Allen At Al Speaking the Unspeakable

Reflection

Personally I think that someone shouldn't have to be scared to be open about their sexuality. Unfortunately the LGBT community is looked upon by heterosexuals as strange and are ostracized as soon as the information is revealed. That is just speaking on a general basis. There are always those who are open to other peoples beliefs and way of life. People have become much more understanding in the last few years, which is a good thing. But in general the people in the LGBT community are still looked at as different. I think that a big reason for that is that there isn't so much awareness about this subject at a younger age.
It seems to be that a lot of what we learn as a younger child sticks with us throughout of life. I definitely know that when I was smaller I wasn't exposed to anything LGBT. I do remember my first time hearing about it when I took a trip to P-town with my parents. There was a guy riding around on a bike in a tutu promoting the play that he was in. I thought it strange because I hadn't seen anything like it before. I asked my parents what that was and they simply explained that P-town was known for being a gay community. They didn't seem to pay any mind to it so neither did I.
Parents are always going to be the main source of what shapes a young individuals opinions. They're the only opinionated source you're exposed to when you're smaller. Luckily for me my parents were open to this kind of thing and I've never been exposed to an opposition of the gay community. I didn't know that there were people that were against it until the news was saturated with gay marriage legalization.
LGBT is something that should be taught to children. If it is taught to children in the right way that it's simply just something different and not something to hate, those students would find it odd that there are people who hate the gay community. My only concern as in this article is with parents. Naturally  there will always be parents who don't want their child exposed to such a topic. But there doesn't have to be an overload of information either. They can simply be told that they exist and that its a part of our society.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/14/california.lgbt.education/

Aria By Richard Rodriguez

Quotes

"Nervously, I'd arrive at the grocery to hear there the sounds of the gringo-foreign to me-reminding me that in this world so big, I was a foreigner."

In this quote Rodriquez is using his own view to show how a new language made him feel. Where the sounds of the unfamiliar language sound different to him, in the area of the world that he was living in, that language was actually very familiar. Instead of english being strange it is he who is strange. From the reading Rodriguez believes that children should be surrounded by the new language so that they can adjust and become a part of that society. The learner would be able to advance more efficiently with their learning with a stronger understanding of the language. For example understanding more of what is being said in lessons at school and in turn getting a better grasp of the material faster.

"That day, I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier."

Rodriguez comments on the first day of school that he had spoke aloud in the classroom. It was a big day because the distance that he had felt in the society of english speaking people had been greatly reduced. His parents insisting to him that he practice english more at home and his tutoring in school assimilated him into his new home. His point in mentioning this is that if he didn't have that added motivation who knows how long it would have been until he made that huge step in school.

"By contrast, my father seemed reconciled to the new quiet. Though his english improved somewhat, he retired into silence

While the household was starting to convert over to english as the main language spoken in the house Rodriguez's father was having trouble. His father's inability to speak with everybody else in english had made it so he was like the children in school that didn't know the language. He was afraid to speak and therefore he remembers his father as a very silent man. Without a mid to advanced understanding of english his father couldn't progress and become a part of the foreign society that he had moved into.

Different languages can have an effect on people that trigger emotion. Spanish was always a symbol for love and family whereas english was this crude and uncomfortable thing. Even though this transition is tough and takes a lot of work Rodriguez believes that in order to become a part of the mass society that one is in they must adapt and become like others in that society, being able to communicate with others for one. While he believes this to be true he also believes that heritage is an important thing in someone's life and should not be forgotten. Like he mentions about the time he spent with his grandmother. He couldn't speak spanish as fluently anymore and his grandmother teased him, he was no less a part of the family and has good memories with her before she passed away.
http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/executive-function-disorders/bilingualism-advantage-benefit

The Silenced Dialogue

Connections

In The Silenced Dialogue by Lisa Delpit power in a classroom has to be demonstrated differently with different classrooms in order for the teacher to retain power. Different upbringings in the household during childhood create differing responses to how power is understood. One method of keeping order in a class may be effective in some classes, yet in others it has no effect. In middle school I saw this firsthand. There would be some classes I had were a simple reminder to do our work was all it took to bring everyone back in line. In other classes the only way that the class could get settled down would be when the teacher got loud and yelled. It seems like the teacher has to get a good idea of how to control the class very quickly. Another teacher I had once used a relaxed method at the start of the year. He continued to use this method for quite a while with no good results. When he finally changed and tried to take charge more aggressively none of the kids took him seriously. What was even worse was when he told students to go up to the office for their misconduct they refused to and ultimately the power in the classroom was in the hands of the students who sought to abuse it. A replacement teacher was sent in to relieve our current teacher before the Christmas break.

The question is how does a teacher efficiently take control of power. As demonstrated my old teacher did not take control soon enough and even when he did try too it was too late and there was no way off taking it back. Delpit describes the differences that race has on what methods to use to keep power in the class. Again, how can a teacher make the call of how to teach without racially profiling or being unfair to students in the class.http://www.natcom.org/CommCurrentsArticle.aspx?id=4074