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This is simply unacceptable, I’m glad Ireland took the ad down, but where in the world did they ever deem this ok to begin with?! This is just embarrassing. 

​This slut-shaming Sprite ad campaign makes one thing clear: do not obey this thirst

A Sprite ad campaign is drawing criticism for containing misogynistic and slut-shamey references to women. While it’s unclear why Coca-Cola, which makes Sprite, chose to make such bold statements about promiscuity, it’s more than clear that the campaign has pissed off consumers in a major way. A Coca Cola representative offered an apology, but it was half-hearted at best.

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Yes.

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Read more about Butler high’s policy

follow @the-movemnt

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Saving the best for last….

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Such a good read for teachers! :) 

How to Become and Remain a Transformational Teacher

See on Scoop.it - Learning Technology News

Transformational teachers share best practices, build mentoring relationships, observe their peers, keep things fresh, model their subject’s usefulness, and demonstrate caring beyond what they teach.

Nik Peachey’s insight:

All good advice.

See on edutopia.org

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“Instead of just memorizing material for a test, students are encouraged to use what they know to design and build projects, whether it's hacking everyday objects to make music or using a 3D printer to build a mechanical prosthetic hand for a child.”

This sounds like a great idea to incorporate into our classrooms! 

Why Making Is Essential to Learning

See on Scoop.it - Educational Technology News

At the heart of making is the idea that all students are creators, and hands-on learning plays a key role in maker education.

See on edutopia.org

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This is something we have discussed in class. More people need to be aware that it is not just a ‘minority issue’, but be more inclusive and realize it’s about standing up for one another.  

Watch: Terri and Layla wanted to do more to fight racism so they started White Nonsense Roundup

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Blog #3

Task: What do Ladson-Billings (1995), Valenzuela (1999), and Paris (2012) have in common? What differences, if any, exists between their theoretical frameworks? Offer an analysis of their theories and their implications to your practice.

In this weeks readings Paris (2012) wrote about the shift of the education system teaching from the deficit/difference approach to the approach the students and teachers have diverse backgrounds and can contribute many ideas in the classroom. Ladson-Billings (1995) wrote about how one school in Northern California was able to demonstrate that their students, who were minorities, were able to school well on standardized tests despite the idea that some research stated would be difficult to attain. Ladson-Billings explained what ideologies the teachers she observed had and how it helped them in the classroom. These readings demonstrate the idea that if teachers believe that their can achieve and that they have many ideas to contribute to the classroom, the students will be able to learn because they will feel valued. Additionally, the researchers explained the philosophy that students come from diverse backgrounds, and that those backgrounds should account to who they are and what they learn in school. An example would be talking about agriculture to a group of students whose family are migrant farm workers, and using that background to increase the students academic skills.

In my own practice I do my best to know who my students are, what their life story is, what their likes/dislikes are, and what they value in life. By doing this, I am able to get an idea of how I can bring their lives into the classroom. This past year I was able to observe two teachers do this and the work the students produced was incredible. One 8th grade teacher had the class read If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser and that have the students choose from various projects where they were able to demonstrate their understanding of the text. Since the book was about a young man who is growing up in the projects and has to make a series of life choices that ultimately lead him to a life he never imagined, the students were able to grapple with it since they were familiar to what life was like in the NYC projects. Students were unable to put the book down, which was completely different when we read other books in class. In another classroom, 7th graders were asked to write about their favorite/ most memorable moment in life. Students wrote about leaving their families behind to follow a parent’s goal of achieving the ‘American Dream’. Students who may were seen by some educators in the school as ‘having rough edges’ were now writing tear jerking children books that they themselves wrote and illustrated. Students from both grades were motivated to complete exemplar work because they wanted to express their thoughts. The teachers knew what was important to their students’ lives and were able to use that knowledge to increase student performance, engagement, and achievement in their classroom. 

As a fellow teacher and as a grad student I am able to put theory into practice immediately. What I am learning is that by getting to know my students and incorporating their likes/dislikes, culture, and values into my teaching I am already setting them up for success. I believe that, with the appropriate resources and scaffolding/modifications, every student is able to succeed and learn. I hold my students to a very high standard (that is appropriate to their individual needs) and I know they can succeed. I hold myself to high expectations and high standards, these were skills I was able to learn from educators in my life and excellent role models I had growing up. I want my students to see me, not only as their teacher, but as a role model.

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Blog Post #2

Task: What most surprises you, if anything, about the history of Multicultural Education? What relationships do the readings, etc. for this week have, if any, and how do they speak to the larger history of multicultural education?

While reading The One Best System, it was interesting to learn that Germans were the first group to create the idea of bilingual education. I hadn’t taken the moment to think of when it first came about, I assumed it had been after the influx of Spanish speaking immigrants, but that was not the case. Although there were individuals and groups who were against this notion, the Superintendent of Missouri called for more schools to provide instruction in German, which I felt was progressive since it was the late 19th Century. 

Although Bilingual education for Germans was somewhat accepted, Blacks were still not provided with an adequate education. Many Black communities found themselves having to support their own schools since the White teachers who often taught Black children were basically just collecting their paycheck and had no actual inclination to teach Black children. Many Black communities sought help from philanthropists and religious organizations to help support their schools. 

With the reading for the Caswell County school, parental involvement made a huge difference in the way the school played out. The parents noticed that the school district was not assisting their children’s school with the necessary resources the school needed to succeed, which caused them to fill in what the school district did not provide for them. 

This weeks readings provides an insight to multicultural education and its history. Throughout the readings I was able to notice how different groups of minorities were treated, mostly based on color. I felt that the Germans were allowed to have their language taught in public schools during the late 19th Century because they could easily assimilate to American culture based on the color of their skin, when compared to Blacks in the Northern states. It was disheartening to learn that Blacks’ education in the Northern states was seemed not as a right, but as an act of kindness. Throughout the years acts of “kindness” were demonstrated, but it was never seen as a natural right for Blacks to receive the education they were so rightfully owed. Even in today’s society, many minority children are still stripped of the resources they need to succeed in school. Many public schools have to rely on grants from organizations to help supplement areas which the public sector has failed to provide the children. 

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Blog Post #1

Task: Share your Educational Philosophy.

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. Education provides us with the opportunity to think for ourselves, as well, as the courage to make a difference. Education is transformative and it can feed minds that are hungry for knowledge.

Education is powerful. By having an education we are opening ourselves us to the world and the knowledge it has to offer. We are able to empower others by broadening their horizons on the issues of the world. Education can provide for us opportunities to expand our mindset and thus make us well-rounded. Education can allow us to pursue ventures we otherwise would not be able to.

Education helps us have courage. Education can help empower us to step up to the plate when others have failed to make a difference. When we have courage we have confidence in our ability to complete a task. We will have confidence because we know we are equipped with the capacity to lead others to make a decision for themselves. Education provides us with the backbone to make a difference when others are too afraid to act.

Education is transformative. Education can help us change the way we think, speak, and act. Being educated does not mean you are arrogant, instead it means that you are able to see the world in a different way. Education has helped many develop their ideas into actions that have helped us survive. Education can help many, if we allow them the chance to explore their talents.

If we want to see a change in the world, we must be willing to educate others, which will in turn create a domino effect. By educating one person, you are lighting a candle, which will light another candle, and so on. We may be in a dark tunnel, but if we all light our candles, we will be able to see and lead the way.