we cannot but chuse to hear

The whole oil thing (spill) has gotten out of hand. This is like one of the things that get everyone saying this is the end of the world. The oil spill disaster will forever be here for all our kids and even grandkids. This oil is not only messing up our water but our food and essentially our lives. Why are people so greedy and not worrying about other people’s pains? Have we lost our sense of humanity? Bp has a lot of blame on them and I do not blame people for ding that because in fact it is their fault and greed that got us in this predicament.

fix the shading on the children's faces!

Even before reading this poem I saw this on the news and I thought it was just plain crazy. You first ask someone to paint you a painting then after you tell them the boy in the painting is too dark lighten him up. They were of course not talking about his personality but his skin color. In this poem I felt that you hit it on the head it is just plain about racism. We of course do not choose our race just like the boy in the painting he didn't choose to be that shade of color but his creator did so why change him. Till this day there are still forms of racism that it even reared its ugly head in a painting. So we need to change as human being and know that we are just one people.

"Arizona god dam!"

The "Arizona god dam!" is about how things was all good in Arizona then it went wrong. The people who are suppose to be the leaders are the ones doing the corruption. You talked a case where they wouldn’t let the individual have a say in the matter. Also there was a holiday where they wouldn’t let it become one “the Martin Luther king” which I really do not know why. The only reason I can see would be an issue of racism. Sure enough it seems like the way you wrote the poem you went through some racism in your life time.

Quiz # 10

Quiz # 9

Reflection #16

What I understand about intersexuality and transsexuality is that intersexuality is when a person has both female and male characteristics and transexuality is when a person has a physical sex that is different from their biological one. So basically, the person looks like a women but feels like a man. When reading information about these kind of information I feel that man I wonder what intersexual and transsexual are going through in certain societies where even homosexuals are not accepted. To know that you are biologically born a certain way you did not or do not have a choice to be born that way but you are. That has a big impact on me because a lot of times people are so quick to condemn someone because they believe that a person choose to be homosexual or choose to like the same sex, but in this case these people did not choose their gender or biologically choose who they are it just happen that way they were born that way. I have learned last semester about have an extra chromosomes that can alter a person’s characteristics but reading about it in depth is in fact just amazing. To know that people can be born a certain way other then the two ways I knew which were being “female” or “male”. The way I want to look at this is if I were born that way I wouldn’t want to be treated different because I am out of the norm of the population. A lot of the time we blame the parents or the friends and society for making someone gay or lesbian when in fact even that would not be true. But now when a person is born as an intersexual or transsexual who can you blame for that? No one the person is born like that end of story. Learning about this has truly helped me to be even more understanding about the way people are and their gender preferences. How can someone blame someone for being born a certain way? I think if even after reading something like this people are still resentful of the person I believe that person has a problem and needs to seek help. My eyes are truly open about the way things are and they way things can be in the world. Everyone is different point blank and if people have a hard time accepting that then we as a country need to do our jobs my giving everyone information to help them be informed about what they do not know or think they know.

Reflection #15

What is the cause of homosexuality? I would not say I knew exactly the cause of homosexuality, but I believe it is that people are born that way. A lot of the time majority of the world look down on gays and really hate the concept of being homosexual. Why is it every time we come across something different from us or out of the “norm” we are reluctant to accept it? What is so horrible about a person not liking the same things we like or the same sex (male or female) we like? I just believe people are just so afraid of difference. But why? When you are born into a certain culture there are things that are hard to accept because we are taught not to accept same sex relationships (well in some culture). I used to be someone who had a hard time dealing with the fact that some of my friends were gay or people around me like the same sex. I’m raise in a culture where if you are a homosexual you are renounced by your parents and community. So when you are young you accept things as basically being “law” or the “rule”. Even people around you have that same mentality so you believe it as the truth. They even say things like “you are a girl act like one” girls are suppose to like boys and boys are suppose to like girls. When you get to a certain age and they see you a little close to the same sex they do not want you to be that close because you can turn gay. Another thing with the gender role, is that boys are to act “manly” like ballet would not be consider manly but girly so therefore by a guy being in ballet you would be look at as being homosexual; a lot of people do not see it as oh he just likes ballet but there is something odd about that boys do not go into that unless they are gay. The reality of the matter is most people think like that and even the ones that say they do not do. They catch their self guessing “he likes to cook he might be gay” because cooking is looked as a girly thing to do. In the society there are in fact gender roles whether we want it or not they are there they are put out by our families, friends, and the mass media. After my past experience with my homosexual friends I could care less if someone is gay because we are people no matter what my beliefs may be I know that they are just like you and me. Also in this class I learned things to show me that that it is our culture that a lot of times shape our way of thinking. If I were raised in a homosexual community and everyone around me were homosexual then I would see being gay as a normally thing for me. Then one day I met a heterosexual I would find that person to be weird out of the norm. So that is why people have a hard time accepting people that are gay because they are different from what they are used to.

