Thursday, June 26, 2025
Friday, June 20, 2025
6/20 Multilingual Teaching in schools
TONGUE TIED Otto Santa Ana
chapters titled
Teaching Multilingual Children and
Aria( Richard Rodriguez)
by Virginia Collier
Teaching Bilinguals Even When You are Not One videos series
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
6/17 Two Article Summaries.
Deconstructing Privilege Teaching and Learning as Allies in the Classroom Colorblindness in the New Racism
The authors in this article point out that the terms we create to address certain racial inequality concerns are in fact more hurtful than helpful. Saying that "I", "We" or "Us" do not see color therefore suggesting the impossibility of being racist. While not considering yourself as a part of the problem we are learning in research that we are all a part of the problem whether it is intentional or unintentional. We cannot claim to be colorblind because that just REALLY means that we are not addressing that there are differences in the quality of living based on color. So the next time you hear a person say I am not racist I do not see color, gently remind them that seeing color is the only way to treat color as human being who deserve everything this Country promises.
The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies
6/17 RI Dept. of Education......Guidance for Rhode Island Schools on Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students
RIDE- Guidance for Rhode Island Schools Transgender and Nonconforming Students
Trevor Project Resources- Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Young People
I read both of these articles and was excited to see how detailed Rhode Island is in ensuring that all students feel welcomed and a part of our educational space. As a country that believes in freedom of speech and freedom to choose, I could only expect us to be understanding of someone's decision on how they express themselves and present their true demeanor. I am an ally for pride in whatever we choose to be. I think that people need to be encouraged to follow their heart and dreams. We as a country should not be afraid of diversity, but so many are even after all these years. I am curious to know what it is that makes people so hateful of another's choice. I know religion plays a part in some cases but when do we accept that not everyone has similar beliefs and that it is ok. It is ok to cherish your beliefs and also respect another's.
The authors are arguing that it is a student's educational right to learn in a space that is not only safe but also non-judging, understanding and supportive to a young person's choice of expression.
My 3 talking points are:
1. Growing up LGBT in America, found that 42% of gender non conforming youth report being frequently or often being called names and 40% reported being frequently or often excluded. Enumeration of subgroups within Civil Rights Laws is necessary because those subgroups tend to experience discrimination more than other groups.
this is clearly stated in the law and yet we still have to work so hard to ensure that it is being followed in our school system, and community. Colorblinddness the article by Armstrong and Wildman, also in my opinion applies to the transgender and nonbinary community, in regards to people trying to ignore or refuse the identity will not make these issues go away or help other students learn about and respect a student's wellbeing.
2. The first amendment of the US constitution protects the rights to privacy, free speech and freedom of expression. The Federal Equal Access Act identifies narrow exceptions; however, schools may not ban or suppress the speech of student groups based on a "desire to avoid the discomfort and unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular viewpoint.
Again I ant to point out that this Country suggests we are free to be who WE want to be (if this poses no danger to any other person why is this so taboo for so many. If people could be truthful about who they are and how they wish to be seen and experienced by others that would be a great start to changing the culture of America. America is the land of dreams but whose dreams are valid? We have been around too many centuries to continue to operate in this closed mind state.
3. It can be tough for transgender and nonbinary people to constantly educate or be the subject of other's curiosity. One of the best ways to be an ally is to educate yourself on the basics of gender identity and expression so you can better support others.
I try to always intentional ask for names and pronouns and respect other's identities. At my age I do at sometimes impulsively use pronouns that may not line up with the individual but I immediately apologize and work harder at remembering. I try to give myself grace but as an older generation so "branded" by racial and systemic capitalism I do sometimes slide back into "old name tags". I have taken the time to read and understand the different communities that I may have the pleasure of engaging. I am always looking for people to feel like they are welcome and belong. We really need to stop operating out of fear and do a lot more loving and healing. You would be surprised by the allies you can make when talking with people you may think have nothing that mirrors you and your life.
