Mitch's Blog

My Own Technology

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:32:00 +0000

After a lot of searching, and trial and error, I finally found a site that I believed would be truly beneficial in my classroom. The site is called, ning.com. Essentially, it is a social networking site, but I found that it was very applicable to the classroom environment.

Ning.com allows the creator to create a network and invite others to join. In my case, I would create a network for my classroom and invite my students. Once a part of the network, the advantages are seemingly endless. Much like other social networking sites, ning.com allows users to chat and message, however, because this site allows the teacher to create a network for only their classroom, all communication will be educational and will pertain to classroom issues. Once students sign up and are invited into the classroom network they will be able to participate in various classroom activities. From the class page students can share pictures, videos, and music with their teacher and with other classmates. This will be especially useful when students are assigned work that involve such multimedia. Instead of worrying about figuring out how to bring that media to school, they can simply share it on the class site and then the teacher can pull up the site on the class computer (in the classroom). Furthermore, the sign allows for chatting, blogging, and discussion forums, all of which will create opportunities for teachers, students, and parents to communicate outside of the classroom. The site also has an events page, where the teacher can remind students of upcoming classroom events, such as tests, quizzes, presentations, due dates, and field trips. Lastly, the site allows for the creation of groups within the network. This feature would be very beneficial when students are assigned group projects. Students would be able to create an online group space where they could easily share ideas, pictures, videos, articles, drafts, or music related to the project. This site would be a very valuable resource for any classroom and I am already planning on using it in mine in the future.

Here is a link to my sample ning page so you can check it out.

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:23:00 +0000

Here's my mini lesson with audio.

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:58:00 +0000

Check out my mini lesson plan (w/o audio thus far)

Podcast Recording

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Here is a link to my podcast on the uses of audio recordings in the classroom.

Podcasting can be a very valuable resource in the classroom. Teachers can use podcasting to communicate with students on a regular basis via the internet. A classroom podcast can be used to regularly update students about classroom materials, lessons, and general goings on. The use of a classroom podcast also creates a daily or weekly routine for students to follow. A podcast might help students remember to complete homework, what is going on in class for the upcoming week, and when tests or quizzes are.

Image Manipulation Lab

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:37:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:53:00 +0000

Photo Attribution:

Original Image "Tour Eiffel, Paris"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elrichal/215844246/

By: elrichal

Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

Images such as this one would be used in my classroom to facilitate my lesson plan. For instance, I envision this photo as part of a lesson about global studies. The unit would consist of reading books about different cities and countries around the world, learning about different places, and looking at pictures, such as this one, in order to gain an understanding of what other places in the world look like. Photos, such as this one, would be used to give students an image to go along with the information they are learning. In a unit about Europe, or France in particular, this image would allow students to become familiar with one of France's most famous monuments.

My Flickr page

Educational Uses of Blogging and RSS

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Sun, 24 May 2009 23:08:00 +0000

Blogging and RSS can be valuable resources in the class room. Firstly, teachers can use blogs to stay in touch with student and parents. By setting up a classroom blog, teachers create a forum for questions, inquiries, and a flow of information between themselves and students and their parents. Furthermore, blogging allows both teachers and students to post and access information pertinent to classroom material and activities. The use of RSS in the classroom is also valuable. Using RSS allows teachers and students to keep track of information that can aid in classroom lessons. For example, if a social studies class begins each class period by discussing current events, the teacher might subscribe to and create an RSS feed to a news site such as cnn.com or bbc.com in order to brief students with current events. Above is my google reader page, and some of the feeds that I am following that relate to educational technology.

CEP 416--First Post

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:21:00 +0000

This is my first post for CEP 416

Final Post

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:05:00 +0000

This class has been very beneficial for me. I can truly say that I will take some of the things that I have learned this semester into the classroom with me when I become a teacher.

Firstly, I am especially happy with our class on disabilities. The movie about the woman with Autism really effected me deeply and peaked my interest in a misunderstood part of the population. That class in particular changed me in a way that I am grateful for. I know that I will make an effort to educate my students on children and adults with disabilities in order to encourage awareness and acceptance of those people. I am certain that I will use the literature discussed in this class and the tactics that I've learned for choosing quality literature to do so.