Reflection #14

When reading this article one thing that kept popping into my head was racism and favoritism. Why must one group be more important than the other? Is not this land of equality mean anything to the people who are suppose to be enforcing that law? Man! People in power abuse it so much and no one seems to care or do anything about it. Anyways, I truly believe that a case can be made and should be made for institutional racism. The law is the law right? So that means it should not mean be just for one group but for anyone and everyone. These types of things (racism) should not be happening now a day but yet it is. Why is it still going on? Why are the people in charge using the law to make it legal? The reason I believe this is still going on is because the people in charge are in the act as well. They are the puppets and the strings at the same time they make the law one way and execute it in another way. Just corruption everywhere you go. They are using the law to make it legal because they feel they are superior than another group and it is their responsibility that everyone that looks like them are ahead and everyone else is on the low totem pole. Race is something man made if man did not make it, it would be here at all. People choose to categorize each other into groups. Why? I guess to feel that we have the answers to questions and essentially knowing the way things work. If we look back in the medieval days when people did not have an understanding of thing they would make things up called “superstitions”. So it seems to me when we do not understand something we make up things or we must find ways to make our self understand it even though it may be mad. It is the same way we have racism because we do not understand why someone look different from us. So when we see someone who looks different from us I guess we freak out and think “well because they look unusual then I am better than them”. A lot of the time the law makers do not come out and say we’re giving the Cubans the whole ordeal and the Haitians do not have the right; but it is the way they implement the law that shows you straight out that they are racist towards the Haitians. They should have trials where these people who are in fact racist toward Haitians and towards any group should be trialed for their hatred. This world needs a serious wakeup call to just know we are all people and we are the same.

hb2281

Why are the immigrants being punished for who they are? In Arizona they want to remove ethnic studies what exactly is the point of that? I think it's a matter of fear that maybe the Hispanics are going to take over. But why strip them of their native language? The reason basically would be that they would forget where they came from their native culture and eventually over generations their kids for getting their language. Essentially losing who they truly are

si m mouri, ou pral mouri!” (if i die, you die!)

This poem is basically talking about the disastrous state of Haiti. In the poem it states that Haiti was once a beautiful and well off land. How did Haiti become the way it is? The government has a lot to do with the status of Haiti. The fact that they are not doing anything in these people times of trouble.A lot of the trees are gone they are cutting them down without any regulations and also not replanting them.They can come up with solution for the people why aren't they? But also the native people are some what responsible as well they can come together to make their home land more fruitful. Everyone wants power forgetting to look next to them and behind them for the people in need.

Reflection #13

The word Race means “related by common descent or heredity. What is Racism? And does it really exist? I will answer these questions later, but going back to Race to me race does and does not exist. How is it that I believe there are two possible answers? I remember watching a movie in the class about how we all originated from Africa for the life of me I cannot seem to remember the name of it but I think it was “Mother Eve”. Okay, so that means Race as we know it does not exist nor should it. If all our ancestors came from Africa then why are some people known as Blacks, Whites, Haitians, Asians, and Hispanics etc…? Who came up with these stamps for us and why? The word Racism basically means the notion or idea that one’s own Race is superior and has the right to rule others. Wait a minute, with this definition I still come to believe that Race does not exist. Race is nothing but we having opinions about who we are who others are or who we are suppose to be or where we are suppose to belong. So why does Racism exist if Race does not? I believe the whole issue is when someone finds someone that does not look like them we are maybe afraid of the difference we see or envy that difference. The person responsible for racism would have to be us in general. We are people and we choose to be Racist we come up with this conception that I am better than you and because you do not look like me there is something wrong with you or you are just less than I am. Racism can be shown in many forms. One way would be through racial slur trying to degrade the person or race because we feel that they do not belong where we are. Back in the 1800’s there were segregation and slavery why because somebody decided well I am better than you so therefore you should belong to me and do what I say. In those days 95% of blacks were slaves. We have come a long way from slavery and Racism but is it completely gone? No, I can’t be so naive to think that the world has completely changed because that would be just the utter most lie ever. Racism exists in the workplace, in the home, in our schools, churches, our familiar groups, and with friends. The real question for me would have to be can Racism be eliminated? No, as sad or shocking as this might sound it is the blunt truth. As long as we are labeled as Blacks, Whites, Hispanics etc… on the Census or our children’s test then of course racism is here to stay and rein.

