freedom
How can I turn away
Brother/Sister go dancing
Through my head
Human as to human
The future is no place
To place your better days
Cry freedom cry
From a crowd 10,000 wide
Hope laid upon hope
That this crowd will not subside
Let this flag burn to dust
And a new a fair design be raised
While we wait head in hands
Hands in prayer
And fall into a dreamless sleep again
And we wave our hands
Hands and feet are all alike
But gold between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
But fear between divide us
All slip away
There was a window and by it stood
A mirror in which
He could see himself
He thought of something
Something he had never had but hoped would come along
Cry freedom, cry
From deep inside
Where we are all confined
While we wave hands in fire
Wave our hands
Hands and feet are all alike
But gold between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
But fear between divide us,
Slip away
In this room stood a little child
And in this room this little child
She would remain
Until someone might decide
To dance this little child
Across this hall
Into a cold, dark, space
Where she might never trace her way across this crooked mile
Across this crooked page
Cry freedom, cry
From deep inside where
We are all confined
Till we wave our hands
How can I turn away
Brother/Sister go dancing
Through my head
Human as to human
The future is no place
To place your better days
Hands and feet are all alike
But gold between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
But fear between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
Hear what I say
Hear what I say
Oh, so be it
How can I turn away
Brother/Sister go dancing
Through my head
Human as to human
The future is no place
To place your better days
This song doesn't have an official music video, so here's this: Cry Freedom
To my knowledge, this song is about the apartheid (which I'm actually doing a project on right now, so this could come in handy) because Dave Matthews used to live in South Africa so many of his songs replicate his experiences there and his attachment to his past. This song conveys the lack of togetherness and unity in South Africa during the apartheid and the want and desire for such. This is one of my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs because it is so soothing and I really enjoy the line, "the future is no place to place your better days." I think Dave is saying to live in the present and enjoy it because one cannot assume there is a tomorrow.
Brother/Sister go dancing
Through my head
Human as to human
The future is no place
To place your better days
Cry freedom cry
From a crowd 10,000 wide
Hope laid upon hope
That this crowd will not subside
Let this flag burn to dust
And a new a fair design be raised
While we wait head in hands
Hands in prayer
And fall into a dreamless sleep again
And we wave our hands
Hands and feet are all alike
But gold between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
But fear between divide us
All slip away
There was a window and by it stood
A mirror in which
He could see himself
He thought of something
Something he had never had but hoped would come along
Cry freedom, cry
From deep inside
Where we are all confined
While we wave hands in fire
Wave our hands
Hands and feet are all alike
But gold between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
But fear between divide us,
Slip away
In this room stood a little child
And in this room this little child
She would remain
Until someone might decide
To dance this little child
Across this hall
Into a cold, dark, space
Where she might never trace her way across this crooked mile
Across this crooked page
Cry freedom, cry
From deep inside where
We are all confined
Till we wave our hands
How can I turn away
Brother/Sister go dancing
Through my head
Human as to human
The future is no place
To place your better days
Hands and feet are all alike
But gold between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
But fear between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
Hear what I say
Hear what I say
Oh, so be it
How can I turn away
Brother/Sister go dancing
Through my head
Human as to human
The future is no place
To place your better days
This song doesn't have an official music video, so here's this: Cry Freedom
To my knowledge, this song is about the apartheid (which I'm actually doing a project on right now, so this could come in handy) because Dave Matthews used to live in South Africa so many of his songs replicate his experiences there and his attachment to his past. This song conveys the lack of togetherness and unity in South Africa during the apartheid and the want and desire for such. This is one of my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs because it is so soothing and I really enjoy the line, "the future is no place to place your better days." I think Dave is saying to live in the present and enjoy it because one cannot assume there is a tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Reflections on Speaker
I enjoyed the speaker on Thursday. I thought the powerpoint made it a little more boring than expected but that is only because I had a very similar suicide awareness program presented to my organization the week prior. As a matter of fact, Katie Baird was supposed to help facilitate this program, seeing as she is certified in this area and our organization wanted someone from Varner House present. However, Katie was out of town and we found a man named Patrick from the LGBT & Ally Education program who just so happened to be certified in suicide prevention as well.