On that note, that is the most valuable thing that I feel I've taken away from this class: the ability to choose quality literature. This class has taught me to look for positivity in the messages of books, not only a generic message. I feel that the skills I've learned in TEE 448 will aid in building a diverse and well-rounded book collection in my future classroom. I am certain that I will strive to collect literature for my students that covers the wide variety of questions they will ask, so that I can better answer them on an appropriate level.

This semester has been a great learning experience for me and I'm glad I was able to take something away from it. I must admit, there were things about the class that I didn't enjoy as much, but the best part about the class was that there was so much material and I was able to take what I wanted, and needed with me.

I'd like to say thank you for such a great semester and I look forward to implementing some of the skills that I have obtained in my future career.

My Thoughts on my Text Set

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:02:00 +0000

The books that I chose all functioned very well in educating me on the role of disabilities in children’s literature. Each book approached disabilities in a different way. This variance in approach would serve extremely well in a classroom collection because it would provide students with a wide range of positive portrayals of children with disabilities. Crow Boy provides a more untested look at children with disabilities. While some of this lack of experience makes for a negative effect on the book, it also brings into context how ahead of its time the book was. Crow Boy was one of the first books to approach the issue of disabilities in children’s literature and despite some shortcomings, still presents a positive image. Way To Go Alex! was the most common and traditional of the books. It used the Special Olympics as a focus point for its theme. While somewhat predictable, the use of the Special Olympics served the book very well and allowed for it to provide a very positive message for its readers. Lastly, Ian’s Walk was the most informational of the three. It provided extremely accurate descriptions and illustration of Ian, a boy with autism. This book was my favorite of three because of the nature in which it presented information about children with autism, and how truthful this information was to reality.

Each of the three books provides a different look at children with disabilities. Furthermore, each gives readers a source of information on a subject that is not frequently covered in children’s literature. I think that all three of these books would be very valuable in the classroom. The amount of positive and quality children’s literature about disabilities is extremely limited and these three books are among those that are quality and positive. All three of them have taught me something different about disabilities and have helped me to understand people that have disabilities that much more. Any child would be fortunate to read any one of these books, and any teacher would be lucky to have them in their classroom. I think that more of an effort should be made to include these books and other books like them in classrooms in order to better educate our youth about disabilities.

Disability in Children's Literature

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:59:00 +0000

Characteristics of Developmental Disability in Children’s Fiction. September 2005. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities. November 18, 2008.

http://firstsearch.oclc.org.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/WebZ/FSQUERY?sessionid=fsapp13-56867-foi4e5tef3djkx:entitypagenum=4:0:numrecs=1:searchtype=locateFT:tdbname=

WilsonSelectPlus_FT:query0=sc%3d%221547

0350+200509+40+3+202+CODDIC+%3F%22:format=BI:entityfttoprecno=3:next=NEXTCMD%

7FFTFETCH:rule=0:tdbname=WilsonSelectPlus_FT:issuesici=15470350+2005+40+3:

fetchtype=fulltext:tdisplaydbname=WilsonSelectPlus_FT:thirdpartydbid=4:isbillable=

TRUE:isdirectarticle=FALSE:numrecs=1:format=BI:ftformat=PDF:entityemailfullrecno=

3:entityrecno=3:entityemailfullresultset=1:entityemailftfrom=WilsonSelectPlus_FT:%7F