Assignment # 1

The school I decided to do my field work in was North Miami Beach Senior High School. I chose that school merely because it was the closet to my house. Moving on, the teacher that I had to spend time with was Mr. Witten he is a History teacher he teaches American History and Economics. The Grade level he teaches mostly consists of 11th graders and 12th graders. On the first day I was in his class I fell in love with the way he taught his students there was never a monotonous moment. He had a way of getting all his students involved and getting his point (the material) across to these young adults. One thing I notice is that just like I read in the “Teaching for Inclusion” he knew his entire students name. Also he cared about all his students the same well at least it appeared that way to me. He knew how much one needed attention than the other not giving more attention to one that did not really need it. You know something else his students never hesitate to ask him a question because he is like one of those teachers you can ask him anything. I have heard this saying a lot of the time “there is no such thing as a stupid question” I would beg to differ sometimes about that statement, but in his class you can tell the students never thought asking him a specific question was indeed stupid. Well in South Florida as we know there is diversity around every corner you turn. So of course in the class there were a lot of different background students. Different ideas, thought, beliefs, values etc… even though the teacher is a white American he was so to speak down with all his students he seem to understand that each student was in fact different (unique) and came from different places and status and cultures. This teacher was indeed a teacher who loves to laugh and make his students laugh as well. So sometimes he would joke with them on their culture and belief not to offend them but to make them feel that it was okay to be who they are and just know that everyone is different in a way and that it is acceptable. Another thing I found rewarding to the students was sometimes Mr. Witten would have them do group assignments. I saw this to be a helpful way to get the students to bond with each other also so they could get a better understanding of the material at hand and another thing I pick up from that method is that the students learned from each other. Seeing the student’s work together trying to figure out essential what the work they were supposed to be learning was a treat in itself. These are the type of teachers we need in Florida and all over the world.

Quiz #8

Reflection #12

Genocide is systematic killing of a racial or cultural group. Once again I would have to go inside of these peoples head to see what is clicking or not clicking rather. Some questions I would like to ask myself as I’m writing this essay, how can someone just decide to kill off a group? Why would someone do it? And is anyone capable of genocide...To decide to kill a group or a person I would have to say that maybe it is because that person is a threat to me or I feel I am better than them. In retrospect to the Emmett Till the Anglo Saxons thought that the black man was a threat to them. They thought that the African Americans would take over and take their wives. They saw that the population of African Americans were increasing and so they being superior (having too much power), thought it was alright to treat blacks as inferior people. Well you might now say what this has anything to do with genocide? Everything, I think that the death of one boy Till was a wakeup call for blacks not to go through genocide like the Jews went through. The same could have happen to blacks; we could have gone through one too. I believe genocide does not care who you are all it takes is for one group to hate another and it can happen to any race or cultural group. Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur all basically did the same thing the kill because oh you look different than I do, or because you were not of the same background as them. The things they would do to these people were inhuman phenomenon. Burning people alive and shooting them in a straight line naked. They humiliated the people, by cutting their hair, not feeding them properly so that they would die anyways. They would also rape the people how can people be so cruel to do such a thing? How can people be so heartless with their own kind? To know how another human feel the same pain you go through they are going through. Who do they think they were to choose who lives and who dies. No one has the right (in my opinion) to kill anyone no matter who you are. Who do these people think they were? I guess I could even go as far to say they were a god. Seriously, thinking about all the stuff I have learned about genocide if anyone decides to do something like this truly the world will end (as some people believe). Just to think because I think I am better than you I will kill you to feel what? Things are B.S to me. How can we become that tomorrow if we kill off our today?

