Tracking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tItvMjRxL_c
Tracking is when you keep the students in certain groups to manage their learning styles. For example; the kids who need extra help are in one group, while the kids who improving are in one group. The good thing about tracking, is the fact that it helps manages different skills levels and makes it easier to teach students. The bad thing about this, what if the kids who need extra help improve? It can cause an hindrance an causes more of a divide. Students need a chance to move up and not be confined. Tracking has its ups and downs, but it all comes down to work with the students more so than what works for teachers. How do we make teaching students more effective in all aspects?

Service Learning

Service Learning is hands on learning and different ways it can be achieved. It is about getting more involved in the community. Service learning is used to understand the community and ways to improve it. Bridging the gap of distant communities and families. For example, students went to help the homeless, by reading to kids and distributing survival kits. Having hands on activities that interact with the word around is is good to make students more aware of what is going on in today's world.http://character.org/key-topics/service-learning/

Grad Students Blog spot was about last years election between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. She talked about how it was very controversial. Donald talks reckless when it comes to his verbal actions, while Hilary is very secretive and mysterious. Donald wants to create a better school system in which, the best schools come out on top and have to be more forced to provide education rather then be helped and supported. Essentially he wants remove the schools that he sees are no fit. I understand his method of survival of the fittest, but we if we keep removing schools because of harsh expectations then what? Growing up, it is hard to get funds for school and the proper support due to the expectations that benefit the school system an not the students. I remember Feinstein High school being shut down. That school was amazing, it had gardening, a ping pong table etc. I guess it was because of scores, but do cores really dictate everything? And we have Hilary who seems to be the better choice, but is shrouded in mystery like life itself. Yet she does want schools o be more efficient, but sh has done a couple of shady things in the past. Can we trust someone like that vs someone who is blunt, but lacks empathy? They both bring up Kristoff's idea of America being limited and how the people are suffering in education, but at the same time are they for the little guy? If Kozol had something to say, he would speak on how there is no discussion on poverty. Where does the people in poverty fit into this? How will Hilary and Donald address the heretical gap in power? It is always the talk about making America great again and the schools being better. All this talk, but where is the proper action to help our bothers and sisters? I have not heard or seen the issue of power being addressed and that is a shame within itself.

11 and gender fluid: suits, ties and other staples from my daughter’s closet is interesting. It talks about a little girl who like to dress in suits and ties. She tends to shop in the boys section and overtime developed more of a masculine style. she still identifies as a female, she is just not the type of female who like to dress feminine. She Nothing wrong with that nowadays. As long as you know who you are, it should not be a problem. The fact she gets criticized for her style are due the norms and standards of society. We get caught up in how other people vs ourselves and feel a need to say something. We tend to bash what we do not understand. And stray from it, instead of understanding. We have people like Young Thug and Jaden Smith in a dress and people's sense of style has evolved and has become something out of the norm.

                                    Unlearning he Myths that Bind Us https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdkCCfa1HR8
This article talks about how cartoons have affected kids. It talks about interpretation and how we are slaves to media. How stories have hidden meanings that you realize what the mean until you get older. Old cartoons have to do usually, with a woman in distress saved by a man or something racial. Popeye for example is about how he always has t save his girl from the villain. We look at it as just cartoons, but you look back to all the adult like concepts an issues we have in society. Cartoons usually portray the wants an society. I do not find cartoons bad, yes they have suggested meanings. Cartoons also have lessons that kids can learn from and at the end of the day, it is all about what is learned in the household. How and what are we teaching are kids? What values are we providing the youth. I grew up with Sponge bob and shows that I enjoyed. as you get older you notice suggested things that could or are. It is all about interpretation and when you are young those things do not matter.

                                             Collier, “Teaching Multilingual Children”
Teaching Multilingual Children is about non English speaking kids in the classroom. Talks about how we should not erase the child's ethnic language. We should take our time and be able to be understanding. Nowadays teachers are starting to be more certified in learning Spanish, since it is a very popular language. Going forward teachers would need to be more bilingual or have more teachers and ways to support kids of all different languages. You should not penalize kids for code switching, which mean speaking back and forth between languages. Restricting kids when they speak more than one language make them feel uncomfortable. We should not be taking away the kids cultures, but embrace them in order to improve our learning and understanding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhWWeNhkOcE

                                             Aria by Richard Rodriguez 





This article was about Richard's upbringing in school. Who grew up in a Spanish speaking household and went to a Catholic school. The nuns told his parents that he needs to speak more English in school. That caused a division in the household with language. I don't think it was right for the nuns to come into his household and make it seem like an issue because he spoke Spanish. In schools we always scold kids for speaking another language without understanding their background. When I was in high school, sometimes the teachers would be like, "speak English, it is offensive for people around you". Growing up, I see how some of us Latinos stuck to our own kind and be distant from others. It is natural to be with your people. Sometimes it would be hard to excel in school because of the language barrier.

                                                  Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol
 This article about the poverty in South Bronx and its living conditions. South Bronx is segregated from the rest of  New York one of the largest segregated locations in the nation. 


More than half the kids do not qualify for a free or reduced lunch. There is constant violence and lack of resources. Kids are constantly shot and going to churches to pick up food, while parents pray for salvation. Jonathan talks to different individuals about their time in the Bronx and how it has affected them. Stories range from Aids, prostitution, drugs etc. I feel as if this constant issue of neighborhoods in poverty not getting much support is an issue in not just in South Bronx, but in Providence well. A lot of people are in poverty and with the cost of living, it causes a lot of people struggling. Opportunities are hard to obtain unless you know the right people. Sometimes an education doesn't always guarantee a well paying job or the right opportunities right away. Around where I live, there is a large homeless issue, even prostitution here and there.
I grew up in poverty, not as bad as the Bronx though. Growing up with SSI, you think you have a lot of money, but you realize as get older you struggle more and more. It is hard to save, when your mindset is surviving paycheck to paycheck. I remember having to sell my consoles, just to pay bills. It is not easy, you don't realize you are in poverty, until you see how much money you are making and the fact you have been living in Public Housing for most of your life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tavGqhjOaO0

Kristof Limitations

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/percentage-of-young-americans-living-with-their-parents-is-40-percent-a-75-year-high/Blog 1 (Kristof)

This article had to do with United States being the land of limitations. United States offers countless opportunities, but it all depends on your upbringing. The article talks about a man Rick and how he died at 65 before ever achieving his full potential. He dropped out by tenth grade and worked odd job, married/divorced twice etc. He didn't have no help and died due to not being able to have access to what he needed.The whole article explained that it is hard to move up if your in poverty. Only 4 percent have a chance at rising to the top, while Britain has 12 percent. That shows a lot about our state and what we have become. We are a land of opportunity and not a land of limitations. Over time, things have become harder with the cost of living. People forced to stay in poverty or just stay comfortable, because of how society limits everything. It makes us become limited. Living in Public Housing for most of my life has limited me and my mom and made it comfortable and harder. Due to rent fluctuating up and down and work being slow, it has been rough. When I think about Rick dying without having access, makes me think of my mom and how she has to pay for her medical expenses and medicine now. 

 Who am I? I am an enigma in the night... I am Batman!!! I am am 25 years old and I am Majoring in Youth Development and Minoring in Business Management. My goal is to manage my own institute, that provides the youth with the tools to succeed in knowing there options and to be able to function in the real world. This summer was pretty hectic with work and new transitions in life. I am a huge nerd; so I am into video games, Japanese culture, music etc. I work at a hotel, restaurant and soon I will be working at the Donovan. My pictures show I am a good looking suave, corny and mysterious fellow. I am usually to myself, but pretty social and open.