The article, Characterization of Developmental Disability in Children’s Fiction is a very informative look at the role of developmental disabilities (DD) in children’s literature. The article describes a series of studies involving disability in children’s literature. Some of the studies included the age, sex, race, and ethnicity of characters with disabilities portrayed in children’s literature. Furthermore, the article discusses the actions of these characters, relationships they have with other characters, and the rate at which they grow and develop. I thought that the article brought up some very interesting points that I had certainly never given any consideration. Once of the most interesting points addressed the gender of characters with DD in children’s literature. The studies in the articles found that many more men and boys were used than women and girls as the character with DD in a given book. This is a statistic that I had never thought about, but did start to notice as I read my books. In all three of the books that I chose to review the character with DD was a boy, furthering the facts provided by the article. The article also observes the relationships between characters with DD and the other characters in the story. Many facts are derived from this portion of the study. In many cases the character with DD was the victim of some teasing, about half of the characters had friends, most books included a positive relationship between the character with DD and a teacher, and very few books portrayed a relationship between the character with DD and a caregiver. This research caused me to reread my books in a new light. Upon the second reading I noticed many of these relationships. The article was very accurate in its observations and enabled me to gain a deeper understand of the books that I chose. One of the most valuable pieces of information that the article includes is a study on change and growth in children’s books dealing with DD. The study states that in most cases characters with DD or characters surrounding those characters undergo some positive change throughout the story. At the beginning of most of the stories in the study there is some misconception about the character with DD and by the end that misconception is erased. Another common scenario is that the character with DD undergoes a change. I noticed this type of change in Crow Boy, when Chibi went from a shy, misunderstood boy to a boy with confidence and the respect and his peers.

Ian's Walk

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:58:00 +0000

Lears, Laurie. Ian’s Walk. Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman and Company, 1998.

Ian’s Walk is about a young boy with Autism that goes for a walk with his sisters. During the walk, Julie, Ian’s sister and the narrator of the story, uses the fives senses to explain how children with autism do things differently.

The book begins as Julie’s mother tells her to what Ian closely on their walk. As the walk progresses, Julie, Tara, and Ian visit many places. With each place a new sense is discussed. At Nan’s Diner, Ian doesn’t pay attention to the bustle of the waitresses he is more focused on watch the ceiling fan. Next, as they walk down the sidewalk, a fire truck flies by. However, Ian doesn’t seem to hear the sirens, instead he “seems to be listening to something (Julie) can’t hear.” Next, they walk by Mrs. Potters flower stand. Ian hates the smell of the flowers but loves the smell of the bricks of the wall of the post office. When they go to a pond, Julie tries to amuse Ian by tickling his chin with a soft feather, but he doesn’t seem to like it. Instead he lies down and presses his face against the sidewalk. When the sibling’s pass a pizza stand Ian is uninterested, but he begins to eat the cereal that Julie had brought to toss to the ducks at the pond. Finally, when Julie asks Ian to sit beside her on a bench, he doesn’t pay attention, and starts to flap his hands instead. Throughout this entire first half of the walk, Julie is annoyed with Ian’s behavior. She is constantly hurrying him along, paying no attention to the way he sees, tastes, feels, smells, or hears things. At times, she is even embarrassed by his behavior and tells him that he looks silly or hurries him away. Then, as Tara is getting pizza, Ian disappears. The sisters look all over, and ask people if they’ve seen Ian. The people they ask give them suggestions of where any kid might have run off to, but Ian doesn’t like the same things other kids do. Julie finds him lying beneath a bell in the park, swinging it back and forth. Upon finding him, they walk home, revisiting all of the places from the first half of the walk. This time, Julie lets Ian experience things his own way, and even tries to join in. They smell the bricks, Ian lays on the sidewalk by the pond, stand and listen to “what (Julie) can’t hear”, and stare at the ceiling fan. They then return home, and Julie tells Ian that it was a good walk, and Ian smiles back at her.