Reflection #11

The Holocaust was just a total tragedy and hatred showed to a certain group or people. The Jews were under attack at night so to speak. This by far was one of the worst kinds of genocide in history. To think people would essentially kill their open because of the mere fact they thought they we threaten. When I watch the movies and hear the stories of victims it just gets me so mad that people could even think of a despicable thing to do not even taking the time out to think what if it was me what if I was the Jew they were out to annihilate maybe this Holocaust would not happen to begin with. The word Holocaust means “being sacrifice by fire” (Greek word). Even though Jew were the large target for the Nazi regime that wasn’t their only target; there were the gays, handicap, Roma (Gypsies), Slavic people, communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses etc… Just being different from them was killed and if you went against their ideology. The Germans believed that they were the big dogs and everyone else was the inferior little dogs. I believe in those malicious German minds were just total extinction of all Jews. Even when I look at the movies and the victims that came and spoke to us it still feel like it’s a nightmare where I can just wake up from. But when in fact I stop and guess what it is still there the pain and sufferings that the Jews had to go through and endure. To see them humiliate the Jews okay take out Jews degrading human beings in that fashion scares me thinking what the hell goes through people mind when they think they are the “better choice” “the best race or kind”. How can a group of people get that far to want to kill someone because they were born a certain way. That’s like saying let us kill all the girls because they do not look like males. This shows that the Nazi had no consciousness no type of heart at all. Everyone is different so to say “we going to kill that group” then another group can say the same thing for my group let us kill them (my group) because we are different from them. If everyone thought like that everyone would be killing each other for no reason at all. Oh you have brown eyes you do not belong here; you have blue eyes you do not belong here. Man, we need to wake up as people to realize there is no perfect person or race what so ever. Also wake up so something like this never happens again to any group of people ever again. A lot of people deny the Holocaust because they feel something like that could never happen in this world. Or looking at it in some Germans point of view, we Germans would never do such a thing. A lot of people do not want to admit it happen in their back yard so the deny it ever happening to begin with. The fact is it happened we learn from it so we don’t repeat history.

Reflection #10

The word prejudice means to “pre-Judge”. To Judge someone prior to knowing anything about them. Prejudice is our awareness that other people in the world are not like us, do not look like us, or think like we do. So we form a group that looks like us or resemble who are. Are we born prejudice? The answer to that question is quite simple “No” we are not born prejudice human beings. If in fact we are not born prejudging others how did this come about? Well we born into families, cultures, groups etc… that make up the prejudice we have. Why do we prejudge someone or group? The reasons are many one reason could be that it answers all our unanswered questions. Another could be that it may make us feel that we are superior then another or inferior. Example of prejudging a group something that my people (Haitians) do at times is say that all Native Haitian know how to do math. That is also a stereotype to me and in fact I see prejudging and stereotype go “hand in hand” in this situation. I tend to prejudge people all the time. When I first saw you I judge you on your appearance I thought you were an African. I may be right in that situation but the fact of the matter is we sometimes judge at our first glance at an individual. I believe we all are prejudice to some degree. No one can say that they are not because before we know the person or even met the person we have assume the way that they are without giving them an opportunity to let them say who they are. Before I register for a course I always tend to check on ratemyprofessors.com to see what prior students had to say about the course and also the professor. When I check your ratings people said you gave a lot of work. When that may be true in theory they left out that you care about your student s success. So first day of class I walk in and in my head when listening to the entire task I had to do in six weeks I thought I was going to die. But come to figure out that if you stay on top of your things you should be fine. Getting back on track, we prejudge whether we want to or not sometime time. I believe it comes to be a problem when we let hurt others around us, when we exclude others because they do not look, talk, believe, and act like we do. The truth of the matter is we are born into different cultures that at many times tell us who to like, who to trust, who to associate or “hang with” for lack of a better words. We need to step out of that group at times and look from the outside in to truly get to know every human being we encounter. Even then we cannot base one encounter on a group of people we have not even said “Hello” to.

Quiz # 7

Emmett till

Emmett till was not the first to go through such cruelty and racism. But his death was what sparked or shown the reality of racism that went on back in those days to the world. To be different or of color in those days were not a good thing. You were basically was an animal to majority of Anglo Saxons. Separate schools, water fountain, bathroom, seats, cups etc…was to me a symbol of “superiority” “fear” the Saxons thought they were better than black people. At that time the world was a totally weird place it seems to me. Where we (black and whites) couldn’t function together as one. We have come a mighty long way from those time but we still have some coming with Arizona and places up North. One day we will be one. But until then we need to try to be.