Argument - “Other People’s Children” by Lisa Delpit

This author, Lisa Delpit, argues that dominantly white, middle class educational industries tend to do a disservice towards children of color by assuming they would have the same opportunities, assets, and history as white students. The educational system is centered around this mindset in which the middle class students benfit from this advantage by performing at a higher rate than the lower class students where most people of color are from. Teachers need to hear and acknowledge the differences and struggles students of color have to endure in order to not fail and ruin there chances of success. They need to be provided with the beneficial tools, resources, and context of our society that is needed for them. Schools are still largely white-employed and segregated through social and economic classes along with systematic racism. Teachers have already participated in this kind of culture and bias, but they can break the barrier of power down and give all students a fair chance to thrive in life. By helping white children have more self-awareness and self-reflection on the existence of of this power stuggle as well as acknowledging other peoples' cultures and backgrouds, we are not only broadering our horizons, but also better understanding our world with the people who are living in it.

Comment: Just because someone lives in the lower class does not mean they should stereotyped and be ridiculed. I have been privileged to experience private school for a year and would have been able to do another year if I decided to stay. There was a clear difference in school structure and teaching styles with the amount of visits I had to go to for observational purposes and special events. I never had teachers who would use multiple languages to teach students in the classrooms like they do in rural schools. Hyperlink

Reflection - “Privilege Power and Difference” by Alan Johnson

While reading Privilege, Power, and Difference by Alan Johnson, the topic of diversity and being in multiple different groups as either the more favorable or disadvantageous side. Everyone has opinions and different ways of thinking dut to their social groups, backgrouds, or experineces. We can not fully understand the opposition side's perspective, but we do have first hand experience in our own category. When Johnson discussed about sexism and racism, I reflected onto my own childhood and noticed my privileges as being a lower middle-class, young adult Chinese women as well as there downfalls. People normally assume Chinese people will excel in mathematics and make a career out of it because it is an universal language that everyone understands and is easier to understand than english if they are immigrants. However, I know I desired to became a secondary education math teacher simply because I excelled at problem solving with numbers and formulas and wanted to share the enjoyment I received in mathematices to younger children too. I am constantly asked if I am an US citizen when I give out my race as well as my background information when they see my mom. Recently, I had to answer a question with the whole class about which generation immigrant I was on one of my family's side. I was the immigrant, but the teacher did not accept that answer so I had to say I am the forth-generation on my mother's father side. This is something I should not have to constantly explain to people and be questioned about. So while I am on the toxic postive attributes side of racism, I am part of a group that is being torned down. Especially when the first time COVID-19 struck and people started to blame the Chinese and Asians in general. My mom became more protective of me by telling me ways to stay away from those people in any given situation. This helped me realize where my social status is on the hierarchy and what it entails such as my labels, advantages, and disadvantages. It can be hard to recognize and simultaneously bring it up in conversarions, but it should be brought into question openly because how else will your discrimination be heard.

Comment: I started to notice how careful we are around topics about racism and sexism in regular conversation since we do not want to upset either parties, but it should not be the case. We do have biases about certain topics or people, whether accidentally or not, but that should not dictate how we treat people before learning more about them. We need to be more open-minded and not instinctivly label people based on their characteristics. That is why talking about these misconceptions, inequalities, and prejudice acts against your groups is important. It will help us progress into becoming more equal until it is normalized in our society. Hyperlink

Who is SSLD?

On Christmas Eve, I had dinner with my companions, Dawn and Ivy.

For entertainment, I love music and watching anime, games, & virtual YouTubers on my screen.

My hobbies include mind puzzle games, constructing buildings from legos, and reading.