Blog Post #4: Sleeter and Video Excerpt

 Video: 

Although short, the video brought up one great point: schools are, and generally always have been, a factory. 

    "The whole point of it is to create a docile, factory, military workforce"

That quote came from one of the speakers in the video, and while I think "military workforce" is a bit of an exaggeration, I do agree with the idea that schools remove all creativity from children and turn them into robots. There may be knowledge being "taught", but most students aren't very receptive to that, and those that are just go onto college to continue the cycle. 

It would be difficult to put a number on it, but I believe that those (students) who get away from the educational system after highschool (going into a trade force, joining the military, or becoming a first responder to name some examples) will end up being much more well rounded then those that just go to college straight out of school. This isn't to say that that is the case for all students, because it's not. However, particularly in highschool, students get their imaginations ripped away from them in the pursuit of "knowledge". 

Reading:

Sleeter's reading ties directly into the video analysis for "Precious Knowledge". Ethnic or "Chicano" studies classes are crucial for those communities that actually need them. Traditionally, history studies in schools is focused on Euro-American history, rather than an expanse of the other historical studies out there. I can say first hand that my schools never offered any courses like an Ethnic Studies course, but I can see how it would have been beneficial to those in my school who match that topic. 

That being said, schools removing those courses or just plain not having them will end up being detrimental to the communities that do need them. In this scenario, the Chicano community suffers because of our lack of understanding or just a lack of care for those that don't match our specific historical rhetoric. 

Below is a link that pertains to a recent loss of Chicano records from the LA wildfires. Give it a look:

https://www.latimes.com/delos/story/2025-01-31/gomez-quinones-records

Blog Post #3: The Four I's of Oppression

There are four pillars to Oppression, often known as the "fours i's". They are:

Idealogical

Institutional 

Interpersonal 

Internalized

1. Ideological Oppression: The Foundation of Beliefs and Attitudes

At the core of any oppressive system is an ideology—a set of ideas that justify and normalize inequality. Ideological oppression is the belief system that upholds social hierarchies based on race, gender, class, sexuality, or other characteristics. These beliefs are often deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric and may seem like "common sense" or "natural" to many people.

For example, historically, ideologies that promote racial superiority or gender roles have justified systemic discrimination. These ideas are perpetuated through media, education, religion, and popular culture, shaping how we view and treat others.

2. Institutional Oppression: Systems that Enforce Inequality

While ideological oppression lays the groundwork, institutional oppression is where the real power lies. This dimension refers to the ways in which oppression is embedded in societal structures and institutions, such as education, healthcare, the criminal justice system, and the workplace. These systems are designed to maintain the status quo by limiting opportunities for marginalized groups.

Institutional oppression is less about individual intent and more about the policies and practices that perpetuate unequal access to resources and opportunities. For instance, laws that disproportionately incarcerate Black men, the gender wage gap, or the lack of access to quality education in poor neighborhoods are all examples of institutional oppression.

3. Interpersonal Oppression: The Everyday Encounters

Interpersonal oppression, occurs in our day-to-day interactions with others. This form of oppression is seen in the microaggressions, biases, and prejudices that individuals express consciously or unconsciously in their behavior toward others. Whether through subtle comments, stereotypes, or outright discriminatory actions, interpersonal oppression harms individuals on a personal level.

This form of oppression can be found in conversations, workplace dynamics, school environments, and even within families and friendships. It’s often tied to the "isms": racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, etc. When these attitudes are displayed, they not only hurt those targeted but also reinforce broader systems of oppression by normalizing discriminatory behavior.

4. Internalized Oppression

This occurs when individuals from marginalized groups begin to believe the negative stereotypes or discriminatory ideas about themselves. Over time, these beliefs can shape their self-worth, aspirations, and worldview, leading them to accept or even perpetuate their own marginalization.

Internalized oppression is often a direct result of the first three I's, as individuals internalize the messages they receive from ideological, institutional, and interpersonal sources. It’s a harmful process that can deeply affect one’s mental health and sense of identity.

