Lawrence Post

Premise
-Race
-Hatred
-Segregation
-Making a change
-Success vs failure
-Struggle

Arguement
Lawrence argues that how ever difficult it was to bring together people of different racial backgrounds, the overall action was a success. There were so many things that really made segreating schools such and issue and even though at the time, there was every reason to believe that the segregation was wrong, judging by how the majority of the public acted to it, the moral outcome was just and needed to be done at some point in time.

Evidence
"If one views the Brown case narrowly, as a case intended to desegregate the nation's schools, history has been proven it a clea failure. On the other hand, the success of Brown cannot be measured by reference to desegregation statistics alon, or even by looking only at how the schools are doing it."

"Too often we have been sidetracked in our struggle because we have lost sight of our goal, or accepted the oppressor's definitions, or mistaken the means for the ends."

I thought that this peice was particularly difficult to read. I found a lot of the vocabulary pretty difficult to understand but managed my way throught it. I think the message that the facts of this case are very interesting and really caught my attention. I had heard about the case before but really didn't know too much about it. I kind of feel like an idiot for not really knowing more than I did before becuase of the extream importance and the impact this had on American history today. Not only the histroy part, but just the overall idea that it really was this difficult to allow different races into public school systems.

Johnson Post 2

Premise
-Priviledge
-Power
-Difference
-Ignorance
-Change
-Stubborness
-Acknowledgement
-Point of Views
-"The little things count"

Arguement
Johnson argues that society today is built around an igonorant and stubborn world where everyone decides to ignore the major problems that make huge contridictions in our lives and rather pay attention to themselves and ignore the issues of race and gender tricking themselves into beleiving that by ignoring the problem, they are fixing it. Those of which who feel like they cannot make a difference are wrong in many ways and need to make a difference within themselves first in order to make a difference in the people around them. All things not matter how small or minescule add up and your "weight" has an effect.

Evidence
"This idea should suggest tah nothing will always be this way or any other, contrarty to the notion that privilege and oppression are here to stay."

"This is why most cultures of privilege mask the reality of oppression by denying its existence, trivializing it, calling it somethin else, blaming it on those most vitiized by it, or diverting attenion from it."

"The more you pay attention to privilege and oppression, the more you'll see opportunities to do something about them."

I found this reading very similar to the first Johnson peice that we read in class. However, in this chapter, there is a lot more talk of what we can do rather than what we have to do. I feel as though, by reading this chapter, Johnson tries to push it on his reader to make a change. I think in the first chapter, it was more of a discussion of what the problem was and the main fact that we have to do something to change it. I think in this chapter, Johnson provides with reasons to make a chage, telling the reader that every little thing counts and that the way things in society are now, will not be the same forever and can be changed. I feel as though there is more of an urgence to get out there and make a change right after I read this.

Orenstein Post

Premise
-Race
-Culture
-Understanding
-Gender
-Neglect
-Ignorance
-Privledge

Arguement
Orenstein's arguement to me is not too far off from Johnson. I beleive that Orenstein beleives that there are too many problems and confrontations out ther that are not being taken care of in any way shape or form. People today try to exclude themselves from theses problems leaving them with a "good concious" because they are not getting into the middle of it. The problem is however that they are the source of the problem. Because nobody decided to ever speak about "privledge" which continues to be a reoccuring word, nothing is ever done to solve the problem. Ignorance and procrastination seem to be the source of the problem, and although there are some people who are trying to make a change, they fall in the minority.

"Women are one-half of the world's people; they do two-thirds of the world's work; they earn one tenth of the world's income; they own one one-hundreth of the world's property."

"At the time I wondered how the boys, who could only see male experience as relevant, would ever learn to see girls as equals."

"I don't know why they didn't beleive me,...Every time I gave them information it was good information. It was good this time too."

Unfortunatly, I really was not able to read this book word for word. However, I strongly beleive that this is probably the most interesting peices that we have read so far. A lot of the stories that I read through were really interesting and kept my attention. I think the most grabbing was by far the last short story. As I have said in my other blogs, I think that all these reads tie into each other one way or another, and the main arguement that I think can sum up a lot of all this is what Johnson points out. I think that there are a lot of points and interesting facts that definatly relate in this case. Overall, I think that the read was great, and am really looking foward to reading throught it again.

Kliewer Post

Premise

-Tracking?
-Ignorance
-Democracy
-Down Syndrome\
-Society
-School Systems

Arguement
I think that the main arguement here deals with society being so ignorant. Not only in school systems, but in the community as well. We need to start overlooking all of these minor inequalities that make us different fom one another, and set out and do the job we intend to do, in this case teaching. Tracking seems to be the main cause to this and because of this, students are not given equal privledges.

Evidence
"Community acceptance requires opportunity for individual partipaction in the group, but opportunity cannont exist outside of community acceptance."

"Schools have traditionally taken a narrow position when defining and judgeing student intellect"

"School citizenship rejects the idea of a gap between normality and down syndrome."

After every reading we have looked over druing this semester, i'm beginning to notice a continueing theme. Every reading in one way or another has a bigger arguement than that of what is in the text. Meaning that, I think each reading connects with one another in some way another either directly or having to read between the lines. In this case, Kliewer is arguing the harsh and rude stakes that children born with Down syndrome are forced to live with. I very much beleive that it can be looked as a much bigger issue dealing with our school systems and society as well.