Gender and Sexuality Behavioral Healthcare check out how Brown University Health supports Rhode Islanders in gender and sexuality health.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
6/12 Preface and Introduction.......Troublemakers by Shalaby
Preface and Introduction for
Troublemakers by Shalaby
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
6/12 Teach Out Project.... WORLD OF ART
1. My topic:
Ethnic Studies in Rhode Island. The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies by Christine Sleeter is the article that inspires me. Teaching cultural diversity is important to me in my work. I want to teach others about this because I feel like the more you know about someone's culture the more you understand that someone/group. I feel like we should appreciate the differences in the way we see and navigate the world.
2. Proposal:
I want to utilize the new view on Ethnic studies that I have acquired in the last week to teach out to the children in my elementary school what other cultures celebrate, believe, enjoy, have pride in, or practice. I am interested in sharing all the culture this WORLD provides to expand the minds, ideas and thoughts of our children to many other beautiful moments that could shape who and how they choose to represent themselves.
3. Text summaries:
the 2 articles I choose to summarize are;
The Academic and Social value of Ethnic Studies by Christine Sleeter and
Colorblindness is the New Racism Raising Awareness about Privilege Using Color Insight by Margalynne J. Armstrong & Stephanie M. Wildman
4. Research:
I want to do some additional research on ethnic studies here in Rhode Island and where we stand in regards to it. I want to look at how it is represented in all levels of education elementary, middle , secondary, and undergrad as well as graduate.
5. Create:
I want to create a lesson plan for a 10 week art session called World of Art and teach it this summer at the camp I will be working at and also at the school after school next school year. World of art is art projects the kids do themed after international celebrations, beliefs, festivals, entertainment, etc. The lesson also will include a take home fact sheet about the country and the people who cherish these traditions. The lesson will include domestic flight parody while enjoying a flight snack and reviewing the "country (fact sheet) procedures" for the lesson.
What is Cultural Education- Tilting Futures
I want to reflect on how much we can impact acceptance with just a simple art project that appreciates things we may not have the pleasure to be exposed to. Allowing the kids to see that there is so much out there in this world that we can learn about and end up loving. I want to teach kids to appreciate what someone else values, with hopes of it teaching the value in diversity in people.
7. Present:
I will present my syllabus for the World of Art and my proposal that I will sit and discuss with the camp director and the school principal in order to have this be my program I am running this summer and next school year.
6/10 rethinking schools......."Superachievers" vs "Superpredators"
"Superachievers" vs "Superpredators": How the Racist Love of the Model Minority Is Weaponized against Black and Asian American Students.
By Wayne Au
( click the author to read the article)
The author's main point:
That systemic racism holds up one race in a positive light to shame other races and invalidate the presence of racism in America. A positive light that hides within it a infra-red laser that is slowly burning a hole in the "host race" damaging it all while it is using it for "dirty work". Intentionally causing racial tension among the non white cultures. All negative attention/action is diverted and shared among non white races, who are all suffering the same mistreatment, instead of directly routing to the systemically racist system that created all this mess in the first place. It is not even good to be the model minority, it suffers the same painful existence in silence, because lets face it being an achiever, may not be "heaven" is better than being a predator in America.
Why I choose this article:
I understood ethnic studies to be the study of races and culture and the history that comes with them. I supported learning about non white culture and the history of exploring this world. I supported including this in our education foundation. I will be honest I did not fully understand the ideology of ethnic studies until I read the article last week for home work, The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies (sleeter). This article stood out to me after watching the Precious Knowledge documentary. The video brought the article to life. It was this video that helped me process all that ethnic studies is about and the powerful impact it can have as a part of the education curriculum. I read this article and I am so interested in the idea of spreading cultural awareness and historic race truth.
Just a few things that stood out in this article for me were:
1. It must be recognized that the Chinese and other Orientals in California were faced with even more prejudice that faces the Negro today....The Orientals came back, and today they have established themselves as strong contributors to the health of the whole community." --------- Chinese Americans are moving ahead on their own- with no help from anyone else because they are willing to work at any job, "don't sit around" moaning about their situation, are good citizens with strong families and they are obedient and hard working at school and employment.----- all while implicitly suggesting that Black people were the opposite.