So how do we work to fight these pillars? Understanding the Four I's of oppression is the first step in dismantling these systems of inequality. In order to fulfill this task, we must come together as a society and check one another when we get out of line. It's our job to make everyone feel comfortable and accepted in our society, not the opposite. 

Blog Post #2: The Culture of Power

The readings and videos for this week focused on the inequalities within the current educational system. Dr. Delpit starts her lecture by recounting events that had partaken during that year and the years passed. About 5 minutes into the lecture, she mentions a couple of things that we as educators should do for our students: 

- We need to build relationships/create a sense of belonging

- Identify and appreciate children's brilliance and their special gifts, and help them realize and develop their own brilliance and gifts

- We need to connect content to who they are and what they care about

Personally, I believe that those first two points are good ones to follow. Establishing a good relationship with our students is something that we must work to achieve. In regard to the third point, I think that it's a much more difficult one to achieve. I believe that we need to teach our students the best material in the most effective manner possible. I don't know if connect all of our lessons to our students would help with that, but I can't say for sure. 

Dr. Delpit also mentioned something about black individuals being less likely to receive a callback for job interviews/offers. This has some serious truth behind it. I actually remember seeing an article a couple of years ago (see below) of a black individual who conducted a private study for personal purposes. He applied to jobs with a stereotypical black name, and did the same with a white name. If you read the article, he provides all the statistics as to how many callbacks he got for each. The basic breakdown was that he received many more calls using the white name than when he used the black name. 

There is something to be said about this. How can someone, be that a private company or other organization, dismiss someone without even speaking with them? It's certainly a question that I'd ask to all of you to think about going forward. 

Here's the previously mentioned article: 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/10/us/dwight-jackson-employment-discrimination-lawsuit-reaj/index.html#:~:text=Dwight%20Jackson%20filed%20the%20lawsuit,Elliott%20Larsen%20Civil%20Rights%20Act.%E2%80%9D

Reading Response 1: SCWAAMP, Power, Privilege, and, Difference

To begin this post, I'd like to point out that SCWAAMP ties directly into the readings and video lecture topics. Standing for: Straightness, Christianity, Whiteness, American-ness, Able-bodiedness, Maleness, and Property Ownership, the acronym can help lead into the readings by establishing talking points that are frequently discussed by Johnson throughout his lecture. 

In both the readings and the lecture. Dr. Johnson points out that the ideas of racism, classism, sexism, etc., aren't something that we should place blame on. Pointing the finger is what takes us as individuals off the hook. For example, he talks about white privilege in his lecture, and how if one person does something bad related to that idea, it makes it easy for all of us "non-biased, good white people" to say that it's not our fault. 

Within the first three paragraphs of his writing he states, "All of us are part of the problem. There is no way to avoid that as long as we live in the world. But we could also make ourselves part of the solution if only we knew how" (Johnson vii). There is some profound logic to this, and it can even go as far as entertaining the philosophical concepts known as deep and shallow ecology. Deep ecology focuses on the bigger picture, rather than just what is happening in one's own bubble. Shallow ecology focuses on the opposite. You can think of these in simple terms: deep meaning eco-centric or Earth centered, and shallow being anthropocentric or human centered.

With this knowledge, it is now easy to explore the bigger issues as hand, some being those previously mentioned, but there are also others that fall into the picture; global pollution, poaching, and overpopulation can be seen as some of the bigger problems.

Staying on topic, this isn't to say that being straight, white, male, having property, etc., is a bad thing, because it's not. What is important is knowing your limits and when to take a step back to observe your surroundings. If something seems bad to you, then there is a good chance that the feeling is mutual for those around you. It's our job as individuals, and as future educators, to be able to find the line that separates us (humans) and help each other cross over it. 

The above mentioned helps me to say this: we need to do better. Not one race or class of person, but everyone. We are all to blame for the shortcomings of our society, albiet some more than others certainly, but as a whole, we are all in charge of fixing the mess that we have created.