Saturday, May 10, 2008

Happy Summer!

Hello FNED folks,

Just a thank you for a great semester. I appreciate all of the hard work you did and the strong sense of community you built this semester. As of right now, I have read all of your blogs and will be posting your grades by Wednesday. Check your email... I have requested some missing work from a few of you. Write me back.

Have a great summer and come visit me when you are in HBS!

LB :)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Papers and such...

Hi all,

Hope that you have a good class today with Tiffany as your fearless leader!

I wanted to tell you that I left your signed, sealed Disposition forms outside my office on the bookshelf. I did not leave you your papers because I decided at the last minute that it might make some people uncomfortable to have their papers out in public like that for all to see. These were personal papers and I didn't feel right about that.

So I will have papers for you on Tuesday.

Good luck with your projects and enjoy the spring sunshine.

LB :)

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Other Gender Issues to Consider...

I stumbled upon this article over the weekend and thought it, too, was relevant to our of gender issues in schools for this week. Check it out.


Testing Horace Mann

When students created Facebook pages that viciously attacked a teacher, and when their wealthy parents on the school’s board defended them, Horace Mann was forced to confront a series of questions: Is a Facebook page private, like a diary? Is big money distorting private-school education? And what values is a school supposed to teach?...

Friday, April 11, 2008

Readings for this week


In class on Thursday, we divided up the readings for this week. Half of you chose Peggy Orenstein's chapter from Schoolgirls. As you read about Judy Logan's classroom, think about what tools and strategies she uses to create what she calls a "gender-fair classroom."


The rest of you chose Bernard Lefkowitz's Our Guys. Read the first chapter carefully, and then skim the other sections that follow. Think about Kozol when you read this... Kozol looks at how the culture of power sustains the community of Mott Haven as a space of poverty and oppression. How does the culture of power sustain the community of Glen Ridge as well?

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

"Those who cannot remember the past...

... are doomed to repeat it."

— George Santayana, philosopher and poet
(1863–1952)


Little Rock, Arkansas






After much protest by those who opposed the integration of schools, the Federal Court finally bans picketing outside of school buildings.





Norman Rockwell,
"The Problem We All Live With" (1964)

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Bloggity Blog Blog

I just finished catching up on all of your blogs and leaving you some comments. If you are behind on your blogs, get caught up!!! I still want to hear from you. You can post about the article and our class discussion if you are posting late -- but do put up some thoughts. If the link on my page doesn't go right to your blog for any reason, please leave me a comment right here or email me (lbogad@ric.edu) so I can get it fixed.

I want to draw your attention to a few things you have posted:
  • Kelsey uses a great framework for explaining evidence. She is clear and detailed in explaining each point she writes. A good model.
  • Erin posted a great YouTube video on March 10 dealing with issues of education today. Fun and provocative!
  • Kasey from March 4 on Disney and the "real" Pocahontas. She did our homework for us!
  • Sarah has a cool link to an article on heterogenous grouping.
See you in class on Tuesday.

LB :)

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Johnson says, We Must Say The Words!

In class on Tuesday we gestured to the speech Barack Obama was scheduled to make about his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, in the context race/culture in America.

Regardless of who you might be supporting in the 2008 election, I hope you will take the time to watch or read Obama's speech. It is being lauded as one of the most direct and explicit acknowledgments of race this country has ever seen. It is deeply connected to the issues we have talked about in class. I know you will find it provacative and relevant, even if you have no connection to Obama as a candidate. I welcome and invite your comments!!

And I think Johnson would be pleased.

The Video

The Text

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Media Literacy

As you read Christensen for Tuesday, don't forget about Carlson. In his text (and in the It's Elementary video) he talks about the "popular culture curriculum" that teaches us about LGBT people and issues through films like Ace Ventura or even the more recent Chuck and Larry movie released last summer. Christensen shows, in much more depth, why we need to pay attention to these media texts as they offer us a "secret education."

If you are interested in these issues, check out the links below:

Media Education Foundation
Center for Media Literacy
New Mexico Media Literacy Project

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Blindfolds on Thursday!!

Hi all,
Don't forget to bring some kind of blindfold with you to class on Thursday. We will be doing an activity to go with the Carlson reading. Be well prepared to talk about his main argument and evidence in class!



Monday, February 18, 2008

Words about Race



I have been thinking so much about our conversation last Thursday in class.

What is white? Why do we need to categorize people? What words should we use that won't be offensive? How do we know? I also noticed that in class and in your Delpit Think Pieces, so many of you used the phrase "colored people" when naming people who are not white.