I think the way Patrick presented was more effective than the way Katie presented, and for this reason, Katie didn't impress me much. Patrick started out with a view videos from the "It Gets Better" campaign and then had the group (which was larger than 40 people) pair up and discuss our reference points with one another. It became deep and slightly emotional and I'm not advocating that for a classroom in which people don't know each other well but I will say the next activity Patrick did was very productive. Patrick, then, did role playing with the president of our organization and I think that put everything in perspective for me. We all were supposed to pay close attention to the questions Patrick was acting and what he said in reaction to our president. I think this was the most helpful part of the presentation. Then, lastly, Patrick had us discuss our forms of resiliency and how these can be effective when one is contemplating/thinking about suicide and I also found this helpful.
I wish Katie had discussed resiliency and made this subject seem more applicable to each of our individual lives. It's one thing to read statistics and hear that this topic is more prominent in our lives than we once thought but it is another thing when one can envision their friends coming to them with thoughts of suicide. Katie made it seem more like she was talking at us, rather than trying to help us if we are ever in the same situation. I did think it was helpful and important to talk about and I'm glad you brought her to class.
If you're interested, here's a video from the It Gets Better Project. It's Kermit the Frog!
I think the way Patrick presented was more effective than the way Katie presented, and for this reason, Katie didn't impress me much. Patrick started out with a view videos from the "It Gets Better" campaign and then had the group (which was larger than 40 people) pair up and discuss our reference points with one another. It became deep and slightly emotional and I'm not advocating that for a classroom in which people don't know each other well but I will say the next activity Patrick did was very productive. Patrick, then, did role playing with the president of our organization and I think that put everything in perspective for me. We all were supposed to pay close attention to the questions Patrick was acting and what he said in reaction to our president. I think this was the most helpful part of the presentation. Then, lastly, Patrick had us discuss our forms of resiliency and how these can be effective when one is contemplating/thinking about suicide and I also found this helpful.
I wish Katie had discussed resiliency and made this subject seem more applicable to each of our individual lives. It's one thing to read statistics and hear that this topic is more prominent in our lives than we once thought but it is another thing when one can envision their friends coming to them with thoughts of suicide. Katie made it seem more like she was talking at us, rather than trying to help us if we are ever in the same situation. I did think it was helpful and important to talk about and I'm glad you brought her to class.
If you're interested, here's a video from the It Gets Better Project. It's Kermit the Frog!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Boo York
As you may or may not have already known, NYC has a huge Halloween parade every year. This year was the 38th annual parade. Millions of NYC residents, among many others, dress up in remarkably creative costumes and parade through the street. To my knowledge, this parade is somewhat comparable to New Orleans' Mardi Gras, with less bare breasts and booze. The Halloween Parade is largest grass-roots event in the nation. Each year there is a theme. After 9/11 the theme was the Pheonix Rising and after Hurricane Katrina it was the Pheonix Re-Rising. This year the theme was Remembrances of the Dead.
This Halloween Parade gets a lot of media attention because it is the largest parade in the nation, for this holiday. Also, I assume, because New York is the capital of creativity and fashion so I assume native New Yorkers having amazing costumes. This parade has its own website where one can make donation toward the parade's fundraisers. The parade can be watched on TV if you're one of the unlucky one's who cannot make it!
This Halloween Parade gets a lot of media attention because it is the largest parade in the nation, for this holiday. Also, I assume, because New York is the capital of creativity and fashion so I assume native New Yorkers having amazing costumes. This parade has its own website where one can make donation toward the parade's fundraisers. The parade can be watched on TV if you're one of the unlucky one's who cannot make it!
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