Tim Wise Response

It was interesting doing a video blog instead of reading an article, I like it better actually. There are two things that I could easily take from the first part of the video. One is that these men really do not like Bush. Now I don't follow politics all that much but I'm sure Bush wasn't that bad where they can say that any black person would have been a better candidate. Other than that, the other thing that I noticed was that they keep setting Obama as the ultimate black person, I mean I know that the book is called Between Barack and a Hard Place but still. It is hard enough to be the president so maybe they could have used an example of a position that is a little more achievable. They did mention being a hip-hop artist or basketball player, but then I believe they said it was degrading or as good as it gets for most black people, I don't think its true. And if a black person is a basketball player or a hip-hop artist, that doesn't mean they gave up and that's the best they can do, they do it because they are passionate about it and want to write music or play the sport that they are good at.

Then in the second video they started talking about talking about all the stereo types that black people have against them. Like that "they don't work as hard, more aggressive, uneducated" and then he says that some say that blacks don't care and just live off of welfare because its just easier. How could someone say something like that, I am almost sure that no one wants to be so low that they are satisfied with living off of welfare. The reason why there are people on welfare is because they cant get a job because it is usually much more difficult for a black person to get a job than a white person. Wise even said that the number of black people on welfare is lower than the number of white people.

Kahne and Westheimer Response

When I started reading, it felt like I was reading the discussion that we have in class. In that service learning is so important. And it really is, like this article is saying, not only does it engage others into academic learning and activities, but it also has the potential to make these kids feel like they can make a difference too by volunteering and helping others. I think that it is great that everyone is trying to make an effort to promote service learning. If everyone is brought up right from the beginning, then over time hopefully everything will be better and the problems that we face today with violence and just any sort of corruption in general could go away. Like Lawrence Cremin said "by manipulating the school curriculum, they could ultimately change the world. Now I realize that that is no easy task and will probably never be done 100% effectively, but the effort is what counts.

The first service case learning I'm pretty sure I've done before. It's been a long time, but I know what it feels like to help people less fortunate than others, and it feels good to see how happy the littlest things make people. So to have every student do that at least once must have a big impact on each of their lives. The second service learning case sounds kind of fun as well. Though it sounds like a pain to learn so much about one topic, if they are all very interested then it may not be so bad. It's good to learn about (in this case) the homeless and to actually hear from a guest speaker what it is like to be homeless, and read what homeless kids go through. You learn a whole new perspective about things and it can change your life.

I personally think that the two methods are both pretty effective. The first is effective because it gives you a hands on experience on helping those in need, and also lets you know how you can help. For instance some might want to help but just don't know what they can do, if they had done something like this than maybe they would have some ideas. While the second method doesn't give you hands on experience, it enlightens you to the problem and lets you know that many problems do exist, and that they affect many people.

Christenson Response

Immediatley I was thrown off by the introduction. I could not figure out what she was talking about, then suddenly I felt like I was reading Delpit or something. Again we learn that we recieve most or all of our views and opinions about all matters that we are dealing with in this class from very early ages. Also from watching Disney movies like "Peter Pan", that is crazy. There are a lot of good movies out there that I want to show my kids someday, and the fact that they don't teach a good lesson won't stop me, but it just sucks that they could be getting bad ideas according to this author. I do like the quote she took from Dorfman, it says how we get all this bad information from TV, but at the same time we get good information. It seems like no one wants to admit that TV has a good side too, it promotes all sorts of things that are good or helpful to, as well as bad things. It is how you deal with the information you take in that makes you a responsible, mature person. It's true that we are influenced by the media no matter what, but then again we are influenced by every single thing we hear or see. Unless you were born and grew up completely on your own, then there is no way to just be "yourself" because in some point in time everyone is influenced by something or someone. I kinda laughed when I saw the quote "I'm not taking my kids to see any Walt Disney movies until they have a black woman playing the lead role", and now they do! Disney must have received so much bad publicity from not having any black princesses that they have finally decided to put one in. But the question is, is it too late? I found a great youtube video that talked about this topic. They interviewed the voice actress who played the main role. And she said something that makes a whole lot more sense then what most other people say (when they were talking about the color of the prince). She said that first off he isn't white, but secondly it shouldn't be about race, it should be about love. Now that's what I like to hear, someone who see's beyond the racism that others think is being portrayed, and see's the deeper more complex meaning.