There is no right answer when it comes to what words we should use.... Often my strategy is to ask people what they like to be called. And other times, I have learned by reading and talking with people about the history of certain words. If those histories are rooted in oppression or violence or injustice, I try to avoid those in my speech.

With that in mind, I am asking you to make a shift in your language. You can experiment with a wide variety of alternatives, but when talking about people of color, avoid using the term "colored people." These images, from Jim Crow America, are my reason why.




Wednesday, February 13, 2008

White Privilege on youtube

Check out this creative take on Peggy McIntosh's piece:

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Video on Race and Schooling

In light of our conversations about Lisa Delpit, check out this video I found on youtube that talks about the power of education in one Black community high school...

Friday, January 25, 2008

Welcome to FNED 346!

Welcome to this FNED 346 blogging adventure! Sometime before Tuesday, Feb. 12, you will set up your own blog to use this semester for all of your Talking Points assignments, and to keep track of your thoughts about any of the issues we cover.

A blog is your very own, personal online journal. It is public, in that I and your classmates can read it and comment on it, but it is your space and you can control most everything about it. (If you want to make it private so that *only* members of this class can read it, I can show you how to do so).

In the context of this course, your blog has two purposes:

1) Your blog will provide a space for you to keep all of your Talking Points assignments over the course of our semester together. You will not hand in written assignments to me each week; rather you will post them on your blog. In this sense, your blog is merely your assignment notebook that you will use as you read and prepare for class each week. You will also be posting any additional thoughts you have: responses to class discussion, after thoughts, things you forgot to say in class, relevant experiences you have, etc.

2) Creating your own blog will also introduce you to the blogisphere if you don't know this place already. I hope that you will discover creative educational uses for this online medium. You will see how easy it is to use blogger.com, and perhaps it will inspire you to bring blogs into your own classroom someday.

So here's how it works:

You are going to set up your own blog. If you don't think of yourself as very "tech-saavy," don't stress! The site below makes it very easy for you to get your own personal space up and running in no time at all.

Once you get your blogs up and running, I will provide links to each of them on the right of this page (where your names are already listed). You can come here to this page (my blog) if you want to to read what I write, or to link to one another's blogs as well. This site is new and improved so managing, editing, posting, designing and getting creative on your blog is now easier than ever!

To start your own blog, you will go to:

www.blogger.com

The big orange arrow at the bottom right of the page will direct you to creating your own blog on a site called blogspot.com. Follow the instructions to open up a free account. As you fill in the info, you will be asked to name your blog. This title will appear at the top of your blog.

Then, you need to choose an address:

http://_______.blogspot.com

This will be the web address associated with your site. you can call it anything you like. Be clever or simple (or both) -- it is up to you.

You will also need to choose a design template for your blog. Look through the options listed and see what appeals to you. Again, up to you. Once it is all set up, you can go in and change things, edit, create a more creative space, etc. I have posted some websites under COOL LINKS that can help you get more creative if you want to play.

Once you have the account set up, you will need to start posting in order to get the blog up and running. (Nothing will show up until you post that first entry.) A “posting” is an entry on your blog. (For clarification, you have one blog, but many postings). Give the posting a title and then compose as you would any journal entry. When you are finished, hit the button at the bottom that says Publish Post. It will not appear on your blog until you publish it. You can always go back and edit old posts and create new ones.

Your First Post:
Your first post should be a short introduction to you: who are you, how your semester is going so far, what do you do when you are not in class, etc. (Just a short paragraph — no big deal). You will post the rest of the entries as they are due (see course syllabus for dates), or whenever you have something to say!

When you are done creating your site and posting your first entry, please come back to this blog and post a comment at the end of my first posting (scroll down) that includes your blog address so that I can post it in the link list to the right.

Some Tips and Helpful Hints:
  • Once you are in your blog, look at the top right corner of the screen. If you click on the word CUSTOMIZE, you will be able to make design changes, create new posts, edit old posts, etc.
  • If you want to make your blog a bit more interesting, poke around online and make a list of websites related to education, diversity, social justice or anything else relevant and post them on your blog as a Resource List. To do this, view your blog and click on the CUSTOMIZE link at the top right corner of your screen. Click on ADD A NEW ELEMENT, and then choose Link List. This will allow you to add as many links as you desire. They will show up in a box on your blog!
  • Just do the best you can with this. If you get stuck, don't fret... I am happy to help you anytime as you work on getting this started. Send me an email, come see me in office hours, or grab me after class. And remember: you can't break it. It is just a blog. Everything can be changed if need be!
Good luck!!

LB :)