This is the model minority, the Asian race known for their intelligence and family morals among other positive titles they are allowed to carry. But is it fair to compare the races to shame and mentally abuse another race. Did these articles mention that most Chinese immigrants are degree holding professionals with families that are allowed to come to America to utilize their achievements obtained abroad. That wealthy immigrants from Asia were also allowed entry once they funded a business or some other capitalist dream, therefore given certain privileges upon arrival that would "protect" them from the poverty in America. Asians not necessarily happy about being the "model" but not opposed to the limited access to privilege (not the real privilege by the way the non-white privilege)
DO WE SEE A COMMON THEME IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS........ another distraction, lies and hiding the truth.
2. Further, by both tacit and explicit implication, so-called "problem minorities"- especially Black Americans- just need to stop complaining, take note of Asian American success, and simply realize that racism is not really a problem. This the model minority stereotype was born in 1966 of racism, white supremacy, and anti-blackness.
This article was so interesting and I was flabbergasted at how much systemic racism hides in everything! I was amazed at how what I thought was a positive light being shined on a race here in America was a good thing. Only to find out that that same light is only allowed to shine on this non-white population for the benefit of systemic racism. A ploy to deter the anger and blame for oppression of black Americans. The stereotype of the good hardworking Asian model minority has not stopped them from being seen as a threat to American whiteness, at times turning the "praiser" into the "abuser." Asian Americans become a target of violence and bullying due to titles they did not ask to have or in many cases want!
3. Asian Americans do not ask for help, since needing help means they are imperfect and potentially misaligned with social, community, and even their own expectations of themselves as Asian Americans. Asian Americans are less likely to report bullying or seek mental health supports. One Asian American psychologist stating "we(Asians) self harm, quietly continuing to do our homework even though we are super depressed. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Asian Americans ages 15-34
For Asian Americans, the model minority stereotype is literally killing them. I grew up with this stereotype, that Asians are super intelligent and all they care about is education and super high achiever jobs. I assumed that they did not like or cherish anything else. I never imagined an Asian person having "fun", growing up just always serious and professional. I had to check myself after reading this and realize that I too play a role in this beast called systemic racism. I now want to learn more about Asian history to understand the culture and look into what they enjoy and do in leisure. I feel stupid that I never asked anyone Asian what they do for fun in their culture. I am realizing that the internet has exposed many of our children to the joys of Asian culture, K-pop, Kawaii figures and stuff, hello kitty collections and also anime. This is just a few cherished hobbies and interests that Asian people enjoy in their culture. I am excited to learn about more.
America is operating on LIES and MISINFORMATION in so many areas that I don't understand how we are the superpower of the world! How do we lead above other Nations that are in line behind us when we are all delusional by allowing the lies to dictate how we run things. Lies that most people seem to be able to identify but not hold up to be accounted for. Are we all victims of America, have we had the horse blinders on for so long that we can not even see that majority of whites are not a part of the systemic plan(capitalists) and therefore are fighting to keep intact the very thing that will eventually exclude them ( non capitalists whites) too. How do we uncover these deeply ingrained lies and hidden messages that encompass the "American Way of Life" so that we can see the truth behind Capitalism and who it is really helping.
I now have a stronger desire to know about those who make America what it is. I want to know the truth about the people I have the pleasure of meeting.
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
6/5 The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies

Influence of Culture in education by Nicole Biscotti is a great read in addition to the article assigned. The above chart is the model that Ms. Nicole made using the work of Hofstede and Trompenaar this is what she notice in our education system when comparing a traditional education to a culturally influenced education.
THE ASSIGNED READING:
The Academic and Social Value of Ethnic Studies
by Christine E Sleeter
The Main Argument is that belonging inspires the hunter to learn. Being able to see your cultural truth and know that people see what you live and understand what you find valuable and cultural significant makes a difference in what you give to the world. Students are not interested in anything that is not interested in them. Not seeing yourself in the world around you or in the discussions that happen in your real world is like being Patrick Swayze in ghost. the feeling of nothing you do matters can happen quickly if you do not have any view of what it is you can do.