I thought that Ian’s Walk was the best of the three books that I read. The book very positively and clearly addressed disabilities in an age appropriate and socially acceptable way. The book did many things well. It portrayed Ian in a very accepting light. First, by showing how people with autism can be misunderstood, and then showing how they should be accepted for who they are. Julie at first sees her brother’s actions as annoying, but as the book goes on she begins to understand and accept him. The second half of the book, when Julie and Ian do all of the things that Ian likes to do, does a good job of showing the normality of autism. When Julie decides to try things Ian likes to do it shows an acceptance unseen in other books about disabilities. In other books that I read, the acceptance of the given disability came solely by accepting the attributes of the character with the disability. In this case, showing a person without any disabilities exhibiting the same behaviors as Ian furthers the normality that the author was trying to convey. This tactic is very effective at showing how normal Ian’s behaviors actually are. Secondly, the illustrations in the book are extremely accurate. Ian is portrayed exactly the way an autistic person would look in reality. This is important because is gives readers a truthful representation of people with autism. The final thing that I enjoyed about this book is the way in which it described Ian’s disability. In no other book that I read was autism so appropriately and perfectly explained. The book uses the 5 senses as a tool to describe autism. It describes the ways in which Ian hears, sees, feels, smells, and tastes things. It shows clearly how those with autism sense things a bit differently and does so in a way that is respectful and fair. Ian’s Walk was clearly the most proficient and modern book that I read. It tackled the issue of disability in children’s literature very intelligently and has paved the way for the future of authors seeking to include the subject in their writing.

Way To Go Alex!

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:55:00 +0000

Pulver, Robin. Way To Go Alex! Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman and Company, 1999.

Way To Go, Alex! is about an autistic boy, Alex and his younger sister Carly and how they prepare Alex for the Special Olympics. Before the story begins, the author includes a note from Dominick Egan and Chris Privett, from the Special Olympics. The notes gives background on the games and ends with the Special Olympics Oath, “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

The story starts with Carly talking to her friend Annie about Annie’s older brother Ryan, who scored the winning goal in his soccer game. Annie’s family is going out for ice cream to celebrate, and Carly feels bad because her brother, Alex, is not like Ryan. She explains that Alex’s brain doesn’t work right, and she fantasizes about a machine that would fix it. Then, Carly’s mom says that she’s entered Alex in the Special Olympics for the softball throw, fifty-meter dash, and long jump. Carly thinks that it will be too hard for Alex and decides to practice with him everyday for eight weeks until the games. They start with the fifty-yard dash. Carly draws a line with chalk on the sidewalk to help Alex run straight, and they practice running fast. Next, they practice softball. Alex can’t throw the ball to Carly, but she is more concerned with how far he can throw it. Next, they practice the standing long jump. Alex can’t seem to do it. Instead of jumping, he simply takes a big step and falls down. Carly is not satisfied with Alex’s or her own effort. The story then jumps ahead to the day of the games. Carly is worried that Alex isn’t ready. She also notices that all of the participants look “ordinary”, and that you would have to know them to know that they had learning problems. The first event is the fifty-meter dash. Alex does extremely well and almost wins until he stops in front of the finish line ribbon. He doesn’t understand that he has to run through the ribbon and another runner runs through it first, Alex comes in third-place. Alex places third in the soft ball throw as well. When it comes time for the long jump, Carly wants to leave, she knows that Alex won’t jump. Sure enough, Alex won’t jump. But when he reaches out for Carly’s hand, she runs over to grab it. Alex does his “big-step-fall-down” jump. The other two participants for the standing long jump don’t show and Alex wins a participant medal. The official of the games tells Carly that she had helped make everyone happy because she helped Alex do the best he could. Carly and her familiy go out for ice cream to celebrate. The story ends at Annie’s house. Carly watches as Annie’s older brother Ryan builds a card castle. The castle falls and Ryan becomes angry. Carly wants to, “tell Ryan to try again. Ask for help if you need it, and be brave in the attempt.” a lesson that Annie learned from her brother, Alex.

I thought that this book did a good job of informing readers of the possibilities children with disabilities have. By comparing the two older brothers, Ryan and Alex, the author conveys that each is capable of winning and obtaining accomplishments, just in different ways. I especially enjoyed the sequence of the games themselves. When Carly was able to realize that there was a place where Alex was considered to be just like all of the other kids. She was able to feel good about her older brother, and about being his little sister. The book did a great job of promoting the fact that children with disabilities can do the same things that children without disabilities can do. Furthermore, the use of the Special Olympics as a catalyst for this change in thinking was a very good idea. The Special Olympics set the stage for Alex to show his sister, and everyone what he was capable of. By using the games to showcase this, the author allows the reader to understand the will and determination that children with disabilities have. The inclusion of the Special Olympics oath also served the book well. The book does a great job of using the oath as a sort of a theme to base the book around. Alex does not necessarily win every event he entered, but he was brave in his attempt. The oath serves as a motto for all people, with or without disabilities, to always try even if you don’t win. This advice works well in the book and provides a positive message and outlook for readers, disabled or not.

