Sunday, March 24, 2013


In the Service of What?
The Politics of Service Learning
By Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

Quotes

“In the moral domain, service learning activities tend toward two types of relationships. Relationships that emphasize charity we will call “giving”.
Those that aim primarily to deepen relationships and to forge new connections we will call “caring.”

I chose this quote because I found it interesting that there are 2 different types of service learning. I always looked at is community service but never broke it down into what type of service I was actually doing, it was nice to learn what type of service was more “giving” and what was more “caring.”

“In the intellectual domain, a service learning curriculum can further a number of goals. The ability of a service learning curriculum can further a number of goals. The ability of a service learning curriculum to foster authentic, experience-based learning opportunities, to motivate students, to help students engage in higher- order thinking in contextually varied environments….”

I liked this quote because it points out what service learning can do for a student. When I was in high school we never really had to do any service learning. By making students do more in school, it opens their eyes to different things. That is why I like that we are doing the service learning now because without this opportunity, I probably would have never volunteered in the school I am in.

“In the service of what? Is a question that inevitably merits the attention of teachers, policy makers, and academicians who take seriously the idea that learning and service reinforce each other and should come together in America’s schools.”

This quote is important because it’s saying that this needs to be reinforced and America’s schools should be doing this.

Points to Share:
I am interested to see what other people’s high schools required for service learning? Also what people thought about this essay?



Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Cinderella ate my daughter


Cinderella Ate My Daughter
Peggy Orenstein

This text was easy to read, just very long. This is another story that makes me feel a bit torn. Some of the text I can agree with, but at points I just wanted to stop reading because I almost felt like I knew what was coming next.

Reflection
            I decided to write a reflection on this piece so I could compare it to my own personal life. Growing up I loved everything about Disney. Princesses of course were something my sister and I enjoyed very much. I also have a younger brother and we have numerous videos of us dressing him up in princess costumes. Did this affect him, no! He loved it, as much as we loved playing with fire trucks and Legos. I have a big family so I felt like we grew up playing with each other’s toys (boy and girl). This is why I have such a hard time reading these stories. Personally watching Disney Movies and wanting to be a princess at the age of 3 was a fantasy, when I actually understood the movies I knew that, that wasn’t real life and doesn’t happen.  My 3 year old toddler loves princesses, but she also loves toy story, power ranges, trains, reptiles, motorcycles and a lot more, just as much. I have a hard time agreeing that shows and movies like this affect such young kids in the way they see themselves.

            I do agree with Orenstein when she talks about the color pink, in today’s society. I don’t think that all the pink is necessary. Toys need to be made more gender neutral because boys should be able to play with “girl”
 toys without the fear of being made fun of.




Sunday, March 3, 2013

Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us


Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us
Linda Christensen

This article is so hard for me to write about because I am totally torn on the issue. When I was a little girl and still to this day, I love the Disney Movies. I was always taught that they were not real, just fairy tales. I am sure when I was little I would say “ I want to be a princess like Cinderella.” My daughter is 3 and she absolutely loves all the Disney Princess’s. At 3 years old she really doesn’t understand the whole concept.  So now every time she is playing dress up or wanted to watch one of the movies I am going to be thinking about this “Secret Education.”
EXTENDED COMMENTS:
Since I was torn between whether or not I agree, or disagree with this article, I decided to read some other blogs. Nicole’s blog really stood out to me.  She wrote a reflection on this article and titled it “A prison for your mind.”  I have never taken critical theory so I am a little confused on the whole concept but I would like to pull this quote from her blog. “ After taking this class you are forced to see things that shape society and you as a individual, when in reality you’re not really an individual at all…. All in all though, you determine what you want yourself to see, if you want to remain ignorant or accept awareness of these things.” This stood out to me because the whole time I was reading this article I was thinking to myself, I am aware of what they are saying and how they are comparing it to these movies and shows we have all been exposed to but I think they are looking into it way to much. Now I am thinking that maybe I am just being ignorant to this “secret education” because personally these issues have never affected me. Reading about this issue on Nicole’s blog gives me a better understanding because she says that the fairy tales she watched growing up affected her.

Points to share: I am still trying to figure out if I agree with this article because at such young ages we don’t understand this stuff. Once we get to the age where we do understand I feel like the society is a way worse. The video that Nicole posted about the media’s manipulative influence was a really good video. Pop culture is way worse then Disney Movies!