Marginalized people are made to feel like they do not matter enough to be a part of the history and discussion of this world. No mention of great things accomplished that have helped us grow as a country. like the movie 77768 this movie was excellent and shows how woman can problem solve and get things done with leadership and efficiency. So many cultures have heros to learn about great people with huge accomplishments people who put their OWN lives at risk for the betterment of others. We need to hear about these people in all cultures, religions, and genders. So many have overcome huge hurdles and we do not talk about it or educate about it because that is what will interrupt oppression, that is what will start to feed poison to capitalism and poverty. We must be making pretty decent noise if they are willing to be so blatantly obvious that they are trying to oppress those who do not fit the "original" criteria. Amilcar Cabral a great man who fought to free Cape Verde from oppression. East Providence a city with a huge cape verdean population last year started honoring independence day for Cape Verde by having a community day. It is so nice to see that considering all the Portuguese festivals we have in the city as we also have a large Portugese population. It is so nice to see that the city wants to share the story and the vision of coming together to fight for what is right for your community.
my 3 speaking points from the article are
1. White fifth graders believed that the bill of rights gave rights to everyone, about half of the black children pointed out that not everyone has rights. As early as elementary school children have been found to respond to curricula based partly on what they learn and experience in their homes and communities. While black children were beginning to articulate a sense of racial oppression, white children describe the US as being built on progress, democracy, and opportunity for all.
2. Students posited that teachers avoided in depth discussions of race and racism out of fear that the black students would react violently.
3. A few teachers did try to create curricula that represented multiple social groups,but most of the students of color framed their desire for a more representative curriculum in terms of learning about one's own cultural history before going on to study other groups.
I am left unpacking this sentence ......to frame perpetrators of racism as a few bad individuals rather than a system of oppression, and challenges to racism as actions of heroic individuals rather than the organized struggle.......... just enough of truth to keep things quiet but not enough to give power to those who have been powerless for so long.
- Diverse Learning Approaches: Different cultures may favor distinct learning styles, such as rote learning versus critical thinking or individual work versus collaboration.
- Socialization and Communication: Cultural norms dictate social interactions and communication styles, impacting how students interact with teachers and peers.
- Attitudes Towards Authority: Some cultures value respect for elders and authority figures, which can influence how students engage with teachers.
- Cultural Relevance: When educational content incorporates diverse cultural perspectives and aligns with students' backgrounds, it enhances engagement and motivation.
- Sense of Belonging: Feeling valued and seeing their culture reflected in the classroom can create a sense of belonging for students from diverse backgrounds, leading to improved academic performance.
- Empowerment: Incorporating culturally relevant content and activities helps students feel proud of their heritage and empowers them to succeed.
- Diverse Perspectives: Exposure to different cultures broadens students' understanding of the world and helps them appreciate diverse viewpoints.
- Reduced Prejudice: Learning about other cultures can challenge stereotypes and promote empathy and tolerance among students.
- Intercultural Communication: Understanding cultural nuances in communication helps students develop effective communication skills.
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Exposure to diverse ways of thinking fosters critical thinking skills and the ability to navigate complex situations.
- Preparedness for a Diverse World: Cultural awareness prepares students for future success in a globalized society and workforce.
- Develop culturally responsive teaching strategies: Tailor instructional methods to accommodate diverse learning styles and cultural backgrounds.
- Create inclusive learning environments: Foster a classroom where all students feel respected, valued, and safe to express themselves.
- Incorporate diverse perspectives into the curriculum: Ensure that educational materials reflect the richness and complexity of various cultures.
- Challenge cultural biases and stereotypes: Promote understanding and address potential misunderstandings that may arise due to cultural differences.