Crow Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:51:00 +0000

Yashima, Taro. Crow Boy. New York: Penguin Books, 1955.

Crow Boy is the story of a little boy, nicknamed Chibi, in Japan. Chibi, in Japanese means “tiny boy”. The story begins by saying that on the first day of school Chibi was missing, and was found hiding underneath the schoolhouse floor. The book goes on to describe him as strange, and unable to learn. Chibi is always alone and does not make any friends. The book then begins to describe some of the behaviors that made Chibi a little bit different. He made himself cross eyed so he only saw what he wanted to see. He was fascinated by peculiar things, like the ceiling, the wooden top of his desk, or rain out the window. Chibi seemed to enjoy staring at these types of things, and seemed quite amusing with them. He also liked to close his eyes and listen to “many different sounds, near and far.” And he would hold insects that the other kids wouldn’t get near. Many of the kids called him stupid. Chibi is a very misunderstood child. When the Chibi switches schools however, things begin to change. The new teacher, Mr. Isobe takes an immediate liking to Chibi because Chibi knows all about the plants that grew in the class garden. Mr. Isobe spends time with Chibi, praising drawings that he does and his handwriting, which only Chibi could read. When it comes time for the school talent show, Mr. Isobe has encouraged Chibi so much that he is able to get on stage and perform imitations of crows. He imitates crows in every state: happy, unhappy, mother, father… His final crow imitation was that of the crow that lived by his lonely home on the far side of the mountain. Mr. Isobe explains to the class that Chibi had walked very far to get to school everyday and had learn the crow calls on his walks. The class cries, realizing how much they had misunderstood Chibi over the years. At the end of school, Chibi is honored for having perfect attendance. With school over, Chibi returned to the city to sell the Charcoal his family made. He was renamed “Crow Boy”. The story ends by showing Crow Boy, walking home to the far side of the mountain, making a happy crow call.

This book was very interesting. Written in 1955, this book provides a very different look at disabilities in children’s literature. Some of the terminology used is very outdated. Furthermore, the boy is never actually identified as having a disability. Many specific factors make this book a little bit different than most of the other books that I read. Firstly, the terminology is politically incorrect for modern times. The book uses the words stupid and slow to describe Chibi. While these terms were used to point out the negative and incorrect perceptions of Chibi, they are still seen as inappropriate. In books written about disabilities in modern times, these words are not present. This is most likely because authors don’t want children to associate these words with disabilities at all. The mere mentioning of these types of terms really dates the book to when it was written and shows how much as changed in writing about disabilities in children’s literature. Secondly, Chibi is never actually identified as autistic. While we can safely assume that he is, because of his mannerisms and clearly autistic symptoms, the book never actually says it. Instead, the reader is left wondering what exactly is causing Chibi’s behavior. This is especially harmful for youth readers that may not be familiar with autism. To an uneducated reader, Chibi’s behavior might simply seem weird or abnormal and the educational purpose of the book may be lost. Once again the time period in which the book was written really shows. Third, the illustrations in the book fail to prepare readers for how those with autism can appear. In most modern books dealing with autism, the autistic character is illustrated very realistically. They exhibit the physical characteristics that a real person with autism would have. In Crow Boy, Chibi does not clearly represent this physical appearance. While many of the illustrations show Chibi at a distance, even the close up pictures do not show the distinguishing characteristics that a child with autism might have. This could be detrimental to readers because when they actually encounter a person with autism, they might be more underprepared than they would have been had Chibi been portrayed more accurately. By illustrating autistic characters in a realistic manner, the reader becomes familiar and more accepting of the different appearance some people with autism have. Despite all of these downfalls, the book does have many positive elements. The change that Chibi undergoes provides a great outlook on the capabilities of autistic children. The book sees Chibi develop from a quiet, and misunderstood boy to a boy who is able to express himself and appreciated b his peers. This is the most encouraging and innovative part of the book. At the time in which it was written, any book that even addressed the issue of disabilities rarely showed any change or development in its disabled character. In the case of Crow Boy, Chibi develops very much. He grows from misunderstood, to quite well liked. This factor in itself offsets all of the negative elements mentioned previously. This positive element sets the book apart from most others written at the time and allowed it to pave the way for writing about disabilities in children’s literature.

Teaching Homosexuality in Schools

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:20:00 +0000

The movie that we recently watched in class about teaching about homosexuality in schools was extremely refreshing. It was a joy to watch children and teenagers responding so well to the ideas presented to them.

I was most impressed by the younger children and how accepting they seem. I think that it essential to teach young children about gay and lesbian couples in order to break any misconceptions or stereotypes that they might develop. It was quite evident what the effects of not introducing the subject at a young age were. The teenagers in the movie were grossly misinformed and knew nothing but negative stereotypes about homosexuality. As they learned about the gay lifestyle, I could see as they became more and more accepting. Many were so intolerant because they didn't know anything else. This is why it is essential to introduce these ideas at a young age, to prevent intolerance. I especially liked when the fifth grade teacher was proven wrong by his own students. He didn't think that they were ready to handle such a controversial issue, but he was wrong. His 5th grade students handled it better than some of the parents that ignorantly opposed the lessons. I think this is proof that this information must be presented at a young age because children can handle it, and because it essential for a tolerant and accepting future.

Boy Meets Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:46:00 +0000

Our most recent reading, Boy Meets Boy, I found to be extremely invigorating. I loved the idea of this gay/straight fantasy world, and love that the author had the guts to write it. I think that by creating such a setting, he is making a statement about reality.

By making the setting of the book so extreme, the author is pointing out all of the flaws of our society. By the end of the book I was not so shocked by what I was reading. The book had made that sort of life seem normal, and really, why shouldn't it be? The only reason we all found it so shocking was because it is so different from the real world. But I think that was the authors point. I think that by engrossing the reader to such a point that they forget how different the world in the book is from our own, he is making the reader realize that this could be normal. The book makes the point that there is nothing wrong with a world like that, and that we should strive for the acceptance of which he writes.

I think that the author set out to blur the line between fact and fiction. To make the reader forget that he was reading fiction. And if not that, to wonder why this should be considered so fictional in the first place. A world like that of Boy Meets Boy should not be so shocking and weird. I hope that we are heading in the direction of a world such as the one in the book, and I hope that I will live to see the time when we get there.

Confessions of a Real Life Jew

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:37:00 +0000

The book Confessions of a Closet Catholic was one that I found extremely interesting. While reading, I could help but wonder why the author would choose to include so many confrontational topics. Firstly, and most obviously, the decision between Judaism and Catholicism. This is HUGE. To tackle an issue like this is what drew so much attention and praise to the book in the first place and I must say that it did so in a very intelligent and whimsical way. The way that the author toyed with the stereotypes of each religion and then showed how similar they really are was very smart. In the end the only difference are the traditions that they have picked up over time, essentially, they both pray to the same god. However, by astonishment came when realizing that on top of this monstrous issue, the other saw fit to include female adolescence as well. There are entire series of books written about that very subject and this author chose to pair it with religious exploration. For this, I applaud the author. Not only was it done well, it was done in such a way that I cared equally about each issue. I found myself equally concerned with her crushes on boys and problems with zits as her religious conundrum. I was extremely impressed with this book and hope that young adults will read it and gain knowledge about both adolescence and religious exploration.

Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:29:00 +0000

Personally, I am not a huge fan of blogging. I think that unless there is a sense of readership, there is no use in publishing your thoughts. For a class like this, blogging can serve a purpose. It provides a place, outside of the classroom, for classmates to share information. I also think that blogging serves a purpose when the blog is well known. However, what I am a little annoyed with are the people who use blogs a source of venting their daily woes and problems. Truthfully, I don't care. Now that I'm done venting by daily woes and problems, I'll address blogging more thoroughly as it relates to this class.