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
6/3 Trump Executive Orders...... The spread of misinformation
Trump Executive Orders:
Ending Racial and Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing, The White House
Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit Based Opportunity, The White House
Trumps's Executive Orders on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Explained, DEIA
In regards to schooling I feel like we are going to keep this system of educatin that we have now that keeps some of us under control while others are given the opportunity to thrive and succeed. It is going to put minorities right back to not receiving a quality education and will also take away many opportunities for further education. DEI does not give people anything but a fair chance at life the same fair chance every one else gets FOR FREE. Nobody is paying for merit people earn merit and to earn it they have to have a proper education. We are intentionally setting an entire popultaion of many colors and abilities to fail.
WE are not and never have been treated fairly and DEI or AFFIRMATIVE ACTION does not give back all that we have suffered, LETS BE PERFECTLY CLEAR. The only thing we can be given and want is all the same stuff the privileged get.
CHECK OUT THIS STATEMENT from TODD CHRISLEY about mistreatment of black prisoners
BUT WE DONT NEED DEI, MR. Chrisley has been color sighted but only because he had his privilege taken ( and it sounds potentially reinstated) I hope he continues to speak out loud about the TRUTH!!!!!
After reading these orders and before reading the explanation I was so confused. He is saying that DEI is a waste of federal money but then at the end says that affirmative action is the law and must be followed. It is like in one breath he is saying racism does not exist and in the next it does. Affirmative action may make discrimination unlawful but it certainly did not make it disappear.
I think this is a distraction to take attention away from the fact that capitalism exists. This is exactly what I was talking about when I said that policies are made sometimes with alternate purposes. So they are trying to make it seem like there is no need for DEI. When they see that the oppressed are making strides they spread misinformation. Trump's administration states that DEI focuses on race and gender and not merit, therefore giving an unfair advantage to people who do not earn it.
This same administration spreads more lies when they claim according to Mike Gonzalez of the Heritage Foundation that DEI does not promote diversity but is instead seeking to dismantle our entire society and recast it.
This is not true, or is it? This is exactly what this world needs to dismantle the entire systemic society and reshape the standards in the US. I read an article by Caroline Sumlen titled The End of DEI is a Betrayal to Us All. She points out that DEI is not new and is not just for black americans. It benefits all marginalized people including non black people of color, LGBTQ+, disabled veterans, non christian, and white woman.
DEI is a system that does the work to make sure that all people are treated fairly and compensated properly, provided medical care that is of high quality and also ensuring that the education provided to our children is the same across the board in providing the resources needed to teach children with diverse styles.
If Trump wants to run on merits then lets start having public disclosure on all wages and merits and see that it is equal and fair regardless of your color or gender or religious beliefs. Want to make changes then lets change the transparency of wages and show americans just how equal and non-discriminatory we are!
One of my favorite things Caroline said in her article:
What can you do to help DEI continue….. Spread the truth about what it is and why it exists. Spread the truth about capitalism and how America was built by people who get no benefit from the hard work of their ancestors. Spread the truth about colorsightedness and how we need to acknowledge that poverty exist to make some people ( the same ones, not any newcomers) Rich and Powerful.
What are we afraid of ……… a white minority? America is naturally becoming mixed and mutli- cultural. SO sooner or later you going to have to “Guess who’s coming for dinner” ( this was the first movie I watch about different races being in love and going against segregation.)
Imitation of Life another excellent movie about a Black woman passing for white and ignoring her dark skinned black mother, so she could have a good life.
If it can not be ignore than lie about it cannot be the AMERICAN way! SPEAK UP TELL THE TRUTH!!! Change starts with the TRUTH!!!!
6/26 TEACH OUT presentation project slide show link
link to presentation slide show
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Privilege, Power and Difference By: Allan G. Johnson UPDATED BLOG: ( I wrote my blog about the wrong article I misunderstood I thought t...
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5/27/25 Deconstructing Privilege Teaching and Learning as Allies in the Classroom: "Colorblindness is the New Racism" Raising Aw...
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Other People's Children Cultural Conflict in the Classroom The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's...