I did not get much out of the blogging requirements in this class. I think that it is a good idea in theory, but by making it worth so many points, the obligation of blogging takes away from the very nature of the act. By regulating and requiring so many posts the creative and spontaneity of blogging is defeated. If I was a blogger I would want to feel free to blog when I want, without anyone telling me how many times I had to post. I think as a part of this class, blogging would serve better as an optional extra credit instead of nearly 20% of the final grade. This way, students would blog because they want to, not because they had to.

MSU Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:21:00 +0000

One thing that I have considered extremely valuable about this TE class was our visit to the MSU Museum. The two exhibits that we saw were extremely interesting and opened my eyes to things I had never previously thought about.

The one that truly hit me was the one about the children with the cameras. These children were given the opportunity to photograph parts of their lives that no one had ever seen before. I really enjoyed seeing how different they were than me and yet how similar. Things that are so common to them are mind boggling to me. Watching as women made shea butter, seeing straw and stick-made silos for storing grain, and watching as a man seemed content laying on a broken folding chair in the hot sun. I was touched by these photos because I was able to see images that I had never seen before. I love to see how other people live, and what their definition of normal is. I think we have a tendency in this country to consider our way of life as normal for everyone in the world. The western world is always so busy forcing its norms on everyone else they forget that other people have a different idea of what's normal. I really enjoyed the exhibit because it was refreshing to see these children so happy and proud of their lives. Too often our images of where these children live are filled with sadness, sickness, and gore. It was nice to see that people are happy outside of westernization.

African American Museum--Detroit

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:56:00 +0000

This past Thanksgiving weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the African American Museum in Detroit. There is an exhibition there called "Let Your Motto Be Resistance" and it exemplified issues of diversity.

The exhibit included portraits of some of the most influential Black Americans in history. WEB Dubois, Jack Johnson, Josephine Baker, the list goes on. Each of the portraits hit me in a different way. The most powerful ones for me were the musicians. I am very interested in music, particularly African American music such as Blues, Jazz, R&B, Soul, Hip-Hop, and so on. The descriptions of each musician and the changes that they made through music was extremely powerful. For instance, Ray Charles refused to play a gig in the Jim Crow south because it was segregated. This paved the way for Black Acts to take a stand against racism and brought the issue even more into the public eye. James Brown held massive concerts to promote equality and even held a show to calm the black community after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. All of these great men and women hold an important place in American history and this exhibit helped me to learn about those that I had never known about before. I encourage anyone to see this exhibit, because it pays credit to those who may not have received it when it was first due.

gay/lesbian debate

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 06:44:00 +0000

I recently brought the gay/lesbian issue up with one of my roommates. We discussed the appropriate age to introduce these types of ideas. We began to talk about how, if these ideas were introduced in early childhood, they would not seem as taboo. If a topic is introduced early enough, it becomes fact, and it is not labored over later in life. Should this occur, gay/lesbian relationships would become as accepted as straight relationships. It creates an equal playing field. At a young age, children are presented with all of the options, on an unbiased level. Then, as they mature and are able to make their own decisions, they can decide how they feel about the issue.

We discussed whether or not this should be taught in the home or the classroom, and decided that the classroom was the safer place. This way, there can be a fair and balanced teaching of the material, determined by curriculum. In the home, the preconceived notions of the parents would obstruct the ability to teach in an unbiased way.

noreply@blogger.com (Mitchell Segall) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:20:00 +0000

I don't think that it is necessary to be an insider. I do agree that a story from an insider's point of view is more personal, but I feel that an outsider, with a fair amount of research can write about a multicultural subject that is not their own. However, in order to write about a different culture, one must immerse themselves in it. An outsider must be thoroughly learned about the culture they choose to write about in order to ensure total authenticity. Writing out of mere interest or commercialism is an instance when an outsider is in the wrong.

While those on the inside of a culture may be more apt to write a personal account in regards to that culture, an outsider too, can write of that culture. With the correct amount of research, first hand experience, and immersion in that culture an outsider can write an accurate and successful piece of multicultural literature.